More than 1 table service a day?

[kimberlym4]

I've read a lot about doing fewer table service restaurants to save money (and/or to maximize the DP) but does anyone else choose to do TS so that you are guarenteed a reprieve from the crowded/craziness of the day? I'm leaning towards spending our money on two TS a day so that we know we have a place twice a day to recharge and have a good meal. I dread trying to fight in CS lines and search for place to sit in June. I know that will cost us more (although I plan on sharing, getting a kid's meal myself, drinking only water, etc.) but it feels like it would make the day more relaxing. Anyone agree or disagree?

Of note might be the fact that will we only be spending 3 days in the parks - so I'm not talking about eating so well every day of a seven day trip. We are also staying cheaply offsite (an exchanged time share given to me by my mom) but close by.

Thanks for your input.

 

[ReneeA]

I think it's an okay idea. Personally, it wouldn't work for us because I don't want to waste an hour and a half to two hours per meal out of the park. That is up to 4 hours that could be better spent.

I think I (personally) would do one CS during off peak hours, and one TS meal.

It is something that is an individual taste.

 

[DisneyMom5]

We did that one day. We had a breakfast at Crystal Palace around 10:45 am, and then a supper at Chef Mickey's around 5 pm. I don't think we even needed snacks in between, we were so stuffed.

It was my son's b-day, so it was special to do that.

Most days it would take a lot of time. But if you get going early and don't try to do a late lunch and early dinner, you could probably do it.

 

[LoveMyBoys]

During our 9 day December trip there were 3 days that we did 2 TS restaurants a day. Breakfasts and dinners. We were on the dining plan, so we had a lot of CS credits that we needed to use up, otherwise I think we would have done more. This year we are not doing the dining plan (DH wants to stay at the Dolphin), so I suspect we'll be doing a lot more TS restaurants. DH is not a big fan of CS. Our kids are little and there are a lot of rides they can't go on and they don't do well in long lines. So we enjoy what we can and try not to think about how much touring time we lose while we are in TS restaurants.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've done 2 ts/sit-down meals in a day before, a few times. It works well for us, but at least one of those was a character meal, a few times, two character meals in one day. We don't like to do counter service much at all, especially at dinner.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm doing that this trip. I have a 11 day trip planned, and except for the day I arrive, which I'm only planning an ADR for dinner, every other day I'm going to have two TS meals planned. I'm planning on dinner every day, and either lunch or breakfast.

The one thing I did last year that I wouldn't suggest, is three TS meals in a day, this is what happened, I started with an 8:05 AM ADR for Crystal Palace, I almost never eat much for breakfast, but ate one large plate, and then a little plate of food, then at 12:00 I had an ADR at Tony's, which was only about three hours after I had finished eating at CP, I wasn't very hungry, and only got an appetizer and dessert. My dinner ADR was at 5:00 for Ohana's, and I wasn't hungry, so thought I wouldn't be eating much. . . I ate a plate full of salad, probably half a dozen pieces of shrimp, four chicken wings, two pieces of steak, pork, and turkey, about half of the potatoes they brought out, and made a good dent in the bread pudding. If I did it over againg, I would of cut out Tony's, and would of made my Ohana ADR for later, (couldn't because of MNSSHP that night.)

By all means do two TS a day. I found it effective to order two appetizers and desserts, rather then a whole meal. I was able to do this with no problem at Kona, Coral Reef, and Artist Point.

 

[Karnak]

Interesting question. I usually eat breakfast at my resort's food court, have lunch at a carefully chosen counter service spot, and have a reservation for dinner at a table service restaurant.

However, when I am spending a long day at a park that has extra magic hours for three hours in the evening, I usually make reservations for lunch and dinner at two different table service restaurants. Especially at Epcot. The meal breaks make the day more enjoyable for me.

Enjoy.

 

[Ginamarie]

We do 2 TS a day pretty frequently. There are too many TS restaurants at WDW that I enjoy! As long as you space everything out well it usually works out fine. (I do either a TS breakfast and TS dinner or an EARLY TS lunch -say 11am-12pm- and a late TS dinner -8 pm or so-).

I like being able to relax when we go through the parks now, since we've gone enough times that I don't feel the need to tour commando style.

Yes, it's more expensive, but hey, it's a vacation!

 

[Tiger926]

This is how we always do it, but this year we are trying DP as DVC members, so we are going to be eating 1x quick/casual service. A little nervous about this as we have lots of allergies/sensitivities, as well as love to eat TS as a welcome break from the crowds. We always do TS for lunch & dinner as we aren't big breakfast eaters at all. Plus, it's the best way to guarantee awesome character interactions as my DD 2.5 is addicted to character meals - LOL!! We eat well at home and so vacation is no exception, so we are definitely going to miss our 2 TS meals each day, but hopefully all will work out ok.

Tiger

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We do two TS meals a day usually lunch and dinner because none of us are that hungry after we wake up and usually go without breakfast at home anyways. 50% of the reason we go to WDW is the TS meals. Yes, it takes time out of your day but we get everything we want to do done anyways and it's nice family time just sitting around talking instead of running from ride to ride. It's very relaxing.

