DisLaw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2008
- Messages
- 274
Hi,
We are just back and since I had so many questions about BOG I thought I would share our experiences in case someone else had similar questions.
I had made one ADR for BOG breakfast for 8:55 with a park opening of 9. After some great tips from this board we decided to try to go early and yes I can confirm they do let you in pretty early for your ADR. There was just a separate line to the left of the entrance with a CM and an Ipad checking to see if you had an ADR.
We arrived at around 8:20 and wow what a pleasure to leisurely stroll up an almost empty main street! We took some awesome pictures as well. The shops were also open so my DD took a few minutes to see if she could get a new Belle shirt to wear for breakfast. By the time we got to the front of the castle we turned around and saw the masses of people being let in. Wow! What a sight that was! I've never seen that before and it was pretty cool watching this huge mass of people filling in the entire main street slowly in almost unison! (looking back we probably shouldn't have wasted time in the stores but I was determined to make this as relaxing a trip as possible so if someone wants to stop for something I had decided we would just go for it.)
We decided then to head over to the 7DMT first and hooray they were up and running and let us right on!(they pulled us in through the fast pass line) We rode with one other couple and had such a blast! The girls rode in the front and it was so neat not having anyone else in our pictures either! (this was probably about 8:45) By the time we got off people were already getting in the regular line. We thought about doing it again but decided to head for our breakfast instead.
We got to the check in after 9 and I apologized for being late and they were like, no worries, not a big deal. I had pre-ordered and was directed to the left upon entering the castle. (No rose was given to us so I guess they were going to use our magic bands for locating us with our food.) PRE ORDER!!! This is a must! There was such a long line for the ordering kiosks I was so happy we were able to march right up to the register and pay for our meal. You can make changes/additions/deletions at this point too so don't stress about your choices if you are not sure.
As for the food, I know I was as shocked as the rest of you about the prices. We are also not such big breakfast eaters so I only ordered 2 kids meals and one cupcake for the 3 of us (2 teens and me). No one blinked an eye and I did not feel uncomfortable about this either.
We took a few minutes to look into the three rooms and decided to eat in the ballroom (beautiful I thought! So well done!) We easily found a table toward the back against the wall near the "windows" which let us take in the whole room and also made a nice backdrop for pictures. We sat for a few minutes then a very nice CM came over said hello told us where to get drinks and silverware and looked at our receipt and said our food would be out shortly. We got the French toast and the eggs and bacon as well as the cupcake. I thought everything was delicious and the girls loved the cupcake. The CM said we could all get drinks and she also brought water bottles for the kids meals. We really enjoyed this and the food was just enough for that time of the morning at least for us.
Later that day I decided to check and see what was available for the next day and lo and behold there was an 8:45 available for the next morning! So we took it and decided to just get one kids meal , one cupcake and I wanted to try the eggs Florentine. Unfortunately, we ended up oversleeping this morning! So we did not arrive before park opening (arrived right around 9) so no 7DMT. Again we were late for our time at check-in and again they said no big deal. This time we got a rose (a little circle paperweight looking thing with a rose on it! ha-ha , guess I thought it was like going to be a plastic long stemmed rose!) We sat in the West Wing this time. The room is very cool with the thunder and the rose with the petals falling and the portrait of the beast. However, what annoyed me was that there were so many people milling about the room taking pictures, standing right up against our table, it was just not as nice as in the ballroom I thought. Plus we were so close to the beverage bar it was also a little busy as people kept passing by us. Maybe if we had sat closer to the wall? Our server was not as friendly this time but still explained where everything was. Our food came out super fast! We were not done taking turns washing our hands yet when it came! I like the eggs Florentine but no way was it worth the $$$. Still the girls loved the cupcake and my DD made a sandwich with the scrambled egg on the croissant from the pastry tray.
Right before bed that night we were talking about how we were mad we had overslept and missed getting in early. So I checked and there was another ADR for 8am the next morning. We took it! We did not get there for 8 but we were still able to ride 7DMT before we ate. This time we sat in the ballroom again. 2 kids meals and 2 cupcakes! We did not pre order this time because I forgot until we were in the park and they would not allow pre order once your ADR time had passed. Our server was invisible for the most part! No instructions about where things were, just dropped off our food. I saw several people at nearby tables looking confused. The food was coming but no one had told them to get their own silverware or drinks so they had to jump up to get drinks and forks while their food sat getting cold. This I think is a problem from when you use the kiosks. There was no one there to tell you what to do. When we used the register the woman there told us about getting drinks and silverware as well as the CM who was bringing the food. And the order line was long! PRE ORDER!! That is a must.
Just a few thoughts.....
I think with the price increase there are more people opting out of this maybe? I was able to get pre park opening ADRs for 3 days in a row.
Don't worry about ordering kids meals or just a cupcake. No one seemed concerned at all about this.
Don't worry if you're late. You can also be early. It seems to be first come first served. Just as long as you have the ADR just check in and order.
It is totally worth it to get in early. If you are running late and want to ride 7DMT then do it first before you eat. They don't care if you are late for your ADR.
We never had issues getting a seat. It was full but there were table opening up all the time.
The west wing was not as much fun with people crowding in to take pictures.
They need to do a better job of explaining how the drinks and things work. People seemed confused. It is a weird combination of table and quick service. I liked on the first day when the server just came over when we first sat down to tell us what to do. She also brought us ketchup when we asked. The other servers told us to go by the beverages but its behind doors under the dispensers so you need a CM to get it for you. Again a little confusing (table service or quick service? its like a combo).
Overall I we had a great time!
