New here and looking for some advice

[Skysmommy]

My in laws have booked a huge family trip on the Disney Fantasy for April. It is the 7 night Eastern Caribbean. The cruise leaves on a Saturday, we are toying with the idea of flying in on Thursday night. We would book 2 nights at a monorail resort, spend all day Friday at the MK, then head to Port Canaveral on Saturday morning. DD just turned 4 in July, so she will be approaching 5 when we go. I am looking for advice on what kind of fast passes I should book, and what is the best sit down meal in the park? We probably just have cereal & granola bars in the room for breakfast, do 1 sit down & 1 quick service for lunch & dinner. My DD does well with long days, she does not tire easily and is not a complainer- so the plan is to stay all the way through the fireworks show.
DD loves the princesses, and dresses up as a different princess almost every day. She is fearless, not afraid of thrill rides (well, the thrill rides that a 40 inch 4 yr old can get on at the local amusement park lol), but a very picky eater. She hates meat unless it is chicken nuggets and exists on mac & cheese, corn, beets, & applesauce.
Given all of this info, anyone have fastpass & dining advice? TIA!!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I would choose either Cinderella's Royal Table (any meal) for princesses or Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh) for kid friendly buffet offerings.

For FP+, I would pick Big Thunder Mountain, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, and your choice for 3rd. My 4 year old grandson rode both of those coasters with no problem last December. He was too short for Space Mountain.

Polynesian for the resort.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Be Out Guest is one of the more popular ADRs to try and get. But aside from eating the the castle, I'm not sure it would have a ton to offer you. I'd also recommend CRT for lunch or dinner. Lots of interaction with the princesses. It can be a harder ADR to get so when you get ready to book, I'd make it the priority.

Columbia Harbor House is great for QS. They have chicken nuggets, fish fry and fried shrimp. They also have lobster rolls and salmon. I also think there is a salad offered. Food is always good and the atmosphere is busy but not as crazy as some of the others in Fantasyland. ( At least from what we've experienced )

As far as FPs - depending on height - Space Mountain and Peter Pan for the amount of time you'll be in line Standby. Then one of the Meet and Greets for pictures.

 

[Marshmelo]

You should look into a Royal Room at Port Orleans Riverside since she loves princesses. Cinderella’s Royal Table would be a good place for a meal since she could meet the princesses there. It is very hard to get an adr there so you would need to get it as soon as your booking window opens. Be Our Guest is a magical place to eat (in the Beast’s castle) and is QS for lunch. For FP you will definitely want to get 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, unless you plan to rope drop it. Peter Pan’s Flight is also a good FP to get. If she’s 40 inches she’ll be just tall enough for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain RR, but not tall enough for Space Mountain (44). After you use your first 3 FPs you can get one at a time for the remainder of the day.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My in laws have booked a huge family trip on the Disney Fantasy for April. It is the 7 night Eastern Caribbean. The cruise leaves on a Saturday, we are toying with the idea of flying in on Thursday night. We would book 2 nights at a monorail resort, spend all day Friday at the MK, then head to Port Canaveral on Saturday morning. DD just turned 4 in July, so she will be approaching 5 when we go. I am looking for advice on what kind of fast passes I should book, and what is the best sit down meal in the park? We probably just have cereal & granola bars in the room for breakfast, do 1 sit down & 1 quick service for lunch & dinner. My DD does well with long days, she does not tire easily and is not a complainer- so the plan is to stay all the way through the fireworks show.
DD loves the princesses, and dresses up as a different princess almost every day. She is fearless, not afraid of thrill rides (well, the thrill rides that a 40 inch 4 yr old can get on at the local amusement park lol), but a very picky eater. She hates meat unless it is chicken nuggets and exists on mac & cheese, corn, beets, & applesauce.
Given all of this info, anyone have fastpass & dining advice? TIA!!

