Help me plan our first family trip/5 days of dining...long and lots of questions!

[ljr74]

Hi, this is my first post, but I have been lurking a lot the past few days!

We will be staying at ASMO 2/12-2/17 (check out on the 17th, no parks and no dining that day). I wanted to stay in this hotel because my boys (age 5 and 2) are Toy Story freaks, but now I'm reconsidering because of the cheerleading competition the first few days of our trip. That's probably a topic for another post, but if you have thoughts about this, please share!

We upgraded to the basic dining plan... DH is not terribly adventurous. He likes meat and potatoes, Italian, Chinese, Japanese (hibachi), and most but not all seafood. I am more adventurous, but would need a restaurant that would have options for him, too. The kids eat typical kid food although sometimes they will surprise us.

Okay, so we are driving down from CT. Will be staying with family in Jacksonville on the 11th. Apparently, it takes 3hrs to get to WDW from there. We have early risers, so we were thinking we could be on the road by 6am on the 12th. Maybe I am dreaming here, I don't know. I would like to go to MK the first day simply because it's the boys' first trip and it's a surprise. I want to really wow them with the sight of the castle. I thought maybe we could do a character breakfast (10ish) at Cape May or Chef Mickeys before heading to the park that first morning. Is that crazy? I do not know how long it will take for us to get through the process of getting our passes at the hotel. I realize Cape May is closer than Chef Mickeys, but I am kind of torn about the fact that Mickey would not be there. I am having an easy time getting reservations at this point; will that change later? Should I take my chances and call once we arrive and are settled to see if we can get in at either?

I have us planned for a potential late start on the 13th. Heading to Epcot. Reservations at Le Cellier at 2:05pm. I guess we will probably do breakfast that day at the hotel? And then a light dinner or snack in the evening.

On the 14th, we will be going to HS. This could be another late start day because we want to stay late for the Playhouse Disney dance party. We also have to see the Pixar Pals parade. I want to eat at Kona for breakfast, would it be crazy to do it this day? I'm seeing on the map that we'd be driving all the way to the Poly and then back to go to HS. Should I plan for the Poly for breakfast for the 15th (see below).

Nothing planned for the 15th yet. I am leaning towards playing this day by ear. We could do AK, but DH and I both agreed it can be skipped completely if necessary. With our Toy Story fans, we could do HS again if need be OR maybe even MK again? Either way, I want to have a reservation for something. Where to eat this day?

MK again on the 16th. 8:15am reservation at Crystal Palace.

A friend said we should eat at the Coral Reef. Can we fit that in anywhere? Would love counter service ideas, too. I am mildly freaking out that I am going to miss some amazing meal. I know, I know. Disney isn't going anywhere. It's just that 5 days is not enough! HELP!!! Heck, can you just plan my whole trip for me???

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Welcome to the boards!

I can answer some of your questions:

-You shouldn't have 2nd thoughts about the competitions. They usually don't make too much of a big impact on anyones stay. I didn't even notice them in the parks. They just may be a bit loud at night.

-It takes about 2 hours, 20 min. from Jacksonville to Disney. I live in Jacksonville and we drive all the time.

-For your first day, you probly don't want to do that breakfast. You should grab breakfast before getting to Disney or just do a lunch inside MK later on. The reason I say is because you want to be at MK at rope drop at 9am. This is when its least crowded and you can do the most with shortest waits. You don't want to be sitting eating breakfast somewhere when you can be doing attractions in MK with shorter waits in the morning than any other time of day. Maybe do a character lunch at Crystal Palace around 11:30? If you really want to meet Mickey, why not do Chef Mickeys for dinner on your first night and you can also knock out Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy off your list! You can also meet Mickey at the Judges tent in toontown fair inside MK.
If I can also suggest...you should do fantasyland first inside MK if you have small kids. Fantasyland gets very crowded and busy by 11am.

I'm not sure what you mean by the playhouse disney dance party? Playhouse disney is a small 30 min. show in Disney's hollywood studios. Its for small kids and is on several times a day.

-If you want to do Kona for bfst, go early around 7:30 before DhS opens, so you can get the most out of early touring.

