MK Day dining advice

[boscoast]

I'm going to MK next Sunday, and will be on the DxDP. We're in our late 20s, no children, doing a 5 day trip with 3 days at the park and 2 louging/resort days to give you a sense of the pace of our vacation.

I definitely want to have a meal at Kona on our MK day to visit the Polynesian, either lunch or dinner.

I'm torn for the other meal between Whispering Canyon Cafe at WL and Skipper Canteen. Is the food at Whispering Canyon good? I've never dined there but have stayed at WL and would love to visit it. That said, leaving MK twice to go dine at a resort seems like it could end up feeling like a lot of time in transit for the day. Or maybe it could feel like a nice break from the madness?

Are the Asian fusion menus too similar at Kona/Skipper Canteen?

What would you do?

 

[DWillowBay]

Hands down, I would go to Skipper's Canteen. The atmosphere is great, the service is terrific and food is delicious! One of my absolute favorites. And, for me, I don't like a lot of park time lost to transportation. I love Wilderness Lodge, but Whispering Canyon is not worth my time lost in the park. JMHO.

 

[Calee]

I would not want to waste that much park time. I would eat your other meal in the park.

 

[sharonabe]

Another vote for Skipper Canteen. Some of the best apps I've had on property are there. Don't skip the Cachapas!! sooooo good.

Have you checked the menu at Kona recently? They had a major change in the last month or so and the new menu isn't as appealing as the old one to many people. I know you're wanting to visit the Poly, but you could do a resort visit on one of your off days.

 

[DCLPrincess]

I also vote for Skipper canteen for all the previous reasons listed.

 

[kastoney]

I'd also go with Skippers over Whispering Canyon. WC is definitely fun and the food is good, but certainly not worth leaving the park again for it when Skippers food is even better IMO.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Another vote for Skipper's. We like WCC, but definitely prefer breakfast over lunch and dinner.

 

[BelleBriarRose]

Another vote for Skipper Canteen for all the reasons listed above, but especially because I wouldn't want to leave the park for that long.

 

[starry_solo]

I vote with neither and to spend the day inside the park and find a meal there that would be sufficient. Perhaps Crystal Palace?

I would also do Poly for dinner, on your way out of the park. Then you can just hop the monorail over to Poly.

 

[Disneypro1]

My goodness. Who on earth would leave the park for that long.......Stay there and eat. simple as that.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

"Skipper Canteen" We ate at Skipper Canteen on our last visit. We really enjoyed it and plan on going thee again next time.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would save Kona for your off days and eat in the park. I would consider Crystal Palace for a large breakfast or early lunch, or Liberty Tree for lunch, and then for dinner Skippers. WHat your plan now entails is a lot of travel time. A LOT of travel time. Just for discussion purposes, our experience leaving the MK for the Poly for dinner in December: We headed straight for the monorail, got up to the entrance gate, followed by a lot of other people. The monorail was "stalled" to make room fro traffic, or something. WE were corralled there for what seemed to be forever, could not go back because there was no way to weave between all those folks. We were late for dinner, but Kona was understanding. That was frustrating, but we were not going back to the park. If this happened on a day when I was just scooting out for lunch or dinner with teh intention of going back to the MK, Yikes!

 

[LovesTimone]

For my family and myself I would explore the other resorts on your down days... maybe monorail hop around the 7 seas lagoon, this way you can really check out each resort... you could snack or enjoy an adult beverage at each stop... then take the boat over to Wilderness Lodge for dinner, then maybe back to see the fireworks from the Poly beach...

I would try to have a character meal for breakfast, at Crystal Palace, nothing like having breakfast with Pooh and friends...then maybe dinner at BOG...
Or you could just for counter service... another thought the plaza is one of our fav's for a early lunch, and then your choice of dinner somewhere else...

MK is a big park, if you want a break and decide to leave the park, I would do only one, Like a QS at one of the resorts on the monorail to help cut down on the time factor...

As well Kona has had a menu change... and at least for us it really isn't somewhere I would be willing to leave the park for... we will stick to breakfast there as of right now...

 

[boscoast]

My goodness. Who on earth would leave the park for that long.......Stay there and eat. simple as that.

Different people have different vacation styles - like I said in my initial post, "We're in our late 20s, no children, doing a 5 day trip with 3 days at the park and 2 louging/resort days to give you a sense of the pace of our vacation."

We're looking to relax, do the parks, but also feel like we are truly on a vacation and have down time. We love to eat and drink, and enjoy breaking up the day by sitting down to have a cocktail and share an appetizer / entree. I should have specified that we go to Disney once a year, so there is no urgency to do everything we possibly can in the parks all day marathon style etc.

I also honestly am not super into any of the meal options at MK - we've eaten at Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree, and Skipper Canteen. Really liked Skipper Canteen, but the particular menu offerings are kinda similar to other meals we have booked during the trip which is why I have been feeling tentative. The other two I'd have a hard time going back to knowing there are better restaurants for the same or better prices on property. We're also not super into quick service because, again, we like to take a break, enjoy a cocktail, and some nice apps or an entree.

 

[boscoast]

I would save Kona for your off days and eat in the park. I would consider Crystal Palace for a large breakfast or early lunch, or Liberty Tree for lunch, and then for dinner Skippers. WHat your plan now entails is a lot of travel time. A LOT of travel time. Just for discussion purposes, our experience leaving the MK for the Poly for dinner in December: We headed straight for the monorail, got up to the entrance gate, followed by a lot of other people. The monorail was "stalled" to make room fro traffic, or something. WE were corralled there for what seemed to be forever, could not go back because there was no way to weave between all those folks. We were late for dinner, but Kona was understanding. That was frustrating, but we were not going back to the park. If this happened on a day when I was just scooting out for lunch or dinner with teh intention of going back to the MK, Yikes!

All good points re: the travel times. We're not going to be in a rush at all, and the park actually closes at 9 so our Kona reservation is at 9:30. It's going to be a Sunday night in February on a week where there isn't anything special going on so I feel optimistic about both our ability to leisurely tour MK and not be in a bustling crowd fighting to get onto transportation, but this was not even something i was considering so thanks for the reminder that it can get super busy. I think we ARE going to do lunch at Skippers to stay inside the park for lunch

 

[JeninTexas]

On our upcoming trip, we also have the deluxe dining plan and are not planning on any crazy rushed park days. We are planning on a nice breakfast then making our way to the park and eating at a signature restaurant for dinner. Have you considered eating breakfast at Kona instead of lunch or dinner? You could then make your way to MK for a few hours and have dinner at a signature restaurant. If you want to stay in the park, BOG dinner would be a good choice. I would definitely not leave to go to Wilderness Lodge for a meal. Skipper Canteen has great food but if you are choosing one credit restaurants for dinner you may end up with meal credits left. I think it would be really hard to eat 3 TS meals a day, so eating at a signature restaurant each day is a good use of the plan.

 

[Nancyg56]

All good points re: the travel times. We're not going to be in a rush at all, and the park actually closes at 9 so our Kona reservation is at 9:30. It's going to be a Sunday night in February on a week where there isn't anything special going on so I feel optimistic about both our ability to leisurely tour MK and not be in a bustling crowd fighting to get onto transportation, but this was not even something i was considering so thanks for the reminder that it can get super busy. I think we ARE going to do lunch at Skippers to stay inside the park for lunch

Yes, the park closed at 6 that night and while we left in advance of that time, others left as well.It did nto seem busy until we were boxed in at the monorail gate.

ENjoy your MK day! I love that park.