Never did DP, what rests. are a MUST??

[dopeydiva]

Hello fellow disboarders,
Just booked a surprise trip for the family, hubby and 7 yr old twin kiddos. We never took advantage of the dining plan before. I am VERY overwhelmed reading all of the posts and trying to pick out the info I need. I'm hoping I may luck out and get reservations. If I do luck out, or possibly for better and more advanced planning next time, what restaurants would you say are a must for my family to enjoy? Any info and tips are greatly appreciated. I was up til 3 this morning reading and spent the last few hours reading, and quite frankly, I'm pooped and confused. thanks ahead of time.
Stay well,
AnnMarie

 

[tinkgirl1984]

When do you leave for your trip? There may still be time to get your ADR's. Maybe not the really popular ones, but still a good selection. That being said, must do's are really very subjective. I can give you my list, but I'm sure someone behind me will have a completely different list. You just have to decide what your family enjoys. With 7 year olds, character meals are definitely the way to go. If you have girls, one of the princess meals is probably a must do. I think the food at Akershus is better, but I also think everyone should have at least one meal at CRT in their lifetime Also with little ones, Chef Mickey's is probably a must do. I'm not a big fan of Chef Mickey's, the food isn't the greatest in the world, but if I had kids, it would be on my must do list. Crystal Palace is always a good option with kids. LOVE their breakfast. The only place I go absolutely every trip without fail is Ohana, but I have quite a few Disney favorites. If you could give us some more information about your family and your likes/dislikes, it would be easier to give you some better suggestions And don't stress out about ADR's! You'll have a great trip no matter what! It's Disney!

 

[squirrel]

Well I'd pick these: (they are not in any kind of order)

Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House
Crystal Palace
'Ohana-dinner
Le Cellier
Akershus
50's Prime Time
1900 Park Fare
Chef Mickey's

Are the twins boys, girls, one of each? That might make it easier for everyone to suggest restaurants.

 

[Melanie B]

We're leaving in a couple weeks and this is what we choose based on the menus on allears.net

Day 1
Lunch: Le Cellier
Dinner: Nine Dragons

Day 2
Breakfast: Grand Floridian Cafe
Lunch: Sci Fi
Dinner Wolfgang Puck

Day 3
Breakfast: Kouzzina
Lunch: San Angel Inn
Dinner: Teppan Edo

Day 4
Breakfast: Kona
Lunch: undecided yet but we were thinking ESPN Club or Big River Grille
Dinner: Ohana

Day 5
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Whispering Canyon

Day 6
Breakfast: Tusker house
Lunch: Yak & Yeti
Dinner: Spirit of Aloha

Day 7
Breakfast: Chef Mickey's
Lunch: Coral Reef
Dinner: Chef de France

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We're leaving in a couple weeks and this is what we choose based on the menus on allears.net

Day 1
Lunch: Le Cellier
Dinner: Nine Dragons

Day 2
Breakfast: Grand Floridian Cafe
Lunch: Sci Fi
Dinner Wolfgang Puck

Day 3
Breakfast: Kouzzina
Lunch: San Angel Inn
Dinner: Teppan Edo

Day 4
Breakfast: Kona
Lunch: undecided yet but we were thinking ESPN Club or Big River Grille
Dinner: Ohana

Day 5
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Whispering Canyon

Day 6
Breakfast: Tusker house
Lunch: Yak & Yeti
Dinner: Spirit of Aloha

Day 7
Breakfast: Chef Mickey's
Lunch: Coral Reef
Dinner: Chef de France

Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but three table service restaurants a day takes up a HUGE amount of time, like 8 hours per day with the traveling/walking to the restaurant, checking in and waiting for your table, eating and paying. If you a couple and are taking the parks at a leisurly pace, that can work out okay, but if you have kids, especially younger kids that really want to see and do all the attactions, this could pose a problem.

 

[Melanie B]

Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but three table service restaurants a day takes up a HUGE amount of time, like 8 hours per day with the traveling/walking to the restaurant, checking in and waiting for your table, eating and paying. If you a couple and are taking the parks at a leisurly pace, that can work out okay, but if you have kids, especially younger kids that really want to see and do all the attactions, this could pose a problem.

