Please help me narrow my dining choices!! Thank you!

[o2bnoz]

Hi,
I'm trying to narrow down a few choices because of the cost of doing them all

I'm trying to decide between:

1900 Park Fare breakfast and
Cape May breakfast

Crystal Palace Lunch
Coral Reef Lunch

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner

I really need to get rid of a couple of them. My son really wants to see Eeyore and I know that the only place to do that is Crystal Palace and I really wanted a breakfast there, but couldn't get the ADR.

I think LTT would be fun, but I also know it can be pricey... but I've read that a lot of people say "do not miss it!"

I do have others that I think I won't even think of giving up, but I'm still open to ideas ... of course anything that I give up I will be posting first on the cancellation listing...

my others are Sci-Fi Dine-In, lunch
Hoop-Dee-Doo Review (I am definitely doing this one!)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch

just giving you those so that you can help me figure out what to give up from the others...

Oh the horrors of having to make decisions!

 

[septbaby]

How old is your son?
Are you staying at a Disney hotel?
How many nights are you staying?
Did you consider the Dining Plan?

 

[o2bnoz]

I should have added more detail. I'm new at this!

I'm traveling with my Mother.

My son is 4 years old.
I'm staying in a timeshare off property
We'll be there for one week.

Thank you!

 

[KatMark]

Hi,
I'm trying to narrow down a few choices because of the cost of doing them all

I'm trying to decide between:

1900 Park Fare breakfast and
Cape May breakfast

Crystal Palace Lunch
Coral Reef Lunch

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner

I really need to get rid of a couple of them. My son really wants to see Eeyore and I know that the only place to do that is Crystal Palace and I really wanted a breakfast there, but couldn't get the ADR.

I think LTT would be fun, but I also know it can be pricey... but I've read that a lot of people say "do not miss it!"

I do have others that I think I won't even think of giving up, but I'm still open to ideas ... of course anything that I give up I will be posting first on the cancellation listing...

my others are Sci-Fi Dine-In, lunch
Hoop-Dee-Doo Review (I am definitely doing this one!)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch

just giving you those so that you can help me figure out what to give up from the others...

Oh the horrors of having to make decisions!

Out of the ones you are thinking about, I like Cape May Cafe and Crystal Palace. We ate dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe a couple of weeks ago and were very disappointed--heard none of the "so-called pranks" which I understand can be hit or miss and we didn't care for the food (DH actually got sick).

 

[Jenna319]

When are you traveling? It's probably too late to secure a Chef Mickey reservation but when I have kids, that will be the first ressie I make!

I have done Cape May Cafe breakfast and it was pretty good, good character interaction, never done 1900 Park Fare but we will be going there for dinner this trip..... also I think 1900 Park Fare has the princesses, whereas Cape May, there is Minnie, Chip and Dale, etc.... also depends on if you want to spend that day at Epcot or MK.... If MK, 1900 Park Fare is much more convenient, if Epcot, then Cape May Cafe would be the way to go.

IMO, I would lose Sci-Fi..... you are paying for the atmosphere, the food is mediocre at best, just my opinion!

I think your son would love Coral Reef! Request a table by the tank so he can be up close to the fishes while he eats!

I did eat at LTT for dinner on our last trip..... I wouldn't do it again..... some people love it though! What about trying Ohanas for dinner?? I don't know about the breakfast (I do know they have a character breakfast but it seems you have plenty of those on schedule)..... but at dinner at Ohanas, I remember them doing a lot for the kids, limbo, parading around the restaurant, it is definitely kid-friendly at dinner. I would choose Ohanas over LTT anyday.

And I would definitely keep CP! Gorgeous restaurant, good food, and Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger too! =) Have a great trip!

 

[perriwinkleblue]

Hi,
I'm trying to narrow down a few choices because of the cost of doing them all

I'm trying to decide between:

1900 Park Fare breakfast and
Cape May breakfast

Crystal Palace Lunch
Coral Reef Lunch

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner

I really need to get rid of a couple of them. My son really wants to see Eeyore and I know that the only place to do that is Crystal Palace and I really wanted a breakfast there, but couldn't get the ADR.

I think LTT would be fun, but I also know it can be pricey... but I've read that a lot of people say "do not miss it!"