Take a look at the menus, but for a princess lover, I would do BOG QS for lunch and CRT dinner. That way you get to eat inside both the Beast's and Cinderella's castles and meet many of the princesses. The only ride in MK your DD won't be able to do is Space. In terms of FP+, I would aim for 7DMT, Big Thunder and Splash. Go to Fantasyland at rope drop and do Peter Pan first and then do the rest of Fantasyland (definitely do Enchanted Tales). Once you are done with your first 3 FP+, you can get a 4th, 5th, etc.

 

[Skysmommy]

These are all such helpful suggestions, thank you! I think BOG QS for lunch & CRT for dinner is a great idea. I know she will LOVE thunder & splash, so definitely those 2. Not sure what the 3rd will be...I think she will love the mine train, but I also wanted to do Peter Pan & The Little Mermaid. Enchanted Tales with Belle, a FB friend posted a picture of her DD at this show last year, it looked adorable. That will probably be another must. I know cramming everything into one day will be difficult, especially with a 4 year old. But I want her to experience as much as she can. We will definitely do a "Disney only" trip where we stay for a week and hit all the parks, but probably not until she is 7 or 8. So this is the only time she will be there in that magical little kid stage. Anything worth skipping?
Also, someone suggested the Royal rooms at Port Orleans. I think she would love that, but how are the buses to MK? Also, we would need 3 rooms. One for myself, DH, & DD, one for my in laws, and one for my BIL, SIL, & their 9 yr old DD. So much to think about for just 2 nights and 1 day. I appreciate all of this advice!!

 

[sharonabe]

I'm going to be a voice of dissent. With a 7-day cruise to follow, I wouldn't do CRT with just one day. You're going to meet all the princesses on the ship and have great food. CRT will take a lot of time out of your day. Yes, they have nuggets and they have mac n cheese, but she would have to choose and there's nothing else there she eats. That's a lot of money for not much food. Just do QS for both meals. BoG is pretty close to being a TS, especially if you pre-order since all you do is check in, pay and then find a table. They bring the food to you. However, I'm not seeing anything on their menu she will eat either. Do Columbia or Pinnochio Village Haus.

 

[Magical2017]

As a PP suggested, Peter Pan's Flight is a ride to FP for that age group. It always seems like there are really long lines. It is beloved by so many, and they will wait an hour or more to ride a slow-loading ride.

 

[Skysmommy]

I'm going to be a voice of dissent. With a 7-day cruise to follow, I wouldn't do CRT with just one day. You're going to meet all the princesses on the ship and have great food. CRT will take a lot of time out of your day. Yes, they have nuggets and they have mac n cheese, but she would have to choose and there's nothing else there she eats. That's a lot of money for not much food. Just do QS for both meals. BoG is pretty close to being a TS, especially if you pre-order since all you do is check in, pay and then find a table. They bring the food to you. However, I'm not seeing anything on their menu she will eat either. Do Columbia or Pinnochio Village Haus.

Thanks for this advice. Her eating is so frustrating, it is really going to limit where we can eat that day. She will eventually eat things like green beans, potatoes, broccoli, pasta, etc. if I battle with her. But that is not something I feel like doing on vacation. However, grilled cheese she might do. I saw that on the lunch menu at BOG. Thanks for looking at the menus for me!!

 

[WaltDavisWorld]

If I only had one day in MK with a princess fan I would do a makeover at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boitique, BOG lunch, CRT dinner and make sure to see the parade. Eating in the castle just can’t be beat for a little girl and having a nice sit down break will be nice if you’ll be there for so many hours. Also waiting in line to meet princesses is time consuming, at least you can eat also while meeting them and the rest of your day can be just for rides. BOG lunch didn’t apeal much to my kids when they were picky eaters, one had fries and a cupcake but it’s vacation so we managed haha. I would do Mine Train, Big Thunder and Tales with Belle (if it’s a must) for FP’s. Head to Fantasyland first thing to do Peter Pan, Little Mermaid and other kid favorites. I would plan to get there before park opening, even with staying til fireworks. My kids were always pretty easy going also and never had a problem doing that if we could sleep in a bit the next day. There’s no way to see and do it all in one day but you can definitely fit in all the things that you know she will enjoy most. I would try to stay in fantasyland for the most part!

