Monthly Archives: October 2013

STEP 2 – CHOOSE YOUR RESTAURANTS!

Uncategorized, , , ,

I don’t mean choose your dates and times or anything. I mean make a list of all the places you really want to eat. But why is this next?

Because different restaurants are in different locations in different parks, and sometimes in different hotels. If you want to have a particular dining experience or eat at a particular place, it doesn’t make sense to spend the evening hours in the Magic Kingdom and then rush out to have dinner in Epcot and then run back to see Fantasmic at MGM. It’s just not an efficient use of time.

Dining at Disney is an often overlooked thing. People assume all there is is the fast food in the park. AU CONTRAIRE, MON FRERE! The dining at Disney is AWESOME! It can be quite a bit of money too, so we actually plan most of our budget for food.

Notable restaurants in each park are (and this is not a complete list, just a list of the things that, in my personal opinion, are really notable for being either high quality, unusual, or offering a unique experience).

AK

Tusker House – an African themed restaurant with exotic cuisine

Rainforest Cafe – many animals and animatronics during dinner. Fun, but mostly blah food. We used to have one here in Westbury, so we don’t go there, but if you have a kid, it’s pretty awesome.

MK

Be Our Guest – A Beauty/Beast themed restaurant…we’ll be trying that this trip as it’s new to us

Cinderella’s Royal Table – a restaurant inside the castle. There’s always Cinderella characters there in the waiting room. I’ve met Cindy, which I thought would be the peak of everything, but then I met the Fairy Godmother…awesome!)

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe which I often confuse with the Diamond Horseshoe – I remember a stage show here, kind of like a mini Hoop-de-Doo Revue, but I especially remember them telling ghost stories during Halloween and having the lights flicker and such. Nothing really scary (lots of children of course) but fun, Thinking about it, maybe that was at the Diamond Horseshoe, I’m not sure now…

Liberty Tree Tavern – serves really good American Food. We like to be there around the Thanksgiving season. They serve all the Thanksgiving stuff and it’s pretty nommy.

The Crystal Palace – character meet and greet during food. I think primarily Pooh focused.

Tony’s Town Square Cafe – themed after Lady and the Tramp, so it’s Italian.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe – this is straight up cafeteria style, but there’s an alien animatronic stand-up comedian. Totally worth it.

Oh yeah…another little known secret the smoked turkey legs can be found over in Frontierland. That is totally a cheap lunch. One leg can feed two people, and they taste AWESOME. We usually actually plan this in so we don’t miss it in all our running around. They are also available somewhere in the AK (I want to say over by the Dinosaur playground thing I think) and in MGM near the Rock-n-Roller Coaster entrance. omg….SO GOOD. And a cheap and awesome lunch.

In later steps we’ll be talking about coordinating these dinners with special events (one of the reasons we’re not planning dates yet). This is especially true in the Magic Kingdom, where coming out of the right restaurant at the right time can mean prime viewing seating for something like the fireworks or a parade. But it can apply in EPCOT too.

MGM

– AWESOME food options here too, if you know where to look.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant – tables are cars like in Pulp Fiction, but all seats face forward towards a giant screen. Watch classic sci-fi trailers for stuff like “attack of the 50 foot woman” while dining. Waitresses are sometimes on roller skates. Best milkshakes EVAR.

50’s Prime Time Cafe – this is like you live in Happy Days World, and you went over your friend’s house for dinner. You eat in the kitchen (each table is set up so they have their own kitchen, it’s really surreal and very cool) and you’re in a 1950’s mentality…so you help set the table, you don’t use foul language, and you eat your veggies before dessert. They don’t FORCE you to eat the veggies, but if you’re of the playful sort they kind of pick up on it will actually spoon feed you a bit. This place makes the most amazing PB&J shakes…it’s like drinking a sandwich and honestly, if you want to have one for lunch, your stomach won’t notice at ALL that you just skipped a meal, very filling. Oh…and Mom’s Meatloaf is on the menu, too.

