The Mouse-KIDS are in charge...a Jan '12 PTR NEW 2/5 TR link & new tickers

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

My choice would be 'Ohana for a the following reasons:

1. Mickey is there, as well as Lilo and Stitch. You don't see Lilo that often.

2. It's on the monorail line, so easy access.

3. You will be able to take a bus from there over to Fantasia Gardens for mini golf, or you have the option of riding the monorail back over to your resort for a mini break.

4. I like the idea of not having to get up to get your food. Keeping all the kids at the table might be easier on you and Matt not having to make trips.

 

[teekathepony]

Interesting...
I personally would pick O'Hana. I've never done it, so I would like to, I would love to see Lilo and Stitch too, I think that would be fun.
I wasn't a huge fan of Chef Mickey's. When I went our service was unfortunately bad and the food was just okay.
I'll be honest and say that I have not heard very much at all about Cape May so I really have no opinion on it.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Another vote for 'Ohana.

Second choice would be Cape May. I really don't care for Chef Mickey's so it's be hard to pick it for anything.

I think you might do better for NR there, food served to table is always easier and being close to home will give you options for a break or whatnot.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow my head is spinning a little bit on the budget issue... I couldn't sit down and read it all at once though so it made it harder to follow along. I think the 1 night on DDP is a great way to get the mugs & save a few bucks in the process.

I'm a bit torn on the character meal... I'd say CM for convenience but if you were just there that's probably not the best choice. And you know you'll be back to BLT.

Cape May sounds good too but with the unknown factor of where you'll be playing mini-golf this too might not be the best choice.

I agree with the others that you should go with Ohana! It's nearby and you haven't been in a while. So that's my vote too.

 

[Marshay]

sounds great...have you done the DVC dinning segment before??

Yes, we did the DDP this past May trip for 3 nights (in a row) out of a 7 night stay.

In January we'll do 2 separate nights (not in a row) out of an 8 night stay.

I will tell you there are a few (potential) hassles. You have to get a new room key with dining credits on it in the morning before you can use your credits. If the check-in line is long, this can be a wait.

Then technically, you are supposed to get another new key after the DDP is completely over (good through midnight on check-out). So this can involve another wait. We found that our keys still worked (CM weren't sure if they would or not).

 

[Marshay]

OK, I guess there is always one in the crowd...this time it'll be me.

Why are you wasting a TS dining credit on a breakfast character meal??

You know you can eat at just about anywhere (obviously not the Signature restaurants) and you can get a LOT more value for your DDP if you do a lunch ... or better yet a dinner!!

If you are considering O'hana, I would be a lot more tempted to just pay OOP for that...A $20 TS meal on the DDP is a poor choice, IMHO. But I admit I'm a 'bit' on the conservative/cheap side. If I do the DDP, or for Jan the Deluxe DDP, I'm going to make sure that we (1) go to a place I wouldn't normally go to b/c it is $$$ and (2) order more expensive food or go to a restaurant for the most value.

We'll choose the more expensive TS and go to one of the CS places where we can get more than the basic meal. (Tangiene and Flame Tree BBQ are both delicious and a great value at $17-20 for a CS meal).

We went to Garden Grill in May and had an absolute blast with the characters -- they came around multiple times, were served food at our table (family style), had wonderful, delicious food and were entertained by the entire restaurant rotating around. This is like a $36+ meal and one you probably wouldn't go to at that price?

1900 Park Fare (now Nathan may not like it b/c it's princess/stepsisters based) is also another wonderful choice. REally good food...more variety than CM or H&V. Another $36+ meal.

Another one is the Norway meals -- $40 for breakfast alone, plus you get photos! I would never do this one OOP but we'll do it on the dining plan, so it'll be a neat experience. We did the dinner years ago.

------------------------
OK, now if I have to go back to your choices, For O'hana its main advantage is it's close by. I haven't eaten here yet but I love their dinner so maybe breakfast is good too. However, their food is limited (not buffet with lots of choices).

We ate at CMC and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I know there is one less character now than when we went. CMC will have more variety for you and maybe more to choose from for Naomi-Ruth. Since this is a slow day for you, it'll also let you explore that area more and maybe stop by BC DVC areas or go across to Boardwalk to check them out for a future stay.

Have your kids seen Storm-along Bay yet? If they love pools, they may just go gaga over that one for their next stay.

If you are just looking for breakfast, I'd choose O'hana.

If you are planning to look around, check out the area, then I'd choose CMC.

Good luck!

 

[UsMcWifeForever]

Just joining, sorry I am late to the party . I am all caught up on the the plans and I love that u are letting the kids plan the trip and i have to say it is very awesome for them to learn about the cost, time and effort that goes into planning a trip. VERY EDUCATIONAL with all the charts and things u are using
Now on to your character dinning choices, IMO Chef Mickeys was not that great when we were there. So it is at the bottom of the list. Ohana would be #2 choice (we are booked here for our Nov trip for breakfast just to see Lilo) So that leaves my Vote for Cape May, because I have never been and I want to hear how it was

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am throwing in a vote for Cape May since it would be a new place for the kids! They would get to see them all in their beach wear, and that would make for some really cute pictures!

