ADR input please

[koppa33]

Hi all-we will be going to Disney in May. I am trying to get my reservations put together as our Agent wants to book our events when the 180-day mark, which is in November so, I have been working hard. We are a family of 4. We LOVE to eat. We are doing the deluxe dining plan and I know it is A LOT of eating but it’s the only time I will get my girls to slow down, eat, and be in air conditioning and we are good with that. We will not be waiting in many character lines because our girls do not love characters just the princesses and do not want to do character meals with the exception of 1900 Park fare and CRT so we have many options! Hubs and I have not been there in about 15 years and my girls ever. Hubs and I LOVE all kinds of food. We love Indian, authentic and good quality food but are on a very tight budget so this trip we would like to LIVE it up and eat well. As long as there is a kids menu that has pizza, marinara dish, chicken strips or mac and n cheese my girls will be fine ANYWHERE. They are picky but will eat anywhere as long as they have a choice of the above foods ;) They are well behaved and love restaurants. Please leave suggestions below that you think would be great for us to do. I am fine with signature restaurants and regular; just do not want to oop so it has to be on the plan  Thanks for all and any input!:thumbsup::mickey:

[buzznwoodysmom]

I will just go ahead and list some of our favorites. We are a family of 4 with 2 boys ages 12 and 10, who have been going to WDW yearly since they were babies. The places I will list are places we've loved over the years, when my kids were all different ages.

#1 must do on each and every one of our trips is Ohana's at the Polynesian resort. A trip would not be the same without Ohana's on our first official night in WDW!

Our favorite signature is California Grill at Contemporary Resort timed so that we are there during Wishes. We love stepping out on the huge balcony to watch the fireworks from MK between our meal and dessert.

Our kids love Sci Fi at Hollywood Studios for the atmosphere. Where else can you dine in a car in what feels like a drive in theater!

Other places we love are:
Via Napoli in Epcot (Italy)
Teppen Edo in Epcot (Japan)
Chefs de France in Epcot (France)
Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom
Grand Floridian Cafe at Grand Floridian Resort
Kona Cafe at Polynesian
Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge
Chef Mickey's at Contemporary (character breakfast) - I know you said no character meals, but being it's the girls' first trip I think breakfast with the "Fab Five" is a must do!

Given a few comments in the original post it seems you and your husband might enjoy Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House or Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village. We did not enjoy Boma, but I've heard many, many rave reviews. We will be trying Sanaa for the first time in Feb., but again I've heard really great reviews here as well.

Oh, and :welcome: to Intercot!

[Lindsey310]

:welcome: to intercot!!!!

I will list a few of our must do's when we go to Disney: the following are sure to satisfy every appetite:

Planet hollywood
Boma
Sanaa
Via Napoli
Ohana (a must do, please book this one!!)
Mama melrose's for the fantasmic dinner package
Kona cafe for breakfast (DH loves the tonga toast)

Quick service would be:
Earl of sandwich
Backstage studio lot
Columbia harbor house (for the best fish and chips!!)

Have a wonderful time :pixie:

[koppa33]

Couple of questions for you ladies--I have one girl who has extreme anxiety and fears and one of the things are costumes hence why we are skipping character anything meal wise. One thing that is okay for her for some reason are the princess because they are "real" people with "real" faces not head coverings.

So...with that said...

Sci Fi-is it scary at all? Dark or scary things?

Planet Hollywood-Is it REALLY loud and do you truly sit on top of each other table wise?

The fantaasmic thing I wasn't sure if we should do because someone mentioned if you have kids aftraid of villians or "bad" people this may not be for them?

Thoughts on the above?

Thanks!@

[faline]

Sci Fi is set up to resemble an old drive-in theater. You dine in "cars" and face the movie screen which runs preview clips from a number of old sci-fi movies. It sounds like this would not be place for your family.

Be aware that you cannot avoid all costumed characters in the parks - they are often in public area and/or walk through public areas so you should be prepared for that.

I'm not a fan of Planet Hollywood - ate there a couple of times and haven't been back for ages. It is very loud in there.

Fanasmic is loud in places and the theme is good versus evil so there are quite a few villians appearing during the show.

Some quieter choices for lovely dinners might be places like:
Le Cellier
Citrico's (this is going down for refurbishment, I think, for some period of time)
Narcoosee's
California Grill (but this is going down for refurbishment for some period of time)
JIko's
La Hacienda (though it is a bit dark in this restaurant)
Kona Cafe

[SBETigg]

I think you would really like Sanaa, African/Indian influences, at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani). Very good food and if you get a window table, view of animals. I love starting with the naan and sauces.

