Random Dining Questions

[aymekae]

Hello all!

First things first... I am a Disneyland veteran, and I've only been to WDW once about 7 years ago. I'm planning a return trip for next March. Because my DH will be at a conference the majority of the trip, it will be me and DS (2 turning 3 on trip). We're DVC members, and staying at AKV - Kidani Village.

• I've read some anecdotes here and there that because my DS will be starting the trip at age 2 and turning 3 while on the trip, that WDW considers him 2 for the whole trip. That means he can "eat from my plate," right? So a Boma breakfast buffet would just be 1 adult meal. Any experience with this?
  
• We are traveling from California, so to keep us on our home schedule, I'm planning on "sleeping in" till about 9:30 am, breakfast around 10:30 am, lunch around 2:30 pm, and dinner around 8:30 pm. The benefit to this is eating on off-peak times, but the con is never making park opening. Anyone use a similar strategy from the west coast?
  
• My DS has multiple food allergies (milk, egg, and peanut), though thankfully his symptoms are only itching and eczema, and not digestive distress or anaphylaxis. That being the case, I don't worry much about "may contain milk" or "processed in a facility with peanuts" or cross-contamination at a buffet. I realize this is quite the opposite experience as many of those suffering with serious food allergies. Anyway, I thought it would be rather smart to hit the Boma breakfast buffet most days, as we would find out the first day what he can and cannot eat, and be good to go from there. Good idea, bad idea? (I realize this limits us from eating at a variety of places, but we're used to eating soon after waking up, so I don't want to make too many reservations in a park, and definitely not at another resort. The food and reviews sound so amazing, I don't think we'll get bored! On the other hand, eating at The Mara every day sounds blah.)
• Obviously the DDP is out, since my DH will be on the room reservation, but gone 5 of 7 days. I've been looking into TIW card, as it will cost $100 as a DVC member. As I understand it, some people use $500 or $1,000 as the breakeven point (as DVC members usually get 10% discount at most of the same restaurants.) This will be a 7 night trip, but as I mentioned, my son will be mostly "eating from my plate" so it's just me! I'm currently working on a restaurant schedule, and I'm including actual prices (plus 25% to include tax and gratuity) to get a good sense of my budget. I know that the more TS restaurants we eat at, the better "savings" with TIW. I've included several character meals in my plan as well, as he's at the perfect age for this sort of magic (and we've done a few here at Disneyland). Also, are the allergen free cakes one can order delivered to the restaurants for $29 part of the TIW discount? Any related advice?
  
• From the opposite perspective, let's say we nix most TS restaurants, and focus on eating breakfast in our room, bringing our own snacks to the parks, and possibly eating 2 meals plus snacks per day, rather than 3 meals. Has anyone done this with a 2/3 year old? It would save time and money, but as this is vacation (and a vary rare opportunity at that), I think I would like to eat at 2-3 TS restaurants per day for the experience, and to give us a longer break from all the walking and such. Pros and cons to each?
• For our "down day" at the resort, is it crazy to eat at Boma for all 3 meals? I looked into Sanaa, but I didn't love the options for the 2 of us. I guess we could hit The Mara or the pool bar instead.
  
• This might be a long shot, but best dairy/egg/peanut free foods/snacks at the 4 parks, AKL/AKV, and DTD?

I really appreciate any and all help you can give me while I navigate our dining options. Just a few more weeks till our 180 day window opens!

 

[sharonabe]

Your 25% is too much. The tax rate is only 6.5%. When others are figuring the $500 break even, I don't think they are including the tip. How does adding the tip amount help towards your total?

Boma every day would be too much for me, but to everyone his own. I think I would do breakfast in the room at least a couple days. Also for your AK day, you could go to Rainforest Cafe before entering the park for breakfast. That would be another change.

For your resort day, why not go to DTD or another resort for lunch or dinner?

Will DH be joining you for any meals? That would also help towards your break even total.

As to staying on west coast time, your little one may change that for you, but I think it's doable. This sounds like a more relaxed trip anyway, so keep that mind set and you'll be fine. You won't ride as much, but if you have the attitude of slowing down and letting DS take the lead for what you do, you'll be fine.

 

[Soccer Fan]

Unfortunately, Boma is not open for lunch. It is breakfast and dinner only so you will be okay for those 2 meals (which I hear are both excellent!) and like you mentioned, maybe you could go to The Mara for lunch.

