LRM (and other Disney buffs)

Ms.BriarRose · September 2010

So, Disney World it is!

But now I am feeling really overwhelmed trying to plan- what we need, what to pack, what we have to buy before going down, what attire we need for dinners, should we rent a car, etc.

Can you help with any advice at all?!?! We are staying at Port Orleans- French Quarter, October 12-19th (during the Food and Wine Festival, which is supposedly really good). Thoughts on where to eat? We were told V&A, the Luau, and HoopDeeDoo Revue to consider for our special dinners. I have been reading everything on MouseSavers and I am worried we may need a car to get to things like the revue from our hotel (and it might be easier on me, too). Also, suggestions on things to pack that we might not usually bring, but are really helpful?

Any other suggestions on things to do for adults, places to go, where to eat, etc? Anything that we need to make reservations for? Since this is our honeymoon, and FI's first time, is it worth it have him wear both buttons? What about the ears (which I really want, LOL)? Any good itinerary books to get?

FI has never been before, so as silly as it sounds, he wants to meet all the characters. Suggestions on where to go to meet as many as possible? I heard Chef Mickey's was the place to go for the most character signatures in one place; any other places to check out? Isn't there someplace (a website, or a map, or something) that will tell us where to go and what time to meet certain characters?

Any help you can give at all would be great! Thank you so much!

nicole8586 · September 2010

I am not as big of a Disney buff as LRM but we stayed at Port Orleans River Side last November and it took FOREVER to get to the Hoop Dee Doo. I think we took 3 busses to get there. I think that alone deserves a car. Bus lines for Port Orleans are not as long as if you were staying at an All Star hotel but there were a few times when I had to stand on the bus, so for your comfort I would say a car is the way to go.

Make reservations for all of your dinners! You actually probably want to get on that ASAP since people have been booking for a couple months already.

Drinking around the world in Epcot is a great adult activity

Port Orleans has a piano bar that my parents went to after we left. They really enjoyed it!

You also have to wear the just married pins

Ms.BriarRose · September 2010

Haha, thanks! I think we may end up getting a car- it just makes it easier.

I have no problem wearing my pin- it's him I am worried about! And since he has double pins, I am thinking that if he wears both, we may get lucky in some way (we may not, but it never hurts to try)!

nicole8586 · September 2010

You will get A LOT of congratulations! We went to disney 4 months after we got engaged but my sister insisted we wore "just engaged" pins. People were telling me congratulations randomly and I may have said for what once or twice! haha

ooodsie · September 2010

We did Disney on our honeymoon and loved it! We also went during food and wine fest... omg SO good. We drank our way around Epcot multiple times.

Hoopdeedoo is awesome - but yes from Port Orleans it's a bit of a hike. For most things you'll end up with a long bus ride from Port Orleans, actually.. but it's not horrible.

Definitely eat somewhere in Animal Kingdom - the food there is AMAZING. Also do a dinner at the restaurant at the top of the Contemporary (California Grill) and make sure to time it with fireworks, it's awesome.. they turn all the lights off, you go out on to the deck and watch the fireworks - perfect.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Luau honestly - actually DH and I ended up leaving a few minutes early because we were sort of bored. The fire eaters are great, but everything else was just okay for us..

I am copy/pasting our eating itinerary for you here:

Narcoises on Fireworks Night one hour BEFORE firework start time DINNER!

Spirit of Ahola

Coral Reef - lunch

Prime Time Cafe (lunch)

Cali Grill (an hour before fireworks) DINNER

jiko at animal kingdom DINNER

crystal palace - breakfast

boma - breakfast

ooodsie · September 2010

Oh I also recommend eating lunch in Mexico one day - thats a great little restaurant.

Jesster153 · September 2010

I LOVE Disney!!

