my ADRs - please look!

[beachboys]

Hello all! Thanks for taking the time to look at my ADRs. A little background - this trip is actually a "familymoon" as well as my children's first visit to WDW. So the travelers include me (34 - people say I'm outnumbered with my soon-to-be-hubby and 3 boys; I believe that I'm a queen with a full court DH to be and the kids (8) (7) (5) . We're spending 6 nights in the World, 3 at AKL and 3 at the Poly, so this dictated our dining plans somewhat.
(By the way, we're doing the DxDP.) Looking forward to feedback!
12/17 - arrival day. Flying into MCO at 11:06am.
Our park this day will be Epcot and lunch will be at The Coral Reef, 1:30pm. Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 7pm.
12/18 - Use snack credits at AKL for breakfast (any ideas or suggestions on what to get???)Finish Epcot in the am, then head to DHS. We haven't figured out lunch yet, maybe Toy Story Pizza Planet??? Dinner at Crystal Palace (5:10pm) and then MVMCP!
12/19 - B'fast at Boma (8am). Animal Kingdom day, so lunch at Tusker House at 12:10 and dinner at Jiko (7:20pm).
12/20 - Boma again at 7:45am. This is the day we switch resorts to the Polynesian and head to MK. Lunch is at Liberty Tree Tavern at 1:05pm and dinner at 7:55 at California Grille. We hope to see the fireworks on the balcony of the restaurant.
12/21 - 7:50am breakfast at O'Hanas and head to DHS. Lunch will be at 11:25 at Sci-Fi and the Fantasmic dinner package at the Brown Derby at 4:15pm. Any pointers about this package, timing, seating, etc would be wonderful!
12/22 - Kona at 7:40am and then taxi over to Universal. I have no idea where to eat lunch at this park. But we taxi back at 6pm and eat an 8pm dinner at Narcooses.
12/23 - departure day (so sad). Our flight doesn't leave until 5:10pm, so we hope to enjoy more time at MK. I guess we'll do snack credits for bfast (Captain Cooks or someweher in MK - what do you all think?) and I have no clue for lunch. Is there anything you can get for lunch using snack credits?
That's it! Can't wait to hear what ya'll think!

 

[just4today]

I didn't read through the whole thing, but on the day you arrive at 11:06 am and you're having lunch at Coral Reef at 1:30? I think you will have trouble making that. I would be surprised if you're out of the airport much before noon.

 

[vicki_c]

Just some general comments embedded below -- sound like a great trip to kick off the new family unit!

(By the way, we're doing the DxDP.) Looking forward to feedback!
12/17 - arrival day. Flying into MCO at 11:06am.
Our park this day will be Epcot and lunch will be at The Coral Reef, 1:30pm. Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 7pm. I think you will have a tough time making this Coral Reef reservation if you don't arrive at MCO until 11:06 AM.
12/18 - Use snack credits at AKL for breakfast (any ideas or suggestions on what to get???)Finish Epcot in the am, then head to DHS. We haven't figured out lunch yet, maybe Toy Story Pizza Planet??? Dinner at Crystal Palace (5:10pm) and then MVMCP! More of an itinerary comment than a restaurant comment -- you have way too much going on here. 3 Parks, a dinner reservation and the Christmas party? You should really rethink this day overall.
12/19 - B'fast at Boma (8am). Animal Kingdom day, so lunch at Tusker House at 12:10 and dinner at Jiko (7:20pm). Same thing - your family is probably not going to want to do an 8 AM breakfast after the party night. Enjoy Jiko, I hear it's great.
12/20 - Boma again at 7:45am. This is the day we switch resorts to the Polynesian and head to MK. Lunch is at Liberty Tree Tavern at 1:05pm and dinner at 7:55 at California Grille. We hope to see the fireworks on the balcony of the restaurant.
12/21 - 7:50am breakfast at O'Hanas and head to DHS. Lunch will be at 11:25 at Sci-Fi and the Fantasmic dinner package at the Brown Derby at 4:15pm. Any pointers about this package, timing, seating, etc would be wonderful!
12/22 - Kona at 7:40am and then taxi over to Universal. I have no idea where to eat lunch at this park. But we taxi back at 6pm and eat an 8pm dinner at Narcooses.
12/23 - departure day (so sad). Our flight doesn't leave until 5:10pm, so we hope to enjoy more time at MK. I guess we'll do snack credits for bfast (Captain Cooks or someweher in MK - what do you all think?) and I have no clue for lunch. Is there anything you can get for lunch using snack credits?
That's it! Can't wait to hear what ya'll think!

