Where to dine?

[mattysmamma]

Hello! I hope that I am posting this question on the right board. I have been reading and reading and now Im soooo blurry! Haha! :surfweb

We are going to WDW from Oct 25th to Nov 3rd. It will be myself, my dh, my daughter who will turn 6 on 10/29, my daughter who will turn 4 on 10/31, and my son who will be 16.5 months.

Because its both of my daughters birthday week and because they are at an age where the Disney Princesses are SO important to them, we would love to do a character meal. We really would love a birthday surprise for them. So we are looking for any info on a place that the princesses visit with the kids, take pics, eat with?, ect. We would like to do a breakfast, but a dinner or a tea is great too. The most important princesses are "Rella" Cinderella, and Ariel. And its important that they do something to aknowlede the kids birthdays. A song or a cake. Whatever.

I have never done the Disney thing with kids, so I dont have any idea where to start! We are staying off site, and we really would love to spoil our girls as much as we can while we are on site. Can someone point me in the right direction on where to make a reservation? And can you tell me where the resturaunt is located? I am reading names like the Grand Floridian, or the Castle and those names mean nothing to me as far as location. I am sooo lost when it comes to this! Im not an experienced DW'er!

Thanks to you all who reply!!!
~Janelle~

 

[mkygrl]

Hi Janelle and welcome to the boards!

OK princess meals

Park Fare at the Grand Floridian (Hotel by the Magic Kingdom)
Cinderella's Royal Table is at the Magic Kingdom
Askershus is in Norway at Epcot

Those are the 3 princess meals. I have been to Park Fare (a absolute Fav for me) and it is Cinderella,Prince Charming andSuzy and Perla mouse....The fairy godmother greets guests outside in the lobby.

Cinderella's Table has cindy,aurora,snow white. Great to eat in the castle but pricey.

Askershus has the same and ariel. Never have been but hear only wonderful things!It is on my list to get to!

Hope this helps!
Have a great time!

 

[dzneelvr]

First and formost: RELAX and enjoy the experience. You will not possibly see and do everything that your kids could/should/would enjoy...that's why you'll go back I'd invest in Birnbaum's Travel Guide for Families with small children. we've been going for years and the early trips were hit/miss due to advance planning. Make dining arrangements BEFORE you hit the parks. That way, you know where and when you'll be eating and you can always cancel. Don't overbook each day: your kids will get too tired and cranky if mom and dad have the "whole day" planned....take it slow, enjoy the faces of your kids, and plan some looking around time.
Hoop De Doo is an excellent meal/event; so is the Princess Breakfast in Norway (EPCOT). The buffet meals at Crystal Palace in MK have Pooh and Friends and the Character meals in the Contemporary Resort at Chef Mickey's have all the classic figures. Don't be intimidated by the Contemporary location. Just get to MK, hop on the monorail, and it's the first stop. Once you've finished, hop on the monorail (try for the first mate seat at the head by asking the CM) and go another 2 stops and you're back at MK. Kids love pools, so plan on spending time at your resort pool and resting there. Honestly, you'll be fine if you don't set unrealistic expectations. our DD-17 and DS-19 still get tired and want a slower pace during each day at some point--DH and I do too

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

We'll be there almost the same time!
We've done Park Fare and are doing it again this trip. The girls loved it. For a buffet, the food was really good and the interaction was great! The Fairy Godmother was in the lobby and took extra time with each child, really sweet. I'm hoping the experience is as good as the last time. My sister will be with us, it's her first trip to Disney. I'm hoping she'll enjoy meeting Cinderella with the girls.
We had lunch at the Castle with Cinderella before all of the changes. It was good and Cinderella was really nice, but I don't know that I would go for it now.
Akershus is good too, we didn't have Ariel the morning we were there. I liked this one but wasn't thrilled. I did feel rushed and the service is so so. We've been there once before, so I was expecting it. My girls really wanted a princess meal though so we chose this one. Your girls will probably like it. The food is basic breakfast with some nice choices of pastries etc.
Of the three, I think PF is our favorite. Grand Floridian also has the bakery there, so you could definitely get a nice dessert. I've seen pictures here on the boards of the cakes and the Slipper dessert. They are beautiful! I think you really can't go wrong with this one.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We took our 2 nieces to the Princess Breakfast in Norway and they loved it. There are 4 or 5 Princesses and they pay alot of attention to the little girls. The food is good too.

 

[Mickeys_n_me]

Cinderella's Royal Table is at the Magic Kingdom is a very popular one that books pretty much the day the start taking ressies for it. So I would either book the one at Park Fare or Askershus now. You can always keep checking the Royal table to see if there are cancelations, but they are hard to come by.

If you get a Birthday Button at guest services in all the parks you enter, the cast members will pay extra special attention to your little princess.

Also, if you have it in your budget, you could have her get all gussied up at the Bippity Bobbity Boutique (they do hair nails and you can even get a princess dress)

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/shoppingDetail?id=BibbidiBobbidiBoutiquePage

To make dinning reservations call : (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463) - character meals can book quicly so it is best to make your reservations asap.

HTH and have fun with the planning! I am sure what ever you decide will be magical!

 

[mattysmamma]

THANK YOU ALL! I have received some awesome replies and advice. I took the option of 1900 Park Fare and also we are doing BBB. I went ahead and called for reservations and they were GREAT! She was so helpful and informative. We were able to make our reservations with no problems for the day and times that we wanted. So, my 2 daughters will celebrate their birthdays together on Oct 30th. (One turns 6 on Oct 29 and the other turns 4 on the 31st). We have a BBB appt in the afternoon at the new Castle boutique, and an evening dinner at the Grand Floridian.
Thanks again for your help and I KNOW that we will have a magical vacation.
~Janelle~