Help! Please rate our eating itinerary!

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Hello DIS veterans! We are doing a first-time 3 generations trip (group of 6, me, DH, DD(age8), my mom, and DH's parents) in early Oct. We are staying off-site and paying for meals OOP. We'd like to prioritize yummy food and value over ambiance, but would of course, appreciate both! DD is not super into character meals and we are limiting buffets in general because we are mostly a group of light eaters. Thanks so much for input and advice! Suffering for ADR OCD as someone on the boards mentioned earlier - LOL!

Friday- (arrival day) Drinks/Dinner at Trader Sam's and Kona Cafe

Saturday - MK day (me, DH, DD) 10am Sleepy Hollow, 2:05pm BoG, 5:20p Cali Grill OR 7:35p Plaza / Grandparents going to Cali Grill at 9:20p

Sunday - AK day (everyone) 11am Yak & Yeti, 5pm Sanaa (my mom and DD), 5pm Boma (me, DH, DH parents)

Monday/Tuesday - Harry Potter

Wednesday - EP day (everyone) 11am Via Napoli, rest of eating day doing Food & Wine fest

Thursday - MK day (everyone) 1pm Crystal Palace OR Plaza OR counter service, 8:10pm Grand Floridian Cafe

Friday - 11:40am Beaches & Cream, 7:05pm Flying Fish

 

[LaurenT]

I like most of the choices. I haven't done sleepy hollow - I almost always do Columbia Harbor House if I'm doing CS in MK. The Plaza is probably the best value for a TS, but Cali Grill is excellent and is a whole different category of restaurant.
I think you're making a mistake missing out on Sanaa! Grandma and DD are going to be thrilled and you might regret not joining them! Tell them to ask for a window seat so they can watch the zebra, giraffe, etc during dinner.

 

[Fantabulously Cherry]

Sounds like a great plan to me! Yak & Yeti is great and Boma is one of my favorite restaurants on property. I haven't tried Via Napoli yet, but I love Tuttu Italia...but can you really go wrong with Italian food? Crystal Palace is a lot of fun. Beaches n' Cream have the best burgers on property and the No Way Jose is like heaven in a big fancy glass cup!

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thank you LaurenT! Couldn't get a table for 6 (or 4) at Sanaa at the desired 5pm time. I know that's the best time to score the coveted window table. Will put it to the group to decide how much effort I should put into making the switch. Do you see anything that you switch out entirely? I chose GF mainly because I know it will be open and close to MK via monorial after a long-ish day at the park, but willing to switch if there is a better suggestion and not tooo inconvenient. But, we do have car rental and not relying on Disney buses.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thank you FabulouslyCherry! Thinking it would be sacrilege to not do one character meal at CP...even if DD not super into it. Ideally, I'd like to get a BoG dinner for the 6 of us, but it's a MNSSHP night, so not holding my breath!

 

[Hopefully]

Hello DIS veterans! We are doing a first-time 3 generations trip (group of 6, me, DH, DD(age8), my mom, and DH's parents) in early Oct. We are staying off-site and paying for meals OOP. We'd like to prioritize yummy food and value over ambiance, but would of course, appreciate both! DD is not super into character meals and we are limiting buffets in general because we are mostly a group of light eaters. Thanks so much for input and advice! Suffering for ADR OCD as someone on the boards mentioned earlier - LOL!

Friday- (arrival day) Drinks/Dinner at Trader Sam's and Kona Cafe
You will most likely have to wait in line to get in to Trader Sam's. The line usually starts about 3:30 or so and is reported at times to be over an hour long

Saturday - MK day (me, DH, DD) 10am Sleepy Hollow, 2:05pm BoG, 5:20p Cali Grill OR 7:35p Plaza / Grandparents going to Cali Grill at 9:20p
I think these times are WAY to close together. I would never enjoy CA Grille 2 hours after BOG

Sunday - AK day (everyone) 11am Yak & Yeti, 5pm Sanaa (my mom and DD), 5pm Boma (me, DH, DH parents)

Monday/Tuesday - Harry Potter

Wednesday - EP day (everyone) 11am Via Napoli, rest of eating day doing Food & Wine fest

Thursday - MK day (everyone) 1pm Crystal Palace OR Plaza OR counter service, 8:10pm Grand Floridian Cafe

Friday - 11:40am Beaches & Cream, 7:05pm Flying Fish

See my thoughts above

 

[BugsDaddy]

On Saturday, you are not giving yourself much time between BOG and Cali Grill if you choose that one. In fact, you will just be finished up with BOG and it's already almost time to start thinking about getting ready for dinner. I wouldn't want to go to a signature resteraunt still full from lunch.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thank you Hopefully! Yes -- thanks for the reminder about Traders. DH and I plan to be in line at 3:15pm. Kona ressie is at 5:45pm.

