Hi all,
I'm new here, just beginning to plan our December trip. We have two girls, who will be 18 months and 5 at the time of our trip. I have NO idea where we need to make ADR's. My parents are coming with us, so there will be 6 of us. What Character meals are recommended? Do the kids dress up? Any and all help would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Hi all,
I'm new here, just beginning to plan our December trip. We have two girls, who will be 18 months and 5 at the time of our trip. I have NO idea where we need to make ADR's. My parents are coming with us, so there will be 6 of us. What Character meals are recommended? Do the kids dress up? Any and all help would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Brittany & on your first post on the boards !
You can make your 180 days out from your vacation. There should be a countdown counter on main page or on forum page. Put the month & day you are arriving it will tell you when you can call Disney to make them,. Character breakfasts or dinner are nice if your 5 yrs like the characters. There is Chef Mickey ( Donald, Mickey, Minnie, goofy & Pluto) 1900 Park Faire Prince Charming & Cindy ^ fairy godmother) The castle, Crystal palace Pooh & friends. Here is a site that will show the menus etc. I wouldn't & just my view do too many character meals unless that what you want. Are you on the dining plan? If not then if it was me I would pick one. I have seen kids dress up for all or any of the sit downs & counter service. You are going during a great time of year with the Christmas decorations up Where are you staying?
__________________ "We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. "
William Faulkner
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"/ Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
- Charles M. Schulz
Your 18 month will not need a dining plan, and your five year old will get a lower cost one. 180 days from your check in day is when you need to call and as soon as they open that morning is the best time to get the times, dates and places you want. Chef Mickey is great for kids (can't go wrong with chicken nuggets and mac and cheese), as is Crystal Palace and they both have character dining. With your kids that age, you don't want to do every night at these places for your own sanity and taste palate, but you probably could if you weren't staying too many nights. The higher end places tend to be slower on the service compared to buffet style so I have seen a bunch of hungry tired screaming kids when you can't get food in them fast. Just something to consider. When our kids were 4 and 6 we made our first family trip and spent four nights there. We did three of them at these two places and it was great because they like it. The last night we did the mexican place in Epcot. As for the meal plan, the basic one with the walk up and snack is more than enough. For us, we have never needed more and by the end of the trip you are starting to wonder if you can possibly eat any more. It does save you money with kids. If it is just a couple of adults, I don't know if it really pays off because we have found that we can never eat all of the meals and snacks. Now that we have teenaged kids, it is well worth it since they will eat you out of the park. I hope that helps.
You can make your 180 days out from your vacation. There should be a countdown counter on main page or on forum page. Put the month & day you are arriving it will tell you when you can call Disney to make them,. Character breakfasts or dinner are nice if your 5 yrs like the characters. There is Chef Mickey ( Donald, Mickey, Minnie, goofy & Pluto) 1900 Park Faire Prince Charming & Cindy ^ fairy godmother) The castle, Crystal palace Pooh & friends. Here is a site that will show the menus etc. I wouldn't & just my view do too many character meals unless that what you want. Are you on the dining plan? If not then if it was me I would pick one. I have seen kids dress up for all or any of the sit downs & counter service. You are going during a great time of year with the Christmas decorations up Where are you staying?
We are looking at Caribbean Beach, but maybe not. I was hoping to get the free dining, but since that won't be announced until much later for December (if they do it again), I might have to just book and deal with it. I'm still trying to decide it it's worth the extra cost, or if we should just stay at one of the Pop Resorts. UHHH, decisions!
Your 18 month will not need a dining plan, and your five year old will get a lower cost one. 180 days from your check in day is when you need to call and as soon as they open that morning is the best time to get the times, dates and places you want. Chef Mickey is great for kids (can't go wrong with chicken nuggets and mac and cheese), as is Crystal Palace and they both have character dining. With your kids that age, you don't want to do every night at these places for your own sanity and taste palate, but you probably could if you weren't staying too many nights. The higher end places tend to be slower on the service compared to buffet style so I have seen a bunch of hungry tired screaming kids when you can't get food in them fast. Just something to consider. When our kids were 4 and 6 we made our first family trip and spent four nights there. We did three of them at these two places and it was great because they like it. The last night we did the mexican place in Epcot. As for the meal plan, the basic one with the walk up and snack is more than enough. For us, we have never needed more and by the end of the trip you are starting to wonder if you can possibly eat any more. It does save you money with kids. If it is just a couple of adults, I don't know if it really pays off because we have found that we can never eat all of the meals and snacks. Now that we have teenaged kids, it is well worth it since they will eat you out of the park. I hope that helps.
