OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

in two weeks I can already start booking dining reservations...crazy..it's not til October! This seems like it will be even harder than hotel picking!

we went with the 1 sit down a day dining plan!

Any def "gotta do" from experience!

I will have a 2 yr old and a 1 yr old if that helps with suggestions...

Also - I will be away from Disney two nights for a friends wedding so I will be able to "splurge" on 2 sit-downs that you need to cash in 2 sit-downs..any suggestions on those too is appreciated!!

So excited!

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

it's not dinner, but a character breakfast!!!!

The one on the Empress Lily Boat is fun (if they still have that one). Also, I did character breakfasts at Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club, so I know they have them there.

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

For this vacation coming up I booked some of my favs for my dd ( she is turning 3 on the vacation)

chef mickeys
50's cafe
hollywood and vine
The Garden Grill
The Crystal Palace
The Plaza Restaurant

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

my dc LOVE!!!!!! chef mickeys at the contemporary and the ohana breakfast with lilo, stich, goofy, pluto, mickey etc. They do a huge conga line around the resturant and gives maracas out to all the kids. and the food was awesome!!

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

Ohana at the Polynesian for Breakfast, definitely. They have family style breakfast, and a parade for the kids with maracas. They have Lilo & Stitch, Mickey and Pluto.

Other good ones:
Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh & Friends, Magic Kingdom)
Hollywood & Vine (Little Einsteins & Jo Jo's Circus, Hollywood Studios)
Chef Mickey's (Mickey & Friends, Contemporary)
Donald's Safari Breakfast (Animal Kingdom)

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

Well we are going in May so I can tell you what we booked and what we enjoyed in the past...

DD#1 will be turning 3 a month after our trip, and DD#2 will be turning 1 the last full day of our trip. We tend to eat breakfast in the room, counter service lunch and early sit down dinner. We tried to do some more buffets and family style places since the girls will be free - we will pay OOP for the girls at the menu places.

We are doing the basic dining plan too. (but may pay for 1 or two meals OOP).

1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian - Dinner with Cinderella and we will do the breakfast (Mary Poppins, Alice and the mad hatter) on DD's birthday.

Chef Mickey's (Contemporary) for dinner (mickey, minnie, goofy, donald and I think Pluto was there last time too).

Crystal Palace (MK) for dinner (Winnie the pooh and friends)

Akershus storybrook princess dinner (various disney princesses) EPCOT

Coral Reef EPCOT - it has huge fish tanks and the kids love watching the fish swim around

Biergarten -EPCOT- they have a band and dancing

Ohana - POLY- they do hula lessons and coconut races during dinner. We are doing the breakfast there the day we leave since it is at our hotel.

Liberty Tree tavern- MK

San Angel Inn - EPCOT- Kaitlyn loved watching the boats go bye and waved to them all last time.

Last trip we ate at Marrakesh which DD really loved (they have music and a belly dancer and encourage the kids to get up and dance).

We also ate last trip at Kona Cafe and had a bad experience so I wouldn't recommend it.

If you want a fun place at HS - try Sci Fi Drive In - the food is eh - but the burgers and shakes are pretty decent - you eat in cars under the stars with a HUGE movie screen just like a drive in.

Where are you staying? You might have a good place at your hotel.

I also like Boma - at AKL but it is a pain to get to unless you have a car. - You can wander around the hotel after dinner and they have a fire pit and tell stories and you can see some animals if you walk around the resort.

Splurge if you want to do something for the kids - there is Cinderella's castle which is two TS credits. She is there for breakfast and lunch - the fairy godmother is there at dinner.

Most of the nicer 2 credit places I don't know if you will enjoy with the kids but pretty much all of them except for Victoria and Alberts (which is no children I think under 16) are family friendly - but I personally like Jiko at AKL, California Grill - Contemporary (try to book so you are seated during the fireworks) great views

Narcossees and Citricos at the Grand Floridian are also nice.

I haven't tried it but there is a Cat Cora restaurant at the boardwalk now - I forget what it is called but I also think it is 2 table service credits.

DH and I have had 2 very nice meals in the past at Bistro de Paris - which is in EPCOT above Les Chefs de France. It was an excellent meal and small dining room, they do follow a dress code though and they were enforcing it when we went.

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

wow! what a wealth of great info! thank you so much!!
Keep 'em comin'
=)

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

we're going too!!!

It was a pretty last min decision so I'm having trouble with reservations.
So far I have:

Cape May - Breakfast
Coral Reef - Lunch
Mama Melrose - Late Lunch/Dinner

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

loved ohana's - didn't lilke chef mickeys

citricos is a must - cal. grill was also good

boma at akl was also really good, different, a good different.

for a quick service - earl of sandwich was really good

50's prime time was good and fun!!


ps. went in 2/2008 with ds at 18 months
and again 2/2010 with ds at 3.5 and dd at 17 months

Message edited 3/19/2010 9:49:59 PM.

Re: OK so finally booked Disney hotel after lots indecisiveness....now???

If you can get in, Chef Mickey's is a "must do", just remember you're going for the experience, not so much the fare! :) If this is booked, consider breakfast at Cape May Cafe.

If you can get over there, the absolute best breakfast on property is at Whispering Canyon over at Wilderness Lodge.

If princesses are on your list, consider dinner at 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian), or Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus (Epcot / Norway). For the latter, breakfast might be a better bet if you have picky eaters, as lunch and dinner take on a Norwegian flair.

Ohana is an all-time favorite of mine too, but has been extremely difficult to book lately. Breakfast or dinner are equally entertaining, so if you can't land one, try the other.