Hollywood Brown Derby – This restaurant simulates the “golden age” of hollywood. I can’t get over the atmosphere…you almost expect a movie star in a fox wrap to go and sip soup in the corner. It feels amazing. The food is really good too, but the food and atmosphere together is amazing.

Toluca Legs Turkey Co. – another stop for Turkey Legs. Can’t get enough of them. I wish I could get them here. Really. One leg is enough for two people. Cheap and very very tasty lunch. This is over by the Rock N Roller Coaster.

EPCOT

– Now here’s a biggie. LOTS of REALLY good restaurants in EPCOT.

The Coral Reef (inside the Living Seas)- This is more for atmosphere, I think. When we went the food wasn’t so awesome, but then when we got married this is where we had our reception. The walls are all aquarium, so you get to see dolphins and such swimming by over dinner.

The Garden Grill (inside The Land) – This is one of my favorite places. The veggies and such are grown here and served in the restaurant. (You see that Kristina?) You just don’t get any fresher! Food is generic American fare. Also, Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto are usually hanging around, and the whole restaurant revolves.

Biergarten (Germany, duh) – It’s a big ale-type house with an Oompa band (I don’t know what they’re really called, that’s just what we called them when I lived in PA…it’s kind of a one man instrument that doubles as banjo and percussion and bouncy cymbal things….Hard to explain. But anyway…German flair. And of course, seeing as it’s October, we’ll be there for Oktoberfest!

Chefs de France (France, duh) – We tried this on our last trip. I have to say it was the first time that an appetizer did exactly what they say appetizers are supposed to do….make you hungry for dinner and not fill you up. All the food was awesome.

La Hacienda de San Angel (Mexico) – This is new. It used to be an outdoor food stand outside of Mexico, but apparently they built a shelter so you can dine overlooking the Lagoon. I’m betting that the best thing to do would be to time that with the Illuminations fireworks show.

Heeey….this is new, too! There’s now a Tequila Bar in Mexico called La Cava de Tequila! I’m on THAT one for sure.

Le Cellier Steakhouse (Canada) – I love the steak here. The Chocolate Mousse is really good and is actually a moose….but the creme brulee is incredible! It’s a maple flavor kind of a thing.

Restaurant Marrakesh (Morocco) – Not only is the physical atmosphere awesome (It’s really like you stepped into a foreign country, not like they faked it) but the food is really good and there’s a bellydancer during dinner. The restaurant has that intricate complicated tile work all along the floor walls and ceiling and it’s just beautiful

San Angel Inn (Mexico) – this is one of Rob’s favorite places to eat. I love that it’s always late sunset/early evening there, and the view is of the Temple in the distance, while the boat ride passes under you, so there’s always this kind of lazy lapping river noise….very relaxing.

So here’s the often overlooked bit – Restaurants INSIDE the Hotels and other miscellaneous

Inside the hotels are often some amazing dining experiences. Also, some things just don’t fit into other categories. One of these items is the Hoop-de-Doo Revue.

You do not have to stay in a particular hotel to reap the benefits of their dining experiences and shows.

You can take a bus to the Grand Floridian, have dinner with Mary Poppins, and then sod off to the MK via the monorail, if you like. All up to you. We do it whenever we feel like it.

Hoop-de-Doo Revue

(at Fort Wilderness Campground ) – a stage show simulating a wild west kind of comedy show. Live piano player, some improv, and volunteers from the audience are selected. Food is American, Fried Chicken, smoked BBQ Ribs, cornbread, etc. We love the show, and even I don’t mind seeing it over again. For a bonus during the Halloween season, it’s right near the Haunted Hayride where you get chased by the Headless Horseman. Really cool.

Water Parks

I’m not really addressing that. If you eat, you’re not supposed to go swimming for x amount of hours after, so who really eats anything more than a snack at a water park?

The Boardwalk and Downtown Disney

– many restaurants here in many price scales. Some are chains, and some are owned by famous people.

