Thoughts on Anniversary Trip ADRs

[Sked081899]

We are going for 5 nights this summer to celebrate our 10th Anniversary and I've booked and cancelled and rebooked about a million ADRs so far. I don't want to be too scheduled so that we can relax, but I also don't want to be left without options. I'm really looking forward to enjoying food and drink on this trip! DH has celiac and has to eat gluten free (if that changes any advice you have!). We are staying at BWI and will have hoppers. Here's what I have at the moment

Sat. Arrival late afternoon/early evening
Check out boardwalk- no ADR but maybe trattoria al forno

Sun. MK
Breakfast- Kona
Lunch- Plaza
Dinner- Ohana

Mon. EP
Dinner- Yachtsman

Tues. HS (Epcot is open later so maybe back there at night)
Lunch- Sci Fi
Dinner- Pixar Hollywood Brown Derby

Wed. AK (MK is open late so maybe back there after the show)
Dinner- HDDR 8:30 show

Thurs. DS and 7:00 flight out of MCO
Lunch- Raglan Road


My worries/questions:

Epcot and AK day- should we have an ADR for lunch or just enjoy snacks/QS?

Breakfasts- I'm not sure I want to pay for characters but I worry about getting gluten free breakfasts in the boardwalk area. We'll definitely put captains grille in there one day, but any other good options? Are any of the character breakfasts in that area worth the price if were not that into the characters?

Do the things I have make sense? Too much? Not enough?

Thanks!

 

[eastendlights]

We haven't done it yet (have ADR'S for Sept) but the new character breakfast at Trattoria is getting great reviews for the food. Cape May was not nearly as good this past March as it was on previous trips so it will be off our list for the foreseeable future.

With a later dinner at HDDR, I would make an ADR for lunch at Yak & Yeti.
Chefs de France in Epcot has great options for a light lunch.

 

[jcvalenti]

Brown Derby was - quite possibly - the most disappointing experience I've had at Disney in years. We were there in summer 2015, and it was horrid. We had a larger group, so we were seated by the door to the outdoor lounge, which they had open so servers out there could come in and place orders on a terminal. It was nearly 100 degrees outside, so our table was hot and humid. They had "Olaf's Summer Dance Party" going full swing right outside, so with the door propped open, the insipid techno dance music was blasting so loud we could barely hear each other. When we pointed out how terrible it was and asked if there was any way to shut the door for a time, we were essentially told we can reseat you further indoors in about 2 hours. On top of it all, the food was average ... certainly not on a level with signatures like Jiko or California Grill. And we aren't ones to complain when we're on vacation - I can't remember ever having had an issue in hundreds of meals at Disney prior. Never again.

Hopefully they've got some of that straightened out by now, but if you're going, just ask to sit far, far away from that outdoor lounge area - especially if they're doing the dance party thing again this summer.

 

[jcvalenti]

As for lunch at Epcot, there are plenty of great walkup locations, but if we only want a light lunch, we love making ADR at Spice Road Table. It's shareable small plates, so we usually just sit outside on the patio off the water, and enjoy a few small plates and a few glasses of Sangria. Great break in the day at Epcot and always easy to get a table.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

Sunday - You have three meals planned. For us, we found it hard to do three meals in a day. We just didn't have any appetite by dinner time. You get a lot of food at O'Hanna. I would spread those meals apart as far as you are able to. Eat a light lunch.

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

We do not find enough at HS right now to keep us there all day - 1/2 day is sufficient...you might consider keeping sci fi and changing Brown Derby (I also agree with jcvalenti that Brown Derby was not a favorite of ours) -what about doing one of the great Epcot restaurants for dinner and enjoying that park at night?