Is my plan reasonable?

[Jessica Rust]

This is my first time planning or going to Disney. I have shared my dining itinerary as it is right now below. I am concerned about travel times getting to places on a few of the days as well as length of meal times each day. I tried to plan around the park of the day but there are some meals planned at resorts. Please give me any ideas or recommendations you have.

A little background: This is the first time for my mom and I. I am in my mid 30s, she mid 60s. No children. Neither of us are huge fans of "thrill rides." We did the DxDP to have the most options for meals. We decided to go all out since we probably won't be back anytime soon. Anyways, thanks in advance for your help!

March 24-31

Saturday:
Arrive sometime late afternoon
Disney Springs
5:20 Dinner at Art Smiths

Sunday: Epcot Day
8:00 Chef Mickeys
Travel to Epcot
1:20 Biergarten lunch
6:50 Chefs de France dinner
Illuminations

Monday: Animal Kingdom Day
8:45 Tusker House breakfast w/ Rivers of Light package
travel to Polynesian
4:10 Ohana
back to AK for ROL
**I am going to try and get a later ADR for Ohana if something opens up. We would add a light snack or lunch at AK then. This is a day I was wondering about travel time.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom Day
9:25 Crystal Palace
2:10 Plaza lunch
3:00 Festival of Fantasy parade - Can we step outside Plaza to watch?
8:15 Be Our Guest

Wednesday: HS Day
8:45 Bon Voyage breakfast at Board Walk
travel to HS
12:45 50s Prime Time lunch
travel to Epcot
6:15 Rose & Crown
back to HS for Fantasmic
**I had us going back to Epcot since it seems close and there isn't as much to do at HS and the lack if dining I was interested. Travel time is a concern this day.

Thursday: Universal Day
8:55 Breakfast at Cape May Beach Club
travel to Universal, mainly going for Harry Potter
8:30 Hoop de Doo
**How long to get to Universal and back? How to I get to Hoop de Doo?

Friday: free day, park hop, do things we missed
9:15 Breakfast 1900 Park Fare
5:30 CRT
9:00 Happily Ever After

Saturday:
Breakfast at Boma
head home

As it is I have 4 meal credits left (2 per person). I know we will add one in on Friday at some point but that depends on what we end up doing. We will also add one in if we get a later time at Ohana or arrive earlier on Saturday and need lunch.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

Honestly? Seems like a TON of food and a TON of traveling all around to eat. I personally would be stressed planning my days all around the food- which you may find might not be that awesome. If you want to stick with the deluxe dining I would recommend planning on TS breakfast each morning and then a signature dinner each night. If I had the deluxe dining plan- I would reserve Cali Grill, Narcoossee, Jiko, Citricos, Yachtsman, etc.

On Monday- what time is ROL?

Which resort are you staying?

 

[2forMe]

I would not to DXdp if you are going off site to Universal. Even if not going offsite the DXdp I think is not worth it.

 

[Jessica Rust]

Honestly? Seems like a TON of food and a TON of traveling all around to eat. I personally would be stressed planning my days all around the food- which you may find might not be that awesome. If you want to stick with the deluxe dining I would recommend planning on TS breakfast each morning and then a signature dinner each night. If I had the deluxe dining plan- I would reserve Cali Grill, Narcoossee, Jiko, Citricos, Yachtsman, etc.

On Monday- what time is ROL?

Which resort are you staying?

ROL is 8:45. We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter. With the signature dinners, wouldn't that still be travel time to the resorts and then back to the park for night show?

 

[Jessica Rust]

Honestly? Seems like a TON of food and a TON of traveling all around to eat. I personally would be stressed planning my days all around the food- which you may find might not be that awesome. If you want to stick with the deluxe dining I would recommend planning on TS breakfast each morning and then a signature dinner each night. If I had the deluxe dining plan- I would reserve Cali Grill, Narcoossee, Jiko, Citricos, Yachtsman, etc.

On Monday- what time is ROL?

Which resort are you staying?

I know its a lot of food, but I tried to most days stay in one park or at least close locations. Am I thinking travel will not take as long as it will? I thought I had everything pretty spaced out.

 

[tbre1982]

You might be better off switching to two meals per day and incorporating more 2 credit signature meals. We just did the deluxe dining in November and found 3 meals per day WAY too much food and time dining......but 2 meals was really perfect. Most days we did either an early breakfast (8am) then a mid afternoon lunch, or a late breakfast (1045ish) and early dinner.

Ex: on Wednesday the Bon Voyage breakfast is great but a HUGE amount of food and the meal takes a while. You probably won't be done till 1015 at the earliest. There's no way you would want to eat a 3 course meal not even 3 hours later at 50s prime. I'd cancel 50s primetime and rebook a late lunch/early dinner at Hollywood brown derby. And I'd just stay at HS

Alternately drop Bon Voyage and do morning at HS then 50s prime time and hop to Epcot. I wouldn't travel boardwalk--HS--Epcot--HS in one day. You wouldn't really have anytime at HS.

