Maybe I need to make more reservations?

[KBecks]

Hi Everybody,

We are going to Disney World next month.... I have only made a few reservations... We will be eating December 9 - 16 (fly in late on the 8th and fly out early on the 17th)

Because our kids are small, 4, 6, and 8, we decided to do more lunch reservations. this is what we have booked so far:

DINING RESERVATIONS
Sunday, Dec 9 --- Boma*** -- 5:45 p.m.
Monday, Dec 10 --- Sci Fi Dine in Theater -- 12:20 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec 12 --- Chefs de France -- Noon
Thursday, Dec 13 -- Yak and Yeti -- 12:30
Friday, Dec 14 -- Crystal Palace -- 11:45 a.m.

**We went to Boma on our trip last time and it was wonderful. The other restaurants are new to us. We will re-visit some of the counter service restaurants, like the big Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, probably and probably the new counter services Be Our Guest and Gaston's.

We are staying off site and will have a car and a kitchen at the Sheraton Vistana, which is pretty close.

I'm wondering if I should make a few additional reservations.... maybe we should add in one or two breakfasts at Disney World? (we are not much into characters, and I want to keep our costs reasonable) or maybe one more fun but not too expensive dinner?

Should I add in a Kona breakfast? I had been looking at Whispering Canyon Cafe, or TREX, but heard that TREX is crazy loud. We like really good food and I like good value. We need to keep it pretty causal where our three boys can be kids...

We have done Marrakesh (loved), Cape May breakfast (boring/unimpressive), I can't remember where we ate last time..... we loved some of the counter services like the one in Japan that has a beautiful pool, and we liked the Liberty Tree Tavern (or is it the Colombia Harbor House?) whichever one is the quick service one..... quick service may be really good for other lunches/dinners....

I honestly don't know why I booked Crystal Palace for lunch, but my husband picked it... hope it's a good pick. This trip is sneaking up on us quickly.... it will be a great time!

Any recommendations for affordable places with great food or atmosphere that I may still squeak in for a reservation at a good time?

Thanks so much, dining experts!!

Karen

 

[Missyrose]

Hi Everybody,

We are going to Disney World next month.... I have only made a few reservations... We will be eating December 9 - 16 (fly in late on the 8th and fly out early on the 17th)

Because our kids are small, 4, 6, and 8, we decided to do more lunch reservations. this is what we have booked so far:

DINING RESERVATIONS
Sunday, Dec 9 --- Boma*** -- 5:45 p.m.
Monday, Dec 10 --- Sci Fi Dine in Theater -- 12:20 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec 12 --- Chefs de France -- Noon
Thursday, Dec 13 -- Yak and Yeti -- 12:30
Friday, Dec 14 -- Crystal Palace -- 11:45 a.m.

**We went to Boma on our trip last time and it was wonderful. The other restaurants are new to us. We will re-visit some of the counter service restaurants, like the big Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, probably and probably the new counter services Be Our Guest and Gaston's.

We are staying off site and will have a car and a kitchen at the Sheraton Vistana, which is pretty close.

I'm wondering if I should make a few additional reservations.... maybe we should add in one or two breakfasts at Disney World? (we are not much into characters, and I want to keep our costs reasonable) or maybe one more fun but not too expensive dinner?

Should I add in a Kona breakfast? I had been looking at Whispering Canyon Cafe, or TREX, but heard that TREX is crazy loud. We like really good food and I like good value. We need to keep it pretty causal where our three boys can be kids...

We have done Marrakesh (loved), Cape May breakfast (boring/unimpressive), I can't remember where we ate last time..... we loved some of the counter services like the one in Japan that has a beautiful pool, and we liked the Liberty Tree Tavern (or is it the Colombia Harbor House?) whichever one is the quick service one..... quick service may be really good for other lunches/dinners....

I honestly don't know why I booked Crystal Palace for lunch, but my husband picked it... hope it's a good pick. This trip is sneaking up on us quickly.... it will be a great time!

Any recommendations for affordable places with great food or atmosphere that I may still squeak in for a reservation at a good time?

Thanks so much, dining experts!!

Karen

Kona breakfast is great ( you have to try the Tonga Toast!).

