Need some dining timing advice

[Jasten]

Hey everyone,

I am doing a short trip this fall Oct 4-6 and need some advice. We did a bigger trip last year with a lot of the core character meals so for this trip we wanted to do a few new experiences as well as try out a few restaurants that evaded me last year. Being wiser, I booked a few timing options and am now at the point where I need to make some final timing decisions.
We are packing a lot into three park days with our DD3.5 and I wanted some advice on some of the timing:

Day 1 : Hollywood/ MNSSHP. No dining planned. We wanted to leave some time for quick service this trip. This will be a pretty late night for us at the party. DD did Christmas party last year and she surprisingly made it until around 11pm before she started to tire. This year, we have the power of candy to help us, haha.

Day 2: Epcot. We really wanted to do Bon Voyage breakfast at the boardwalk. The first reservation I snagged for this was at 8am. I recently managed to snag an 11:45am. On one hand, the 8am would force us to get up and start early, but on the other hand, its going to be a late night on day 1 and we may need the extra hour of sleep. If we do the later, we can hit park for some low lines, use a fast pass or two, then head to Bon Voyage before going back to nap at resort. Its also my birthday and I nabbed a Rose and Crown at 5:40pm or a Le Cellier at 6:45pm. Leaning towards Rose and Crown as it fits us better but both are probably not that great for DD3? I am also worried about if we do an 11:45am and a dinner, it leaves very little stomach room for quick bites from various vendors, which is something we really wished we did more of last year.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom. DW missed out on meeting Mary Poppins last trip, so I snagged a 10:25am 1900 Park fare breakfast that she is super excited about. I think this will be good as we can use our 9:10am SDMT fp, then head to breakfast and then hopefully get out in time for our next fast pass window 11:20-12:20?
After more time in the park and another nap, I have Ohana for either 4:05pm or 5:45pm. I also managed to book us for the fireworks desert party this night which says it starts at 7:30pm. So I need to decide which Ohana to keep. the 4:05 is the safer option to ensure we are back for the desert party but it leaves us less time for mid day nap. Do you think there is enough time to do Ohana at 5:45pm and make it back to MK by 7:30pm for party?


Thanks!

 

[sharonabe]

Wow! I know everyone is different and your plan may be exactly what your family will enjoy, but that's a LOT of eating. If eating is the goal for this trip, then you'll meet it, but you're not going to have much time for rides, especially on that Day 3.

Day 2, definitely the late breakfast, No sleep would not be fun. I know it's your birthday, but I think you'll have to choose between dinner and F&W. There just isn't time for both.

Day 3. You'll be fine with your breakfast as long as you're seated close to ADR time. If you're seated late, you'll have to watch the time to make sure you get back to MK in time. You have a 15 min grace period, which gives you to 12:35, but you don't want to be even a minute past that.
Ohana AND dessert party? Are they still doing the after fireworks dessert party at that time? If so, I might book that one with Ohana, but to do both within two hours is just too much food to really enjoy the dessert party. However the 4:05 is too soon for naps AND too soon after a breakfast buffet for me, so I don't think I would do that one either.

 

[Jasten]

Ugh, i think you are probably right. I know i can just grab a birthday beer to go from rose and crown, maybe ill just do that instead or we forgo quick bites.
Ohana is that hard to get reservation i really want to do. Maybe i can hunt down a thursday dinner there and cancel Friday's. Agree we will be ruining desert party by doing Ohana.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hey everyone,

I am doing a short trip this fall Oct 4-6 and need some advice. We did a bigger trip last year with a lot of the core character meals so for this trip we wanted to do a few new experiences as well as try out a few restaurants that evaded me last year. Being wiser, I booked a few timing options and am now at the point where I need to make some final timing decisions.
We are packing a lot into three park days with our DD3.5 and I wanted some advice on some of the timing:

Day 1 : Hollywood/ MNSSHP. No dining planned. We wanted to leave some time for quick service this trip. This will be a pretty late night for us at the party. DD did Christmas party last year and she surprisingly made it until around 11pm before she started to tire. This year, we have the power of candy to help us, haha.