On your AK day, consider going to tiffins or Jiko for a 2 credit meal and much closer restaurant than ohana. We ate at ohana in November and were extremely underwhelmed. I wouldn't waste that much time traveling there and back.

 

[Jessica Rust]

You might be better off switching to two meals per day and incorporating more 2 credit signature meals. We just did the deluxe dining in November and found 3 meals per day WAY too much food and time dining......but 2 meals was really perfect. Most days we did either an early breakfast (8am) then a mid afternoon lunch, or a late breakfast (1045ish) and early dinner.

Ex: on Wednesday the Bon Voyage breakfast is great but a HUGE amount of food and the meal takes a while. You probably won't be done till 1015 at the earliest. There's no way you would want to eat a 3 course meal not even 3 hours later at 50s prime. I'd cancel 50s primetime and rebook a late lunch/early dinner at Hollywood brown derby. And I'd just stay at HS

Alternately drop Bon Voyage and do morning at HS then 50s prime time and hop to Epcot. I wouldn't travel boardwalk--HS--Epcot--HS in one day. You wouldn't really have anytime at HS.

On your AK day, consider going to tiffins or Jiko for a 2 credit meal and much closer restaurant than ohana. We ate at ohana in November and were extremely underwhelmed. I wouldn't waste that much time traveling there and back.

Thank you! This is what I was wanting to hear. I have ZERO idea about travel times and how long meals take. Thanks for your recommendations.

 

[tbre1982]

My other thought would be do Chef Mickey on your MK day, not your Epcot day. Then You can walk to MK from contemporary. Then move crystal palace to lunch time and drop plaza. Plaza is basic food, no charavters, not a great value on the dining plan.

On your Epcot day you could eat at garden grill for breakfast instead. We really enjoyed that meal and the character interaction was outstanding.

 

[tbre1982]

Thank you! This is what I was wanting to hear. I have ZERO idea about travel times and how long meals take. Thanks for your recommendations.

Allot 90 mins for character meals (you might not get seated right on time, and it often takes 60-75 minutes for all the characters to make their rounds).
Three course table service meals also take 75+minutes.

We drove to all the parks and found parking to park entrance could take up to a half hour at AK, HS and Epcot and even longer at MK because you have the added step of taking boat or monorail from Parking lot to gate.

Once you park, you have to then walk or tram to entrance (10 mins) go through bag check (5-15mins depending on lines), go through ticket entry /fingerprint station (5mins). This long entrance procedure is one reason park hopping can be less efficient.

We always left our resort at least 45 minutes before we wanted to be Physicsllu inside the park -- 15-20 min drive plus the 25-30 mins to get to entrance and through gate.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd skip breakfast on the Universal Day and plan to be at US for park opening. With a 9:00 breakfast, I would imagine you won't get into US until well after 11, maybe closer to 11:30.

Your HS day has a lot of back and forth between HS and Epcot. They are close, but close means about mile walk from park entrance to park entrance, or a boat ride (which in our experience is not usually any faster than walking -- I usually take the boat and DH and DS usually walk, and they almost always get there first). Maybe skip the Rose and Crown that day.

For me, your plan seems like way too much time in restaurants and traveling to restaurants. That would not be my idea of a fun time.

 

[gharter]

i would really try and get rid of leaving parks to eat and then go back to the same park or a different park. IMO, it just doesn't work well. You can waste a lot of time traveling between parks or back and forth. IMO, it just isn't worth it. Either find places to eat at the park you want to be at. Or forget about going back to a park after eating. Or set you ADRs early enough to be able to get to a park in time for the next thing you want to do. But, this option can be really stressful.

 

[littledebbie335]

Is it possible to get an earlier ADR for Biergarten? I haven't been to Chef Mickey's, but some people don't find the food to be particularly tasty. You might find yourself ready for lunch before 1:20, and that would also give you more time to digest before Chefs de France.

We had a Biergarten reservation right when they open and found that we were just starting to get hungry for a later (7:00 pm or so) reservation at Coral Reef.

I like the suggestion that a previous poster made about using some of the 2 credit signature restaurants. That might be a better way to use your credits (quality over quantity), but that also depending on whether or not you and your mom are big eaters.

 

[starry_solo]

I wouldn't leave a park to go eat somewhere and then come back to the park.