 

[jenjolt]

I'll throw my vote in for Ohana's only because I really want to eat there for breakfast someday!!!! LOL!!

Love your budgeting!!! I do the same thing with my TIW card vs. DDP and trying to figure out how I get the best bargain! I have a spreadsheet and everything that inlcludes sale tax, tip and the discount....good fun LOL!!! Love to do Disney math!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Our family's favorite character meal is 'Ohana breakfast.

We love seeing Lilo and always have wonderful interactions with all the characters. The dancing parade around the restaurant to Hawaiian Roller Coaster ride is a huge favorite and we can't get enough of the Ohana juice

Ask them to use your camera for the family photo while you're waiting to be seated... for us, sometimes they have, sometimes they don't. The Poly is gorgeous and convenient to get to, and your options on what to do or where to go will be plentiful afterwards.

 

[mousescrapper]

sounds great...have you done the DVC dinning segment before??

Yes, we did the DDP this past May trip for 3 nights (in a row) out of a 7 night stay.

In January we'll do 2 separate nights (not in a row) out of an 8 night stay.

I will tell you there are a few (potential) hassles. You have to get a new room key with dining credits on it in the morning before you can use your credits. If the check-in line is long, this can be a wait.

Then technically, you are supposed to get another new key after the DDP is completely over (good through midnight on check-out). So this can involve another wait. We found that our keys still worked (CM weren't sure if they would or not).

thanks Marsha...that is what I had read before when I had done some inital research on the matter...and wasn't sure if that still was the case. the check-in line never seemed overly busy at CR when we were there in Nov. and w/ only needing to do it one morning shouldn't be too bad...so if we add reg DDP for 1 night for the 1st night I pick up new cards on Day 3) and these are our keys then to our room? cause our passes we are planning to get from UT

if it goes well then I will do this again for probably a few more nights at a time when we are back in 2013 for a longer stay and would be dinning more TS

OK, I guess there is always one in the crowd...this time it'll be me.

Why are you wasting a TS dining credit on a breakfast character meal??

no, I get it...don't feel bad that is a super valid point...

You know you can eat at just about anywhere (obviously not the Signature restaurants) and you can get a LOT more value for your DDP if you do a lunch ... or better yet a dinner!!

I do want to maximize the choices for what we are paying and yes understand that a lunch or dinner we can get more value...but orginally this trip was meant to be just QS...we are trying to stick to a small budget for this one. breakfast just seemed to make the most sense and we all really enjoy eating out for breakfast...also w/ the way the plans are set w/ a late start morning a brfast just seems to make sense

it certaintly is worth considering though

If you are considering O'hana, I would be a lot more tempted to just pay OOP for that...A $20 TS meal on the DDP is a poor choice, IMHO. But I admit I'm a 'bit' on the conservative/cheap side. If I do the DDP, or for Jan the Deluxe DDP, I'm going to make sure that we (1) go to a place I wouldn't normally go to b/c it is $$$ and (2) order more expensive food or go to a restaurant for the most value.

no I am all w/ that thinking too...hence why I think we should choose the most expensive bfast we can get...confusing huh food, location, value on DDP


We went to Garden Grill in May and had an absolute blast with the characters -- they came around multiple times, were served food at our table (family style), had wonderful, delicious food and were entertained by the entire restaurant rotating around. This is like a $36+ meal and one you probably wouldn't go to at that price?

yes this is an option to consider but I'd have to re-arrange plans to work in EP sooner really want DDP to be 1st night so we get the mugs immediately! idk

1900 Park Fare (now Nathan may not like it b/c it's princess/stepsisters based) is also another wonderful choice. REally good food...more variety than CM or H&V. Another $36+ meal.

Another one is the Norway meals -- $40 for breakfast alone, plus you get photos! I would never do this one OOP but we'll do it on the dining plan, so it'll be a neat experience. We did the dinner years ago.

we have done both of these....we just ate at 1900 PF in Nov for B and loved it and have done the dinner too...Norway was nice too, but we did CRT w/ princesses in Nov as well...I think Nathan is Princessed out...he wants a "boy" character meal...seriously there should be one so these options really are just not going to happen this trip

 

[bookmama]

OMG! I love your planning sheets can I borrow it? That would help with our planning.

 

[mousescrapper]

OMG! I love your planning sheets can I borrow it? That would help with our planning.

of course... that is really what the DIS is for...

now i can't take full credit for these designs I didn't steal but borrowed another DISER's designs she had put out there and tweaked them to fit my neeeds...

here are some basic templates I saved as jpgs...not sure if this can work to save to your computer and print ...but worth a shot


I created everything w/ Microsoft Publisher using a basic table template

have fun!

