Worried about spending too much time and money on dining...

See! This is my delimma! The kids are 9 and 6 and not super adventurous eaters. I am torn because I feel they will need the respite of a good meal, but yes when tired they become super annoying (as do I!).

Maybe I'll drop Homecomin and switch it Narcoosees and then on our second MK day we'll not have a dinner ADR so we can see more of the park. But then we miss Disney Springs entirely. Or drop Homecomin and just get QS at Disney Springs.

At 9 and 6, they may not be hungry enough for a lot of big meals. DD is usually a good eater, but she eats like a bird when we are at Disney, usually eating what disney considers snacks (fruit, popcorn, nutella waffles) instead of big meals. I think the heat and adrenaline keep her appetite down.
They also may not have the patience for that many meals. A character meal takes about 90 minutes to get through. BBB will also take you about 90 mins. You have to allow an hour each way to leave the parks and transport to the resort and back. Anytime we plan a day with a lot of travelling between parks, I always find my self frustrated. It takes longer than I plan for, or a monorail door won't close so we get delayed, or someome has to use the bathroom 3 times on our way out, or there's a parade, or something. It makes me stressef and grumpy. Over the past 5 years/6 trips I have learned that less planning makes for a better trip, at least for us.

If the kids need a break, we usually do a relaxing ride or attraction. At MK we take our breaks at People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Philharmagic, and Dumbo's splash park. At AK, we use the Finding Nemo musical and the Safari ride for a break. At Epcot, spaceship earth, Los Tres Caballeros, and Living with the Land are relaxing, and at HS, the Frozen singalong is cool and comfortable and relaxing.
 
I've got a bit of a different take. My kids (who were 12 and 15 last trip) did not like Satuli Canteen at all. They are both vegetarian and not too picky but neither of them liked what they ordered. Yak and Yeti is their favourite restaurant and is definitely one of mine also. We eat here each time and love sitting up on the verandah upstairs in the window looking down on the park We've never had a bad meal here and lots of choice for all of us.

We've never tried Tony's and it's not in our plans. We were pleasantly surprised by The Plaza. Prices were not much more than a counter service and we struggle to find decent counter service in the MK. The milkshakes did boost up the price a little but they were definitely worth it.

We tend to do one signature restaurant each trip mainly because of price. We haven't eaten at either of the ones you have on your list but both are on the list we are choosing from. They tend to be longer meals and with kids, one is enough. We tend to do only one sit down a day unless its an earlier breakfast and a later dinner. It does take up a lot of time.

We've always wanted to each at San Angel Inn because of the atmosphere (despite the reviews) and had it on our must do list for this time. But after watching a few Youtube reviews and seeing the food, it's off the list.
 
We've gone to WDW many, many times during the summer months - with our kids at all different ages from babies to adults.

IMHO - our appetites go way down doing the parks in the summer. We usually do at most one TS meal per day, and even with that often end up sharing QS meals or 'grazing' through the parks or resort. It is really hard to work up the energy and willingness to eat 3 squares in the heat and humidity of touring.

I also wanted to mention that one way to save money that can add up is to do the buffet meals during the 'less expensive' time slots. Doing Biergarten for lunch instead of dinner will save your family close to $30 after tax & tip - and the food is virtually the same, I think there are 1 or 2 additional things on the buffet at dinner. We did this on our way out of Epcot one day before our pool break and then did 'grazing' at Epcot for dinner - where everyone could satisfy what they craved. (A grey goose slushy counts as a fruit serving, right?)

Same with Trails End. In addition to a breakfast buffet Monday through Friday, they have brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Brunch is slightly longer hours and includes some of the 'dinner' items on the menu along with the breakfast items. What comes to mind right away is fried chicken, chili, mashed potatoes. It is only a few dollars more than the breakfast buffet, but a substantial family savings of close to $30 after tax & tip over the dinner buffet.

If the whole family wants to go to Disney Springs to experience it then I would keep the ADR at Homecomin'. Otherwise, if Homecomin' is the only (or main) reason for going out of the way to DS - then I would drop the ADR. In my opinion, the way your morning is planned, the meal at Homecomin' becomes the 'tail that wags the dog' in your day.

We are also known to book, cancel, or move a lot of table service meals the night before - knowing better what our food 'feelings' may be. And yes, the moving an ADR day-of and then canceling works (or at least did when I last did it in December). But, that loophole can close at any minute - I wouldn't make that a main strategy.
 
There is the new Skippers Canteen at Magic Kingdom to try if decide to skip Tony's. I actually have Tony's one night and Skippers the other.
 


I would never cancel St. Angel Inn. Always a relaxing stop for the day.
 
As with many of these - its nice to have a table service reserved. At least to sit down and regroup - even if you decide not real hungry and just get a few appetizers or split a couple meals.
 
But then we miss Disney Springs entirely.

Is that really so bad? It’s a mall. With a relatively short (IMO) trip made shorter by all the TS, is springs that necessary?


