Will we be able to eat anything other than hot dogs?

[AJPhillips]

I'm sort of kidding -- I have found a lot of non-hot-dog options for counter service (thank you all for the tips!), but we're booking a last-minute trip to DisneyWorld for the week of Thanksgiving, and not surprisingly, most of the character meals and table service restaurants are already booked.

We will certainly try to see if we can get lucky with any cancellations, but does anyone else have advice with last-minute trips & getting to dine in restaurants?

It's my husband and I, our 5 year old son, and baby girl.

Am I right to assume that "counter service" is kind of like a mall food court, with seating available although it might sometimes be hard to find a table?

Also, are the Downtown Disney restaurants part of the dining plan? We won't be doing the dining plan, so I was wondering if some of the restaurants in DTD might be easier to get into?

Any tips (other than checking for cancellations -- fingers crossed) would be greatly appreciated! On one hand, I don't think that the dining experience would have been one of the things we'd have considered central to our trip, anyway, but on the other hand, I don't want to be sitting on park benches eating hot dogs every night!

Thanks, all!

 

[squirrel]

Sunshine Seasons, Cosmic Ray's and Flame Tree all have a chicken meal-1/2 rotisserie chicken with sides (different at each place).

You may have better luck at some of the restaurants at DTD or some of the resort restaurants.

If you click on this link it will list all the restaurants on the DDP with menus, just scroll down http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Just keep working the online system and look for odd times. I booked our trip only 3 weeks out for just before Thanksgiving and was able to get good choices. The character meals are definitely the hardest to get. I called the dining number and had the CM look for any character meal between 11/21-11/24 at any time and she found exactly 2: a Chef Mickey's at like 8:30 PM (too late!) and a Play-N-Dine at Hollywood & Vine at 1:20, which I took. But then I kept working online and checking and trying several times per day and finally got a Chef Mickey's at 4:30 one day, which I snagged! Cancellations happen all the time - keep checking!

Since your son is 5, I would definitely keep trying for Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, Garden Grill, Donald's Safari Breakfast. Good luck!

 

[djp0630]

T-Rex in Downtown Disney is not on the dining plan so would be a great restaurant to try. It's a Dinosaur themed restaurant. Beaches & Cream at the Beach club does not take reservations (but it is known for it's hamburgers and ice cream). Even eating at CS, you can get some options. We had a great chicken meal, with mashed potatoes & corn on the cob at Peco Bills, there is Tuna and Fish at Columbia Harbor house. You are correct CS can be like a food court where you can't find a table.

 

[3boys4me]

What are your dates that you will be there? I have a reservation for the Plaza for a party of 5 for around 6 or 6:30 that I am probably going to cancel. I don't have the date in front of me, but I'll look for it.

 

[snookiedoodles]

Sunshine Seasons, Cosmic Ray's and Flame Tree all have a chicken meal-1/2 rotisserie chicken with sides (different at each place).

You may have better luck at some of the restaurants at DTD or some of the resort restaurants.

If you click on this link it will list all the restaurants on the DDP with menus, just scroll down http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm

These are my favorites too......enjoy!

 

[ma2jr]

These are my favorites too......enjoy!

Me too agree..

 

[thecapells]

Hit the Counter Services on "off" times like when they open at 11 or dinner at 4:00.
Then its less crowded.

As for type of food, there's a wide variety.
Food is basically another facet of the trip for us since it's so diverse and so good - it's something to look forward to in itself!
Off the top of my head, here's the non-hot dogs and burger counter services:

EPCOT
Sommerfest=German sausages
Cantina de San Angel=tacos and nachos
Lotus Blossom Cafe=Chinese food
Yakitori House=good Japanese food
Tangierene Cafe=great falafel and middle eastern
Yorkshire Fish & Chips=fish and chips
Sunshine Seasons=nice food court (already mentioned)

Magic Kingdom
Columbia Harbour House=fish & chips
Pecos Bill=taco salad (and your usual burgers)
Golden Oak Outpost=chicken wraps
Cosmic Ray's=awesome burgers and chicken
Pinocchio's Village Haus=pizza and salads

(and you can usually get a walk-up ADR at Plaza for sandwiches or Tony's for Italian food)

Animal Kingdom
Flame Tree BBQ - BBQ chicken and ribs
Yak & Yeti - good Japanese food

Hollywood Studios
Usually you can get last minute ADR's at Mama Melrose and it's great Italian food and ambiance!

 

[mnosky]

I feel your pain - we just booked a long weekend trip for December and I am freaking out! I went through the online putting in every single hour because I found that a 2:25 won't come up if you search 12:30 or 1.

We like to do 1-2 sit downs a day even off dining plan.
The epcot world showcase CS options are very good - we liked the Norway bakery last time. Rotisserie chicken is good at Cosmic Rays. We only had hot dogs when we went to Casye's (and that was intentional). We also tried to eat outside whenever possible to get away form the noise of the cs places.

You could try swan/dolphion - we stay there because we have Sheraton points and last time (although it was Spetember) we had a character meal at garden grove (Swan) and it was empty. It was almost getting wierd having so much one on one with characters. I don't know where you are staying but it is a cute reataurant and the buffet was actaully very good. When I've been searching it seems to have plenty of reservations left (like 5pm dinner).

Michelle

 

[millerjudi]

We booked Oct 15 for Nov 27 to Nov 30. I have checked online several times a day for the restaurants we want. Over the course of three weeks, I got 2 breakfasts at Chef Mickey's, lunch at Akershus and 50' Prime Time, dinner at Ohana, LTT, Raglan Road and Brown Derby--not bad considering we will be there in two weeks! Just keep checking online frequently.

 

[KatMark]

These are my favorites too......enjoy!

Me too...love these places.

 

[pooh2001]

What about resort CS & TS ?

They are all very good and have more food options.

 

[zhazhazsu]

I just wanted to get second the pps suggestion to try resort CS. You could try Tonga toast at the Poly counter service, prepackaged sushi at Gasparilla Grill at GF, or Zebra Domes at Mara at AKL.

Way better than hotdogs!