We are just back and since I had so many questions about BOG I thought I would share our experiences in case someone else had similar questions.
I had made one ADR for BOG breakfast for 8:55 with a park opening of 9. After some great tips from this board we decided to try to go early and yes I can confirm they do let you in pretty early for your ADR. There was just a separate line to the left of the entrance with a CM and an Ipad checking to see if you had an ADR.
We arrived at around 8:20 and wow what a pleasure to leisurely stroll up an almost empty main street! We took some awesome pictures as well. The shops were also open so my DD took a few minutes to see if she could get a new Belle shirt to wear for breakfast. By the time we got to the front of the castle we turned around and saw the masses of people being let in. Wow! What a sight that was! I've never seen that before and it was pretty cool watching this huge mass of people filling in the entire main street slowly in almost unison! (looking back we probably shouldn't have wasted time in the stores but I was determined to make this as relaxing a trip as possible so if someone wants to stop for something I had decided we would just go for it.)
We decided then to head over to the 7DMT first and hooray they were up and running and let us right on!(they pulled us in through the fast pass line) We rode with one other couple and had such a blast! The girls rode in the front and it was so neat not having anyone else in our pictures either! (this was probably about 8:45) By the time we got off people were already getting in the regular line. We thought about doing it again but decided to head for our breakfast instead.
We got to the check in after 9 and I apologized for being late and they were like, no worries, not a big deal. I had pre-ordered and was directed to the left upon entering the castle. (No rose was given to us so I guess they were going to use our magic bands for locating us with our food.) PRE ORDER!!! This is a must! There was such a long line for the ordering kiosks I was so happy we were able to march right up to the register and pay for our meal. You can make changes/additions/deletions at this point too so don't stress about your choices if you are not sure.
As for the food, I know I was as shocked as the rest of you about the prices. We are also not such big breakfast eaters so I only ordered 2 kids meals and one cupcake for the 3 of us (2 teens and me). No one blinked an eye and I did not feel uncomfortable about this either.
We took a few minutes to look into the three rooms and decided to eat in the ballroom (beautiful I thought! So well done!) We easily found a table toward the back against the wall near the "windows" which let us take in the whole room and also made a nice backdrop for pictures. We sat for a few minutes then a very nice CM came over said hello told us where to get drinks and silverware and looked at our receipt and said our food would be out shortly. We got the French toast and the eggs and bacon as well as the cupcake. I thought everything was delicious and the girls loved the cupcake. The CM said we could all get drinks and she also brought water bottles for the kids meals. We really enjoyed this and the food was just enough for that time of the morning at least for us.
Later that day I decided to check and see what was available for the next day and lo and behold there was an 8:45 available for the next morning! So we took it and decided to just get one kids meal , one cupcake and I wanted to try the eggs Florentine. Unfortunately, we ended up oversleeping this morning! So we did not arrive before park opening (arrived right around 9) so no 7DMT. Again we were late for our time at check-in and again they said no big deal. This time we got a rose (a little circle paperweight looking thing with a rose on it! ha-ha , guess I thought it was like going to be a plastic long stemmed rose!) We sat in the West Wing this time. The room is very cool with the thunder and the rose with the petals falling and the portrait of the beast. However, what annoyed me was that there were so many people milling about the room taking pictures, standing right up against our table, it was just not as nice as in the ballroom I thought. Plus we were so close to the beverage bar it was also a little busy as people kept passing by us. Maybe if we had sat closer to the wall? Our server was not as friendly this time but still explained where everything was. Our food came out super fast! We were not done taking turns washing our hands yet when it came! I like the eggs Florentine but no way was it worth the $$$. Still the girls loved the cupcake and my DD made a sandwich with the scrambled egg on the croissant from the pastry tray.
Right before bed that night we were talking about how we were mad we had overslept and missed getting in early. So I checked and there was another ADR for 8am the next morning. We took it! We did not get there for 8 but we were still able to ride 7DMT before we ate. This time we sat in the ballroom again. 2 kids meals and 2 cupcakes! We did not pre order this time because I forgot until we were in the park and they would not allow pre order once your ADR time had passed. Our server was invisible for the most part! No instructions about where things were, just dropped off our food. I saw several people at nearby tables looking confused. The food was coming but no one had told them to get their own silverware or drinks so they had to jump up to get drinks and forks while their food sat getting cold. This I think is a problem from when you use the kiosks. There was no one there to tell you what to do. When we used the register the woman there told us about getting drinks and silverware as well as the CM who was bringing the food. And the order line was long! PRE ORDER!! That is a must.
Just a few thoughts.....
I think with the price increase there are more people opting out of this maybe? I was able to get pre park opening ADRs for 3 days in a row.
Don't worry about ordering kids meals or just a cupcake. No one seemed concerned at all about this.
Don't worry if you're late. You can also be early. It seems to be first come first served. Just as long as you have the ADR just check in and order.
It is totally worth it to get in early. If you are running late and want to ride 7DMT then do it first before you eat. They don't care if you are late for your ADR.
We never had issues getting a seat. It was full but there were table opening up all the time.
The west wing was not as much fun with people crowding in to take pictures.
They need to do a better job of explaining how the drinks and things work. People seemed confused. It is a weird combination of table and quick service. I liked on the first day when the server just came over when we first sat down to tell us what to do. She also brought us ketchup when we asked. The other servers told us to go by the beverages but its behind doors under the dispensers so you need a CM to get it for you. Again a little confusing (table service or quick service? its like a combo).
Overall I we had a great time!
Just enjoy the experience! We loved it!