 

[Woody412]

BOG may not have things like Mac n’ cheese or chicken nuggets on the menu, but they may make them upon request. We’ve never been so I have no firsthand knowledge but some on here would definitely know if that’s the case. I do know that they serve both at The Plaza even though they aren’t listed on the menu.

 

[Nancyg56]

With a four year old and one MK day prior to a cruise I would try to book a breakfast at Crystal Palace or CRT. Meet Pooh and friends. I would get to the park for Rope Drop, and then I would beat feet to Peter Pan to get in line as early as possible. Kids love the stand by queue, as do I, so this one would be a priority for us. If you time your breakfast for midmorning you can get a lot accomplished before breakfast, take a nice break with the sweetest of characters and then go back out for more.

I am not sure a 4 YO would love the Beast's Castle, however it is pretty nice, so if you think she would eat form the children's menu you could make a late afternoon ADR for lunch, again avoiding lines and still having a meal that is in place for you.


If you plan to stick around til fireworks then book dinner too. My family would collapse if we did RD to park close, but if you all are up for it I would also book dinner. I would need a seat! LOL! CRT is nice as is CP, so whichever one I did not choose for breakfast I would add for dinner.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

These are all such helpful suggestions, thank you! I think BOG QS for lunch & CRT for dinner is a great idea. I know she will LOVE thunder & splash, so definitely those 2. Not sure what the 3rd will be...I think she will love the mine train, but I also wanted to do Peter Pan & The Little Mermaid. Enchanted Tales with Belle, a FB friend posted a picture of her DD at this show last year, it looked adorable. That will probably be another must. I know cramming everything into one day will be difficult, especially with a 4 year old. But I want her to experience as much as she can. We will definitely do a "Disney only" trip where we stay for a week and hit all the parks, but probably not until she is 7 or 8. So this is the only time she will be there in that magical little kid stage. Anything worth skipping?
Also, someone suggested the Royal rooms at Port Orleans. I think she would love that, but how are the buses to MK? Also, we would need 3 rooms. One for myself, DH, & DD, one for my in laws, and one for my BIL, SIL, & their 9 yr old DD. So much to think about for just 2 nights and 1 day. I appreciate all of this advice!!

If you want to ride 7DMT, definitely get a FP+ for it. It, notoriously, has the longest lines in MK, so the FP+ will enable you to use the time a little better for standby for other things like Under the Sea, etc. (which you may also be able to get as a 4th, 5th FP+, etc.). One thing you could do would be to see if they offer EMM on the day you are planning to go. It will add to your cost, but EMM gives you early access to 7DMT, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh (it also gets you a buffet breakfast). It would knock those three off your list right off the bat. If you don't want to do EMM (or it's not available), I would still FP+ 7DMT, Splash and BTMRR and do PP right at rope drop followed by Enchanted Tales, Winnie the Pooh and everything else in Fantasyland. Things to skip - you could probably do without Speedway, Monsters Inc., Space (unless your 9 yr. old niece would like to go), Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Tiki Room.

As PP's have said, it is true that you will see a TON of characters on the ship, so you could skip CRT (and the other character meet and greets), BUT, it's pretty magical to eat in the castle!

In terms of resorts, for a two night stay where MK is the focus, if it's in the budget, I would stay on the monorail. For a princess lover, I would recommend GF. It's quite princessy! The POR Royal Rooms are lovely, but that adds bus transportation into the equation and if park touring is the focus, it's not the most convenient choice. With GF, you could even take a mid-afternoon break, if need be. Or, if everyone is tired, you can even go back to the resort and see the fireworks from there.