It's just us. No kids yet We thought about the amount of time it would take but we wanted dining to be part of our Disney experience.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

It's just us. No kids yet We thought about the amount of time it would take but we wanted dining to be part of our Disney experience.

Excellent! Have a magical vacation!

 

[Melanie B]

Excellent! Have a magical vacation!

Thank you

 

[Nadjalu]

Personally I would recommend reading the online menus instead of reviews.

If you find a menu you like you can ask about it, but know that you will receive good and bad reviews about any and all restaurants at WDW.

I just go by what sounds good to me.......and haven't had a bad experience with food yet.

 

[dopeydiva]

Wow, thanks already for the suggestions. Extra info as requested:

Twin boys, 7 yrs old, Toy Story fanatics

Hubby and I not feeling the greatest lately. I had major neck/spine surgery in January and am still doing physical therapy. We won't do 3 sit downs a day, but certainly one good sit down lunch or dinner. We want to see everything. We haven't been in 3 yrs, and I usually do the parks commando style, but honestly with my walking situaltion, if we get to do all the shows and major attractions once, I'll be happy. we never took a break in the middle of the day before, but I'm thinking this might be the time to do that. This will also be the first time we don't bring the double jogger and the kiddos will be hoofing it on their own--one wants to use it the other doesn't--when I posed the question yesterday "if we ever go to Disney or an amusement park would you want the jogger?" The trip is a surprise.

I saw CRT abbreviated in reference to searching for ressies online, not sure what that is. I definitely want to do the Crystal Palace after reading your suggestions. Hope this helps. I put the kids down as 10 after reading your posts about portion sizes and selections and feel that is the best thing to do. We are meat and potatoes, Italian, soups and desserts fans. Want to experience some different things, nice portions nothing skimpy. Thank you all ahead of time for your input.
I'll be checking throughout the day. Oh, we are there for the 8th-13th. I want to do the dessert at MK, but not sure we will have any luck. Hubby and I celebrate 11 yrs on the 7th, we get in late that night so no food needed.
Stay well,
AnnMarie

 

[Melanie B]

Wow, thanks already for the suggestions. Extra info as requested:

Twin boys, 7 yrs old, Toy Story fanatics

Hubby and I not feeling the greatest lately. I had major neck/spine surgery in January and am still doing physical therapy. We won't do 3 sit downs a day, but certainly one good sit down lunch or dinner. We want to see everything. We haven't been in 3 yrs, and I usually do the parks commando style, but honestly with my walking situaltion, if we get to do all the shows and major attractions once, I'll be happy. we never took a break in the middle of the day before, but I'm thinking this might be the time to do that. This will also be the first time we don't bring the double jogger and the kiddos will be hoofing it on their own--one wants to use it the other doesn't--when I posed the question yesterday "if we ever go to Disney or an amusement park would you want the jogger?" The trip is a surprise.

I saw CRT abbreviated in reference to searching for ressies online, not sure what that is. I definitely want to do the Crystal Palace after reading your suggestions. Hope this helps. I put the kids down as 10 after reading your posts about portion sizes and selections and feel that is the best thing to do. We are meat and potatoes, Italian, soups and desserts fans. Want to experience some different things, nice portions nothing skimpy. Thank you all ahead of time for your input.
I'll be checking throughout the day. Oh, we are there for the 8th-13th. I want to do the dessert at MK, but not sure we will have any luck. Hubby and I celebrate 11 yrs on the 7th, we get in late that night so no food needed.
Stay well,
AnnMarie

CRT= Cinderella's Royal Table and it's 2 TS credits

 

[tinkgirl1984]

With 7 year old boys, some of my table service suggestions would be:

MK - Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern
Epcot - Garden Grill or Coral Reef
DHS - 50's Prime Time or Sci-Fi (you'll see a lot of bad reviews for Sci-Fi, but I've always had good experiences there. The burgers and shakes are great and it's very dark and air conditioned inside)
AK - Tusker house has an awesome character breakfast. I also like Yak and Yeti.