 

[KenHutch]

You have an ambitious schedule but you may run into the problem we had. We stopped using the deluxe plan for 2 reasons it was just to much food and was a major time drain. I timed it and on a couple of days we had 6+ hours on waiting to eat, eating and getting out of the restaurants.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

This plan does not seem enjoyable at all, for all the reasons listed by others. I would strongly consider planning your meals around which park you plan to be at that day. It's a huge waste of time to leave a park to eat somewhere else, then return to the same park. I also think 3 sit down meals in one day is way too much, both in terms of amount of food and time spent in restaurants.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Here's a couple rules to follow

Using disney transportation allow 60-90 minutes to get to your destination

If eating on the dxdp, go to your local chain and order an app, entree and dessert, each. Then go walk a couple miles

Then plan on doing that daily, a couple times a day. Allowing 60-90 min to get there

Exception is signature dining. Portions are more geared towards multicourse dining

• Based on what you have, it looks more like you want to eat but not fine dining. If that is correct I would drop the dining plan and pay out of pocket.

 

[crabbygal902]

Saturday:
Arrive sometime late afternoon
Disney Springs
5:20 Dinner at Art Smiths
If you're not arriving until late afternoon, a 5:20 ADR is too early unless you are local. Whether you are arriving by plane, train, or automobile there is always a chance you'll be delayed. We were delayed 2 hours during our last trip due to a pig truck turning over on the interstate. Yes, I'm serious. Yes, it was awful.
Give yourself ample time to arrive, get settled, and check out your beautiful resort. Plan your dinner for later in the evening. Since you have DxDP, I would not miss an opportunity for a deluxe meal: Morimoto, Paddlefish, and The Boathouse are all great choices and are good ways to spend DxDP credits.


Sunday: Epcot Day
8:00 Chef Mickeys
Travel to Epcot
1:20 Biergarten lunch
6:50 Chefs de France dinner
Illuminations
So many big meals! I'm afraid you'll be rolling around Epcot instead of walking comfortably. I'd drop Chef Mickey's, try to push the Biergarten lunch earlier, and plan dinner at Monsieur Paul to use your DxDP credits wisely. Friends went to MP recently and rave about it. I'm dying to try it!


Monday: Animal Kingdom Day
8:45 Tusker House breakfast w/ Rivers of Light package
travel to Polynesian
4:10 Ohana
back to AK for ROL
**I am going to try and get a later ADR for Ohana if something opens up. We would add a light snack or lunch at AK then. This is a day I was wondering about travel time.
At this point, you've had one full day in the parks and you are likely to be tired. I would NOT try to go all the way over to the Poly just for a meal only to get back on Disney transportation and return to AK. With your current breakfast ADR in mind, I'd return to the resort for a mid-day break. Have dinner at Tiffins to use your DxDP credits for the day.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom Day
9:25 Crystal Palace
2:10 Plaza lunch
3:00 Festival of Fantasy parade - Can we step outside Plaza to watch?
8:15 Be Our Guest
Honestly, I'd cut the Plaza lunch and take a break from the parks mid-day. Open to close 3 days in a row is going to take its toll. At the very least, I'd go back to the resort and have a light meal at Boatwrights then swim, nap, and relax.

I know that BoG is a fabulous 'get', but I'd let it go in favor or a signature experience for the evening meal. I adore Cali Grill. Narcoossee's and Citricos are also awesome choices all on the monorail line. I'd always opt for signature when possible with the DxDP.


Wednesday: HS Day
8:45 Bon Voyage breakfast at Board Walk
travel to HS
12:45 50s Prime Time lunch
travel to Epcot
6:15 Rose & Crown
back to HS for Fantasmic
**I had us going back to Epcot since it seems close and there isn't as much to do at HS and the lack if dining I was interested. Travel time is a concern this day.
Another open to close, you are going to be exhausted I'm afraid! I'd cut breakfast and sleep in, keep your lunch and have a later dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby (2 credits) to minimize all the back and forth.

Thursday: Universal Day
8:55 Breakfast at Cape May Beach Club
travel to Universal, mainly going for Harry Potter
8:30 Hoop de Doo
**How long to get to Universal and back? How to I get to Hoop de Doo?
If you are going to do HP at Universal, I would absolutely skip that breakfast and be early for Rope Drop!!! I think WDW to Universal is 20ish minutes, depending on traffic. If you don't have a car, I think Uber would be a good option. Unless you have super-human stamina, you are going to be falling asleep at HDDR after a full day at Universal.

Friday: free day, park hop, do things we missed
9:15 Breakfast 1900 Park Fare
5:30 CRT
9:00 Happily Ever After
Since all your meals are in the MK area, I would stick close to there are not hop from park to park. It's making me tired just thinking about it. It is very easy to spend a couple days at MK and not see everything, so I don't think you'll be bored. Heck, I've been 20ish times and still haven't done it all. I think your meals are well-spaced and great choices.

