Looking forward to a crowd-free Disney Trip! **Update 9/4**

[photographymom517]

I'm glad we understand each other's indecisiveness! I really do drive my boyfriend insane. He sometimes plays the Jeopardy music on his phone when I can't make up my mind about something.

Definitely message me whenever about Pop!! I love talking about it so I will answer any questions as best I can!

That is too funny about the Jeopardy music!

I have to talk to my parents about Pop & then I will let you know what their questions are! I know they want to stay in the 50's location, but I've heard opposite opinions on the DIS regarding room requests now. I'm not sure if we're still able to make requests regarding location or not

I will be in touch! Oh, and I love your new avatar!!!

 

[photographymom517]

First a little correction. I am a DVC member, so I know that Beach Club and Boardwalk DO have DVC villas, but the Yacht Club does not. The Yacht & Beach Club are mentioned together but they're really separate resorts, however, I think, but am not sure, that Yacht Club guests can visit the Beach Club's Stormalong Bay pool complex.

DVC allows members to "pool hop", except during black-out periods (like Spring Break, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Some pools are not included in the pool hopping and Stormalong Bay is one.

I didn't know that Le Cellier was getting a new menu. I would check the WDWinfo part of the website for the menu or also allears.net. I've seen some other sites with menu lists too.

you can find Tamu Tamu over by the Mumbasa (sp?) gift shop in the Africa area. I buy alot at that gift shop.

We really love both T Rex and Rainforest. I do miss the Plant Sandwich at Rainforest though, they've discontinued it for a portobello burger. It was fine the way it was. T Rex has an awesome salad called Omnivores Delight! Its my favorite salad!

The McDonalds at DTD has closed and was replaced by a Pollo Comparo. I've never eaten there though. It wasn't open yet when we went last November. I'd love to try it though.... if it doesn't get in the way of my sandwich at the Earl!

Yes, the Beach Club and Yacht Club both share Stormalong Bay for their resort pool. I did know that you aren't allowed to pool hop. We stayed at AKL our first trip & one of the CM's mentioned it when I booked. When you stay at the BC or YC, you actually get a wristband to use while you're at SAB so that they know you are a guest of the BC/YC. They share alot of amenities for their guests similar to the PO resorts.

I'll have to check out that new Le Cellier menu. I'm not sure if we'll eat there or not. We want to eat there, but we'd definitely go for lunch so we only use 1 credit. If we were going to use 2 credits for something, it would have to be a really, really high priority! We have alot of other restaurants that are more of a priority than Le Cellier this trip, so we'll just see once I book ADR's.

I was actually going through the menus on Allears.net last night, but haven't gotten to the Epcot ones yet. Last year, I printed out a list of our ADR's with the menus & put them in my planning binder. We looked over them on the plane on the way to MCO!

Thanks for the location of Tamu Tamu...I will mark it in my notes!

Yum! A portobello burger at Rainforest!!! That sounds delicious! I'm not a huge burger eater, but I love anything with mushrooms & cheese on it!

I know about the McDonald's closing at DTD. They were actually starting to remodel when we were there in June. I have pics of the construction walls from when Luke was playing on the Lego Store playground!

My parents know the locations of about 10 other McDonald's within a 5 mile radius of Lake Buena Vista! They even found the largest McD's in the U.S. & have like five hundred pictures of it! It was interesting to see it...it has multi-levels, an arcade/video game area, and is very contemporary in style.

I'll share some pictures later if I can find my mom's CD of her Disney pics! As I've said a million times before, I think they are completely nuts for their dining choices & I am determined to convince them to use the dining plan at least once! (I already tried working on it for October & my mom says "no way!")

I forgot to include my favorite Pop thread links. I have stayed at the Pop at least 7 times. We've stayed in the 50, 70's, 80's and 90's... for some reason, probably because I won't pay for "preferred location" I haven't stayed in the 60's.

This is the Pop picture thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2302772

This is the information thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2536455

The first page of the info thread is chock full of valuable Pop information.

If you have special dietary needs, see the manager Kevin in the food court. He's VERY helpful and so is the chef. They have all kinds of specialty items in the back off the main floor. They don't keep some things out because they don't want to risk contamination by allergens or other less special things.

