Please look over my ADR and itinerary

[hellokitty]

I get to make ADRs on Tuesday for our Dec trip. I've been over the list many times and I *think* it looks ok, we are on the regular DP. It is my first time doing this and I am using the advice of easywdw.com to plan which days to do which parks. Can you guys look over it and tell me whether or not it looks like it will make sense logistically?

Some background info...this will be my kids' first trip to WDW and DH and I were last there 12 yrs ago for our honeymoon. We are staying at Wilderness Lodge, we will have our own car, I have 3 boys ages almost 8, 6 and 2.5 at trip time (so no princessy stuff), and a DH who is a food snob (but DS3 can be squirmy, so I don't think we will do signature restaurants this time). We do NOT have park hoppers. On our two MK days, I'm not sure if we should just keep them this way or switch them so we have one CS and one TS each day, b/c right now it's two CS the first MK day and two TS the second MK day, so opinions are welcome. Thanks.

Sunday
Check in day, we will probably stay overnight at an orlando hotel Saturday night and check in early in the morning at WL to get our tix, will have eaten bkfst on the road.
Magic Kingdom: (L) Columbia Harbor House (D) Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD, we will probably go back in the afternoon to move luggage into our room when it's ready, unless it is already ready when we check in early in the morning.

Monday
DHS: our main goal is to do Jedi Academy (will probably be highlight of the trip for my older boys), so we need to get there really early. I will probably just pack granola bars or something easy for us to eat in line or use snack credits to get something portable. I was thinking Starring Rolls for (L). For dinner, I was thinking we will want to be back to see Osborne Lights, so maybe we should just eat in DHS. However, I read DHS has pretty bad food, so maybe we will just catch counter service at WL and return for the lights? Any suggestions? We're not interested in doing fantasmic.

Tuesday
Animal Kingdom: (B) Tusker House (before opening) (D) Boma (I would like to take the kids to see the resort anyway, and it goes with the theme of the day). I know two buffets is a lot for one day, we will probably just snack for lunch.

Wednesday
Magic Kingdom: (B) Crystal Palace (Can't decide btwn bkfst before opening or a later brunch bkfst). (D) Kona (Wishes is this night)

Thursday
Epcot: (L) Tangeriene (D) Cape May Seafood Buffet If the kids are not too tired, I'd like to do Illuminations.

Friday
If we have any leftover snack credits, I'd use them for bkfst. If not, we'd catch something on the road or just do something easy that I packed.
Check out early in the morning and head to legoland and then head out to NC to spend xmas with relatives (will probably book a night at some hotel or drive through the night, DH is undecided). I'm opting to do legoland toward the end of the trip, b/c by then it will be so close to Christmas, I have a feeling WDW will be extremely crowded and legoland may be less crowded due to it being a wkday vs. wknd.

[JTsMom]

Looks pretty good to me. I do have a few thoughts.

Sunday- that's a lot going on. Are the kids really going to want to leave MK on the first day for DTD? If you do something in park, it would buy you more time, and there wouldn't be so much schlepping around. Ohana is a good option too, and a lot closer (hop on the monorail). Or, you could do something at WL or GF. Is that a party night? If so, you could book something like Tony's at 6:50, request an outside table, and see the snow on Main St.

Monday- Don't forget to send someone for TSM fast passes! The food at 50's Prime Time is decent, and it's a fun experience. A lot of people also love Sci Fi. Our food was not great there, but maybe we just had bad luck.

Wed- I love doing a very early ADR and taking pics before the park opens! Very neat experience.

Thurs- b/c you only have 1 Epcot day, I'd really try to pick something in the park to maximize your touring time. You wouldn't think going to CM would eat up much time, but it will.

I really think it's important to eat where you'll be the vast majority of the time. Unless you absolutely can't miss those traveling meals, skip em! No food in Disney is worth it imo, esp if your DH is a food snob.

[mommytoC]

I really think it's important to eat where you'll be the vast majority of the time. Unless you absolutely can't miss those traveling meals, skip em! No food in Disney is worth it imo, esp if your DH is a food snob.

I agree wholeheartedly with Lori's advice, especially re: Sunday/Thursday.

[egoldber]

I also agree with Lori that I would definitely eat in the park if at all possible vs. leaving. It will easily take 2 hours out of your Epcot day to go to Cape May and come back. Which is OK if that is what you want. The walk in and out is very pleasant.

[hellokitty]

Looks pretty good to me. I do have a few thoughts.

Sunday- that's a lot going on. Are the kids really going to want to leave MK on the first day for DTD? If you do something in park, it would buy you more time, and there wouldn't be so much schlepping around. Ohana is a good option too, and a lot closer (hop on the monorail). Or, you could do something at WL or GF. Is that a party night? If so, you could book something like Tony's at 6:50, request an outside table, and see the snow on Main St.

Monday- Don't forget to send someone for TSM fast passes! The food at 50's Prime Time is decent, and it's a fun experience. A lot of people also love Sci Fi. Our food was not great there, but maybe we just had bad luck.

Wed- I love doing a very early ADR and taking pics before the park opens! Very neat experience.

