What do you think of these restaurant choices?

[bangzoom6877]

We arrive at WDW for our 10-night trip on July 23, 2012...in 9 days I will be able to make our ADRs. We are staying at BWV again (our DVC home). I'm getting an AP and will buy the Tables in Wonderland card again (worked out great last time!).

Before going to WDW, we are spending a few days in Tampa. So, I decided that for Father's Day I am going to give DH a gift card for the ride-along at the Richard Petty Driving Experience. I bought the gift card when they were on special, almost 2 months ago! Since we'll be just over an hour away from WDW, we can leave in the morning and get to the race track pretty early.

July 23rd through 29th, it will be just me, DH and our 2 boys (ages 7 and 5). Starting the 29th through the end of our trip, 6 more people will join us...4 adults and 2 girls ages 11 and 8. Here are the ADRs we have planned, which I will make on Jan. 25th:

7/23/12 (arrival; RPDE): Lunch: 12pm Kona Cafe; Dinner: 6pm Kouzzina
7/24/12 (Sea World): Breakfast: 7:30am Boma; Dinner: 6pm Grand Floridian Cafe
7/25/12 (no theme park): Dinner: 5:30pm Ohana (lunch will probably be from Boardwalk Bakery...we're planning to spend the day at the pool)
7/26/12 (MK, EMH morning): Lunch: 12pm Plaza; Dinner: 6pm California Grill
7/27/12 (Epcot, EMH morning): Lunch: 12pm Chefs de France; Dinner: 6pm Garden Grill
7/28/12 (DHS, EMH morning): Dinner: Yachtsman Steakhouse (Lunch will be CS at DHS or near our resort)
7/29/12 (no theme park during the day; Epcot WS in the evening): Breakfast: 8:30am Kona Cafe (pool hopping to Polynesian, which is allowed as DVC members); Afternoon Tea: 3pm Garden View Lounge (snacking around the WS in the evening...no formal dinner ADRs)
7/30/12 (Epcot): Lunch: 12pm San Angel Inn; Dinner: 6pm Biergarten
7/31/12 (DHS): Lunch: 12pm Sci-Fi; Dinner: 6pm 50s Prime Time
8/1/12 (MK): Breakfast: 8am Crystal Palace; Dinner: 6pm Boma
8/2/12 (check-out): Breakfast: 8am Chef Mickey's

We have been to several of these places already and love them (Biergarten is my favorite so far). The ones we haven't been to are Kona breakfast and lunch (only had dinner there but loved it), Boma breakfast, Ohana, Grand Floridian Cafe, Yachtsman Steakhouse, California Grill, Afternoon Tea at the GF, and Garden Grill.

Most breakfasts will be in the villa, which we find very relaxing on early mornings. Before this upcoming trip, we have only been to character breakfasts so DH and I are really looking forward to Boma and Kona, since I have read many great things about both, and both have unique food.

I know we have 3 EMH mornings in a row, which could be very hectic...but we are early risers and so are the boys. We love EMH mornings...we get to the parks between 7:15 and 7:30am, and we leave after lunch. Then we return in the evening, or sometimes we just stay at the resort in the evening too and relax.

So...what do you think of these restaurant choices? Any tips? Thanks!

 

[minnie mum]

Just 2 comments: you have a noon TS booked at the Poly on the morning of your arrival. Do you anticipate being checked into your resort after your arrival, and still have ample time to get from resort to resort? Do you plan on driving? I didn't see if you were driving or flying in. When we fly we try to never have an ADR within 4 hours of our planned arrival time, in case of delays at home, on arrival at the airport, or on arrival at the resort. We just opt for CS instead. Just a thought.

On your Sea World day I see that you are having breakfast at Boma at AKL. Again my question is: are you driving there and then continuing on to Sea World? This would work fine. If you are depending on another form of transport, then returning to your resort before going to Sea World, you would have lost a lot of time. I'm assuming the former case.

Looks like a very full round of dining during your stay, but I'm assuming that the time you are taking for all of your TS meals fits your family's style of vacationing at WDW. You do have a good variety of meals planned, so I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck with getting all of your ADRs, especially the ones for 10! Hopefully you'll get them all on your 180 day. If not, you will still have lots of time to check for cancellations.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Just 2 comments: you have a noon TS booked at the Poly on the morning of your arrival. Do you anticipate being checked into your resort after your arrival, and still have ample time to get from resort to resort? Do you plan on driving? I didn't see if you were driving or flying in. When we fly we try to never have an ADR within 4 hours of our planned arrival time, in case of delays at home, on arrival at the airport, or on arrival at the resort. We just opt for CS instead. Just a thought.

On your Sea World day I see that you are having breakfast at Boma at AKL. Again my question is: are you driving there and then continuing on to Sea World? This would work fine. If you are depending on another form of transport, then returning to your resort before going to Sea World, you would have lost a lot of time. I'm assuming the former case.

Looks like a very full round of dining during your stay, but I'm assuming that the time you are taking for all of your TS meals fits your family's style of vacationing at WDW. You do have a good variety of meals planned, so I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck with getting all of your ADRs, especially the ones for 10! Hopefully you'll get them all on your 180 day. If not, you will still have lots of time to check for cancellations.