Hey.... update... just found the new Le Cellier menu on allears.net http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=137 my opinion.... too pricey!! There is plenty of excellent food you can get at WDW without paying Le Cellier prices.

Thanks for the Pop info! They want to stay in the 50's section so I'm hoping they can still make requests on their reservation. I think they'd be happy with any location though. I've heard some people say no more requests after 12/30/2010 and others say they've made requests in 2011 and gotten them. So I guess it doesn't hurt to ask for what you really want, but don't be disappointed if you don't get it

I will pass along the info & look over the threads later! Thanks again!!!

 

[photographymom517]

Thanks!!! Yes I loved the little chef costume from Ratatoille!

Yes, we did pirates league right before MNSSHP. It was such an awesome experience! Devon still talks about it today and that was 2 years ago!

Loving the minnie ear and tank idea!!! Glad I could help!

Thanks again for the MNSSHP info!

 

[photographymom517]

Oh, sorry about throwing out misinformation! I knew that BC & BW had DVC Villas, I must have just assumed that YC did too because, like you said, everyone always tends to lump BC & YC together. Now I know, thanks!

No worries Michelle! Pretty much everything else at the BC/YC goes together, so I assumed the same thing! I just thought there were DVC Villas at both. I should've known too because I have a friend who used to work at both resorts...oops!

 

[photographymom517]

Very tentative park days:

Day 1 -- Arrival Day (depending on flight time)

* dinner at Garden Grill
* explore resort/swim at SAB


Day 2 -- Hollywood Studios

* breakfast at Starring Rolls
* lunch at Sci-Fi Dine in
* dinner at QS (Fairfax Fare or ABC)
* Fantasmic night!


Day 3 -- Epcot

* breakfast at Cape May Cafe
* walk to Epcot (love this!)
* lunch at QS (probably Morocco for me, Germany for husband/Luke)
* dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel


Day 4 -- Magic Kingdom

* breakfast at Crystal Palace
* lunch at QS
* dinner at Epcot or Yachtsman Steakhouse


Day 5 -- Animal Kingdom

* breakfast at Tusker House
* QS lunch (Yak & Yeti or Tamu Tamu)
* dinner at GF Cafe


Day 6 --

* breakfast in room
* Photo Session in morning
* afternoon at Waterpark
* dinner at Teppan Edo


Day 7 -- DTD & MNSSHP

* early lunch at Earl of Sandwich
* early dinner at Wolfgang Puck
* MNSSHP 4pm-midnight


Day 8 -- Hollywood Studios

* Play & Dine character breakfast
* QS lunch
* snack at BC in evening

Day 9 -- Epcot or MK

* breakfast at Kona Cafe
* lunch at Chefs de France
* dinner at QS (probably Mexico)

Day 10 -- Departure Day (depending on flight time)

* breakfast at Boardwalk or BC
* partial park day probably at Epcot (QS lunch at Epcot)

This is very tentative. Until I book exact trip dates, this has to stay flexible because we want to see Fantasmic at DHS & go to MNSSHP. Other than those two events, our schedule is very flexible. I'm missing a bunch of ADR's and think I used too many TS credits! We'll probably end up with a few extra because Luke sometimes shares a meal with me so that shouldn't matter.

Right now, my main dining priorities are La Hacienda de San Angel, Garden Grill, Teppan Edo, and Cape May Cafe. Other than those, I am being flexible with adding restaurants or getting rid of some.

I feel like I have too many character breakfasts. Cape May will definitely stay no matter what changes I make! We loved Play & Dine so I'd like to keep that one, but if I delete a CM, it will probably go first.

I'd really like to try Tusker House & since we never eat much at AK, I think this one should definitely stay on our schedule. Plus, we have other options for that evening since AK closes at 5pm.

I love Pooh & the gang, but Luke is starting to outgrow them (sooooo sad for me because we've watched it together since he was a tiny little baby!) For that reason, I'd like to keep it because next trip, he probably won't want to eat there. I'd also love to see MK without anyone on Main Street!!! We're leaving on our MK day to go to Epcot, so I think a big breakfast would be good to keep on the MK day for that reason. We could eat a small lunch & then a large dinner at Epcot.

Still alot to look over, but I just wanted to share a tenative schedule!

