Newbie Question about character breakfast

[MomAndrea]

Hi, I am new here and it is kind of overwhelming. I am sure that this has been asked and answered many times but I sure can't find it anywhere .

We are planning a trip to WDW. At the moment we think we want to go Sept or Oct but nothing is booked yet. We will be travelling with a very picky 3 and 5 year old and I think we have determined that the dining package will not be worth it for us.

How do we book a character breakfast, specifically breakfast at the castle with Cinderella, when we aren't on the dining package? When can it be booked?

Thanks so much,
Andrea

 

[AuroraBeauty]

If you stay on property you can book 180 days prior to your arrival date. If you haven't already read, dining at the castle (Cinderella's Royal Table or CRT) is one of the most difficult ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) to get.

If you are not on the dining plan, there are some places that you will need to give your credit card as a deposit when those on the dining plan may not. At CRT, everyone has to provide a credit card -- so don't feel put upon when asked. If you are not on the dining plan then I believe you are not able to make your dining reservations that far out (someone will need to chime in here!).

You may also read a lot about 'free dining'. It is a program that Disney has offered the last few years during late Aug thru late Sept (maybe a few days into OCT but I don't know for sure). If you are staying on property and free dining is offered and you call to add it then you get dining for free if it is available for your dates at your selected hotel (if you are booking thru a travel agent (TA for short) ask them about it b/c they normally watch for it).

Hope this helps.

 

[MomAndrea]

Thanks so much for replying! We will be staying on site, just not sure where yet. The last time we went (Sept., 2005) we got free dining but our TA was terrible and we didn't get ANY reservations ahead of time as we didn't know it was necessary .

Thanks again.

 

[AuroraBeauty]

Most TAs won't make your ADRs, unless they specifically offer. Our does offer to make them but I'm usually tweaking them right up until the CSR answers the phone.

If you will be on site -- free dining or otherwise -- mark your calendar for the 180 days out and call as soon as the lines open at 7am FL time if you want to get Cindy's for breakfast. You'll find a lot about it her on the DIS, and so many people don't get in. The restaurant is relatively small and b/c it does take awhile for all the interaction there just aren't as many opportunities as compared to other locations.

Since you will be on site you'll be able to make reservations beginning 180 days from your arrival date and for all the days you will be there (up to 10). You'll see it referred to as 180+10 for ADRs.

Enjoy your trip and don't forget to mark your calendar for ADRs, especially if Disney offers free dining. It gets a bit hectic.

But, if you don't get what you want just keep checking. People cancel all the time and many have reported getting b'fast with Cindy just days before their arrival.

Best Wishes!

 

[septbaby]

We are planning a trip to WDW...We will be travelling with a very picky 3 and 5 year old and I think we have determined that the dining package will not be worth it for us.

How do we book a character breakfast, specifically breakfast at the castle with Cinderella, when we aren't on the dining package? When can it be booked?

Financially speaking your are the perfect candidate for the plan. If you do character meals they all cost more than the daily price of the plan for your 3yo and 5yo. That means the CS and snacks are "free" that day. So even if you think you'll have to spend more cash to satisfy the picky eaters( I would say just use snack credits to buy those extras) you wouldn't be in a "hole". Also each character meal is all you care to eat or buffet so the picky eaters can actually "pick" what they like.

We had a picky 5yo with us AND we are a vegetarian family. We loved being on the plan and had plenty to eat. I purposely booked buffets to be sure we could select enough (food and variety) to get our fill and feel like we had a nice meal/got our money's worth. We were able to do this everywhere we went: Chef Mickey's bfast, Boma dinner and Hollywood & Vine dinner. We had two "made to order" meals: Coral Reef lunch and Narcoossee's. We loved them both and had excellent meals. The atmosphere at Coral Reef might really appeal to your young ones. It's underwater and has a full wall aquarium: fish, turtles, Mickey's can be found swimming around in there! We thought Coral Reef was expensive, but on the plan "its all the same" so no worries.

The key for me with the Dining Plan for you are feeding your kids for $10 at Disney. I think it'll be really hard to do that OOP.

You do have book an onsite stay and buy at least a 1-day ticket for everyone in your room, so if you aren't going to do that you can't choose the Dining Plan (ie. you buy your tickets elsewhere or already have them).

Finally, I think you will find more variety and flexibility with the counter service choices at the resorts. Especially at the Moderate and Value resorts the CS restaurants are bigger and have multiple cuisines to choose from. You might do better trying to feed your picky eaters there vs the parks. That would be true whether or not you are on the Dining Plan.

On or off the plan have fun planning this vacation and enjoy your time there.

 

[TexasTodds]

I agree with PP...having more than one child under 9 makes you a perfect candidate for the DDP. I could probably not feed the kids on vacation anywhere for $10 each per day. I have 3, and when we went the last week of January, I booked lots of character meals (the only two that were not were Sci Fi for lunch, and Coral Reef for dinner, both because of the really fun atmosphere.) With some "tweaking" at CS restaurants, we were able to keep our kids mostly happy, and reasonably well fed.

For Adults, it can be a toss-up as to whether it is a good deal or not, but I really liked the ability to go into a restaurant and know that I didn't have to worry about what to order. Since my DH is fairly picky also, I liked knowing that I didn't have to eat CS the whole time so as not to waste $$ on a buffet for him (I know he would not eat $20-25 worth of food, and he would have been stressing about the check).