Dining Itinerary finally finalized (I hope)

[sweetnjmom]

My husband and I will be taking our son (who turns 9 the week before our trip) back to WDW at the end of August. We're actually staying a few days at Universal before switching to the Polynesian. Our ADR date is finally within sight (next Monday) and I think we're finally settled.

This is the current plan for table service meals - we don't have the dining plan:

Saturday
Arrive at Polynesian from Universal around 4 pm or so.
Dinner: Ohana

Sunday
Breakfast: Kona Cafe (early - 7:30 am - I wanted at least one meal there)
Dinner: T-Rex (my son's choice)

Monday
Breakfast: Chef Mickey (we've never been and want to go at least once)
Dinner: Via Napoli (we went last trip and really liked it, plus it's not TOO expensive)

Tuesday
Dinner: Sci-Fi (we like the atmosphere and, for Disney prices, it's not too bad)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Tusker House (Rivers of Light dining package)

Thursday
Dinner: Morimoto Asia
(both my husband and I have always wanted to eat at a Morimoto restaurant - hopefully our son will manage there)

Depart on Friday

--

So while not the most exciting of itineraries, we're tying to find things that we all like and utilize our time well. Since we'll be there the last week of August, we really don't want to run around too much and will make use of the Polynesian's pool and possibly other amenities.

We'll have QS breakfasts at the Polynesian on Tuesday and Thursday and a QS dinner on Wednesday (probably Flame Tree BBQ).

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

Sounds like a great plan!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

All sound like great dining choices, I think your son will love TRex! Sci Fi is my girls favorite in HS. Flame Tree is great for QS. I love going to Disney in August- I have found crowd levels not too bad that time of year since a lot of kids are already back to school.

Have fun!!

 

[buckeyeguy1]

Via Napoli is a staple for us now. We can share a pizza, and usually drink water to re-hydrate so it turns out being same price or less than eating at a quick service!

Looks like some good selections. Comparing it to our dining experiences, we're not usually too hungry for breakfast the morning after eating at Ohana.

We were in the MK one day around 1pm and were getting a little hungry so we made a last minute lunchish Kona reservation. Quick service menus didn't sound to great to us at the time. Turned out being one of the best spur of the moment table services we've had yet!

 

[goofyintoronto]

Honestly, your choices are awesome. I wouldnt change a single thing. I love SciFi, Via Napoli, Kona, TRex etc. They're all great! One thing i'll suggest is for lunch while at AK, i'd try Satuli Canteen. Its honestly one of the best QS i've ever been to. Food is outstanding. I had the sweet pot/potato hash with chicken and herb dressing, and it was to die for. Ditto for the bright blue dessert. So good!

 

[sweetnjmom]

Thanks all!

Via Napoli is a staple for us now. We can share a pizza, and usually drink water to re-hydrate so it turns out being same price or less than eating at a quick service!

Looks like some good selections. Comparing it to our dining experiences, we're not usually too hungry for breakfast the morning after eating at Ohana.

We were in the MK one day around 1pm and were getting a little hungry so we made a last minute lunchish Kona reservation. Quick service menus didn't sound to great to us at the time. Turned out being one of the best spur of the moment table services we've had yet!

I guess we'll see how we are that morning -- since we're not using the dining plan, if we're not TOO hungry we'll just order a lighter breakfast at Kona. We want to do QS on our HS day so we can try to rope drop Jedi Training. We want to keep Friday's breakfast QS because we may go back to HS early -- or MK -- depending on our mood.

And thanks for the suggestion about lunch there - it's definitely an option one day. In general, we're not really a huge fan of park QS options (with a few exceptions, ie. Columbia Harbor House).

Honestly, your choices are awesome. I wouldnt change a single thing. I love SciFi, Via Napoli, Kona, TRex etc. They're all great! One thing i'll suggest is for lunch while at AK, i'd try Satuli Canteen. Its honestly one of the best QS i've ever been to. Food is outstanding. I had the sweet pot/potato hash with chicken and herb dressing, and it was to die for. Ditto for the bright blue dessert. So good!

I highly doubt my son would eat anything on the menu -- unless a hamburger pod is a typical burger and just called a "pod" for effect. But maybe we'll try blue dessert only when we walk around Pandora at night.

 

[stevedeb]

My husband and I will be taking our son (who turns 9 the week before our trip) back to WDW at the end of August. We're actually staying a few days at Universal before switching to the Polynesian. Our ADR date is finally within sight (next Monday) and I think we're finally settled.