Also, at DTD there is a new bakery called Erin McKenna's Bakery NYC which serves dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free treats. I can't wait to try it!

 

[Barbydoll8]

TIW may not be the way for you to go unless you order alcohol with your lunch/dinners. Yes it saves but like the PP stated, the savings is usually pre-tip and break even point is about $480 in a 13 month period. You might be better off using your DVC card. If you have a chase Visa, some places give a food discount for that too.
I agree that Boma much be a bit much most days. Maybe 2 on the trip. I would always try to do at least one to two days for the 7 that you are there. It's time, money and sanity. You can pre-order groceries if you want to have in your villa. Mara is a great option and has good food. Sanna in Kidani is open for lunch and they do a mighty fine job of it too.

 

[AZRAPUNZEL]

When making your reservations, either online or over the phone, you can make a note about your DS food allergies. When you arrive for your reservation the chef will come out and walk you through the buffet line/ or menu explaining what is safe and what to avoid. They usually will offer to make something special just for you if you prefer. Even if you forget to make the note about the allergy when making the reservation, just let them know when you are seated and they will send the chef out. They are really great working with you. you can even ask to talk to the chef at QS places. They want to make sure you are happy and safe.

I totally get the finding it hard to adjust for the time deference, coming from Arizona. I force myself to get up for RD because you really can get so much more done those first few hours in a park. But I don't have a kids schedule to worry about. Now next year when we take two young grandkids, it will be a different story. Already planning for that to be a much slower and relaxed trip.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[karrit2000]

The DVC dining Discounts are IMO very limited. You only get 10% off and that is only on food not alcohol. Most of the DVC dining Discounts are only for Lunch service not dinner. If you are staying in Jambo at AKL, Boma is way more convenient than if you are staying at Kidani. Since you are staying at AKL you could try to make reservations at Tusker House in AK which is a character buffet for all meals. Personally I think 2-3 TS meals per day every day is way too much but others will disagree. I think eating in the same place every day is a bit much even if it is a buffet.

 

[aymekae]

Your 25% is too much. The tax rate is only 6.5%. When others are figuring the $500 break even, I don't think they are including the tip. How does adding the tip amount help towards your total?

Boma every day would be too much for me, but to everyone his own. I think I would do breakfast in the room at least a couple days. Also for your AK day, you could go to Rainforest Cafe before entering the park for breakfast. That would be another change.

For your resort day, why not go to DTD or another resort for lunch or dinner?

Will DH be joining you for any meals? That would also help towards your break even total.

As to staying on west coast time, your little one may change that for you, but I think it's doable. This sounds like a more relaxed trip anyway, so keep that mind set and you'll be fine. You won't ride as much, but if you have the attitude of slowing down and letting DS take the lead for what you do, you'll be fine.

Good point! I forgot to account for the discount only being applied to the meals. As a numbers girl, I am ashamed of myself, haha! I might have to work on my spreadsheet to include a bit more detail so I can apply the discount appropriately.

Yeah, I'm starting to think Boma every day would be too much. If I'm just eating there to make my TIW card "worth it", well, then I'm not saving anything!

We have plans to go to DTD on our last day (travel day), and go to Whispering Canyon Cafe the second to last day (this is where we stayed several years ago, and we ate there 3 times!) But I'll look into some other options for our down day. I've heard it can be a pain to get to other resorts directly using the buses, but if we don't have any other plans besides "sleeping in" and "swimming", then why not, right?

Unfortunately, Boma is not open for lunch. It is breakfast and dinner only so you will be okay for those 2 meals (which I hear are both excellent!) and like you mentioned, maybe you could go to The Mara for lunch.

Also, at DTD there is a new bakery called Erin McKenna's Bakery NYC which serves dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free treats. I can't wait to try it!

D'oh, somehow I missed the fact that it isn't open for lunch, thanks for the reminder!

Ooh, I heard about Erin McKenna's Bakery NYC! I didn't want to order their $50+ cake for delivery, but maybe a trip to the bakery for DS to pick a treat or two would be a fun trip for our down day!

