'Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, or Sci Fi

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I'm trying to decide how to fill in my last TS meal. I have room on either an HS or MK day to fit in a dinner. On the MK day, the plan was to leave the park early, so we would leave to get to the dinner. On the HS day, it would RD TSL, out to resort (Boardwalk) for the afternoon, and returning to the park for a few shows and dinner.

So, 'Ohana dinner, 1900 Park Fare dinner, or Sci Fi dinner?

It'll be me, hubby, and our three 5 year old daughters. We're on the DDP, so cost isn't a concern. I'm not particularly looking to "maximize" our credits, as our meal plan overall will do this regardless of what our last TS meal is.

Our other meals planned include CRT, Crystal Palace, Tusker (w/ RoL), Garden Grill, Askershus, Hollywood and Vine (with Fantasmic), and Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria. Yes, it's a heck of a lot of character meals, but they're SUPER into characters right now and they'll only be 5 once!

 

[Wood Nymph]

1900 Park Fare was a character meal but is also a buffet. My daughter didn’t like having to get the food for the kids. She prefers them to bring it to her. . We have had really good meals at Ohana and SciFi.

 

[Tksolomom]

Hard choices. ‘Ohana can be inconsistent, but we haven’t had a problem. They bring the food to you which is nice. The character interaction at 1900 Park Fare is great especially the step sisters. My daughter loved Prince Charming. We also really enjoy the food. Sci-fi has great theming but the food is burgers and sandwiches. I would go for 1900 Park Fare, but I don’t think you can go wrong with any choice. We are doing all 3 next trip.

 

[MissionMouse]

3 daughters...we have two....who have grown up with Disney over the years. So, I wonder if princess characters make your daughters excited at the age of 5? If yes, I tend to think- Park Fare. Sci Fi is also more kid oriented, but 'Ohana dinner is probably the most 'formal.' We too have had trips in our past when we did all three. Just keep in mind your daughters are only 5 once and in time the princess attractions have less appeal, so you might consider taking advantage of the innocence of childhood while it exists.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

3 daughters...we have two....who have grown up with Disney over the years. So, I wonder if princess characters make your daughters excited at the age of 5? If yes, I tend to think- Park Fare. Sci Fi is also more kid oriented, but 'Ohana dinner is probably the most 'formal.' We too have had trips in our past when we did all three. Just keep in mind your daughters are only 5 once and in time the princess attractions have less appeal, so you might consider taking advantage of the innocence of childhood while it exists.

I keep looping through in my head. The other 7 TS meals are all characters, 3 princess, so I think maybe we can have one nicer TS meal for the adults like Ohana. Then, I think at least Sci Fi theme will be cool for all of us, so it's a compromise between adults not wanting another character buffet and kids wanting to be entertained (plus, it means we don't have to find edible QS at HS that day). Then, I think maybe I should just go all in and make it 8 character meals, since the whole point of the vacation is for the kids. Except, the adults are supposed to have fun, too, right, and then back to the beginning of my loop!

 

[MissionMouse]

I guess in making our trips balanced we also did club level for us (it actually benefited all of us as it turned out time and time again), but we to went through the same line of questioning things. You need something to provide your enjoyment too. Overall, when they were happy we were happy to and it is the new memories you reflect back upon that really make it of value. I will admit the club level was the best when they were young as it provided that little touch to get an adult beverage to focus on what was important...family, love and memories. We bring the magic...Disney provides the place and experiences.

 

[cheerbaybee]

Do you think your kids would sit through the old movie trailers at Sci-Fi? At that age, my sister did not enjoy the footage and it ended up being a very short meal. However, it really depends on your kids. Ohana is a staple. Even if we have a bad meal, we always go back as the good outweighs the bad. Depending on the time you go, Ohana offers games and activities for the kids. Personally, I think you should pick from Ohana and Sci-fi with so many character meals scheduled.

 

[BMAEC]

This is really hard! My girls are 2, 4, and 6 so we are maxing out the character meals as well. We will be doing 1900 Park Fare dinner, Hollywood & Vine Dinner w Fantasmic, CRT dinner, and Akershus dinner. I totally get both sides of the argument - technically you’ll be seeing Cinderella already so 1900 Park fare may be redundant in that aspect, but Prince Charming and the Stepsisters/mother do add to that experience. The food at ‘Ohana sounds amazing. If we had another night we would for sure do that (and if we’re able to do another Disney Trip we will do it then!). I don’t think my girls would be into Sci Fi. My 4y/old LOVES the stepsisters so we have to do 1900 Park fare. While it is a buffet, I’ve heard it is one of the better buffets and has a notorious strawberry soup (this coming from friends who have been and from posts on these boards!). Good luck making your decision! It will be an amazing trip regardless

 

[JerseyJanice]

I think Ohana because it is the most different from your other choices. The food is def unlike any of the buffets.

