HELP-due to Thomas Cook mess

[Loulou127]

The other thing to bear in mind is that there are very few restaurants that will be completely booked up at your Adr day, so you do have some time to think what you want

Also what restaurants were MMH going to book for you? Use that as your starting point x

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by squishy

I would agree with others - it’s easy to get overwhelmed and I think last time, I found the table service meals could become a bit restrictive to what we wanted when we were there, so I cancelled a couple and rejigged them, which was remarkably stress free.

We really enjoyed Garden Grill (Epcot) breakfast; Teppan Edo (also Epcot) dinner (my now 12 year old still recalls this as a highlight); Cape May (we did dinner and breakfast, both were good, but I think we overdid the character breakfasts - we did Tusker House, Garden Grill, Cape May, Ohana, Crystal Palace, Akershus! ) and 1900 Park Fare for dinner. Both the Cape May and Park Fare dinners were much better than I expected - both buffets but with plenty of variety and good quality.

ETA in hindsight (and in planning for next year); I'll plan for better use of the QS places, particularly as we're going to be on site for 6 days, not 14. We'll do lunch BOG (we did breakfast and it was only OK); Chinese QS at Epcot; Blaze at Disney Springs

My 'must do's' next time, so far, are: Chefs de France; Ohana (dinner) - we will keep a character breakfast and I think it'll either be Cape May or Garden Grill.

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Lunch at Lotus Blossom Cafe (Chinese QS in Epcot) was the last meal I had on this trip. I had the orange chicken and it was absolutely delicious, I highly recommend it.

[Sarahcop]

Right the pen and paper coming out later...

[lorna_99]

I’m a planner and love it almost as much as the holiday itself but I have heard if you sign up to touring plans (there is a fee) it will create daily plans for you that you can customise. Disney are also adding a similar feature to their app but no date as far as I’m aware for release. Another option that might be fun for everyone is to create a post for each day of holiday and ask dibbers who love to plan to create a schedule for you based on your family’s likes ... a short bio on what your fave foods, Disney movies are etc and then pick which 1 appeals to you most OR get your kids to do it and really involve them in the process.

[dixonsontour]

Plenty if time no need to stress. I do a list of places I fancy. Then do a plan of which park what day then slot the meals in. Do early breakfast at beginning when up early with jet lag. Do a mix of character meals and non character and a mix of breakfast and dinner to avoid feeling tied down. A 2 credit meal or two can also be a nice change. My dd is 13 and wanted to redo teppan edo, ohana dinner, scI fi lunch, Cali grill brunch, chef Mickey breakfast, Tusker breakfast. The fantasmic packages or festival of fantasy package at Tony’s are also good value on dfp. Sanaa is also lovely.
Finally if you have free dining think about upgrading your 9 year old to a 10 year old on adult plan. She can have same choices and desserts at table service as eldest then.

[Astrid]

I book via the App which is really easy and the only one we did this trip was my all time favourite Garden Grill at Epcot . I ended up rejigging the time of this on the day so, as others have said, try not to stress about it as you can swap, change, cancel as you want once you’ve got some booked

[Sarahcop]

Well booked Sanaa, 50s prime time, mama Melrose fantasmic thingy, coral reef, artist point, akerhaus, ohana, tuskers, Tony’s tavern and Crystal Palace... faints

[NewtoOrlando]

I book far more ADRS's than we actually attend. I book what we fancy and then work out where we will be and then cancel the ones that we don't want to do as in another park/location. We go in less than 2 weeks and I currently have one ADR booked at Sci Fi café (mainly because we are onsite but not on the dining plan this year) Like a few others have said, you really only need to book the hard to get ones, and character dining. Although having said that, I cancelled an early morning BOG last August, and booked a Garden Grill breakfast within 10 mins of each other and had no issues, so sometimes you can get them on the day, as people cancel plans all the time. Don't stress over it, it's a holiday, not a military exercise!

[rafjen]

I make a list of where I want to eat- keep in mind how many days you will be in each park- ie no point having 6 meals for MK if you are only planning 2 days there

I decide my park for the day- I use touring plans and EMH to help guide me
Then a rough arrival time for the day- rope drop/afternoon etc

Then I slot meals into park days- ie AK EMH so aim for late breakfast at Tuskers, Teppen Edo at 7pm then watch fireworks etc. If I know its a popular meal I aim for near the end of the holiday ie SBD

Think about your family- we prefer lunch for a break from the heat- not as fussed on breakfast menus- occ dinner later in the holiday- we wanted lots of character meals as the kids love them-


The firework fantasmic/river of light package worked well for us

I then pick my preferred FP rides per park- I know I won't get FOP at day 60 but maybe 60+3 in the evening- I rarely if ever FP shows- no need usually- we tend to go for the headliners/thrill rides but some others get surprisingly busy- ie Peter Pan, Buzz, Enchanted takes Belle- As we do character meals we don't FP characters

I pick times to suit my arrival time- never early morning as there is no need usually ( bar SDMT/SD/FOP)

[TC Devon]

Is there a concise guide on where to eat. I know it’s in the app but there’s so many on there.
Thanks