-I wouldn't skip AK. This is my favorite park. My kids age 7 and 11 months loved it. So many animals to see and there are lots of shows and a few rides kids will love. Plus, you have planned to go to MK on the 16th again anyway.

-The coral reef is a great restaurant in my opinion. You would have to do it on your Epcot day. So, see if you can do Le Cellier earlier around 12ish, and then do Coral Reef for dinner around 6pm.

Remember to make reservations. All the restaurants you picked are popular and get to the parks early (around when they open) for smallest crowds and lines.

It looks like you want to do so much in such little time. If you can only do 5 days, try to just fit in what you can. You can always go back next year.

I also didn't see any nighttime stuff in your plans. Try to see the fireworks in MK and Epcot and the show Fantasmic in DHS. You and your kids will most likely love them! Check the disney calendar for showtimes or visit these sites:

pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares (Remember, schedules change weekly)
allearsnet.com

 

[ljr74]

Thanks for the reply! Very, very helpful!

I am really only worried about the cheerleaders being loud at the hotel. Was thinking about calling to see if we can switch to the POP for the first few days and then move to Movies. DH thinks it will be too much of a hassle to move and we should just stay at the POP OR just bring a sound machine and earplugs. I know the kids will flip over staying in a Toy Story room, so that was why I picked Movies.

So, if we leave at 6am, we should be able to get to our hotel to get our passes and be at the park for rope drop? That is great news! Chef Mickeys for dinner does make more sense.

The dance party is during EMH at HS. I read about it here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2055574

If we do the Coral Reef on the Epcot day, then we will have to skip a table service on another day or pay OOP for something. Hmmm..

 

[neodymm]

I agree with PP...I wouldn't skip AK. It's actually DD5's favorite park even though she is a Princessaholic! She would ride the safari all day long if she could and loves seeing all the animals. Rafiki's Planet Watch is a must do for the petting zoo. However, I do think you could do AK in a short day. So, if you get there at opening, you could be done by the parade time and then leave after the parade. If you can park hop, then you could go back to MK, esp. if they have eveing EMH, or even to Epcot.

A few counter service suggestions:

MK: Columbia Harbor House, Main Street Bakery
EP: Tangieriene Cafe (Morrocco), Kringla Bakeri og Cafe (Norway), Sunshine Seasons (Future World)
AK: Kusafari Bakery, Yak & Yeti
HS: Starring Rolls Cafe, (although your kids might enjoy Toy Story Pizza Planet for the decor -- the food is not that great though)

You can also use snack credits to replace breakfast. Things like a boiled egg, fruit, cereal box, muffin, bagel, danish, juice, coffee, milk, etc., can be purchased with snack credits. We do that often for quick breakfast, grab a few things in the hotel, eat them at the bus stop or on the bus and save table credits. Here's a thread about snack credits: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2381706

Have a good touring plan for each day so you can maximize your time in the parks. The parks will probably not be crowded during the time you are going, so that is a good thing. And if you aren't taking a stroller, we highly recommend getting one in the parks. We can move around much faster with DD in a stroller, it's always a good investment for us. And, she loves being in her safe little ride and doesn't get so tired, or might even catch a cat nap here and there! She likes to people watch or we take a coloring book or a few little toys (or give her one of our phones to watch a movie) and she is entertained while we manuever around.

Oh, and don't forget to pencil in some time for Downtown Disney if you can...we usually go there after we close a park early (like AK or HS).

Good Luck and don't stress! I've found that I can make detailed plans down to the minute, but the trick to a happy Disney vacay is flexibility!! Sometimes you just have to toss the touring plan in the trash when things just aren't working and your child wants to ride the same ride over and over Like you said, Disney is not going anywhere and you can't do it all on one trip. For that matter, I've been there 30+ times and I still haven't done it all! Of course, now that I have my own child, it's all a new experience anyway.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Thanks for the reply! Very, very helpful!

I am really only worried about the cheerleaders being loud at the hotel. Was thinking about calling to see if we can switch to the POP for the first few days and then move to Movies. DH thinks it will be too much of a hassle to move and we should just stay at the POP OR just bring a sound machine and earplugs. I know the kids will flip over staying in a Toy Story room, so that was why I picked Movies.