Day 2: Epcot. We really wanted to do Bon Voyage breakfast at the boardwalk. The first reservation I snagged for this was at 8am. I recently managed to snag an 11:45am. On one hand, the 8am would force us to get up and start early, but on the other hand, its going to be a late night on day 1 and we may need the extra hour of sleep. If we do the later, we can hit park for some low lines, use a fast pass or two, then head to Bon Voyage before going back to nap at resort. Its also my birthday and I nabbed a Rose and Crown at 5:40pm or a Le Cellier at 6:45pm. Leaning towards Rose and Crown as it fits us better but both are probably not that great for DD3? I am also worried about if we do an 11:45am and a dinner, it leaves very little stomach room for quick bites from various vendors, which is something we really wished we did more of last year.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom. DW missed out on meeting Mary Poppins last trip, so I snagged a 10:25am 1900 Park fare breakfast that she is super excited about. I think this will be good as we can use our 9:10am SDMT fp, then head to breakfast and then hopefully get out in time for our next fast pass window 11:20-12:20?
After more time in the park and another nap, I have Ohana for either 4:05pm or 5:45pm. I also managed to book us for the fireworks desert party this night which says it starts at 7:30pm. So I need to decide which Ohana to keep. the 4:05 is the safer option to ensure we are back for the desert party but it leaves us less time for mid day nap. Do you think there is enough time to do Ohana at 5:45pm and make it back to MK by 7:30pm for party?


Thanks!

You don't mention where you are staying. That's going to be a big factor with naps and getting to some of these reservations.

I agree with sharonabe. If your goal is to just do ADR's and not see much during your trip, go for it. You are going to be spending most of your time eating or traveling to eat with this itinerary.

Personally, I would drop either Bon Voyage or 1900 or even both, especially if you want to snack around WS. WS doesn't open until 11 am, so if you have a 11:45 am Bon Voyage and then go back to nap, when will you do your snacks? There is no way I would do MNSSHP and then schedule an 8 am ADR at Bon Voyage even if I were staying at BWI. Have you considered meeting Mary Poppins in EP so you don't have to go back and forth from MK to GF for breakfast on day 3?

I would definitely try to re-schedule O'hana or the dessert party. You will be stuffed if you try to do both in one night.

 

[10CJ]

I agree with PP. I think you are trying to do too much. Where are you staying?

Day 2 - I would pick one of those meals. Which one do you want to do most? It might be easier to do F&W for lunch. Rose and Crown is fine for a 3 year old. Not sure of the concern there. If the weather is nice I would ask for a table outside.

Day 3 - This honestly sounds exhausting. There is a ton of back and forth and a ton of food. I would not want to leave the park for a mid morning breakfast if you have a FP right before and right after. Can you make a 1900 PF for after your 11:20 fastpass? I don’t know the restaurant hours, sorry. You are losing valuable touring time. I would also consider trying to meet Mary Poppins in the EP day to give you more flexibility on your MK day. I would drop Ohana entirely and keep the dessert party.

 

[Jasten]

Staying at AoA this year.

Ok i hear yahs and am really glad i posted as this is definitely making me reconsider a few things. Here is where my head is at.

-The two character meals are must haves for dd and dw. Aside from rescheduling, im stuck with those.

-Day 2 we will do the late Bon Voyage breakfast. I'll cancel all dinner reservations and we will instead enjoy quick bites around world showcase after nap. Honestly, dd isnt tall enough for the thrill rides in epcot and were not planning to do a ton of rides here, mostly characters.

-Day 3. As much as it pains me again, think we forgo ohana altogether. I think dd needs to be older to enjoy this anyways. We will keep the desert party. As far as the breakfast, isn't grand floridian like right next to MK? Seems not that crazy to go to breakfast and come back.

 

[10CJ]

Yes the GF is close to MK but it still takes time to go back and forth. I don’t think you can walk it. Dropping Ohana should help with the back and forth though.

 

[WaltDavisWorld]

Since you only have three days I agree you should for sure just stick with one table service meal for those two days. I personally don’t like to leave a park for a meal, or naps for that matter but seems like most do. While Grand Floridian is next to MK by the time you leave, eat and come back you’re looking at around 3 hours of your day. Maybe doing 1900 on departure day is an option? It really all depends on what your priorities are. If you don’t mind missing out on park time it would work.

 

[sharonabe]

Day 3: Magic Kingdom. DW missed out on meeting Mary Poppins last trip, so I snagged a 10:25am 1900 Park fare breakfast that she is super excited about. I think this will be good as we can use our 9:10am SDMT fp, then head to breakfast and then hopefully get out in time for our next fast pass window 11:20-12:20?

As far as the breakfast, isn't grand floridian like right next to MK? Seems not that crazy to go to breakfast and come back.

To make this work, you'll want to be OUTSIDE MK and walking toward the monorail around 9:45. It's a quick ride over to GF, but you still have to allow time for waiting on the monorail to arrive. If you're at 7DMT at 9:10, you should be off the ride by 9:25-30. That gives you time for a leisurely walk out of MK, but not any time to do anything else. Will DD understand that she can't ride anything at that time in order to get to breakfast with Mary Poppins? Since she's already excited for that, I would think you'll be okay, but wanted to point that out.

