Non-park meal

[AndreaDM]

We will be in the area in June and have a day pre-cruise to putz around. I would like to have one meal somewhere at WDW (will be staying off property) before we leave for the cruise. It will be myself, DD17, and 2 grandsons (6&8) who haven't been to Disney at all. We won't have park tickets so trying to decide between Disney Springs, HDDR, a resort, etc. Now it would be easy if it were just DD and I, but I want the 2 little guys to have fun. I'm leaning toward HDDR, but also thought a resort on the monorail would be fun, they would love to ride it. (I know we could anyway, but not sure how much time we'll have.) I will have a rental car, but would prefer not to have to pay any parking fees.

Thanks!!

 

[siren0119]

Hoop Dee Doo has my vote. And you can still get in both the dining AND the monorail - get dropped off at the Ticket & Transportation center and hop a monorail to Magic Kingdom. Then take a boat from MK to Fort Wilderness, the boat launch is right near where HDDR is (and there's a playground right near the boat launch if the littles need to burn some energy before or after the meal).

 

[Pumbaa_]

I vote Olivia’s At OKW. Park in DS, take the boat ride up. Have a lovely meal, poke around the resort a little. Then you can boat back to DS for an ice cream at ghiardhelli

 

[AndreaDM]

Hoop Dee Doo has my vote. And you can still get in both the dining AND the monorail - get dropped off at the Ticket & Transportation center and hop a monorail to Magic Kingdom. Then take a boat from MK to Fort Wilderness, the boat launch is right near where HDDR is (and there's a playground right near the boat launch if the littles need to burn some energy before or after the meal).

I am leaning HDDR, however if we have a rental car, I will have to pay to park at T&T right?

 

[Pumbaa_]

Why are you parking at t&tc?

 

[AndreaDM]

Why are you parking at t&tc?

Read the PP that suggested I get dropped off at T&T, ride the monorail and then take boat to FW.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Ah, yeah that wouldn’t be fun at the end of the night plus cost you $ for parking at t&tc

how much time are you looking to spen$? This isn’t your arrival day is it? What time is the show you want to attend?

will the young kids be fine seeing the MK that close but going on by?

 

[AndreaDM]

No, we arrive the evening before and have a full day, then the following day we leave for the cruise. I am looking to spend the late afternoon/evening there, and it would be the 6:15 dinner/show. The boys were given the choice between Disney and a cruise (Carnival) and they choose the cruise with no hesitation so I think they'll be fine just riding the monorail. They would rather swim in the hotel pool than just about anything else lol.

 

[Mom2Anna&Elsa]

HDDR was so much fun! We took our girls in October and we all had a blast. We stayed at the Poly, so getting there was easy, which it wouldn't be for you.

How about Raglan Road at Disney Springs? They have live entertainment/Irish dancing on stage so it ends up being dinner and a show. They usually bring the kids up there to learn to dance (if your grandsons would be interested in that sort of thing). And Disney Springs has a bunch of fun stuff for them to do, they have the splash area, Lego store, Goofy's candy company. There's also T Rex cafe for dinner instead, which can be so much fun for kids, but it has 'just okay' food.

 

[spiders]

I would pick somewhere at one of the resorts. If you’re looking for a Disney experience then I really don’t think Disney Springs is the best option.

 

[AndreaDM]

Ok, so now I'm thinking of totally changing my game plan. We fly in LATE on June 10, so possibly staying at a cheap hotel on points close to airport. Then, the morning of the 11th, check out and take DME to All Star Sports for one night and getting the Deluxe DDP. That would cover HHDR, and I was thinking maybe breakfast at O'hana the morning of the 12th before we head to the port for our cruise. We'd also have an abundance of snacks and 4 refillable mugs. I did the math and it looks like doing that would save me $50 on the cost of dining and I KNOW the boys would love staying at ASSports. (They'd love any of the resorts to be honest and will be just as happy at a value). I'm trying not to go crazy spending, but need a little Disney fix since we'll be so close!

 

[Specter]

I can't actually speak to the food because we haven't been, but something DW and I have wanted to do is try some/all of the restaurants at Animal Kingdom. On our last trip we did go to the resort on our arrival day and just look around, enjoyed some of the zebra domes(delicious) and look at the animals from the publicly accessible area and we told ourselves that we had to stay there sometime. Our next trip is not going to allow us to do that but it is 100% on our radar. We thought the resort was nice and we enjoyed the animals, but with DD not even a thought last time and only 10 months old on our upcoming trip, we thought it best to wait until she was older and could better enjoy it. Just wanted to float an alternative thought, enjoy whatever you choose.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I like your revised plan. You'll be able to have pool time at All Star plus ride the monorail that day. As long as you have plenty of time between your Ohana breakfast & your cruise departure.

Are you going to pick up a rental car at Disney after Ohana?

 

[AndreaDM]

I like your revised plan. You'll be able to have pool time at All Star plus ride the monorail that day. As long as you have plenty of time between your Ohana breakfast & your cruise departure.

Are you going to pick up a rental car at Disney after Ohana?

That is a good question, I still have some thinking to do, we're not going until June so have some time. I can see this "one Disney meal on property" quickly escalating to a lot of money, and I also don't want to stress myself out getting to the port on time.