Needing some help....(a bit long)

[pharmgirl69]

Ok I have a ton of questions that could probably be split into several threads so I'm hoping that I'm posting in the right place. This is my first post but I have been lurking for awhile trying to plan. You all have such wonderful advice and tips, I'm hoping for some personalized advice now lol.

It has been 10 years since I have been to Disney with DD18. Now we are taking DD7 for the first time. We are going May 14-23 and staying at POFQ. This trip will just be DD7, DH and myself. The three of us are big "foodies" and have opted for the Deluxe Dining Plan. We are also paying a little more to have DD7 considered 10 so she is able to eat off the adult menu. (she would absolutely NOT be happy with chicken fingers while we were eating steak and shrimp lol, I would end up with chicken fingers).

Here is my dilemma.....I have a tendency to over plan everything in my life. So Disney for me is a dream vacation while my husband is having nightmares of me having a plan for every second of every day. I am really trying to refrain. So, I have two questions.....

1) Is my itinerary too structured? not structured enough?
2) Are there any "must do" restaurants or events that I am missing?


Friday - Dinner: Citricos
MK for fireworks

Saturday - MK day
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Tony's

Sunday - Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus Royal Banquet
Lunch: LeCellier
Dinner: Coral Reef

Monday - Animal Kingdom
Dinner: Narcoossee

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Captains Grill
Lunch - Sci-Fi
Dinner - 50s Prime Time (thinking of changing this to the Fantasmic Dinner package)

Wednesday - Blizzard Beach
Dinner - Flying Fish

Thursday - MK - Princess Day
Breakfast - crystal palace
Bippity Boppity Bootique
Lunch - Royal Castle
Dinner - California Grill

Friday - OPEN - (prolly MK or whatever we decide)
Dinner - Capn Jacks

Saturday - OPEN
breakfast - Whispering Canyon
dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse

Sunday - early flight home


Sorry this post is so long but I really do appreciate the help. We also plan on seeing the fireworks at each of the parks depending on where we are.

 

[Missytara]

I would change Captain Jack's to Fulton's Crab House, if you are indeed a foodie.

Captain Jack's food is bland at best; Fulton's is fabulous. You won't be disappointed.

 

[pharmgirl69]

Is Fultons on the DDP? (thx for your quick reply btw)

 

[mommyoftwinz]

I would definitely try to do the fantasmic dinner package if you can while you are in DHS, it'll save you time, you will have a reserved section instead of waiting up to an hour in advance of the show. Also, I would personally pass on Sci Fi diner and 50's primetime, the food's not that good and you sit in cars so you only see the back of your family's heads and two sit down meals in DHS means you would miss out on some rides and shows if that is a prioroty to you. I would try the Brown Derby, the food is better and they do the fantasmic package. Just my opinion.

 

[tndisneyfan]

Is Fultons on the DDP? (thx for your quick reply btw)

No Fultons is not on DDP.

Just a quick question for the OP, on the days you have three ADRs what are your ADR times? Three sitdown meals can be a bit much in one day unless they are really spread out.

 

[clanmcculloch]

1) Is my itinerary too structured? not structured enough?

Too structured vs not structured enough is a matter of preference. I'm somewhat OCD in my planning so this would just be a start for me. I've been mocked for my laminated, colour coded touring plans so I can assure you I don't see this as too structured.

2) Are there any "must do" restaurants or events that I am missing?

I don't think that there's anything that is truly "must do". Yes there are favourites and lots of great things to do and see and eat around WDW but IMO there isn't any one thing that would make or break my trip if we just couldn't do it. KWIM?

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Captains Grill
Lunch - Sci-Fi
Dinner - 50s Prime Time (thinking of changing this to the Fantasmic Dinner package)

Fantasmic dining package times are early. You've got 2 other full meals already scheduled this day. If you want to change this to the FDP then I'd either cancel Sci-Fi or plan to only do somethign like shakes and onion rings rather than meals. The other option is that I've read that they're also doing FDPs for lunches so maybe you can get lunch changed to FDP at 50s PT and then eat at Sci-Fi before going to Fantasmic.