You have three days with 6-7 hours in between sit down meals. While that’s fairly normal at home, when you’re talking about restaurant food in the heat while bouncing between rides and parks, it could feel too soon.

I have done one TS per day and we’ve been happy with that.
 
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As with many of these - its nice to have a table service reserved. At least to sit down and regroup - even if you decide not real hungry and just get a few appetizers or split a couple meals.

Yes, I agree with this. That's why I'm torn. I'm totally keeping SAI. Margaritas and chips in the air conditioning? What could be better! We are not on the dining plan so we can share meals or just get appetizers.

So far I have dropped Homecomin (and Disney Springs) and moved Narcoosees to our DS evening (planning to leave by 3pm). Trying to be flexible, but also wanting to have a back-up option in case restaurants are packed.
 
That all feels like so much time spent eating. We can only handle 1 ADR meal per day, the rest are usually counter service or in-room. You can use the mobile ordering apps to cut down on standing in line. I feel like you are missing a lot of park time with all of those ADRs.

How old are your children? Will they handle the long days that come with PPO breakfasts and late nights at the parks? Or will they be terrors for the 8 am PPOs or exhausted by the time the dinner ressies roll around?

DITTO. I think that is a lot of time spent dining and going to/from ADRs especially with kids. _I_ would drop to one TS per day, preferably breakfast or lunch and allow for early exit from parks should everyone tire.
 
I usually try to do DS on arrival day. There are plenty of QS options you could get there and still get to visit it.
 
I just did a trip with only one ADR and I really didn't miss it as much as a thought. We got decent meals with QS. The only place I truly missed it was at HS as the restaurant choices there are not that great. I really enjoyed the flexibility of not being tied down to too many ADR's and we saved money but we still had a sticker shock of $87 for a family of 5 at Yak & Yeti CS.:scared1: You don't say if you are on the meal plan or not but that would make a difference to me too.


Aw man, I must really eat too much!! I feel like I spend $40 on JUST myself!! $87 seems okay for a family of 5 to me! I really need to stop spending so much on food haha.
 
That will be a lot of time spent in restaurants. We would not do 2 table service in one day. So many good QS options and park time/resort tine is valuable. We will be at WL next week and I only have 3 TS ADRs for the week. I may add another but we prefer the flexibility of not having too many.
 
Travel time can be a real time suck. Also busses don’t go to DS from resorts until after 4. And if you want to go to park after dinner from Disney springs that involves transfers.

The Disney Springs buses connect to and from the resorts all day long. It's the one-way-only buses that run from the parks to Disney Springs that don't start until after 4pm. It's true that getting to the parks from Disney Springs takes more planning, though some parks are easier to reach from Disney Springs than others. You can get to the MK fairly easily by taking a bus to the Contemporary and walking over to the MK (or if you're limiting extra walking, taking the monorail). Something similar can be done with Epcot by taking the bus to the Beach Club which has a pretty easy walk to the international gateway at the back of Epcot.
 
How would you tweak this itinerary?

I've traveled to the World several times before, but it's my DH and children's first trip. For budget/crowd reasons we are going the second half of August. We are definitely going to need breaks, but not sure if those breaks will be better spent in restaurants or in the room/pool. I can see the heat affecting our hunger levels too. I also don't want to spend a bajillion dollars. If no breakfast listed we'll grab starbucks or eat bars in our room or hit up Roaring Forks.

Arrival - WL - no ADR but will either grab QS at Roaring Forks/GP or try to walk into WCC.

Day 1 - MK. We have prepaid CRT at 12:05 and have Tonys Town Square at 6:30. Our FPs are in the morning in FL so maybe we can get some evening FPs after dinner. The park is open until 10pm this night.

Day 2 - Ep - Dinner ADR at Biergarten around 6:00pm. Our FPs end at noon, so not sure if we'll grab QS in WS or head back to resort for QS lunch.

Day 3 - HS - We have a Homecomin' ADR at 6:00, but our SDD FP is at 2:00. Was hoping to rest at resort after HS, but that won't leave us a ton of time with travel. But maybe I'm overthinking it or we can uber/minnie van.

Day 4 AK - Tusker House ppo 8:00am and then Yak n Yeti at 7pm. Our last FP is at FOP at 1:45. Was hoping to go back to room since we'll be staying for ROL after dinner.

Day 5 Blizzard Beach/Resort - Might grab WCC sit down breakfast, but will otherwise get QS for lunch. We have a dinner Trails End ADR.

Day 6 MK again -This day I'm most concerned about. We have BBB reservations at 9:30 so we might be able to rope drop BTMR or Space and then head to the castle. We have 7DMT at 10:45 and then The Plaza at 12:05. Following lunch we have BTMR and Splash FP back to back. I'm not sure how long we'll last, but we have Narcoossees at 7pm. The park closes at 9:00pm, but we won't make it back. I'm worried we don't have enough MK time and will want to visit attractions at night. But I really want to eat at Narcoossees!

