Table service - Tell me what I'm missing??!!

[Leahc117]

Hello All!! On our first trip to Disney the only reservation I had was QS at Be our guest for lunch. I am not sure if it was the heat or keeping busy but I never felt very hungry and my husband and I were mostly able to split an entree and split 2 kids meals between our 3 kids (will be 2, 5, 7 for our March trip.) I am planning our second trip and really like the idea of having the freedom to wander around and eat when we are hungry. Our 180 day mark just hit and I grabbed a couple of the more coveted reservations but I am honestly not sure which reservations I want to keep. I was completely satisfied with quick service because we could usually find a place to sit and cool off - but didn't have to wait long for food. 3 kids at table service waiting doesn't excite me. Do any of you follow my logic - especially since excellent quick service options are present at each park?? On the other hand, do any of you have dining reservations that you have really enjoyed (with young children?) and must have? Thank You!!

 

[Nanceliz319]

Hello All!! On our first trip to Disney the only reservation I had was QS at Be our guest for lunch. I am not sure if it was the heat or keeping busy but I never felt very hungry and my husband and I were mostly able to split an entree and split 2 kids meals between our 3 kids (will be 2, 5, 7 for our March trip.) I am planning our second trip and really like the idea of having the freedom to wander around and eat when we are hungry. Our 180 day mark just hit and I grabbed a couple of the more coveted reservations but I am honestly not sure which reservations I want to keep. I was completely satisfied with quick service because we could usually find a place to sit and cool off - but didn't have to wait long for food. 3 kids at table service waiting doesn't excite me. Do any of you follow my logic - especially since excellent quick service options are present at each park?? On the other hand, do any of you have dining reservations that you have really enjoyed (with young children?) and must have? Thank You!!

I really understand you and have experienced the same when mine were little. Heat kills appetite. Only thing I would suggest is maybe a character breakfast . The one at animal kingdom I think is easier to get and is a really good one.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I agree, maybe a character meal ( Garden Grill at Epcot is excellent and one of the few that is served Family Style vs. Buffet ).

I have done trips in the past that were 100% QS meals and they were fine. Most times, you can find SOMETHING day of at a TS. So if you're hearts not set on any one location and you're OK with QS worse case then I say wing it.

 

[icesk8abc]

If we don't get free dining, we don't do table service outside of maybe a character breakfast. We eat what/when we want and haven't been disappointed. Check out the menus ahead of time so you know where to find what you like. You can eat a burger every meal or not depending on the preferences of you and your kids.

 

[Nancyg56]

Everyone does DIsney in the manner that suits their family. I like TS meals, andbook one per evening, but I have friends who would rather chew glass and die than be tied down to what they feel is an appointment while in Disney. You should do what works for your family.

 

[Christine]

OP, sounds as if you have found your touring style! Honestly, when my kids were that young, sometimes table service was torture (though they were fine at buffets). The heat also is a killer. We went last July and I had trouble eating unless I had gone back to the room, showered, and relaxed a little first.

I'm taking a trip in November this year so it will be interesting to see how my appetite is in cooler weather.

 

[Disneylover99]

We’ve done plenty of table service restaurants when our kids were young. A few restaurants have become favourites and we’ve eaten there multiple times.

That being said, there are no “must do’s” for us. We’d be happy to eat counter service the entire trip. I don’t like to be tied down to reservations. We’ve had pretty good luck eating at the restaurants we want at Epcot during off hours without a reservation.

 

[_19disnA]

I agree as others mentioned, it depends on your preferences and the ages of your children. If you don't often go out to eat at home, then expecting young/fidgety children to sit for 30 minutes while the food is prepared isn't realistic. You know what works best for your family and there isn't one 'right' way to do Disney.

 

[Atilley]

We tend to do one table service per day normally a late lunch or early dinner. For us quick service is a eat and run meal and table service makes us take that moment to slow down. That being said if you have found what works for you then that’s great. You can always add one or two table service meals without having to do one everyday. I may have missed it are you going to use a dinning plan or pay out of pocket? I would only get the quick service plan if I wasn’t going to eat table service meals everyday.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Everyone has their own style of vacation. Im a TS girl through and through. On vacation, I want to sit down and be waited on! The idea of waiting line at a counter, then finding a spot to eat, in a loud crowded environment with people walking all around, is not relaxing to me. Especially in the hotter weather months, I want to sit in the AC, off my feet and have my meal come to my reserved table. I love the themes of all the different restaurants, especially Epcot's, and love the variety of foods they all offer. I just came back from a 2 week trip and enjoyed 25 TS restaurants! We had French, Mexican, German, Irish, Polynesian, steakhouses, character meals, night show packages, elegant brunch etc..etc... We only had breakfast and dinner reservations that did not get in the way of being in the parks all day. After dinners, which lasted 1 - 1.5 hours, we were relaxed and ready to conquer more of the parks. It was the perfect amount of food and what I feel vacation should be. Years ago I did do lots of QS and spent days in the parks, rope drop until fireworks. When I returned home, I needed a vacation! I now like a more relaxed approach....but that is just me. My DD would probably prefer QS!

