never done DDP - now doing the deluxe - which restaurants?

[petalutha]

We have minimal experience with Disney restaurants.

We are going in Sept on free dining, upgrading to deluxe.

I am looking for some suggestions on TS restaurants that we should try. Also, which signature is best? Cali Grill? Jiko? other? We might do 2 signatures. We will have 2 small children with us, but they are well behaved and we plan to take the days easy.

Some restaurants I am considering:

Le Cellier
Boma
Spoodles
Wolfgang Puck
Ohana

Ideally I think we will do sit down breakfast in the park (or character breakfast at a resort), and plan a nice dinner. If it is a sig dinner, we will just snack in between. If it is a normal credit dinner, we'll get lunch at a sit down.

I don't even know the different character meals to pick from, with the exception of CRT, which we've done.

We are so unfamiliar with restaurants, so we appreciate all suggestions!

Thank you.

 

[aubriee]

If you are going in Sept I believe your 180 days may already be past. I booked my Sept ADRs a week or so ago. Check your dates and call ASAP (especially if you want Le Cellier).

With two small kids I would probably try to do alot of character meals:
Crystal Palace (Pooh and friends)
1900 Park Fare breakfast (Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Alice, Pooh, & Tigger)
1900 Park Fare dinner (Cinderella, evil stepsisters, and evil stepmother)
Hollywood & Vine breakfast
O'hana breakfast (Stitch, Lilo, Mickey, Pluto)
Chef Mickey's (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald)
Tusker House breakfast (Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, Donald, Daisy)
Garden Grill (Mickey, Chip, Dale, Pluto)
Akershus (the Princesses)

The ones you mentioned are all excellent, plus:
Tutto Italia
Coral Reef (the kids will love the giant aquarium)
Raglan Road
Whispering Canyon

 

[daisy112878]

Highly recommend O'hana for breakfast. It's a great character meal with good food esp the pineapple bread.

Also like Brown Derby as a signature restaurant. It has a great chopped salad and filet for an entree.

Other restaurants:
Marrakesh - has a belly dancer whihc is fun for the kids
Chef de France
Nine Dragons
Raglan Road
Sci-Fi - we only go here for lunch and stick to the burgers but it's always fun to sit in the car and eat while watching old movie clips.
Liberty Tree Tavern - for dinner its characters and you get to see Minnie which is fun

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I agree to call ASAP and also on the character dining especially breakfasts at O'Hana and Crystal Palace and dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern!

We also love the Biergarten and find the entertainment fun to watch. The buffet seems to have something for everyone.

As for signatures, we only tried Brown Derby and really enjoyed it. We are trying Jiko & California Grille this trip!

 

[petalutha]

Thank you for the replies so far.

I can call tomorrow for my ADRs. So nervous that I will mess this up!

What does the fantasmic dinner package cover? is it worth it? I've never seen the show. is it one or two credits?

Thanks!

 

[lady_hlh]

Thank you for the replies so far.

I can call tomorrow for my ADRs. So nervous that I will mess this up!

What does the fantasmic dinner package cover? is it worth it? I've never seen the show. is it one or two credits?

Thanks!

The Fantasmic package is only 1 credit and as of last year you can order off the regular menus. The show is great as long as your kids aren't easily frightened, my DD was almost 4 the first time we went and she loved it. We have always done the package every year so that we would have guaranteed seating and not need to stand in a long line with our DD. The seating isn't in the middle but we always thought that view was fine.

 

[malcontent]

The Fantasmic package is only 1 credit and as of last year you can order off the regular menus. The show is great as long as your kids aren't easily frightened, my DD was almost 4 the first time we went and she loved it. We have always done the package every year so that we would have guaranteed seating and not need to stand in a long line with our DD. The seating isn't in the middle but we always thought that view was fine.

For BD, it's two.

 

[petalutha]

What is "BD"?

 

[aubriee]

What is "BD"?

Brown Derby restaurant in Disney Studios.