I will make one general comment about your overall plan. You don't post any times for your reservations so I can't tell but are you making sure that you have enough time between meals? Remember that TS meals take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on many factors (buffets, characters, time of day, etc can all affect length of the meal, plus with the DxDDP you get both appetizers and dessert so the extra app course extends the meal duration). Make sure you've got enough time between the anticipated end of the meal and when you're expected for your next ADR.

Will you have a car or will you be dependant on Disney transportation? Don't forget to take travel time into consideration as well. You want to be sure that you're going to have some time to actually enjoy the parks during your trip.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

I would take in Tuskar House on you AK day. Whispering Canyon breakfast is awesome, we ate there twice on our last trip. Sit down meals take about 2 hours that eats up alot of park time. I would switch Le Cellier to dinner and skip Coral Reef, I didn't like it and it doesn't get the best reviews. Just my opinion though. I looks great. Have fun.

 

[quinnc19]

It seems like a hassle to get to CG and WCC from POFQ for breakfast. I would switch to Tusker House on your AK day before park opening. Really neat be there before opening, good characters for DD and good food!

 

[pharmgirl69]

I will definately change to the Fantasmic Dinner Package and do the Brown Derby. (thanks!!). I'm afraid there is no way of me getting out of the Sci-fi diner. I'm not a big fan but DH lives, eats and breathes sci fi anything *sigh*. LOL

OK my times for the 3 meals at Epcot are 8am - 1205pm and 715pm
The Hollywood studios day is gonna be re-arranged now. So I dont know what times I'll be able to get but, Breakfast is at 745a and Sci-fi at 110p.
I was actually worried about having 3 ADR's in one day. Any suggestions to rectify this? We will have the Park Hopper so would it be better to do Lecellier on our free day (if I can get an ADR?)

 

[MickeyNicki]

Friday - Dinner: Citricos The best meal of our Nov 09 trip....we had a meal that lasted over 2 hours and we enjoyed every single minute of it...make sure you book an early time for dinner so you can get to the park for the fireworks.
MK for fireworks

Saturday - MK day
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern We loved our lunch there but it was a very heavy meal and we wound up having a very late dinner and a light dinner at that
Dinner: Tony's Fantastic meal but very rushed service wise

Sunday - Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus Royal Banquet Wonderful food, excellent character interaction
Lunch: LeCellier Great choice but you would not be hungry enough since you are having a buffet breakfast...too much time at TS places instead of park time
Dinner: Coral Reef We had an ok meal here, I would cancel this dinner and have a later lunch at LC and then if you get hungry for dinner eat at the POFQ, they have great CS food

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Captains Grill Nothing great here, not worth wasting time, I would go to the BWI Bakery for something instead
Lunch - Sci-Fi Great food and excellent atmosphere
Dinner - 50s Prime Time (thinking of changing this to the Fantasmic Dinner package) LOVE this place but the food can be heavy and very filling...recommend getting just burgers and sandwiches at Sci Fi so you will not be too full for your dinner

Wednesday - Blizzard Beach
Dinner - Flying Fish This place is TDF..to die for! Dh says it is his favorite place in all of WDW...three times we have been there and he always gets the NY Strip and it is always perfect! I love the scallops and the red snapper.

Thursday - MK - Princess Day
Breakfast - crystal palace Fun and great food but when we eat breakfast here we are full until dinnertime
Bippity Boppity Bootique
Lunch - Royal Castle I would cancel this since you want to be hungry for the best meal ever..CG!!!
Dinner - California Grill Stellar sevice, incredible food..go hungry!

Saturday - OPEN
breakfast - Whispering Canyon We had a terrible lunch there so there is no way we would go back to try breakfast...I would go to Kona instead
dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse Just eh for us, there are much better restaurants out there like BlueZoo, Il Mulino, Fultons

 

[pharmgirl69]

Too structured vs not structured enough is a matter of preference. I'm somewhat OCD in my planning so this would just be a start for me. I've been mocked for my laminated, colour coded touring plans so I can assure you I don't see this as too structured.
.

Yeah me too LOL....which is why I am sooooo trying to keep it simple and its so hard.

I am definately going to have to rethink these "full days". I didnt realize TS took so long and that is going to take away some definate times from the parks. We dont mind taking 2 hours for a nice meal but I dont want to spend the whole time going from one restaurant to the other.

Gonna go revamp a few things now and will most likely post again! Thank you all soooooooo very much.