I do have others that I think I won't even think of giving up, but I'm still open to ideas ... of course anything that I give up I will be posting first on the cancellation listing...

my others are Sci-Fi Dine-In, lunch
Hoop-Dee-Doo Review (I am definitely doing this one!)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch

To be fair, you should know that I haven't eaten at LTT but have heard good things about it. Based only on where we have eaten, I would choose Crystal Palace lunch. The food is good, it's a nice break in the park and the character interaction is great. If your son likes Pooh and friends, he will love it. My second choice would be Coral Reef but it would be pricier (I think) than LTT. Sitting near the tank is awesome but may or may not hold your sons interest long enough for you to to enjoy your meal. My daughter loved it but my son was still ansy. Check out current menus here or on allears.net.
Actually, I would throw Sci-Fi in as a "maybe". Someone made a great point on another thread regarding the movie clips shown at Sci-Fi. The films, which are campy and fun for adults may still be scary to little kids. The "monsters" are very fake looking to us but maybe not to a 4 year old.
Don't stress your adr's too much. I love eating at table service restaurants but they do take up so much time. There are a lot of good counter service choices too.
Have a great trip

 

[septbaby]

Hi,
I'm trying to narrow down a few choices because of the cost of doing them all

I'm trying to decide between:

1900 Park Fare breakfast and
Cape May breakfast

Crystal Palace Lunch
Coral Reef Lunch

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner

my others are Sci-Fi Dine-In, lunch
Hoop-Dee-Doo Review (I am definitely doing this one!)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch

just giving you those so that you can help me figure out what to give up from the others...

Oh the horrors of having to make decisions!

First of all I think Lunch ADRs are fantastic with a 4yo, especially since you are staying off site and can't easily go back to your room for a break.

We had lunch at Coral Reef last summer. Food was excellent, lunch is less expensive than dinner. We did not have a tank side table and I was happy about that. From further back you get a view of the entire tank, when you sit close you only get to see what's next to you.

Crystal Palace You son has spoken so that is a must do. For $5 more for your family I think lunch is a great meal for you the buffet is pretty vast.

1900 Park Fare vs Cape May is tougher. I don't think it matters much as both have there positives. I'd give a slight edge to 1900 because of it's location in the Grand Floridian Hotel. The place is breathtaking and you and your mother will likely simply enjoy being in this grand location. We did 1900 dinner once whe we stayed off site and loved it.

Sci-Fi, WCC and 'Ohana: skip WCC it gets mixed reviews and is something that will be a better fit for an older child, so save this one for later. Many say food at Sci Fi isn't the greatest and again I think this is one that will be more fun when the little guy is older than 4. 'Ohana is probably fine to keep.

Dinner at LTT won't be a character meal past Jan 5th, 2009 (not sure when you are going). To me Chef Mickey's would be even more fun and a more diverse meal for the same money. We had breakfast there last summer and our 6yo still talks about Chef Mickey's. It won't matter if you book B or D there, but breakfast will cost you $16 less for your group. I would take the ADR you can get at Chef Mickey's as those are often difficult to get, but so so worth it.

One other meal to consider due to the age of your son is the Play & Dine Playhouse Disney character meal. It can be booked for B or L and could easily replace Sci Fi in your schedule. Your son is at the perfect age and parents just seem to rave about this one. It seems it could be a really special memory for mom and grandmom too.

If you are trying to manage to a budget it isn't necessary to do a WDW TS meal everyday. These few will allow you to make some memories of a lifetime.
CP Lunch
Coral Reef Lunch
HDDR

We were on the Dining Plan and only did one character meal. We also did Coral Reef and an amazing meal at Narcoossee's.

 

[o2bnoz]

That has really helped... I appreciate all of the answers, and the thought put into each and every one of them!

I'm now going to sit down and figure it out. I think that several of you have mentioned a really good point... I don't need to do so many TS meals to make great memories. I really get caught up in the moment and think that we have to do EVERYTHING while we're there, and with a 4 year old that doesn't mean meals!!

So I think I"m going to try to get the Play and Dine meal at DHS, and cancel several others. I will be posting these if anyone else is looking for meals during the week of October 18-25. It will take me a bit to make the final decision, but once I do it will be posted.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Freyja]

I would keep 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace and the Sci Fi lunch
Have a magical time!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I would do Cape May over 1900 PF any day....we did both and the food and characters at Cape May were so much better. 1900 PF is so loud, crazy noisy that you cannot hear yourself think