 

[txmomto1]

Hello all! Thanks for taking the time to look at my ADRs. A little background - this trip is actually a "familymoon" as well as my children's first visit to WDW. So the travelers include me (34 - people say I'm outnumbered with my soon-to-be-hubby and 3 boys; I believe that I'm a queen with a full court DH to be and the kids (8) (7) (5) . We're spending 6 nights in the World, 3 at AKL and 3 at the Poly, so this dictated our dining plans somewhat.
(By the way, we're doing the DxDP.) Looking forward to feedback!
12/17 - arrival day. Flying into MCO at 11:06am.
Our park this day will be Epcot and lunch will be at The Coral Reef, 1:30pm. Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 7pm.
12/18 - Use snack credits at AKL for breakfast (any ideas or suggestions on what to get???)Finish Epcot in the am, then head to DHS. We haven't figured out lunch yet, maybe Toy Story Pizza Planet??? Dinner at Crystal Palace (5:10pm) and then MVMCP!
12/19 - B'fast at Boma (8am). Animal Kingdom day, so lunch at Tusker House at 12:10 and dinner at Jiko (7:20pm).
12/20 - Boma again at 7:45am. This is the day we switch resorts to the Polynesian and head to MK. Lunch is at Liberty Tree Tavern at 1:05pm and dinner at 7:55 at California Grille. We hope to see the fireworks on the balcony of the restaurant.
12/21 - 7:50am breakfast at O'Hanas and head to DHS. Lunch will be at 11:25 at Sci-Fi and the Fantasmic dinner package at the Brown Derby at 4:15pm. Any pointers about this package, timing, seating, etc would be wonderful!
12/22 - Kona at 7:40am and then taxi over to Universal. I have no idea where to eat lunch at this park. But we taxi back at 6pm and eat an 8pm dinner at Narcooses.
12/23 - departure day (so sad). Our flight doesn't leave until 5:10pm, so we hope to enjoy more time at MK. I guess we'll do snack credits for bfast (Captain Cooks or someweher in MK - what do you all think?) and I have no clue for lunch. Is there anything you can get for lunch using snack credits?
That's it! Can't wait to hear what ya'll think!

Everything looks good to me. I've been to several of your restaurants, and have other's booked for our trip in December. The only thing that looks hard for me is that you are doing a lot of traveling between parks and hotels. Your boy's might be fine with it, my son would be a grump by the end.

I might choose to stay at Epcot for Dinner the first night, rather then traveling to CR. You might look at trying to book the CP for dinner that night.

As for departure day, Main Street Bakery is a great place to use up snack credits for breakfast. We also use snack credits on waters, etc. Saves money vs. buying drinks throught out the trip.

 

[beachboys]

Yeah, I'm a little worried about making the 1:30 reservtion at Coral Reef. DME said that I will be at AKL within 90 minutes, so I was thinking that we'd head to Epcot immediately, but it would still cut it close. I' might try and bump this ressie back a bit.
We're actually going to 2 parks on the 18th, but we're staying ay the AKL resort. Maybe that was the 3 park confusion? We're leaving DHs at 2:30pm and resting and showering at AKL for 2 hours before heading to CP. I picked CP because I thought it would be nice to go ahead and be in the park prior to MVMCP. On the 19th, we're taking it easy and only doing AK, in fact we'll be back for the night by 5pm and at dinner at the resort and just chill and get a good night's rest. You mentioned that Jiko was good - any suggestions?
I don't want to push everyone past their breaking point. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[beachboys]

Miain Street Bakery sounds good - do you have any favorite? When are you going in December and where are you staying? Thanks for the advice!

 

[just4today]

Hello all! Thanks for taking the time to look at my ADRs. A little background - this trip is actually a "familymoon" as well as my children's first visit to WDW. So the travelers include me (34 - people say I'm outnumbered with my soon-to-be-hubby and 3 boys; I believe that I'm a queen with a full court DH to be and the kids (8) (7) (5) . We're spending 6 nights in the World, 3 at AKL and 3 at the Poly, so this dictated our dining plans somewhat.
(By the way, we're doing the DxDP.) Looking forward to feedback!
12/17 - arrival day. Flying into MCO at 11:06am.
Our park this day will be Epcot and lunch will be at The Coral Reef, 1:30pm. Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 7pm.

