Critiques please

[Cinderelley]

I know this is early, but I'm figuring out our plans so I know how much money to save. ;)

Going Sept, 2013 and staying at POR
Group consists of (approximately)
1 - 5 year old girl
6 - in their early 20s
2 - in their 30s
5 - in their 40s

Thursday - everyone flies in. Dinner at the build your own pasta station and a Haunted Carriage ride (if it isn't offered, we'll just do a carriage ride around POR)
Friday - Magic Kingdom with lunch in the castle and hopefully MNSSHP
Saturday - AK. Dinner at Raglan Road and a little shopping at DTD\
Sunday - Epcot . Dinner at the Garden Grill followed by an Illuminations Cruise
Monday - DHS with the Fantasmic Dinner Package at Mama Melrose
Tuesday - Breakfat at Crystal Palace before some of the crew has to leave.

I haven't decided on any plans after that. I am curious about what you guys think, especially those who have recent experience with young children. The 20 something gang is my kids and their friends. It's been a loooong time since I had to deal with a 5 year old.

[Pirate Granny]

Do you plan on the dining plan? How many rooms do you plan on getting? Looks like you will need 5 day park passes...no hoppers. If people are leaving that last day and don't want to pay for a park day, have breakfast at chef Mickey instead. We travel with 10 to 12 on our family trips...but we stay in a grand Villa at OKW, which sleeps 12, full kitchen and washer and dryer.

[Pirate Granny]

Oh yea, terriSue at Magical Journeys can give you a price for a package which would include, rooms, park tickets and dining plan. Maybe you'll be lucky to hit a free dining offer!

[Pirate Granny]

Illuminations cruises are over $300 and you can only have 10 people. :(

[DizneyRox]

I think dinner at the castle is a better value...

Teppan Edo instead of Garden Grill? You'll need a couple of tables, but will probably need that everywhere. The 'show' is good for everyone.

I'd pass on Crystal Palace... You'll all need tickets to get in, you can save a bunch by not getting those tickets. Cape May and Boma have wonderful breakfasts. If you want a good in park meal, Donald's Safari Breakfast is impossible to beat. Impossible I say!

[Cinderelley]

I think dinner at the castle is a better value...

Teppan Edo instead of Garden Grill? You'll need a couple of tables, but will probably need that everywhere. The 'show' is good for everyone.

I'd pass on Crystal Palace... You'll all need tickets to get in, you can save a bunch by not getting those tickets. Cape May and Boma have wonderful breakfasts. If you want a good in park meal, Donald's Safari Breakfast is impossible to beat. Impossible I say!

I wasn't sure if the princesses are there for dinner or just the fairy godmother. I imagine that seeing the princesses would be very important to a 5 year old girl.

Garden Grill was for the characters also. Would Teppan Edo still be better? I think Donald's Safari Breakfast that you recommended would give us the same characters as Garden Grill. We could do that on our AK day.

And Crystal Palace on the last day of the trip is a ritual that my family has to do. My kids would revolt if I didn't. ;)

Sounds like I may have to try to book both boats for the Illuminations cruise.

I'm hoping that they will be offering free dining when we go. Our dates are pretty flexible in order to take advantage of it. I know that it will probably work out to be more expensive than other discounts, but it is worth it to me for various non-monetary reasons.

Right now it is looking like we will need 7 rooms. This isn't a set in stone count though. It is hard for people to commit to something that is more than a year away. I'm just planning on saving for that possibility though.

[DizneyRox]

They changed the CRT Dinner to include the princesses, no more Fairy Godmother.

Garden Grill is a great meal, it's not a bad choice, but I'm not sure I'm dying to go back. I think it was more about the value of the meal. Just be prepared for sticker shock. Tried Teppan Edo on our last trip and everyone was very happy with the meal, not sure why it took us 15 years to try it.

I guess if you have to do Crystal Palace... I have no use for Pooh and Friends (he's banned at my house actually) so it's a place I will never set foot in.

Donald's Safari Breakfast is the best breakfast on property (character or not). Haven't been on a trip where we don't do that at least once. For some reason, the seating process has always been a little hecktic, but once inside, it's a great meal. The food has always been varied and plentiful. Character interaction is good, even without kids, and they do a little musical parade for the kiddos that really gets the place hoppin!

[yourmagicalguide]

[...] I am curious about what you guys think [...]

DH and I went to POR in mid-September last year and had a great time :mickey: The only slight problem were all these seasonal bugs (people were calling them "Love Bugs" since two were always connected together) that made it difficult to enjoy the pool areas since they landed on everyone and everything. Otherwise, the weather was great and the crowds were very manageable.