Agreed that BoG / Cali Grill times are NOT ideal, but happy to have the ressies. Still checking everyday for better times. The thought is we'll head to Contemporary for rest after BoG, then head back after Cali for Electric Parade and Wishes. The alternative is join grandparents at Cali for Wishes at 9:20pm and skip MSELP all together OR for me, DH, DD to skip Cali altogether and eat at the Plaza at 7:35p? Other alternatives would be better? Thanks for the help!!!

 

[itchin2go]

On Saturday, you are not giving yourself much time between BOG and Cali Grill if you choose that one. In fact, you will just be finished up with BOG and it's already almost time to start thinking about getting ready for dinner. I wouldn't want to go to a signature resteraunt still full from lunch.

That was my first thought as well. If you are prioritizing food over atmosphere, skip BOG - in my experience, it's a 9 for atmosphere and a 3 for food. For CS in MK, my favorite is Columbia Harbor House. It's a 2 for atmosphere and an 8 for food.

On the Epcot day, I wouldn't do a TS lunch. Have you done Food and Wine before? If so, and if you still want to do this, ignore my advice. We found that even with multiple days at Epcot AND not doing any TS or CS meals in Epcot, we couldn't see/taste all the Food and Wine booths. You (sadly) get full pretty quick. We would come upon another booth where I HAD wanted to try something, but I was just too full. If Food and Wine is not a priority to you, that's another story as well.

 

[Lucius Best]

Good choices, Grand Floridian Cafe, Boma, Via Napoli, and Kona Cafe are favorites of ours, good food and not super expensive or difficult to get ADRs.

 

[Vernie822]

My thoughts are below

Friday- (arrival day) Drinks/Dinner at Trader Sam's and Kona Cafe
YUM!

Saturday - MK day (me, DH, DD) 10am Sleepy Hollow, 2:05pm BoG, 5:20p Cali Grill OR 7:35p Plaza / Grandparents going to Cali Grill at 9:20p
I agree with others that 3 hours is hardly enough time between meals. Unless you are just doing apps or something, though I would hate to just do apps at Cali Grill! I totally understand wanting to do both for the experience. Maybe you can just play it by ear knowing you won't want to have a huge meal at BOG since you'll be doing Cali Grill later. If anything I'd try to get something like a 7:30 PM Cali Grill.

Sunday - AK day (everyone) 11am Yak & Yeti, 5pm Sanaa (my mom and DD), 5pm Boma (me, DH, DH parents)
I like all of these ideas!

Monday/Tuesday - Harry Potter

Wednesday - EP day (everyone) 11am Via Napoli, rest of eating day doing Food & Wine fest
Thumbs up for Via Napoli. It is one of my favorites. I am a huge fan of the lunchtime ADR during Food and Wine with dinner open for some snacking around. Last time we did the opposite and were way too full for dinner.

Thursday - MK day (everyone) 1pm Crystal Palace OR Plaza OR counter service, 8:10pm Grand Floridian Cafe
Sounds good! I am not a big lunch/dinner buffet fan but I'm sure you'll like it. Grand Floridian cafe sounds like a great choice - I've never been there but the reviews I've read seem great.

Friday - 11:40am Beaches & Cream, 7:05pm Flying Fish
As long as it's not a pain to get to each of these I don't see a huge deal. Since they're not in parks it may be kind of a pain, if anything I'd switch one for the park you'll be in but that's just my two cents. Think about it - leaving a park at 11 for lunch.. Getting back to the park at 1:30.. Leaving again by 6:30 for dinner. Ok that's 5 hours, but still, it just seems like a lot to me to go to and from, unless of course you don't mind.

I think you made great choices!

 

[DISNEY1975]

IMO opinion some of your ressies are too close together. Most meals are 90 - 120 minutes. There is a lot of food at the restaurants and you will be quite full leaving. 11am Y & Y. Youll leave around 12:45..very full and you will need to start heading to your dinner around 4. The 2:05 lunch and 5:20 dinner is way to close together.

IMO, I like an 8 - 9am breakfast and a 6 - 7 pm dinner. In between I get a snack IF Im hungry, which is usually never. There is no way I, or my non stop eating teen boys and hubby could eat lunch and dinner at Disney.

Again...just my opinion.

 

[itchin2go]

IMO opinion some of your ressies are too close together. Most meals are 90 - 120 minutes. There is a lot of food at the restaurants and you will be quite full leaving. 11am Y & Y. Youll leave around 12:45..very full and you will need to start heading to your dinner around 4. The 2:05 lunch and 5:20 dinner is way to close together.

IMO, I like an 8 - 9am breakfast and a 6 - 7 pm dinner. In between I get a snack IF Im hungry, which is usually never. There is no way I, or my non stop eating teen boys and hubby could eat lunch and dinner at Disney.

Again...just my opinion.