 

[pepperw23]

I've read a lot about doing fewer table service restaurants to save money (and/or to maximize the DP) but does anyone else choose to do TS so that you are guarenteed a reprieve from the crowded/craziness of the day? I'm leaning towards spending our money on two TS a day so that we know we have a place twice a day to recharge and have a good meal. I dread trying to fight in CS lines and search for place to sit in June. I know that will cost us more (although I plan on sharing, getting a kid's meal myself, drinking only water, etc.) but it feels like it would make the day more relaxing. Anyone agree or disagree?

Of note might be the fact that will we only be spending 3 days in the parks - so I'm not talking about eating so well every day of a seven day trip. We are also staying cheaply offsite (an exchanged time share given to me by my mom) but close by.

Thanks for your input.

I dunno, it seems like a good idea in theory, until you take in to account all that food on your tummy on a hot day, then combine getting on rides etc...I dunno. TS, from what I am hearing is ALOT of food. There are alternatives in the park to catch some rest that we discovered. Here are a few:

Magic Kingdom: Hall of Presidents (I was actually cold in there lol), Jungle Cruise, Transit Authority
Epcot: Innovations, Ice Station Cool (free drinks too oh yea), That never ending ride in SpaceShip Earth(but pretty cool)
MGM: The Great Movie Ride, Who wants to be a Millionair (so poor I can't even afford to spell Millionair right lol)
Animal Kingdom: Saffari Ride, Lots of shade.

Of instead of two TS meals why not make ADR's at places that sell Ice Cream and do dessert?

Just some thoughts. Regardless, you will have a blast!! I can't wait till' June.

 

[Babs50]

I've found that more than 1 TS a day is too much food! It worked well to buy milk, cereal, and fruit at the resort and eat that in our room for breakfast, then have 1 TS and 1 counterservice.

 

[sue1013]

We always do two ts per day. Usually lunch and dinner but sometimes a later breakfast then dinner. It gives us a nice break we are not commandos we are on vacation not in a race so time is not a factor for us. Someone said too much food but just because you are eating a ts doesn't mean you need to order 3 courses. Most lunches I will just get an appetizer and maybe a salad. I could not eat an appetizer and entree it's too much for me. We don't order dessert with our meal usually too full to enjoy it.

 

[milmore104]

We usually do 2 TS meals 5 out of our 10 day trips. But this will grow as we have so many MUST do rest. and the list keeps growing. As for the CS being crowded it ususally is during meal times so if you went at an odd ball time (late lunce late dinner) it's not so bad. Also if you visit some of the smaller ones they seem to be a little more quite.

 

[GailT]

a few years ago when it was the old DP I ate a TS for lunch and supper...to much food never felt like snacks. I like last year I CS in the afternoon for lunch and then a TS for dinner at night...still didn't eat snacks but that was a more normal way of eating and not stuffing yourself

 

[christianweecare]

We just got back a few weeks ago from a long weekend trip. We did two TS meals on our first day. We ate at the Crystal Palace for lunch so the DGD could enjoy the Pooh characters. That evening we had dinner at Teppanyaki at Epcot. I don't think we could do two TS everyday but it was fine that day. Usually whenever it is just DH & I at WDW, we eat a big breakfast, snack along the way during the day, then have a nice dinner in the evening.

 

[cinmell]

We usually do a table service breakfast and a table service dinner per day. We usually grab something small at lunch time and this works great for us.

 

[mamaprincess]

We always do breakfast and dinner. With the kids, sitting down is a great reprieve. There is usually about 7 hours between breakfast and dinner so we are fine. We may have a really light snack.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Someone said too much food but just because you are eating a ts doesn't mean you need to order 3 courses. Most lunches I will just get an appetizer and maybe a salad. I could not eat an appetizer and entree it's too much for me. We don't order dessert with our meal usually too full to enjoy it.

We do the same thing. I've never been "stuffed" (but I've been pleasantly full!) after eating TS meals. My mom and I will sometimes split a dinner and get two house salads or split a sandwich and a salad at lunch. We did the dining plan years and years ago where you get the appt., entree, and dessert but we all thought that it was a ridiculous amount of food to waste so now we go and either split food, or just order small things for lunch. At Sci-Fi I ordered an appetizer and a milkshake for lunch and that was more than enough for me.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I love getting break, sitting down and enjoying a great meal with great theming! It's like another attraction to me and something I greatly look forward to each trip. I usually do two TS, sometimes I've done three! (don't choose a buffet for one of the three, though, you just won't get your money's worth, or you'll end up cancelling another ADR later on, like the other poster mentioned)

One thing I never understand is how people say they don't like to do TS because of "all of that food" . You always have a decision of how much to eat and what things to choose. I do not eat more at a TS restaurant. In fact, I often eat healthier because of the greater amount of options- and because I normally eat slower at a TS when I feel relaxed.

For example- if I eat a burger, fries and cheese sauce at Cosmic Ray's and 20 minutes later I'm back in the parks, I feel icky. If I have a salad, and a plate of grilled mahi mahi and sticky rice at Kona, I get to relax, enjoy my meal and have a break in a new environment before getting back to the park. It just doesn't make sense to say CS is lighter food than TS because it's up to individual choice. I like TS because I have a wider choice (and because I don't like premade salads!)

I think your plan is fine- boyfriend and I have shared several meals in WDW and they are always really accomodating with it. We saved money and calories and got to taste some wonderful dishes.