Help with my itinaray,needed

[albertamommyof4]

We will be in southeren california from April 20 early afternoon til April 29 late morning.
We are visiting san diego and carlsbad till teh evening of April 23.
So are park days will be April 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. APril 29th are plane leaves early afternoon at around 2.
I would like to do these sit down restaraunts:
Goofys Kitchen
Rainforest Cafe
Carnation cafe for breakfast and lunch
Cafe orleans
goofys will be April 29.
I don't know the hours of the parks while we are there but i checked last year and Disneyland/dca are open as follows
April24 friday-8-12/10-10
sat-8-12/10-10
sun 8-12/10-10
mon 10-8/10-6
tues 10-8/10-6
When is the best time and days to eat at these restaraunts
Also we will have a MM to use , i was thinking to use it on our last day in the park Tuesday, is this a good idea or should i change it to another day?
This is our very first trip and it is a family of 2 adults and 4 kids , kids ages are 11,9,7 and almost 39 at time of trip)
any and all help greatly appreciated
Thanks.
Oh all other meals will either be hotel breakfast( continental) or quick service places.
ETA: we will more then likely going back to the hotel in afternoon for nap/break, especially on friday, sat and sun.

 

[Queenbillabong]

Hello fellow Canadian!!!

I would not do MM on your last day there. You may be quite tired by then. I always try to do that near the beginning of a trip, just in case something happens (my DS has been sick in DL before) or someone does not feel up to it by then. I would use this on Saturday.

I personally would do Goofy's on a day when the parks open at 10 a.m. I would do this before the parks open and then you don't need a meal break for quite a while.

For Carnation Cafe breakfast, I would do that on the same day you do an MM. Go do rides for MM and maybe another hour (so if it's on a Saturday and MM is at 7, I would book breakfast at Carnation Cafe for 9-10 a.m.). It's a great break and a really nice place for breakfast (really good iced mochas!).

Have a great trip

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Well if the park opens at 10am on your last day, MM would start at 9am ~ I don't think that's super early. Our last day will be our MM ~ it'll be a 9am MM and I don't think that'll be bad at all, especially since the park will close at 8pm the evening before.

 

[Queenbillabong]

Well if the park opens at 10am on your last day, MM would start at 9am ~ I don't think that's super early. Our last day will be our MM ~ it'll be a 9am MM and I don't think that'll be bad at all, especially since the park will close at 8pm the evening before.

We've missed MM twice now by leaving it for the last day. Once my son slept in and once he got sick. You just never know. I think it's best to do "must do" things early on if possible and then leave the last days to redo things you love - that way if something happens and you are not there that early, no biggie, you already did it

 

[albertamommyof4]

Hello fellow Canadian!!!

I would not do MM on your last day there. You may be quite tired by then. I always try to do that near the beginning of a trip, just in case something happens (my DS has been sick in DL before) or someone does not feel up to it by then. I would use this on Saturday.

I personally would do Goofy's on a day when the parks open at 10 a.m. I would do this before the parks open and then you don't need a meal break for quite a while.

For Carnation Cafe breakfast, I would do that on the same day you do an MM. Go do rides for MM and maybe another hour (so if it's on a Saturday and MM is at 7, I would book breakfast at Carnation Cafe for 9-10 a.m.). It's a great break and a really nice place for breakfast (really good iced mochas!).

Have a great trip

Thank you
I never thought about magic mornings that way, nobody is supposed to get sick in disneyland lol.
I think i will do it the sat or sun.
Doing carnation cafe for breakfast the same day is a great idea.

 

[albertamommyof4]

Thank you both for your help.
I know goofys breakfast will be the last day as our flight doesn't leave till almost 2 that day so need to fill up lol and plus it lets us still feel like disney even though not in parks

 

[albertamommyof4]

Well i think we will be doing goofys kitchen the day we leave, or do you think it would be better to do it our last park day and then just sleep in the flight home day and grab something at mimi's or mcdonalds? it will be a surprise to kids and hubby no matter what day we do it. If we do it the day we leave i hope this will keep them full till flight (hopefully) lol and i will pack lots of snacks for airplane or get something at airport for them for the trip .
As far as magic morning still not sure what day at to be at the park for 7 is a super early morning but with the hour time differance it may be doable. Carnation cafe will more then likely be the day of magic morning(breakfast) but not sure of it for lunch yet or about cafe orleans or is blue buyou a better choice and tehn leave cafe orleans for snack/dessert?
any and all help still is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[DizNee Luver]

We always use our MM in the beginning while we're still fresh & uber-excited about getting up early & hitting the parks!! We also are doing our Carnation Cafe breakfast after our MM. On the character meals, we always do one our first day, one in the middle of the trip & one on the last day.....just can't beat those meals & you'll have soooooo many pics & memories!!!
Have a magical trip!!!!

