Can anyone help with ADR planning?

[wildcatbride22]

We're taking our first family trip to WDW 9/25 - 9/30 for our daughter's 5th birthday (and our son will be 1) and we're staying at Caribbean Beach and have 5 day park tickets (but not opposed to adding a 6th day if end up with a late afternoon flight). I have a feeling meeting the characters (well, princesses for sure!) will be just as much fun for our daughter as riding the rides or seeing the parks, so I want to do a lot of character dining. However, I feel like I have too many big meals too close together and I've been staring at it too long to really make any more good decisions!! Here is what I've booked, but really would love help!! We're getting the DDP and have already paid for CRT OOP (so trying to stick to 5 add'l TS and 5 CS's). Thank you!

Saturday (arrive..not sure if we're doing MK, MNSSHP, just resort?)
lunch - depends on arrival time, likely already have ate
dinner - 1900 Park Fare 5:55pm

Sunday (AK)
breakfast - Donald's Safari 8:30am
lunch - likely just a snack if big breakfast buffet? maybe CS?
dinner - Downtown Disney...not sure what? oop?

Monday (DD's bday, MK, plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - CS at resort? BBB appt at 8:40am
lunch - CRT 12:15pm
dinner - Crystal Palace 6:35pm

Tuesday (likely DHS in morning to early afternoon and then resort, I was trying to make this a "down day" more so)
breakfast - snack from room or CS at resort?
lunch - Hollywood & Vine 12:35pm (I'm thinking skip this in favor of CS)
dinner - Chef Mickey 6:50pm

Wednesday (Epcot - plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - Akershus princess 8:30am
lunch - snacks
dinner - CS

Thursday (leaving)
- haven't booked flights yet...meals depend on when we leave

Are there any character meals you'd switch out for others that are better? What would you move? It seems like 2 in a day would be too much, right? Especially with 5yo and 1yo (even though we eat restaurant meals frequently so they're used to it)? I hate the thought that we are tied down to ADR's instead of going with the flow? And if we do MNSSHP on Saturday at 7, can we get into the park earlier to eat, say around 6? Or would we have to use a day of park tickets just for that? Chef Mickey's is full for that night (thought of switching it out), so I did 1900 Park Fare (which DD will be thrilled with Cinderella on first night!). Is it easy to get from GF to MK for MNSSHP? How hard will it be to get from CBR to GF? TIA!!

 

[Cafeen]

And if we do MNSSHP on Saturday at 7, can we get into the park earlier to eat, say around 6?

With the MNSSHP ticket, you can enter the MK as early as 4pm.

Or would we have to use a day of park tickets just for that?

And nope, this would not count as day on your tickets, assuming you have the MNSSHP tickets .

Chef Mickey's is full for that night (thought of switching it out), so I did 1900 Park Fare (which DD will be thrilled with Cinderella on first night!). Is it easy to get from GF to MK for MNSSHP? How hard will it be to get from CBR to GF? TIA!!

GF to MK is super easy. Either take the boat from the back side of the resort to the MK, or you can take the Monorail from the front side (a bit closer to 1900PF) right to the MK (it's the next stop).

Getting from CBR to GF shouldn't be too bad either, while not quite as easy, but you'd basically ride the bus from CBR to MK, then hop a boat or monorail from MK to GF (4th stop from MK is the GF).

The plans look decent, but I'm not particularly skilled in that area, so I'll let someone better take a glance .

Enjoy your trip

 

[dgagnon519]

Saturday (arrive..not sure if we're doing MK, MNSSHP, just resort?)
lunch - depends on arrival time, likely already have ate
dinner - 1900 Park Fare 5:55pm

I think this is a good way to start off the trip especially if she is into the princesses. You should be fine travelling. I agree with above go to MK then boat over to GF

Sunday (AK)
breakfast - Donald's Safari 8:30am
lunch - likely just a snack if big breakfast buffet? maybe CS?
dinner - Downtown Disney...not sure what? oop?

Safari breakfast is very good. As far as Downtown Disney, either planet hollywood or if she likes dinosaurs and you are payin oop T-Rex was good or maybe try rainforest cafe.

Monday (DD's bday, MK, plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - CS at resort? BBB appt at 8:40am
lunch - CRT 12:15pm
dinner - Crystal Palace 6:35pm

doing a lunch in a dinner on the same day at places that give big portions is kind of tough but they are both great choices. Is there any chance of making one a breakfast and the other a dinner

Tuesday (likely DHS in morning to early afternoon and then resort, I was trying to make this a "down day" more so)
breakfast - snack from room or CS at resort?
lunch - Hollywood & Vine 12:35pm (I'm thinking skip this in favor of CS)
dinner - Chef Mickey 6:50pm

again maybe try to get H&V for breakfast or an earlier lunch. If you decide to do a CS Pizza planet is fun.

Wednesday (Epcot - plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - Akershus princess 8:30am
lunch - snacks
dinner - CS

Thursday (leaving)
- haven't booked flights yet...meals depend on when we leave

maybe do a breakfast Ohanas with Lilo and Stitch. It is one of our favorites.

 

[wildcatbride22]

Thank you soooooo much!!!!

I think we'll stick with the plan for Saturday and then we can play it by ear whether or not we go to MNSSHP (well, I mean we'd buy tickets in May or whenever dates are announced and we decide to go)...if did an ADR in MK, we'd *have* to.

Thanks for the DD rec's! We actually have a T-Rex restaurant here (ate there a few weekends ago!) and used to have a Rainforest...so we may have to dry the Planet Hollywood!

