How important is food to your Disney experience?

[Danestress]

Another question from me

I am planning a trip in early December - my family and my sisters.

I haven't made any ADR. We are going to have a special dinner at Sea World in the shark Restaurant, and I will make a reservation at Rain Forest Cafe in AK for a son's birthday (hopefully I can still get one - I was planning to eat around 2:00 in the afternoon, so it's not such a busy time).

Other than that, I just am not sure I will care that much about the food. I *love* to eat and we eat out a lot, but I am assuming that the good restaurants in my town probably rival Disney's, and probably for less money. The only thing is, I never eat fast food, so I am counting on a few counter service places that actually serve salads, fruit, etc.

Do you think I will really regret this? It seems like everyone here is really into the food, and actually, I posted here rather than the restuarant board because I figured people who sacrifice food for a more "attractions" oriented trip or for more flexibility probably don't go to that board as much.

Anyway, just wondering ..... This trip planning thing is making me really nervous

 

[BillSears]

Only you can say what you like best about WDW. For me though the food is an important part so I wouldn't go down without some ADRs.

I'd probably rank things as follows:

1 - The atmosphere of WDW. Just being in the parks and resorts makes me happy.

2 - The shows. I love seeing all of the shows. From Off-Kilter to the Castle shows, they're all great. I'm counting those great fireworks, Fantasmic and parades in this spot.

3 - Food. This is very close to second but just gets edged out. I really enjoy all of the options at WDW. I also let myself go abit wild at WDW. At home I try to eat healthy, usually pass on dessert, pick healthy choices etc. But at WDW it's vacation time and time not to count calories.

4 - Rides. Yep way down here at 4th. I like riding the rides and some of them do rank higher then some of the bits above. But except for a few favorites I can pass by most rides to go see a great show.

5 - Characters. Even at 47 I still wait in line for my favorite characters. I love the pictures and interactions.

6 - Downtown Disney. I can shop, eat, do Pleasure Island and catch a show/concert or movie. All good stuff.

7 - Hotel. I do like the great Disney Hotels but I spend more time at the parks.

 

[BlindTyldak]

I'm a huge food nut at disney, but for me a huge part of it is having a relaxing hour to sit in some AC and take a break during the day. A table service meal to me can be as good as a nap in a hotel for recharging my batteries. And if it's expensive, hey, I'm on vacation and frankly the food out here is brand and horrendous anyway.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I love to eat out as well, and recently we went on the Disney Dining Plan (when it was free). We tried a lot of restaurants that we had never been to before and loved it, however we did feel that we spent a lot of time in restaurants and/or trying to plan for when our ADR was.

I think there's a good balance. Disney has some great restaurants- yes, the food is good and you can find good food just about anywhere but I really think Disney goes up and beyond in service and atmosphere. There are some really great restaurants at Disney, and the character meals are a fun experience as well- one you can't find anywhere else.

I think that adding an ADR or two for a character meal or a fun experience like Sci Fi or 50's Prime Time at MGM would add to your trip rather than take away from your ability to experience attractions. All too often on our Disney trips we'd eat at Rainforest Cafe and that would be our only table service. Also- pretty much all the salads at Disney are about the same. If you're not a huge fast food eater, it might be nice to add in a few table service meals.

Why not look through the menus at www.allearsnet.com and pick out a few restaurants that sound good? Maybe even just one.

At this point, people have been making their ADRs for their December trip since early June. Depending on exactly when you're going, what restaurants interest you and how many people are in your party- you might not even be able to get good ADR's anyway.

And you can always cancel if you get closer to your trip and decide against it!

 

[anne930]

Disney meals are pretty important to us!! But there are only 2 of us and we go at least twice a year and say on property. It does take valuable park time, though, if that's what's important to you!! We usually make 1 ADR per day, some days breakfast and some days dinner and eat counter service for the other meal. Some of the counter places are pretty good, but I couldn't eat them every meal. Keep in mind that you can always cancel an ADR if you change your mind.

 

[ANTSS2001]

It seems like everyone here is really into the food, and actually, I posted here rather than the restuarant board because I figured people who sacrifice food for a more "attractions" oriented trip or for more flexibility probably don't go to that board as much.

My main reason why I always do ADR is because I cannot see ourselves ( esp'ly with the DDP ) waiting in line to be taking in the restaurants. We already stayed inline for rides and shows the whole day I want the luxury of knowing I will be able to sit down and enjoy my food when I hand in my ADR #. This past trip there a few family we have seen that was turned away because they don't have ADR

 

[millerjudi]

We live outside of Boston and we travel a lot, like to eat out a lot, so the food, itself, at WDW is just so so to us. Having said that, I love, love, love eating out at WDW because the atmosphere at the restaurants is so unique--its sometimes as much fun to go to dinner as to go to the theme parks! Our DD is 7 and our DS is 9--we especially like O'hana and Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner and Chef Mickey's for breakfast. This time we are going to try Sci Fi Dine In because the place is supposed to be so unique. I go for the show, not the food.