I already mentioned the airport. Are you renting a car, taking Magical Express, or having a car meet you? Either way, you will have to stop by your resort and drop off luggage, then get to EPCOT. Traveling from AKL to Epcot will take some time by bus, even with your own car.

It is very unlikely you'd make it to Epcot much before 2:00 pm, then you still have to walk from the entrance to Coral Reef - another 15 minutes. The monorail from epcot to MK, then to CR (where Chef Mickey's is) will be another 30 minutes or so.

That's a lot of travel time getting to/from meals, and not much park time.

12/18 - Use snack credits at AKL for breakfast (any ideas or suggestions on what to get???)Finish Epcot in the am, then head to DHS. We haven't figured out lunch yet, maybe Toy Story Pizza Planet??? Dinner at Crystal Palace (5:10pm) and then MVMCP!

I think you are seriously underestimating how long it takes to get from place to place, and then getting into the parks from the parking lots/entrance area.

12/19 - B'fast at Boma (8am). Animal Kingdom day, so lunch at Tusker House at 12:10 and dinner at Jiko (7:20pm).

This seems very managable.

12/20 - Boma again at 7:45am. This is the day we switch resorts to the Polynesian and head to MK. Lunch is at Liberty Tree Tavern at 1:05pm and dinner at 7:55 at California Grille. We hope to see the fireworks on the balcony of the restaurant.

This seems OK too. Watching Wishes from the Calif Grille is wonderful. Be sure and check what time Wishes happens and time your reservation with that.

12/21 - 7:50am breakfast at O'Hanas and head to DHS. Lunch will be at 11:25 at Sci-Fi and the Fantasmic dinner package at the Brown Derby at 4:15pm. Any pointers about this package, timing, seating, etc would be wonderful!

I have not dined at Brown Derby. I did the Mama Melrose dinner pkg and was very disappointed. The section of the stadium that is reserved for the dinner package is to the far right. You can get much better seats if you just line up with the regular crowds. Either way, you will have to stand in line and wait for a seat; probably not as long with the dinner package. It depends on what is more important to you - having good seats or less waiting.

12/22 - Kona at 7:40am and then taxi over to Universal. I have no idea where to eat lunch at this park. But we taxi back at 6pm and eat an 8pm dinner at Narcooses.

Fyi... a round-trip taxi to Universal will cost you about $70 - $80 with tip. I took a cab from Boardwalk to Citywalk in July and spent about $80 on the trip.

As far as where to eat, the Monster Cafe is fun and kids love it.

12/23 - departure day (so sad). Our flight doesn't leave until 5:10pm, so we hope to enjoy more time at MK. I guess we'll do snack credits for bfast (Captain Cooks or someweher in MK - what do you all think?) and I have no clue for lunch. Is there anything you can get for lunch using snack credits?
That's it! Can't wait to hear what ya'll think!

Is this your first visit to WDW? If so, I think you should skip the Universal trip and focus more on WDW. You will spend a lot of time traveling with this plan and less time enjoying the parks, especially if you're using Disney transportation.

 

[vicki_c]

We're actually going to 2 parks on the 18th, but we're staying ay the AKL resort. Maybe that was the 3 park confusion? We're leaving DHs at 2:30pm and resting and showering at AKL for 2 hours before heading to CP. I picked CP because I thought it would be nice to go ahead and be in the park prior to MVMCP. On the 19th, we're taking it easy and only doing AK, in fact we'll be back for the night by 5pm and at dinner at the resort and just chill and get a good night's rest. You mentioned that Jiko was good - any suggestions?
I don't want to push everyone past their breaking point. Thanks for the feedback!

Beachboys - your post says (1) finish up Epcot, (2) go to DHS and (3) go to MK for dinner/party!

Not sure how you can do Epcot, go to DHS and leave by 2:30! And have lunch.

I haven't eaten at Jiko (canceled a reservation there in January - we were too tired!!), but everyone recommends the filet/macaroni & cheese!

I do think you have a lot packed in some of these days, so just be willing to go with the flow if everyone doesn't seem "magical"!