Thurs- b/c you only have 1 Epcot day, I'd really try to pick something in the park to maximize your touring time. You wouldn't think going to CM would eat up much time, but it will.

I really think it's important to eat where you'll be the vast majority of the time. Unless you absolutely can't miss those traveling meals, skip em! No food in Disney is worth it imo, esp if your DH is a food snob.

OK, I'm really glad to be getting some advice. I originally had Kona planned for dinner on Sunday, maybe I should go back to that plan and leave DTD for our 2nd MK day. The only thing is that MK closes at 7pm on Sunday, so that was why I had thought that maybe DTD would be something nice to do in the evening. Thoughts? I decided against Ohana, b/c everyone says the food at Kona is better and this will cater more toward my DH and myself vs. more kiddie oriented stuff.

You've convinced me about doing CP before the park opens. I too have heard ppl rave that it's cool to have the park empty and get some pics.

I don't think I will like 50's, just b/c it sounds like Whispering Canyon and DH and I both agreed that it sounds obnoxious. Did the movies as sci fi seem scary to your kids? DS1 is my sensitive one and would do something crazy like hide under the table or run behind something. At home, he runs into the playroom while watching movies, even parts that really aren't that scary. Otherwise, that was the only place I was considering at DHS for sit down. If we do that, I'd have to cut out one of the other sit down restaurants. Which one should I cut out?

For epcot, there has been a ton of talk about how WDW has been withholding epcot dinner reservations for the CP and ppl aren't able to reserve anything for dec. So, that was one thought of mine (I'm not interested in the CP) in having dinner at a resort that night. Do you have a fav place in epcot? DH and DS1 can eat their wt in seafood, so that is why Cape May was on our list. I agree that it kind of sucks that we only have one day at Epcot. I'm hoping we can go back again in a yr or two and focus more on epcot, esp when DS3 is a bit older.

[egoldber]

Did the movies as sci fi seem scary to your kids? DS1 is my sensitive one and would do something crazy like hide under the table or run behind something.

My kids are both pretty sensitive to movies and they both love the SciFi. It's one place older DD always asks to go at WDW.

What about the French bistro at Epcot? My older DD is picky and they don't have anything she likes, so we never go there. But the menu looks decent.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ok, I am not an expert in any capacity. Heck, I know very little. But, the biggest thing that I thought of comes from a good amount of amusement park experience, just not Disney. It's so hard to lock in to specific restaurants b/c what if you are having a blast at one side of the park come meal time and the restaurant you picked is on the other? Wouldn't it be easier just to pop into a decent enough place where you are? Long lines, an exhibit that captivates you more- I don't know, anything spontaneous! I would have a few choices on the list for each park, at different places in the park, so you can just go to the most convenient one when the time comes.

But, maybe these are all ADRs you need to make and I just need to butt out.

Beth

[egoldber]

Well, I agree with you. That is why we never do the DDP (Disney dining plan). But if you are on the dining plan, to make sure you can actually use all your table service meal credits, you pretty much have to do all your table service dining reservations in advance.

[JTsMom]

How big of a deal to you is DTD? Could you skip it entirely? It's one of those personal preference things, but to me, it's not that big of a deal. It's nice if you have a long trip and want a non-park day. It's also good after Animal Kingdom since that's a short day. Could you do it on your arrival night, or would it be too late?

I'm big on getting to the park at rope drop, so we don't do really late evenings for the most part, but your kids are older.

I've heard good things about Kona, but Ohana is really popular too. The dinner isn't particularly kid oriented. The breakfast is a character meal, but it's low key. It's our favorite meal.

I've never done WCC b/c it sounds way too over the top for DS1 to handle, but Prime Time is really mild IME. It probably depends on your server and the time of day, but they don't typically play it up like they are "supposed to", especially if you don't egg them on. The last time we went, we went early, and there were absolutely no hijinks going on. The server might have made 1 or 2 little jokes, but it wasn't over the top at all. DH really got a kick out of the decor b/c he's an old fart. The pot roast is pretty good there btw.


At Sci Fi, DS didn't even notice the movies, but he doesn't scare easily with that type of thing. I'm not in a hurry to do it again, but I know it has a lot of fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJq4Zm4ggWo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VYNvIldNi0


We're going 11/27-12/5. We aren't doing DDP unless it's free, but I made ADR's just in case that happens. I had no problem getting everything I wanted with 10 mins of when I had planned on. In fact, after I was done, I tried to book Le Cellier just for the heck of it, and was able to do that as well. That might be one place to consider in Epcot. I also like Garden Grill, but more for the experience than the food. The Italian place has a lot of fans. The food was quite good when we went a few years ago, but it was a little to formal for us. We're all about the character dining and kid-friendly stuff.

[JTsMom]

If it were me, I think I'd do:

Sun- MK, Kona
M- DHS, whatever is appealing- if you skip Boma, you could also do Brown Derby. Mama Melrose is another option.
T- AK, Tusker House, then choose either Boma or DTD, whichever is more important
W- MK, Crystal Palace
Th- Epcot- Le Cellier, Italy, Garden Grill, Germany- whatever. You could do Rose and Crown and sit on the patio for Illuminations