Would you mind checking out our itinerary?

[olik8smom]

I spent the last week or so making some changes and I took some advice given by others in this thread. Our updated (and final!!) plan is in post #13.
If you don't mind checking it out, it would be greatly appreciated.



I've rearranged our plans many times, but I'm pretty sure this is it.

Background- This is our first family trip to WDW. It will be myself, my dh, our 3 kids (7,4,2), and most likely my mom and sister. We're staying at the Poly. It looks like my mom and sis will be at POP. I've decided against PH because I just don't see us moving from park to park on this first trip. When the kids are older we'll get them. I am a vegetarian, no other special food concerns for the group. We have the free Disney Dining Plan. We'd like to spend some time at the Poly during the day in the pool and for 1 or 2 nights for fireworks and movies on the beach (if they're showing).

If you have a minute, please let me know what you think of our park itinerary and dining itinerary.

10/30 Arrive 10am, check in
Lunch- QS(Captain Cook's?)
MK-MNSSHP
Dinner- QS (not sure where)

10/31 EPCOT
Lunch- QS (Tangierine Cafe)
Dinner- Teppan Edo

11/1 MK
8:10am- Crystal Palace
Lunch QS- (Cosmic Ray's Or Pecos Bill)
Dinner- The Wave

11/2 AK
Breakfast- Tusker House
Dinner- T Rex @ DTD

11/3 Epcot
Lunch- QS (Sunshine Seasons or Electric Umbrella)
Dinner- Garden Grill

11/4 HS
Lunch- Sci Fi Drive In
Dinner- QS (not sure where we'll be around dinner time)
* DS 7th B'day

11/5 MK
Breakfast- Ohana
Lunch- QS (Columbia Harbor House)
Dinner- Kona

Thanks! This wouldn't have been possible without these boards!!

 

[hotcarib]

I've rearranged our plans many times, but I'm pretty sure this is it.

Background- This is our first family trip to WDW. It will be myself, my dh, our 3 kids (7,4,2), and most likely my mom and sister. We're staying at the Poly. It looks like my mom and sis will be at POP. I've decided against PH because I just don't see us moving from park to park on this first trip. When the kids are older we'll get them. I am a vegetarian, no other special food concerns for the group. We have the free Disney Dining Plan. We'd like to spend some time at the Poly during the day in the pool and for 1 or 2 nights for fireworks and movies on the beach (if they're showing).

If you have a minute, please let me know what you think of our park itinerary and dining itinerary.

10/30 Arrive 10am, check in
Lunch- QS(Captain Cook's?)
MK-MNSSHP
Dinner- QS (not sure where)

10/31 EPCOT
Lunch- QS (Tangierine Cafe)
Dinner- Teppan Edo

11/1 MK
8:10am- Crystal Palace
Lunch QS- (Cosmic Ray's Or Pecos Bill)
Dinner- The Wave

11/2 AK
Breakfast- Tusker House
Dinner- T Rex @ DTD

11/3 Epcot
Lunch- QS (Sunshine Seasons or Electric Umbrella)
Dinner- Garden Grill

11/4 HS
Lunch- Sci Fi Drive In
Dinner- QS (not sure where we'll be around dinner time)
* DS 7th B'day

11/5 MK
Breakfast- Ohana
Lunch- QS (Columbia Harbor House)
Dinner- Kona

Thanks! This wouldn't have been possible without these boards!!

Looks great! Sounds like a fun trip with lots of character meals. I might suggest switching The Wave to Ohana for dinner (the kids love the ukulele lady, parade and leis) and the Ohana breakfast for breakfast at Akershus.

 

[westonkamom]

I completely agree with the previous poster. Ohana was a fantastic and fun dinner...haven't been hearing tons of great things about the breakfast lately...maninly just good for the characters. Kona is great for breakfast!! Tusker House was our favorite character breakfast and if you're early enough before the park opens you can be the first ones on the Safari ride Just leave enough time because it's all the way in the back of the park, so it's a bit of a walk. Akershus was an awesome princess character meal!! If you're looking for a quick service at AK, Flame Tree BBQ is really good. Have fun on your trip!!

