Thoughts on our ADRs?

[PlutoIsHerFav]

We will be there in two weeks, and have the DDP. I've made the following TS reservations. I'd love feedback on these options and whether you have better suggestions. We have 2 yo DD and 6 yo DD, hence the abundance of character meals! I'd also love suggestions for the best park QS for these days:

Day 1 (arrival): DS Rainforest Cafe
Day 2 (AK): Tusker House lunch
Day 3 (Epcot): Akershus lunch
Day 4 (off): Chef Mickey late lunch (1:20)
Day 5 (MK): Crystal Palace early dinner (4:30)

We (I) really want BOG, any meal, but no such luck with reservations. For DS we loved Raglan Road, but thought the kids would enjoy Rainforest Cafe. My daughter is GF (celiac) so hoping that will still be a good option. We're pretty set on Tusker House and Akershus, although I'd also love to do Garden Grill. CM - I'm worried about the quality of food and breaking up our pool day (Pop) to travel to the Contemporary, but my girls are Minnie & Mickey obsessed. I'm pretty "eh" about Crystal Palace as they don't care about Pooh characters, but not sure a better option.

 

[pattyw]

Good choices! Keep looking for BOG. Also, we've had great luck with the free Touring Plans reservation finder. They found us our desired ADR every time!

Garden Grill is our family favorite. It's so nice to be able to have the food served family style at a character meal- no worrying about missing a character while you go up to the buffet. The character interaction is great and you have a lovely view of the Land ride below.

All Disney restaurants are very accommodating to dietary restrictions.

Have a great time!!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

As an alternative to your Chef Mickey lunch on your non-park day, I suggest a Cape May Cafe breakfast.

 

[ksibrel]

Also as an alternative to CM, depending on what day of the week it is, is the character breakfast at Ravello. It's in the 4 Seasons in DS and the characters are Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie. It's only held on Sat and Tues and sometime Thurs. You can make an ADR through the WDW site. We haven't been but are hoping to get an ADR for our upcoming trip. I've heard the food is great and you generally get more character time.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

As an alternative to your Chef Mickey lunch on your non-park day, I suggest a Cape May Cafe breakfast.

I was going to suggest this as well. It's always fun, the food is great, and my 14 year old still asks if we can go there every time we visit.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Also as an alternative to CM, depending on what day of the week it is, is the character breakfast at Ravello. It's in the 4 Seasons in DS and the characters are Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie. It's only held on Sat and Tues and sometime Thurs. You can make an ADR through the WDW site. We haven't been but are hoping to get an ADR for our upcoming trip. I've heard the food is great and you generally get more character time.

I've head great thing about Ravello BUT I don't think they accept Disney Dining Plans.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Keep trying for BOG- if you try for breakfast or lunch see if there are openings for 2 groups of 2 people at times close together. You seat yourselves for those meals so you'd be able to sit together once the party with the later ADR arrives.

Disney Springs- we really like the Boathouse or Raglan Road, but Rainforest is a good choice as well.

AK- Tusker House is great. If you need QS there, Satuli Canteen is great, Yak n Yeti Cafe (but there are a lot of noodle dishes so check the menu as that may be an issue with celiac, I can't remember what else they have there at the moment) and we LOVE Flame Tree BBQ.

EPCOT- Akershus is also great! I like Garden Grill better but if it's princesses you want to see then Akershus is a better choice. We usually snack around the World Showcase but Sunshine Seasons has plenty of offerings.

Day 4- I agree with other posters and I would probably skip Chef Mickey and go to Cape May over at the Beach Club for breakfast, and then you have the day free. Have some QS right at the resort.

If you're willing to part with Crystal Palace, and go into Magic Kingdom a little later, we love the character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian, and then you could take the monorail to MK. Or, it's not a character meal but Skipper Canteen in MK is fantastic as well.

 

[ksibrel]

I've head great thing about Ravello BUT I don't think they accept Disney Dining Plans.

Oops, I missed the DDP of the original post. I don't know for sure, since we don't use the dining plan, but I think you're right.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Thank you all! I did not know about the Touring Plans reservation finder - I'll go try that now! I'm hoping someone drops their reservation here last minute.

We may switch to Cape May! Is the food better? If I could get a Chef Mickey breakfast or lunch dinner, would you opt for that over Cape May? The characters are really the only reason I'm drawn to it, as I'm sure that's the reason for most. Also, it'd be fun for the girls to maybe ride the monorail and explore a new resort (we've stayed at YC before). However, the whole midday lunch and knowing the travel time isn't super quick (and right when the youngest should need a nap), the idea of a breakfast and then having the rest of the day sounds great. We'd also be open to other options for our off day that might add a little fun, although ultimately, our girls just want to be in the pool!

 

[tinkerbella16]

We love Akershus, but only for breakfast. Garden Grill is our favorite character meal in WDW. The food is great and it is brought to the table which is nice, the atmosphere is fun, the character interactions are the best. We have both breakfast and dinner booked for our upcoming trip because we love it so much.

