I'm not sure if you plan to make multiple WDW trips over the years but we have found that our preferences of dining have changed depending on the circumstances and the ages of our kids.Its funny because I didnt write about how truly bad the dining reservation went. So we had a 3:30 reservation and at 3:05 I checked in. We did not get seated until about 3:45. On top of that we then Ordered 2 cheeseburgers. Did not get the food for almost an hour. It was the only dining reservation I made for the 4 days and I only did it because my wife and I had eaten there years and years ago when we went and I wanted my daughter to see the restaurant. My wife passed away 3 years ago when my daughter was 4 so I just wanted to do something that would be Able to tie in back what I went with her mom but it really went South. I didn't like the idea of a reservation and having to be trapped in that time slot and the one I made I regretted so I will never ever ever do it again
Our first couple of trips we went with extended family (grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles) so it was nice doing one TS meal per day as kind of a gathering to slow things down. Everybody would talk about their day, what their favorite part was and we all enjoyed the time together in a relaxed atmosphere. We read a lot of reviews and found places that were know for a more laid back atmosphere including some nice places at the monorail resorts and in the world showcase at Epcot. We had some great experiences at places like Yak & Yeti, Ohana, Cape May Cafe, Boma, Garden Grill, Tepon Edo, Tuto Italia and many others.
As our kids got a little older (tweens to young teens) they just wanted to go 100 miles an hour all day and just ride as much as possible. During that time period we stopped making ADR's and just relied on QS. This actually opened up a lot of places that we probably would have never tried before but just chose to duck in there for a quick bite in between rides (Pecos Bills, Pizzafarri). The food wasn't prepared by a 5 star chef but our kids loved the atmosphere. Now our kids are all high school and college age and we have started to go back to TS again.
One of the things that keeps us coming back to WDW over the years is they have so much to offer that you can have almost completely different vacations at different points in your life and still have a great time.