We're driving down to FL from NYC, but before we get to WDW we are spending 3 nights in Tampa. So, on arrival day we have a very short drive (an hour and a half I think). We are early risers, and will probably be out of the hotel between 7:30 and 8am. If we get to WDW at 9:30am, and first going to the RPDE near MK, it might be cutting it close for a noon lunch at Kona. Maybe I will change the time to 1pm instead to allow us an extra hour. According to the people I spoke to on the phone about the RPDE, the racetrack usually does not have a wait more than 30 minutes at peak times, and DH will be doing a ride-along (not a driving experience).

For the Sea World day, the plan is to drive to AKL for the Boma breakfast, then head right to Sea World from there.

I know we have a lot of TS meals, but we did a 10-night trip to WDW in July 2010 and had lots of TS meals then too. We enjoyed each and every one of them. We loved having TS lunches instead of CS...back in 2008, we did CS lunches and the TS were just easier and took the same amount of time as waiting in line at CS, getting a table, and eating. But much less hassle.

As far as getting all our ADRs, Ohana worries me a little. But we could always do something else instead and see if there are cancellations, as you said. Last time, we had 10 people at CRT dinner, Chef Mickey's dinner, Biergarten dinner and 1900 PF breakfast, and I was able to get all of those ADRs 180 days out...except for Biergarten which was a last-minute decision while we were already there, and I got an ADR for 10 people for the next day.

The one thing DH and I always like to make sure of, is that we have variety in our restaurant choices. We enjoy all different types of foods, and on vacation we like to go to different places. Food is a huge part of the vacation experience for our family, and so a variety of restaurants is always a must.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We eat two TS a day also, so I don't think you have too many meals. We don't eat ours as close together as you have yours, but you know your family best. My only suggestion is to make sure you have a meal you don't mind missing on your Sea World day, if you've never been to SW before. Their nighttime show is usually the highlight of the day for us. If you've been before & know you'll be ready to leave in plenty of time for the 6 pm ADR, disregard my advice.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Sounds like a wonderful trip. We use the TIW card as well and usually book 2 TS a day, but will split meals or order appys sometimes.

Have a great time!

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Sounds like a wonderful trip. We use the TIW card as well and usually book 2 TS a day, but will split meals or order appys sometimes.

Have a great time!

Sorry to take over this post with a question but how do you like TiW? What's the best way to get the most out of it? If you can only use it at TS- do you eat lunch at TS too?

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Yachtsman was one of the best meals we had last week, allow 2 hours for this meal and enjoy every minute of it.

Garden Grill was really good and it was one that we didn't rush through, although we never felt rushed anywhere we ate. It was more me, just wanting to eat quickly and get out the doorat some places.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Sorry to take over this post with a question but how do you like TiW? What's the best way to get the most out of it? If you can only use it at TS- do you eat lunch at TS too?

I'm not the person you quoted, but we use TIW also. A few CS places accept TIW too, but we don't like CS anyway. We eat two TS meals a day. We have breakfast or an early lunch. Dinner is usually at a signature restaurant. If you have a lighter lunch (sandwiches, appetizers, or shared entrees), it's not much more than CS with the TIW discount. It works much better for us. The only drawback is we don't usually have room for snacks. I'm determined to try the cupcakes & a carrot cookie on our next few trips, so I'm not letting that stop me from now on.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Sorry to take over this post with a question but how do you like TiW? What's the best way to get the most out of it? If you can only use it at TS- do you eat lunch at TS too?

We love the TIW card. We used it in 2010 and it was perfect for us.

In 2008 on our first family WDW trip, we had the basic DDP. Back then, our older one was 3 and our little one was only 1. So, we only had to pay for 3 of us on the DDP. We had all-you-can-eat meals for dinner each night (easiest with the kids, plus they loved the characters) so it was easy to figure out the cost of dinners. In addition, we planned to have a CS lunch at the parks each day, so the DDP fit into our eating plans. The DDP saved us a lot of money that time and we figured we would go with it again.

In 2010, once we started to figure out where we wanted to eat, we discovered that we had too many TS meals for the DDP to be worth it, and too few for the deluxe plan. So, I upgraded my ticket to an AP and got the TiW card. LOVED it!! Sometimes, as a previous poster mentioned, I would get an appy as my meal (at lunch this happens with me sometimes), and no worries because the TiW covered everything. As an added bonus since DH and I sometimes like to have a drink with dinner, the 20% also comes off of alcoholic beverages. They automatically add in an 18% gratuity so your bill is complete, which for us makes it effortless...just pay what it says and that's it, no math to figure out.

For this upcoming trip, we will once again go with the TiW card. We eat most meals at TS, as we don't really enjoy CS anymore. In 2010 when we last went to WDW, I found that a TS lunch didn't take any longer than a CS lunch, since we tend to eat only one course at lunch, and finding a seat & waiting in line to order your food takes time at a CS anyway. Why not have someone seat us and have someone serve us...just the way we prefer to vacation. We tend to do 2 TS a day on most days. We have never done 3 TS in one day. If we do a TS breakfast and a TS lunch, we grab some snacks throughout the day...this actually allows me the "room" for some of the tasty snacks at WDW!

This time, we are really looking forward to trying a couple of signatures. The boys are definitely ready for it (probably could have done it on our last trip), and my older one's favorite food in the world is steak!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We Love Garden Grill and Cali Grill!! You have a lot of good choices.
Have fun!