Need help with ADRs

[alm99]

THis is our first family trip to Disney. My wife and I both went during teenage years. I went when I was 13, she went 15.

We are now going as DH(32), DW(33), DD(8), DS(6), DS(4) in late January. We are taking advantage of the free DDP during our visit.

Our current reservations are below, we do not have PH option yet, but considering adding it since we will be there for 7 nights/8 days.

Tuesday (11am arrive) - Magic Kingdom
No food plans

Wednesday - Animal Kingdom
No food plans

Thursday Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - Chef Mickey 7:30am
Lunch - CRT 1:10pm, Paying out of pocket
Dinner - No food plans

Friday - Epcot
No food plans

Saturday - Hollywood Studios
No food plans

Sunday - Park Undecided
No food plans

Monday - Maybe Magic Kingdom
Breakfast 8:10am Crystal Palace

Tuesday - Depart 8am

 

[4under4]

Your post said you wanted help with ADRs, but I'm not sure what kind of help you want. Where/when? Something else? Or just feedback on what you have?

For a 1st visit, I would skip PH, at least until you get there and know for SURE that you want to add the option (no cost difference to add it later vs. now). You will find there is SO much to see/do at the parks that you might wonder how anyone has time/energy to hop... especially with little ones like you have.

Are you upgrading your DDP or sticking with QS?

You know your family best, but if it were me I would add a second Animal Kingdom day to your schedule on your open day, though a second Epcot day would be a very close second.

 

[mollymar]

How exciting! Your first family trip. You are all going to have a great time

Just my two cents. I would reconsider your CM breakfast and CRT lunch on the same day. It is alot of food and you might not be ready for a big lunch after the breakfast buffet. Second, I would get your ADR's made asap. When using the online system just put in the park you will be at and about what time of day you want to eat and see what comes up. Good luck!!

 

[alm99]

Thanks. I am really looking for suggestions on where to eat with ADRs at the parks we will be at.

We are on the DDP plan and not the QS plan. So we have 7 TS, 7 QS, and 7 snacks correct.

I was thinking that the CM and CRT in that short span of time would be too much food as well. I was considering changing the reservation for CRT to later in the day.

 

[goofyintoronto]

THis is our first family trip to Disney. My wife and I both went during teenage years. I went when I was 13, she went 15.

We are now going as DH(32), DW(33), DD(8), DS(6), DS(4) in late January. We are taking advantage of the free DDP during our visit.

Our current reservations are below, we do not have PH option yet, but considering adding it since we will be there for 7 nights/8 days.

Tuesday (11am arrive) - Magic Kingdom
No food plans >>>> why not try California Grill for dinner? (signature, 2 TS credits). Yummy food here, i had the best steak EVER at Cali Grill. If you dont want signature, try Ohana.

Wednesday - Animal Kingdom
No food plans >>>> try Tusker House for a character breakfast, or BOMA at AKL. Look at the menu first at Boma before booking thou. Its not for everyone.

Thursday Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - Chef Mickey 7:30am
Lunch - CRT 1:10pm, Paying out of pocket
Dinner - No food plans >>>see my suggestion below.

Friday - Epcot
No food plans >>> teppan edo, via napoli, biergarten are all great suggestions for lunch or dinner.

Saturday - Hollywood Studios
No food plans >> try 50's. Great food and funny antics! Our server fed my son his veggies since he didnt finish it. Lol!!

Sunday - Park Undecided
No food plans >>> I'd do another signature restaurant here since you have deluxDP. Or maybe even hoop dee doo review?

Monday - Maybe Magic Kingdom
Breakfast 8:10am Crystal Palace

Tuesday - Depart 8am

I agree with the OP about reconsidering your Chef Mickeys & CRT ADR on the same day. We had lunch ressies at Crystal Palace (also a buffet) around 1pm and also had ressies at Whispering Canyon for 630pm. Would you believe we were still full at 630pm from lunch??? Needless to say, we cancelled Whispering Canyon. I would change CRT to dinner at least, if you really want them on the same day.

 

[4under4]

As PP said, don't do two big ressies for consecutive meals. Personally, I would rather not have more than one ADR each day as it really cuts into my touring time.

Our kids' first visits was at similar ages as yours and we maximized our character meals with NO regrets! Well, ok Hollywood & Vine was a bit lame and looking back I would have skipped that. BUT I would go back if they ever picked different characters that my kids enjoyed more.

