Help never done this before

[jenfro]

I have to book our adr on Tuesday for our first and maybe only trip in August, It is just me and my dd who is 5. I want to make sure that I get the best experience for both of us. I want to do both character meals and not character meals. My Plans so far:
Cape MAy for Dinner
Park Fare Breakfast
and dinner
Akershus Late breakfast
Ohana Dinner
My questions are is this a good meal plan and should I pay for the CRT Breakfast out of pocket? Thanks for any help.

 

[Nadjalu]

I didn't see you list CRT for anything....?????

If you are on the dining plan, personally I don't think CRT is a good use of credits (2), so I would do OOP.

Other than you listing Park Fare twice I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't do the same restaurant twice in a trip. Too many wonderful choices to choose the same place, even though it is breakfast and dinner.

If you are looking for another character place, I would do Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace.

 

[jenfro]

I didn't see you list CRT for anything....?????

If you are on the dining plan, personally I don't think CRT is a good use of credits (2), so I would do OOP.

Other than you listing Park Fare twice I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't do the same restaurant twice in a trip. Too many wonderful choices to choose the same place, even though it is breakfast and dinner.

If you are looking for another character place, I would do Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace.

The reason I am doing park fare twice is because they have different characters at breakfast and dinner and what my dd likes. I looked at chef mickey and crystal palace but the characters are not my dd's favorite.

 

[DaniB]

IMO I wouldn't bother with CRT. It takes 2 TS credits. You listed Akershus for breakfast and that is a lovely place to meet the Princesses. CRT gives you a photo with Cinderella, while Akershus gives the photo with Belle. It depends on your preference however.

I second the PP. Crystal Palace breakfast before MK opens is the best!! Last September was our first time with an 11 year old DD and 6 year old DS. It was great walking down Main Street before the park opened. Crystal Palace is so beautiful and elegent. The food is very good and a great selection. Both of my kids NEVER show any interest in Winnie the Pooh & friends at home, but were THRILLED that morning in the restaurant!

I agree with doing 1900 Park Fare for both breakfast and dinner. I really wish we had done it for dinner as well. My kids would have enjoyed it!

 

[Agri]

I have to book our adr on Tuesday for our first and maybe only trip in August, It is just me and my dd who is 5. I want to make sure that I get the best experience for both of us. I want to do both character meals and not character meals. My Plans so far:
Cape MAy for Dinner
Park Fare Breakfast
and dinner
Akershus Late breakfast
Ohana Dinner
My questions are is this a good meal plan and should I pay for the CRT Breakfast out of pocket? Thanks for any help.

That is a TON of buffets.

I wouldn't do Cape May for dinner unless you're really into seafood. There is other stuff, but there are better places to eat.

You can also meet the characters out in the park fairly easily. There is some overlap with the breakfast at 1900 PF and the dinner there. From personal experience, we like the food, but they have jammed in the tables in there and its unlikely you will be seated at your ADR time. I have not eaten at Ohana's, but it is a frequent statement on here that the same thing happens - both things to keep in mind if your time is at a premium.

You'll also need to consider what parks you will be at and if eating at all those monorail resorts is convenient to your plans. If you look at a map of WDW, the MK and its resorts are clustered to the north while the rest of the resort is to the south of the MK. So if you are not staying at a monorail resort or planning to be in the MK for most of your vacation, you'll be eating up a lot of time getting to these ADR's as well.

Another bit of advice - you *won't* have the best experience possible if you try to jam everything in at once. You will be stressing out about the amount of money spent and stressing about making it to everything.

I'd schedule one or two character meals that have the characters your daughter just can't miss, plan another few table service meals, and allow for the rest to be quick service or to try for walk-in reservations.

WDW is *huge* and you won't be able to do everything you want to do - and there are lots of things there that are not available in other media. She might find that she loves the characters on Splash Mountain or that she loves Figment - characters that she wouldn't know about outside of experiencing at WDW.

 

[jenfro]

That is a TON of buffets.

I wouldn't do Cape May for dinner unless you're really into seafood. There is other stuff, but there are better places to eat.

You can also meet the characters out in the park fairly easily. There is some overlap with the breakfast at 1900 PF and the dinner there. From personal experience, we like the food, but they have jammed in the tables in there and its unlikely you will be seated at your ADR time. I have not eaten at Ohana's, but it is a frequent statement on here that the same thing happens - both things to keep in mind if your time is at a premium.

You'll also need to consider what parks you will be at and if eating at all those monorail resorts is convenient to your plans. If you look at a map of WDW, the MK and its resorts are clustered to the north while the rest of the resort is to the south of the MK. So if you are not staying at a monorail resort or planning to be in the MK for most of your vacation, you'll be eating up a lot of time getting to these ADR's as well.