So, if we leave at 6am, we should be able to get to our hotel to get our passes and be at the park for rope drop? That is great news! Chef Mickeys for dinner does make more sense.

The dance party is during EMH at HS. I read about it here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2055574

If we do the Coral Reef on the Epcot day, then we will have to skip a table service on another day or pay OOP for something. Hmmm..

We have stayed at Pop and I can tell you we loved it including my DD. I actually think it rates higher than the all stars and I agree that it may be too much trouble to switch resorts mid trip especially if your only staying a few days.

What restaurants are you considering besides Chef Mickeys? Coral Reef was one of my favorites.

 

[sndral]

An advantage of being a resort guest are extra magic hours and you say you are early risers, so take advantage of that perk when you can. It took me a couple of trips to realize I could do a lot more if I didn't bounce from place to place and 'clustered' things instead. So on MK day stick to MK and monorail resort restaurants, on DHS day stick w/ DHS and Beach club/boardwalk restaurants (there's a boat @ the front of DHS to these resorts & to Epcot back entry,) on Epcot day Epcot/Beach Club boardwalk restaurants (there's a boat @ the back of Epcot in the World showcase that goes to these resorts and to DHS.)
Since you have one park per day scheduled I am assuming you do not have park hoppers. I've included your meal credit use in brackets. My suggestions/thoughts:

2/12 Sat. arrival day. You want to do MK. I don't think you'll make rope drop. I agree w/ a pp, grab breakfast on your drive to WDW. I'd plan cs (-1 CS) somewhere in MK for lunch (maybe Columbia Harbor House?) then schedule dinner @ Chef Mickeys (-1 TS.) Why? CM is @ the Contemporary and you can just ride the monorail from the MK to dinner then back again. The kids get characters @ dinner plus they usually like the monorail ride. MK closes @ 11 pm, so you might head back to your room when it's ready in the afternoon for rest time and then back to MK for evening fun and your monorail ride to dinner w/ the characters @ Chef Mickeys - consider ditching the car and using the buses since you (&/or DH) have already logged a lot of driving time in.

2/13 Sun. I'd make this my AK day, I love AK. Flame Tree barbicue is a great CS so grab snacks for breakfast on your way to AK, then lunch @ Flame Tree (- 2 CS.) Ak closes @ 6, so you might head over to Downtown Disney after park closing. I'd recommend having dinner @ Wolfgang Puck's express (the one in the marketplace - NOT the restaurant) (-3 CS) this is a counter service and one of the best deals for CS, IMO. If the kids are beat, skip DTD and just head back to your resort and have a CS @ the food court for dinner.

2/14 Mon. Evening extra magic hours @ DHS it's open until 10 pm. Since your kids are TSM fans I'd opt for DHS this day. Cape May is @ the Beach club and a short boat ride from the front of DHS - so do your Cape May breakfast this day (-2 TS) and then spend all day @ DHS. Have CS for dinner (-4 CS.)

2/15 Tues. EMH am @ Epcot - do rope drop @ 8 am, grabbing snacks for breakfast @ the food court of AS on your way out. Have Sunshine Seasons in the land CS for lunch (-5 CS.) Sunshine seasons has a bazillion entree choices, the strawberry shortcake for desert is so good! I'd do Coral Reef dinner (-3 TS.) I think @ the ages of your sons eating w/ a wall of fish is much more exciting than Le Cellier. Ask to be seated right next to the aquarium and say you are willing to wait for a table to open up. Epcot closes @ 9 pm, so you could head to AS for a rest in the afternoon then back to Epcot for dinner @ Coral Reef and watching illuminations after.

2/16 Wed. You want MK, and have 8:15 am CP reservations (- 4 TS.) Spend the day @ MK then have dinner a monorail ride away @ the Poly, I think kids your age would really enjoy Ohanas and the coconut races - you might time it so you can see wishes from the restaurant (-5 TS.) MK closes @ 8 pm.