 

[Mindy5767]

No worries Michelle! Pretty much everything else at the BC/YC goes together, so I assumed the same thing! I just thought there were DVC Villas at both. I should've known too because I have a friend who used to work at both resorts...oops!

I sure WISH there were villas at Yacht Club because I REALLY the theme, and would really like to stay there some time. However, when you're comparing using points for a studio villa or paying cash for a deluxe hotel room, the villa is a WAY better value. We usually don't spend THAT much time at the resort itself. We spend more time at the resort when we're staying at Saratoga Springs, I'd like to spend more resort time, but DD8 is constantly wanting to do the parks. You'd think she'd get tired of it by now and want to do a little something new . So, for that reason, its hard to splurge on deluxe.

I saw you still have ABC on your itinerary for DHS. So.... fair warning.... eat there at your own risk! It just was so greasy! We like back-lot express better for counter service. My DD8 liked the pizza at Pizza Planet, but I'm not crazy about thick crust... I'm a crispy thin crust person, so I wasn't wild about it. I highly recommend Mama Melrose if you're going to do a Fantasmic dinner package. It was excellent and the service expert!

 

[stephielela]

Hey Hope! Your plans look great, except I REALLY think you should move your trip back a few weeks Selfish I know! So when are you going to start making ADR's? I have to wait till the 28th it's killing me!

As far as Luke's huge feet, Jack's are fairly large too. The sandals i just bought him are 8's but I might have to swap them out for 9's. He isn't even 3 yet. And overnight my feet seemed to grow! I got my 2 new pairs of sandals from Zappos and neither fit!! I ordered the next size up in both, but I couldn't believe it! The other Reefs I ordered were a 6 and so were the Sandras, but the Sandras had my feet almost hanging off the back
I will wait to see how the new ones fit before I return the others. Luckily Zappos has free return shipping as well!

 

[photographymom517]

I sure WISH there were villas at Yacht Club because I REALLY the theme, and would really like to stay there some time. However, when you're comparing using points for a studio villa or paying cash for a deluxe hotel room, the villa is a WAY better value. We usually don't spend THAT much time at the resort itself. We spend more time at the resort when we're staying at Saratoga Springs, I'd like to spend more resort time, but DD8 is constantly wanting to do the parks. You'd think she'd get tired of it by now and want to do a little something new . So, for that reason, its hard to splurge on deluxe.

I saw you still have ABC on your itinerary for DHS. So.... fair warning.... eat there at your own risk! It just was so greasy! We like back-lot express better for counter service. My DD8 liked the pizza at Pizza Planet, but I'm not crazy about thick crust... I'm a crispy thin crust person, so I wasn't wild about it. I highly recommend Mama Melrose if you're going to do a Fantasmic dinner package. It was excellent and the service expert!

I soooo wish I could convince my husband into buying into DVC. He says if we ever buy anything in Florida, it will either be a house (we'd rent it out in the off season when we aren't there) or a regular condo. I would buy DVC in a heartbeat! I would to stay at a villa, but I know that I'll never have the opportunity unless we'd buy into DVC (which as I said, probably won't happen ) Who knows...maybe someday I'll win the lottery or something (although I don't play it so I doubt that will happen! LOL)

This might sound completely insane, but my dream vacation would be to just stay at the resort for like 2-3 days straight! Relax on the beach, enjoy just walking around, etc. I love the parks, but the resorts are so amazing that I wish we'd spend more time there.

Its so funny because in June, I felt like we were constantly at the resort (while we were down in FL). Then once we got back home, I kept thinking to myself that we didn't spend nearly as much time at the resort as I would've liked!

I'd say we are pretty much 70/30 people when it comes to the parks/resorts. We spend alot of time at the parks, but last trip we ended up back at the resort by 6pm almost every night. And some of the days, we didn't go to the parks until 10:30 or 11am. The main reasons were because of the humidity & crowds. I know we won't have the issue with the crowds this time...LOOOOVE September crowd levels!

I promise you that I wasn't ignoring your suggestion or experience regarding ABC! I don't know if it was just luck or what, but we actually stopped there twice to eat & probably 3-4 times to get drinks or dessert & we had ok experiences. I wasn't a huge fan of the food, but my husband really liked his burger So its still on my list at his request!

