I have chosen my resort-moving on to meal planning-what do I need to do first?

[NicD]

We are going to be staying at CSR during the peak easter time (spring break). Do I need to decide what parks what day. (I was going to order the Mikes Touring Guide. Do I pick the parks then pick places to eat? Any advice or help much appreciated! I understand I have missed the 180 day mark- not a super biggie we are pretty flexible eaters and it is our first time so we have no true favorite place.

 

[NicD]

I just made our final decision on our resort now I am moving on to dining selections. My first question is do I plan our our parks/events then dining choices based on that. So many people seem to know where they are going to be illuminations,etc. I don't even know what these events all are. Do I need to get the tourguide Mike to plan out our days to see what dining selections and times will work. Thanks for all input!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

What I usually do is use the crowd calendar to loosely plan which park for which days based on park recommendations like park to avoid and best park. Then if there are any must do restaurants I book those first to try to correspond to the days. We always have park hoppers but to save time I always try to eat at the park we are visiting for the day. We don't want to hop to another park just to eat. Depending on when you are going and how early you are booking your ADRs sometimes it might take some juggling to get everything you want.

We do DxDDP and we take Disney eating very seriously So good luck, a little planning will pay off during your trip

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I have those times for you if you want me to give them to you.. let me have your dates.. also.. I planned my trip by the touring plans.. and then based the parks around that and then chose my dining.. you will probably need to make ADRS really soon though.. I am going in may and already made my ressies.. also.. previous poster asked was dining plan you are on? if you are on DDxp that means in order to have you get your monies worth you really want to make at least 2 ressies a day.
also.. I am staying at CSR.. I think its a great choice!

 

[pixarmom]

There are so many different ways to plan, so it really depends on your family and your priorities for the trip. But I'll share our experience, and the advice I give friends who are planning trips, in case it's helpful!

Just as you did, we start by deciding how many days/nights we plan to stay and then we book our resort. (Our favorite is the Beach Club, which allows us to end several days with dinner at Epcot before returning to the resort.) Then I'd suggest deciding which parks you'd like to visit and how much time you think you'll spend in each. Our kids are very involved in this process - we ask them to make a list of their favorite rides and attractions so that we can fit in all the priorities, and then we go to their list of "maybes" if we still have time. (The Unofficial Guide is my favorite guidebook, but I think that it's helpful for new guests to read Birnbaum's and Birnbaum's for Kids first and then go to the Unofficial Guide for more details.)

Once you decide which parks you want to visit, I'd suggest touringplans.com for a general idea of crowd levels each day. That can help you decide where you will be each day of your trip, and whether you will need park hoppers to cover everything you would like.

After we have a general idea of our park days, we schedule our ADRs to fit. We have a list of favorite restaurants and as our boys get older, they usually find new places they would like to try. We try to match up our list of priority restaurants with our park days. We love California Grill, for example, so we schedule that at the end of an MK day. We schedule Brown Derby for the end of a day at DHS. We always like to start the trip at Epcot, so we have lunch at Chef's and dinner at Garden Grill on the first day. As for the specific ADR times, this is based on our kids' schedules, so we tend to schedule lunches at 11:30am and dinners around 6pm. So for us, those times generally do not conflict with any parades or shows, but each family's schedule will be different.

After learning more about the parades and shows through this website and guidebooks, I'd suggest checking the Disney website, touringplans.com and Steve Soares' http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/index.htm for parade and show times. These are all subject to change, so you never know for sure, but these sites can give you an idea of the general schedules.

As you may already know, the allears.net website has all the menus, and this site includes menus and photos that may also help.

Hope that helps!

 

[NicD]

I am staying at the CSR my first choice was BC but my husband said lets spend the difference on something else. I agreed since I liked the CSR, I don't think we will eat there often we will mostly eat in the parks or other resorts. We are doing the general dining plan not the deluxe. Do I need to sign up for the Touring plans?

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I don't have any advice about signing up for Touring plans. I get the Unnofficial Guide and decide which park each day based on their "best", but mainly just avoid the "worst". (Basically any park that has EMH (extra magic hours) is one to avoid because it increases crowds). After that I decide where we're going to eat. DHS and AK days are usually resort dining, because we generally don't stay for FAntasmic at DHS, and AK closes early. I love the new online booking because it gives you a range, or other ideas. And if something you want is not available, book something else (just so you have SOMEWHERE to eat) but keep trying for the ones you really want. ADR's open back up all the time.

Any other questions, feel free to ask! Happy planning! Jenny

 

[pixarmom]

I am staying at the CSR my first choice was BC but my husband said lets spend the difference on something else. I agreed since I liked the CSR, I don't think we will eat there often we will mostly eat in the parks or other resorts. We are doing the general dining plan not the deluxe. Do I need to sign up for the Touring plans?

I think CSR is a great choice if you were interested in BC, but want to save some money. I've stayed at both BC and CSR multiple times, and CSR is my favorite of the moderate resorts. When we stayed at CSR, we didn't eat there much either, except for breakfast. (The CSR's quick service - Pepper Market - is our favorite quick service in any Disney resort.) So it makes sense for you to plan your ADRs around your park plans each day.

I think touringplans is a great resource, and well worth the small subscription fee. It's very helpful during the planning phase (for the crowd calendars and detailed wait time forecasts.) And if you have a blackberry or other device with internet access, you can check wait times while you are actually in the parks. The subscription is reasonably priced, lasts one year and is even less expensive if you have already purchased a copy of the Unofficial Guide. (It's less than $10.)