 

[DeckedOut]

My only advice is to take a nap during the day. My kids are early risers as well. We hit all the parks at rope drop (8am or 9am) and usually left after lunch. We did some swimming (it was May - but the hot tub could feel great in Feb ) and took a 2 hr nap!. Then headed to dinner and the parks. The one day we didn't do this - it was complete meltdown . All of the other days were smooth as can be. And even though you say we are planning a late start day, if your kids are early risers - you'll end up trying to entertain them at the hotel in the am - missing all the short lines for the rides and they will be tried then and crash at dinner time. I truely believe it made our trip. They were 4 & 6 for that trip and our next trip they will be 6 & 8 - we are still planning the afternoon nap for our next trip (hey as parents I loved it too!)

We ventured into the playhouse dance party deal too - I remember lots of bubbles, characters and kids running everywere - they loved it.

They loved AK as well - the safari and the nemo show esp. It went downhill after my DD 4 yrs old got soaked (we are talking absolutley dumped on soaked) on the rapids ride. But great up to then.

I think Ohana's at the Poly is a great place to make a dinner ADR on the unsure what park to go to day (however with the monorail works great for a MK or Epcot day). The food is great - they have coconut races (use a broom to push a coconut, the limbo, kids loved it)

 

[clareita]

One school of thought about the EMH is that even if you are staying on site, you should avoid the EMH parks because they get very crowded. The extra people basically negate the value of the extra time. With such young kids, you probably won't be able to take advantage of an evening EMH, so I would definitely avoid any park with one of those.

Something else to consider about DHS is the Fantasmic schedule. It's only showing a 2 or 3 times a week, so any day that has a showing means the park will be extra crowded. Apparently, people are arriving 60-90 minutes early to get seats. It wouldn't be worth it to me. Don't get me wrong, I've seen it and it's a great show, but not worth that kind of hassle. The fact that I've seen it at Disneyland probably colors my judgement. Once you see it there you will never again want to go out of your way to see it at WDW. It really is that much better at DL.

 

[ljr74]

Wow, you guys rock! Thanks so much for the replies. I'm going to have DH read this and then I'll be back with a longer reply.

 

[ljr74]

Okay, my husband (who has not read any thread here before) was so impressed with your replies! He said you guys really know your stuff. He was especially surprised about the nap tips. lol Thanks again for the suggestions!

TourGuideMike says to stay away from Epcot on 2/15, so we're going to stick with Epcot on 2/13 and do AK on 2/15. I like the Downtown Disney idea for that afternoon. I've never been before!

I'm leaving parades and fireworks up in the air for every day. If we make them, great! If not, that's okay, too. The only parade we absolutely have to make is the Pixar one at HS.

I can't get a ressie at Chef Mickey's for any earlier than 7:50 on 2/12 right now. I'll keep trying, I guess. I booked it, but I just don't think that will fly. Even if we nap and load up on snacks at 3pm. I could be wrong, of course.

So, this is what I have now:

2/12 MK, Chef Mickey's 7:50pm
2/13 Epcot, Le Cellier 11:45pm, Coral Reef 6:05pm
2/14 Kona Cafe 7:30am, HS
2/15 AK, DTD
2/16 MK, 8:15am Crystal Palace

I'm not sure about two sit downs at Epcot that day. Seems like it would be two huge meals. DH and I both really want to eat at Le Cellier, so I don't want to give that up. I don't know. Maybe the meals are spaced out far enough? Or maybe I should try for a 7pm reservation at Coral Reef?

I tried for Chef Mickey's on 2/16 and the times were just way too late. Same with Ohana.

 

[*ThinkTink*]

The only thing I would add is that you have the character breakfast at Tusker House for your day at AK. It is the best breakfast on property! I travel to Disney every year and have tried many breakfast places (character and not) over the years and Tusker House is a breakfast we never miss. Your children will love it and the food is great! The characters dance, do a parade around the rooom with the kids, sign autograghs, and take pictures.
I have tried the Chef Mickeys for breakfast and dinner and was unimpressed. The food was bland, the line up for the buffet is long, and it's noisy! There are better places to eat and see characters. I would rather eat at the Cinderella's Royal Table every time at MK.

