Please review our restaurant plans . . .

[BlueFairy]

Hi everyone.
Please critique our PS plans. 2 adult females with 2 little boys, 3 and 6. Staying at WL. We are experience visitors to WDW, just not with 2 kids. Please tell me what you think of our dining choices, which places we should skip, or if you think we are too light or too heavy on a certain style restaurant (buffets, characters, too many PS per day, etc). Thanks so much!!

9/7/2003-Sunday
check out of motel
drive to Orlando arrive after lunch
checkin
pool time and/or water park
Boardwalk or 1900 Park Fare (if we don't get Cindy's) for dinner

9/8/2003-Monday
breakfast - Cinderella Castle
MK
late lunch - Tony's Town Square
leave MK after parade
nap
dinner: FW campfire and water pageant

9/9/2003 - Tuesday
breakfast: Resort or Epcot Fountain Bakery
Future World
lunch: The Land food court at 11ish
nap - take an early break and return to EPCOT
dinner: Rose and Crown or Boardwalk (Spoodles pizza or corn dogs)
skip Illuminations

9/10/2003 - Wednesday
Breakfastosaurus
AK
counter service lunch
leave early
early bedtime - dinner at Boma??

9/11/2003
Early entry at MK, Fantasyland
breakfast:grab a bite at bakery or hotel
more MK
early lunch: Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends
leave before parade
nap and spend afternoon at hotel pool
dinner: Whispering Canyon and water pageant

9/12/2003- Friday
breakfast: Resort or MGM Starring Rolls Bakery
MGM - Bear in the Big Blue House
lunch: Sci Fi Dine In
more MGM, leave early and skip Fantasmic
monorail resort dinner - Chef Mickey's

9/13/2003-Saturday
Resort breakfast, sleep in
spend morning at resort pool or FW
counter service or lunch Downtown?
go to MK after parade
dinner - Plaza Restaurant
MK for Spectro and FIS fireworks

9/14/2003-Sunday
checkout
AK or MGM??
shopping at DD then drive to motel

 

[eeyore0062]

9/7/2003-Sunday
check out of motel
drive to Orlando arrive after lunch
checkin
pool time and/or water park
Boardwalk or 1900 Park Fare (if we don't get Cindy's) for dinner
Sounds like a plan. Are your 2 little boys going to enjoy dinner with Cinderella at 1900 Park Faire if you can't get into Cindy's for dinner. Perhaps you should think about Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. I think the kids would definitely enjoy that more. Also, they have just added Donald Duck and Daisy Duck to their list of characters! BTW, you didn't mention where you are staying?????

9/8/2003-Monday
breakfast - Cinderella Castle
MK
late lunch - Tony's Town Square
leave MK after parade
nap
dinner: FW campfire and water pageant
As I said before, are the boys really into the princesses, or is this more along the lines of whom you would like to see? For breakfast at the MK, especially for kids of those ages, I would suggest an early breakfast at one of the Magic Kingdom resort restaurants. 'Ohana at the Polynesian has a very nice breakfast with Mickey, and of course, there is the wonderful food at 1900 Park Faire. Tony's is OK, if you are wanting a sitdown meal, but if you decide to go with counterservice, I would try either Pecos Bill's or Columbia Harbour House.

9/9/2003 - Tuesday
breakfast: Resort or Epcot Fountain Bakery
Future World
lunch: The Land food court at 11ish
nap - take an early break and return to EPCOT
dinner: Rose and Crown or Boardwalk (Spoodles pizza or corn dogs)
skip Illuminations
Sounds good. I would probably choose to eat at Spoodles at the Boardwalk, especially since you aren't interested in seeing Illuminations (one of the VERY best and NOT to be missed by any ages) anyway. Also, the character meal at the Garden Grille at the Land is a perfect way to take a break for lunch, and we just walked in with only a 5 minute standby wait at 11:30 last week! So, if the food court is too crowded (it was when we were there), then that would be a good alternative!

9/10/2003 - Wednesday
Breakfastosaurus
AK
counter service lunch
leave early
early bedtime - dinner at Boma??
The kids would love Breakfastosaurua. For lunch, I would suggest Tusker House... the food is top notch, and the seating is comfortable and inside. Also, if you time it right, the kids will be able to see the African dancers that perform out on the porch right outside... a real treat!!! Dinner at Boma would be good, too. The kids buffet looked pretty good (standard kiddie fare). It is kind of loud, just so you know.

9/11/2003
Early entry at MK, Fantasyland
breakfast:grab a bite at bakery or hotel
more MK
early lunch: Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends
leave before parade
nap and spend afternoon at hotel pool
dinner: Whispering Canyon and water pageant
I would suggest that you eat at your resort. The line at the bakery, being the only non full service restaurant open is usually out the door, and for hungry kids who want to go to Fantasyland, not a good idea. Ahh, the Crystal Palace... the kids will like that one. We weren't impressed with the Whispering Canyon, either the food or the service. Just be warned that this place is VERY LOUD, so if you have had a long day at the park, or your kids are excitable, it may not be the perfect way to wind down a day. You might want to try it at lunch, instead.