 

[Kbosch]

I'm questioning this too. I have 3 kids 6 and under but we will be going with my mom and sister who are looking forward to some TS meals. I'm trying to find a balance of QS, TS and buffets to keep everyone happy. I figure even if we have a longer TS meal it will give the kids a little while to relax with their ipads since they won't really have them on the rest of the trip!

 

[ariane37]

he idea of waiting line at a counter, then finding a spot to eat, in a loud crowded environment with people walking all around, is not relaxing to me. Especially in the hotter weather months, I want to sit in the AC, off my feet and have my meal come to my reserved table.

This is us! We go out to eat very often at home and have always done at least one TS a day when in Disney even when our kids were small. Now that they're teens and we go by ourselves to Disney most of the time we often do lounges/TS but we NEVER have a day of just QS and try our best to avoid it actually but that's just our preference. As @DISNEY1975 said it's such a nice break to sit down ,especially in the heat but even during other months just to take a break and in general TS meals don't take that long. Even signatures which we do more than not aren't as long as some would think.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Hello All!! On our first trip to Disney the only reservation I had was QS at Be our guest for lunch. I am not sure if it was the heat or keeping busy but I never felt very hungry and my husband and I were mostly able to split an entree and split 2 kids meals between our 3 kids (will be 2, 5, 7 for our March trip.) I am planning our second trip and really like the idea of having the freedom to wander around and eat when we are hungry. Our 180 day mark just hit and I grabbed a couple of the more coveted reservations but I am honestly not sure which reservations I want to keep. I was completely satisfied with quick service because we could usually find a place to sit and cool off - but didn't have to wait long for food. 3 kids at table service waiting doesn't excite me. Do any of you follow my logic - especially since excellent quick service options are present at each park?? On the other hand, do any of you have dining reservations that you have really enjoyed (with young children?) and must have? Thank You!!

We rarely eat fast food anywhere so the trend holds when vacationing at WDW. My traveling children have enjoyed eating at the following TS:

'Ohana, only for family trips when we aren't staying at Poly. At the resort we just order the same meal via rm service and leave the craziness behind.
Any steakhouse.
TD
Saana, finally. Took forever to convince most of my party to go there. Now they clamor for it.
CG brunch. No trip is right w/o it.
VN for the pizza and meatballs and spaghetti that DGD doesn't realise is made w/ cheese and well I'm not telling her, LOL(she professes a dislike for cheese unless it's on a pizza pie; weird but I love her.
The Sunday Supper at Enzo's Hideaway.
Chefs de France
Kona Cafe.
Flying Fish
Morimoto Asia or Street Food
RR
CG dinner
Wolfgang Puck


As well to avoid the need for ADRs we eat many of our meals at Disney Springs. We've a 2 week trip planned over the Christmas holidays and to date have only made ADRs or opentable.com reservations for 3 on property TS besides the actual holiday meals.

I will say if you enjoy the QS at WDW why change your plans unless you just want to see what you might be missing?

HTH

 

[loves to dive]

When my son was little we still ate at TS but I only had one kid to deal with, I was a single mom so TS was easier than QS most of the time. We started going when he was just shy of 3. To this day we don't book our TS any more in advance than afternoon of. Like you we just don't know when and if we will be hungry so like to keep our plans easy. We also don't book FPs until morning of and no more than one and it can't be any longer than a hour away. We have never had any problems finding ADRs day of, but, we are two adults, have park hoppers and can eat any time.

 

[Bete]

I think character buffets are a nice experience for the children. The Crystal Palace and Tusker House are favorites for us. Buffets are usually quicker because you help yourself. You won't get a break on price; because, there's no sharing. For us, it's nice to relax for a while.

Another option is to snack yourself with healthier options through the day at the park and then do a resort table service when your done with the park.

 

[Mango7100]

Over spring Break week, we did Storybook Dining, 1900 PF for dinner, Bon Voyage breakfast, and BOG lunch. The rest were QS and we were fine (especially at Epcot where there are so many good QS and Satuli Canteen at AK). I do like having a mix to be able to sit down for awhile in the AC. Our daughter is 6, so character dining is still a big part of it.

 

[serenitynow]

What are you missing? A very expensive tip left on a very expensive but so-so meal.

 

[disny_luvr]

I don’t think you’re missing anything, you just figured out your touring style and what works best for your family. My family is like your family in that we hate to be tied to a schedule and prefer to eat when we are hungry. We often travel for 10+ days and eat maybe three times at a table service restaurant for the duration of our trip. Next summer we are planning a two week trip and we only plan to eat at ‘Ohana (on my birthday), Beaches and Cream, and Garden Grill. We may add a day-of reservation at The Plaza. We think Disney has some great counter service options (for a theme park) and we never go hungry. Next summer we want to do a “snack only” day. We must watch too much DFB because there are a ton of snacks we see on there that we want to try. That’s another reason why we don’t eat at many table service restaurants - we like to snack too much!

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

We made a few TS reservations an hour or so in advance when we visited in August. It wasn't a busy time, but we've never had trouble finding day of restaurants. After twice wandering around with a tray trying to find an open table at a QS restaurant, we didn't eat any more QS. I agree with a previous poster. I'm on vacation, and I want to relax while I eat.

 

[`OhanaHare]

If that's your touring style, that's fine. Heat kills appetite, I totally get that one.

I'm not a fan of most QS options, so we make sure to make a few TS ressies for our trips.