I second nicole's suggestion of drinks around the world in Epcot. good times

The 50's Prime Time Cafe is a really fun place to eat. The waitresses are playful with you and they make jokes with you and there's all this 50's memorabilia around. We've heard the Sci Fi Cafe also (where you sit in the 'drive in' style cars is fun but we've never been bc the wait is ridiculous so def make a reservation for that.
Tony's Town Square (lady and the tramp) is really cute and good too- need a reservation for that also,

If you go on Disney's Boardwalk-there's a dueling piano bar that is amazing! It's called Jellyroll's. The piano players they get there can play everything! And they are really good! And I've never been to pleasure island- but I hear its a great place for adults- bars, music, clubs, etc. (apparently there's a good irish pub there)

As far as rides- Aerosmith's Rockin Rollercoaster is hands down, one of the best rides there

And Soarin is really awesome too.

nicole8586 · September 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_lrm-other-disney-buffs?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:105Discussion:06e5f3b2-e2a3-4fbb-ac6a-fd074016a54ePost:442daf8a-fddd-48fb-9cc4-bb1f0e9c037f">Re: LRM (and other Disney buffs)</a>:
[QUOTE]I LOVE Disney!! As far as rides- Aerosmith's Rockin Rollercoaster is hands down, one of the best rides there ;) And Soarin is really awesome too.
Posted by Jesster153[/QUOTE]

Rockin Rollercaster is the best! We took FI's nephew on it. He was technically too small but somehow got on. (they wouldn't let him on a second time) His face is priceless at the start of the ride, we had to buy the picture. One day if I get a change I will scan and post it.

I also loved the roller coaster at animal kingdom, Everest. It was awesome.

Ms.BriarRose · September 2010

Thanks ladies! Keep the suggestions coming

Ooods, can I ask, how much did all those dinners run? I have heard the Grill is expensive, and we are trying to limit our expenses (we don't want to spend all our gift money on the honeymoon, but that might well happen!!!). We want to do 2, maybe 3, nice dinners- we were thinking V&A for our super nice splurge dinner, the HoopDeeDo revue for our fun dinner, and then the Luau. You think nixing the Luau? Can you give me, if possible, price ranges for all those? So I can budget accordingly?

With the food and wine festival, I am half inclined to only do one or two nice dinners, and then eat every night at Epcot, at a different country. I have heard Japan, France, Mexico, and Germany are really good- any other suggestions?

Where is Tony's Town Square, Jesster? FI loves Italian, so that might be a good one to go to.

We did get the dining plan- the one with a counter service, a sit down service, and a snack (I think). What do all of those account for? I have heard that you can save a meal and combine it with another meal if you want to spend more at a certain restaurant. Also, where do the meals count? Can we use the counter service at the World Showcase? I am a little lost on how that works.

Unfortunately, Jesster, Pleasure Island is not what it used to be- they shut down all the night and dance clubs, and are putting in all shots of different shopping now. It's changed quite a bit.

ooodsie · September 2010

Oh gosh.. I am not going to be any help with that because we did the deluxe dining plan, so all of those meals were included. Sorry! I highly recommend their dining plans, it saves you a ton. Some of our bills were insanely high $200 and we just signed and got up and left, no payment needed. Granted, if we had been paying we would NOT have ordered 1) app 1) entree & 1) dessert each... so it would have been a lot less had we been paying.

Ms.BriarRose · September 2010

So you did the deluxe dining plan? And all your meals were included?

LadyJ10 · September 2010

Tony's Town Square is at the entrance to Magic Kingdom, and it's a good sit-down spot after a long day of standing in lines, etc. at MK. Decent italian, but I think the restaurant at the Italy pavilion in Epcot gets better reviews.

I have to third Prime Time Cafe -- it is probably my favorite restaurant in Disney! Definitely a good lunch spot (and way better, IMO, than the Drive-In place).

As for nice, celebratory dinners, Epcot is the place to go! We had dinner at Marrakesh last time we went, and it was fun, but I really love both restaurants in France. Yum!

I, also, recommend you call now and try to make reservations. If you know you're going to be in a park a certain day, ask what's available as far as sit-down resturants for those meals. You used to be able to go on the morning of and be fine, but now it's getting to be that the good places book up months in advance!