Another bit of advice - you *won't* have the best experience possible if you try to jam everything in at once. You will be stressing out about the amount of money spent and stressing about making it to everything.

I'd schedule one or two character meals that have the characters your daughter just can't miss, plan another few table service meals, and allow for the rest to be quick service or to try for walk-in reservations.

WDW is *huge* and you won't be able to do everything you want to do - and there are lots of things there that are not available in other media. She might find that she loves the characters on Splash Mountain or that she loves Figment - characters that she wouldn't know about outside of experiencing at WDW.

I am not really stressing over doing everything at once, the dining plan is easier for me because it is already paid for.
I forgot to add we are staying 6 nights so one of these each day.

 

[stitchineeyore]

which resort are you booked into? That might influence your choices a little, especially if you plan to take a pool or rest break during the day.

 

[jenfro]

which resort are you booked into? That might influence your choices a little, especially if you plan to take a pool or rest break during the day.

we are staying at pop

 

[stitchineeyore]

hm. It's mighty hot in August. That said, think about how wilted you and dd get in the heat. (I know this doesn't have to do with restaurants, but I'm getting there). just took a quick look at park hours for the first week in August. MK is open until 11 each night; EP closes at 9, and studios and AK earlier than that. (excluding evening extra magic hours, natch). If you will need a break, you need to think about how long it will take to get back to your ADRs and plan accordingly. Character buffets are nice, even a lot of them, for a solo parent and child. Lots of choices, and don't take as long as a complete table service meal. TOTALLY agree about early Crystal Palace breakfast. It is SO magical to walk down Main Street without the crowd. Restaurant is cool, and the characters are wonderful.

 

[stitchineeyore]

and btw I know you didn't say when in August. Just the first week is available to check right now. I am inferring you are going in mid-august, since you said you could make your adrs Tuesday. Check park hours on Monday night, since that will give you a framework for how late the various parks are open (it can vary a lot in late summer). and remember you can make changes later! We're going next month and I just reworked everything last week cause we added another family member.

 

[ToddyLu]

That is a TON of buffets.

Another bit of advice - you *won't* have the best experience possible if you try to jam everything in at once. You will be stressing out about the amount of money spent and stressing about making it to everything.

I'd schedule one or two character meals that have the characters your daughter just can't miss, plan another few table service meals, and allow for the rest to be quick service or to try for walk-in reservations.

WDW is *huge* and you won't be able to do everything you want to do - and there are lots of things there that are not available in other media. She might find that she loves the characters on Splash Mountain or that she loves Figment - characters that she wouldn't know about outside of experiencing at WDW.

I agree with this. WDW is overstimulation for even us hard core adults. I would pick 2-3 character meals that dd likes, maybe a couple for you like Cape May. When you are at AK, Rainforrest Cafe is lots of fun and they do bkft and dinner but aren't on the Dining Plan. A fun bkft with Mickey is also at Tusker House, if you will be at AK in the morning. You will be down near the Safari, so you could probably see animals out then on the ride. Since you are doing DDP, I would do a TS meal everyday--but only use 1 credit meals, not 2. I am sorry but you will be disappointed in CRT as others have states. Akehaus is much better.

Look at your park hours, determine to your best ability where you will be and plan accordingly. Buses run about an hour before park opening. August in Orlando is extreme, so you will need lots of cool places to duck in and out of.
DH and I (really I) use an excel sheet that has my plan at a glance on it and I start with park hours and EMH every trip then build on that.

 

[mullysisters]

Another vote for the CP with your 5 year old. I imagine you'll be spending more time at MK than the other parks.I agree, if you can book it on a EMH morning at MK, it's a wonderful way to start out the day there!
Even though I have no children I never miss the CP each trip (always breakfast)
Do take the train around the MK when it gets hot or you are tired, it's a great way to sit and enjoy the park! The monorail for the same reasons and the Tomorrowland Transit too!
(5 year old and 52 year legs-mine, get tired fast.)
Have fun, do what you can enjoy.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

If my DS was little again, I wouldn't hesitate to do that many character meals. You can have a table service meal anywhere. There's not that many places to dine with characters. Plus, you can spend a large part of your trip standing in line for characters, if you're only option is to see them in the parks.

I know I'm in the minority, but I wouldn't go to CP, if your DD isn't into the Pooh characters. IMO, the food certainly isn't worth going for alone. That said, the 8:05 am reservations are really nice, & we have eaten there just to get into MK early. I just don't think it's worth giving up characters you know she'll like better. FWIW, we prefer the early Tusker House over the early CP breakfast. We think the food is better.

As for CRT, it's one experience I wish everyone could have at least once. If you have the money, & think you may not return, I wouldn't hesitate to book it. PSB is very nice, but it's not CRT. Sometimes, I think the difference in DDP credits effects people's opinions over which is better. If you polled people paying OOP only, I think you'd fine CRT would win by a landslide.