 

[suse66]

Another thought for your Citricos evening is that you can view Wishes from either the dock at the Grand Floridian or the beach at the Polynesian. In either case, the music is piped in and you can enjoy the beauty of the show without all the crowds.

Citrico's was one of our favourite meals last year. Our almost 8 year old twin boys requested it for their birthday dinner this year. Coral Reef was our least favourite meal last year, I don't know if I would choose to do it again. Sci-Fi drive in is really fun, I think you'll enjoy that meal. We did Dxdp last year and it is a LOT of food. We went to bed full and woke up full. It really was an effort to eat sometimes. We found American portions to be very large as well.
I hope you enjoy your trip, there's nothing quite like Disney!

Susan

 

[jaleaton]

I loved the deluxe dining when we were on it, but it was WAY too much for us. Not to be the naysayer of the group, but I have a ?, and a comment for you...

1)Since this is your daughter's first trip, is she going to be disappointed if she doesn't get to do everything in the parks? I only ask this because the TS meals do take a lot of time out of the day. When we were on our honeymoon, we did the deluxe dining. That was in July, and we were always full, never hungry for our next meal, and most of the TS meals took AT LEAST an hour, and that was just for 2 of us.

2)I understand upping your daughter's age for the meal plan, but don't forget you will also have to pay the adult price for her park tickets.

Whatever choices you make, I'm sure you will have a FANTASTIC trip!!!

 

[Twitterpated!]

It has been 10 years since I have been to Disney with DD18. Now we are taking DD7 for the first time. We are going May 14-23 and staying at POFQ. This trip will just be DD7, DH and myself. The three of us are big "foodies" and have opted for the Deluxe Dining Plan.

We'll be arriving three days after you leave. Also doing DDP, for myself, DH and DD6, (we are big foodies as well!)

Here is my dilemma.....I have a tendency to over plan everything in my life. So Disney for me is a dream vacation while my husband is having nightmares of me having a plan for every second of every day.

Oh, we would get along so well!

1) Is my itinerary too structured? not structured enough?

In certain ways it is too structured, and in others it is not structured enough

2) Are there any "must do" restaurants or events that I am missing?
A resounding YES!


Friday - Dinner: Citricos
MK for fireworks
Have not been to Citricos yet. Wish I could have squeezed it in to my May itinerary, but alas, I gave in to my daughter's desire to do 1900 Park Fare and meet Prince Charming and the stepsisters!

Saturday - MK day
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Tony's

As a foodie, I am not sure you will be all that impressed with Liberty Tree. Don't get me wrong, the food is good hearty American comfort food, but nothing to write home about. You might want to consider booking the Crystal Palace breakfast that morning (before the park opens, it is so awesome to get to walk down Main Street with nobody else there!) and make your Tony's ADR early. Be sure to stick around for the Spectromagic parade that night, because it is only running on the 15th, 17th, 20th and 21st, and on those other nights you have scheduled signature restaurants at the deluxe resorts.

Sunday - Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus Royal Banquet
Lunch: LeCellier
Dinner: Coral Reef

I second, third and fourth the suggestion to cancel the Coral Reef. Keep trying for a LeCellier dinner cancellation, but in the meantime reserve as late a lunch as possible over there. LC tends to be slow, so late lunch may work out perfectly. And then if you are still hungry later, you have a plethora of counter service to choose from at the World Showcase. Oh, and I think you will be pleased with the Akershus breakfast.

Monday - Animal Kingdom
Dinner: Narcoossee

Definitely consider Donald's Breakfast Safari at Tusker House. It is the best park breakfast buffet available. And great character interaction. Plus, you can coordinate it with the Kilamanjaro Safari tour. Either make your ADR for 8:05 before the park opens and toward the end of breakfast one of you can run out and grab fastpasses to the safari, or schedule breakfast at 10 am, get to the park as soon as it opens and beeline it to the safari for the first tour. Early safari tours have a better chance of seeing the animals out and about. Something else to consider, is travel time from AK to dinner at GF. Do you plan on going straight to dinner from the park? Another signature restaurant you may want to consider is Jiko, and that is right at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is a super quick ride from the park. This would help you get maximum time at the park, to do all of the attractions and not miss the shows and the parade. Have not been to Jiko yet, but have heard that it is THE place to go for any adventurous foodie, with the largest South African Wine List in North America. Just something to think about.