I stayed at the Port Orleans many moons ago, so don't have much help on dining there! There's usually a place to get breakfast on the go at each resort, which is pretty much going to run you the same as in the park. I'm more of a pack a granola bar kind of girl, but DH needs breakfast.

LaRositaMonita · September 2010

The advice given so far is awesome

By the way...I am sure you have already looked in to this, but have you seen that you can get room-only discounts for your dates by booking through Disney? Additionally, if your dates are flexible, you could also take advantage of a FREE DINING PLAN for the weeks surrounding your stay. I assume the timing of the trip is planned carefully and no other week would work for you.. but justin case you do have some leeway, make sure you price it out. Free dining in particular can be a huge savings, although purachasing the dining plan is not worth it for us. The basic dining plan covers the cost of one entree, one non-acoholic drink, and one dessert per person, for two meals per day (one table service and one counter-service). As people who prefer apps to dessert, who liek to drink, and who think dessert at a counter srivce place for lunch is an excess of food, we would at best break even getting any of the dining plans. Free dining obivously saves you a ton, though, even if you spend extra out of pocket for booze and apps. I actually priced out dollar-for dollar (more or less) what we want to send on five days in WDW next summer to see if any of the dining plans would be worth it and can show you what we came up with over e-mail if you want. I can also give you lots of details about the exact workings of the dining plan if you want over PM because I will go crazy rambling here.

Victoria and Albert's is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but if you are at all on a budget I would look for a subsitute. A quick search reminds me that the dinner is $125 pp, not including alcohol, tax, or tip. Wine pairings add an additional $60 to your meal price. A fabulous romantic meal that will break the bank a lot less is to eat at the California Grill later on in the night, right before the Wishes fireworks in the Magic Kingdom start - aka ood's suggestion. They pump the music in to the restaraunt and dim the lights, and there is also a private viewing area just for the restaurant on the roof of the contemporary. We did this and it was awesome last summer

I have video I can share.

I will also give a thumbs-up to the Prime Time 50's cafe, San Angel Inn in Mexico (one of my faevs in Epcot), and for an Animal-Kingdom inspired meal I would recommend Boma or Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I actually forget whcih is which, but one is less expensive and a buffet, and the other is a little pricier and more exotic but is AWWWEESOME. We are also going to try Chefs de France for the first time on our next trip next summer, not only beause I've always wanted to eat there but because Remy from Rataouille visits all the tables now. (Look on YouTube for video of this, it's precious.) If you like steaks, Le Cellier (in Canada) is not to be missed. For another romantic place less expensive than V&A's Narcoosee's at the GF is one I haven't done but that I hear lovely, lovely things about.

No matter where you eat, you are able to make ADR (advance dining reservations) now...and I would do so. Some of the restaraunts we're recommending, believe it or not, will have little to no availability next month. I was going to suggest Cinderella's as THE best character meal in the park (especially if you dig the Disney royalty), but it books up at literally 180 days out all the time. Chef Mickey's may have some limited availability if you really want to do a character meal (I am over these, I have 700 million photos and autographs with characters at this point and won't want anymore until I have kids). EDIT: Another super character meal I forgot about, if you would be into it, is the Princess meal at Norway in Epcot. Totally fun We did this on a family trip in college and my parents cracked up...I acted like a seven-year-old girl again (I had never met Belle before, she is my favorite, I got rather star struck) and my brother was pretty happy to have pretty ladies fawning over him all through breakfast, har har har.

I have actually never done HoopDeeDoo, and the only time I did the luau was when I was 2 1/2

I am actually all for just leaving extra time to get places though. If you are not leaving Disney property, the buses are FREE, and a rental car is not. You are paying a premium no matter what the time of year to stay on Disney property (just look at other hotels in Orlando for comparison that are off-site)...even if it's public transport, for me the buses are a big reason to stay on property. Truly, if you are wanting to rent a car anyway I would comparision shop and see if it's worth it to say elsewhere. My family used to stay at the Embassy Suites in International Drive and sometimes we got a whole suite there for $100/night.

Attractions merits its own post...sorry for wrriting you a novel already!