I also really like:
Kouzzina
Grand Floridian Cafe
'Ohana
Tokyo Dining/Teppan Edo
Chefs de France
Bistro de Paris (should be reopened with a new name).
Via Napoli
Raglan Road

Narcoossee's
Citricos
Jiko
California Grill
Flying Fish Cafe

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

I agree with Sanaa. I am not sure how old your girls are, but we went there last Sept when my girls were 7 and 4 and they loved it. Yo can see the animals outside of the windows, and the food will be great for you husband and you. You might also want to try Norway, Aukerhaus. It is dining with princesses as well, they have a great breakfast. Lunch and dinner you and your husband can dry different foods. Our girls loved Teppan Edo (Japan in Epcot) They love Ohana's... And Boma. (I am trying to think of the places they have liked other than the character ones and sci fi)... They always like Columbia Harbour House which is Quick Service in MK and we go upstairs where it is less crowded.. My hisband and I like Flame Tree at AK, but the kids would choose Pizzafari, and it is inside and air conditioned, so we usually cave in.

[Gator]

Sci Fi-is it scary at all? Dark or scary things?

Planet Hollywood-Is it REALLY loud and do you truly sit on top of each other table wise?

The fantaasmic thing I wasn't sure if we should do because someone mentioned if you have kids aftraid of villians or "bad" people this may not be for them?


1. Sci-Fi is not scary at all. It has a simulated dark, starlit sky with a movie screen. It's dim, but not dark or scary.

2. Planet Hollywood is very loud and the food is just ok. I've been there once and plan to never return.

3. Fantasmic has villains, yes. But they're on a mist screen. There also is a scene on the mountain where Mickey is chased by Jafar, but it looks fake enough that my own kids laugh at it.

My suggestions include Akershus at the Norway pavillion in Epcot. It also has princesses at breakfast and lunch, but the lunch menu is really really good. Love that Norse food! Also, try the Liberty Tree Tavern at MK for dinner - it's like Thanksgiving from heaven. Teppen Edo is one of my favorites, with the chefs cooking the food right in front of you. A fun show and some really good food. Good luck!

[Janmac]

We love 1900 Park Fare for supper, which has face characters, as does Akershus in Norway. Which is also a favorite.

Ohana's for breakfast has non-face characters, but supper is fun here, without characters. A little rowdy with the coconut race but not loud.

We also like Marrakesh - the little girl in our group loves to get up and dance with the belly dancer. They have spaghetti on the kids menu but our girl likes the shish kebabs. Marrakesh is at Morocco in Epcot. We like most of the Epcot country restaurants.

Our girl is not a fan of dark, scary seeming stuff - like Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion but she loved Sci Fi Dine-In Theater. One of her favorite places to eat.

We like Coral Reef, at the Seas with Nemo and friends. Big aquarium wall to watch fish and divers, and the kids meal features a make your own sundae.

We also like to try to get to Trail's End Kitchen at Fort Wilderness Campground for one supper. It's a buffet with kid friendly stuff. I don't know what the kids in our group have liked more - the pizza or the chili. And the cold shrimp is a huge favorite too.

A lot of our favorite sit down places to eat are character breakfast buffets. Which is off your list - except for Akershus.

One thing I like to do is check the menus - which you can find in a variety of places, like here at Intercot at info central or at Disney's website - to see what sounds good to us.

Another thing that dictates where we eat is where we are staying - except 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian, because we try to eat there every time. There are no busses between resorts, so getting to the Grand Floridian from a non-Magic Kingdom resort can be problematical. Same with eating at Boatwrights, which we enjoyed a lot, at Port Orleans Riverside if you're staying at an Epcot or MK resort. If we have a personal vehicle, we might drive, or we might take Disney transport - allowing an hour, or we might take a cab.

Because of this, we might eat supper at Cape May for their seafood buffet after being at Disney's Hollywood Studios (take the boat). Or we might eat at Ohanas for supper after being at MK.

I've only mentioned sit down meals, altho with the Deluxe plan you can do counter service as well. Sunshine Seasons at the Land Pavilion in Epcot, and, as was mentioned, Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom, are favorite counter services. We like Cosmic Ray's at MK as well.

We don't go to Downtown Disney very often. I doubt we will do Planet Hollywood or Rainforest Cafe again - too loud. We mostly enjoyed Raglan Road on our one visit there, but we have made repeat trips to Earl of Sandwich, counter service place.

Enjoy!

Jan