House of Blues is here, as is Bongos Cuban Cafe created by Gloria Estefan (it mimics a 1950’s havana club) and Planet Hollywood and Wolfgang Puck’s.  But my absolute favorite is Fulton’s Crab House which mimics eating on a river boat. It’s high end, but damn…is it good!

AK Lodge

There are several restaurants here, and I really want to go. Staying at the Lodge means waking up on the Savannah…a room with a view means there might be giraffes outside your window in the morning. From what I know of Disney, I’d bet they time their feeding schedule to make sure that happens. Anyway, we’ve never stayed at the AK Lodge, and never even been inside it, though it was designed by the same person who designed the Wilderness Lodge, so it looks beautiful from the pictures. Maybe someday. This is also a dream when I win Lotto. They have a storyteller by a campfire at night that tells African myths and legends. I would SO be there, every night, in my pajamas.

Old Key West

This is primarily for Vacation Club members, so this is where we usually stay. There is a restaurant there called Olivia’s which is my faaaavorite way to start my vacation. I like to arrive late, sleep late, get up late, and stroll over to Olivia’s and have their poached eggs and sweet potato hash…but they have more exotic things too, like a shrimp and conch omelets which I’ve never gotten around to. It’s the Hash, you see. The hash is awesome.

The Contemporary this has kind of a character meet for rich folk.

Chef Mickey’s has a higher end dinner that’s an all you can eat buffet that also has characters that come through.  There’s also the California Grille, which we’ve never tried.

Coronado Springs – one of the conveniences of Coronado Springs is that it’s primarily used as a business convention center…so the amenities there are very nice, but if there’s no convention, there’s no lines and it’s not crowded at all. I liked it a lot. I think it was on the lower end of the mid-range spectrum. There’s not as much theming for children, but with the pool they have, I don’t think they really need it.

The Maya Grill – a nice mexican restaurant. Good food. We were very happy with it and would be willing to go back.

The Pepper Market – this is one of the open-air kind of cafeteria places, but honestly, the food was really good, and in order to keep it more in the Mexican theming, it’s got much less of a “factory” feel and much more of a personal feel. Out of all the cafeteria dining, this place is my favorite.

The Grand Floridian

1900 Park Faire – this place is where you find Mary Poppins and friends when she’s not off doing nanny-stuff. There is a SuperCaliFragiListic Breakfast (I guess it’s not Expi-Ali-Docius) and a Cinderella Happy Ever After Dinner where you are the guests of Cindy and Prince.

Garden View Tea Room – There’s a “My Disney Girl’s Perfectly Princess Tea Party” here, so there’s that. Naturally, we haven’t done that. I may be a big kid…but I’m no princess.

The Polynesian

In addition to having a lovely Hawaiian atmosphere from the moment you step in front of the hotel, some of the food and dining here is awesome. BTW…The Polynesian is the only place that serves Kona Coffee all the time whenever you want. It’s regular coffee in the other hotels.

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show – this mimics a luau with hula dancing and fire dancing and poi dancing. It’s a good show, and if you time it right you can watch the afore-mentioned water parade from the beach before walking in to the Luau.

‘Ohana’s – for dinner, this is an all-you-can-eat bbq. Everything was really nommy. For breakfast, there’s a Best Friend’s Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch. I love Stitch.

The Wilderness Lodge

Whispering Canyon Cafe – This will always be a soft spot for me. This is where we went for photos between our wedding and reception, so we had a light meal here. If you’re playful, everyone gets to ride in on these little pony-on-a-stick things. Our groomsmen came in hooting and hollering like it was The Last Roundup….our friends are awesome. Food was good. Service was fun and playful.

Artist Pointe – Honestly, this was so high end and gourmet that I didn’t really like it. It wasn’t the atmosphere…it was the food. For example, there was a cheese sampler that had a bleu cheese that was so strong and aromatic I couldn’t enjoy it. That is a failing on my part, and not the restaurant. If you’re looking for gourmet fare, this is definitely the place to check out..

= = = = =

Naturally, there’s a lot of places I’m skipping. But what we do is this:

First – we list all the places we definitely want to go and have DINNER.

