I Need Dining HELP

[TMcDwyer]

Hello!

We are planning a trip to WDW from 11/29-12/6 of this year. It will be my Children's first trip (they are 5 & 3) and I cannot wait to share the magic with them. My parents will be coming with us and they have been dreaming of this trip since my son was born. We have always been a Disney family! We are taking the trip to celebrate my son's fifth Birthday (even though it was in June) and will also be celebrating my Birthday and my Mom's Birthday while we are there.

We will not be staying on Disney property. We have a friend whose family owns a 6 bedroom rental home in Windsor Hills and they have offered it to us free of charge, so how could we resist!

I recently heard that Disney has extended free-dining through mid-December and my heart sank because I believe that it will be close to IMPOSSIBLE for us to get any of the ADRs that we were hoping for. We had not planned on doing a dining plan, but would consider one if it would be beneficial in getting an ADR.

Here is our planned itinerary...
Sunday - 11/29 - We arrive in the afternoon and were hoping to go to the T-Rex Cafe for dinner. My son loves dinosaurs and then we can show the kids around Downtown Disney.

Monday - 11/30 - We are going to spend out first day in The Magic Kingdom...naturally! It is my Birthday and I cannot think of a better place to celebrate. In a perfect world we would be having breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. My daughter is OBSESSED with everything princess and I know she would be in heaven. Do you think I have any chance at all of getting in? What other breakfast places would you recommend?

Tuesday - 12/1 - We plan to head over to Epcot after a Breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Again...do you think there is any chance we can get in? What would you recommend for lunch with the two kids in Epcot?

Wednesday - 12/2 - We were thinking Animal Kingdom and would again like to find a Breakfast place in the park if possible. Suggestions?

Thursday - 12/3 - Ideally we would like to do breakfast at O'Hana and then head over to the park formerly know as MGM for the day.

Friday & Saturday - These two days we will most likely head back to the Magic Kingdom as I know it will be my kids' favorite park. We would like to do the Pirates League and BBB while there.

As you can see, I want this to be a dream trip for my kiddos. What are some other ideas of places that we can take them (lunch or breakfast) where they can dine with the characters? Are the characters from Toy Story in any of the restaurants?

Okay...I have a million more questions, but I will stop here as this is already a mini novel.

 

[TMcDwyer]

I forgot to add that I have a Disney Visa, are there any special dining options for card holders?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hello!

We are planning a trip to WDW from 11/29-12/6 of this year. It will be my Children's first trip (they are 5 & 3) and I cannot wait to share the magic with them. My parents will be coming with us and they have been dreaming of this trip since my son was born. We have always been a Disney family! We are taking the trip to celebrate my son's fifth Birthday (even though it was in June) and will also be celebrating my Birthday and my Mom's Birthday while we are there.

We will not be staying on Disney property. We have a friend whose family owns a 6 bedroom rental home in Windsor Hills and they have offered it to us free of charge, so how could we resist!

I recently heard that Disney has extended free-dining through mid-December and my heart sank because I believe that it will be close to IMPOSSIBLE for us to get any of the ADRs that we were hoping for. We had not planned on doing a dining plan, but would consider one if it would be beneficial in getting an ADR.

Here is our planned itinerary...
Sunday - 11/29 - We arrive in the afternoon and were hoping to go to the T-Rex Cafe for dinner. My son loves dinosaurs and then we can show the kids around Downtown Disney.

Monday - 11/30 - We are going to spend out first day in The Magic Kingdom...naturally! It is my Birthday and I cannot think of a better place to celebrate. In a perfect world we would be having breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. My daughter is OBSESSED with everything princess and I know she would be in heaven. Do you think I have any chance at all of getting in? What other breakfast places would you recommend?

Tuesday - 12/1 - We plan to head over to Epcot after a Breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Again...do you think there is any chance we can get in? What would you recommend for lunch with the two kids in Epcot?

Wednesday - 12/2 - We were thinking Animal Kingdom and would again like to find a Breakfast place in the park if possible. Suggestions?