 

[olik8smom]

Looks great! Sounds like a fun trip with lots of character meals. I might suggest switching The Wave to Ohana for dinner (the kids love the ukulele lady, parade and leis) and the Ohana breakfast for breakfast at Akershus.

Ohana is booked for dinner the whole week we're there. I plan to keep trying in case of a cancellation, but I'm not counting on it.
My oldest 2 are boys, I'm not sure if they'd be into Akershus. I figured next time when my dd is older. Maybe I'll look into Kona for breakfast or just skip it all together and use our dp credit on a dinner.
Thanks!

 

[westonkamom]

Someone mentioned in a previous post this past week that if you call the dining number you're asked if you're a resort guest. Apparently they weren't able to get a ressie if they selected no, but were able to if they selected yes. I haven't done this, but it may be true. I would assume that the concierge could help you also. Btw, Kona is fantastic for either meal

 

[olik8smom]

Someone mentioned in a previous post this past week that if you call the dining number you're asked if you're a resort guest. Apparently they weren't able to get a ressie if they selected no, but were able to if they selected yes. I haven't done this, but it may be true. I would assume that the concierge could help you also. Btw, Kona is fantastic for either meal

I just tried to call and was not prompted to say if I was a resort guest or not, maybe I missed something? I spoke to a CM who told me the same as was listed on the website. She said to keep checking just in case of a cancellation.


After rechecking crowd calendars I switched the last two days of our trip around.

11/4 MK
Lunch CS
Dinner CS
Wishes Dessert Party-celebrate DS 7th b'day (if it's offered on this day and I can get a res)

11/5 HS
Lunch- Sci Fi
Dinner- Kona (or another TS restaurant near HS?)

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Ohana is our favorite character breakfast. The meal is served family style so there is no running back and forth to the buffets and worrying about missing characters. It's great food and the character interaction is awesome! This is the one meal that my kids insist on everytime. Add that to the fact you are at the poly and you've made a great decision!

 

[nkereina]

Ohana dinner has been really popular lately and has been a really hard ADR to get, especially this late for November. If you can get it, grab it. Also - I was underwhelmed by Teppan Edo - if you have a hibachi style steakhouse where you live, I would venture to say it is much better than Teppan Edo and has more of a selection. If you don't have one near you or have never been to one, then its a fun experience. I also am not fond of T-Rex - very chain restaurant like food that was mediocre in my experience, and basically like Rainforest Cafe but with dinos, if you have done RC before. If not, then its something to see and try at least once. The rest all look good to me!

 

[olik8smom]

Ohana is our favorite character breakfast. The meal is served family style so there is no running back and forth to the buffets and worrying about missing characters. It's great food and the character interaction is awesome! This is the one meal that my kids insist on everytime. Add that to the fact you are at the poly and you've made a great decision!

In my revision of our last 2 days, I took out Ohana b'fast in favor of another dinner. Now I'm regretting it! Will have to add it again!

Ohana dinner has been really popular lately and has been a really hard ADR to get, especially this late for November. If you can get it, grab it. Also - I was underwhelmed by Teppan Edo - if you have a hibachi style steakhouse where you live, I would venture to say it is much better than Teppan Edo and has more of a selection. If you don't have one near you or have never been to one, then its a fun experience. I also am not fond of T-Rex - very chain restaurant like food that was mediocre in my experience, and basically like Rainforest Cafe but with dinos, if you have done RC before. If not, then its something to see and try at least once. The rest all look good to me!

We do have good hibachi near us. Can you recommend somewhere else in WS? We're going to do T-Rex solely for my 4yo who is dinosaur obsessed!

Thanks!

 

[olik8smom]

Revised

10/30 Arrive 10am, check in
Lunch- QS(Captain Cook's)
MK-MNSSHP
Dinner- QS (not sure where)

10/31 EPCOT
Lunch- QS (Tangierine Cafe)
Dinner- Chefs de France

11/1 MK
8:10am- Crystal Palace
Lunch QS- (Cosmic Ray's Or Pecos Bill)
Dinner- The Wave

11/2 AK
Breakfast- Tusker House
Dinner- T Rex @ DTD

11/3 Epcot
Lunch- QS (Sunshine Seasons or Electric Umbrella)
Dinner- Garden Grill

11/4 MK
Breakfast- Ohana
Lunch- QS (Columbia Harbor House)
* DS 7th B'day -hopefully Wishes Dessert Party

11/5 HS
Lunch- Sci Fi Drive In
Dinner- Kona

 

[ElizabethG]

I'm glad you decided to keep the Ohana breakfast. It is so nice to have a fun breakfast in your own resort. I think your plan looks good. The only one I am really not a fan of is Sci Fi. I would opt for 1900 Park Fare breakfast (Alice, Mad Hatter, Tigger, Pooh, Mary Poppins) since you also have a sit-down dinner planned.