Second – we list all the places we want to try for new things, or where we just want to have lunch.  Lunch is cheaper and less of a price investment…so if we don’t like the food we don’t feel like we’ve spent an arm and a leg for something we didn’t enjoy.

We then figure out how many nights we have, and whittle down the dinners to the amount of nights. If we have any leftover places, we move them to the lunch choices.

Then we move to Step 3, which is planning Special Events. That will be another note

How’m I doing so far? Is it all making sense?

So far we have chosen DINNER – Ohana’s, the Biergarten, Be Our Guest, the Hoop de Doo Revue, The Tusker House, and the Grand Floridian.

LUNCH – Sci-Fi Drive In Diner, The Plaza (I’m not sure what that is. Mom made that reservation, and I know it’s not too far from Splash Mountain, so I’m guessing it’s over by Pirates of the Caribbean). Other lunches are still being discussed, but Dinners are planned and resolved because of Special Events.

FINAL STEP – INCIDENTALS

Uncategorized, ,

It may sound like we’ve planned quite a bit, but we haven’t. We’ve planned dinner every night to coincide with specific events, but that’s pretty much it. Crazy, Huh?

Now, if you’re really OCD, you can plan quite a bit further, especially if you stay on property. For instance, Disney has something called a Fast Pass.

Let me clarify the Fast Pass. It’s an important concept.

Fast Passes CANNOT BE PURCHASED. Anyone that has an admission ticket can get a fast pass. THEY ARE NOT ALL-DAY THINGS, they are good for one ride at a time. I don’t think you can own more than two (three?) fast passes at a time either, but I’m not certain. They are available with any admission ticket, and they work like this:

Near most all of the major attractions in each park, there’s a little kiosk kind of a place…it looks something like a turnstile for a subway, and there’s no people manning it. It looks like it’s meant to be something that hasn’t opened yet. That is where you get your fast passes. You put in your ticket, and it gives you your ticket back plus a little stub, and that stub gives you an hour window to hit that particular ride. It will say something like, “Tower of Terror 12:45pm to 1:45pm,” and if you come back to the ToT between those times, they will move you to the short line and let you on the ride.

That means that you can get a Fast Pass for ToT, then get on the line for the ride next door, which is the Rock-n-Roller Coaster, wait the full time on line there, have a great time, and when you get off the line, it’s quite likely that your time will be ready for the ToT…so you leave that ride, get onto the next one, and only have to wait for about fifteen minutes. It’s pretty time efficient, like being on two lines at once.

There is a catch, however…in order to make sure that that time window has a short line, they can only give so many tickets in that time slot….and if the ride is really popular, it might move down the times of day really quickly…even to the point where at noon, all fast passes are used up for the entire day. This used to happen at the Toy Story ride all the time, and really fast. (It’s an awesome ride. Love it.)

One thing that people used to do is, at park open, RUN RUN RUN to the nearest popular ride (at that time, Toy Story), get a fast pass, and then get on line to ride it. That meant that by the time they got out from riding it the first time, they were able to go in and ride it a second time, almost back to back.

The computer keeps track of how many you have via your ticket (the one you inserted to get the fast pass), so until the first time slot passes, you can’t get a second one. Again, ANYONE can do this and it is FREE.

IF YOU STAY ON THE GROUNDS, however, There is currently a program being tested called “Fast Pass Plus,” where you can make reservations for different rides at different times. I’m not sure how that works, but Rob’s mom has made reservations for us on a couple of days. An example of this is a day where we’re in the MK all day…we have reservations for the Jungle Cruise at 9:45am, Pirates (PoTC) at 10:50 am, and Splash Mountain at 12:30PM. She has also scheduled lunch that day at the Plaza, and dinner at Be Our Guest, and this is timed so we see the Electric Light Parade and the Wishes Fireworks display, along with the movies on the Castle. Is it a packed day? Not really….there’s plenty of time between the rides seeing as we won’t really be on lines, and we can just stroll along before dinner. But that day is, as you can see, entirely planned. 7 more to go.