I'm not sure why (I didn't write it in my notes) but I wasn't a fan of Back-Lot Express. I ended up getting Luke a chicken meal & going somewhere else to eat. I'd love to go to Pizza Planet so Luke can see the decor there...but my husband and I cannot eat Disney pizza. We think its such a waste of money/dining credits. I think its because I am very picky about sauce & he is picky about crust

We did get the pizza once at the foodcourt at CBR last June and Luke ate the entire thing! So apparently he loves it! I might keep Pizza Planet in mind for him & maybe we could eat somewhere else.

I was considering Mama Melrose's but I'm not sure if we're doing the dinner package for Fantasmic or not. I wasn't even considering it but maybe I just don't know enough about it. I think I'll research it again! Do you know the pricing for it? Do you use dining credits for it? I'm clueless about that

Thanks for the suggestions again...your advice is always very helpful!!!

 

[photographymom517]

Hey Hope! Your plans look great, except I REALLY think you should move your trip back a few weeks Selfish I know! So when are you going to start making ADR's? I have to wait till the 28th it's killing me!

As far as Luke's huge feet, Jack's are fairly large too. The sandals i just bought him are 8's but I might have to swap them out for 9's. He isn't even 3 yet. And overnight my feet seemed to grow! I got my 2 new pairs of sandals from Zappos and neither fit!! I ordered the next size up in both, but I couldn't believe it! The other Reefs I ordered were a 6 and so were the Sandras, but the Sandras had my feet almost hanging off the back
I will wait to see how the new ones fit before I return the others. Luckily Zappos has free return shipping as well!

If we keep the trip dates that I made up (September 14th through the 23rd) then I can make ADR's on March 18th...the day before my husband & puppy's birthday!

We were discussing the trip a little tonight at dinner and hopefully will book something by this weekend. I'm really, really trying to convince him to book before next week so I can just make all 10 days worth of ADR's at once. If I have to wake up early every morning for 10 days to make them (without having a trip ressie) then I will be one grumpy person!

I cannot believe that Jack only wears a 9. He is only 1 month older than Luke, did you know that?

Sorry your Reefs didn't fit you. I thought that I would have to order 1/2 size up but 2 out of the 3 pair fit. I sent the one pair back...and yes I love Zappos free return shipping!!! I wish I would've just had them give me a Zappos credit instead of refunding my credit card because then I could've ordered those Keens that I want so bad!

I need to visit your PTR & catch up!

 

[stephielela]

If we keep the trip dates that I made up (September 14th through the 23rd) then I can make ADR's on March 18th...the day before my husband & puppy's birthday!

What a great Bday present for DH!

We were discussing the trip a little tonight at dinner and hopefully will book something by this weekend. I'm really, really trying to convince him to book before next week so I can just make all 10 days worth of ADR's at once. If I have to wake up early every morning for 10 days to make them (without having a trip ressie) then I will be one grumpy person!

I know what you mean. That is irritating!!

I cannot believe that Jack only wears a 9. He is only 1 month older than Luke, did you know that?

Wait, I'm confused! I thought Luke was older than Jack!!?? Jack will be 3 in April...

Sorry your Reefs didn't fit you. I thought that I would have to order 1/2 size up but 2 out of the 3 pair fit. I sent the one pair back...and yes I love Zappos free return shipping!!! I wish I would've just had them give me a Zappos credit instead of refunding my credit card because then I could've ordered those Keens that I want so bad!

It's wierd, the other Reefs I ordered were 6's, but these barely fit, which makes me nervous. Of course if the 7's are too big, I am keeping the 6's, I love them too much!!

I need to visit your PTR & catch up!

Due to being extremely bored at work, there is a good chance I will even post ANOTHER update tonight... but I am trying to pace myself!

 

[photographymom517]

Due to being extremely bored at work, there is a good chance I will even post ANOTHER update tonight... but I am trying to pace myself!

Luke will be 3 in May!

I don't blame you for wanting to keep the Reefs! I am in love with them too!!! They are really comfy shoes! I've been wearing mine in the house since its too cold to wear them outside, but as soon as all the snow & rain & mud go away, I'm wearing them every single day!!!

I'm headed over to your PTR now to see if you posted another update! LOL

 

[photographymom517]

Ok, ok...remember when I said this statement "Very tentative park days" ???