 

[ktlm]

At age 4, Peter Pan was an absolute favorite. That would be my FP choice. I would pick 7DMT over Splash or Big Thunder. It will have longer lines throughout the day. My DD hated Big Thunder at age 4-- she thought it was way too rough. 7DMT is much smoother-- plus you said she loves Princesses- and it has the Snow White elements along the ride. Splash is a great choice if you don't think she will be scared of the drop. My DD was all for it at the pre-school age, until we walked up to it and she saw the drop and heard people screaming-- then she did not really want to set foot on it. She also liked to wear Princess dresses to the park all day every day and did not want to get her dress soaked. I think it was age 4, we finally got her to ride it while she was not in a princess dress-- but she was not a fan of the drop-- the picture is pretty funny.

 

[mom22boys]

OP, just want to make sure that you know that Be Our Guest still requires an ADR for lunch even though it is a quick service. It is also a high demand ADR, so I would schedule that right at your 180 day mark.

 

[Skysmommy]

Thank you everyone for all of the excellent advice. We still have plenty of time before we can book fast passes & ADR's, but I want to go into it with a plan. My SIL, BIL, & niece will do separate fast passes, since at 9 my niece will probably want to do Space Mountain, whereas my DD is too small. Great suggestion to book Grand Floridian. I have to get input from the rest of the family, but for 2 nights, I don't think anyone is all that picky on where we stay. I am leaning towards fast passing Thunder & Splash, and the mine train. Then once those are done, trying to get Little Mermaid & Enchanted Tales for the afternoon or evening. Peter Pan & Pooh we will maybe try the stand by lines.
Meal wise, leaning towards skipping all table service since we will see tons of characters on the ship, and just doing QS for both lunch & dinner.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thank you everyone for all of the excellent advice. We still have plenty of time before we can book fast passes & ADR's, but I want to go into it with a plan. My SIL, BIL, & niece will do separate fast passes, since at 9 my niece will probably want to do Space Mountain, whereas my DD is too small. Great suggestion to book Grand Floridian. I have to get input from the rest of the family, but for 2 nights, I don't think anyone is all that picky on where we stay. I am leaning towards fast passing Thunder & Splash, and the mine train. Then once those are done, trying to get Little Mermaid & Enchanted Tales for the afternoon or evening. Peter Pan & Pooh we will maybe try the stand by lines.
Meal wise, leaning towards skipping all table service since we will see tons of characters on the ship, and just doing QS for both lunch & dinner.

I think that's a great plan! Just make sure, if you want to do PP and Pooh standby to try to get there at rope drop and go to PP first as that line gets really long

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I agree with skipping character meals, unless you want to meet Pooh & friends. The character meets on the ship will be frequent and lines relatively short. I have a very picky eater and I found that lunch at the Plaza worked very well when we had one day at MK. It was a nice break, but didn’t take as long as other table service restaurants and DS had no trouble finding something to eat. Have fun!

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

I'm going to be a voice of dissent. With a 7-day cruise to follow, I wouldn't do CRT with just one day. You're going to meet all the princesses on the ship and have great food. CRT will take a lot of time out of your day. Yes, they have nuggets and they have mac n cheese, but she would have to choose and there's nothing else there she eats. That's a lot of money for not much food. Just do QS for both meals. BoG is pretty close to being a TS, especially if you pre-order since all you do is check in, pay and then find a table. They bring the food to you. However, I'm not seeing anything on their menu she will eat either. Do Columbia or Pinnochio Village Haus.

I agree. We did the fantasy last year with my then 4 year old and she will get to see the princesses over and over again on the ship. She was elated by them. They KNEW her by the end of the week at sea. I wouldn’t dilute the experience with crt the day before. It’s absolutely magical the way the ship presents the princesses (be sure you book tickets in advance to thr meet and greet on the ship - a MUST). We also did the tea on the ship. Let the ship be the princess thing. Let magic kingdom be magic kingdom, and have a blast with the atmosphere and rides.