Review our ADR list?

[jpin_4477]

Getting excited about our upcoming trip! It will be myself, my husband, daughter (6), and son (4). It is our first longer family trip, so there is so much planning and I am hoping to get some opinions on this ADR list.

My daughter and I visited MK a few years back on a girls trip with my sister for 1 day, so we did BoG breakfast (which we loved for PPO access to get a bit of a jump on 7DMT) and CRT lunch on that trip. My husband hasn't been to the World since we last went together about 15 years ago, and this will be my son's first time to Disney!

Here is my ADR list right now:

Day 1: Coral Reef Dinner
Day 2: Be our Guest 8AM Breakfast, Chef Mickeys Dinner
Day 3: Ohana Dinner
Day 4: Hollywood & Vine 8AM Breakfast, Whispering Canyon Cafe Dinner
Day 5: Tusker House Brunch
Day 6: Via Napoli OR Chefs de France Dinner
Day 7: Be Our Guest Lunch

Have never been to any of these places except BoG for breakfast one time. So, my choices are all based on reviews I've read.

Mixed reviews on Coral Reef but my kids love aquariums so I think this will be a hit.

Have never done either Chef Mickey's or Tusker House. I hear Tusker House is the better experience and so I'm considering dropping Chef Mickey's. Are these too similar? Some friends have told me Chef Mickey's is a must so I was waffling on this decision. We definitely want the kids to have one character meal at least with Mickey (son loves him). Also, if we drop Chef Mickey's, what to replace with?

I hear bad things about the food at Hollywood & Vine breakfast, but my son's two requests were to eat with Mickey and to see Jake from Disney Jr. I think Jake only appears at this breakfast. Also, though my daughter likes princesses, she is a serious Star Wars fan (will be bringing a Rey costume with her instead of a princess costume, LOL) and her one request is Jedi Training Academy. I think this meal (it is 8:00am reservation) can help with getting into the Jedi Training sign-up line also? So this one is a must for us.

There were really no food options in Hollywood Studios that looked very appealing - Sci Fi movies looks like they would be weird and unappealing to small kids, and 50s prime time might be ok but not sure we want to be harassed. So was planning to try Whispering Canyon Cafe that evening (we are staying at Wilderness Lodge). The "hoe down" atmosphere doesn't sound all that appealing but I have heard good things about this restaurant and we could relax with it being at our resort. Would you recommend it? Or are there better options at HS (or maybe Disney Springs?).

Last, for our dinner at Epcot I am waffling between Via Napoli and Chefs de France. I have an ADR for both right now, but I want to release one soon to free it up for others.

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[MrInfinity]

Chef Mickey's and Tusker house are both good, but as you know -- similar. So I would drop one. Since you're not staying at the Contemporary, I'd keep the Tusker House. CM is a must-do if you're staying at the CR but isn't something to make a trip for if not.

Coral Reef-- Yeah it gets mixed reviews, and our experience there was marginal too, but it's still worth trying!

Same thing w H&V. Not great reviews. But you're not there for the food, you're there for the characters and the 8am entry. There isn't really a better option at HS for those young kids, so you'll be good w what you have booked!

I would make a point to try all the options at your resort. Whispering Cyn and Artist Point. Doing one of these on your HS day is perfect.

 

[ibela]

Day 1: Coral Reef Dinner - we enjoyed our lunch there a lot
Day 2: Be our Guest 8AM Breakfast, Chef Mickeys Dinner - not a fan of CM dinner, would definitely pick Tusker House over this option
Day 3: Ohana Dinner - a favorite
Day 4: Hollywood & Vine 8AM Breakfast, Whispering Canyon Cafe Dinner - H&V breakfast is great for all your reasons, we've eaten here a few times and think the food is on par with the other character meals.
Day 5: Tusker House Brunch - yum
Day 6: Via Napoli OR Chefs de France Dinner - haven't been to either
Day 7: Be Our Guest Lunch - good

Some options to consider if you want something out of the park - the Wave at Contemporary, its a brief boat ride to Wilderness Lodge. Or maybe Grand Floridian Cafe or Kona?