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Captains Grill
Lunch - Sci-Fi
Dinner - 50s Prime Time (thinking of changing this to the Fantasmic Dinner package)

I just looked at the park schedule, and Fantasmic is not scheduled for Tuesday the 18th. It is scheduled for Wednesday the 19th. The park closes at 7pm that night. You might want to consider keeping the ADRs you have, maybe moving the 50's Prime Time to as late as possible. They will probably be accepting reservations until just after the park closes. And then on Wednesday night park hop back to DHS just for the Fantasmic Package. Definitely do the Brown Derby. The other two restaurants are awful!

Wednesday - Blizzard Beach
Dinner - Flying Fish

A couple of things here. I ended up canceling the water park option, because I found that it just does not go hand in hand with deluxe dining. There are no good food options there, and in order to go out to a nice place afterward, you would have to go back to your resort, shower and change. If you really love water parks then it is worth it, but my family has chosen to pass on it. ALSO, I would reschedule the Flying Fish Cafe to either Friday or Saturday night. The Boardwalk street performers and carnival games are only there from Thursdays through Sundays. If you really want to make the most of the evening I would switch FFC to Saturday, and do your Wednesday evening at Hollywood Studios with the Fantasmic Package.


Thursday - MK - Princess Day
Breakfast - crystal palace
Bippity Boppity Bootique
Lunch - Royal Castle
Dinner - California Grill

This is way too crazy. Since you are at POFQ, go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique BEFORE going to MK. You are already so close to DTD. I would keep the Castle Lunch (every little girls dream) but for God's Sake, switch the Cali Grill to Friday, when you don't have any other table service scheduled! You want to save your appetite for that experience! Not sure what time your lunch ADR is, but keep in mind, the Castle Lunch takes a long time. They are always running late and first you have to line up to meet Cinderella. With the apps, entree and dessert and all of the Princess interaction, you may be eating until well after 2 pm. Switch the Cali Grill to Friday.

Friday - OPEN - (prolly MK or whatever we decide)
Dinner - Capn Jacks

Once more for good measure, Switch the Cali Grill to Friday.

Saturday - OPEN
breakfast - Whispering Canyon
dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse
Like I said, I would switch this ressie to Flying Fish. But that's your call. The Yachtsman Steakhouse is also within walking distance of the Boardwalk, but I personally think that FFC is a much more interesting place and a better menu. You are having steaks at LeCellier already. Your DD will love the atmosphere at FFC and the fun desserts. With regard to WCC, I have heard very mixed reviews about the breakfast, but will decide for myself this coming May, as we have made a reservation for it as well. I have been wanting to visit the Wilderness Lodge anyway, it looks magnificent, and the restaurant sounds like fun!

Sunday - early flight home


Well, now that I have rearranged your entire vacation for you, I hope I have not stepped on your toes too much. It is very tricky to the the Deluxe Dining, and the only way to make it worth it is if you have very carefully planned out your meals. I think after 3 weeks of making reservations and canceling reservations, I have finally set mine in stone, and was about to post my decisions. So I could not help but add my 2 cents (or 2 million) to yours! I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Too bad we will miss each other by a couple of days!

 

[pharmgirl69]

Twiterpated and EVERYONE!!! i can't thank you all enough for all the wonderful...and I do mean WONDERFUL advice. Hubby and I are definately going to rethink some of our days and rearrange dining reservations tonight when he gets home. This was my first attempt at a dining schedule and I am soooooo glad I posted. Am also glad to hear that it is actually quite normal to re-vamp things several times. (think thats part of the fun of disney as well).

I'm sure I will be back again to post a revised schedule. Thank you so much!!
(no toes were stepped on at all during the posting on this thread, I really appreciated the advice!)

 

[pharmgirl69]

OK so DH and I have revised our itinerary. Think I've taken a lot more into consideration based on everyones advice. Still missing a few things, but I'm feeling better.