 

[albertamommyof4]

Thanks. I would love to beable to do more then 1 character breakfast but man they are a littel to pricey so it will have to be just 1
.
I hope you have a great trip

 

[mechurchlady]

To make a 2 pm flight you have to be at the airport around noonish. With half an hour to an hour to get to the airport you have to leave by 11 am. Goofy's Kitchen at the hotel would be fine but it is a long walk to the monorail then take that to Tomorrowland and then back is an hour nearly. I think you would be cutting it too close if you tried to do parks on the last day.

Even if you have breakfast and are at the monorail at 9 am you would only have one hour to see the parks then have half an hour to get to your room and half an hour to check out and leave.

Any time you are in DL you can take the monorail to Downtown Disney then walk to your right to the Rainforest Cafe, hotel, and ESPN Zone. If you have a Landry's card you can make reservations specially or send one person over to make reservations and use the cell phone to let you know the wait time. Then later take the monorail back to DL. You could walk over and take the train around to Toontown or New Orleans Square to avoid the walking.

On the day of MM you can check Carnation Cafe for their hours. Then go do Tomorrowland then double back for breakfast.

Cafe Orleans is like other DLR restaurants in that noonish is crowded. Go early for lunch or dinner and during the weekdays it is less crowded.

 

[albertamommyof4]

Thank you . We wouldn't be going to the parks at all on the day we leave, it would just be goofys and then check out of hotel and go to airport, we will also have a rental car.
Thanks for letting me know about teh monorail i definatly will be going on it .I like teh fact that you can take it to down town disney and back.
I don't have a landrys card but i will probably be calling to reserve, it is available .
With cafe orleans (or if we do blue bayou) it would probably either be 11 or later lunch like 2 , if we do cafe orleans for a supper we would either do it early like 4/4:30 or like 6 or 6:30, but probably lunch would be better as we are going to try to go back to hotel for a nap for the little one/rest for everyone, especially on teh longer hours.
QUOTE=mechurchlady;30475593]To make a 2 pm flight you have to be at the airport around noonish. With half an hour to an hour to get to the airport you have to leave by 11 am. Goofy's Kitchen at the hotel would be fine but it is a long walk to the monorail then take that to Tomorrowland and then back is an hour nearly. I think you would be cutting it too close if you tried to do parks on the last day.

Even if you have breakfast and are at the monorail at 9 am you would only have one hour to see the parks then have half an hour to get to your room and half an hour to check out and leave.

Any time you are in DL you can take the monorail to Downtown Disney then walk to your right to the Rainforest Cafe, hotel, and ESPN Zone. If you have a Landry's card you can make reservations specially or send one person over to make reservations and use the cell phone to let you know the wait time. Then later take the monorail back to DL. You could walk over and take the train around to Toontown or New Orleans Square to avoid the walking.

On the day of MM you can check Carnation Cafe for their hours. Then go do Tomorrowland then double back for breakfast.

Cafe Orleans is like other DLR restaurants in that noonish is crowded. Go early for lunch or dinner and during the weekdays it is less crowded.[/QUOTE]

 

[mechurchlady]

The best thing about the monorail is that you get to Tomorrowland at about 15 minutes after opening and are there about when the first people at rope drop are in line. You can take the train around and it is about 5 minutes per station which saves walking. They even sell tickets there. It is within a 2 to 5 minute walk of Small World, Bobsleds, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland and you would get off next door to Nemo and across the way from Space Mountain.

 

[bumbershoot]

Especially with your time difference, I would do MM earlier in your trip rather than later. It'll just be easier to get up.

Especially with a bigger family (we're only the three of us) I would do Blue Bayou for dessert (no need to tell the PS cast members, or even the host/ess that) after having a less expensive meal elsewhere. That way you get the atmosphere without the huge bill....hubby and I shared the vegetarian dish, my brother had the monte cristo, DS had a kid's meal (that he didn't even touch b/c it was so heinous...the mac and cheese), and we had iced teas...it was over 90 bucks. And wasn't that great. I haven't had the desserts yet, but I've heard they are good!

With such an early flight out I think you're making a good decision to not go into the parks. I'm usually trying ot maximize in the parks, but on our last trip we nearly missed our flight b/c of mistiming our last hours in the park. Got there 3 minutes before the flight was supposed to have taken off...thankfully they hadn't even started seating yet, but that was a fluke. It's NOT a good feeling to be that close to a flight, when it's 100% your fault!

 

[albertamommyof4]

The best thing about the monorail is that you get to Tomorrowland at about 15 minutes after opening and are there about when the first people at rope drop are in line. You can take the train around and it is about 5 minutes per station which saves walking. They even sell tickets there. It is within a 2 to 5 minute walk of Small World, Bobsleds, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland and you would get off next door to Nemo and across the way from Space Mountain.