TIW may not be the way for you to go unless you order alcohol with your lunch/dinners. Yes it saves but like the PP stated, the savings is usually pre-tip and break even point is about $480 in a 13 month period. You might be better off using your DVC card. If you have a chase Visa, some places give a food discount for that too.
I agree that Boma much be a bit much most days. Maybe 2 on the trip. I would always try to do at least one to two days for the 7 that you are there. It's time, money and sanity. You can pre-order groceries if you want to have in your villa. Mara is a great option and has good food. Sanna in Kidani is open for lunch and they do a mighty fine job of it too.

Yeah, I don't drink much alcohol, and can't see myself drinking it at all on vacation.

I think Boma once or twice for breakfast and once or twice for dinner will be plenty for a 7 night trip. I should probably save myself some money and buy some groceries and eat in the room. It will certainly help us get out and about much quicker! I would like to try Sanaa, though it seems slightly fancy. I will have to schedule it on a day my DH won't be there, as he definitely wouldn't like it! (He's so picky, really just a hamburger and pizza kind of guy.)

When making your reservations, either online or over the phone, you can make a note about your DS food allergies. When you arrive for your reservation the chef will come out and walk you through the buffet line/ or menu explaining what is safe and what to avoid. They usually will offer to make something special just for you if you prefer. Even if you forget to make the note about the allergy when making the reservation, just let them know when you are seated and they will send the chef out. They are really great working with you. you can even ask to talk to the chef at QS places. They want to make sure you are happy and safe.

I totally get the finding it hard to adjust for the time deference, coming from Arizona. I force myself to get up for RD because you really can get so much more done those first few hours in a park. But I don't have a kids schedule to worry about. Now next year when we take two young grandkids, it will be a different story. Already planning for that to be a much slower and relaxed trip.

Hope you have a great trip.

Yes, I've had some good experiences with Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line and food allergies! In fact, the week we spent on DCL a few years ago was the best "skin" week for my son. His skin cleared up completely and was super soft, no itching at all. I wish I could say the same when I'm in charge of his food!

Yeah, if it were just me, I would get up for rope drop. But knowing my 2 year old, I don't think he'll be able to handle that drastic of a change back and forth. I don't mind it too much, because a) we're hitting only attractions he can enjoy, and b) this will be a fairly relaxed trip (heavily planned to save us walking/waiting, but flexible and easy going just the same).

The DVC dining Discounts are IMO very limited. You only get 10% off and that is only on food not alcohol. Most of the DVC dining Discounts are only for Lunch service not dinner. If you are staying in Jambo at AKL, Boma is way more convenient than if you are staying at Kidani. Since you are staying at AKL you could try to make reservations at Tusker House in AK which is a character buffet for all meals. Personally I think 2-3 TS meals per day every day is way too much but others will disagree. I think eating in the same place every day is a bit much even if it is a buffet.

I didn't know that the DVC discount is restricted to mostly lunch! I'm an AP holder at DLR, so I rarely use the DVC discount here. The alcohol restriction doesn't bother me; neither DH or I drink very often.

Yeah, I didn't think too much about the distance from Kidani to Jambo, as I figured I'd be going to Boma or The Mara either way. But I think I will plan to eat breakfast in our room at least 3 or 4 days to save time and money. I already have Tusker House on the plan the day we go to AK!

Because I love food and had such a wonderful experience on the free dining plan on my honeymoon, I could see myself enjoying 2-3 TS meals per day, but the real question is do I really want to sit through so many long meals with my DS, and do I want to spend that much on food? And on the converse, do I want to eat QS or grocery meals otherwise? (No to the first, no to the second, but no to the third! Hence my dilemma!)



I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my myriad of questions. My DH decided to freak me out yesterday by telling me he isn't actually registered for this Florida conference (even though he was!), so our vacation as planned hinges on whether or not they can register him now.

 

[sharonabe]

Traveling from resort to resort can be a pain, but it can also be fun. Your DS will probably LOVE the monorail, so why not catch the bus to EP on your day off. Take the monorail over to the TTC, then get on the resort loop, and have lunch at one of the MK resorts. I think Chef Mickey is doing a lunch now, so that would be a good excuse to hop on the monorail.

OR catch the bus to Studios and take the boat over to the EP resorts. You could schedule a late Cape May breakfast.

 

[Barbydoll8]

Sanna isn't "fancy" but I can see why it seems that way. It's really much more casual especially for lunch. Jiko however is a signature dining experience and is a bit more upscale (and pricey!).