I need help --- I don't know where to start...

[clajgray]

We will be in WDW for 7 days in Dec ( so the 180 mark is coming up soon) and I don't. know. where. to. start.

I need HELP?!?!?!?

Details:
Family of four - 2 adults / 11 yo dd / 9yo ds
Basic Dining Plan
Will eat almost anything...not picky at all, but we like to eat.
We want to do at least one character meal (best place?)
Staying at ASMusic (don't know if that matters)
We are pretty flexible, but my blood sugar tends to fall, so I need to eat frequently...if you kwim?

I really just need a starting point, and some advice on using this silly plan wouldn't hurt either.
TIA!!!

 

[AJKMOM]

Best advice is go to www.allearsnet.com. click on Dining, and check out the menus. This is the best place to see Character Dining and location of restaurants. You will find out more than you ever wanted to know about eating at WDW.

 

[SereneOne]

Well, Akershus in Norway has a Disney Princess character meal...my 18yo son enjoyed it as much as our 4yo daughter! He blushed down to his toes when Belle told him he was a handsome beast, and we all enjoyed the meal.

Crystal Palace in MK has a character meal buffet with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. Again, both of my kids enjoyed it.

I love Liberty Tree Tavern...it is like a thankgiving style buffet served family style with characters Goofy, Pluto, Chip n Dale and Minnie.

My husband and children immensely enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe. They have an allyoucaneat bbq served family style. The waitstaff are hilarious....you ask for ketchup they have every bottle in the restaurant brought to your table, their are hobbyhorse races, if you ask for more soda, they bring a whole pitcher and so on...

I felt the best way to use the table services was to use them on character meals...if it was just me and DH, I would spend it on the better restaurants too...

 

[SereneOne]

Best advice is go to www.allearsnet.com. click on Dining, and check out the menus. This is the best place to see Character Dining and location of restaurants. You will find out more than you ever wanted to know about eating at WDW.

Good advice!

Also, check out which parks will be open later on what nights/ have morning/evening hours. We saved not buying park hoppers and just stayed at one park the whole day and made sure our reservations where for that park or a hotel. You might also want to keep an eye on what day is the busiest for whatever park too...sometimes it is a toss up.

When I planned our trip, let's say I found out Sat is the busiest day at MK, but that Thurs is not considered so and they will be opened until 9pm. I want to eat at Crystal Palace and I make a reservation for that day for a time convenient for my family.

We used our plan like this:

Hot cocoa in our free refill mugs and a cinnamon bun that is our free snack (Hey, it is vacation! But if we where feeling virtuous, hot tea and oatmeal) for breakfast.

A counter meal, at let's say Peco's Bill. It has a great fixin's bar.


Then dinner at Crystal Palace.

We would either pack bananas/apples and juice and water in our daughter's backpack, sometimes some cracker packs too. I am a diabetic myself. Other times we would have (my son and husband mainly) ice cream, school bread, funnel cake, etc throughout the day out of pocket.

 

[Taja]

Definitely check out the menus on allearsnet.com--they seem to be updated the most frequently. Determine which options would be best for your family, and have a back up for each choice.

What meal does your family like to eat together most? What kind of food? And at what time? You're going to be tied to your TS meals, so you'll need to plan the rest of your itinerary around them. Don't worry about CS meals at this point, just make the TS decisions and book them.

December park hours haven't been posted yet--apparently November park hours haven't been posted yet, either! So check last year's park hours for the week you will be traveling (not the dates, but the week) and keep in mind the nights MVMCP will be on and MK will close at 7:00 p.m. EMH hours should be similar to last year, with MK evening EMH on Monday instead of Sunday (MVMCP night) and DHS switching to Sunday night instead of Monday.

Now you're armed with a list of potential TS restaurants and a resonable facsimile of park hours. Keep your TS locations and parks together so you aren't running all over WDW.

If you're spending the day at MK, any of the MK TS restaurants or the monorail resort restaurants are viable.

If you're spending the day at EPCOT, any at EPCOT or the EPCOT (Yachtsmans Steakhouse = 2 TS credits) resorts will work.

At DHS, you have your choice of three TS restaurants (Brown Derby = 2 TS credits) or any at the EPCOT resorts.

AK closes at 5:00 p.m. except evening EMH, so plan accordingly. Food service is a little sparser (is that a word?) at AK, so you also could consider AKL after the park closes.