Thanks for the info! I'm leaning towards the Garden Grill (did I get that right) for one Character meal and possibly Chef Mickey's. And we are definitely doing the Hoop dee doo Review. Both of my kiddos are pretty laid back, but we I know this is going to be a big change for them!
We are looking at Caribbean Beach, but maybe not. I was hoping to get the free dining, but since that won't be announced until much later for December (if they do it again), I might have to just book and deal with it. I'm still trying to decide it it's worth the extra cost, or if we should just stay at one of the Pop Resorts. UHHH, decisions!
Hi Brittany,
Even if FD comes out you still can make your ADR's. The FD for the fall hasn't been announced as yet. I hoping for a good offer for late Nov/earlyDec for my solo trip. DH & I like the dining plan but for some not worth it. Jim pointed out the points. Boils down to what you like & how much you eat. We normaly leave some counter services credit as we don't eat that much. My DH said it like paying ahead for your food lol. Have fun planning !
__________________ "We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. "
William Faulkner
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"/ Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
- Charles M. Schulz
You will find all the answers that you are looking for right here!
The characters at Hollywood & Vine were at our table 4 or 5 times compared to just once at Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Faire. My 8 month old LOVED the characters everywhere though. She showed no preference at that age.
we have taken our 3 kids to wdw at least 5 times over the last 7 or 8 years....starting when our oldest was 18months old. our next trip is in july....yes it will be very hot...we have found that each year the dining plan gets tweaked and just isn't as appealing...so for the first time we are skipping it and i honestly think it will be a lot cheaper to pay as we go, split meals, etc. our old favorites were definitely not the same...the garden grille was always a must do for us, but last year the service and quality were absolutely not worth the characters....chef mickey's was awesome and is hands down our new favorite- definitely on the repeat list....as far as princesses, i think that the castle in norway has got to be much more reasonable than cinderella's castle in the magic kingdom...our 5 DS was pretty adamant last year that he wanted to eat in the castle, so while doing our online dining reservations (which by the way, isn't too hard if you've researched the parks/itinerary you might want to follow), i looked into it. it was $227 (before tip) for 2 adults, 3 kids for lunch.... just not worth it to me....when my younger daughter got to celebrate her 4th birthday at disney a few years ago, we splurged. you have to pay a deposit in advance and are charged if you don't show for your reservation....i would say if you really want a castle/princess character experience to go for the castle in Norway...great reviews,same princesses, much smaller price...the other character meal that i have heard great things about but not experienced was the breakfast at animal kingdom (?tusker house?) we also went to the brown derby as it was always my favorite, but once again there were obvious changes in quality and we will not be going there again for a while-plus it just isn't a "kid" kind of restaurant...my kids loved the coral reef cafe- it's like eating in an aquarium-lots of fish/sharks swimming by to keep the kids occupied and it's next door to the very cool nemo ride that our 5 year old is wild about.
Unless there have been some changes, I don't think that they are doing character meals at the Garden Grill anymore. I do reccommend, HIGHLY Chef Mickey's for Breakfast. I have never done any other meal times there because we REALLY enjoy their breakfast spread. As far as the ages of the kids, don't sweat it, I have taken my son 4 times now since he was born (he's 6 1/2 now) and we eat where we want to eat, and have never had a problem. I wholy believe in the meal plan and say if it is a question of getting it or not, GET IT! It frees you up a lot because you aren't worrying about money for your meals. The rooms at Caribbean Beach are a little bigger than Pop or All-Star so I would reccommend going for Caribbean Beach, I think you'll appreciate the extra room. I hope this helps.
I really enjoy the dining plan, it definitely feels like vacation when you don't have to shell out for every meal! Even with the changes, which have made it less for your buck, it's still a good deal, especially if you get the free dining offer! So if you have the chance to get the free dining, go for it! All the above mentioned are great! Another I should mention is the Ohana breakfast with Lilo and Stich. Kids are invited up to dance around the room with Mickey, Lilo, Stich and Minnie (i think). Also another fun one for the kids was Whispering Canyon Café in Disney's Wilderness Lodge, no characters, but funny waiters and waitresses that do funny things and they get the kids up to dance around the room. Loved lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Lots of Princesses there and the dessert was AMAZING! Hope this is helpful! Good Luck and enjoy your trip. Happy Planning!
