What ADR and when for 4 and 6yo DDs

[wendibird22]

We are going to WDW Dec 31-Jan 5. It's one of the peak times of the year so we know it'll be busy. ILs have a winter home 12mi away so we are not staying on property but driving to/from each day. We will probably spend 1 full day at each park (and not plan on leaving during the day for fear of not being able to re-enter). The kids have major stamina so I'm not too worried about it. I know that some parks (like AK) have shorter winter hours. So, all that considered should we book at least one ADR and if so where and when? Both DDs are into princesses.

When we went to Sesame Place 2 yrs ago we did a character breakfast and that was perfect because you got entrance to the park 1hr early and ahead of the crowds. Is it the same at WDW?

Since this will be our first (and maybe only) trip and we plan on only 1 day per park should we take into consideration what else is going on during a meal time (like a parade) that we wouldn't want to miss?

Obviously we have time to stew over this since ADRs are open yet for Jan. but I wanted to start getting some ideas.

[georgiegirl]

Definitely a princess meal at Akershus in Norway at Epcot! We usually do lunch there. It's great for princess interaction.

My kids also love the Biergaten in Germany for dinner. They love dancing to the music.

[egoldber]

For ideal touring, I would try for the earliest breakfast time. That gets you in at around 8:05 and it is soooo beautiful when you walk in and no one is there. :) You can get an amazing photo of your family with no one else in the background.

For 4 and 6 year old DDs I would try for a princess breakfast at either Cinderella's Castle or at Epcot's Akershus Princess breakfast. I think you get the most princesses for your $$ at Epcot.

My kids have also loved the breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. It's Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Tigger and Pooh. Very fun and terrific character interaction. They also have a character dinner with Cinderella that is really fun.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/1900-park-fare/

The GF hotel is beautifully decorated for the holidays and well worth seeing.

[megs4413]

Hands down, without question: the earliest CRT you can get. Like Beth said, it gets you in early and there is nothing like an empty Main Street.

[BayGirl2]

CRT if you can. You could also do Akershus at Epcot. We did it for dinner and really liked it, or do breakfast very early.
We did 1900 Park for dinner and that was nice, it may be a good way to get out of the park for a break, since its on the monorail. I believe its open very early for breakfast. But if I had to pick one I'd go with Akershus because there are more princessess. We had Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel.

[megs4413]

CRT if you can. You could also do Akershus at Epcot. We did it for dinner and really liked it, or do breakfast very early.
We did 1900 Park for dinner and that was nice, it may be a good way to get out of the park for a break, since its on the monorail. I believe its open very early for breakfast. But if I had to pick one I'd go with Akershus because there are more princessess. We had Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel.

We had all of those at CRT breakfast as well. I thought the food at Akershus was terrible and the interaction wasn't as fun. Plus, it just doesn't get better than going inside the castle. We hated 1900 Park Fare, but it was dinner. I don't know how breakfast is.

[BayGirl2]

We had all of those at CRT breakfast as well. I thought the food at Akershus was terrible and the interaction wasn't as fun. Plus, it just doesn't get better than going inside the castle. We hated 1900 Park Fare, but it was dinner. I don't know how breakfast is.

We actually liked the food at Akershus at dinner and had pretty good interaction. We had a CRT ADR but it was for 9:30 and I ended up doing Akershus instead because a 6:30 opened up. I think the novelty of eating in the castle makes CRT worth it, but Akershus is about $20/person cheaper too, so if you can't get into CRT when you want or cost is an issue, its a good option.

But I didn't really hate anything about Disney (other than the weather) we pretty much had positive experiences with everything we did.

[SummerBaby]

Another vote for Askerhus. We did a last minute trip the week of April 28 (yes 4 months in advance is last minute for ADR purposes) so we couldn't get CRT. We had lunch at Askerhus. My girls (5 and 8) loved it! The princesses just kept coming and they were all very sweet, especially to my star struck 5 year old who couldn't stop hugging them. :). Based on reviews, DH and I expected to hate the food, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was nice to go in for lunch and take a break. You also get a photo package that is included in the price of your meal. I have nothing but good things to say about the whole experience!

[megs4413]

We actually liked the food at Akershus at dinner and had pretty good interaction. We had a CRT ADR but it was for 9:30 and I ended up doing Akershus instead because a 6:30 opened up. I think the novelty of eating in the castle makes CRT worth it, but Akershus is about $20/person cheaper too, so if you can't get into CRT when you want or cost is an issue, its a good option.