Edited to add: With so many kids in your group that haven't been before, I would consider cutting back from deluxe dining to the regular dining plan. That would allow you to spend more time in the parks and less time sitting down eating and traveling around to get to your reservations. And will save some $$ too. But take it for what it's worth -- we never do any kind of dining plan at all, so I'm biased that way -- we don't like to be so tied down to feeling pressured to use those credits.

 

[beachboys]

Vickic - thanks for the message! I'll check it out. I like to plan, but I've learned over the years that sometimes you have to just go with the flow. When will you be at WDW over Christmas and where will you be staying?

 

[vicki_c]

Vickic - thanks for the message! I'll check it out. I like to plan, but I've learned over the years that sometimes you have to just go with the flow. When will you be at WDW over Christmas and where will you be staying?

We are going Dec 20 - 30th -- the craziest busiest time of the year! (I must be nuts!). We've never been at Christmas before, but since it will be our 3rd trip this year, I'm not too worried about getting everything in! It seems like a challenge just to get all the special Christmas activities in -- without even factoring in normal park touring!

Good luck with your plans -- going with the flow is good! Have a plan, but don't be too rigid.

 

[beachboys]

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond! We aren't sure if we are renting a car or not. We might so that we have our transporatation, just in case. When I spoke to DME, they said that we do not have to wait for our baggage, ie - if we arrive around 11:06, we get on the next available DME to AKL and then do a quick checkin without even going to our room or dealing with luggage. They said that the suitcases would be delivered to our room in approximately 3 hours. I might have misunderstood, but I'm pretty sure that is what she said.. My thoughts were to hop on the 1st DME bus to AKL that we can find, checkin and get then head straight over to Epcot. I think you are right about me underestimating travel times - I need to research that a bit more. Can you tell me some more info about Monster Cafe? Thx!

 

[GoodFairies]

I really have to echo others. If you are landing after 11am there is no way you will make it to Coral Reef by 130pm. You have to factor in the trek through MCO even if you aren't going to the luggage carousel, as well as possible delays, and then Magical Express which will probably sit waiting to fill for 30 minutes or so. You never know how check in will be...there could be a long line or not!

Day 2 you should definitely eliminate at least 1 of your 3 parks. In fact I'd make that a lazy morning /afternoon and plan to take it easy so that you can enjoy the party to the fullest.

Day 3 looks good schedule-wise but 2 buffets within 4 hours is A LOT of food.

I would also skip the Universal trip altogether. Since it is the first trip for the kids I would just stay at Disney and that way you have an extra day that you can spread some of those other too-crammed days over.

 

[beachboys]

Maybe I'll see if I can cancel the Coral Reef lunch ressie, and just grab a quick bite, like counter service. If I could shuffle Chef Mickey's to a different night, maybe in place of Crystal Palace, then I could do the Coral Reef for dinner on the 17th and do Chef Mickey's on the 18th. How long is the monorail ride from the Contemporary (Chef Mickey's) to the MK (MVMCP)? Thanks!

 

[vicki_c]

Maybe I'll see if I can cancel the Coral Reef lunch ressie, and just grab a quick bite, like counter service. If I could shuffle Chef Mickey's to a different night, maybe in place of Crystal Palace, then I could do the Coral Reef for dinner on the 17th and do Chef Mickey's on the 18th. How long is the monorail ride from the Contemporary (Chef Mickey's) to the MK (MVMCP)? Thanks!

For that monorail trip, it's a bit long because the order of the stops is Magic Kingdom, then Contemporary, so you would have to take the loop the whole way around (past TTC, Poly, Grand Floridian then to MK). It's actually faster to walk from Contemporary to MK, if you don't mind it -- less than 10 minutes.

 

[beachboys]

We definitely do NOT mind walking. Thanks vickic!

 

[RllngRckBrw]

For a breakfast snack credit my fav is the chocolate croissant (I know itis not healthy but hey you are on vacation).

These ADRs look amasing and I am quite jelous of many of the picks. I really would love to try Claifornia Grill but I guess it always gives me something to look forward to.

 

[beachboys]

The chocolate croissant sounds awesome - where do you recommend buying it? T hanks for the thumbs up on the ADRs. We're really spulrging (sp?) on this trip and I'll give a full report when we return!