 

[sndral]

Looks good. Coral Reef generally runs late, so you probably won't be seated right @ 6:05, but if you are planning on taking an afternoon break and then coming back to Epcot for illuminations, then a 6:45 or 7 pm ADR would allow for a longer afternoon break. Or maybe just pass on Coral Reef and do the Tusker House breakfast @ AK as the pp suggested? You can have CS @ Sunshine Seasons the Epcot evening. You can always do Coral Reef next trip

 

[rapunzels]

Wowza.. are you doing CT to Jacksonville in one haul???

 

[ljr74]

Wowza.. are you doing CT to Jacksonville in one haul???

LOL Well, I'm sure we will stop a couple times, but yeah. We drove to Chicago in October and it took us 17hrs to get there (too many stops), but only 13hrs to get back. We like the convenience of having our own car with the car seats and all of that. The boys do pretty well in the car thanks to the DVD player, a Leapster, and a Leapfrog Tag Reader.

ThinkTink, so do you think I should just cancel the dinner at Chef Mickey and and do breakfast at Tusker House on our AK day instead? Is it the same characters? Or, I guess, more importantly, is Mickey there?

DH was saying something about some Rainforest Cafe-like dinosaur restaurant that one of his co-workers was talking about. I just looked it up and figured out that he means T-Rex. I had never heard of this place until today! The boys do love dinosaurs, so I'm wondering if I should try and fit that in somewhere? Maybe skip Coral Reef this trip in favor of T-Rex? Is the food decent? They can be pretty big scaredy cats, though. Is it potentially scary? We have been to a Rainforest before and they weren't scared there.

 

[sndral]

Be aware, I don't think that T-Rex participates in the dinning plan, so plan on paying for that meal op.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Okay, my husband (who has not read any thread here before) was so impressed with your replies! He said you guys really know your stuff. He was especially surprised about the nap tips. lol Thanks again for the suggestions!

TourGuideMike says to stay away from Epcot on 2/15, so we're going to stick with Epcot on 2/13 and do AK on 2/15. I like the Downtown Disney idea for that afternoon. I've never been before!

I'm leaving parades and fireworks up in the air for every day. If we make them, great! If not, that's okay, too. The only parade we absolutely have to make is the Pixar one at HS.

I can't get a ressie at Chef Mickey's for any earlier than 7:50 on 2/12 right now. I'll keep trying, I guess. I booked it, but I just don't think that will fly. Even if we nap and load up on snacks at 3pm. I could be wrong, of course.

So, this is what I have now:

2/12 MK, Chef Mickey's 7:50pm
2/13 Epcot, Le Cellier 11:45pm, Coral Reef 6:05pm
2/14 Kona Cafe 7:30am, HS
2/15 AK, DTD
2/16 MK, 8:15am Crystal Palace

I'm not sure about two sit downs at Epcot that day. Seems like it would be two huge meals. DH and I both really want to eat at Le Cellier, so I don't want to give that up. I don't know. Maybe the meals are spaced out far enough? Or maybe I should try for a 7pm reservation at Coral Reef?

I tried for Chef Mickey's on 2/16 and the times were just way too late. Same with Ohana.

I love your plan! It looks great. Regarding the 2 big meals at Epcot...I can tell you that Le Cellier portions are not that big. I'm sure you can get full, but you should still be able to eat at Coral Reef that night.

Be aware, I don't think that T-Rex participates in the dinning plan, so plan on paying for that meal op.

You are correct. It doesn't participate.

 

[ljr74]

Okay, I managed to get a Tusker House reservation for 8:15am on the day we go to AK. I love that we will be able to get into the parks before they open on two different days! I do feel like we're kind of "wasting" our TS credits on so many breakfast meals, but the kids don't care about that and will only know that they got to meet the characters! That's all that really matters, right?

I didn't realize T-Rex wasn't on the plan until after my post. d'oh! I talked to DH about it and he said maybe we could do an earlier lunch there on the day we check out (no dining plan that day). I tried to get a reservation online, but was not able to. Do I need to call there?

Thanks again for all of the help! You guys are the best!