We chose another day for Universal Studios. 6 to go. Two days that are open-ended with no plans. 4 to go.

Out of those, Dinners are scheduled, so we know where we’ll be in the evenings. All that’s left (for us) is answering the following and sticking them in the open slots.:

Are we going to DisneyQuest?  Yeah, probably. We’re checking our budget. We love it, and that will probably be on one of the free days.

Are we going to see Fantasmic? (If you’ve never seen it, go see it. It’s awesome. One of my favorite Disney shows ever. Maleficent turns into a dragon and sets the whole lake on fire! She’s about 60 feet tall in dragon form. Sit in around the 20th row, unless you don’t mind getting wet. If it’s windy, you’ll get nailed.) Sadly, I don’t think we’re going to see that this year. It only plays at times that don’t match up with our dinner plans. If we had done all the planning ourselves we would have made sure it worked out, but seeing as most of this trip is being taken care of via Rob’s mom and dad (who are absolutely awesome, btw) and seeing as we’ve seen it several times, we can make that sacrifice. But if you’re going and you never have. GO GO GO!

Are we doing any Mini Golf? – interestingly enough we’ve done the Disney mini golf, and now that I’ve seen the Book of Mormon, I’m really curious about something called “Putt-Putt Golfing.” See, there’s a song in the play where one of them sings about his favorite place in the whole world…Orlando…”With Seaworld/ and Disney/ and Putt-Putt/ Golfing!” So now I feel like I want to see it, if it really exists. Still researching. If we do, that will be on one of the open days too, most likely. ADDENDUM! Rob’s parents are up for doing mini golf with us at Fantasia Gardens one night after dinner, so we’ll probably be doing that. Yay! Talk about animated obstacles!

Backstage Tours? – Not this time. We’re on a budget, and we can’t afford to do both Universal AND a tour…plus we’ve taken most of them already.

So with all of that, the schedule now looks like this:

Day 1 – MGM, dinner at Ohana’s timed to go with the Electrical Water Parade.

Day 2 – EPCOT all day. Catch the Voices of Liberty at some point during the day, have dinner at the BierGarten, and catch the 9pm showing of Illuminations.

Day 3 – Busy MK Day all day. Reserved Jungle Cruise and Pirates, lunch at the Plaza, then reserved Splash Mountain. Dinner at Be Our Guest, 8pm Electric Light Parade, 9pm Wishes Fireworks, 9:35 movies on the castle, and at 10pm Electric Light parade hits a second time, in case we miss it the first time (or just want to see it twice). By then I’ll be pulling up a section of sidewalk just to rest m’feet.

Day 4 – Universal Studios Islands of Adventure ONLY (Missing the other park) and come back to Fort Wilderness for Dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. (Rob has pointed out this means a late night at MK with magic hours…then up at ass o’clock in the morning to go to Universal. Ah well…ce’st la vie!)

Day 5 – Animal Kingdom All Day. (Must see Finding Nemo again. Their stage show is awesome.) Dinner at the Tusker House at 5:30. If we get out early enough we could possibly squeeze in Fantasmic if we took a cab over, but honestly, we’ll be so full we won’t want to move, I bet.

Day 6 – Busy MGM Day all day – Reservations for Toy Story Mania, then Tower of Terror. Lunch at 12:30 at the Sci Fi Drive In DIner, then Rock n Roller Coaster at 2:30. Dinner at the Grand Floridian at 6:30pm.

Day 7 – open day all day – Possibly Mini Golf or Downtown Disney, or DisneyQuest. One thing for sure, though. Not So Scary Halloween Party from 7pm to Midnight!

Day 8 – The car service picks us up to head home at 4pm so we’re free till around 2-ish. Also an open day.

= = = = = =

So that’s it. That’s our method. Poorly executed this time about, but still not too shabby, and an awesome vacation is planned with plenty of open space for improv.

We’ve done just about every backstage tour they offer, so if you ever want to know stuff about them, feel free to ask. I love them. It really gives you a respect for all the work they put in to make it look like it’s effortless.  I hope this helps other people plan easier.