Critique my ADR Plans

[OHVolunteer]

My family (myself, husband, DD (4.5), DD (2.5) will be in WDW in late February/early March (23-1). We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge and will not have our own car and will be utilizing Disney transportation. We are on the Standard Disney Dining Plan. I thought I had all of my reservations set and then yesterday I was able to snag a Bon Voyage Breakfast on our last day so now I'm 1 table service credit over. I'm looking for some advice on if I should cancel one of our existing reservations, or if they are all worth keeping, which one should I pay OOP for. Our plans are below.

Arrival Day 2.23.19 - our flight lands at around 10 a.m. at MCO
4:50 p.m. - Storybook Dining @ Artist Point

Sunday 2.24.19 - Magic Kingdom
11:45 - Tony's Town Square - Festival of Fantasy Parade Dining Package

Monday 2.25.19 - Animal Kingdom
10:30 a.m. - Tusker House - Donald's Dining Safari Breakfast

Tuesday 2.26.19 - Hollywood Studios
12:05 - Mama Melrose - Fantasmic Package - this is the one if I were to cancel one I'm leaning towards cancelling as I'm not sure my girls will be able to even stay up late for Fantasmic or if they would even enjoy it. - Thoughts?

Wednesday 2.27.19 - Epcot
8:00 a.m. - Akerhus Princess Breakfast

Thursday 2.28.19 - Magic Kingdom
8 a.m. - Be Our Guest Breakfast
4:45 p.m. - Skipper's Canteen Dinner - if we are keeping all of our TS meals - is this the best one to pay OOP for?

Friday 3.1.19 - Departure Day - our flight leaves MCO at 4 p.m.
10:30 a.m. - Bon Voyage Breakfast

Thanks for your help!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Question on departure day

Are you using dme back to airport?
If so, assume you will need to be back at your resort 3 hours prior, so by 1pm, say 12:30 to be safe
How are you getting back and forth? Plus are you resort checking your bags on departure day?

Just think about the logistics of all you need to do on departure day to pack up
Get your carry on bags set
Check your backs at the resort, don’t under estimate how much time this takes! In November I timed it well, too 20 minutes. But the line behind me at the BC became 10 families deep. They waited closer to an hour I am sure

So depending on how you are getting to the BW. If you use a Minnie van, it will be what, $30 or so? Each way. Allow 30 minutes each way
If you use disney transportation, you must allow 60-90 minutes each way. Take a bus to the studios then walk or boat to the BW.

The logistics for getting around Disney using only their transportation requires allowing plenty of time! You cannot underestimate how long it takes to get from place to place

Ok, so to your original question, I would skip the character breakfast last day. I would the latest possible time for a Boma breakfast. One of the best buffets on property

If you were to skip one of the others for your last day plan, I would skip fantastic. Fantastic is a very dark show complete with villains. Many small children do not care for it plus the late hour

Good luck planning!

 

[Destinyz12]

For the reasons that @Pumbaa_ said, I'd try to move up the bon voyage breakfast time on the last day so you aren't rushing, unless you're planning on taking private transportation to the airport and won't need to leave as early. The rest of the plans look good- except the reserved spot for the Tonys package supposedly has no shade so you're sitting out in the sun for the parade if that matters.

 

[OHVolunteer]

Thanks for your insight - we are using DME to get back to the airport on departure day so I guess I will either try and move up that reservation (we will most likely take a Minnie Van to get there since I know it can be a pain to get to non-parks from each of the resorts) or cancel it. My girls are princess obsessed so I know they'd love this meal but might not be worth the headache if we will feel rushed to get back to catch the bus to the airport.

 

[starousse]

I would 100% replace Tony's with something else for lunch or dinner. I feel like on the standard dining plan, my preference is to utilize my QS credit for lunch and TS for dinner. Maybe LTT, Ohana or Whispering Canyon for proximity to MK? Also, in my opinion you have way too many character meals. I'd definitely keep Storybook at Artist Point, since it's new and looks fun. Tusker House is also good for your AK day. Akershus, I'd get rid of and do a nice lunch or dinner somewhere else in World Showcase instead. Bon Voyage looks cute, but as the previous posters mentioned, you should make it earlier to avoid rushing back for DME.