9/12/2003- Friday
breakfast: Resort or MGM Starring Rolls Bakery
MGM - Bear in the Big Blue House
lunch: Sci Fi Dine In
more MGM, leave early and skip Fantasmic
monorail resort dinner - Chef Mickey's
Starring Rolls Bakery has WONDERFUL pasteries and bagels, also they have fresh fruit. Just to let you know that the Bear in the Big Blue House show is no longer there and has been replaced by Playhouse Disney... so even though Bear is still there, he is no longer the main focus of the show. Sci Fi is probably our least favorite restaurant in MGM... not impressed with the food or the prices, however, for desserts, it is great. Our favorite is 50's Prime Time Cafe, and then Mama Melrose. Our daughter absolutely LOVES those! Your kids will love eating with Mickey at Chef Mickey's, and will love seeing the monorail going through the Contemporary!

9/13/2003-Saturday
Resort breakfast, sleep in
spend morning at resort pool or FW
counter service or lunch Downtown?
go to MK after parade
dinner - Plaza Restaurant
MK for Spectro and FIS fireworks
If you go to Downtown Disney, I would suggest lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express on the Marketplace side, near the Christmas Shop. We ate there yesterday, and DD had the macoroni and cheese, and it was HOMEMADE!!! We tried it, and it was fantastic. Also, the flatbread pizzas are big enough to split. It usually isn't busy, and the prices are very reasonable! If you want full service, my DD loves Planet Hollywood. She thinks all of the movie memorabilia is just fantastic! The service was good, as was the food, although a bit pricey. We haven't eaten at the Plaza Restaurant, but have heard very good things!

9/14/2003-Sunday
checkout
AK or MGM??
shopping at DD then drive to motel
Sounds like you have a very full week planned. I hope that you have a great time, and that your kids love it!

 

[BlueFairy]

Oh thanks! How quick and great responses. I think I've already decided to choose Pizza Planet and skip Sci Fi.
To answer your princess question: Their mother is dying to do it (I think she missed out as a child) and the oldest really just loves characters. Also, he is quite a flirt with the ladies. Boardwalk gets my vote for the dinner, and maybe we'll get Cindy's. The boys would get a kick out of Peter Pan.
I like the idea of skipping the bakery at MK. That's the only morning I expect to be in a hurry.
Tusker House is my favorite, too.
I think we will move Whispering Canyon to Sat. for lunch before we go to MK. Then just to Roaring Forks Thurs. night instead.
Also, thanks for the tip on BIBBH. We knew it was now an ensemble show, but I'm not the parent, so I'm not up on the terminology.

 

[LAWalz23]

My nephew (5 1/2 now) has always enjoyed the princess meals and we have been to all three in the last three years. Definately don't miss Playhouse Disney at MGM just be prepared to sit on the floor and get there early, the place always fills up ans we go early May. The Plaza Restaurant is also great, we just discovered it this year. Having breaks planned is a really good thing, have a great time!

 

[n2mm]

I think eeyore0062 did a great job. As someone who travels with their grandson every summer (he's 9 this year). I found your meal choices to be very heavy on some days. I tried not to forget that it's your vacation also, but it sounds like you're expecting 2 little boys to sit at alot of restraurants. We took our grandson to Boma's and he had whatever was on the child's buffet, but got bored waiting for us. Sorry to say, he wouldn't be caught dead in any place with princesses (yes he likes to wave at them on the street, but doesn't want to eat at a place with lots of little girls). Too bad hollywood and vine doesn't have character meals, this was always one of his choices. He has always enjoyed the Plaza, Chef Mickey's, 50s Prime Time, Hollywood & Vine, and any place that serves Pizza. We try to not spend too much time doing breakfast because none of us are big breakfast eaters. Just something quick at the food court is always good for us.

 

[BlueFairy]

Thanks everyone.
n2mm, I think you're right about being heavy on the sit-downs. Hopefully I can lighten it up some. The last time I scheduled this many PS, I really felt like we "ate up" a ton of our parks time. You make a very good point. I guess part of the problem is that my aunt (the mom of the kids) is gungho about doing everything and eating in as many great places as possible. I think we need to have a talk about scaling back to a more doable itinerary, at least in the PS department. Financially it gets to be a burden too. The rest is manageable as-is, but I think she'll be wanting to fill in the holes quite a bit. But that's off topic. I'll look for some places to substitute counter service.
Oh, glad to know that some boys enjoy the princesses. We only have the one meal planned, so I think it will be ok. They're not too hung up on gender roles just yet.
And thanks for the tip on the breakfasts. I recall not liking the prices considering that I am a light breakfast eater.
Thanks again!

 

[eeyore0062]

If you can't get into either of the Cinderella meals, you might want to take them to the Storybook Princess Breakfast at Epcot. The Akersaus castle is GREAT! Food was good, and the service was, as well.

I would definitely try to pare down the sitdowns. I used to be the same way... two sitdowns per day scheduled and all it seemed like we did was run from one restaurant to another... and we weren't THAT hungry. Florida heat has a way of decreasing the appetite.

Some suggestions for good counterservice would be:

MK: Pecos Bills, Columbia Harbour House or Cosmic Rays (the kids will LOVE Sonny Eclipse!)

Epcot: The Land Food court, which I see was in your itenerary... just be prepared for lines.

MGM: This is probably the one park I would suggest doing sitdown. We aren't overly fond of the choices for counterservice here.

Animal Kingdom: Tusker House or Flametree BBQ

Downtown Disney: Wolfgang Puck Express

Roaring Forks is a nice counterservice at the WL (I assume that is where you are staying?) We ate most of our light breakfasts there, and sometimes dinner, too!

I hope you have a wonderful time, and are successful in paring down those sitdown meals. The kids are going to want to do the rides and attractions, and will be antsy if forced to endure too many, as N2MM stated, making your dining experience less than the joy it was intended to be.

Good luck, and have a magical time!