This is the current plan for table service meals - we don't have the dining plan:

Saturday
Arrive at Polynesian from Universal around 4 pm or so.
Dinner: Ohana

Sunday
Breakfast: Kona Cafe (early - 7:30 am - I wanted at least one meal there)
Dinner: T-Rex (my son's choice)

Monday
Breakfast: Chef Mickey (we've never been and want to go at least once)
Dinner: Via Napoli (we went last trip and really liked it, plus it's not TOO expensive)

Tuesday
Dinner: Sci-Fi (we like the atmosphere and, for Disney prices, it's not too bad)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Tusker House (Rivers of Light dining package)

Thursday
Dinner: Morimoto Asia
(both my husband and I have always wanted to eat at a Morimoto restaurant - hopefully our son will manage there)

Depart on Friday

--

So while not the most exciting of itineraries, we're tying to find things that we all like and utilize our time well. Since we'll be there the last week of August, we really don't want to run around too much and will make use of the Polynesian's pool and possibly other amenities.

We'll have QS breakfasts at the Polynesian on Tuesday and Thursday and a QS dinner on Wednesday (probably Flame Tree BBQ).

If you are doing QS at Animal Kingdom, I would recommend Yak and Yetti. Their fried rice is to die for and my husband really liked the egg roll.

 

[sweetnjmom]

So I got everything I wanted, except for T-Rex (which I kind of expected, knowing that the restaurant doesn't release all their reservations to Disney). I decided to make an ADR at Whispering Canyon instead and would prefer to keep that one and only go to Disney Springs one night, but I'll see what my husband says later.

So our (mostly) finalized plan is:

Saturday
Dinner: Ohana - 5:20 PM (best time I could get - hopefully won't have an issue Ubering from the Portofino at Universal to the Poly before dinner)

Sunday
Breakfast: Kona Cafe - 7:30 AM
Dinner: Whispering Canyon - 5:10 PM

Monday
Breakfast: Chef Mickey - 8:40 AM (will go to Typhoon Lagoon after)
Dinner: Via Napoli - 6:15 PM (afternoon/evening in EPCOT)

Tuesday
Dinner: Kona Cafe - 5:00 PM (another change - decided we'd want to have some down time at the Poly)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Tusker House (Rivers of Light dining package) - 8:10 AM

Thursday
Dinner: Morimoto Asia - 5:00 PM (planning to get to Disney Springs by 3:30 or 4 to shop beforehand and then we'll end our trip at MK)

If you are doing QS at Animal Kingdom, I would recommend Yak and Yetti. Their fried rice is to die for and my husband really liked the egg roll.

We had their QS for lunch on our first family trip in 2013 and it was pretty good. We ate at the TS in 2015 and my choices were limited due to a cilantro/coriander allergy. So I think we'll probably stick to Flame Tree where my son can get a hot dog for dinner and I'll get BBQ chicken. Otherwise we'll have QS at the Poly before heading back to AK for Rivers of Light.

 

[clutter]

At 9, your ds might enjoy 50s Prime Time more than SciFi. Most kids get a kick out of their parents getting yelled at for putting their elbows on the table. And the food is pretty good. It's a tough one, but SciFi is our second choice at Studios after going to both a number of times.

That said, you've picked an awesome time to go. (my now college aged dd and I are leaving the day you get there!)

 

[sweetnjmom]

At 9, your ds might enjoy 50s Prime Time more than SciFi. Most kids get a kick out of their parents getting yelled at for putting their elbows on the table. And the food is pretty good. It's a tough one, but SciFi is our second choice at Studios after going to both a number of times.

That said, you've picked an awesome time to go. (my now college aged dd and I are leaving the day you get there!)

We had dinner there our last trip (May 2015) when he was 5-1/2. We considered going back but he didn't like the menu options -- he'll be much happier with a cheeseburger and fries at Sci Fi. LOL

So if we keep Whispering Canyon, he can get a kick out of the antics there. My husband is usually up to the challenge on things like that.

 

[sweetnjmom]

Well, in the (almost) 4 months since I made my ADRs, I've changed things up a bit and my now final ADRs are listed below. We're having a few QS dinners (Sunday and Wednesday) and I'm pretty happy with my plans. Now I'm just hoping I'll get all the FP I want next Tuesday.

Saturday 8/25
Arrive at Polynesian from Universal by 4 pm.
Dinner: 'Ohana 5:20 pm

Sunday 8/26
Breakfast: Kona Cafe 7:30 am

Monday 8/27
Breakfast: Chef Mickey 8:40 am
Dinner: Via Napoli 6:15 pm

Tuesday 8/28
Dinner: 50's Prime Time Cafe 6:40 pm

Wednesday 8/29
Breakfast: Tusker House (Rivers of Light package) 8:10 am

Thursday 8/30
Breakfast: 'Ohana 7:50 am
Dinner: Morimoto Asia 5:00 pm