Thursday - 12/3 - Ideally we would like to do breakfast at O'Hana and then head over to the park formerly know as MGM for the day.

Friday & Saturday - These two days we will most likely head back to the Magic Kingdom as I know it will be my kids' favorite park. We would like to do the Pirates League and BBB while there.

As you can see, I want this to be a dream trip for my kiddos. What are some other ideas of places that we can take them (lunch or breakfast) where they can dine with the characters? Are the characters from Toy Story in any of the restaurants?

Okay...I have a million more questions, but I will stop here as this is already a mini novel.

You need to make your ADRs at your 90 days mark, whether you have the dining plan or not. Since you are not staying on-site, you can not purchase the dining plan, but you can still make your reservations like everybody else. I always stay on-site and I always book when my ADR window opens up, but I also always have two back-up restaurants. You should still be able to get most of your first choices, but the opening breakfast times will probably be filled by the time you call. If you can't get the breakfast time you want, do a dinner time. Also, CRT really isn't as hard to get as it used to be. Ever since they upped it to 2 credits on the dining plan and jacked the prices up so high, they seem to have more availability. The toughest reservations to get are Chef Mickey's, Le Cellier and O'Hana dinner. There are plenty of character meals to chose from:

Magic Kingdom
CRT - Various princesses for b-fast and lunch; just Cinderella, Fairy Godmother and mice at dinner
Crystal Palace - Pooh, Piglet, Eyore and Tigger

Magic Kingdom Resort Restaurants
Ohana - B-fast with Lilo & Stitch
1900 Park Fare - Mary Poppins/Alice in Wonderland B-fast; Cinderella, Prince Charming, Step-Mother and Step-Sisters at dinner
Chef Mickey's

Epcot
Akershus Storybook Dining in Norway - B-fast, lunch and dinner with the princesses
Garden Grill - Mickey and Friends

Epcot Area
Cape May - Goofy's Beach Club B-fast

Disney Hollywood Studios
Hollywood & Vine - JoJo and Little Einsteins B-fast and Lunch

Animal Kingdom
Donald's Breakfastasaurus at Tusker House

 

[ses1230]

At AK, I suggest Tusker House for bfast. It is a fun character meal (buffet), and the only meal to find Daisy. Goofy led the kids in a little parade and it was really fun. The food was good and the juice they serve is delish!

If you can't get in to CRT, consider Princess Storybook Breakfast at Norway, Epcot. It is a great Princess experience. There is a photo with the "greeter" included with the meal. The greeter is usually Belle in her yellow gown. On our visit, we had Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White in the dining room. Breakfast is served family style but there is a small buffet of fruit, etc.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I forgot to add that I have a Disney Visa, are there any special dining options for card holders?

There are no character breakfast with the Toy Story characters and there are no special dining options for Disney Visa holders.

 

[TMcDwyer]

Thanks so much! Planning our meals is giving me heartburn!

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Also remember that since you are not staying onsite you cannot make your ADR's with the 90+10. You will need to call each morning exactly 90 days from the date you wish to dine.

 

[connie1042]

You can start your reservations on 9/01. That is for Monday, the 30th of Nov. Go to the top of this page and hit the dinning button, there is a date calculator to help you with what day you should call for your 90 day mark.Then each day after that you can call until you have all you meals booked. I think you will be fine. We don't do CRT, but can't you make that one at 120 days? I am sure someone hear know the answer to that.

 

[TDC Nala]

You can start your reservations on 9/01. That is for Monday, the 30th of Nov. Go to the top of this page and hit the dinning button, there is a date calculator to help you with what day you should call for your 90 day mark.Then each day after that you can call until you have all you meals booked. I think you will be fine. We don't do CRT, but can't you make that one at 120 days? I am sure someone hear know the answer to that.

CRT is at this point a 90 day reservation.

Restaurant reservations move to 180 days on October 27, which is after the OP needs to make her reservations.