No characters, but they usually have entertainment. In May, we had a man playing the ukulele who did a hula lesson with the kids who came up. We had three little girls up there, and they had so much fun. They ate very well too—noodles, potstickers, steak and chicken.

 

[MomOTwins]

1900 Park Fare is my favorite character meal! The stepsisters and lady tremaine are so much fun, and it's one of the few character meals where you can meet a prince, which my kids LOVED. The food was the best of the disney buffets we've to as well.

 

[E_Bec]

1900 Park Fare- hands down!!

 

[pattyw]

I'd pick 1900PF. Great food variety and fun character interaction.

 

[ariane37]

I vote 'Ohana because it'll be a nice change from the rest of your planned meals. I believe they still have the coconut races for kids at dinner as well as the hula lessons, so hopefully it won't be boring for the girls!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Of the three, I would do 1900. The food, atmosphere and character interaction are very good. Ohana was a terrible disappointment the last time we went and they did none of the games with the kids. My DS did not like Sci Fi at all when he was younger - the movie clips scared him.

For something different, consider taking the boat from MK to WL and eating at WCC. WL is gorgeous and WCC is a lot of fun. Or boat to Ft. W and eat at Trails End. There you can visit the horses at the stable and your kids can play on the playground. You can even take a wagon ride.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Yes - this is a tough one. We have 3 daughters that are much older than yours and still love doing meals with princesses - the oldest is over 21. We enjoy all three of those restaurants. I can see the girls not liking Sci Fi - but you know your kids. Our kids were 8 the first time we brought them to Sci Fi and they all loved it - we go pretty much every year. We also love 1900 PF - the step mother and step sisters are so funny. We also love Ohana - and our kids loved the coconut races - we eat at Ohana on each trip. So that being said I would pick Ohana or Sci Fi - only because you have so many characters meals - it is not the characters but I don't love eating at too many buffets - no matter how good they are. I like when the food is brought to the table. That is why we love Garden Grill, Akershus and the Bon Voyage breakfast - which you are already doing. Let us know what you decided. Enjoy!

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

I thought 1900PF dinner was great. In my opinion there were a lot of choices and the food was tasty. Character interaction was fun. I also enjoyed Ohana dinner and if you have a lot of character meals I would probably lean slightly towards trying something different.
I love Sci Fi and will always visit there on my trips but as far as best value for TS credits those would be 1900PF or Ohana.

 

[hmcater]

I keep looping through in my head. The other 7 TS meals are all characters, 3 princess, so I think maybe we can have one nicer TS meal for the adults like Ohana. Then, I think at least Sci Fi theme will be cool for all of us, so it's a compromise between adults not wanting another character buffet and kids wanting to be entertained (plus, it means we don't have to find edible QS at HS that day). Then, I think maybe I should just go all in and make it 8 character meals, since the whole point of the vacation is for the kids. Except, the adults are supposed to have fun, too, right, and then back to the beginning of my loop!

I would say Ohana...It's a nice adult dinner for you and your husband and no characters for the kids, but they can still have fun too with the coconut races and limbo that they do for the kids during dinner.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I keep looping through in my head. The other 7 TS meals are all characters, 3 princess, so I think maybe we can have one nicer TS meal for the adults like Ohana. Then, I think at least Sci Fi theme will be cool for all of us, so it's a compromise between adults not wanting another character buffet and kids wanting to be entertained (plus, it means we don't have to find edible QS at HS that day). Then, I think maybe I should just go all in and make it 8 character meals, since the whole point of the vacation is for the kids. Except, the adults are supposed to have fun, too, right, and then back to the beginning of my loop!

I have to agree that it would be nice to have a non-character meal for a change. We've eaten at Ohana with grandchildren who were the age of your girls and they loved the food. They also had fun with the coconut races.

