Later this year, we're going to Disney....very very excited! The oldest and I have been before, but we've never all been as a family...so....a few questions.... Traveling with a 13 yr old and 2 yr old....we have the dining plan....where's the one place we HAVE to eat for our sit down dinner?
when are you going? You need to be on the phone or on-line at your 90 day mark to make ressies as things book fast. Hoop dee doo takes two of your credits, so keep that in mind. Have you decided which parks on which days? Which characters are your favorites?
Cinderella's Round Table is very popular and books up fast; it is also 2 credits and includes photos with Cindy. Breakfast there is good and has lots of princesses; dinner, not so many. Chef Mickey's would be my number must do. I have lots of info I can share with you and several websites to point you to, if you like. We tried Biergarten for the first time last December and really enjoyed it. Of our 10+ visits, it is now one of our favorite restaurants. Oh, I forgot to ask, are you on the regular DP, deluxe, or quick service?
It depends on what characters your children like or if you want a character meal vs a really good meal. We did mostly Character meals, but I did hear that the steak dinner at Epcot is good. Some character meals that we liked were Chef Mickey and Hoop de Doo Review, I felt my children personally like the meal at the Polynesian best which was a breakfast. It had a Hawaiin theme and there was alot of interaction.
Per Disney, we get one snack, one quick service meal, and one sit down mean per person, per day. Someone explain credits to me. We're going in November.
You will get a print out explaining how many meals you have left after each meal or snack. Also you don't have to keep up with alot of tickets because everything is on your room key. We had some left over and on the last day we used it to buy up snacks for the trip home. You have to look at what the snacks are in different section of the park. For instance in Animal Kingdom a snack may be an apple in one section or a muffin the size of two fist in another section. Of course we chose the muffin. I would like to suggest that you look at http://www.allears.net because it has all the in's and outs and all the menus.
snack credit is something like an ice cream, pickle, or drink quick service is basically fast food we used ours mainly at the hotel we stayed at sit down is for the one that you have reservations for.. becareful as to some meals take 2 credits like mentioned above. Poly was good we did this as a character meal with Lilo and Stitch, we also liked the Tusker House which is at Animal Kingdom with Donald Duck and friends! Chef Mickey was good I believe it was at the Contemporary Hotel. Grand Floridian was Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland loved the atmosphere not so much on the food. Tony's something is in Magic Kingdom it was a nice lunch and the restaurant was based on Lady and the Tramp, no characters! We made a plan to do most of our meals for breakfast because we wanted character meals and we love breakfast, then we had a snack during the day and then our quick service at night. They have tons of options its really on what you want more charactor meals or grown up meals. The Cinderalla breakfast is 2 credits as well as the Hoop Dee Doo Review and Lula with Mickey Mouse or Bar b que is 2 credits! You need to make your reservations for sit down meals on your 90 day mark it might be helpful to go to the disborads to learn more about the restaurants and the parks, the calendar also comes out at the 90 day mark to tell you which days are EMH (extended magic hours) You may find that traveling on the buses is to much like we did, we ended up driving after the second day because the buses always seemed crowded if you are staying on the park parking is free to guest!
Here's an in-depth explanation: http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/m...09 Disney Dining Plan - Walt Disney World.pdf
Our kids love Chef Mickey's. I think that would be my #1 recommendation esp if you haven't been there before. Our older kids also really enjoyed 'Ohana's at the Polynesian. We did dinner a couple of times there and the food is a little more sophisticated, but my youngest ate well too. The kids really loved the fresh pineapple and caramel sauce after dinner, and getting up in the middle of dinner several times to play broom ball and hoola hoop.
we did meal plan last time we went - tons of food. Last day we went to downtown disney and bout 60 rice krispie treats ( left over from snack vouchers) kids took them to school for classmates. one counter service meal that rocks is pizza planet in mgm/disney studio - 1 counter service meal is a salad, breadstick, drink, dessert, pizza - we would get 2 meals for the 5 of us to split! sit down we liked sci fi (no character) , o'hana for breakfast, and grand floridian (for breakfast or lunch ) have a great trip! also if you are going around halloween check out the not so scary halloween party! everyone dresses up, special parades and fireworks, and tons of halloween candy !(park is closed to ticket holders only - so no crowds!)
I'm going to also vote for Chef Mickeys! We only went once, but it was so much fun, kids and adults all loved it! The characters pay a lot of attention to each table, plus put on a great show, and the dinner is very good! (it's a buffet) There was a lot of food to choose from for kids and adults, and it wasn't like cheap processed food, it was very good. We're hoping to go again soon!
ok, you are on the regular dining plan. If you are staying 4 nights, each person has 4 table service credits, 4 counter service credits, and 4 snacks. They do not have to be used as one per day, but do expire at midnight on the day you check out.
Ohana is one of our favorites as well as is: Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) Coral Reef (Epcot) Biergarten (Epcot) Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian) 50's Prime Time (Hollywood Studios) the peanut butter and jelly milkshakes are to die for! I have read recently that quality at Le Cellier at Epcot has gone downhill. For counter service, we like: Cosmic Rays (Magic Kingdom) Pizza Planet (Hollywood Studios) Wolfgang Puck Express (Downtown Disney) Earl of Sandwich (DTD) My favorite snacks are the make your own treats at Goofy's Candy Shop in DTD. I had read that there are some changes, so I'm not sure if the three pretzels rods are still included. I also like the Minnie's Bake Shop pecan choc chip cookies which I have only found at the Magic Kingdom.
don't have time to read this whole thread. my advice would be to make your reservations now for dining at restaurants, makes a big difference in your wait time etc.