newbie needs help!!!!

[HeatherN]

Hello, we are first timers going in August on a make a wish trip for my daughter. I am trying to figure out if you need to make reservations for every meal or can you just walk into a resturant? Are the reservations for just the character meals? There are a few places we are interested in but mostly don't want to be tied down by having reservations for every meal. I would not mind doing a few special meals though.My daughter is interested in Princesses and have heard that we should try to do the Crytal Palace? Any suggestions or thoughts? I am so lost on how this works. Oh yeah, we are also thinking about the Rain forest cafe and the the Coral reef .Thanks so much.

 

[canadianmom2three]

Well, you've come to the right place!!! Everyone here is full of great tips and advice. We are headed down in August as well, and I would highly recommend making ADR's because if you are there during free dining especially, things will be very booked up. There is a princess storybook dining meal at Epcot, which sounds neat, and of course Cinderella's Royal Table! I usually start by trying to make a rough itinerary of what parks we will be at on what days, then plan my meals around that. The sooner you can make your reservations the more likely you will get what you want, and at decent times. Good luck and have a GREAT trip!!!!

 

[HeatherN]

Wow, thanks for your quick reply!

another question then, where do I find info on what places there are and what they entail? So far I am just reading other threads for ideas and have no idea where to look?

 

[adell557]

Crystal Palace is Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, no Princesses.

If you are looking for princesses, you should be looking for CRT, which is Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle at the Magic Kingdom. The breakfast or lunch. You will see 5 different princesses there. The dinner at CRT DOES NOT have princesses, so don't schedule that one.

You can also do Princess Storybook Dining in the norway pavillion in Epcot, you an also see 5 princesses there also.


Or 1900 Park Fare dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort, it is Cinderella, step sisters, stepmother.

All of these have to be scheduled in advance. Advance reservations are HIGHLY reccomended by disney b/c their dining is so popular. The chances that you will be able to just walk in are low, or you will waste a ton of time waiting.

If you want to do a few special meals, schedule them NOW, otherwise you probably won't be able to get in. CRT is probably already full, but it doesn't hurt to try. You could probably still get into epcot.

My reccomendation is to visit:
http://www.allears.net/din/cbchar.htm

It is a list of all the characters and what restaurant they are at and at what meal.

 

[adell557]

Wow, thanks for your quick reply!

another question then, where do I find info on what places there are and what they entail? So far I am just reading other threads for ideas and have no idea where to look?

Best website in my opinion to learn about WDW is
www.allears.net
It has a ton of info on everything from dining to resorts, etc.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hello, we are first timers going in August on a make a wish trip for my daughter. I am trying to figure out if you need to make reservations for every meal or can you just walk into a resturant? Are the reservations for just the character meals? There are a few places we are interested in but mostly don't want to be tied down by having reservations for every meal. I would not mind doing a few special meals though.My daughter is interested in Princesses and have heard that we should try to do the Crytal Palace? Any suggestions or thoughts? I am so lost on how this works. Oh yeah, we are also thinking about the Rain forest cafe and the the Coral reef .Thanks so much.

Have a MAGICAL trip. Rain Forest Cafe is at AK (animal kingdom) or in DTD (downtown disney), they are NOT on meal plan and they take reservations when you walk up, I don't think you can reserve ahead. Mostly if you eat at the "NOT" most popular times 6-8pm for dinner is very busy usually, I'd go a bit earlier if your heart is set on it, we usually stick to our home schedule 5ish for dinner and have been pretty lucky. Lunch is just as good as dinner.
Book as soon as you can to get what you'd like, it gets tough during free dining periods

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!!

We'll be down during August as well, from the 13th to the 19th. Counting the days...

Here's the rundown on character meals: http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/character_dining.cfm

 

[shellynn24]

Welcome to the joy of planning, once you start there's no stopping I did not care for the Bfast at Norway with the Princesses, but I did enjoy Cinderella's Royal Table, the atmosphere is great there. I absolutely recomend allears for research, just remember to have fun with it and not let it stress you out.

 

[shellynn24]

Way OT, but I just made 500 posts, only took 3 years

 

[adell557]

Welcome to the joy of planning, once you start there's no stopping I did not care for the Bfast at Norway with the Princesses, but I did enjoy Cinderella's Royal Table, the atmosphere is great there. I absolutely recomend allears for research, just remember to have fun with it and not let it stress you out.

I like the princess storybook dining. My DD3 liked is as well as DH and myself. I think I would be concerned that CRT would be booked up already.

 

[Rylee]

Hello, we are first timers going in August on a make a wish trip for my daughter. I am trying to figure out if you need to make reservations for every meal or can you just walk into a resturant? Are the reservations for just the character meals? There are a few places we are interested in but mostly don't want to be tied down by having reservations for every meal. I would not mind doing a few special meals though.My daughter is interested in Princesses and have heard that we should try to do the Crytal Palace? Any suggestions or thoughts? I am so lost on how this works. Oh yeah, we are also thinking about the Rain forest cafe and the the Coral reef .Thanks so much.

Hi

Will you be on the Dining Plan (DP)? You do not need to make reservations for every meal, but you do need to make reservations for any Table Service (TS) Restaurants you want to experience/dine at. We have always scheduled 1 TS restaurant per day. It's a nice break from the heat/crowds/parks.

Read menus at the allears site.

Look at the park calendar on the WDW site and try to decide which park you'll be at, on each day. If you have hopper tickets, you'll have a little more freedom with picking your restaurants, but travelling does take time, so try to choose a restaurant in or near the park you be at.

Call and book your Advance Dining Reservations (ADR's), as soon as possible. (Be careful not to schedule reservations times too close to any shows, parades or special events, you want to see.)

If you book any character meals... a great way to get pictures and autographs without waiting in long lines... be sure to purchase an autograph book before going to the restaurant. Disney sells the type that has a picture slot on the facing page, and it makes a great souvenir.

You mentioned the Coral Reef... my kids request it for every trip.

Some others we have enjoyed...

Chef Mickey's @ the Contemporary
Boma @ AKL
Teppan Edo in Japan @ Epcot
Ohana @ the Poly
1900 Park Fare @ the Grand floridian
Kona @ the Poly
Si-Fi Dine-In @ the Studios (sit in cars at the drive-in movies... kids love it!)
CRT in the castle @ MK
Le Cellier @ Epcot
Crystal Palace @ MK

(We're from Syracuse, NY. We'll be at WDW in August 22 - Sept. 2.)

Have fun planning and have a magical trip.

 

[HeatherN]

Wow, thank you all so much! This is exactly the advice I was looking for. We won't be on the dining plan-we get free meals where we are staying(Give kids the world village) but we do have some expense money to cover additional meals at the parks. By the way Rylee, we are also upsate NYers. We are quite near the Lake George area.