I also wanted to make sure you knew about the Rainforest Cafe Rewards. Many Dis posters have said they used them at T-Rex (same company). You can get a 99 cent kids meal with an adult meal purchase.
http://www.rainforestcafe.com/rewardsCalendars.asp

 

[olik8smom]

I'm glad you decided to keep the Ohana breakfast. It is so nice to have a fun breakfast in your own resort. I think your plan looks good. The only one I am really not a fan of is Sci Fi. I would opt for 1900 Park Fare breakfast (Alice, Mad Hatter, Tigger, Pooh, Mary Poppins) since you also have a sit-down dinner planned.

I also wanted to make sure you knew about the Rainforest Cafe Rewards. Many Dis posters have said they used them at T-Rex (same company). You can get a 99 cent kids meal with an adult meal purchase.
http://www.rainforestcafe.com/rewardsCalendars.asp

Thanks!! That's a great deal!

 

[olik8smom]

We will be 4 adults and 3 young children. We're staying at the Poly, have FD, no PH. We want to minimize travel within WDW, so I've tried to plan all meals for the park we'll be in for the day or in our resort. Also tried to have something extra special for each of my 3 kiddos (as if their first trip to WDW isn't special enough! )

10/30 Arrive 10am, check in
Lunch- QS(Captain Cook's)
MK-MNSSHP
Dinner- QS (depending on what is open during party)

10/31 EPCOT
Lunch- QS (Tangierine Cafe or Sunshine Seasons)
Dinner- Les Chefs, 5pm in hopes of seeing Remy

11/1 MK
8:10am- Crystal Palace
Lunch QS- (Columbia Harbor House)
Dinner- Kona

11/2 AK
Late Breakfast- Tusker House
Dinner- T Rex @ DTD, 4y/o LOVES dinos

11/3 Epcot
Lunch- QS (Tangierine Cafe or Sunshine Seasons)
Dinner- Akershus, Princess meal for 2 y/o DD who will be Rapunzel

11/4 MK
Breakfast- Ohana
Late Lunch/Early Dinner- QS
Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party to celebrate ds' 7th b'day

11/5 HS
Lunch- Sci-Fi (OOP) or QS (DDP)
Dinner- Ohana

For those still trying to get ADRs for booked restaurants they really want, keep trying! I was able to get several coveted ADRs well after my 180 day mark. In fact I didn't even know the importance of making ADRs early until I was maybe 90 days out.

So what do you think? Thanks!

 

[ThreeAngels]

Your final itinerary sound terrific! I hope you and your family have a wonderful first family trip!

 

[katie111]

Looks great. I would definitely keep Sci-fi. My kids (ages 8, 6 & 3 on our last trip) love it there. I think they like it better than some of the character meals. With your kids ages, there is probably a good chance you won't make one of your ADR's along the way so you will probably still have enough dining credits for it.

In our experience, sometimes the kids are just way too tired for a sit down meal at the end of the day (and sometimes we are too!) so its just easier to grab some counter service & call it a night. I know I always stress so much over my ADR's before I get there & once I'm there I really don't even care that much where or when I'm eating. Usually as long as the kids are happy, then I'm happy! We once left Chef Mickeys before we were even seated because my then 4yr old DD was just done. She was a complete disaster. She cried the whole way back on the monorail "I want to go back!" but we knew she just couldn't handle it at that point. The next day she woke up happy as can be & we knew right then that we had made the right decision.

 

[Coconuts]

Sounds great! Lucky you to get Ohana for dinner; we love it and it's a must do for us every trip.

BTW, our trips overlap and we'll probably be in Epcot on 11/3 and definetly in MK on 11/4. See you there.