A couple of things jump out at me. Gaston's Tavern isn't really a CS restaurant. More like a snack place. There aren't really full meals available there. Maybe schedule Columbia Harbor House instead.

I think if you wanted to make more ADRs, you might want to think about doing breakfast and dinner ADRs instead of lunch and dinner. Your kids are small, so you'll likely want earlyish dinner. With big lunches scheduled, you likely won't be hungry for a big dinner by 5 or 6. But you know your family best.

Good luck with your plans!

 

[KBecks]

Thanks so much Missy, we don't have any reservations on Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday.... so I think there is some room to add in. Now.... what to add? I think we will do Kona for breakfast or dinner or maybe both, and I will spend a little time reading about our options and checking out what's available on the reservation search pages to see what comes up.

I was making a list of everything I'm interested in after reading through one of the tour books...
Rainforest Cafe (or TREX)
50's Primetime Cafe
The Wave

 

[lovingeire]

We love Prime Time Cafe, my oldest loves seeing us get chastised for things like elbows on the table, etc. we are eating at TREX for the first time on our next trio, but mostly because we have Landrys Select Club points as well as a gift certificate from Swagbucks. I am looking forward to it though! WE have a two year old who really likes dinosaurs so I think he'll enjoy it! Hollywood & Vine could be fun if your kids like Jake & the Neverland Pirates and other Dosney Junior characters. We're trying Rose & Crown for the first time and actually got a late reservation so we could hopefully watch Illuminations from the patio, but we tend to eat around 7 normally anyways. Just a few more suggestions...

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks so much Missy, we don't have any reservations on Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday.... so I think there is some room to add in. Now.... what to add? I think we will do Kona for breakfast or dinner or maybe both, and I will spend a little time reading about our options and checking out what's available on the reservation search pages to see what comes up.

I was making a list of everything I'm interested in after reading through one of the tour books...
Rainforest Cafe (or TREX)
50's Primetime Cafe
The Wave

The one biggie that seems to be missing from your list is Be Our Guest. It's going to be a popular choice next month. But I'd keep stalking the dining Web site, it's a HUGE restaurant and there are bound to be cancellations.

Kona is great for both meals.

Via Napoli is another amazing restaurant (though some people complain it isn't worth the credit on the DDP, sharing a pizza could make this a good OOP value).

'Ohana is great if you could get in.

50s PTC is my favorite restaurant at DHS.

Raglan Road could also be a good choice at DTD, both it and T-Rex get great reviews. (For T-Rex, if you don't find the ADR time you want through Disney, call the restaurant directly, Disney doesn't get all the reservation times).

Hope this helps! Have a magical trip!

 

[graceandhayes]

My family (wife, DS7 and DD6) ate at both T-Rex cafe and Rainforest Cafe in Feb 2012. These were the only meals my kids insisted on for Feb 2013 - and Chef Mickey. Arrival day we do not get park tickets we go to DTD and eat at T-Rex Cafe. We have dinner at Rainforest Cafe on our AK day. I can tell you both restaurants are very similar. The are both loud, busy, and service can be slow. But, the kids love them. They love the animals, they love the atmosphere, they like the food, and they like the gift shop - go figure. They also love the dinosaur dig sandbox outside T-Rex cafe. We had to drag them away in Feb. I have to say the food is pretty good at both, and you get a lot of it. Unless you are a big eater I would not worry about an appetizer. Even the desserts are huge. I had the fajitas at Rainforest last year and they were great! In both restaurants every 20 or 30 minutes there is a "show". At T-Rex it is a meteor shower. The lights and sounds simulate a meteor shower and the dinosaurs all roar and come to life. In Rainforest I think it is a thunderstorm. Same concept - lights and sounds of a thunderstorm and the animals all go crazy. It only lasts a minute or two, but it gets very loud. My DD6 did not like it the first time, but loved it later. Anyway, both restaurants are good, but be prepared because it is a bit crazy at both.

 

[Nancyg56]

If you want to add ADR's I would go to the reservations site and see what pops up. If there are any openings for restaurants in the parks or areas you will be on the days you have none book them.

I like to have plans in place because it is usually easier t cancel them than it is to get them at the last minute.