Well, its been less than 7 hours since I posted & I've already changed some of our plans!

Here's the updated list. I'll put the changes in red so you can see what I've changed!

Day 1 -- Arrival Day (depending on flight time)

* dinner at Garden Grill
* explore resort/swim at SAB


Day 2 -- Hollywood Studios

* breakfast at Starring Rolls
* lunch at Sci-Fi Dine in
* dinner at QS (Fairfax Fare or ABC or Mama Melrose's)
* Fantasmic night! I did a little research on the Disney website about the Fantasmic dining package. I'm thinking about Mama Melrose's for this. I had it on our original list but it was left out of my first list. I didn't know this restaurant was one of the options for the Fantasmic package, so this works out great!


Day 3 -- Epcot

* breakfast at Cape May Cafe
* walk to Epcot (love this!)
* lunch at QS (probably Morocco for me, Germany for husband/Luke)
* dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel


Day 4 -- Magic Kingdom

* breakfast at Crystal Palace
* lunch at QS
* dinner at Kona Cafe @ Poly


Day 5 -- Animal Kingdom

* breakfast at Tusker House
* QS lunch (Yak & Yeti or Tamu Tamu)
* dinner at QS @ Epcot


Day 6 --

* breakfast in room
* Photo Session in morning
* afternoon at Waterpark
* dinner at Teppan Edo


Day 7 -- DTD & MNSSHP

* early lunch at Earl of Sandwich
* early dinner at Wolfgang Puck
* MNSSHP 4pm-midnight


Day 8 -- Hollywood Studios

* QS breakfast
* QS lunch
* snack at BC in evening

Day 9 -- Epcot or MK

* breakfast at QS or at resort
* lunch at Chefs de France
* dinner at QS (probably Mexico)

Day 10 -- Departure Day (depending on flight time)

* breakfast at Boardwalk or BC
* partial park day probably at Epcot (QS lunch at Epcot)

 

[stephielela]

Luke will be 3 in May!

I don't blame you for wanting to keep the Reefs! I am in love with them too!!! They are really comfy shoes! I've been wearing mine in the house since its too cold to wear them outside, but as soon as all the snow & rain & mud go away, I'm wearing them every single day!!!

I'm headed over to your PTR now to see if you posted another update! LOL

Wow! I can't belive I missed that! I really thought he was a few months older than Jack. He looks like he might be taller, maybe that's why, lol.

Same here, I wear flip flops anytime the weather goes above 50...

 

[photographymom517]

Ok...I changed around our park days now. Since we decided to get park hoppers, if we want to go to the park with EMH's we'll just go to 2 parks that day. Otherwise, we will avoid the EMH parks to stick with the lowest possible crowds!

Here are the new days:

Day 1 -- same arrival/dinner at Epcot
Day 2 --Animal Kingdom
Day 3 -- Hollywood Studios
Day 4 --Magic Kingdom
Day 5 -- Epcot
Day 6 -- same (photos/water park/dinner at Epcot)
Day 7 -- same (DTD/MNSSHP)
Day 8 -- Hollywood Studios
Day 9 -- Epcot or MK
Day 10 -- breakfast/departure

Looking over it -- guess what? I might change it again!

I'm not sure that I want to go to Epcot on Day 5 and then again for dinner on Day 6. I might just change around the dinner options for Day 6 and Day 8 or 9. Who knows! Like I said, tenative schedule! I am able to make ADR's on March 18th so until then, looks like I will be switching lots around! I promise that I won't post again until I have a better idea of the schedule.

I also took Fantasmic completely off the schedule. I've been showing Luke some videos of it & he doesn't like the scary/dark parts at all. I think we'll wait a couple of years. Plus this will free up an evening of park time!

 

[Mindy5767]

If you and your DH like ABC.... you may be ok. I just found it really greasy. Maybe it was just our bad luck. I'm VERY picky about food though. No grease!! No thick pizza crust! Oh... the Via Napoli restaurant in EPCOT has wonderful pizza. Its not "Disney" pizza at all. In fact, I read that they import water from Italy for the crust.

