ADRs stressing me out

[webcreatrix]

I do not know why but picking the three or more perfect reservations is driving me crazy. We've been to Disney plenty and have eaten at the same restaurants over and over again. For our July trip, we're staying at Boardwalk and looking for just three of the best reservations. Family has very little input. Kids are 13 and 16. Husband loves steak, DD16's only request is 50's Primetime. Otherwise, we like steak, Italian, sushi, etc. Don't want to be weighed down with ADRs over our 6 nights. We'll be doing 2 days at EPCOT, MK, and HS. Right now I have booked Mama Melrose, Garden Grill, and Storybook at Artist Point. I just don't feel settled on these. Thoughts? Is 50s better than Mama Melrose? Both menus seem blah, but we've always done Brown Derby and Sci Fi. Never been to these two. Kids like the idea of Nutella waffles, but can't we do better at EPCOT? Anything we'd appreciate more than Storybook in the MK area? We've done the Poly restaurants to death. Thanks for your input and suggestions!

 

[Haley R]

In Epcot we liked chefs de France and nine dragons a lot. We tried 50’s prime time cafe and thought the food was very bland. The overall experience was fun but we won’t be back since we didn’t like the food. I say try it though if you haven’t been there. We had brunch at 1900 pf at the grand Floridian and loved it. The characters were great and we really liked the food

 

[webcreatrix]

We have done the Mad Hatter breakfast at 1900 Park Fare! That was my daughter's second choice after 50s. Will consider that one again.

 

[Allison]

If 50s is the only request, why did you book Mama Melrose?

 

[webcreatrix]

Quite honestly? Because the food doesn't look that great.

 

[Haley R]

Quite honestly? Because the food doesn't look that great.

If your dd wants to try 50’s I say go for it. You won’t know if you like it until you try it for yourself

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Have u thought about II Mulano, Bluezoo, or Shula’s Steakhouse located inside Swan and Dolphin? They all have excellent food and u can walk from HS.

 

[DisneyArkie]

Le Cellier or Yahtmans if you like steak.

 

[MooseBucks]

HS: 50s is definitely worth it once. The food isn’t amazing but the atmosphere is awesome! Mama melrose is good but similar to any Italian restaurant. That said, both are worth it at some point

EP: La cellier, coral reef, or garden grill might be worth looking at - we’re big fans of the food at each.

MK: 1900 is yummy or maybe something at WL? Lots of choices there!

 

[sbbobe]

We have always enjoyed Mama Melrose a lot more than 50’s. For steak , in addition to the restaurants already mentioned, you might consider Narcoossee’s and The Boathouse. We have had very good steaks at both of these restaurants.

 

[dachsie]

I think your choices are fine, but would switch to 50's Primetime for MM since its your daughter's request. What is "best" for one will not be best for another. You will get numerous opinions from people of what is "Best" for them. They may not be best for you. I totally would do Storybook dining due to its uniqueness with the Evil Queen - she is awesome! I feel this dinner is going to go up in price so grab it while you can.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I agree with PP about Storybook and the Evil Queen. She was a really great meet.

That is, unless your kids are so deep into teenagerdom that they will revolt at the thought of a character meal. That doesn't seem to be a concern for you, given the GG choice as well.

I would also suggest you look at the menu for the Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria at Forno. It's at BW and the breakfast calzone lived up to the hype. The "breakfast" is served until noon and could easily serve as lunch, the price is very reasonable for a character meal, and the menu is available a la carte for walk up if you want to skip the characters.

 

[DISNEY1975]

My husband made me book out of our norm for our last Disney vacation. That was the only way I could get him to go back! First we started with 1/2 our vacation visiting Discovery Cove and Sea World. We all loved it so much we are doing it again this year! Tix to DC (includes all meals and snacks for the day), SW (includes all meals and snacks for the day) and Aquatica water park plus 4 nights hotel and a few meals we needed to pay OOP totaled up to a hundred dollars more than 1 night at Disney (with tx and DP for 3). No brainer!

