Sit down dinner sugestions?

[StLouisPaPa]

Hello everyone. You all are the best of the best. I am taking my grandson to CBR first week of March to celebrate his 10th birthday. I just booked so I don't have any ADR's. Can anyone suggest some places that he would especially enjoy for a sit down dinner? We will be on the dining plan. This is my first time back in 14 years, so I am a WDW novice. I am concerned about busses and coordinating meals, but maybe I should not be. Should we simply plan on being in the park where we have our ADR? Thanks so much.

[DisneyBabies]

StLouisPaPa-
When are you going to be there? We are taking DS for his 5th b-day feb 27- march 6. We are staying in a pirate room @ CBR! We are so excited! Now to your questions: A lot of it is going to depend on your DGS's willingness (or unwillingness) to meet characters when dining or if he is someone who likes to try new foods or not. Which dining plan are you on? Do you have to have three meals a day, or can you get by on two? I don't really try to tell others what they should do in these situations, because there are so many variables, but what I can do is tell you what we do.
Deluxe Dining plan: 3 meals & 2 snacks per day.
Day 1: Downtown Disney
Wolfgang Puck Express early lunch
Narccoossee's mid dinner (6:30p)

Day 2: DHS
Donald @ Tusker House early breakfast (before parks open)
O'Hana late dinner (7p)

Day 3: MK
Cinderella's Castle early breakfast (before parks open)
Chef Mickey's mid dinner (6:15p)

Day 4: DAK
Grand Floridian Cafe early breakfast (before parks open)
Yachtsman Steakhouse late dinner (8:50p)

Day 5: Epcot
1900 Park Fare early breakfast
Teppan Edo late dinner (7p)

Day 6: DAK
Beach Club early breakfast (before parks open)
1900 Park Fare late dinner (7:55p)

Day 7: MK
Chef Mickey's early breakfast (before parks open)
Hoop Dee Doo late dinner (7:15p)

Day 8: DHS
Play N Dine early breakfast (before park opens)
Trails End mid lunch (12:30p)

We'll use our extra meal credits and our snack credits to feed DS in the middle of the day if he gets hungry since DH and I know we won't be.

As you can see, we mix different types of meals, but a lot of ours are character meals because that is what DS is interested in. Also, buffets work better for us because DS gets to choose a little of everything to eat. We are having most of our meals outside the parks and that is ok because all we have to do is get on a bus (monorail or boat) that is going to the Resort we need. It doesn't take much effort, just being aware when you need to leave the park for your ADR.

Hope this helps.

[StLouisPaPa]

Disneybabies,

Thanks for the reply.
OK. It's official. I am beginning to suffer information overload. Disney is so much bigger now than it was the last time I was there. We arrive on Feb 28th. I am unfamilliar with CBR other than the bit of research that I have engaged in. Seems like a great place but maybe getting the proper building may be important? Anyway- meals. I don't think the character meals would be top of his list (althought I want to go to the Chrystal Palace with Pooh, same as I did with his mother many years ago). Other than that, I'm thinking buffets and family style - he's a bit picky. Do you think ADR's will be important that week?

[WelshieLover]

StLouisPaPa, I think you need ADRs any week at this point. We were there last week (which was realtively uncrowded) and there were places we could not get into and I had made ADRs early. The CMs did say that it was the first time in a long time they were able to find any open ADRs at any locations. I had 2 nights without any ADRs when I went down because I don't like to over-plan. We were able to get into places we wanted but not always our first choice on those 2 nights.

[DisneyBabies]

StLouisPaPa-
I would make ADR's just to be sure you know you have somewhere to eat and when you'll get to eat.

I think most of the buffets are character meals, but if that's wrong, others will come along and let you know.

We picked our meals based on DS's ideas and threw in a couple of nice meals for DH and I. Check our the menus under the info central tab and show them to DGS to get a better idea what you may like to do.

[Rhetoric2000]

Buffets and family syle generally avoiding characters. Sounds like you want.....

Biergarten (German Buffet, EPCOT - caters for picky but fun for those trying new things too)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (Family Chicken, Sausage Ribs platter, Wilderness lodge -boat from MK)
Trails End Buffet (BBQ, chili and salad buffet, Fort Wilderness - boat from MK)
Captains Grill Breakfast (buffet, very relaxed environment in the Yaght Club, then walk into Epcot).
Sci Fi Dine-In (Studios, decent Burger/fries stuff but really fun environment).
Both Rainforest and T-Rex cafes could be fun for him as well.

Hope it goes well and this is helpful.