Saturday:
Breakfast at Boma
head home
I think Boma is a great place for your last breakfast. We have done that before and really enjoyed it.

A few general notes:
Give yourself more time at your gorgeous resort. The food court, the pool, the grounds, and the entertainment are spectacular. Do not miss Yee-haw Bob's show at the sister resort, POR's River Roost. It is great fun! A plan that looks good on paper is not always great in execution. Build in more opportunities for rest away from the parks.

WDW is roughly the size of Manhattan and touring is tiring. Taking a few hours out of the day to nap, swim, and putter around the resort is restorative. Our general plan is to arrive by rope drop, tour a few hours and have lunch, break, return for more touring, dinner, and night time entertainment, then collapse. Even with a daily break, I schedule a full day away from the parks every 2-3 days.

DxDP is lots and lots and lots of food. If that is what you enjoy, then hey, go for it. An idea might be a big 1-credit breakfast then a signature dinner each night. That still leaves you with counter service credits, though. DxDP is going to be extra challenging with a day at Universal thrown in the mix.

 

[Pygoplites]

I agree with some the other comments regarding swapping out some of the 1TS meals for Signatures (doing two full meals plus snacks instead of 3 full meals). For instance there's just way too much food on the Epcot day, where you're eating at 2 buffets (Chef Mickey's and Biergarten) PLUS Chefs de France (which tends to be pretty heavy, too). For that day, I'd skip lunch and just have snacks while exploring World Showcase, and then have a Signature dinner at Epcot (Monsieur Paul or Le Cellier) OR in the nearby Epcot Resort Area (Flying Fish or Yachtsman). For your AK day, I agree with the other poster who said to swap 'Ohana for Tiffins...way too much travel and you'd be missing out on one of the best restaurants in all of WDW.

Also for your DHS day, Bon Voyage Bfast, 50s PT and Rose & Crown on the same day sounds like way too much. And why go to Rose & Crown and then return to DHS for Fantasmic instead of having dinner at DHS (Brown Derby) or at an Epcot resort (again, Flying Fish or Yachtsman)?

My first few trips to WDW I did the 3 TS meals per day thing and not only was it way too much food, it was just far too much time spent traveling, waiting, and eating. Remember, it is not unusual that you might have to wait 20 or 30 minutes (or more) past your reservation time before you're seated.

Take advantage of doing the deluxe plan by actually having more deluxe meals. Also, if you don't use up your credits, there is no advantage of doing the dining plan...it is money wasted.

 

[Lisa F]

I agree that you are trying to cram too much in.

I will say that we did DxDDP for 4 days and ate a lot but in general I found that 6 hours between ADRs worked great if one of the meals wasn't too huge and 7 hours was a bit better if both meals were large. Like we did a coral reef lunch at 11:30 and then Biergarten dinner at 6:30 and we were ready to eat by 6:30. But two buffet meals 5-6 hours apart was not enough time to be actually hungry again.

So on Sunday I'd do either chef mickeys OR Biergarten (early ADR) and then a nice dinner at chef's de france as planned. or have a nice dinner at biergarten if you prefer it.

the one thing I don't really mind in your plans is leaving AK for the Poly for dinner. I prefer the earlier 'Ohana seatings, you can take the bus pretty much direct from AK to a resort and then back... people leave all the time to go to AK resorts for dinner from that park and IMO it's not that much different, just maybe 10-15 minutes extra for drive time. I love 'Ohana for dinner though.

On tuesday I agree with giving up the plaza UNLESS you're going to eat very light... like share an app and a milk shake. I love taking the time for a sit down restaurant but again it seems a bit like you're being a slave to the DxDDP here, that is too much food in one day for me!

on wednesday I'd try to move lunch to dinner time and maybe get a later breakfast and skip the back and forth.

on thursday I agree with getting rid of breakfast and being at Universal at RD and you are going to be too tired for HDDR. While I love it, I would not cram it in to a trip, we only do it once every great while.

Friday sounds good to me but you're probably not going to be park hopping as mentioned above, just stick with MK area.

so does Saturday.

I seriously found even on DxDDP that two meals a day were plenty. I don't think we even wanted snacks really with those two meals. And I LIKE TS meals and don't feel they take away from park time but rather enhance it.

 

[sanapp]

I will start my reply by saying I love eating out at Disney. Even with that you are going to be spending more time eating and traveling than enjoying Disney.
I really do enjoy the DlxDp, but I try to include quite a few Signature locations. We either use a snack credit for breakfast, early lunch and a later signature dinner or we do a ADR before the park opens for breakfast and a early dinner.
We typically take a mid day break and rarely go back to the park for evening entertainment, so traveling to a resort for dinner is no big deal for us.

Have you looked at any of the Signature locations to see if they seem appealing?