Lots of help for a 1st timer.

[ShortyNBug]

We are going to be staying at Pop in the end of Nov-beginning of Dec so my time will be coming soon to make my ADRs so I'm trying to get a handle on things.

We are staying Nov 28th-Dec 4th. I have a very picky hubby and 2 daughters, who will be 5 and 8. I have no idea where we will be going when but do plan on making MK our first full day and maybe our last.

These are the places I know I want to hit.
Akershus-Princess Storybook Breakfast
Le Cellier-Dinner
1900 Park Fare-Character Dinner
O'Hana- Lunch or Dinner?

And I'm wavering between 50's Prime Time Cafe and Sci Fi Dine In. Which is better and why? Lunch or dinner? Also Cape May or Chef Mickey's for breakfast one day. I can't decide though!

We also plan on doing Main Street Bakery for breakfast but can use snack credits for that if I'm thinking correctly.

So, with the restaurants I'm naming, are any of them 2 TS credits? What parks would you put with what restaurants? What else would you recommend? We have more credits left.

I'm thinking Everything Pop counter service our first night. We have park hoppers so plan away. I'm disney dumb and need all the help I can get. Thanks so much!

 

[ShortyNBug]

Holy catfish! Just did the ADR calculator and it says I can make my reservations June 1st! That's closer than I thought!

 

[squirrel]

No, all the TS you mentioned are just one TS credit. You get one credit per night per person.

I would suggest-Crysal Palace or Tusker House breakfasts, if you can book one for a day the park opens at the regular time and get in before the park opens. You don't want to book it on an am EMH day. Both are character meals-CP in MK with Winnie the Pooh and Friends, TH in AK with Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Goofy. Both have a really nice breakfast.

I have been to both 50's Prime Time and Sci-Fi. At Sci-Fi you should stick to burgers-I had the steak (not good). 50's Prime time I had the fried chicken meal it was very large and I loved the pb&j shake.

I don't think 'Ohana does a lunch. Dinner is really good-I hope you get in.

Akershus and Le Cellier are both in Epcot so you want to plan those on Epcot days.

1900 Park Fare and 'Ohana are on the monorail so you could plan them for MK days or at any of the other parks. If you are at AK and need to get to 1900 Park Fare you could catch the GF Resort bus and go straight to dinner.

 

[squirrel]

Do you have the park hours yet? If not go get them.

You should figure out if you are going to hit any EMH's. Are you avoiding DHS on Fantasmic nights or do you want to go.

Have your rough plan of where you will be each day. Then plan your dining around that.

Why did you decide to get hoppers for your first trip? Are there a lot of MVMCP nights? I don't recommend hoppers for first trips, unless the party nights are interfering with your MK days.

 

[anthonyemerick]

Hey Shorty none of the things you have on your list are 2 table service credits you will need a credit card to book the Ashkerhaus they all look like good things to do we will be there about the same time and are planning to hit all those as well you can start booking at 6 am on your day but now if you link your room number to your dining you can book the whole trip on that day !!! which is new
Good luck and I have been to Disney quite a few times so if you have any more questions please feel free to send me a private message

 

[ShortyNBug]

I'm thinking this may be our schedule. (It is subject to change since I've never done this.)

Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Cape May breakfast? Ohana Dinner?)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort?
2nd: DHS (Sci Fi)
3rd: MK (1900 Park Fare dinner?)
4th: Depart

I pretty much know where NONE of the resorts are so what I have may be out of the question. Just let me know!

 

[j-me]

Don't forget Whispering Canyon ( at Wilderness lodge)..it's a FUN dinner that we are planning on in Sept. Our friends went and it was a great family experience.
We LOVE Prime Time Cafe!! The atmosphere is amazing and you won't forget it. The food was large portions and very good. The kids will LOVE how they order their desserts. They might also be asked to set the table, dad may get a new name..etc. It is just a great time.
I am packing a bag of pwd mini doughnuts, poptarts, nutrigrain bars for breakfast at the hotel.

Have fun..

 

[anthonyemerick]

I get there the 27th and leave the 4th mon and fri we are going to magic Kingdom as well just fyi monday the magic Kingdom is open 3 xtra hours so if you wanted to you can stay till midnight but from what im gathering those xtra 3 hours can be busier then all the rest but the parade doesn't start till 8 and the fireworks till 9 make sure you take those kinds of things into consideration when you book your reservations for dinner

 

[Cafeen]

I'm thinking this may be our schedule. (It is subject to change since I've never done this.)

Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Chef Mickey's or Cape May breakfast? Ohana Dinner?)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort?
2nd: DHS (50's Prime Time or Sci Fi)
3rd: MK (1900 Park Fare dinner?)
4th: Depart

I pretty much know where NONE of the resorts are so what I have may be out of the question. Just let me know!

29 Nov - If you're driving, then either will work. If using Disney transportation, I'd stick to CM and/or Ohana. With Cape May being over at BC, it would be considerably out of the way to head there from Pop and then back to MK.

This is the only day that jumped out at me, everything else looks pretty decent, and again, if you're driving, you should be able to do Pop to BC to MK without much hassle. Of course, this is without me knowing the hours or your personal habits, so take that with a grain of salt .

 

[ShortyNBug]

Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Cape May breakfast?)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort? (1900 Park Fare Dinner before returning to resort)
2nd: DHS (Sci Fi lunch)
3rd: MK (Ohana Dinner)
4th: Depart

So if I did it this way I would be using all the TS credits right? And we can eat breakfast in the room somedays and plop in CS for other meals. Does this look like a good deal? Am I jumping from one place to another far away or will it work ok?

 

[sharonabe]

The way you have it set up right now you are NOT using your park hoppers, so I agree with the PP who said you probably don't need them. Save some money or plan to go to the MVMCP with the money you would've spent on the hoppers.

Going to Cape May on the 29th is a bad idea. Cape May is near Epcot and a LONG way from MK. You would get to MK later than you want to on your first day in the park. Why not try to get an early Crystal Palace ressie for that day and get into the park before opening so as to be finished about the time the park does open.

 

[squirrel]

What time are you arriving and departing? Will you have a car?

It costs very little to add another day or two to your tickets. Drop the hoppers and you will save a lot of money. You can't use another day on your ticket to go into another park, but if you have 1/2 a day at the begining or end of your trip you can squeese in some more park time.

Cape May Cafe is at the Beach Club Resort. If you are using Disney transportation you will need to take a bus from Pop to Epcot or DHS and then take a bus or boat (DHS) to the Beach Club. Then to get to the MK you will have to take a bus. You could take the monorail (hoppers) but you would have to walk through a good part of Epcot, so it will take more time.

I would book Crystal Palace and try to get in before the park opens. You get some great photos in front of the castle with very few people around. If you don't like Crystal Palace, then I would pick Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. It's right next to the MK.

If you have a car most people use it for all the parks except MK.

 

[ShortyNBug]

I was trying to stay away from Chef Mickey's but maybe if it's closer and we'd get to MK sooner I'll just do that. I really want at least one meal with Mickey and Minnie and I heard that Cape May was better so I was going with that. Oh well. About how much will I save if I get rid of the park hoppers? I just figured being first timers we may jump around and not stick to a plan so they'd be best. If I can save some money I'm all about that!


Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Chef Mickey's breakfast)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort? (1900 Park Fare Dinner before returning to resort)
2nd: DHS (Sci Fi lunch)
3rd: MK (Ohana Dinner)
4th: Depart

Does this look better?

 

[ShortyNBug]

Oh, and no we won't have a car and we don't have our flights all worked out yet.

 

[CathieArms]

I have a very picky hubby and 2 daughters, who will be 5 and 8. I have no idea where we will be going when but do plan on making MK our first full day and maybe our last.

These are the places I know I want to hit.
Akershus-Princess Storybook Breakfast
Le Cellier-Dinner
1900 Park Fare-Character Dinner
O'Hana- Lunch or Dinner?

I'm almost certain that 'Ohana only does dinner. And, by the way, I think you'll love 'Ohana...

And I'm wavering between 50's Prime Time Cafe and Sci Fi Dine In. Which is better and why? Lunch or dinner?

Personally, I've been to 50s Prime Time twice and I didn't think it was al that great. I really went for the atmosphere and it didn't do a thing for me. The food was good, but I just felt like there was equally good food other places. I guess if you get a *really* good waiter, then it might be worth it, but that wasn't my experience. I plan to NOT do it again my next trip.