Day 7 This day is open, but right now we're planning on revisiting Epcot. I'm open to switching to AK or even MK if we don't see everything. Right now we have a 12:00 San Angel Inn and then 6:20 Artist Point at the resort.

Day 8/Departure - Breakfast at Kona Cafe

If you've read this much (and understood it!) you should get a medal! Basically help me decide if I should cancel/switch Narcoossees, Artist Point, or Homecomin!

Here's a few quick tips on food at WDW if I may...

If you're staying onsite getting starbucks is not as easy as rolling through your local drive through, they're slammed and not worth the wait IMO. If you want to save on food, do yourself a favor and just eat a light breakfast in your room. Bring bananas, yogurts, pop tarts, instant oatmeal cups, ready to go cereals, fruit, protein bars, whatever, that's a big cost saver for us when we go to disney. If you're flying in and can't bring the food, there are multiple local groceries that will deliver to the front desk upon your arrival; big money saver. You can bring snacks into your bag into the park, so don't be afraid to pack what you like for your rest breaks. IMO, your ADRs should be lunch since this is the hot time of day, so you're guaranteed a seat inside with AC. I think 2 ADRs in one day is a lot, I tend to agree with a lot of the previous posts that ADRs take a lot of time and in some cases can ruin your day if you're juggling FP+ and other plans.

I think your ADRs on all your days are good choices, Tony's gets a ton of bad reviews but it's been years since I've been and I still have it on my short list to give it a whirl. I have a tough time taking others advice on food preference since it's a personal thing.
 
Why not do your TS meals for lunch? That way you get a nice break from the heat. We usually do QS breakfast, TS lunch, and QS dinner, and it works out well for us (2 adults, 2 young kids).
 
We are obviously in the minority, but we have almost always done 2 TS in one day. We like character meals a lot for lunch or breakfast, and we like nice good quality dining in the evening when we are on vacation. The only time I find we feel like we have too much food is if we try to do two a-la-cartes in one day. If one of our meals is a buffet, we just scoop up small portions to try different things but don't eat as much as when we have a single dish a la carte and eat the whole thing.
 
We are obviously in the minority, but we have almost always done 2 TS in one day. We like character meals a lot for lunch or breakfast, and we like nice good quality dining in the evening when we are on vacation. The only time I find we feel like we have too much food is if we try to do two a-la-cartes in one day. If one of our meals is a buffet, we just scoop up small portions to try different things but don't eat as much as when we have a single dish a la carte and eat the whole thing.
I've done the same on many trips....two TS in one day. I actually don't mind it at all. :laughing: Yes im crazy, but dining is a big part of my trip. For any given trip I take, I do have days where I have 2 TS in one day. I can't do that daily though because I do go to F&W quite often during my trip. Usually i'll do F&W four times per trip (trips are normally one week long).
 
Day 1 - MK. We have prepaid CRT at 12:05 and have Tonys Town Square at 6:30.

12:00 San Angel Inn and then 6:20 Artist Point

The Plaza at 12:05. Following lunch we have BTMR and Splash FP back to back. I'm not sure how long we'll last, but we have Narcoossees at 7pm.

These are the ones I would change. If we ate lunch at these times, we wouldn't be hungry for dinner at these times. We have pretty big appetites and usually do eat at these times at home. But at Disney, the meals are big and the food is hearty, and that August heat leaves us a little logy. I would cancel Tony's, San Angel Inn, and The Plaza. As mentioned, Tony's is nothing to write home about. We find Epcot has a lot of good, unique QS meals for lunch, and the Plaza is also nothing to write home about for us - basic lunch fare, not much more than a glorified QS.

We try to do 1 TS meal per day. When we do 2, its a pre-park opening breakfast and dinner later on. By doing a pre-park opening breakfast, you're not taking away from park touring time. We prefer a mid-day break at the resort to charge phones, freshen up, swim, etc. as opposed to a break eating lunch at a TS meal.
 
I moved Narcoossees to a different day (when we were going to dine at Disney Springs) and pushed back Artist Point to 7:00. In the past I've been a multi ADR a day traveller, but that was for adult only trips.

I'm iffy on Tony's. It's nice to have the option and I can see us eating light there (DH and I splitting an app and entree). I would also be happy just eating Columbia Harbor House too. I will sleep on it. From what I've read it's fairly easy to cancel and not be dinged the cancellation fee (either by modifying ADR to different day or my telling guest services you didn't feel up to going) so I may just try that if we really don't want to spend time/money on an ADR.
 
I would keep your ADRs and see what happens when you do two TS meals in one day. There is a 24 hour cancellation period if you decide that only one sit down meal per day works for your family.

For us, we usually do one TS meal per day. However, when we have done two, it was breakfast and dinner, not lunch and dinner. We were pretty full from breakfast for most of the day.
 

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