Newcomer needs restaurant advice

[indymom21]

I just registered on DISboards tonight, so bear with me. My last time at Disney was 15+ years ago, and the same goes for DH. We will be taking DS4 May 2-9. We got the 4+3 deal with the DDP and park hopper option. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

I have never stayed onsite or eaten in a Disney TS restaurant, so I need some help with planning. We are thinking to use all 7 TS meals for dinner. Breakfast at home is always cereal, so we will proabably eat cereal or pastries in the room. We plan to use our CS meals for lunch. The problem is there are too many restaurants to choose from.

Here's the list I gave our TA in Dec before the revised participating list came out:
Contemporary - Mickey's (already have ADR for May 2 5:40 pm - arrival day)
MK - Crystal Palace
Epcot - Coral Reef, Le Cellier
HS - 50's Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood & Vine (for Fantasmic package)
DTD - Cap'n Jacks

I've been poring over menus and reading reviews, and now I would like to add Teppan Edo and/or Tutto Italia, but I'll have to give something else up. I want to keep the 2 character meals for DS to see Mickey and Pooh. My husband is a big steak fan, so I know he'll enjoy Le Cellier. I think DS would enjoy the cooking at the table for Teppan Edo. I'm a huge seafood and italian fan. My TA did not think the food at H&V or Cap'n Jacks was that great. I was trying to spread out the meals across parks.

Now for 20 questions:
Any comments about the restaurants I have mentioned? Would it be okay to have 4 dinners at Epcot (those menus look the best), or should we try to eat in the park we are visiting for each day to cut down on travel time? Is H&V worth it for the reserved seating for Fantasmic? Should we try any resort restaurants? How long does the bus service take to get from one park to another? Can you go directly from MK or HS to Epcot, or do you have to go to a resort first? Would travel time by bus be longer if eating at a resort?

My 90-day ADR date is Feb 1, so I still have plenty of time to firm up our plans.

HELP!

 

[KatMark]

I just registered on DISboards tonight, so bear with me. My last time at Disney was 15+ years ago, and the same goes for DH. We will be taking DS4 May 2-9. We got the 4+3 deal with the DDP and park hopper option. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

I have never stayed onsite or eaten in a Disney TS restaurant, so I need some help with planning. We are thinking to use all 7 TS meals for dinner. Breakfast at home is always cereal, so we will proabably eat cereal or pastries in the room. We plan to use our CS meals for lunch. The problem is there are too many restaurants to choose from.

Here's the list I gave our TA in Dec before the revised participating list came out:
Contemporary - Mickey's (already have ADR for May 2 5:40 pm - arrival day)
MK - Crystal Palace
Epcot - Coral Reef, Le Cellier
HS - 50's Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood & Vine (for Fantasmic package)
DTD - Cap'n Jacks

I've been poring over menus and reading reviews, and now I would like to add Teppan Edo and/or Tutto Italia, but I'll have to give something else up. I want to keep the 2 character meals for DS to see Mickey and Pooh. My husband is a big steak fan, so I know he'll enjoy Le Cellier. I think DS would enjoy the cooking at the table for Teppan Edo. I'm a huge seafood and italian fan. My TA did not think the food at H&V or Cap'n Jacks was that great. I was trying to spread out the meals across parks.

Now for 20 questions:
Any comments about the restaurants I have mentioned? Would it be okay to have 4 dinners at Epcot (those menus look the best), or should we try to eat in the park we are visiting for each day to cut down on travel time? Is H&V worth it for the reserved seating for Fantasmic? Should we try any resort restaurants? How long does the bus service take to get from one park to another? Can you go directly from MK or HS to Epcot, or do you have to go to a resort first? Would travel time by bus be longer if eating at a resort?

My 90-day ADR date is Feb 1, so I still have plenty of time to firm up our plans.

HELP!

Give up Hollywood&Vine. It is not worth it. We've been twice and you could not pay us to eat there--filthy conditions, lousy service, medicore food at best (Old Country Buffet is gourment compared to H&V), food was not warm, took forever to replenish empty containers. My understanding is that everyone now goes in the same entrance for Fantasmic (package holders used to go in a different entrance), so you basically still have to line up with the masses (we always do Fantasmic package--but we go to Mama Melrose).