Thanks i think i will love the monorail. I love that it is not just one stop and that you can get off and on in a few differnt places.

Especially with your time difference, I would do MM earlier in your trip rather than later. It'll just be easier to get up.

Especially with a bigger family (we're only the three of us) I would do Blue Bayou for dessert (no need to tell the PS cast members, or even the host/ess that) after having a less expensive meal elsewhere. That way you get the atmosphere without the huge bill....hubby and I shared the vegetarian dish, my brother had the monte cristo, DS had a kid's meal (that he didn't even touch b/c it was so heinous...the mac and cheese), and we had iced teas...it was over 90 bucks. And wasn't that great. I haven't had the desserts yet, but I've heard they are good!

With such an early flight out I think you're making a good decision to not go into the parks. I'm usually trying ot maximize in the parks, but on our last trip we nearly missed our flight b/c of mistiming our last hours in the park. Got there 3 minutes before the flight was supposed to have taken off...thankfully they hadn't even started seating yet, but that was a fluke. It's NOT a good feeling to be that close to a flight, when it's 100% your fault!

Oh no on almost missing flight. We didnt want to chance it so decided 5 days in park would be plenty. I asnt sure if the staff at blue buyou would be upset if we only ordered dessert , what about cafe orleans , can you just go in and order appies and desert, and also with rainforest cafe??
The blue buyou looks so expensive, but good lol. There is just so much i want to try in a little time lol.
Thank you both

 

[Misskitty3]

We will be in southeren california from April 20 early afternoon til April 29 late morning.
We are visiting san diego and carlsbad till teh evening of April 23.
So are park days will be April 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. APril 29th are plane leaves early afternoon at around 2.
I would like to do these sit down restaraunts:
Goofys Kitchen
Rainforest Cafe
Carnation cafe for breakfast and lunch
Cafe orleans
goofys will be April 29.

Sounds like you have Goofy's figured out. I agree with the above posters, do Carnation Cafe for "brunch" after MM preferably on a Saturday or Sunday. I like to push our brunch time to 10 or 10:30 because then I feel like we have maximized out time at the park first.

I would definitely do BB for lunch at 11:30 - you will want the first seating to get a waterside table. I would also try to do that on a weekend day when the park opens at 8am.

As for Cafe Orleans, that is a nice spot for dinner (or lunch) but definitely make PS. When we went, I ordered the French onion soup and a small salad. Another time, DH and I split the famous sandwich and neither time did I get the feeling that they felt that we should each be ordering a full meal. In other words, if you feel like just getting something small or splitting something, go for it.

Does the Rainforest cafe still offer breakfast? If so, I would vote for that before the park opens during the week. But then, you would never see me eating at an "outside" restaurant when I could be inside DL!!!


I think it is nice to schedule at least one full service restaurant per day. I LOVE being waited on at DL and so do my feet!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks i think i will love the monorail. I love that it is not just one stop and that you can get off and on in a few differnt places.


Oh no on almost missing flight. We didnt want to chance it so decided 5 days in park would be plenty. I asnt sure if the staff at blue buyou would be upset if we only ordered dessert , what about cafe orleans , can you just go in and order appies and desert, and also with rainforest cafe??
The blue buyou looks so expensive, but good lol. There is just so much i want to try in a little time lol.
Thank you both

The monorail only stops in Tomorrowland and in DTD... I don't even think you can do a true roundtrip...I think you have to get off and back on.


There have been reports of some wait staff being annoyed with dessert-only, but I think I've read more reports of the hosts or even the Disney Dining staff being annoyed and saying things about how you can't do it. But at the end of the day, they are a restaurant. And in the words of our server from last May, they are there to take your order, and serve you what you want to eat (from their menu), and if a server gets mouthy about it, to contact management. They don't have a minimum charge, therefore you can order just what you want to eat.

And I would say that's the same at the other restaurants, too. I would do BB for dessert instead of the others b/c food at BB is so much more expensive (and not always anywhere NEAR worth the cost) than the other restaurants...just in case I didn't fully explain that.

 

[mechurchlady]

Rainforest does have a breadkfast menu but not sure when they open. The monorail allows round trips or they would have herds of people running down stairs and then back up stairs. Ask the CM if you may ride up front in the cab. They do not allow guests in the rear cab any more. It is 4 guests maximum even if it is a woman and three babies. They have to limit the weight on the cab as the nose has no supports like a car does and sticks out. They set it at 4 because guests who complain when 5 small people got on. Hey if them 5 who weigh 600 pounds total can ride then us who weigh 1000 pounds total can ride.

I love eating in the parks but the Rainforest is an experience worth seeing one time. Some people love it and others have sensory meltdowns. I go for the food.

Yes it is not like WDW and there is Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney only. Each has an elevator for disabled guests.