But I didn't really hate anything about Disney (other than the weather) we pretty much had positive experiences with everything we did.

you know I'm realizing I sounded argumentative! I didn't mean to be, I'm sorry if it came across that way! We had a really bad experience at Akershus, which I'm finding is outside of the norm. So outside the norm, in fact, that I consistently see Akershus recommended over CRT and I feel compelled to warn people that it is possible not to enjoy Akershus. We went for breakfast so I can't speak to dinner or lunch experiences there. We had a late seating (which I didn't realize at the time, it was our first trip) and I cannot stress to people enough now that a 10:20 breakfast ADR is just a bad, bad, bad idea at a buffet/family style TS restaurant. they started taking food down during our meal, but wouldn't put out lunch food until all breakfast guests had cleared which meant we simply had less food to choose from. it was just a sucky, sucky experience all the way around. Similarly, we had issues at 1900 PF because we were a party of 5 and were seated at the very edge of the dining room where we couldn't see much of the Cinderella/Prince Charming dance/interaction at all. For various reasons after a couple trips now, I feel like an early (as in gets-you-into-the-park early) CRT reservation for breakfast is by far and away the most "guaranteed" good princess experience on property. Additionally, my son was better entertained/catered to at CRT (between the wishing star and the sword) than at either Akershus or 1900 PF, which makes it a better bet for families with children of each gender (IMO!)

If you (general) are having trouble choosing between two ADRs for the same meal, you can read the menus online at easywdwinfo so you can get an idea of if you will like the food. I wish I had known that before our first trip, because we had ADRs for places that I couldn't find a single thing to eat at (Coral Reef dinner, Akershus breakfast.)

[wendibird22]

Thanks all. I think a breakfast ADR to get into the park early would be ideal.

Can anyone comment on TS places being good with food allergies? If I'm spending that kind of money I'd love to be able to have some gf options.


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[megs4413]

Thanks all. I think a breakfast ADR to get into the park early would be ideal.

Can anyone comment on TS places being good with food allergies? If I'm spending that kind of money I'd love to be able to have some gf options.


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they're actually all pretty good about food allergies. You just let them know of your dietary needs when you make your ADR. here's a good article about how it works:

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/theceliactraveler/a/Gluten-Free-Dining-At-Disney.htm

[egoldber]

I think there is always an element of chance with these meals. We've eaten at Akershus 5/6 times and CRT 3/4 times. We had mediocre meals at CRT all 3 times, but by FAR our best character interaction and service was at the last breakfast seating.

In general, we've had great meals and interaction and service at Akeshus. But OMG the last time we went it was AWFUL. We had the last lunch seating and I think they must have been an issue with the characters that day. We were done with our meal for almost 30 minutes and the characters had not come out yet at all. They did finally come out, but younger DD was just beside herself at that point.

I know a lot of people have issue with the food at Akershus, so it does pay to look at the menu first.

[megs4413]

I think there is always an element of chance with these meals. We've eaten at Akershus 5/6 times and CRT 3/4 times. We had mediocre meals at CRT all 3 times, but by FAR our best character interaction and service was at the last breakfast seating.

In general, we've had great meals and interaction and service at Akeshus. But OMG the last time we went it was AWFUL. We had the last lunch seating and I think they must have been an issue with the characters that day. We were done with our meal for almost 30 minutes and the characters had not come out yet at all. They did finally come out, but younger DD was just beside herself at that point.

I know a lot of people have issue with the food at Akershus, so it does pay to look at the menu first.

it's so true. this is part of why I stress the right restaurant at the right time that's got the right food for YOUR family. not all resizes (even at the same restaurant!) are created equal!!