When we went in December, the dining plan saved us about $250 over six days there. We kept the receipts just to see. If you have kids who always want to try more than they will eat, you don't have to have that argument when you are on the dining plan. As someone else said, it is nice to arrive at Disney knowing that the only expense you have left is gifts and stuff you want. We put aside money for the tips (they aren't included anymore) and when we get there it is money worry free. Just enjoy Walt's world.
__________________ Walt Disney World June 1980 - Off Site
June 1983, June 1985, June 1988 - Off Site
September 2003 - All Star Music
September 2005 - Pop Century
September 2006 - Pop Century
October 2006 - Pop Century
May 2007 - Pop Century
October 2007 - Pop Century
December 2007 - All Star Music
May 2008 - Pop Century
October 2008 - Pop Century
December 2008 (Mousefest) - Pop Century
May 2009 - Port Orleans Riverside
September 2009 - Pop Century
Thanks for the info! I'm leaning towards the Garden Grill (did I get that right) for one Character meal and possibly Chef Mickey's. And we are definitely doing the Hoop dee doo Review. Both of my kiddos are pretty laid back, but we I know this is going to be a big change for them!
Brittney,
Hi and Welcome! also wanted to give my input, we did Garden Grill back on our Nov. trip for us it was not the greatest food or character interaction. The Garden grill is family style and my 10yr old hardly ate anything, she is not a big meat eatter and the items have cranberry sauces over them. My DH I like the fish but again with the narrow walkway it was hard for the characters to really interact. The only fun thing we enjoyed about the place was the rotating of the seats.
For my family Chef Mickey's is a MUST do! with it being a buffet everyone has some to choose from, also the time with the characters are pricless, we have even had a time where my DD did not get to meet a character and we told our waitress and the next thing I know they took us aside to meet the character. One other thing is the celebrate party where they have everyone swing their napkins is fun, it just seems to be a more festive at Chef Mickeys.
Well I just wanted to share with you our experiance at both locations.
__________________ Shelley
DVCmember 2006
FW05,AK06,SSR07,BW08,SSR09,BWV-Aug10
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." ~ Walt Disney
Hi and Welcome to the Board you will have a great time one here - I am hooked We don't have kids it's just my husband and I and last year was the first time that we had the meal plan - it was included in our package. I must admit even for just the 2 of us it was great - we didn't spend very day at the park so it meant at the end of the vacation we still had points/credits left - but we didn't mind - it was still a great idea.
There was some cheerleader competition on while we were there and we ended up treating some of the parents and kids to breakfast (I think the adults thought we were weird) - just trying to use up our credits
We have taken our kids to Chef Mickey's, Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. The best character interaction was @ Garden Grill. The advantage of Crystal Palace is early entry into Magic Kingdom (for early breakfast reservations) and really good food. Plus, my friend Pooh was there. Check out Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Vacation Information Guide - WDW Planning Guide - Walt Disney World for a complete listing of where to see which characters. Keep in mind that the food at the buffets isn't always outstanding but the photo ops are. Good luck and have a really great time.
Ooh... you know what else is a really good buffet? 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. The food is absolutely delish! Not the same usual stuff. Great chioces, awesome desserts. We just love going there for dinner and to top it off you get to see Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Step Mom, Step Sisters and a few mice from the Cinderella movie.
There are fans (and detractors, of course) for every single character meal at Disney. We've been to almost all of them - and always enjoyed ourselves. If my kids were still that age, I might pick like 3 different meals that featured a variety of characters. Then you won't have to stand in as many character lines. 18 months and 5 years old are prime character meeting age! Here's a quick rundown:
Magic Kingdom
Crystal Palace: (All Meals) Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet Cinderella's Royal Table: (Breakfast & Lunch) Cinderella, Fairy Godmother and may include a variety of other princesses
That's some great info starting to plan some ADR's - reading through some of the posts the Poly sounds as if the restaurant there is nice the Ohana,thinking of going for dinner one night, for ADR's do you need to pay a deposit or something to book a table? Found a great site for checking out menu's http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm gives you all the menus for all the restaurants
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I'm Disney dining stupid, please help?!?! 
Brittany & 
on your first post on the boards !
Where are you staying? 
Tammmmmmi 
Re: I'm Disney dining stupid, please help?!?! 
DISNEY ROCKS! 
Gill 