Because you have that FP at 11:20, you want to check in a little early to your ADR to make sure you're finished in time to get back to MK. What attraction are you doing for that FP+?

 

[Dumbo7]

I wouldn’t worry about O’hana. I hear it’s better for dinner but hands down it was one of the worst character/food experiences I’ve ever had at Disney. For me we only do one character experience per trip. But I don’t have a three year old. You might even do better getting FP’s for the characters. 1900 park fare is probably my favorite character and I think the food is yummy.

 

[Momof2Singers]

Hey everyone,

I am doing a short trip this fall Oct 4-6 and need some advice. We did a bigger trip last year with a lot of the core character meals so for this trip we wanted to do a few new experiences as well as try out a few restaurants that evaded me last year. Being wiser, I booked a few timing options and am now at the point where I need to make some final timing decisions.
We are packing a lot into three park days with our DD3.5 and I wanted some advice on some of the timing:

Day 1 : Hollywood/ MNSSHP. No dining planned. We wanted to leave some time for quick service this trip. This will be a pretty late night for us at the party. DD did Christmas party last year and she surprisingly made it until around 11pm before she started to tire. This year, we have the power of candy to help us, haha.

Day 2: Epcot. We really wanted to do Bon Voyage breakfast at the boardwalk. The first reservation I snagged for this was at 8am. I recently managed to snag an 11:45am. On one hand, the 8am would force us to get up and start early, but on the other hand, its going to be a late night on day 1 and we may need the extra hour of sleep. If we do the later, we can hit park for some low lines, use a fast pass or two, then head to Bon Voyage before going back to nap at resort. Its also my birthday and I nabbed a Rose and Crown at 5:40pm or a Le Cellier at 6:45pm. Leaning towards Rose and Crown as it fits us better but both are probably not that great for DD3? I am also worried about if we do an 11:45am and a dinner, it leaves very little stomach room for quick bites from various vendors, which is something we really wished we did more of last year.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom. DW missed out on meeting Mary Poppins last trip, so I snagged a 10:25am 1900 Park fare breakfast that she is super excited about. I think this will be good as we can use our 9:10am SDMT fp, then head to breakfast and then hopefully get out in time for our next fast pass window 11:20-12:20?
After more time in the park and another nap, I have Ohana for either 4:05pm or 5:45pm. I also managed to book us for the fireworks desert party this night which says it starts at 7:30pm. So I need to decide which Ohana to keep. the 4:05 is the safer option to ensure we are back for the desert party but it leaves us less time for mid day nap. Do you think there is enough time to do Ohana at 5:45pm and make it back to MK by 7:30pm for party?


Thanks!

Did not know there was a 11:45 Breakfast at Bon Voyage ?? Usually ADR's are into lunch by 11:00. I will have to check that for our trip.

 

[sapphirerose915]

EP Day- i agree with all PP. Sleep in and take the late breakfast.. then head to EP...cancel the dinner plans and snack around.. or grab a QS meal.

MK day- Will your 3 yo even be able to enjoy SDMT?? You said she cant do thrill rides.. I honestly wouldn't even go into the park before the 1900 Park Fare breakfast. I would uber pr Minnie van it from AoA to GF.. do the breakfast.. hop on the mono and then enjoy the day in MK. Are you doing the before or after dessert party? You can always grab some snacks or split a QS meal if you are hungry before the party!

 

[Christine]

I agree there's a lot of eating here. And it *could* be done but then they are close together. For instance, I'd think an early dinner (4:05 or 5:00) would be great on a day that you had an 8AM breakfast. But you're talking about pushing breakfast to close to lunchtime and then an early dinner.

Also, I'm a little confused on the napping. I could see doing that with an early park time, but it seems you want to sleep an extra hour, go to a late breakfast, and yet still nap. I might have read that incorrectly.

With a 3 day trip, you are cutting out a lot of time with table service and going back and forth to the resort for napping.

I realize you have a 3 year old with (BTDT) but for a short trip like that, something has to give. I'd probably sleep less and do more hard charging. Naps can happen in a stroller wonderfully!

 

[KenHutch]

I see a lot of comments on to much food but your plan looks a lot like the ones I plan every trip. For the breakfast I would take the later one and like others have said get FP's for the morning. For you dinner I would suggest you look hard at the Rose & Crown menu. It used to be our go to place in Epcot but after this June's disastrous trip to R&C my girls are refusing to ever go back. I live Ohana (whole family does) and I must say with the times you mention you would not get any nap times in for sure so if you keep it take the early time.