Newbie!

[AnninIowa]

Hello! My 73-year-old father and I (I'm 31) are going to Disney World in October - first time for both of us. Just thought it would be interesting to see everything at least once in life! We got a great deal on the dining plan ($123 per person for 5 days!), but I'm wondering about all the talk of advance seating. Some people are talking about making reservations 90 days in advance?! Interested if the "veterans" on the board have visited in October - supposed to be "off" season and less crowded. Plus, we are early eaters - like to be done with dinner by 5! Do we really need to get on the phone and make reservations so early? We're looking at dinner at Boma for sure...not sure about anything else for sit-down meals yet.

Thanks!!

 

[disney queen]

http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php here is a link to help you determine as to when to call. w/the new dining package being so popular, i would highly recommend making ADRs. have you looked at the menus on www.allearsnet.com that will help you determine what is served. hollywood brown derby in mgm is excellent! most restaurants do not start serving dinner until 4:30 or 5:00. many of the restaurants in the resorts are very good. if y'all like seafood, i would recommend flying fish on the boardwalk. and for a quick, but tasty meal in downtown disney you might want to try earl of sandwich. if you could give us some ideas as what type of food y'all enjoy, we can give you more suggestions. good luck and happy eating!

 

[GIOny]

I would make them, you can always cancel them if you have to. October has lower attendance then say Easter/Christmas/summer but by no means is it empty. Also people with really young children usually like to eat earlier too, so I would make the PS's. Part of the fun going to Disney is the planning, so enjoy yourself!

 

[jjohnson]

Do you have the premium plan? The regular dining plan is $35 pp.

 

[lmhall2000]

Ann....what a great trip the two of you will have!!! If you gave more specifics about his favorite foods or locales I could probably recommend some fun places..our family is the goofy, let's all smile and have fun type...the more fun a restaurant is the more fun we have...we also like one or two fine dining thrown in there just to keep us sensible.

I hear wonderful things about Boma...we've just never been that adventurous....I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you want that Disney feeling while eating I'd go with eating dinner at the Castle (or lunch if he's interested in being cooed over by 5 lovely princesses), 50's Prime Time Cafe...it'll remind him of when he was a kid...Le Cellier in Canada...great steaks and friendly servers...and if he has an adventurous side...you could try a foreign country like Alfredo's or Chefs de France in Epcot.

I do recommend making advanced dining reservations...there's nothing like hoping on a restaurant and showing up and no walk ups being taken. October used to be fairly slight on crowds but now that they have Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party pretty much the whole month the crowds have crept up some...I don't think you'll have too much difficulty getting a restaurant around 4:30-5:00 but it never hurts to make a PS...you don't get charged for it unless it's a character meal at the Castle or Norway or Chef Mickeys.

Enjoy yourself!!!
Tara

 

[AnninIowa]

Thank you for the encouragement to make advanced reservations...will definitely do that! We are on the regular dining plan, the one that is normally $35 per day...but our AAA travel agent had a special, hence the $123 per person for 5 days!!

Neither my dad nor I are too adventurous - good old American food will do. Also, even though we are going to Disney, we're not that big into the whole "Disney" experience in terms of seeing characters (in fact, I'm a bit scared of people in costumer...he, he!!). My father, while in good health, IS 73 and so too much activity wears him out; so I'm trying to schedule places to eat along our route. He also has TMJ, so all restaurants need to have some sort of soft food he can eat (soup, salad, sandwich he can take apart) Our schedule will probably go as follows:

Sunday Afternoon - Arrive at Beach Club; find place for dinner (maybe Alfredo's in Epcot? I LOVE Italian and this is one place I'd really like to go)
Monday - Animal Kingdom with lunch at Tusker House and dinner at Boma
Tuesday - Morning at Downtown Disney, lunch at Earl of Sandwich, swim at resort, Cirque du Soilel, dessert at Ghirardelli
Wednesday - Epcot (need at least a lunch here)
Thursday - Magic Kingdom (need at least a lunch here)
Friday - leave EARLY, so no food

I'm thinking we'll probably do breakfasts at the resort...maybe Cape May breakfast for one and counter service for others???

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Ann, I would suggest you also look at the "disABILTIES" forum and get information about renting an ECV for your father.

My father, while in good health, IS 73 and so too much activity wears him out

Once around the World Showcase Lagoon is about 1.3 miles. Also that forum has a lot of information about special diets.

 

[AnninIowa]

I am wondering about the distance from Beach Club Resort to Italy in Epcot's World Showcase...do you have to enter through the front of Epcot and walk all the way back or is there a closer entrance to the proximity of the Beach Club? I really want to eat at Alfredos...just trying to figure out if we should do lunch or dinner. Lunch if we have to go all the way through Epcot but dinner if there is a quicker route.

 

[disney queen]

no, you will not need to go through the main enterance of epcot. you will be able to go through the international gate which is the enterance from the resorts in that area~including BC. there is a boat you can take from the resort to the gate. you will disembark in the world showcase area of epcot. the suggestion for an electric cart sounds good. as far as alfredo's is concerned, we enjoyed our meal there several years back and are planning to eat there again in december. do keep in mind the tables seem to be close together. all of your other dining choices sound great! any of the world showcase restaurants for lunch would be a good choice. we enjoy le cellier in canada. and tusker house in AK is a great choice! be sure to save room for a cinammon roll found in their bakery. a very good lunch in MK is liberty tree tavern. this is a sit-down. for counter service you might want to consider columbia harbor house in MK. this is also a good choice. happy eating!

 

[Deb in IA]

Wednesday - Epcot (need at least a lunch here)
Thursday - Magic Kingdom (need at least a lunch here)
Friday - leave EARLY, so no food

Fellow Iowan here!!

May I suggest the Garden Grill in The Land pavilion for lunch at Epcot, and Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch at Magic Kingdom? These are both full service restaurants, so reservations would be needed.

If you want counter service, I'd suggest either Columbia Harbor House or Cosmic Ray's at Magic Kingdom, or any of the countries in World Showcase at Epcot.

 

[Deb in IA]

Plus, we are early eaters - like to be done with dinner by 5! Do we really need to get on the phone and make reservations so early?

Oh, and remember that 5 pm Iowa time (CST) is 6 pm in Florida (EST), so if you eat at 5 when the restaurant opens, you will probably be done at your normal time!