 

[Marshay]

thanks Marsha...that is what I had read before when I had done some inital research on the matter...and wasn't sure if that still was the case. the check-in line never seemed overly busy at CR when we were there in Nov. and w/ only needing to do it one morning shouldn't be too bad...so if we add reg DDP for 1 night for the 1st night I pick up new cards on Day 3) and these are our keys then to our room? cause our passes we are planning to get from UT

if it goes well then I will do this again for probably a few more nights at a time when we are back in 2013 for a longer stay and would be dinning more TS
[/COLOR]

Yeah, I didn't consider it a hassle either...you just have to plan for it and not show up at 11am or 4pm!

And if you do DDP on first night your cards may just end up working the entire time. We did normal check-in on day 1...then added DDP for days 2-4...then had normal check-in for days 5-7...so we definitely needed new cards to add the DDP.

RE: DDP...I know you guys will enjoy whatever you decide to do! And I forgot about you guys wanting the mugs on day 1. There aren't a lot of character meal choices for dinner if you eliminate CM, 1900 Park Fare and all of the park character meals! In fact, I can't think of any (maybe the Swolphin one?) CMC and O'hana dinners are not character meals. So that pretty much does leave you at breakfast.

 

[mousescrapper]

Now Matt happens to be home today because his neck area is aggravated w/ pain (for those of you who don't know, Matt had spinal surgery in his neck last yr April), not that this is a good thing but we have gotten some things figured out...

OK all... thanks for weighing in on our question/vote for which Character Meal should we do...I was actually quite surprised that O'Hana came out on top

btw not sure what's w/ all the bad CM vibes...but we have dinned twice there and have LOVED it both times...but yes Amy is right we'll be back to BLT MANY MANY more times and will be there again...so that seemed easily elimated from the bunch

then there's that Marsha character (JK love you!!! )


she got me thinking about could we change things up and do a Character meal at Garden Grill instead I seriously looked it over but realized it would actually require me to re-arrange too many things and just really seemed to mess w/ the flow of the parks and several of the other QS places we have already chosen... so I decided that idea just wasn't going to work...but will put it on the list for 2013 BTW the kids liked the idea of eating there

Now we debated between O'Hana and Cape May... The twins were fine w/ Cape May but Rachel still felt pretty strongly about O'Hana...but Matt and I decided if the DDP is the deciding factor then we should go w/ Cape May.

We then talked w/ Rachel and told her we'd make sure we stop to see Lilo/Stitch at AK or Stitch at MK and she could pick the first ride at MK...she seemed good w/ that.

Now I went back to the computer to adjust my food budget totals when I realized I made a minor mistake when I was subtracting out foods to figure out the DDP addition...and my savings decreased by $6.00

that also got me thinking and I just decided to check: WHAT WOULD IT COST TO DO O'HANA OOP AND NOT DO DDP AT ALL?

well wouldn't you know it is a big difference...

a $45.94 difference if we stick completely to an OOP food budget even w/ adding O'Hana


so back to the drawing board huh? oh curse you crazy Disney math

my NEW OOP budget including everything is $533.50 (not including TS tip) that in comparison to OOP + reg DDP was $579.44 oh and my OOP food plus QSDDP was $579.96...crazy huh


we asked the kids what did they think...savings or mugs?

NR: I say savings


the only reason to get the DDP at this point is for the mugs...do we really need them?

we debated it out w/ the kids...savings vs mugs...Cape May vs O'Hana

and well I think you know what we decision we came too...

















ALL OOP food budget AND O'Hana

so thank you to all and especially thanks to Heidi and Marsha


made the right choice?


Up NEXT: the QS choices...

J~

 

[MRYPPNS]

no I am all w/ that thinking too...hence why I think we should choose the most expensive bfast we can get...confusing huh food, location, value on DDP

You had me worried there for a minute That's why I don't like the dining plans in general....making choices based on money not what you really want to do or is best to do.

Yeah for Rachel and 'Ohana

 

[bookmama]

Thank you for the charts. I'm glad you're going with Ohana. The food looks good and it got me thinking about Ohana for breakfast when we go. This is our second time going w/o DDP and I'm looking for fun but cheap ways to eat a few TS meals with the fam.

 

[MRYPPNS]

From: WDWmagic.com
Ohana Character Breakfast menu
dated Jun 23, 2011

Ohana Mickey and Friends Character Breakfast
Served 7:30am to 11am
Adults $24.99
Children 3 - 9 $13.99
Children under 3 - Free

Is this what you had for pricing? It was $24.99 in May 2010 too according to that site (which I use a lot these days)

 

[MRYPPNS]

I needed to answer my own pricing question because I didn't go to this breakfast on my last family trip because I thought it was $26 per adult.

This is from DISer pinkxray Dated May 2011

 

[DisMomAmy]

Is this what you had for pricing? It was $24.99 in May 2010 too according to that site (which I use a lot these days)

Allears, which says it updated the Ohana breakfast page on January 2011, says the price is $20.99 and $11.99.