[StLouisPaPa]

Thanks so much everyone. This gives me a place to start. I will be making the plans by myself because this is all going to be a surprise on his birthday. I will give him a card that says, "Pack a bag. We leave for Disney tomorrow". I can't wait. I think I am getting more excided than he is going to be.

OK. So I got the basic food plan. One sit down meal, one quick meal, and one snack (I think I got that right). Do I have to use one of each type each day, or do I have 21 meals banked to be used as I choose?

I'm not much of a planner, more of a wing it as you go guy. You all are helping so much. Thank you all.

[ElenitaB]

Places my DS enjoyed between 8-11 yrs of age:

MK area - 'Ohana at the Poly. At the MK he likes Crystal Palace (any meal) and really liked Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch (he liked the character dinner but there are no longer characters there)
EPCOT - He really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food (they "dumbed down" one of their entrees for him) at Coral Reef; in the World Showcase, he enjoyed Rose and Crown and Chef de France. He really liked Teppan Edo and has asked to go back there. At 10, he didn't really like Marrakesh (neither the food nor the belly dancer).
The Studios - He kind of liked Sci Fi and 50's Prime Time Cafe. At 10, there's nothing better than seeing your parents "get in trouble." In the Studios area, you can't go wrong at that age at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club and then spending time over at the Boardwalk.
Animal Kingdom area - he really enjoyed Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (breakfast and dinner). Otherwise we've only done counter service there in the past few years.


Do we simply plan on being in the park where we have our ADR?
The way I plan our ADRs is to make a general game plan of which parks we'll be visiting which days, and then decide where we'll be eating. (For example, we generally don't go to the MK on a Saturday.)

You're going to have a great time! Have fun!

[stitchaholic]

ypu use your meals as you choose,anytime,anywhere.
my kids lovedloved the best friends breakfast at ohana's ,chef mickeys,crystal palace and the cantina san angel at epcot.

[SBETigg]

'Ohana for dinner. Family style, no characters, games he can participate in if he wants to, or he can skip. 'Ohana is a fun meal, wonderful atmosphere, and a great family experience.

He might also enjoy dining at a World Showcase country, but which one to choose depends on what his food preferences are.

[Bri]

when you say he's picky, i don't know what degree of picky he is but he might really like the following:
teppen edo - it's in the japan pavilion in epcot and its hibachi style where they cook the food right in front of you. i always see little kids there and they always seem mezmerized. the food is chicken with rice and steak with rice so it's pretty basic.

hollywood and vine in hollywood studios - buffet - they had a good selection of food and the desserts were great.

boma breakfast buffet (not a character breakfast) at animal kingdom lodge. it has all your typical breakfast food (all the breakfast buffets are basically the same) but you are at animal kindgom lodge so when you are done you can go check out the mini safari they have on the property.

if you want to see more in depth menus go to the "info central" tab at the top of this page and scroll down to "dining" and click on "menus". you can check out the menus of all the places we have all mentioned. just know that not all of the menus are up to date, rose and crown is one of those instances.

the quick service meals are easier to get rid of cause most people eat quick service for breakfast and lunch. the cast members are really helpful so if you use a quick service and aren't sure you are getting everything included just ask and they will be more then willing to help you out. some sit down meals cost 2 credits per person but i doubt you would be doing those due to his picky eating.

also, definatly try to be at the park you are eating at. it's not difficult to get from one place to the other but it can be time consuming. if you have to leave a park/resort to go to a resort/park for a meal, give yourself at least an hour travel time.

[DisneyBabies]

As far as how to use your credits, you do not have to use one of each per day. You will get one ts per person/per night, one cs per person/per night and one snack per person/per night and the credits don't expire until midnight on the day you check out.
For example: one person staying two nights: You can use 1 ts and 1 snack on arrival day day, then 2 cs and 1 snack the next day, and lastly 1 ts on going home day.
So, you can spread them out anyway you want, as long as you don't loose count and try to redeam a cs credit for a ts meal.

[KylesMom]

DS is 10 - and while not overly picky is "basic". He favors these TS eateries when at Disney World:

*Ohana Dinner (Polynesian Resort) Buffet
*Chef Mickey's Dinner (The Contemporary Resort) Buffet
*LeCellier Dinner (Canada Pavilion - Epcot) Steak
*Whispering Canyon (Wilderness Lodge) All You can Eat Skillet
*Mama Melrose Dinner - Flatbread Pizza
*Crystal Palace Lunch (Buffet)
*Sci-Fi Drive In Lunch - Burgers

As far as needing ADRs? You bet. Yes, a lot has changed since the last time you were there. But I know you'll have a great time!