 

[Lily13]

I think your plans look amazing and you and your family are going to have a fantastic time! Here is my opinion on the places you selected.

Coral Reef---I know it has mixed reviews, however it was fabulous when we were there. We requested to be seated next to the tank for dinner when we checked in for our reservation, we had to wait for it, but it wasn't bad waiting after a long day in the park. The seat next to the tank is def worth the wait! My 5yo son loved it! Our server was the best we had at any Disney restaurant. He helped me select my entree and told me that if I did not like it he would swap it out immediately with anything else I wanted. I loved the entree so there was no need to swap it out. Dessert was very good as well. Overall it was a very relaxing, fun experience for us.

Be Our Guest---We had breakfast here, it was good. Great for taking pictures and getting inside the Beast's castle. Def good choice!

Ohana---LOVE it! My 5yo just told me he can't wait to go back and eat there again! Only place we are repeating again.

H&V---we had lunch there. The food was ok. Great character interaction though! My son loves the Disney Jr characters and I was happy that we did it so he could get a chance to meet them.

Tusker House---Great experience! We had lunch there and the food was very god. Best character dining experience so far. And the smile on my little guy's face when he got to see Mickey is truly priceless. Excellent choice!

Via Napoli---Have not been here. I have read great things about it and it came recommended from a good friend. We will be trying it in a couple weeks.

BOG lunch---have not been for lunch. Going this time in a couple weeks!

If you were to switch anything our consider Kona Cafe or 1900 Park Fare!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Day 1: Coral Reef Dinner We love Coral Reef. We haven't done dinner though because we always want one of the earlier lunch times (like the first seating) because it is a small venue and people take their time eating and looking at the fish so they are always packed in the lobby with people waiting to be seated. When we've done early (like 11am) we've had no problem. I'd consider changing this with your day 6 and doing lunch.
Day 2: Be our Guest 8AM Breakfast, Chef Mickeys Dinner We have not done BOG for breakfast but have an ADR for our next trip that I was just about to cancel before I saw the rose cups...We do not generally like buffets for dinner (with a few exceptions) so cannot encourage CM dinner and since you have Tuskerhouse, Mickey will be there and the food is much better! Though, it is not the same at CM.
Day 3: Ohana Dinner Been twice...first time horrible and the second was just ok...we won't be rushing back. My suggestion would be to get an early seating here also because the first time we had a late ADR and we waited about an hour after the ADR time. I know we are an exception to the fandom of Ohana (although we do like breakfast there!).
Day 4: Hollywood & Vine 8AM Breakfast, Whispering Canyon Cafe Dinner We are also an exception with H&V...we love it for breakfast and you couldn't pay me to eat dinner there. Even my almost 13 year old and 18 year old enjoy the characters there and the food has always been good...and they have a breakfast burrito bar...need I say more! We haven't had dinner at WC but we have had lunch and I assume it is very similar if not the same. We like it a lot. It's not an every trip thing but mostly because we don't stay at Wilderness Lodge, if we did, it would be a definite must.
Day 5: Tusker House Brunch Love all meals at Tuskerhouse. You will find Mickey here so if it were me, I'd lose CM and keep this one.
Day 6: Via Napoli OR Chefs de France Dinner Again, I'd probably switch this day for day 1 but we do love both venues. If your kids are pizza lovers, Via Napoli is the way to go. That's all we've ever had there though so I can't comment on more than that. We have had some great meals and experiences with Chefs though.
Day 7: Be Our Guest Lunch We have also never had lunch at BOG. The menus for breakfast and lunch just don't appeal to us. I think twice would be overkill for us especially with so many other great options out there. Dinner, though, we did enjoy.

 

[jpin_4477]

Thank you all for your input! I think I am definitely going to drop Chef Mickey's. I may rearrange and do Whispering Canyon that evening and free up Day 4 for a different dinner. Still not sure whether to do Via Napoli or Chefs de France...

 

[jpin_4477]

Looking also at Kona Cafe and 1900 Park Fare from your recommendations. Thx!