Thursday Comments: The build your own pasta station is awesome at POR :thumbsup: May I also suggest the "Pasta of the Day" - which during my entire stay was baked ziti topped with mozzarella cheese that came with a slice of garlic bread. I got a huge portion for a great price (I believe it was less than $7), and it was very filling and delicious :tasty: The Haunted Carriage Ride sounds like so much fun! I hope they offer it next year!

Friday Comments: If you can't stick around for MNSSHP for whatever reason, consider doing what DH and I did and go over to the Poly a good hour or so before the fireworks at MK are scheduled to begin, relax on lounge chairs on the beach (the little one will enjoy playing in the sand), and watch the Electrical Water Pageant and special MNSSHP firework show with the music and voices being piped in! :D It was the highlight of our trip, and we didn't have to spend a dime! We even got a special bonus that the Poly was doing movie night on the beach before the fireworks, so we got to see a majority of Tangled before the Electrical Water Pageant began. It was so memorable and we got some fantastic pictures.

Saturday Comments: Sounds like a great plan!

Sunday Comments: I've always wanted to try the Garden Grill, and the Illuminations Cruise sounds wonderful. I'm not sure if you planned on eating lunch in the World Showcase, but with your group being so big, it might be a good idea to just let everyone pick whatever quick service country they want to get food at. We did that on a previous group trip and then everyone met inside the Liberty Inn at American Adventure (central location in WS and huge seating area) to eat together in air conditioning. It worked out great!

Monday Comments: :thumbsup:

Tuesday Comments: We love the Crystal Palace as well! The food is always great and it's fun getting pictures with all the Winnie the Pooh characters.

Overall, sounds like a wonderful plan! :mickey:

[darthmacho]

And Crystal Palace on the last day of the trip is a ritual that my family has to do. My kids would revolt if I didn't. ;)


I love WDW rituals, or traditions as I call them.
I have steered us towards a few traditions, and eating at Crystal Palace on our first full day is one of them, followed by riding Dumbo.

Other traditions include visiting the Wilderness Lodge, exploring and dining at our home resort on the arrival day, and just recently, lunching at the Yak and Yeti. :mickey:

Good luck with that large group. I travel best with a small pack. :thumbsup:

[Mfarquar]

I agree with the suggestions/advice DisneyRox has given you. Tepan Edo would be great family dining and I think a bit more bang for your buck quality-wise. It's a fun experience.

It sounds like you are going at Halloween-time.

If that is the case, I would do a different meal than Mama Melrose. I have tried this restaurant 3 times since the park opened and have been utterly disappointed every time. Poor food, poor service. Plus, the Fantasmic Package is not cheap.

I find at that time of year, as long as you get in for Fantasmic 30 minutes ahead of time, you should be fine. They make you show up early to the Package entrance anyway. Many times I have just walked in. There really isn't a bad seat in the entire theater, IMO.

Hope this helps!

[Cinderelley]

What is the show at Teppan Edo? I looked at the menu, and it may be a place that everyone enjoys. They certainly enjoyed the meal at Benihana's, and this seems similar. Also, is it possible to get the dishes without rice or noodles? I can't eat either of those.

And DisneyRox hasn't steered me wrong in all the years I've been on here. ;)

[Cinderelley]

Good luck with that large group. I travel best with a small pack. :thumbsup:

The secret is in not keeping it a large group. I pick the park we will be in each day and a meal that we all meet up for. Other than that, everyone is on their own. ;)

[DizneyRox]

The 'show' is the chef making your meals. It's a hibachi meal basically. Locally, we need a certain number of people to actually it at a hibachi grill, so we don't get that often.

I would imagine they coud do some alternate vegetables rather than noodles if you prefer. They usually cook the noodles off to the side so you don't need to worry about contamination.

Garden Grill isn't bad, I just think a group like that might enjoy TE more, and the kids don't mind the show either.

[Mfarquar]

Also, IMO, the chefs at Tepan Edo are much more skilled and authentic than Benihana. Plus, the food is much better than Benihana - you can't compare the two.

[Cinderelley]

Ok. You almost have me sold on Teppan Edo. My last concern is how close the cooking "grill," or whatever you want to call it, is to where you sit. I don't want the 5 year old burning herself. Is that a possibility or am I just being a paranoid ER nurse? ;)

[DizneyRox]

They suggest seating children on the ends, so they are out of harms way. I'm pretty sure the grill on the ends is a lower temp than the middle cooking area, they use it as a warming area rather than cooking.

There is an eating area between the seats and the cooking surface, so all that would keep the child pretty safe.

[Cinderelley]

Thank you very much