I'm so confused as to what to do on that Monday, DD's bday. I know two TS's back to back (lunch/dinner) is too much....but we have BBB at 8:40 and then I want to be able to spend the morning in the park riding rides, and not eating, you know? So lunch made sense. But then I want a special dinner for DD that night...so that's how it came to be and I can't figure out how to make it better? We could possibly move CP to our last day for breakfast and then do a bit more in MK before we fly out late afternoon? But then what to do for a "special" dinner for DD on her bday?

I think we will likely skip H&V altogether. I think we'll do snacks/CS at resort for breakfast, and CS at DHS for lunch if we even stay that long...that's our "down day" and I'm not even sure we'll go to DHS, I'm trying to play that day by ear since we'll have been so busy the 3 previous days and will have Epcot the next day. Is it possible to just go to DHS for a few hours, hit the highlights? I know this is a dining thread, sorry! Anyway, then if we hang at the resort most of the day, it'll be fun to go to Chef Mickey's for dinner instead of feeling like "urgh, more food", I think?

I'll have to look into Ohanas, thanks! We could maybe do that our last morning as well? Although I think I'm getting too many TS's in there again! This is too hard! =)

 

[dgagnon519]

My kids are excited to try planet hollywood. I showed them some pics online and they think it looks "cool" inside. They are 9 and 6.

If you are going more for the experience than the food than having the 2 ts wont matter. Cp is great one of our favs. It will be a fun dinner. Any chance of mayube making the CRT her special meal and maybe doing something special for her bday night other than a dinner. That being only if you want to avoid the 2 ts meals in one day.

If you can I would definitley go to dhs if she has not been before even if you go and just so the playhouse disney show, toy story mania ride, little mermaid and the beauty and the beast show. They are great. Get the times for the beauty and the beast show the week before and plan around that. It really is nice. I would go right to toy story mania ride once or get a fast pass than go to the the playhouse disney show when that is done grab a fast pass for little mermaid and go ride toy story mania then go watch the beauty and the beast show then go on little mermaid than you have at least knocked out the ones she will liek the most and if you want to do more you can look at the schedule for character meet and greets or maybe do muppets in 3d.

By the way are you doing the dining plan?

Also you might want to do pick a pearl in japan at Epcot as a birthday moment.

 

[Hootch]

ia anything like mine she will be hungry the night of our CRT lunch. She was so excited that she really didn't eat much for lunch.

She did BBB and lunch last year. It was near her birthday so Disney treated as such. She was so excited.

 

[rcraw45425]

Thank you soooooo much!!!!

I think we'll stick with the plan for Saturday and then we can play it by ear whether or not we go to MNSSHP (well, I mean we'd buy tickets in May or whenever dates are announced and we decide to go)...if did an ADR in MK, we'd *have* to.

Thanks for the DD rec's! We actually have a T-Rex restaurant here (ate there a few weekends ago!) and used to have a Rainforest...so we may have to dry the Planet Hollywood!

I'm so confused as to what to do on that Monday, DD's bday. I know two TS's back to back (lunch/dinner) is too much....but we have BBB at 8:40 and then I want to be able to spend the morning in the park riding rides, and not eating, you know? So lunch made sense. But then I want a special dinner for DD that night...so that's how it came to be and I can't figure out how to make it better? We could possibly move CP to our last day for breakfast and then do a bit more in MK before we fly out late afternoon? But then what to do for a "special" dinner for DD on her bday?

I think we will likely skip H&V altogether. I think we'll do snacks/CS at resort for breakfast, and CS at DHS for lunch if we even stay that long...that's our "down day" and I'm not even sure we'll go to DHS, I'm trying to play that day by ear since we'll have been so busy the 3 previous days and will have Epcot the next day. Is it possible to just go to DHS for a few hours, hit the highlights? I know this is a dining thread, sorry! Anyway, then if we hang at the resort most of the day, it'll be fun to go to Chef Mickey's for dinner instead of feeling like "urgh, more food", I think?

I'll have to look into Ohanas, thanks! We could maybe do that our last morning as well? Although I think I'm getting too many TS's in there again! This is too hard! =)

We have dont the birthday thing for our girls in the past (they're 13 & 15 now, we still do Disney birthdays!). I don't know if it would be too much Princess stuff but one of our "funnest" celebrations was the 1900 Park Faire Cinderella one. They presented her with a laminated signed placemat, a tiara and a birthday cupcake:

The Prince was so sweet to her!

 

[Tinkerbelle9980]

Saturday (arrive..not sure if we're doing MK, MNSSHP, just resort?)
lunch - depends on arrival time, likely already have ate
dinner - 1900 Park Fare 5:55pm

Sunday (AK)
breakfast - Donald's Safari 8:30am
lunch - likely just a snack if big breakfast buffet? maybe CS?
dinner - Downtown Disney...not sure what? oop? You could also use your counter service meals at Wolfgang Puck Express or Earl Of Sandwich

Monday (DD's bday, MK, plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - CS at resort? BBB appt at 8:40am As much food as you have for the rest of the day, you might want to consider snacks for breakfast, maybe from the bakery?
lunch - CRT 12:15pm
dinner - Crystal Palace 6:35pm

Tuesday (likely DHS in morning to early afternoon and then resort, I was trying to make this a "down day" more so)
breakfast - snack from room or CS at resort?snack maybe?
lunch - Hollywood & Vine 12:35pm (I'm thinking skip this in favor of CS) Cs would probably be the easiest maybe at the resort
dinner - Chef Mickey 6:50pm

Wednesday (Epcot - plan to head back to nap in afternoon)
breakfast - Akershus princess 8:30am
lunch - snacks
dinner - CS

Thursday (leaving)
- haven't booked flights yet...meals depend on when we leave

I made a couple suggestions that even out the out of pocket expenses a little bit. Hopefully you find a solution that works for your family!