I agree with some of this. However, we don't spend quite so long at meals (If I'm ever at a meal for 2 hours, just shoot me!), and we tend to do CS lunches. I agree that TS breakfast/TS lunch and TS lunch/TS dinner are probably not good combinations. We did the Deluxe Dining Plan once, and had tons of ADRs. It was just way too much food, and we were pretty unhappy.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thank you all for giving me so much to *digest*! Overall, is it recommended to do one TS meal a day or two only if bfast/dinner combo? Also, is it worth it to give up Electric Parade in favor of doing Cali Grill/Wishes? I'm loathe to give up lunch BoG because it is SO Disney and I can sorta overlook food quality over ambiance. Where are the 9/atmosphere and 9/food quality places?!? We are planning to do almost all bfasts at home resort (off-site) so we can make it to RD at our parks for whatever day. It's been extremely difficult to get pre-park ADR.

Friday is a non-park day. Getting from Beaches & Cream to Flying Fish will hopefully not be an issue. We leave first thing Saturday morning.

 

[itchin2go]

Thank you all for giving me so much to *digest*! Overall, is it recommended to do one TS meal a day or two only if bfast/dinner combo? Also, is it worth it to give up Electric Parade in favor of doing Cali Grill/Wishes? I'm loathe to give up lunch BoG because it is SO Disney and I can sorta overlook food quality over ambiance. Where are the 9/atmosphere and 9/food quality places?!? We are planning to do almost all bfasts at home resort (off-site) so we can make it to RD at our parks for whatever day. It's been extremely difficult to get pre-park ADR.

Friday is a non-park day. Getting from Beaches & Cream to Flying Fish will hopefully not be an issue. We leave first thing Saturday morning.

I am going to think about this some more, but the first thing that comes to mind is: Book your wish list, and then if you do several TS on the first day and it works out well for you, keep the list. If the first day is too much food, spend some time moving things around once you have an idea of what will work best for your family.

For us, we almost always do CS lunch and a TS dinner. Some days we'll do a TS breakfast, some days we'll grab something quick from the room, and some days we'll grab CS breakfast (usually a shared platter at Sunshine Seasons - always seems to happen in Epcot - maybe because we're at Soarin and it smells good!).

There was one day on our last trip where we did a TS lunch because I really wanted to try Liberty Tree Tavern and it was a Thanksgiving Trip. On that day, I *think* we did Main Street Starbucks for breakfast, and for the life of me, I don't remember what we did for dinner, but I know I didn't book a TS because we had the dessert party that night.

FWIW - I did end up cancelling several reservations during the trip for various reasons, so don't feel like you're wedded to the ADRs once you've booked them. Just remember to cancel them in a timely manner. I found that as long as I cancelled things the night before, even if it wasn't 24 hours notice, I wasn't charged.

P.S. I adore California Grill, and we're not big into parades so I'm probably not the best person to advise you on that.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thank you itchin2go! I really appreciate the input. Very difficult to decide what to keep and what to give up. I know intellectually that we can't possibly do it all, but doesn't make it any easier. I wish LTT was going to be open during our trip. Then again, it would probably complicate things even more! *sigh

 

[knkmom]

All great choices! We had a great lunch at Beaches and Cream last week!! Love the grilled cheese/tomato soup, dh had a patty melt and onion rings. We shared an amazing banana split!!

 

[DISNEY1975]

I agree with some of this. However, we don't spend quite so long at meals (If I'm ever at a meal for 2 hours, just shoot me!), and we tend to do CS lunches. I agree that TS breakfast/TS lunch and TS lunch/TS dinner are probably not good combinations. We did the Deluxe Dining Plan once, and had tons of ADRs. It was just way too much food, and we were pretty unhappy. [/QUO

During the first time we did deluxe, I learned my lesson. It was actually day 2 (of 10 days) with a Yak and Yeti Lunch around 1pm. We had 6 people in my party and between conversation, appetizers, entrees and dessert, it was around 90 + minutes. We left around 2:45..extremely full. We walked around for another hour, then had to head back to our resort for everyone to shower and change for our 6:30 ressie at Le Cellier in Epcot. Nobody was hungry. When we finally reached Le Cellier, we had a small wait. I was sitting on the stone wall outside the entrance. We were all talking about how much we ate during the past 2 days. We decided to call Disney Dining and cancel our lunches for the rest of the trip.

We still do deluxe dining, but now we do a breakfast and mostly signature dinners or dinner shows. Its great. We rarely are hungry even for a snack. In 10 days with the 3 of us on deluxe, we end up with 50+ snack credits on our last day. My daughter goes to shops and picks out Disney candy to bring back to her friends as souvenirs.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Since we are paying out-of-pocket, we are planning on splitting all of our entrees. Do you think this makes a difference in our plan? Or do you think it still eats up too much park time?

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Also, what would be your ideal eating itinerary for an out-of-pocket, off-site, non-parkhopper, 4 day trip, visiting MK(2x), AK, and EP, for g-parents/parents/8 yr old? Please include TS, CS, and snacks (limit character meal/buffet - unless food is amazing). Thank you thank you thank you!!!