[BayGirl2]

you know I'm realizing I sounded argumentative! I didn't mean to be, I'm sorry if it came across that way! We had a really bad experience at Akershus, which I'm finding is outside of the norm. So outside the norm, in fact, that I consistently see Akershus recommended over CRT and I feel compelled to warn people that it is possible not to enjoy Akershus. We went for breakfast so I can't speak to dinner or lunch experiences there. We had a late seating (which I didn't realize at the time, it was our first trip) and I cannot stress to people enough now that a 10:20 breakfast ADR is just a bad, bad, bad idea at a buffet/family style TS restaurant. they started taking food down during our meal, but wouldn't put out lunch food until all breakfast guests had cleared which meant we simply had less food to choose from. it was just a sucky, sucky experience all the way around. Similarly, we had issues at 1900 PF because we were a party of 5 and were seated at the very edge of the dining room where we couldn't see much of the Cinderella/Prince Charming dance/interaction at all. For various reasons after a couple trips now, I feel like an early (as in gets-you-into-the-park early) CRT reservation for breakfast is by far and away the most "guaranteed" good princess experience on property. Additionally, my son was better entertained/catered to at CRT (between the wishing star and the sword) than at either Akershus or 1900 PF, which makes it a better bet for families with children of each gender (IMO!)

If you (general) are having trouble choosing between two ADRs for the same meal, you can read the menus online at easywdwinfo so you can get an idea of if you will like the food. I wish I had known that before our first trip, because we had ADRs for places that I couldn't find a single thing to eat at (Coral Reef dinner, Akershus breakfast.)

Ha ha, I read/posted late last night and realized as I went to bed how silly "arguing" over the best princess meal at WDW is!! Talk about first world problems, right. :)

I agree so much of this is just what's best for your family, and some of it is just luck. Our 6:30 dinner at Akershus was fine and actually I think the interaction Ariel had with my character-shy DD was probably the cutest of the trip. (DD pulled her bib off and dropped it, Arial said it was beautiful and asked if she could have it for her Grotto.)

We did 1900 Park for dinner because we stayed at GF and did it on my conference day. The food was fine (not great but we had no complaints, similar to the GF conference food it was good for the scale they were serving.) We thought the character interaction w/the stepsisters was funny. We had 5 people too and I guess we were toward the side (the first table by the entrance) but saw enough of the "show" to be satisfied.
I really wanted to do CRT but given the two meals above I was ok cancelling it. It still very hard to get into and pricey, so I just think its good to consider the other options as a back up. I believe 1900 Park breakfast starts at 7am too, so another factor to throw in the mix, as well as having a unique character mix at breakfast.

We actually had the opposite experience with a 10:45 at Tusker House. We got breakfast food on our first trip to the buffet, then went up again and the lunch food was being put out, so we got to try both. Apparently there its a soft transition (it was an EMH day too). DH and I are adventurous eaters so we were thrilled at getting to try both breakfast and lunch options. I'm a fan of the late breakfast ADRs IF we can't get a pre-park opening ADR, but that doesn't always work out so after 2 hours of rides we're usually ready to take a break for a meal.

It also helps that DH and I eat anything, we had no problem with Coral Reef and enjoyed that it entertained the kids. The food wasn't great, but it wasn't as horrible as I feared from the reviews. I agree with checking menus in advance. I hear people complain about the unique options and lack of "kid food" at Be Our Guest. We ate their twice and our kids loved the Mickey Meatloaf and ww pasta. At home DH and I are probably what come would consider "exotic" eaters, so anything non-traditional was ideal for us.

[crl]

Thanks all. I think a breakfast ADR to get into the park early would be ideal.

Can anyone comment on TS places being good with food allergies? If I'm spending that kind of money I'd love to be able to have some gf options.


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We had very positive experiences with ds' food allergies at WDW. The only bad thing I would say is that it slows things down. They take food allergies very, very seriously. So at every single restaurant we talked with the chef (table service) or manager (counter service) and confirmed the exact allergies and went over our options. It was awesome because I felt completely comfortable that ds was safe. But we did have to wait for the chef for a long time at Crystal Palace and the manager for a long time at the counter service place at the Wilderness Lodge. At Chef Mickey's the chef actually made ds safe Mickey shaped waffles. Everywhere else that had them didn't do them dairy free and he had to have regular shaped waffles. He was grinning from ear to ear. :D

Catherine

Catherine

[jent]

Thanks all. I think a breakfast ADR to get into the park early would be ideal.

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If you can't get CRT, another option is Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger and co. We did that last year and had a blast. Totally worth it to see the park before it opens.

We couldn't get a CRT reservation at all, and didn't want to go to Epcot (short trip), so we did 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the stepsisters/stepmother. The "evil" characters are hilarious, and were a big hit with DD. We weren't staying at GF, but my parents had a car and we drove over.