I usually suggest Akerhus for Epcot, but if you do CRT then that may be too much for your DS's... However, given your DD's age, if she is still crazy about princesses, I would do it anyway (they only care about princesses for so long ). This was hands down the best character interaction we had. I know some don't care for the food, but we really liked it. But if you want to skip the princesses, try The Garden Grill in Epcot to see Chip/Dale. OR you can do what we did, and send the boys off to Garden Grill and have a mom/daughter dinner at Akerhus. It's a little tricky to make the ADRs for this scenario since it won't let you make two ADRs for the same meal period (you can PM me if you're interested).

Next, we really had a great time at Tusker House for breakfast. It's a fun way to see characters, and the food isn't just typical american fair. If you can get a pre-park open meal even better as you can enjoy the walk across the park to get there.

'Ohana for an early dinner is great! And because it's a resort restaurant, you can add it to any night of your stay.

Last, I'll second hoop-dee-doo if you want to have an event meal. My kids are not happy that we aren't going again in January, but I want to try some other stuff this time.

Have fun, and let us know what you pick.

 

[2010Disneymom]

I would suggest looking at some of the menus on allears.net, and reading some of the restaurant reviews. You know what you and your family like and will eat. My kids are very picky, so what appeals to some, might not appeal to us. I have 2 DS (ages 16 and 14). They prefer buffets since there are a lot of things to choose from, and they can eat as much as they want. Some of our favorites last trip were: Le Cellier, Chefs de France, LTT, and 1900 Park Fare. Next trip we are looking to try a few others.

As far as the number of days in each park, it sort of depends on your family. Our last trip we did 3 days MK, 2 days EPCOT, 1 day DHS and 1 day AK...I believe we also hopped around a bit. I felt like we could have used more time at Epcot. I am not a huge fan of AK, but that is just me. We were there in August and it was very hot. Our next trip we are going for 7 days in March and we are planning 3 days at MK, 2 Epcot, 1 DHS and 1 AK. Remember to also leave time to go to DTD. We did that on our last day as we had an evening flight. This year I am hoping we can also spend some time at the Boardwalk as well.

There is so much to do, but you are at the right place. Just do your research and read trip reports and restaurant reviews. You will know what appeals to you and your family. To me, planning everything is half the fun!!!

 

[ses1230]

I agree also with the pp comments about CRT. I would try later in the day or on a different day.

For MK CS, we like Columbia Harbor House as a nice change from the usual burgers.

AK CS Flame Tree is very good, also Tusker House (TS). We like to try to get an early reservation near or before rope drop and then head to the Safari for fp when breakfast is over.

At Epcot there are so many choices! The princess meal in Norway is a nice alternative to CRT since it is only one credit and also has a photo package included. We also enjoy the food and entertainment at Biergarten. For CS, Tangierine Cafe is very good. The bakeries at Norway and France also have amazing options. You could also snack around the world at Epcot.

For DHS, we are trying 50's for the first time. as for CS, I'm not sure DHS has a great one.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Tuesday (11am arrive) - Magic Kingdom
No food plans Why not do CM here? It's a great way to start and you could do some park and then end with dinner.

Wednesday - Animal Kingdom
No food plans I'd do a TUsker House meal here

Thursday Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - Chef Mickey 7:30am skip this and do it the first day... this is WAY too early to get there and too much food
Lunch - CRT 1:10pm, Paying out of pocket
Dinner - No food plans

Friday - Epcot
No food plans Garden Grill for dinner if you still want characters, otherwise we really enjoy Teppan Edo

Saturday - Hollywood Studios
No food plans not a fan here of anything really... maybe someone else is better here

Sunday - Park Undecided
No food plans why not pick a resort meal here so you won't need hoppers if you decide to change your mind? Maybe Ohana?

Monday - Maybe Magic Kingdom
Breakfast 8:10am Crystal Palace

Tuesday - Depart 8am

Good luck!

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

Just a thought and please someone correct me if I am wrong on this! We have always purchased the 10 day, no expiration and park hopper option tickes to get a reasonable price. We still have several days available but in taking advantage of the DDP we have to purchase more tickets. What we are thinking, since they expire and we don't know what we are doing (have the grand twins also) is looking at regular tickets but adding on a few extra days because they are only a few dollars more. Yes we waist a day to use to parks but the second park is only $8.50 in cases or you loose $8.50. It seems less expensive. EG: 7 day ticket vrs 4 day ticket. Food wise, Leceller at EPCOT(hard to get reservations) Hollywood & Vine is ok at DHS, Liberty Tree Tavern at MK and as mentioned don't forget the resort restaurants like Boma.