Limited budget, tons of people, need suggestions

[ThreeBeans]

Traveling May 22-28, looking to book dining reservations now. (Yes, I'm guessing that everyone just got faint and grabbed their smelling salts because I didn't do it two months ago, right?)

Characters:
2 Grandparents in their fifties
2 Parents in their 30s
1 crazy aunt and her boyfriend, in their 20s
Three small kids

Special needs: 1 child with a peanut allergy.

Plan right now: one meal in the hotel room (usually breakfast), snacks sneaked into the park, one counter-service meal, one sit down meal daily. We'd like to do one character meal. We have park hoppers and a rental car, so aren't bound to the park we're in for the day.

Suggestions? DH is pushing for the T-Rex Cafe in downtown Disney. Worth it? (Considering I have two dino-crazy boys?)

 

[Lumiere Lover]

Do Chef Mickey's for your Character Meal. It is inside the Contemporary Resort, and is nice for people of all ages.

I also thought 50's Prime Time Cafe was a great restaurant, but the kids won't understand the theming. This place has the best Chocolate Malt I have ever had in my life!!

 

[Quin]

No need to "sneak in snacks"; at WDW you can bring anything into the parks so long as it is not alcohol and not in glass bottles.

On the basic DDP with 1 CS & 1 TS per day? Lots of great restaurants, but may not be lots of availability at this late date. Start playing around on the on-line Disney Dining Reservation site. Pretty much every restaurant on property is used to accommodating special dietary needs, especially common ones like nut allergies. Mention it when you make your ADRs, when you check in at each restaurant, and again when your server comes. At buffets, a chef will walk the buffet line with you and your child to show you what offerings will/will not work for you.

Buffets and family-style meals are usually good bets for big groups. Try for Ohana but it fills awfully quickly and unless a big party has a late cancellation it may not be available any day any time for your trip. CM is a classic and CP in the MK is also good; while both are character meals the characters are different. Boma is an interesting choice, especially on an AK day since you're already nearby. I like Biergarten in Epcot but the tables there seat 8 and it looks like you are a party of 9; no good unless you want to split up.

While you can go to different parks to eat, remember that big groups move more slowly than small ones. It just makes life easier to eat close to where you think you'll be on a particular day.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

My hope is you don't have the dining plan. If that is the case I'd look at Garden Grove for a character meal. It will be very difficult to get an ADR this late for a character meal for a party that size at any restaurant that takes the dining plan. Garden grove has great food, more low key, and great character interaction/

I've not been to t-rex but if your boys are dino loving I'd say go for it! I think you will be able to find alot of table service options that will be good for you.. characters will be harder. Lunches also seem to be easier to get than dinners so late in the game that might be a better bet for your family.

Good luck!

 

[catne]

lunch buffets cost less and mostly have the same foods as dinner, usually easier to get reservations for them too. There's Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, Tusker House in Animal Kingdom, Hollywood & Vine in Hollywood Studios (though the food is not quite as good there.) We didn't care for Akershus in Epcot...but Garden Grill in The Land building, if you can get in for dinner, is less expensive that many of the table service...does have character (Mickey/Goofy/Chip/Dale. The meal is served family style...there's beef, fish, veggies, taters, etc. Family dinner kind of food. They will accomodate peanut allergy there too (all the Disney restaurants will go out of their way to help on allergies.) Garden Grill very slowly revolves around The Land which is kind of cool you can look down and see the scenes from the ride -kids generally enjoy that part a lot, too. In the same building is a great counter service place...Sunshine Seasons...has multiple counters: Asian, Grilled, Deli, etc. Something for everyone (and check out the bakery counter for awesome desserts.)

For your reservations, put on your reservation there's a peanut allergy...the chef will come out and walk a parent through the buffet telling you everything off-limits for a peanut allergy (Disney is wonderful with this.)

Where are you staying...will anyone have a fridge? If so, pack a soft-side cooler in your luggage (or buy one there), stop at the store & buy lunchmeat/bread/chips/soda/sandwich bags. Pack a lunch and take it to the park every day to save big bucks. You can take a soft-side cooler (no wheels, no glass bottles) Rent a locker & you won't have to carry it around...will be out of the sun, too. Also buy granola bars or cereal bars (without frosting) for portable/high energy park snacks (you don't want anything that could melt in the heat...that week of May can actually be quite warm...been there that week several times.)

Alternately, before you order at counter services, watch the people walking away with their food and see how large some of the meals are...you may be able to split a lot of meals...hubby and I split the chicken/ribs combo platter at Cosmic Rays (also has green beans & mashed potatoes)...we're both comfortably full. Can split a soda, too...they are large glasses.

 

[ThreeBeans]

No dining plan.

I'm a little depressed to hear we may be out of luck for a character meal

That's the trouble with going with a group this size, I have been emailing everyone for months trying to get their opinions on what, where and when because you all know perfectly well the organizer gets nothing but complaints...

And I ended up waiting too long. Botheration

Perhaps I'll schedule the five of us for the character meal and let everyone else know they're on their own.

 

[ThreeBeans]

And yes, where we are staying we have a full sized kitchen

 

[catne]

I checked for your dates and there actually is some availability at a couple of different character meals...Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom is one that seems to have availability for lunch (early...like 11:30) or mid-afternoon (Linner, lol. 3:30 or thereabouts) One point, though...some of the "character" buffets only have characters at breakfast & lunch...though they still come up as available on a general search. Tusker House is characters at Breakfast...Cape May Cafe is breakfast characters too...Hollywood & Vine is characters at breakfast & lunch.

Agree that Garden Grove character buffet might be easier to get into than the actual Disney restuarants. And it's easy to go from Epcot over there...you just exit the International Gateway between England & France...take the boat over to the Swan/Dolphin boat dock and there you are.

 

[ThreeBeans]

I checked for your dates and there actually is some availability at a couple of different character meals...Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom is one that seems to have availability for lunch (early...like 11:30) or mid-afternoon (Linner, lol. 3:30 or thereabouts) One point, though...some of the "character" buffets only have characters at breakfast & lunch...though they still come up as available on a general search. Tusker House is characters at Breakfast...Cape May Cafe is breakfast characters too...Hollywood & Vine is characters at breakfast & lunch.

Agree that Garden Grove character buffet might be easier to get into than the actual Disney restuarants. And it's easy to go from Epcot over there...you just exit the International Gateway between England & France...take the boat over to the Swan/Dolphin boat dock and there you are.

Thank you!

 

[Kay1]

I think T-Rex is great fun. Also fun, and inexpensive, is the Trails End buffet. There's probably something for everyone.

Good luck and have lots of fun.

 

[smiths02]

T-Rex is fun and A LOT of food. I know it is not the cheapest, but again, you get a lot of food...it would be really, really easy to share (to help save a few bucks and your waistline ) You can also get discounts with Landry's

Restaurant.com also has some gift certificates for some of the none Disney owned restaurants

When making ADRs, try splitting into parties of maybe 5 and 4?

Although Biergarten tables are for 8...I have heard of groups of 9 sitting together (if the group included children).


Also, since you are on a budget and you say you want 1 sit down and 1 quick service a day...I highly recommend doing lunch.

Also research which QS are big enough to split.

I have a soft cooler that I brought in with me everyday that had drinks and sometimes snacks...since I had a 3 year old...I just put it with the stroller...it was just a cooler, so I would just leave it with the parked stroller (it never got stolen).

 

[PhillyMc]

We didn't like T-Rex since it was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think let alone talk. As many people here have said, call, call, and call again if there is an ADR you want they open up all the time.