Our ADRs...need advice...

[rdominy]

Here are the ADRs my family has for our first visit to Disney World. We are taking our 3 year old DD and characters are a priority.
With the reservations I currently have we are one dining credit short (so we would have to pay for one out of pocket). I am debating if I should cancel the CRT since we will see Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare for supper. That would also allow me to make an additional ADR under the dining plan. If I do cancel the CRT does anyone have a recommendation on what to add?

Sun, Dec 5, 8:10 Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Mon, Dec 6, 8:10 Hollywood and Vine (Play and Dine)
Tue, Dec 7, 9:05 The Crystal Palace (trying to get an earlier one here)
Wed, Dec 8, 7:25 Chef Mickey's
Thur, Dec 9, 9:20 Tusker House Restaurant (trying to get an earlier one here)
Fri, Dec 10, 8:10 1900 Park Fare AND 4:35 Park Fare
Sat, Dec 11, 8:10 Cinderella's Royal Table

Thanks for the help!

 

[Bostonterrierlover]

We like Garden Grill. It is in Epcot though, so I am not sure if you are willing to leave MK. If not, we like Liberty Tree Tavern, Kona at the Poly, and Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness. Whispering Canyon is a fun place to eat with kids. The have activities for the kids and if you ask for ketchup everyone in the place that has a bottle will bring it to your table!

 

[AirGoofy]

Actually, you have 6 nights listed and 9 TS credits. If you check in on Saturday, then you have 7 nights, you still have 9 TS. If you want to keep reservations, breakfast OOP is cheaper than dinner. Also, CRT is a great experience - how many times do you eat in a castle?

 

[rdominy]

We are staying until Sunday so we have 8 TS...

 

[KBazzel]

My DDs (5 & 8) loved the experience of eating in the castle. There really is nothing like it and if your DD is into princesses and the princess experience then I really do recommend it. Especially while she's still young enough to believe in the magic of it all.

I'll be honest and say that our family hated Chef Mickey. We waited for over an hour to get seated. None of us liked the food and the characters really didn't spend much time with the kids. We're doing Tusker House this time and I've heard the interaction and food is much better. We will not be doing CM ever again.

Kira

 

[ktlm]

Don't cancel CRT. There is nothing like eating in the castle. Plus, your DD will get a wand and wishing star and ice cream with a chocolate crown on top. My 3 year old loved it.

 

[ktlm]

Also, I can't tell which of your ADRs are breakfast and which are dinner, but be aware of any time changes you will face. I learned really fast that my DD, who is not a morning person anyway, wasn't going to make it to pre-park opening breakfasts in a decent mood. In fact, we had a pre-park opening breakfast at Tusker house towards the end of or trip, and I was thrilled that they had an opening and I was able to change it to 9:30. Consider that before you move your Tusker house earlier. Also realize that you are going to be leaving your resort at least an hour before each of these meals to get to them.

 

[rdominy]

All of our reservations are for breakfast except the at 1900 Park Fare. Getting up at 6:00 or so shouldn't be a problem. We are planning to back to the resort for naps most days or letting her try to do some sleeping at the park in the stroller. We are going to drive to the parks most morning since our reservations are mostly an hour before park opening and then we will get there earlier than that...then we'll take park transportation to the resort of nap time.

 

[Tricia1972]

I agree with the others, I'd keep CRT. I'd pay for Hollywood and Vine OOP, as I believe it's the cheapest.

 

[Kaisara]

Also remember that your DDP is based on the number of nights of stay, not days. If you are staying until Sunday (I'm assuming checking out on Sunday) you have 7 nights, that's how the other poster came up with 7 TS credits.

 

[rdominy]

Yes, we have 8 DDP nights...we arrive on the 4th very late...

 

[catne]

in May 2010 we went to both Hollywood & Vine & Crystal Palace, and H & Vine was $5 more per adult than Crystal Palace, so I'd check the prices in December...if CP is still less, pay for that one OOP.

If you're wanting the character experience, those early breakfasts are a great way to do it...we saw excellent character interaction with our 8:05 breakfasts (they don't seat the whole restaurant all at once - the reservation slots are staggered so they build up to a full restaurant. So the early slots get more character time since they have less tables to work around.) And then it's great to come out of breakfast & have a reasonably empty park to start the fun. Watch out for EMH days, though -- if you're in breakfast during the EMH, you could come out to a busy park with long lines at the favorite rides. We just scheduled a different park/restuarant on EMH days and avoided the park with EMH

 

[Disney Geek]

Our family was not impressed with Chef Mickey. Food was average and restaurant was crowded with little character time at each table. You may want to consider the character breakfast at 'Ohana, which features Lilo and Stitch as well as Pluto. The food is great and the character interaction is even better! At one point, Stitch was pretending to chew on my daughter's lanyard and later on, Pluto had her over his shoulder like a sac of potatoes! She loved it!