I don't remember the price of the Fantasmic package. It was however, a price fixe menu for Fantasmic. For a fixed price, you get to choose one appetizer (I picked a salad), 1 entree (they have a list and I picked the steak) and 1 dessert... I picked something lemon cream I think... it was yummy and even had a biscotti in it. I think the drink was included but not beer or wine. I think its worth it because I WILL NOT stand in line for 2 hours to make sure I get in to Fantasmic. Now, maybe with lower crowds in Sept, it won't be as bad, but then... they'll just have fewer shows so it may be more crowded than you'd expect because everyone has to jam into just a few shows. It used to be Fantasmic was daily. Now it is a few days a week because of the economy. When I visited in November, and we did Fantasmic, they ended up adding a later Fantasmic show to the day we went because of increased crowd level expectations. However, when they do that, the dining package is only for the earlier show. Since our Fantasmic showing was 6:30, we had to have dinner around 4:30 to get into the show on time. You line up 30 min. prior instead of several hours. That worked out great and nobody needed more than a snack later that night. The steak, while I rarely eat steak, was so good. One of the best I've had at Disney.

 

[photographymom517]

If you and your DH like ABC.... you may be ok. I just found it really greasy. Maybe it was just our bad luck. I'm VERY picky about food though. No grease!! No thick pizza crust! Oh... the Via Napoli restaurant in EPCOT has wonderful pizza. Its not "Disney" pizza at all. In fact, I read that they import water from Italy for the crust.

I don't remember the price of the Fantasmic package. It was however, a price fixe menu for Fantasmic. For a fixed price, you get to choose one appetizer (I picked a salad), 1 entree (they have a list and I picked the steak) and 1 dessert... I picked something lemon cream I think... it was yummy and even had a biscotti in it. I think the drink was included but not beer or wine. I think its worth it because I WILL NOT stand in line for 2 hours to make sure I get in to Fantasmic. Now, maybe with lower crowds in Sept, it won't be as bad, but then... they'll just have fewer shows so it may be more crowded than you'd expect because everyone has to jam into just a few shows. It used to be Fantasmic was daily. Now it is a few days a week because of the economy. When I visited in November, and we did Fantasmic, they ended up adding a later Fantasmic show to the day we went because of increased crowd level expectations. However, when they do that, the dining package is only for the earlier show. Since our Fantasmic showing was 6:30, we had to have dinner around 4:30 to get into the show on time. You line up 30 min. prior instead of several hours. That worked out great and nobody needed more than a snack later that night. The steak, while I rarely eat steak, was so good. One of the best I've had at Disney.

Maybe we will try Via Napoli one evening! I have seen pictures of their pizza & it does look good!!!

I think that my parents ate there last September but I can't remember for sure. I think they walked up (didn't have an ADR) and the wait time was 45 minutes. I think thats pretty long for September crowds, but then again, Via Napoli had just opened before their trip. On the other hand, I think its lucky just to be able to walk up & get into a restaurant at Epcot without a ressie! LOL

I noticed they only have 1 showing of Fantasmic a few times a week. Its actually only on Sundays and Thursdays in September. I don't know what to do about it! I guess this will be one of my last minute decisions next week when I book ADR's. I was reading lots of reviews last night on various Disney sites & it seems that everyone agrees...Fantasmic dining package sells out at exactly 180 days out. So if I want to book Mama Melrose's for the F! dining package, I better do it next Friday!

But Luke is still afraid of the videos that I show him...that worries me because if he's afraid of the videos, he will be terrified of the actual live show. On the other hand, he will be 6 months older by the time we go to Disney...alot changes in 6 months with toddlers!

I completely agree with you! There's NO WAY I'm standing in line for 2 hours or more waiting for the show! That is insane, especially with a toddler! I would prefer the 30 minute wait. I can't remember what the wait time was in June but I'm sure it was insane considering most ride wait times were over 100-180 minutes!

I wish I could make up my mind!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Hi Hope!

Your DHS day schedule looks very similar to ours!!! We are planning to have breakfast at Starring Rolls and we have a 1:25p lunch ressie at Sci Fi! Great minds think alike!

Tusker House has quickly became one of our favorite character breakfasts, so I totally recommend it. I think Luke will LOVE it! They have a parade with the character and the kids get African instruments to play during it. So fun!

