YAY - GULP!! Now what?!?!

[brandydan]

<-this is me and DH doing our Happy Dance

Well, I finally got our quote for our Very First Trip EVER to WDW, and in the morning I will most likely cause my poor travel planner Kathy at Dreams Unlimited to take the rest of the day off after we pay off the reservation in full (since I just want to get that over with)

BTW, I am not sure if booking through DU is more expensive - I, for one, do not care. My travel planner was great, patient, answered at least 10 separate emails from me in less than a week, and made it look simple.

Anyhoo, we will be heading to WDW on 09/23, and staying for a week, and we splurged for the (Yacth/Yahct - ack!! hard word to spell in a hurry!) Yacht Club, with the Concierge service, and we have a Park Hopper and we plan to see as much of MK and Epcot as possible (hubby and his stomach plan to eat their way through the Food Feeding Frenzy Festival)


***calm down, Brandy****

Anyway, I know that there is still the issue of Where and When to Eat, and I hope someone or anyone can take pity on easily-distracted ME and point me the way as to what I need to do next, which is I guess make arrangements as early as possible for meals. I read rumors in the Searches that getting decent reservations for just two people is not easy, though I hope that it can become easy if we decided to eat our meals later rather than the typical dinner time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

(now to head to the gym to lose those pesky 30 pounds....)

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

First of all

And welcome to the DIS!

One thing you should know is that you are going during the time that Disney has released the Disney Dining Plan for free which in turn leads A LOT of table service-sit down type restaurants either very full or completely booked and sold out. Dining reservations can be made at 90 days out which for you is TODAY!!! I would not hesitate to find some good places to eat NOW!!!

One I would definitely recommend is Yachtsman Steakhouse, especially with you staying at the Yacht Club. It's one of Disney's signature restaurants.

Another restaurant Disers will most likely recommend is Le Cellier- another steakhouse but it is located in the Canada pavilion at Epcot. This restaurant will book up quickly- VERY quickly, it may very well be the #1 restaurant in terms of selling out.

Since it is you first time, I would recommend also eating at California Grill which is probably one of Disney's more famous restaurants and one of the premier places to watch Wishes. It's located in the Contemporary Resort.

Other restaurants I'd personally recommend, especially as first timer and for people who are mainly focused on just MK and Epcot are:
'Ohana at the Polynesian
Coral Reef in Epcot
Cinderella's Royal Table, a character meal inside Cinderella Castle


You can also:
1. Check out the restaurant board to tips and more information.
2. Look at menus online at these 2 very helpful sites: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm and http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm

Happy planning!

 

[FigmentChick]

Hello! You lucky gal, you get to make your dining reservations today!!! While I sit back and grumble and have to wait until tomorrow...

Anyhow, I totally agree with trying California Grill. This is our first trip where we will actually be "eating" in the parks as well....normally we snack a lot and do one counter service per day.

That said....if you love Epcot, have breakfast with the princesses in Norway at Akershaus. This is one thing we have done for both our previous trips. Additionally, consider having breakfast with Pooh Bear at the Crystal Palace in MK...you can get in early!!! We are going to try different restaurants in Epcot this time as that is our favorite park - Coral Reef, Teppan Edo and the one in Italy. I know a lot of other DISers prefer Le Cellier and other restaurants, but I don't want to fight for a ressie, plus, where I live, I can eat a REALLY good steak anytime I'd like (my former client owns a gormet steakhouse).

Have a great trip and, if you'd like, PM me and maybe we can say Hi to one another when we're down there!!!