One other thing I'd recommend is Crystal Palace...for us, it's an absolute MUST DO. First, it's beautiful there. Second, the character interaction is awesome. And third, the food was really good - at least at breakfast, and I'm told at all 3 meals. Definitely consider CP. In fact, it's in our plans to do CP the first evening of our arrival at dinner.

Other places that seem to come highly recommended and are on my list for next time, though I've never eaten at are: Tusker house with Donald for breakfast, and Boma for dinner. They've come so highly recommended that I'm thinking I'll keep them on my list at all costs.

As for Sci-Fi, we really loved the atmosphere at Sci-Fi. For me, I consider it a lunch place because it's mostly drive-in food. We really enjoyed the atmosphere here, and it was a nice and cool resting place in between the heat of a hot DHS day. I'd strongly suggest this place for lunch if your'e at DHS.

Also Cape May or Chef Mickey's for breakfast one day. I can't decide though!

Hmmm...I guess it depends upon where you're staying. If you're at BC/YC/BWI, etc, then I think it only makes sense to go to Cape May...and, honestly, I really love Cape May. I love the atmosphere and how "low key" it was compared to CM. But, my memory of CM is 10 years old, so take that with a grain of salt.

So, with the restaurants I'm naming, are any of them 2 TS credits? What parks would you put with what restaurants? What else would you recommend? We have more credits left.

I'm thinking Everything Pop counter service our first night. We have park hoppers so plan away. I'm disney dumb and need all the help I can get. Thanks so much!

Hmmmm...to your list, I'd strongly recommend Biergarten on one of your Epcot days. This was the one place I was dreading the most when we went - and even tried to be late so we'd have to eat CS instead - and it ended up being one of the entire family's favorite! It was awesome!

Also at Epcot is Tepan Edo - my whole family loved that one, too. Well, everyone except me, but I just didn't get into it. However, this is the one place that everyone is insisting on going back to.

When you go to 'Ohana, you might consider an early dinner (5pm) and go straight from one of the parks. We're planning to do 'Ohana on our DHS day since I really don't think DHS offers very many good options for dinner. You can go straight from DHS to the Polynesian, and then maybe hit another park before closing - if you're so inclined - or just go back to your resort.

This planning process is so much fun! Enjoy it!

 

[Cafeen]

About how much will I save if I get rid of the park hoppers?

About 50$ per ticket.

Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Chef Mickey's breakfast)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort? (1900 Park Fare Dinner before returning to resort)
2nd: DHS (Sci Fi lunch)
3rd: MK (Ohana Dinner)
4th: Depart

Does this look better?

I think it does. CM isn't too bad, and breakfast is typically deemed "acceptable". I enjoyed it when we went last year.

 

[squirrel]

Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House in the AK will have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. It is a really good buffet and if you think you can get up early enough, book an ADR before the park opens.

We enjoyed our breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I have it booked for this year also.


If you have already booked the package call back and have them drop the hoppers. You can always add them at the park if you decide you need them. If you don't need them you will save just over $50 per ticket.

Without those hoppers, you could afford to book a breakfast at CP and get into the MK before the park opens.

Can you tell I love being in the park before it opens. Everyone should try it at least once.

 

[santadog]

Everything you have laid out sounds good -

One thing to remember is, relax: this is supposed to be fun! I booked, and re-booked my ADRs for months, and still wound up changing them with the concierge at the hotel.

I was just there in April, and I'd say we much preferred Lunch to Breakfast as far as Akershus went.

I'd also try to do the Tusker Breakfast, it was a lot of fun, and plenty of character interaction. (Don't underestimate the allure of Animal Kingdom - that's the one park I wish we'd spent more time at)

If you go to DTD on your first day, you may be happier eating there, instead of the resort.

Since you said you haven't ironed out your flights yet - when we went, I flew out at 7 pm - it only cost a few dollars to add a day to our tickets, and it was one of the better days we had in the park.

 

[sndral]

You are flying in so are using disney transportation. You have 2 young daughters so I'm guessing princesses are big in your family.
11/28 arrival - if you arrive w/ enough time to go to DTD you can use a CS for dinner (I like Wolfgang puck express (not the restaurant!)

