Last minute questions

[HappyCamper2016]

Hi there! My family and I are headed to Disney tomorrow for the first time woohoo! Anyway I need help narrowing down a few last minute dining reservation questions. Also FYI we have a 7yr old girl and 3 yr old boy.

1. Cinderellas castle reservation I got 2 time slots because I wasn't sure which one would work best. I have reservations for 8:30 and wishes starts at 9. I know the view isn't as great as outside but I've heard from a friend it's super cool to be inside the restaurant while the fireworks are going on. My only hesitation is the possibility that we may not be seated by the time it starts. My other reservation is at 5:55. This time is good with little ones but I feel like it won't feel as special with it not being dark yet. Thoughts?

2. PPO character breakfast. I'm leaning towards the Garden Grill one but am considering Tusker House and Hollywood and Vine. I like the no buffet aspect of Garden Grill and the fact that it would appear a bit quieter and calmer. My 3 yr old is the one who I'm planning this for mostly. He loves Pluto and Donald. But Tusker House gets great reviews too. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Katniss]

If it was me (and that is what you are asking) lol I have 2 girls 8 and 10...

We did PPO at the Garden Grill last year and it WAS THE HIGHLIGHT of our trip. I have been to Garden Grill for dinner and we enjoyed that... however... we were 1 or 3 families that arrived for 8am and we had the place to ourselves. So much so that I have wonderful picture of Chip, Dale, Pluto and Mickey at OUR table with my girls in the middle of them. Such a cool experience to have ALL OF THEM at once. We still talk about it. There is plenty of food and it was delicious.

I have eaten and Tusker House and loved it here as well but I have not done PPO.

Hollywood and Vine is my least favorite buffet in Disney.

I would keep the 5:55pm reservation (but then again I have not experienced it when it was dark) I prefer to eat with my family then and take my time and then snack during the fireworks outside. But I think you can't go wrong with either time of day.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[parboy]

Can't help too much, but will agree with the above that Hollywood and Vine was not a great experience for us either. Food was not very good and the atmosphere was terrible.

 

[henry72]

With kids that age, I would do CRT at 5:55 as it is closer to a normal dinner time. Eating inside the castle will be a thrill for them so I don't think they will care if it is dark outside or if fireworks are going off.

We have done all three of the other character meals. H&V would be our least favorite. I have to say Garden Grill would be tops as we like having the characters to ourselves. Booths face out (revolving restaurant) so there are no other people in the backgrounds for photos. My kids were sad that we aren't doing that one this time but are doing Tusker House for breakfast. (Previous trip was for lunch.)

 

[Hopefully]

Hi there! My family and I are headed to Disney tomorrow for the first time woohoo! Anyway I need help narrowing down a few last minute dining reservation questions. Also FYI we have a 7yr old girl and 3 yr old boy.

1. Cinderellas castle reservation I got 2 time slots because I wasn't sure which one would work best. I have reservations for 8:30 and wishes starts at 9. I know the view isn't as great as outside but I've heard from a friend it's super cool to be inside the restaurant while the fireworks are going on. My only hesitation is the possibility that we may not be seated by the time it starts. My other reservation is at 5:55. This time is good with little ones but I feel like it won't feel as special with it not being dark yet. Thoughts?

2. PPO character breakfast. I'm leaning towards the Garden Grill one but am considering Tusker House and Hollywood and Vine. I like the no buffet aspect of Garden Grill and the fact that it would appear a bit quieter and calmer. My 3 yr old is the one who I'm planning this for mostly. He loves Pluto and Donald. But Tusker House gets great reviews too. Thoughts?

Thanks!

First of all Welcome to the DIS.
Secondly, My thoughts on the bolded above. While you have 2 ADR's at CRT for prime dinner time, some other family has been unable to secure even one dinner to delight their family. That is self centered and unfair, in my opinion. Please cancel one. With your little ones I would keep the 5:55 ADR.
I would keep the Garden Grille PPO breakfast. Again, if you are only going to do one, please cancel the other 2 so someone else can enjoy a PPO breakfast treat.

 

[Dash7]

Eating in the castle is special no matter what time of day. For us, dinner after 9 (by the time you are seated and order) is too late, so I would do the 5:55. That gives you a chance to eat & get out and actually see the fireworks.

 

[vicb]

Not a big fan of buffets (breakfast at Boma an exception to that rule) so I would do Garden Grill. My children loved it when they were your children's age and we had some of the best character interactions there with Chip and Dale .

 

[Tucker24]

As far as the two reservations go I would go with the first. It is closer to the regular dinner time and just because you have 5:55 reservation doesn't mean you are eating at 5:55. You get to meet with Cinderella and take a picture with her and then you walk up to the dining room. I found out the hard way that my kids don't like the loud noise of the fireworks. they like to enjoy them from the hotel room now so keep in mind that in mind. It is also nice to enjoy the fireworks from behind the castle with the carousel there.
As far as the two reservation times it is extremely common for people to do it. As it is your first time to Disney take your time and hash out a plan

 

[HappyCamper2016]

First of all Welcome to the DIS.
Secondly, My thoughts on the bolded above. While you have 2 ADR's at CRT for prime dinner time, some other family has been unable to secure even one dinner to delight their family. That is self centered and unfair, in my opinion. Please cancel one. With your little ones I would keep the 5:55 ADR.
I would keep the Garden Grille PPO breakfast. Again, if you are only going to do one, please cancel the other 2 so someone else can enjoy a PPO breakfast treat.

Of course I am planning on canceling ASAP hence the post asking for help on choosing one. I haven't held the two reservations for long at all. I stumbled upon the 5:55 by sheer luck very recently and booked so I could make a quick choice. Thank you for your help and have a blessed day.

 

[HappyCamper2016]

Also I should add we are normal cst so the 8:30 reservation is more like 7:30 our time. Still later then we normally eat but not bad

 

[HappyCamper2016]

And thanks so much for all the help!

 

[danceintherain]

I would do the earlier reservation. I don't think I've been at CRT during the fireworks (I think when I ate there it was close) but I can't imagine you'd be able to see all that much, especially if you're not seated by the window.
We did a late Be Our Guest a few years ago with our almost 3 year old. It was the only reservation I could get, so I pushed for it, and it was probably a mistake. I think it was at 8:55pm. We're CST too, and he was miserable the whole time. We're habitual break takers, so I'm sure he got a sufficient nap that day, but it was just too much for him.
Generally, I tend to keep sleep times as close to normal as possible during our trips, which means we hardly ever see the fireworks, but we experience so much else that we don't miss them.

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

I would do the 5:55 CRT. If you don't your kids will either be full from snacking or driving you nuts and crabby because they're hungry because you wouldn't let them snack. Either way your dinner is not going to be enjoyable. The kids are going to love being in there whether it's light or dark. You can go back when they're older and do it in the dark.

 

[Tucker24]

One more thought is that inside the castle is usually a little on the dark side. There are a lot of stained glass windows and such so it's not a super bright room to begin with

 

[cutigerlady]

I would definitely do Garden Grill for a character meal. This is our favorite place for characters. It's not as loud or chaotic as other places. We saw the characters multiple times. Our kids handle family style better over buffets. I think they get overwhelmed with too many choices!

We are having breakfast here next week for the first time. We have had dinner here multiple times.

CRT seems to always be running behind. We were seated 45 minutes after our reservation. My husband said never again for this place!