Time for another update… this time ADRs!
On previous trips we have only ever a made a couple of dining reservations at Disney as being offsite guests not on a dining plan we tend to either do QS or eat at offsite restaurants. This trip is going to be similar as early on in planning we decided to avoid tying ourselves down to set lunch/dinner locations and times as we are very aware that with Charlie in tow we are going to need to be much more flexible with our days and it’s hard to know at this stage how each day is going to pan out. That said I was quite set that we would absolutely need to book some character breakfasts (as lets face it no matter how the day goes we are always going to need to start it by filling our bellies!).
Before going to DLP last year we had never done character dining before but with Charlie only being 9 months old when we travelled we knew it would be tough to stand in long queues with him to meet characters so a character breakfast seemed like the perfect solution to get those sought after photos without lots of waiting around! And it definitely worked out brilliantly as he was very intrigued and interested by the characters and we had some great interactions (I am sure Goofy loved having his nose sucked by a baby!). Here’s a few photos of Charlie doing his best meeting and greeting…
For this trip there was obviously a lot more options when it came to character breakfasts and after a little research we decided to stick to in-park offerings and have opted for Garden Grill at Epcot and The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom. We will be visiting Chip ’n’ Dale at Garden Grill in our first week, I avoided booking it too early in the trip as was conscious Charlie might need a few days to adjust to the time difference. The earliest time slot I could get on booking opening up at 180 days was 9:40am which I must admit was later than I was hoping for but snapped it up regardless and have been checking in daily to see if an earlier time becomes available. If not we will just have a light breakfast earlier in the morning to keep us going!
We will then be visiting Pooh and friends at The Crystal Palace on our last full day. There was much more availability for this one and I managed to pick up an 8:35am booking which I am thinking will work well.
So that is all we are going to book in advance. It will ensure we get plenty of character meets without tying ourselves too much into being in a set park at a set time. Now I am just keeping fingers crossed that Charlie hasn’t develop a fear of oversized creatures coming over to hug him since our trip to DLP! (Given how much older he will be it’s a very real possibility, if this is the case I’m happy to step in for all the hugs!).
With those couple of ADRs booked its now back to a quiet period of waiting and counting down. Despite checking in daily, the price of the Premier Inn at Gatwick North still hasn’t come down so I am still keeping a very eager eye on that!
Since my last update we have had a busy few weeks including a trip to Center Parks and Charlie has also experienced his first UK theme park as we headed to Chessington’s World of Adventures last month, staying overnight at their Safari Hotel. It was a great couple of days and we were very happy to see how much Charlie loved it… he took all the rides completely in his stride so it certainly bodes well for all that he has to come in September!
Also to balance all the holiday shopping out that I have being doing for myself I have now focused my attention on Charlie’s holiday wardrobe and it is coming together nicely! (The whale t-shirt is for Seaworld and the Harry Potter t-shirt of course for Universal).
That brings us up to date for now, but no doubt I will be back again soon to share more planning ramblings!