Would love input on our tentative dining plan

[fun4all4]

Greetings!

So excited as we have just booked our trip to celebrate DS2's high school graduation in June! Five nights at Boardwalk Villas. It will also be hubby's birthday while we are there so lots to celebrate. This will be the first summer trip (usually go in Jan/Feb/March) since I was a kid.

We love good food - adventurous...not picky, except about quality.

We generally grab something light and quick in the morning (like to be there BEFORE opening), a salad or wrap or similar for lunch, but like to sit down to a nice dinner in the evening. We do not use a dining plan as it doesn't match up well with how we eat (for example, we will often order an appetizer or salad, but almost never a dessert).

Will do one character meal (probably lunch at Crystal Palace - or maybe Tusker). Will have lunch at Brown Derby.

Son and I came up with about 8 options for dinners (some repeat favorites, some new to us) and have tentatively decided on the following dinner choices and would welcome your thoughts/votes/affirmations or suggested alternatives:

California Grill, Flying Fish, Jiko, Rose and Crown (for illuminations one night), and Kouzzina.

 

[Pugmalion1]

Sounds like you have things pretty well sorted, to me.

My only suggestions would be to sprinkle in a couple of casual-type sit-downs for lunch. Since you're not on the dining plan, I'll recommend the Cabana Bar and Beach Club at the Dolphin on a day you're at Epcot. It's a relaxing place to get a lunch (it's by the pool), they have a very good lunch selection and it's reasonably priced. For a couple bucks more a person, you can have much better than you'll find at a counter service location.

Yak and Yeti in the Animal Kingdom is also a pretty good place to lunch, especially if you're not restricted by the dining plan. They have great appetizers, and you can make a meal out of just ordering off that part of the menu.

 

[rao363]

Sounds like great dining to me! Enjoy

 

[bcrook]

Looks like a great list. It's fun to make an evening at Jiko. AK Lodge, the savanna, the lighting, the artwork, even the gift shop is awesome. Jiko is amazing. Flying Fish, Kouzzina, and Rose and Crown all close to resort.

Have a great time, I will be there with a party of 11 in early June. We are staying at Kidani and the Beach club. We plan on visiting a lot of the same restaurants. I am adding Sanaa to my list. The last time we were there we ate "family style" off the entire menu. We ordered a few entrees, had soup, tried all the breads and starters. It was great.

Have fun!

 

[tinacaplan]

Greetings!


Will do one character meal (probably lunch at Crystal Palace - or maybe Tusker). Will have lunch at Brown Derby.

Son and I came up with about 8 options for dinners (some repeat favorites, some new to us) and have tentatively decided on the following dinner choices and would welcome your thoughts/votes/affirmations or suggested alternatives:

California Grill, Flying Fish, Jiko, Rose and Crown (for illuminations one night), and Kouzzina.

Your choices look good, IMO. We've been to Disney three times since 2010, twice on the DlxDP (never again...) and I'm sad to say that most of the 1 credit TS places are pretty poor. A lot of very salty food that was just so-so. That said, you've selected some of the best restaurants in Disney. We had an amazing meal at Cali Grill, a great meal at Flying Fish, and two wonderful experiences at Jiko. Haven't been to Rose and Crown since I was a kid, but would love to return for Illuminations. Our breakfast at Kouzzina in July was the best meal of our trip.

My only other suggestions would be to consider Citrico's at GF or Via Napoli, if you're in the mood for something a bit more casual. Very good menu at Citrico's and great service.

We actually had good luck with our CS lunches and were pleasantly surprised on many occasions (given an adjustment in our expectations) and because we're travelling with DS, who is four, we'll be frequenting several on our upcoming trip.

Have fun! Sounds like you're going to have a blast!

 

[fun4all4]

Thanks for all the feedback! Seems like we are on the right track. With only 5 nights it is hard to get to everything we'd like to do.

@bcrook - We love the whole atmosphere at AKL - son and I have stayed there before and we've eaten at Boma, but never Jiko. Sanaa is new since we've last been there, but it also looks great. Hubby has never been over there which is one of the reasons we picked an AKL restaurant.

@tinacaplan - we love Citrico's, too. And hope to try Via Napoli at some point. Just too many good and fun choices. Jiko, Cali Grill, and Kouzzina will be new for this trip. We've been to FF a couple of times and Rose & Crown once. Of course, FF is always nice. We thought R&C was a great experience - food was tasty, but not super elegant. Our server was so nice and the setting was fun. Plus having a viewing spot for Illuminations is a major bonus.

We've been to many of the CS spots, but what are your favorites? I am going to have to branch out a bit...not so much for this trip as I know which 2-3 I will probably use, but I just agreed to chaperone 48 choir kids on a March trip... It will be a whole new world for me and a totally different kind of trip - staying at ASMu, pretty much all CS and budget stuff, and doing the group thing. But, it should also be fun as this will be a first WDW trip for many of the kids and they are so excited.

@pugmalion - will have to make it over to the Swan and Dolphin at some point...have never made it over there and it does seem that there are some great dining options, especially for those of us not bound by the dining plan.
Are lunch rezzies a must for Yak&Yeti or could we pop in if we decided we'd like to try it on the fly?