 

[GillianP1301]

If you're not totally into CP, then why not to CM on your MK day (pretty quick and easy to get there and back from MK) and then open up another option on your non park day. Cape May is a really good option as is 1900 Park Fare. Garden Grill is our absolute favourite character meal but if your group is more into princesses, then I can see that Akershus being the better option for you.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Thank you all! I did not know about the Touring Plans reservation finder - I'll go try that now! I'm hoping someone drops their reservation here last minute.

We may switch to Cape May! Is the food better? If I could get a Chef Mickey breakfast or lunch dinner, would you opt for that over Cape May? The characters are really the only reason I'm drawn to it, as I'm sure that's the reason for most. Also, it'd be fun for the girls to maybe ride the monorail and explore a new resort (we've stayed at YC before). However, the whole midday lunch and knowing the travel time isn't super quick (and right when the youngest should need a nap), the idea of a breakfast and then having the rest of the day sounds great. We'd also be open to other options for our off day that might add a little fun, although ultimately, our girls just want to be in the pool!

I would pick Cape May over Chef Mickey for breakfast. It's less crowded, more relaxed, better character interactions. Cape May lunch and dinner are not character meals and I would still pick that over Chef Mickey for either of those meals.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Thank you all! That quickly I got a BOG 10:10 reservation!! I may still put in a notification for either an earlier breakfast or lunch, but I'm so excited! With that, would you keep the ADR for CP at 4:30 (a/c at this time probably nice), or do something else? I know BOG isn't a character meal, but wondering if there's a better TS reservation? Or I could just plan to stick with a second QS for our MK day and use two TS on our off day? Would love opinions here.

 

[pattyw]

Thank you all! That quickly I got a BOG 10:10 reservation!! I may still put in a notification for either an earlier breakfast or lunch, but I'm so excited! With that, would you keep the ADR for CP at 4:30 (a/c at this time probably nice), or do something else? I know BOG isn't a character meal, but wondering if there's a better TS reservation? Or I could just plan to stick with a second QS for our MK day and use two TS on our off day? Would love opinions here.

Yay! Glad it worked for you! Currently, I'm trying to get a PPO Garden Grill for October with Touring Plans!

CP is very nice. If you are looking for a non character meal, Liberty Tree is good as well. Our favorite at MK is Columbia Harbour House!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

One more question - with the DDP (2A, 1K, 1infant) at BOG breakfast I can order 3 adult entrees (vs 2A and 1K), correct? I'm hoping my girls can share/the little one eat off our plates.

 

[bphilb]

I would probably choose something besides Rainforest as the Disney Springs meal. There are so many great options there and Rainforest Cafe's can be found anywhere. It's not horrible by any means but would be my suggestion. Great job on getting into BOG. Your kids will love it. Have a great trip.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

I would probably choose something besides Rainforest as the Disney Springs meal. There are so many great options there and Rainforest Cafe's can be found anywhere. It's not horrible by any means but would be my suggestion. Great job on getting into BOG. Your kids will love it. Have a great trip.

Do you have any suggestions? I'm open! We've done Raglan Road before, which I would be more than fine with going back. My DH wanted to try something different, though. My one DD has Celiac so we need a place that will have enough safe GF options. Also, we'll have traveled about 10 hours that day, so need somewhere my kids can be, well, kids with pent up energy yet tired at the same time. ;-)

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Yay! Glad it worked for you! Currently, I'm trying to get a PPO Garden Grill for October with Touring Plans!

CP is very nice. If you are looking for a non character meal, Liberty Tree is good as well. Our favorite at MK is Columbia Harbour House!

I'm fine keeping CP since BOG isn't a character meal. I just didn't know if it'd be too much to fit into our one MK day, assuming BOG takes longer than the average QS? We definitely want somewhere we can sit down and inside to eat. Columbia Harbor House was on my list as our MK QS option prior to the BOG ADR! Too many decisions...

 

[pattyw]

I'm fine keeping CP since BOG isn't a character meal. I just didn't know if it'd be too much to fit into our one MK day, assuming BOG takes longer than the average QS? We definitely want somewhere we can sit down and inside to eat. Columbia Harbor House was on my list as our MK QS option prior to the BOG ADR! Too many decisions...

I don't think BOG takes any more time than other QS- keep CP and BOG!! Eating inside the castle is wonderful and we like the foods options at BOG, too!

 

[bphilb]

Do you have any suggestions? I'm open! We've done Raglan Road before, which I would be more than fine with going back. My DH wanted to try something different, though. My one DD has Celiac so we need a place that will have enough safe GF options. Also, we'll have traveled about 10 hours that day, so need somewhere my kids can be, well, kids with pent up energy yet tired at the same time. ;-)

As you know there are a ton of dinning options at DS. I know the Boathouse and Marimarto Asia are very popular though pretty pricey. If you are getting out of the car and wanting to let the kids be free you may want to look into Splitsville. It's the bowling ally, but they have really good food there. I can't help with the Celiac though, I just know most Disney spots are very accommodating. I have not been yet but Homecoming is getting rave reviews. It's comfort food but may be a good place to fill up after a long drive. I'm getting hungry just typing this.