Two weeks till ADR date - Help me finalize my list!

[Colleen27]

With 2 weeks to go, this is my ADR wish list. Any opinions, advice, suggestions, and recommendations are much appreciated! I want to have everything nailed down by my 90 day mark and not have to make changes later.

We're arriving on 9/25 and staying through 10/4 at CSR with the deluxe dining plan, then switching to AKV room-only for the last night. No car, so we're entirely dependent upon Disney transportation. And no ressies on arrival day until we know our flight times, but since we just want Maya Grill that night I don't imagine we'll have much trouble adding it later.

9/26
B - none
L - no ressie, ESPN Club or Beaches & Cream
D -Flying Fish dinner, 5:30

9/27
B - none
L - Liberty Tree Tavern, 12:00
D - California Grill, 6:30

9/28
B - Akershus, 8:30
L - snacks around F&W Festival
D - Tokyo Dining, 6:30

9/29
B - none
L - counter service @ waterpark
D - Kona, 5:00

9/30
B - none
L - Brown Derby, 12:30
D - Kouzzina, 7:00

10/1
B - none
L - Teppan Edo, 12:00
D - Le Cellier, 7:00

10/2
B - Grand Floridian Cafe, 9:00
L - none
D - Raglan Road, 6:00

10/3
B - none
L - Chef Mickey, 11:30 (or the earliest I can get for lunch)
D - Narcoosees, 5:30

10/4
B - none
L - Yak & Yeti, 12:00
D - Jiko, 5:30

 

[michellejed]

Do you get 3 sit down meals a day on the deluxe plan?

you didn't say if it is kids or all adults but most of it sounds good to me.

I love the Marrakesh but our kids (then teens) did not.


Are you doing the GF cafe to see the hotel? Might take a lot of travel to get back and forth.

You also might want to do Jikos a bit earlier if you are coming from AK, the park I think closes at 5, save you a long wait.

Have some backup times in place just in case.

Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[maddiesmom0116]

I think these all look great. I probably wouldn't do a big buffet for breakfast if you plan on snacking on F&W. I made that mistake last year and they had so many stations I wanted to try and I was too full from breakfast still and ended up getting sick and still not stopping everywhere I wanted to.

 

[luckytobeme88]

Hi Colleen,
Love your choices. I would suggest that you try "Tutto Italia" instead of Marrakesh. We ate at Marrakesh once and the food was ok; however, it was never good enough to warrant a second trip. We will be trying Tutto for the first time in a couple of weeks. Based on so many positive review and menu choice, we are really looking forward to eat there.

 

[Colleen27]

Do you get 3 sit down meals a day on the deluxe plan?

you didn't say if it is kids or all adults but most of it sounds good to me.

I love the Marrakesh but our kids (then teens) did not.


Are you doing the GF cafe to see the hotel? Might take a lot of travel to get back and forth.

You also might want to do Jikos a bit earlier if you are coming from AK, the park I think closes at 5, save you a long wait.

Have some backup times in place just in case.

Have a wonderful trip!!!

Oh year, forgot that part... 3 adults, 3 kids ages 11, 8, and 1. No picky eaters, thankfully.

GF Cafe is because DH insists on one sit down breakfast to get eggs benedict on every trip, because he can't get it here at home unless we make it ourselves. Unfortunately, Maya Grill doesn't have it on their breakfast buffet. My options to meet DH's request are Captain's Grill at the Yacht Club, GF Cafe, or The Wave. Captain's Grill would actually have been my first choice based on the menu alone, but I think that would be even worse in terms of travel time.

Jiko is the night we're checking into AKV, and I couldn't decide whether to check in first and then go have dinner or have dinner first and then check in. Since switching hotels is a surprise for the kids I'm not sure how best to spring it on them, but maybe an earlier ADR with the surprise after dinner would make more sense so the kids aren't fidgety through dinner because they want to get to the new room/pool.

 

[Colleen27]

I think these all look great. I probably wouldn't do a big buffet for breakfast if you plan on snacking on F&W. I made that mistake last year and they had so many stations I wanted to try and I was too full from breakfast still and ended up getting sick and still not stopping everywhere I wanted to.

We don't plan on eating much at Akershus, we're just there for the Princesses. That's one of the things we fell in love with about the deluxe plan - guilt-free character breakfasts. We'd never do them OOP because DH & I don't eat much more than a little fruit or maybe a pastry with our coffee/tea in the mornings. But with this being the baby's first trip and me being a photo junkie, I wanted to be sure we had the Princesses & Mickey and friends covered with character meals to get those precious first-trip photos when she's cool, fed, and happy.

The kids will probably eat at breakfast, but they won't mind missing out on F&W goodies or just tasting from our plates, and we're planning to let them do the masks as we go around the WS so they're happily occupied while we snack.

 

[Colleen27]

Hi Colleen,
Love your choices. I would suggest that you try "Tutto Italia" instead of Marrakesh. We ate at Marrakesh once and the food was ok; however, it was never good enough to warrant a second trip. We will be trying Tutto for the first time in a couple of weeks. Based on so many positive review and menu choice, we are really looking forward to eat there.

We loved Tutto, so just let me add to those positive reviews - it was one of the best meals of our last trip, and we had 4 signature dinners! The idea of going back is one of the things that has me doubting Marrakesh, along with the recent discovery that my never-picky kids HATE couscous for some reason. There are a few other Epcot spots we haven't tried yet too, that I could sub in on that night - Rose & Crown, Chefs de France, Tokyo Dining, or Nine Dragons, though of those only R&C and Tokyo really appeal to me.