Friday 6pm citricos
Fireworks at MK

Saturday - Magic Kingdom
1150am Liberty Tree Tavern
605pm Tony's Town Square
(decided to take our chances with these, since we will be in MK anyway)

Sunday - Epcot
810 - Akershus Royal Banquet
210p - LeCellier (the latest I could get, still gonna keep checking for a dinner cancellation....figured we could do a quick service somewhere if we got hungry later)

Monday - Animal Kingdom
800am - Tusker House Character Breakfast
735pm - Narcoossee's

Tuesday - Blizzard Beach
Sleep in day
845am - Chef Mickey's
Still debating Dinner this day

Wednesday - Hollywood Studios
800am - 1900 Park Fare
620pm - Brown Derby Fantasmic Show

Thursday - Princess Day at MK
805am - Crystal Palace
1010 - Bippity Boppity Boutique (at the MK Castle)
Cinderellas Royal Table (hopefully late afternoon, still working on this)

Friday - Open Day
705pm - Flying Fish Cafe

Saturday - Open Day
550pm - California Grill

I still have to figure out breakfasts for a couple days. DH is huge on breakfast and if he doesn't eat, you can't be around him. So breakfasts are a must. We have decided to leave most lunches up in the air and either do a quick service or try a walk in somewhere. That way we aren't "tied down" and if we are too full after breakfast can eat when we want. Does this sound more doable?

As for dinner Tuesday night, I'm thinking maybe Jiko? or Downtown Disney so we can take the ferry from POFQ.

Thanks all for your help. It is very much appreciated.

 

[quinnc19]

Since you said you needed some more breakfasts, Cape May Cafe is fun and you could walk to DHS from there. Possibly you could move 1900 Park Fare to another day?

BTW, I am moving to POFQ from BLT on May 18, so we'll overlap a few days.

 

[Twitterpated!]

Looks real nice! I did not realize they opened a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the Castle! That is so awesome!

My husband feels the same way about breakfast, so I have booked the Grand Floridan Cafe, Kona Cafe and Whispering Canyon Cafe, as well the character buffets at Akershus, Crystal Palace, Tusker House and Cape May Cafe. It's always best to get the menfolk started off right!

 

[pharmgirl69]

LOL Twitter, yes it is a good idea to keep the men happy...no grumpy allowed at disney. Quin, I'll check into Cape may....thanks!!

 

[honeydiane1953]

Ok I have a ton of questions that could probably be split into several threads so I'm hoping that I'm posting in the right place. This is my first post but I have been lurking for awhile trying to plan. You all have such wonderful advice and tips, I'm hoping for some personalized advice now lol.

It has been 10 years since I have been to Disney with DD18. Now we are taking DD7 for the first time. We are going May 14-23 and staying at POFQ. This trip will just be DD7, DH and myself. The three of us are big "foodies" and have opted for the Deluxe Dining Plan. We are also paying a little more to have DD7 considered 10 so she is able to eat off the adult menu. (she would absolutely NOT be happy with chicken fingers while we were eating steak and shrimp lol, I would end up with chicken fingers).

Here is my dilemma.....I have a tendency to over plan everything in my life. So Disney for me is a dream vacation while my husband is having nightmares of me having a plan for every second of every day. I am really trying to refrain. So, I have two questions.....

1) Is my itinerary too structured? not structured enough?
2) Are there any "must do" restaurants or events that I am missing?


Friday - Dinner: Citricos
MK for fireworks

Saturday - MK day
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Tony's

Sunday - Epcot
Breakfast: Akershus Royal Banquet
Lunch: LeCellier
Dinner: Coral Reef

Monday - Animal Kingdom
Dinner: Narcoossee

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Captains Grill
Lunch - Sci-Fi
Dinner - 50s Prime Time (thinking of changing this to the Fantasmic Dinner package)

Wednesday - Blizzard Beach
Dinner - Flying Fish

Thursday - MK - Princess Day
Breakfast - crystal palace
Bippity Boppity Bootique
Lunch - Royal Castle
Dinner - California Grill

Friday - OPEN - (prolly MK or whatever we decide)
Dinner - Capn Jacks

Saturday - OPEN
breakfast - Whispering Canyon
dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse

Sunday - early flight home


Sorry this post is so long but I really do appreciate the help. We also plan on seeing the fireworks at each of the parks depending on where we are.

You are going to be eating good food but for me too much time will be taken up. I want to eat of course but time is of the essence down there.