Need dining advice for last minute trip

[Shellyfish]

Ok, maybe not last minute, but pretty close. My 16 yo nephew and I are arriving late on March 12 and leaving early on March 19. We will be there for 6 full days and are hoping to make 3-4 reservations for our trip. Even though he's 16, character meals aren't out of the question - he's pretty good about not being so worried about looking cool at Disney, but an all princess experience is probably out. There are so many options and everyone seems to have their favorites, it's difficult to choose. What would you choose and what places are we more likely to have success getting reserved on such short notice? Thanks!

 

[Mrs D]

Ok, maybe not last minute, but pretty close. My 16 yo nephew and I are arriving late on March 12 and leaving early on March 19. We will be there for 6 full days and are hoping to make 3-4 reservations for our trip. Even though he's 16, character meals aren't out of the question - he's pretty good about not being so worried about looking cool at Disney, but an all princess experience is probably out. There are so many options and everyone seems to have their favorites, it's difficult to choose. What would you choose and what places are we more likely to have success getting reserved on such short notice? Thanks!

I would recommend place with a lot of seating. Here are a few thoughts:
O'Hana - it's popular so might be difficult but great food and fun
Biergarten - it's big and they have large tables. I love the food here and the music.
Restaurant Marrakesh - I love the CS in Morocco and would like to try this someday
The Wave (at the Contemporary Resort) - excellent food a more grown up atmosphere
50"s Prime Time Cafe - good food, fun atmosphere

Go check out what you can get using the online dining reservations system. They will also make recommendations.

Have fun!

 

[Shellyfish]

Thank you for your quick and thoughtful reply. I should have mentioned that we are staying at Pop Century, for now, but I'm still checking daily for other options. I also should have mentioned that my nephew, Nick, is a sushi fanatic.

Your choices are made for me. I love polynesian and the whole tiki culture, and I took German for four years in high school so O'Hana and Biergarten sound great to me. Marrakesh is intriguing as well. I looked at the menu and I'm not sure Nick would go for The Wave, but last time I went to WDW I had drinks at the bar at Prime Time Cafe and I really wanted to eat there.

I would like to make some preliminary reservations tomorrow, on Wednesday, Nick and I are getting together to do a little planning and I'll get a better idea of what he wants to do, but it's better if I have a basis to build from. If I just give him a list of all the restaurants he'll get overwhelmed.

You made some fantastic suggestions! Keep em coming!

 

[NJDISMOM]

Shellyfish, both my boys really enjoy Boma at AKL. They have a great variety and the AKL is beautiful !! We also do Crystal Palace because we like the food and I really enjoy getting pics of my boys with Pooh and the gang !

He may not want to do a meal with them, but my guys (all 3 of them !) occasionally want to get pics with princesses as well .

Have a great trip !

 

[NJDISMOM]

Just noticed your DN is a sushi fan ! My DS16 is one as well ! We always make sure to hit Sunshine Seasons in Epcot for counter service. They have a great variety and have good sushi. The desserts are to die for too

 

[Petraman]

Just noticed your DN is a sushi fan ! My DS16 is one as well ! We always make sure to hit Sunshine Seasons in Epcot for counter service. They have a great variety and have good sushi. The desserts are to die for too

If he likes sushi, you really don't want to miss either Teppan Edo or Tokyo Dining. The Teppan Edo might be more interesting for him since it is a "Benihana's" style dinner show with your chef. Amazing Sushi!! at both

As far as "Character meal", you may want to consider HoopDeDoo even though it isn't really a character meal, more of a floorshow. He's 16 and as I remember, there are dancing girls! hehe...

 

[Shellyfish]

Thanks everyone, these are great suggestions. He and I are going to make a preliminary plan tomorrow. After that I'll know when we'll be at each park and I can make some reservations. I know he's going to go for Teppan Edo and probably the counter service sushi, too. He can eat sushi all day, but he won't eat turkey at Thanksgiving - he's picky in strange ways. I might try to talk him into Boma as well. I've been wanting to stay at Animal Kingdom and that would be a good opportunity to check it out. So many choices! Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Shellyfish]

After going over our options with Nick, he was adamant about eating at Coral Reef and Tokyo Dining and adamant about not eating at '50's Prime Time Cafe (I guess he had a bad experience there?) I wasn't able to find any times available at Boma or O'Hana. I ended up making more reservations than I planned, and I had to juggle around times to get in places at short notice. So, with all of that in mind, here is what I came up with...

Day One Epcot
1:50 PM: Coral Reef
7:50 PM: Tokyo Dining

Day Two DHS
11:55 AM: Brown Derby
7:35 PM: Sci-Fi Dine In

Day Three: AK/MK
1:30 PM: Yak & Yeti

Day Four: Epcot/DTD
12:55 PM: Biergarten
10:00 PM: T-Rex (not sure if we'll make it to this one)

Day Five: Free Day
No Reservations

Day Six: MK
2:05 PM: Liberty Tree Tavern


I'm going to see if I can work in Hoop-De-Do. That sounds like fun!