11/29 MK day EMH MK open till midnight. Personally I'd probably not have a breakfast ressie for the first day - something about having to get up in time to catch a bus 1 hr. before my ressie after a travel day and all the excitement of the first night - but maybe your daughters fall asleep early & easily. I'd probably do a 1900 Park Fare dinner. GF is a quick monorail ride from MK, a nice evening break from MK, then back to the park on the monorail till midnight or you wear out, the tree @ the GF is beautiful and the gingerbread house life sized.

11/30 Epcot - I'd probably save Akershus for a dinner later & do sunshine seasons for early lunch, maybe even splitting a cs. If you can't get Le Cellier for dinner, consider Coral reef - it made a huge impression on my son @ that age.

12/1 AK EMH. AK is open until 8 pm. If you stick with 1900 Park Fare this night allow an hour to bus over from AK to MK, then ride the monorail @ the front of MK to the grand floridian, dinner, monorail back to MK then bus to pop - just make sure you're back @ MK while the buses are running - MK closes @ 8 pm, so by 9 is fine. Personally, I'd just stay @ AK. Do the Safari breakfast. Flame tree barbicue has huge adult meals, you and hubby can easily split the 1/2 chicken or ribs and only use 1 cs for lunch between you, then split the other one in the pm elsewhere.

12/2 DHS - this is the morning to do Cape May if you want - @ the front of DHS is a boat that takes you to the epcot resorts, or it's a short walk. I'd probably do my TS @ DHS for dinner, having had a big breakfast.

12/3 last night MK - be aware that MK closes @ 7 pm this night for MVMCP. Epcot has EMH and is open until 12:30. Ohana is easily doable from MK, just a monorail ride away, and the buses should be running from MK due to the MVMCP. If you kept your hoppers, I'd probably hop over to Epcot for dinner @ Ackershus for a princess experience for the girls and then lots of Epcot rides/ illumunations for my last night.
However you plan it, it'll be magical.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I was trying to stay away from Chef Mickey's but maybe if it's closer and we'd get to MK sooner I'll just do that. I really want at least one meal with Mickey and Minnie and I heard that Cape May was better so I was going with that. Oh well. About how much will I save if I get rid of the park hoppers? I just figured being first timers we may jump around and not stick to a plan so they'd be best. If I can save some money I'm all about that!


Nov 28th: Arrive - Stay at resort, maybe DTD, eat at Everything Pop
29th: MK (Chef Mickey's breakfast)
30th: Epcot (so Akershus breakfast and Le Cellier dinner hopefully)
1st: AK- Afternoon at resort? (1900 Park Fare Dinner before returning to resort)
2nd: DHS (Sci Fi lunch)
3rd: MK (Ohana Dinner)
4th: Depart

Does this look better?

November 28th - What time are you arriving and heading to DTD? Instead of eating at POP, I would eat at Wolfgang Puck's in DTD, super yummy. If you are in DTD for a while I would also consider ice cream sundaes at Ghiradelli's. You can get some great snack options to take back to the room at Goofy's Candy shop also.

November 29th - You can make an adr at the Crystal Palace for breakfast before the park opens. This way you get to take some pictures in front of the castle before the huge crowd comes, little girls usually love Pooh and friends, have a yummy breakfast and are already IN the park when it opens. Fantastic! I find it a pain to go to another resort for breakfast and then get to a park but that's just my preference. It's a lot of traveling early in the morning for me.

November 30th - Looks good, if you can't get Le Cellier I would consider Le Chefs de France. The short ribs are delicious!!!

December 1st - Just like the MK, you can make an adr at Donald's Safari Breakfast (with Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy) before the park opens. This way you get to see all the characters, have a yummy breakfast and are in the park when it opens. You will be right next to the safari ride so when the park opens you will be right there. It is best to go on the safari first thing in the morning when the animals are out and about. Donald's Breakfast was our #1 favorite last summer.

December 2nd - Sci Fi is fun and I think a good lunch choice.

December 3rd - Ohana - It's somewhat hard to get an adr here but I wouldn't feel bad if you don't. Maybe do 1900 Park Faire instead this night? With either choice you will have to leave the park, take the monorail or boat to the resort (Poly or GF) and then return BACK to the park to get the bus to your resort. Not sure if you want to do that with two tired kids at the end of the day. (or you could spring for a taxi back to the POP)

December 4th - What time do you depart? You might be able to fit in some park time.

Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!