Trail's End in the middle of MK Day?

[nw2this]

I really wanted to see Hoop Dee Doo on my MK day but based on my search results it will take too much time away from MK given that I only have one day there.

I really want a buffet or family style. Crystal Palace and Liberty are booked up.

Will Trail's End be almost as time consuming as Hoop Dee Doo?

Any other suggestions for a lunch/dinner buffet or home style meal that is not too far from MK?

If everything is too far we'll just do counter service.

 

[MulanMom]

Not sure when you are going and what kind of park hours you have for your MK day. Although Trail's End would be a wonderful respite, it does take some time to get there. You would be leaving the park, taking a boat to Ft. Wilderness, then taking a boat back and re-entering the park. Some closer resorts to eat at would be the Contemporary, Poly or GF on the monorail loop.

If you only have one day in MK, I would brave it and do counter service. Keep trying to get reservations at LTT and CP. Some last minute ones can open up. Some of the CS is actually quite good. Hearing a lot of good things about BOG.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Quin]

For HDDR it's not the travel time from MK to Ft Wilderness (take the boat, not the bus), it's the time for the show itself that would be the barrier if you only have 1 MK day.

The closest non-park buffet would be Chef Mickey at the Contemporary. DON'T take the monorail if time is an issue - it's less than a 10 minute walk from the front gate of the MK. 1900PF at the Grand Floridian is another dinner buffet option; take the boat to the restaurant, although going back to the park the monorail is probably just as fast as the launch. The bigger time drain at both, though, is if your party needs to wait for all the characters come around.

Would another option for you be to eat your meals CS in the park but do the Wishes Dessert Party? It will NOT give you a good view of the evening parade so if there's only 1 parade the night of your visit and the parade is a deal-breaker, don't do it. But if the parade is not so much of an issue, then the Dessert Party gives you a 'special' experience with the chance to sit down and actually talk to your party, plus a buffet full of yummy desserts to sample. Note that ADRs for the Dessert Party do not open until more-or-less 60 days in advance. If you're worried about it, make an ADR for dinner at someplace like The Plaza but then when the Dessert Party opens, cancel the Plaza if you get the Dessert Party ADR instead. You CANNOT eat a full dinner and then go to the party - make your main meal a good 4 or 5 hours before the start of the Party (starts for all attendees 1 hour before Wishes no matter what time the ADR system 'assigns' you).

 

[Pixiedust34]

Trail's End does buffet for breakfast and dinner. Lunch has a menu and is not buffet.

We ate lunch at Trail's End as our MK break in September. We loved it!! The atmosphere was a great retreat from the park, and everything we ordered was excellent. Trail's End is a hidden gem!

If a buffet is what you want, try Crystal Palace inside the MK or do Trail's End for dinner. Trail's End and HDDR share a kitchen, so the food they serve at Hoop is the exact same as the food at the buffet (with more options at the buffet).

 

[nw2this]

Would another option for you be to eat your meals CS in the park but do the Wishes Dessert Party?

Wow! I hadn't heard of this. Seriously decadent
I'd better pass, I'm too much of sugarholic.


Thanks for the advice.
All the character places are booked and we're not big on characters anyway.
I guess I'll do CS: a late lunch at BOG if the lines aren't too long or an early dinner at Cosmic Ray's since the menu sounds similar to Trails and HDDR.