 

[ShannonMB]

So glad you're here!!!

I think you are doing a wonderful job with planning so far! I haven't been to all the restaurants you've mentioned (yet), but most of them get good or great reviews around here (EXCEPT maybe Cap'n Jacks and DEF H&V).

Since I was in your same position in 2007 when we went (hadn't been in 25 years), I can say that I was glad we booked something for the same park we were in each day. We had hoppers, but hardly used them (one time to ride Soarin' again), because we were just so into each of the parks. I know the more trips I do the more I'll hop and know what to skip at each place).

I think it might be realistic to hop back to Epcot once or twice, but it will be semi time-consuming and you might not want to leave the park you're in! I definitely wouldn't have wanted to go to Epcot on DHS day and try to make it back before Fantasmic! (Don't miss Fantasmic!) Maybe Sci-Fi Diner that day? (Now that everyone all goes in the same way, the dinner package for Fantasmic loses appeal IMO).

Have you thought about any of the resort restaurants besides Chef Mickey's? For instance, on our AK day, we took the resort bus over to BOMA at the AK lodge after the park closed (they always close early). It was WELL worth the short bus ride!!!

Best of luck, and sorry so long!!!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I would give up H&V and Captain Jacks. Both are not good IMO. Try some resort dinners such as Ohana or Kona at the Poly or add on some at Epcot such at Chefs De France or Tutu Italia. I am not a huge fan of Coral Reef any longer either. We had bad service and food the last two visits and removed it from our list. You can not go from park to park you must transfer at a resort. Some other options are Boma at AKL or Spoodles on the boardwalk. Sounds like you are off to a good start.

 

[kmintheville]

No to H and V and Capn Jacks. YES YES YES to Boma, Ohana!! We like the Yachtsman for Steak, but realize it can be expensive. Go to the Land in Epcot for one of your counter services....busy and loud, but something for everyone and we find the food good there.
Great planning! We find this is half the fun!

 

[MariDisney]

I would give up Coral Reef. I have only had really bad experiences there. I have tried it twice and it is crossed off the list now. Decent food, but horrible service and way too loud.

 

[perriwinkleblue]

No to H and V and Capn Jacks. YES YES YES to Boma, Ohana!! We like the Yachtsman for Steak, but realize it can be expensive. Go to the Land in Epcot for one of your counter services....busy and loud, but something for everyone and we find the food good there.
Great planning! We find this is half the fun!

I agree. My least favorites on your list are H&V and Capt Jacks. (We are in the minority of folks that do like H&V. We've done it for the Playhouse Disney buffet only - so the dinner experience may be different. The kids love the Playhouse Disney characters.) The restaurant is always busy and loud but we thought the food was good. We've never done a Fantasmic package. We've always taken a chance and found seats towards the back. This is fine with me, as I don't think there are any bad seats in the venue and it's easy to exit from the back. I'd advise you to do this but I'd feel terrible if it didn't work out for you.

We love CP and Chef Mickeys is a must for your ds. 'Ohana is fun and the food is yummy (although peel-and-eat shrimp is the seafood option). A very engaging singer leads the kids in coconut races (everyone wins) and hula lessons. Plus, the resort is nice to see - take the boat from MK to it one way and the monorail back. We love Boma too, for dinner or breakfast. This is another awesome resort to see. Spend some time before or after walking around and checking it out.

We've also tried Tutto and Coral Reef. We liked them both and would go back. (The kids were bored and antsy at Tutto but the restaurant was lovely so Mom and Dad still had a nice time.)

Sunshine Seasons in the Land building at Epcot is a great choice for a CS meal. A plus is that they have a bakery counter that counts as your dessert w/DP

Also, I don't know what time you get in (or if you have a car) - but be aware that arriving, taking the Magical Express, checking in and getting to the restaurant on your arrival day will take MUCH longer than you think. We arrived around noon last time and ended up taking a cab to make our dinner res. and just barely made it.

Finally, I know you didn't ask about the food court... but at Port Orleans food court, try the "create your own" pasta window. Also, the ice cream sundaes with Mickey sprinkles make a great dessert.