 

[sullyfam]

I would drop the Bon Voyage breakfast. DME picks you up at least 3 hours prior to your departure. So you'd need to be back at your resort by 12:30 at the latest just to be safe. Let's say you are at your breakfast until 11:30/12; that doesn't leave much wiggle room for any number of set backs that could occur. It's your last day after a full week of park days; I would sleep in, take your time packing, grab something at the resort and relax until DME. I wouldn't rush all around just for an ADR.

You are doing Storybook and Akershus earlier in the week where your girls will get to meet princesses. You'll also meet characters at Tusker House (although not princesses). 3 character meals is probably plenty. You can also do character meets in the parks with any of the princesses they might miss at the meals.

We aren't Fantasmic fans but if you've never done it, it might be worth a try. I would check the menu at Skipper's and make sure there's something you would all enjoy. Good luck!

 

[Nancyg56]

I would cancel the Fantasmic meal and if you want to take the girls to the show, use a FP. I also would look at this show closely, it is intense and a lot of kids are afraid.

I would book Mama Melrose and get the regular dessert rather than the plated thing that is included in the package.

If I could not move your departure breakfast earlier, I would consider canceling that one, and if you choose to keep it, I would not use Disney transportation to return to your resort, but call Lyft.

If you need to cncel one and want to keep the DHS and departure meals, I would cancel Tony's. It is a good TS value, but you can always find a decent viewing spot for the parade.

 

[OHVolunteer]

Thanks for all of the insight. I'm now leaning towards cancelling Mama Melrose and looking for another meal that day and also probably cancelling Bon Voyage as it sounds like it may make for a pretty hectic morning. I think I'll keep our other character meals though. I may look into one more table service dinner but with young ones I'm not really sure how are afternoons/evenings will go - my girls are definitely more morning people and can hang late but will need a break. So we tried to schedule a lot of our TS things either in the morning or early afternoon in case we decide to head back to the hotel and don't make it back in time for a dinner reservation.

 

[Mrspeaks]

I have two daughters and traveled when they were around your girls ages. I think you have a lot of great things planned. Our girls loved the Bon Voyage Breakfast, so if you could find a way to do that I think they would love it. We have never had an issue fining a spot for the parade, so Tony’s might not be needed. We usually park our stroller somewhere in FL 30 minutes before and get them some kind of snack to keep them busy

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'd skip the breakfast on the last day and change Tony's to the Crystal Palace. I like to have an easy time on our check-out day.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We love the Tony’s parade package for the seating. It’s so nice to get curbside seats 5-10 mins before the parade starts, especially with young kids. The food, last year especially, was really really good. So I would definitely keep that.

Bon Voyage that close to ME pick up would stress me out. You are already doing Akershus and will likely see Ariel there. We did Bon Voyage last year and while my girls loved the characters, the food was just OK IMO. I would maybe do a Boma breakfast on your departure day.

Have fun!!

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I agree with the others- the Bon Voyage breakfast is going to create a lot of running around. To be there for 10:30 you have to leave the resort around 9 to be safe if using Disney transportation. Using a Minnie Van plan on leaving at 10, and paying about $30 each way. That’s after leaving your luggage with either bell services or resort airline check-in which can take some time if there are parties ahead of you. Then you watch the clock during the entire meal so you can get back to the resort for DME. That would be the first thing I cancel to save a dining credit.

If you keep Bon Voyage (maybe move it to another day? I do like the characters/ meal so I wouldn’t tell you to cancel if you could move it earlier or change days), I’d cancel the Fantasmic package. Even with the package you have to line up fairly early ahead of the show. There’s a chance your kiddos might not make it that late. Your Hollywood Studios day would actually be a great day to go to the Boardwalk for Bon Voyage. Save the $$ on a Minnie Van, take the bus to HS and either walk or take the boat over to Trattoria, then walk or take the boat back over to HS.

Check the menu for Skipper Canteen and make sure there is something you’ll all enjoy. We love it but a common complaint is that the menu is not for less adventurous eaters (which I don’t agree with but that’s a story for another post).

 

[aml3679]

You will love Skipper Canteen - the best meal in MK IOHO.