 

[luckytobeme88]

Man O Man, you have tried Tutto? how was it in general? care to recommend your favorites? I love, LOVE Tokyo Dining. Last year, we ate there twice within the week for lunch. Does your "non-picky eater" eat raw fish? If he does, give it a try. On our arrival lunch, we have ADR at Tokyo Dining for lunch again.

 

[Colleen27]

Man O Man, you have tried Tutto? how was it in general? care to recommend your favorites? I love, LOVE Tokyo Dining. Last year, we ate there twice within the week for lunch. Does your "non-picky eater" eat raw fish? If he does, give it a try. On our arrival lunch, we have ADR at Tokyo Dining for lunch again.

We tried Tutto on our first deluxe plan trip, in Jan '08. I'm pretty simple when it comes to Italian food - I went with the tomato & mozzarella appetizer, lasagna, and lemon sorbetti, and it was all simply perfect. Very fresh and well prepared. The lemon sorbetti was the most wonderful ending to a fairly large, heavy lasagna - light and fresh and not too sweet (a complain I have about a LOT of lemon desserts, especially sorbet/lemon ice).

Sushi is one of my DS11's favorite foods. DD7 still sticks to simpler rolls and mostly cooked varieties, but DS loves all sorts of sushi and sashimi. The only reason we've waited so long to try Tokyo Dining is the mixed reports of how the DxDDP works there. The last report I read said that only certain sushi samplers are included and none of the individual rolls, so I've kind of been thinking we'd put trying it off until our Dec non-DDP trip.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I don't think Chef Mickey's has a lunch?? Their breakfast buffet I think goes to 11:30, however. But, if you are looking for non-breakfast items, you may need to choose another lunch location. The Crystal Palace has a great lunch buffet and features Pooh and friends.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think Chef Mickey's has a lunch?? Their breakfast buffet I think goes to 11:30, however. But, if you are looking for non-breakfast items, you may need to choose another lunch location. The Crystal Palace has a great lunch buffet and features Pooh and friends.

Chef Mickey's only runs lunch during free dining. There have been some reports that it is only going to be available for part of the free dining period this year and I'll take a late breakfast if that's the case, but I'm hoping they'll be open for lunch on our dates.

 

[Kallista]

The last time I was at Marrakesh, neither the service nor the food was up to par.

You could substitute Teppan Edo for it. The food is a little different, but not too exotic for kids, and the chefs prepare it at the table and are very entertaining.

 

[luckytobeme88]

We tried Tutto on our first deluxe plan trip, in Jan '08. I'm pretty simple when it comes to Italian food - I went with the tomato & mozzarella appetizer, lasagna, and lemon sorbetti, and it was all simply perfect. Very fresh and well prepared. The lemon sorbetti was the most wonderful ending to a fairly large, heavy lasagna - light and fresh and not too sweet (a complain I have about a LOT of lemon desserts, especially sorbet/lemon ice).
I have been thinking about getting the same appy too. I might opt for something non pasta or anything heavy for lunch, but the lemon sorbetti sounds really good now.
Sushi is one of my DS11's favorite foods. DD7 still sticks to simpler rolls and mostly cooked varieties, but DS loves all sorts of sushi and sashimi. The only reason we've waited so long to try Tokyo Dining is the mixed reports of how the DxDDP works there. The last report I read said that only certain sushi samplers are included and none of the individual rolls, so I've kind of been thinking we'd put trying it off until our Dec non-DDP trip.

Why don't I find out how the sushi rolls work with DlxDDP for you? Wouldn't it be nice to have your choice of sushi/sashimi as your entree! I usually go with the Shinjuku Gozen(combo of sashimi and assorted tempura @$28, but it will nice to try something new with the plan.

 

[Colleen27]

Why don't I find out how the sushi rolls work with DlxDDP for you? Wouldn't it be nice to have your choice of sushi/sashimi as your entree! I usually go with the Shinjuku Gozen(combo of sashimi and assorted tempura @$28, but it will nice to try something new with the plan.

I'd really appreciate that! I've been drooling over the pics of their food ever since they opened, so if the DxDDP works out okay there that would be one I'd happily book instead of Marrakesh. We've got some sushi options at Kona and California Grill, but nothing like the selection at Tokyo Dining.

 

[Colleen27]

The last time I was at Marrakesh, neither the service nor the food was up to par.

You could substitute Teppan Edo for it. The food is a little different, but not too exotic for kids, and the chefs prepare it at the table and are very entertaining.

I've been reading a lot of those types of reviews of Marrakesh, which is one reason I'm rethinking it. The menu doesn't grab me like my other Epcot choices do, so reviews have more impact on my thinking than they would if it was somewhere I really really wanted to try.

Teppan Edo is actually one of DS's favorite Disney restaurants, but we've already got that one planned for lunch on our other Epcot day.

 

[luckytobeme88]

Colleen,
Why don't you get an ADR for Tokyo Dining regardless what you ended up going! You can always cancel later.

 

[DisneyTinkerbell]

Have you thought about doing Biergarten in Germany? We absolutely love it!! The food is great and so is the entertainment!!!

 

[emmababy]

Is Kouzzinos(sp) taking ressies? Is there a menu somewhere?

 

[Colleen27]

Is Kouzzinos(sp) taking ressies? Is there a menu somewhere?

Not yet. All we know is that it is scheduled to open in Sept and it will be Greek food.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I don't know all alot about Marrakesh but from I read It's hard on the stomach. But like I said it's hear say.