We ate at 1900 Park Fare when our grandson was five and granddaughter was three. Our granddaughter was hugging all the Stepsisters so they played it cool and didn't go into their" mean stepsister routine. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the "show" that they are famous for, but how could they do it in front of an adoring three year old.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Yes - this is a tough one. We have 3 daughters that are much older than yours and still love doing meals with princesses - the oldest is over 21. We enjoy all three of those restaurants. I can see the girls not liking Sci Fi - but you know your kids. Our kids were 8 the first time we brought them to Sci Fi and they all loved it - we go pretty much every year. We also love 1900 PF - the step mother and step sisters are so funny. We also love Ohana - and our kids loved the coconut races - we eat at Ohana on each trip. So that being said I would pick Ohana or Sci Fi - only because you have so many characters meals - it is not the characters but I don't love eating at too many buffets - no matter how good they are. I like when the food is brought to the table. That is why we love Garden Grill, Akershus and the Bon Voyage breakfast - which you are already doing. Let us know what you decided. Enjoy!

We're definitely trying to balance out how many buffets versus plated food we're doing. We found out on a cruise last year that the girls LOVE buffets. They think it's so cool that you get to walk around and pick whatever you want. As an adult walking through a buffet with what were then newly 4 year olds, less fun. They were too busy looking at the food to look where they were going, and the adults around them were also too focused on the food to see little kids so far below their eye line. I would hope at a Disney character buffet, adults would be a bit more aware to walk slowly and carefully, given the sheer volume of small people around them, but perhaps that's wishful thinking.

Sci Fi probably fits better into our overall plan than either of the MK area restaurants. If we want to be back to Boardwalk by 7ish to try to keep them close to normal bedtime on non-fireworks days, we'd have to make a much earlier dinner reservation at Ohana or 1900 PF, between the length of the meal and the added monorail to a bus back to the resort. We do have 4 MK days planned, but they're not going to be open-to-close days and I'm worried about missing things if we leave the park to get to a super early dinner reservation. By contrast, we're planning two HS days in order to be able to FP/RD all of TSL without too much headache, but the rest of those days have more room to fill in things like a seated meal. We'll be walking back to the resort, so no delays relying on Disney transport. That said, I am worried about the fear factor at Sci Fi, and people have such good things to say about both Ohana and 1900 PF.

Ohana or 1900 PF would be on our 3rd MK day, and then Sci Fi would be even later in our trip on our 2nd HS day. I could book one on each day and then wait and see how much of MK we've managed to conquer in the first 2 days. If I think we'll need the park time, I can cancel the MK area ADR and keep Sci Fi. Otherwise, I can cancel the Sci Fi. I don't love the idea of hanging onto tough reservations that other people might want, though.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We're definitely trying to balance out how many buffets versus plated food we're doing. We found out on a cruise last year that the girls LOVE buffets. They think it's so cool that you get to walk around and pick whatever you want. As an adult walking through a buffet with what were then newly 4 year olds, less fun. They were too busy looking at the food to look where they were going, and the adults around them were also too focused on the food to see little kids so far below their eye line. I would hope at a Disney character buffet, adults would be a bit more aware to walk slowly and carefully, given the sheer volume of small people around them, but perhaps that's wishful thinking.

Sci Fi probably fits better into our overall plan than either of the MK area restaurants. If we want to be back to Boardwalk by 7ish to try to keep them close to normal bedtime on non-fireworks days, we'd have to make a much earlier dinner reservation at Ohana or 1900 PF, between the length of the meal and the added monorail to a bus back to the resort. We do have 4 MK days planned, but they're not going to be open-to-close days and I'm worried about missing things if we leave the park to get to a super early dinner reservation. By contrast, we're planning two HS days in order to be able to FP/RD all of TSL without too much headache, but the rest of those days have more room to fill in things like a seated meal. We'll be walking back to the resort, so no delays relying on Disney transport. That said, I am worried about the fear factor at Sci Fi, and people have such good things to say about both Ohana and 1900 PF.

Ohana or 1900 PF would be on our 3rd MK day, and then Sci Fi would be even later in our trip on our 2nd HS day. I could book one on each day and then wait and see how much of MK we've managed to conquer in the first 2 days. If I think we'll need the park time, I can cancel the MK area ADR and keep Sci Fi. Otherwise, I can cancel the Sci Fi. I don't love the idea of hanging onto tough reservations that other people might want, though.

Trust me it is done and you are still deciding. The buffets are better at Disney in terms of traffic - since there are so many kids. Enjoy - all the restaurants are good choices.