Now Cape May Cafe... You are are doing the breakfast right? Now I know it makes sense for you to eat here staying at the BC and all but I have to be honest with you( I would be a good Dis Friend if I didn't chime in here)... This was by far the WORST character meal that I ever been to in Disney! The character interaction was terrible as was the service and the food was mediocre at best... On the other hand I heard rave reviews about the dinner buffet.

 

[Mindy5767]

Hi Hope!

Now Cape May Cafe... You are are doing the breakfast right? Now I know it makes sense for you to eat here staying at the BC and all but I have to be honest with you( I would be a good Dis Friend if I didn't chime in here)... This was by far the WORST character meal that I ever been to in Disney! The character interaction was terrible as was the service and the food was mediocre at best... On the other hand I heard rave reviews about the dinner buffet.

Chiming..... ding..... REALLY I can't believe you had such a bad experience at Cape May. It was one of our most favorite Character meals ever. The food was yummy, there was so much to choose from. Our character interaction was great. Our favorites are Cape May, 1900 Park Fare and O'hana. The food selection at O'Hana is not as good as the others, but the character interaction and the little kid parade with the maracas is alot of fun and the atmosphere just takes you away. O'hana has delicious Hawaiian bread and tropical juice. I could eat just that and be happy... of course the sugar high would be like

I am thinking that one can really accidentally hit an off day at any restaurant or experience or really hit it well! My MIL even loved Cape May and she's not even Disneyfied!

 

[photographymom517]

Hi Hope!

Your DHS day schedule looks very similar to ours!!! We are planning to have breakfast at Starring Rolls and we have a 1:25p lunch ressie at Sci Fi! Great minds think alike!

Tusker House has quickly became one of our favorite character breakfasts, so I totally recommend it. I think Luke will LOVE it! They have a parade with the character and the kids get African instruments to play during it. So fun!

Now Cape May Cafe... You are are doing the breakfast right? Now I know it makes sense for you to eat here staying at the BC and all but I have to be honest with you( I would be a good Dis Friend if I didn't chime in here)... This was by far the WORST character meal that I ever been to in Disney! The character interaction was terrible as was the service and the food was mediocre at best... On the other hand I heard rave reviews about the dinner buffet.

That's so funny that our DHS days are so similar!!! You are completely right, great minds do think alike!!!

Yes, we are doing the character breakfast at Cape May. Thanks for your advice. I honestly don't know what to think because I've heard reviews both ways! I'm sooo confused so I guess I will just have to experience it for myself & then make a judgement!

I changed our schedule...yet again...third time in 24 hours!

I knew I shouldn't have posted anything until after I made it as "final" as possible.

 

[photographymom517]

Chiming..... ding..... REALLY I can't believe you had such a bad experience at Cape May. It was one of our most favorite Character meals ever. The food was yummy, there was so much to choose from. Our character interaction was great. Our favorites are Cape May, 1900 Park Fare and O'hana. The food selection at O'Hana is not as good as the others, but the character interaction and the little kid parade with the maracas is alot of fun and the atmosphere just takes you away. O'hana has delicious Hawaiian bread and tropical juice. I could eat just that and be happy... of course the sugar high would be like

I am thinking that one can really accidentally hit an off day at any restaurant or experience or really hit it well! My MIL even loved Cape May and she's not even Disneyfied!

I'm glad to hear that you had a great experience & love Cape May! I was actually told by a friend (who is a CM) that I need to try their breakfast! I've been told for 3 years to try their breakfast & its just never fit into our schedule. This trip, it just makes sense since we'll be at BC!

I am so confused over all my dining choices! LOL I know there are good reviews & bad reviews to every restaurant because everyone likes different things & has their own opinions. I usually take everyone's opinions into consideration but when it comes down to it, my husband and I usually agree that we will try things ourselves & create our own opinion!

The only character breakfast that I've ever been to was Play & Dine at Hollywood Studios. I know alot of people don't recommend it, but we loved it! My husband is very very picky about food & sometimes the things he likes surprises me! I thought the food was very good & Luke ate alot of what I choose for him, but I was worried my husband wouldn't like it. I was shocked that he loved it!

I totally agree, Mindy! I think that there are days when a restaurant is "off" and its a shame that our view of the "bad experience" sticks with us. I've had bad experiences at restaurants (on vacation and at home) and I've never went back. I guess I should give things a second chance! LOL