Oh my gosh I'm in over my head!

[sahmoffour]

This is confusing stuff! Fun decisions, but hard!!! I just booked for late august, staying at the Saratoga Springs. There's 6 of us, me, dh, ds (9), dd (7), ds(4), ds(3).

couple questions:

Why is the Cindy's Royal Table so sought after for breakfast but not as bad for the other two meals? I know I can get reservations still for any 3, but everywhere I look online says the breakfast sells out crazy fast but I can't figure out why it's better than the other two?

What are your cannot miss restaurants/dining experiences?? For us, we love good old American fare, steaks, italian, we like chinese. Do not like sushi though.

What are the restaurants that are the best value for the dining plan? We have just the regular plan, for 10 nights.

Thanks in advance, my heads spinning over here and i don't know where to start!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I think one of the appeals to breakfast in the castle is getting a pre-park opening ADR.

 

[Disneyx6]

Our children are about the same age, (DS10, DD8, DD6, DD4)and we just stayed @Saratoga last October w/Dining plan. We actually prefered to have lunch at Royal Table and we all loved it! This gave us the chance to go to the Bibbiddi Boutique in Downtown Disney and get to MK in time for lunch res. We were celebrating my daughter turning 6 and I pre-ordered a white chocolate glass slipper w/choc. mousse which they personalized for her and the pastry chef delivered to our table for an extra $15.00! She loved it!
We did breakfast at Chef Mickey's early one morning(7:30) and headed straight to the park after. When we left Chef Mickey's the line to get in was crazy, even with a reservation.
We also did Sci-Fi for lunch one day and we had dinner @Tony's during the parade with seats on the patio on night. I wouldn't suggest Tonys though. At the time we were in MK they only offered the electric parade one weeknight and one weekend night and it was beyond mobbed!! The only thing we were able to see was the tops of the floats b/c people were everywhere! Actually became a little dangerous a few times and we were happy to be sitting away from all the madness!
Hope some of this helps and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Smithkids]

I think CRT sells out quicker for breakfast for a few reasons- breakfast is cheaper...most kids will eat something from the breakfast menu, while lunch and dinner menus don't look that great vs. the price paid...and like PP mentioned- if you can get into the park before the crowd and take pics in front of the castle with no one else around...that is awesome!

I think for the ages of your children you should try- Garden Grill (food is pretty good IMO but the characters here are the best. Mickey, Pluto, chip and dale- they spend alot of time with each table), O'hana's breakfast for Lilo and Stitch (need something for the boys...who may be sick of princesses ) or maybe Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast (Donald, Mickey, Goofy and Daisy).

 

[Wendy31]

My older kids who are 9 & 11 but who have been going to Disney since they were 3 & 5 like the following restaurants:

Magic Kingdom

CRT - We normally do lunch here, but, this year, we're trying dinner
Crystal Palace - We also normally do lunch here, but, this year, we're trying breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern - This was our traditional "first night" meal when it was a character dinner; for our upcoming trip, we're trying it for lunch because the lunch menu to me looks better than the dinner menu now that there are no characters
Tony's Town Square - DH didn't really like the food, but DD & DS liked eating at Lady & the Tramp's restaurant & getting Lady's & Tramp's autographs

Magic Kingdom Resort Area

Chef Mickey's - this is a must-do! We never miss breakfast here - it just seems so "Disney" to me - eating in the Contemporary w/ the monorail running through! Plus, you get to meet all of the 5 main characters - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, & Pluto
'Ohana at the Poly - We've never tried the character breakfast, but they really enjoy the dinner; we normally eat here for our last night - lots of fun w/ coconut races & hula dancing
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge - the food is okay, but the kids love the fun antics!

* DS also still talks about the kids' "sushi" dessert at the California Grill (at the Contemporary).

EPCOT
Garden Grill - great character interaction!
Coral Reef - the kids love the aquarium

* We also normally pick a World Showcase restaurant

Disney Studios

Sci-Fi - such a cool atmosphere!!
Toy Story Pizza Planet - it's a counter-service, but my kids really enjoy it.

* If you plan to see Fantasmic!, it's helpful to get a Fantasmic Dinner Package - we like Mama Melrose's

* When our younger DS is older, we'll probably try the character breakfast at Hollywood & Vine

Animal Kingdom

Flame Tree - another counter-service, but our favorite in all of WDW!
Tusker House - for the character breakfast

* We also enjoy Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge & Kona Cafe at the Poly.

Our must-do character meals are Chef Mickey's (breakfast), Crystal Palace, & CRT.

Our other must-do meals are Whispering Canyon Cafe (lunch or dinner) & 'Ohana (dinner) & Sci-Fi (lunch). We fill in the gaps w/ a World Showcase restaurant & some old favorites & some new-to-us restaurants.

Before you finalize your choices, decide which park(s) you're going to be at on which days - that'll make it easier to decide the restaurants.

 

[IloveDisney77]

I think one of the appeals to breakfast in the castle is getting a pre-park opening ADR.

This is exactly the reason why we always make a 8 something ressie on a non EMH Morning day at MK. There is nothing like walking slowly down main street soaking up the atmosphere with very few people around and ending up in front of the castle to take some family pics with no-one around. We have some amazing pictures, especially during this past holiday season, coming up the street to the castle. That is why we aim for breakfast.

 

[Pakey]

We are going on our 22nd WDW vacation and have eaten at all but 5 restaurants there.

Our favorite character meal is Tusker House breakfast at AK. Food is better and the elusive Daisy is there.

Favorites at other parks: Crystal Palace at MK with Pooh and friends, Sci Fi at DHS because we love sitting in the little cars. At Epcot, it's Biergarten. The food is good and the live entertainment is fun.

I hope you enjoy Saratoga. We have stayed there 6 times; it's a nice resort. The table service there, Turf Club, is very nice, one of the best single credit places on the plan. They have American fare and it's quiet in a nice setting which is a nice change from the busy park restaurants.