 

[DisneyFan06]

Not important at all.

We would choose counter service over table service anyday, especially because of time. Eating at a TS usually takes A LOT of time and time away from important shows, events, attractions, etc... We would rather run around the park than sit around waiting on food.

 

[budcollector]

the food's not important at all, its the fun you have thats important. i'd rather sit an eat at the food court than a resturant. i'm just not the fancy eatin place kinda guy.

 

[SnwflkCts]

What ... there is something beyond the food?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Me? Food doesn't matter much. On most trips we will do a character meal, but we don't even have one scheduled on our upcoming trip. NO ADR at all. CS works great for us. The part about food we really like is just eating decadent snacks while at WDW. Popcorn, gaint pretzels, large ice creams, cookies, Mickey Bars, etc. yummy! But lining up ADRs is not a priority at all for us.

 

[TheGoofster]

That's funny that you should mention that, because I was just thinking the same thing last night. Our trip isn't until Dec. 2007, yet I had already planned on every meal that we were going to do. But as I looked at it I realized that our days were being planned around our dining, and honestly, I don't think I want that. There are a few restaurants that we definately will be going to like Whispering Canyon, 50 PTC, Sci-Fi, Beaches and Cream (can you say NO WAY JOSE!!!) and at least one Character meal (probably Crystal Palace), but those are more for their uniqueness than the actual food (except for Beaches and Cream). I think for the rest of the time we will just depend on CS restaurants and snacking. Also, since we won't be doing the DDP, this will save us quite a bit of money (none of us are big eaters).
I think the person who said that you need to do what is best for your family is absolutely right. For some people the dining is one of the most important things at WDW, for others it just isn't. Just remember, you are going to one of the most enjoyable places in the known world, so either way you will have a GREAT time!!!

 

[Metallicat]

Food isn't that important to me. I'm just as happy with a grilled chicken sandwich at a counter service as I am at a fancy sit down place.

Rides and wait times are more important IMO.

 

[buckylarue]

We're DVC members, and have taken trips where we bought most of the food we ate during the trip at a grocery stop on our way to the villa, having every breakfast and dinner and some lunches in the room and only eating 1 or 2 meals at TS restaurants. This upcoming trip, we are near the other extreme; we are going to be there with my partner's DS and her DBF, so we have most every lunch and dinner planned and booked to take advantage of the DDE card we will be getting, and will just be winging it on breakfast with microwaveables, cereal or pastries. In answer to your other concern, there are LOTS of counter service restaurants at WDW that serve 'real' food, not just burgers and the like. Check out the sample menus at this link and I'm sure you will find something at each park to suit your tastes!

 

[monorailsilver]

95% of our meals are counter service & no we don't eat burgers & fries for all those meals (although we have to have them in a few places like Peco's bills & Cosmic Rays).

We get a salad from The Land (usually more then one time), we split a salad & a sandwich from Pizzafari, we get at salad from the mexican place in the MK (forget it's name) & we at least get one salad from the Cantina in Mexico (a taco salad). I know we have also had sandwiches here & there too.

 

[mom22boys]

We will only make ADR's for 1 or 2 TS restaurants. And those will be choices that are made simply for the Disney experience and not the food. Right now we are debating between Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, O'hana, and 50's PT. When we are at WDW there is so much more I want to do than be tied up in a TS restaurant. On our last trip DH teased that I was trying to starve him!

 

[dawgsgirl]

Disney dining is not that big of a deal. The atmosphere at places like the Sci-FI is great and can be part of the Disney magic. We are not fancy food people and in general I have found the food to be just so-so and the prices way too high. We always drive and even if we stay on-site still go off-site to eat. MUCH cheaper and you don't have to deal with all that ADR stuff. For the kids, the character meals are great!! We usually do one a trip. I am really hooked on Mickey Bars and some of the other snacks. Counter Service at Disney is very good. Don't worry about the ADR's. You will have a blast at Disney and not be worried about where and when you HAVE to be somewhere to eat. I really feel for people who don't have a car and are prisoners to Disney dining.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

Without the DDP we usually only eat at 2 or three sit downs the entire trip. Two of those usually are the princess meals and the other is the Rainforst Cafe.

I can't stand loosing valuable park time sitting down to eat. I usually just grab a milk and fry and go.

 

[mom22boys]

We are not fancy food people and in general I have found the food to be just so-so and the prices way too high.

ditto!

 

[Duanerice]

Meals are not that important to us. Once in a while we'll make a ADR, but not too often. Not sure when or where we will be hungry and don't want to be tied to a schedule. We don't really plan before we go, just kind of wing it.
enjoy,
Duane