 

[hgbluesparkles]

Park hopping for meals sounds like it might be complicated with a 4 year old. You can't just go from park to park, you will need to go park--->resort--->park. I suggest staying in park for your meals. I know Hollywood and Vine always gets crummy reviews around here but if you're not going to park hop and are only going to EPCOT for two days you will need to cut one of the restaurants there. I suggest cutting Coral Reef only because I've heard such good things about Le Cellier.

 

[GatorLady]

can't just go from park to park, you will need to go park--->resort--->park.

Of course you can! Go from park to park that is.

 

[BriarRosie]

Park hopping for meals sounds like it might be complicated with a 4 year old. You can't just go from park to park, you will need to go park--->resort--->park. I suggest staying in park for your meals. I know Hollywood and Vine always gets crummy reviews around here but if you're not going to park hop and are only going to EPCOT for two days you will need to cut one of the restaurants there. I suggest cutting Coral Reef only because I've heard such good things about Le Cellier.

All parks have park to park transportation. The only place that doesn't have transportation to the parks is Downtown Disney. That's the only place you'll need resort ---> DTD ---> resort transportation.

I think the best places to park hop are between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios or between Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

I think it's easy to get to an Epcot resort restaurant from Epcot or DHS, as it's easy to get to a restaurant at any of the monorail resorts from the Magic Kingdom. I don't think people ought to feel limited to just theme parks if resorts are easy to get to from where they happen to be that day.

 

[danielle.st]

I just registered on DISboards tonight, so bear with me. My last time at Disney was 15+ years ago, and the same goes for DH. We will be taking DS4 May 2-9. We got the 4+3 deal with the DDP and park hopper option. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

I have never stayed onsite or eaten in a Disney TS restaurant, so I need some help with planning. We are thinking to use all 7 TS meals for dinner. Breakfast at home is always cereal, so we will proabably eat cereal or pastries in the room. We plan to use our CS meals for lunch. The problem is there are too many restaurants to choose from.

Here's the list I gave our TA in Dec before the revised participating list came out:
Contemporary - Mickey's (already have ADR for May 2 5:40 pm - arrival day)
MK - Crystal Palace
Epcot - Coral Reef, Le Cellier
HS - 50's Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood & Vine (for Fantasmic package)
DTD - Cap'n Jacks

I've been poring over menus and reading reviews, and now I would like to add Teppan Edo and/or Tutto Italia, but I'll have to give something else up. I want to keep the 2 character meals for DS to see Mickey and Pooh. My husband is a big steak fan, so I know he'll enjoy Le Cellier. I think DS would enjoy the cooking at the table for Teppan Edo. I'm a huge seafood and italian fan. My TA did not think the food at H&V or Cap'n Jacks was that great. I was trying to spread out the meals across parks.

Now for 20 questions:
Any comments about the restaurants I have mentioned? Would it be okay to have 4 dinners at Epcot (those menus look the best), or should we try to eat in the park we are visiting for each day to cut down on travel time? Is H&V worth it for the reserved seating for Fantasmic? Should we try any resort restaurants? How long does the bus service take to get from one park to another? Can you go directly from MK or HS to Epcot, or do you have to go to a resort first? Would travel time by bus be longer if eating at a resort?

My 90-day ADR date is Feb 1, so I still have plenty of time to firm up our plans.

HELP!

Especially with a 4 year old, I would try to plan on eating in the parks I am already at as much as possible. You can get to Epcot from DHS by ferry, which is a cool ride. I wouldn't do it more than once as it does take awhile, but it was fun to do it once.
I would do a Fantasmic Package if possible. Even though the enterance is the same as everyone else's, they have cut back on the number of shows and that might make it harder to get seating nowadays. With the Fantastmic package, there is a section of reserved seating. We has Mama Melrose for our Fantasmic package and it was really excellent food. That might satisfy your craving for some Italian food.

My dh has requested for next time that we try to plan as many meals as possible for in the parks we will be at for the day. He didn't feel most were worth going out of our way for (they weren't bad, just not worth the extra time when we were tired and hungry).