We then went to Disney for 8 nights, 75% of our meals were new to us. We had ALWAYS gone to 50's Prime time (family loves it there), but switched to Sci Fi. That was cool, but we prefer 50's,
Changed our H&V Fantasmic package to Brown Derby! AMAZING!!
Had breakfast at Boma instead of Tusker House. Possibly one of the best decisions I ever made!!!
Changed Cali Grill to Yachtsman Steakhouse....not a great decision.
Tried BOG for lunch instead of the Plaza...not a great decision
Went to Teppan Edo for the first time. So good and fun and I thought I would hate it.
Went to 9 Dragons...best Chinese food I ever ate. Not anything like out local take out.
Went to Garden Grill (breakfast) for the first time. Ehhh. Characters were so cute, but food very sweet. That much sugar is not a good thing first thing in the morning. I was crashing by noon!
Chefs de France is a must every trip...kept it.
Went to Trails End (dinner) for the first time....Never again. IMO, possibly worst food at WDW.
Went to Captains Grill for the first time (Its closed now though).


A few more, but what Im trying to say is you chose your original restaurants for a reason (menu/theme) and went back to them because you liked them. You did not go to other restaurants because they did not appeal to you as much as your original choices. From my experience, the grass is rarely greener on the other side!

 

[Allison]

Quite honestly? Because the food doesn't look that great.

If it was the one request made, I would try it.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Not a fan of MM. for Italian I’d go into Epcot (Via Napoli). The pizzas are very good. 50’s Prime Time is just ok. But if you’ve never been there, give it a try. For a 50’s theme you could give Beaches & Cream a try (@BC). For steak, been to both Yachtsman & Shula’s. Shula’s a little more higher end. Both good. Are your kids into character meals at 13 & 16? If not, I’d pass that. Don’t worry so much about ADR’s. You’re be @ Disney & no matter what, you’ll have a wonderful time.

 

[kiramay]

I always try to book places my family requests. I’d switch MM to 50’s.

Try not to stress about it. Book a few places that sound good or interesting to you. You can always make changes closer to your trip. I don’t think we’ve had a single trip that I haven’t added or canceled a ADR the week of my vacation.

Our “go to” ADRs are Sci Fi, Biergarten, and BOG lunch. Other favorites are Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey’s. My kids like buffets. Lol

 

[webcreatrix]

Thanks, everyone! Quite a few suggestions here I hadn't considered. I decided to keep 50s Prime Time. We'll roll the dice on that one. DD16 requested it and loves Chicken Pot Pie, so she will be happy. I'm also keeping Storybook Dining. I'm just so excited about this one on our MK evening and look forward to meeting the Evil Queen. This leaves me with Garden Grill. My kids are not really into characters at their age, but requested Mickey Waffles which can be found at QS somewhere. I think I'm going to cancel Garden Grill and consider Le Cellier or Yachtsman and have our steak dinner instead of this one. Will definitely also consider Trattoria for breakfast. That was on my radar, but I didn't realize you could do it as a walkup without characters!

We have done Le Cellier for steak once. That was years ago, but DH's favorite. I'll check the latest menu and see how it compares to Yachtsman, which looks great also. How is the steak at Chefs? We've done Chefs for lunch multiple times, but that's when they had the old lunch menu.

 

[webcreatrix]

I didn't mention it since it's QS, but we are doing BoG lunch. We've done dinner twice, but haven't tried the lunch. I guess we are doing some old favorites.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Glad you decided to do 50s, since it was the only request! I haven't done Storybook Dining yet, but it looks fun - I think that's a good choice as well.

In Epcot, we liked Tutto Italia (I had the fish, but they do also have steak for your DH) and the San Angel Inn.

Also, have you ever been to The Wave at the CR? We really liked that if you're looking outside the parks!

 

[webcreatrix]

Glad you decided to do 50s, since it was the only request! I haven't done Storybook Dining yet, but it looks fun - I think that's a good choice as well.

In Epcot, we liked Tutto Italia (I had the fish, but they do also have steak for your DH) and the San Angel Inn.

Also, have you ever been to The Wave at the CR? We really liked that if you're looking outside the parks!

I didn't realize Tutto had a steak. I'll go take a look. We've been to The Wave lounge and enjoyed it. Definitely a consideration for dinner!