Meal before departure?

[Forevryoung]

I just made an ADR for an early lunch/late breakfast on the last day of our Jan trip. We are going to have a 3:30pm flight from MCO (assuming ME will pick us up at 12:30pm or so).

We are staying at the WL.

I made an ADR for Chef Mickey's for 11:10am- I know it might be cutting it close depending on when our ME time is. We can get an ADR for Wispering Canyon around 10:40am but it destroys any chance of going anywhere prior to our ADR.

I've heard that Chef Mickey's is very noisy- would it be a bad choice for our last meal on vacation? Is Wispering Canyon a better option? They are both serving breakfast so that's not a consideration.

Thanks!

 

[Tricia1972]

I think CM tends towards noisy no matter what. That being said, that's where we're going to breakfast on our last day in the parks too.

For us it's a fun way to end our vacation with a very Disney atmosphere. I love the twirling napkin parade and character interaction. We enjoyed the food too.

 

[HappyTap]

While I think CM would be the more fun way to end the trip, that seems like it would be cutting it really close. We stayed at WL last week, and ME was scheduled to pick us up right at 3 hours before our flight time. So that would put your pickup at 12:30, like you said. With an 11:10 ADR, you may still not get seated until 11:30 (we waited 20 minutes past our ADR at CM). You will still have to travel between the Contemp and WL for your ME pickup, which, if relying on the boat, could take 15 minutes or so (we waited up to 10 minutes for a boat and then waited for more people to board, too). Plus, you don't want to be getting off the boat right at 12:30, because you will have to walk from the dock up through the lobby, collect your bags at bell services, and get out to ME, which won't wait for you.

Plus, at CM you would want to get to see all the characters, and it can take a while for all to make it to your table, especially for a late breakfast like that one. We did a CM breakfast ADR at 11:15, and it was 12:30 by the time the last character made it to our table (the restaurant was slowing down, and the characters were spending more time horsing around with guests, which was fun, but slowed the time down greatly). To me it sounds like a lot of extra stress.

Now, if you could possibly get your bags to the Contemp bell services, and see if ME could pick you up there, that might be more feasible. But I don't know if they will do that, and it would still be rushing what should be a relaxing meal. I'd do WC between the two. Sorry.

 

[mcco5543]

May I be very honest? I hope so becuase I'm going to be.

ME is very much on a schedule. IMHO I would NOT have a good time at chef mickeys considering how rushed I would have to be.. even if you get your bags down to bell services you still have to retrieve them from bell services and that can take a few minutes sometimes!

Another vote for WC for 10:40 if it's still available. skip the parks or "doing anything" other than breakfast on the morning you leave. Trust me it'll be more magical than worrying about being rushed!
And yes Chef Mickey's is LOUD

 

[kaytieeldr]

Whispering Canyon at 10:40. Period.

Magical Express will pick you up ONLY at your resort, even if the same bus is stopping at both places – so scratch that idea.

They ‘request’ that you be at the pickup area fifteen minutes in advance.

If you have any (or all) bags checked with Bell Services, you need to allow another fifteen minutes to reclaim them.

For a 3:30 flight, your pickup time will be 12:45 at the latest. More likely it will be 12:30.

You will need to be back at the front of Wilderness Lodge at 12:00.

Even if you take a cab back (five minutes) and get seated exactly on time, that only leaves you forty-five minutes to eat, visit with the characters, and get out of the restaurant, downstairs, and out of the resort.

 

[dodukes]

IS there anyway you can make your CM adr earlier, if that is what you truly want to do, just focus on doing that that morning and nothing else. We dirve everywhere and even driving, it would be cutting it too close for me.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I just made an ADR for an early lunch/late breakfast on the last day of our Jan trip. We are going to have a 3:30pm flight from MCO (assuming ME will pick us up at 12:30pm or so).

We are staying at the WL.

With a 3:30 p.m. flight, your DME pickup will be scheduled between 12:20 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., depending on the DME schedule at WL (there are usually two DME pickup times per hour, 30 minutes apart, at each resort).

You should arrive at the pickup location at least 10 minutes early. So that means that you might need to be at the DME pickup location at WL as early as 12:10 p.m. You'll want to allow at least 30 minutes to get back from CR to WL, so you'll need to leave CR as early as 11:40 a.m.

Even with an ADR, you won't be seated until there's an available table (and other people will have the same reservation time that you do). So you can't count on having a table at precisely 11:10 a.m. Let's suppose you're seated by 11:30 p.m. -- that will give you 10 minutes to eat, pay the bill, and get down to the dock to wait for a boat back to WL (there are also ways of using a bus, but that would probably require a transfer or a walk to the MK bus area).

Even with a best case DME pickup time (instead of the worst case that I described here), I don't think you'll have enough time.

 

[Disney Anna]

I'm with the others, you don't have enough time to enjoy CM. There is just no way. I think you're even cutting it a bit close with WCanyon, but at least you can leave and jump on the ME. If possible, I would try to make that ressie at least 30 minutes earlier.

Good luck.

 

[Forevryoung]

Thanks guys for being the voice of reason... I knew I was cutting it close.

I will call tomorrow and ask about earlier ADRs.

I've decided that a loud restaurant like Chef Mickeys is probably not for us... especially at the end of the vacation.

Wispering Canyon would probably be the best bet, maybe Boma would work too (with a cab)

 

[GolfCrazy]

I personally would go with WCC too (I just like it a lot better) but I find it funny that you are concerned that Chef Mickey's is too noisy. Have you been to WCC? It isn't exactly a quiet meal in an out of the way spot! I can hear HOWDY's at the top of servers lungs right now and a bunch of stampeding kids riding wooden horses around the restaurant....very relaxing and quiet.

Oh......by the way, I like WCC a lot and I really enjoy their breakfast!

 

[Forevryoung]

I personally would go with WCC too (I just like it a lot better) but I find it funny that you are concerned that Chef Mickey's is too noisy. Have you been to WCC? It isn't exactly a quiet meal in an out of the way spot! I can hear HOWDY's at the top of servers lungs right now and a bunch of stampeding kids riding wooden horses around the restaurant....very relaxing and quiet.

Oh......by the way, I like WCC a lot and I really enjoy their breakfast!

I know... but at least there is no travel hassel. And I've heard about tables out of the way. And for two adults, we can avoid the character meals.

 

[septbaby]

Chef Mickey's would be fun, you're not going until Jan. Hold the WCC 10:40, but see if you can get an earlier ADR at Chef Mickey's.

 

[Forevryoung]

I'm going to call tomorrow morning but I think going over to Trails End for breakfast is an option as well- That way it's a change of location but potentially quieter, cheaper, and from what I've heard, good breakfast food! I think I would rather do a buffet because I don't eat breakfast meats so the skillet at WCC is not a choice for me... I know they have other food too

sooooo I'm going to become an ADR stalker, CM at 10:30am, WCC at 10:40am or Trails End at 10:30am-ish. I'm taking Boma out of the mix- too much traveling (no car)