Time to get busy! *LOL*

 

[Taja]

I have similar issues with eating and tend to graze. I've discovered the DDP isn't the best option for me, but I go with the flow and make sure I have small snacks throughout the day. I tend to eat a lot of almonds at WDW! *LOL*

I really like Crystal Palace at MK for table service. It's a buffet with a wide range of choices. We've had good experiences with the characters--Winnie the Pooh and friends. Eeyore spent a bit of time with us last December.

Liberty Tree Tavern is another possibility at MK. They serve a Thanksgiving style dinner family style. It's also very good, but with more limited options than a buffet. Characters usually are Minnie, Goofy and Chip 'n' Dale.

Be sure to check the options at the GF, CR and Poly resorts (monorail). They can work well if you're spending the day at MK. Just remember to allow sufficient time to get through the park, to the monorail, time on the monorail and time to walk to your restaurant! Usually 45 minutes to an hour--and be pleased when it takes less! There's plenty to look at if you arrive at the resort a little early for your ADR, so don't worry about that!

 

[justplaingoofy]

.

My husband and children immensely enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe. They have an allyoucaneat bbq served family style. The waitstaff are hilarious....you ask for ketchup they have every bottle in the restaurant brought to your table, their are hobbyhorse races, if you ask for more soda, they bring a whole pitcher and so on...

We loved Whispering Canyon and have been a couple of times..
The bbq was very good and the bottomless milkshakes were ohhh so good

 

[Tiggr924]

Well for starters I would definitely look at the menus that a pp listed. Look at the food, see what appeals to you and your family. I would also check the park times. See about EMH and how that may effect your trip too. Sometimes we base breakfast or dinner around whether a certain park has early morning hours or extra evening hours.
As for suggestions, some places we refuse to miss:
Boma
Crystal Palace
Kona Cafe
Wolfgang Puck Express (great sandwiches)
Kona Cafe

 

[mickeynut1]

First let me say . A few places we like for character meals are Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary; Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club (characters at breakfast only); Ohana breakfast at the Polynesian (Lilo & Stitch), just to name a few . Other dining suggestions would be Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge (very fun place ), Chef Mickey's and Ohana are also good places for dinner . Ohana doesn't have characters at dinner but there is a guy that walks around singing Hawaiian songs and there are cocount races for the kids to participate in.....the kids really get into that .....plus the food is great . But as a pp stated, go to www.allearsnet.com and check out the restaurant menus in the dining section.....this will give you a good idea of what each restaurant has . Good luck and have a great trip .

 

[sherabby]

My son also enjoyed the Garden Grill which is a character meal. We did Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace. All were good.

 

[Belle4mygrl]

We loved Whispering Canyon and have been a couple of times..
The bbq was very good and the bottomless milkshakes were ohhh so good

Are the bottomless milkshakes considered a drink for the DDP? Or must we get cokes, tea, etc.? TIA

 

[justplaingoofy]

Are the bottomless milkshakes considered a drink for the DDP? Or must we get cokes, tea, etc.? TIA

You can get the bottomless milkshake for your drink...and you can try different flavors

fyi..When we went to Sci-fi...the only way we could get the milkshake (not bottomless) was to use our dessert credit.

 

[jedi jen]

Everyone is giving such great advice. I definitely agree about allears.net. I am always checking out the menu, and reviews. It helps me know what to expect. I advise looking there and choosing what sounds good to you for your family.

Here are things that work for me:

If I am dependent on Disney transportation, I try to pick places that are convenient to where I want to be, and minimize schlepping to go to eat.

At Epcot, I think Coral Reef, Teppan Edo have interesting atmosphere and food for both adults and kids. I suggest eating at a country in Epcot, if you are new to WDW.

For counterservice at Epcot, I recommend Sunshine Seasons.

We do quite a few character meals. Kids like Garden Grill, so we do it. But, I think if you are only doing one character meal, don't deprive yourself of the other great dining options at Epcot, and choose one of them.

Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fare would be my choice for characters.

In MK, I would do CRT or CP for TS restaurant. I enjoyed Cosmic Ray's and Sonny Eclipse for a counterservice.

Not a huge fan of food at DHS; we eat at the Brown Derby.

My favorite place to eat is California Grill, for Wishes. I have done it on the dining plan. I have also payed OOP for appetizers (flatbreads and suishi).

to try out), Kona, or Ohana. We are trying Ohana for the first time this August, because it gets such good reviews. These are all at resorts on the monorail.

I am not a fan of food at the AK, so I have no recommendations.

Don't forget to try a Dole Whip with your snack credit. We are also definitely going to Goofy's at DTD to make our own treats, with some snack credits. We have not done this yet, but are looking forward to it.

Have a great time.

Jennifer