With 7 year old boys, I would still highly recommend Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (just keep in mind that you don't really eat here for the food as much as the atmosphere) Would definitely try to do 'Ohana at the Poly. If you like seafood, the clam bake at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club is good. Just some suggestions to get you started. Like I said, must do's are pretty subjective, you really just have to figure out what your family likes the most. Good luck

 

[SGMCO]

Some of our favorites:

Character Breakfast:
Ohana Best Friends Breakfast (at POLY) has good food served Family style and Characters are: Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto--it fun!

Donalds Safari Breakfast at AK--Very fun, Good Food. Characters:
Donald, Daisy, Goofy.

Lunch or Dinner: Sci-fi Cafe' at DHS--Fun to sit in 50s cars to eat and watch
crazy B rated 50s Sci-fi movies.

Tony's Town Square at MK--my DS favorite--he likes the movie Lady and the Tramp--gets mixed reviews but we've always had good food and service
and eat there every trip.

Dinner: Ohanas (again) it is different for dinner and still has family entertainment.
Tutto Italia--we had our best meal here last trip.
Coral Reef--it has large fish tanks and it's themed like under the water.

 

[boltfan]

We love Coral Reef and Crystal Palace. And alwyas do Chef Mickey's on our last day!

 

[squirrel]

Late breakfasts are good also. You can get to the park for opening and then head for brunch. The character's are still there and the food is still great. Donald's Safari Breakfast ends earlier than most of the breakfasts last seatings about 10:30am.

Garden Grill just changed the kid's menu-I don't know what they did, but some people were upset. Maybe they don't have one. I have too many other Epcot restaurants I go to.

Sci-Fi is good if you like burgers. I had steak there and it was terrible. I would go back though. The server was excellent.

Coral Reef our server was terrible, the food was good. I don't know if I could go back.

 

[Marblies]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dopeydiva
Wow, thanks already for the suggestions. Extra info as requested:
Twin boys, 7 yrs old, Toy Story fanatics


How fun! I have 2 DD's 19 and 20 and they LOVE Toy Story. (Maybe they are 7 year old boys at heart?) While not a TS, we have to go to Pizza Planet in HS every trip. No ressies needed, simple pizza and salad fare. The HUGE little green men hanging from the ceiling are wonderful!

111 Days until Just the Girls Christmas Magic

 

[hpopa]

Don't forget about PIZZA PLANET in Hollywood Studios as a quick service option and MUST DO for our Toy Story fan children! My daughter would give up the castle dinner we have planned to eat at Pizza Planet, given her current Toy Story craze . (It's the pizza joint you see in the first movie.)

 

[sndral]

Ohanas is a great 1 ts dinner and is good for a MK day, since it's a monorail hop away. The parade of kids around the restaurant is fun, and if you can time it for wishes
I like Bomas, the boys might enjoy wandering the grounds, looking @ the animals, it's a good choice for dinner after AK, since AK closes early, or even a lunch break on AK day.
My son loved Coral Reef @ that age.

 

[danielephant]

this was one of my quests in comeing here to these boards...to find out whats for dinner at disney!

 

[dopeydiva]

Fellow disboarders,
You are by far the BEST in aiding each other with planning what I believe, the biggest trip to take because so much is involved to make sure you get in all that you really need to. I made some ADR's (now I'm even using the lingo )
Here is what we have going on so far:

Cape May for breakfast the first day to start the trip off right (just don't know how to get there from All Star Movies)
Coral Reef
Via Napoli
Boma (just did this last night after looking at menus and not wanting to miss the experience)
Park Fare for dinner
Prime Time
Whispering Canyon
Crystal Palace last morning

I hope this is a good representation of the good ones. Tried and tried for Le Cellier (our 12th anniversary is the day we arrive) and Ohana (went there pregnant in 2002 and couldn't eat) No luck with either of these and I want so badly to get them for the hubby.

Trying to figure out the BEST counter service spots. I want to get us to Pepper Market at Coronado, but again, how do we get there? I'm not sure what is expected as far as travel time.

My sincere thanks to everybody. Nobody should go to Disney without checking out this fantabulous site and the expert advice available.
Stay well,
AnnMarie