LaRositaMonita · September 2010

LadyJ mentioned eating in Port Orleans. There are no table service resataurants there - just a food cout that's good for grabbing a sit-down breakfast or lunch.

Here would be my must-do attractions/shows for each park:

MK (disclaimer, I am over Fantasyland just like I am character meals. Waiting 40 minutes for Dumbo, etc. is just not appealing to me as an adult with no children)
The mountains (all three - it sound inefficient, but if you are willing to hit splash first, big thunder second, and then walk all the way to space third you will probably be able to do all three within an hour of entering the park if you make a beeline right at rope drop. I am also a fan of grabbing a fastpass for space on the way over to the other two)
Mickey's PhilHarmagic
The parade at 3:00, if yu have never seen it
Buzz Lightyear (one of Col's favorites)
Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle cruise if you have never done them
Wishes fireworks, which makes me cry :P

Epcot:
Test Track, Soarin', Mission: Space (but not if you get motion sick at all...if you are in any way prone, do the "easy" side) - make use of FastPass for these...especially Soarin', which IS WORTH THE WAIT if you really have to
Skip the parade here, the music is great but the parade itself sucks
YOU MUST STAY FOR ILLUMINATIONS. That is all.

Hollywood Studios:
Rockin' Rollercoaster (my all-time fave!), Tower of Terror (they are right next to each other, excellent fastpass opportunities here)
Toy Story Mania (another one worth the wait...Buzz was Colin's favorite until he rode this one!)
the Muppets 3D Movie (outdated, but I love it)
Fantasmic (must-see show! people will wait hours in line for this...I have settled always for a "meh" seat (there really aren't any) and got on line maybe 10 min before they let everyone in

Animal Kingdom:
Everest, Everest, Everest! Finally rode it last summer, fantastic ride
Kilamanjaro safari (do this first thing while the animals are most active)
It's Tough to be a Bug (my favorite of all the 3D shows)
Dinosaur
Festival of the Lion King show - my favorite show of any of the parks
Finding Nemo the Musical (had to skip this last summer, really want to see this summer though)
The rest of the park you can skip...I am a fan of only doing a 1/2 day at Animal Kingdom and maximizing my time elsewhere

I would also recommend spending one afternoon or evening at Downtown Disney. The World of Disney Store is incredible, especially if you want to take home unique souvenirs that don't have bright neon huge Mickey designs on them (DH got an adorable "hidden Mickey" tie there, and I have a Lily Pulitzer-inspired polo with tiny hidden mickeys embroidered on it that I love).

Have I missed anything...?

LaRositaMonita · September 2010

Oh! Yes! Crazy great WDW resource is the DIS. You can find touring plans, restaraunt menus....everything there. http://www.wdwinfo.com/ MouseSavers is also great for discounts - friend them on Facebook, you won't be sorry. The DISBoards (messageboard for the DIS - www.disboards.com) are probably my favorite place for info, it's the alrgest community of DIsney freaks on the planet. Just search what you are looking for and about 30 million threads on that topic will come up.

While in WDW, I would highly recommend Undercover Tourist's iPhone or Droid app if you have such a phone...you can program in all your ADRs and other major activities and get reminders when they are getting close, find out wait times for any ride in the park, and even track where you parked (if you bring a car) using GPS, which will also tell you what rides and attractions are closest to you in distance at any point in the parks and how long the line is.

Also, in addition to your buttons you must invest in wedding Mickey and Minnie ears. Colin gave me sideeye about this at first....until the magical Diney moments started. We had some great ones. I will not spoil the fun for you, but will tell you that if you do not do this you are missing out and I will cry for you.

Just read more closely...if you don't get to do a character meal, there is a spot in Ecpcot (I think by Innoventions?) where all the heavy hitters (the Fab Five and random handful of others) hang out. It's usually not as crowded as the lines for characters in the other parks.

ooodsie · September 2010

Yes deluxe dining plan includes 3 sit down meal credits a day, along with 2 snacks.. It's a ton of food. You can skip a sit down meal and save up to do the 2 credit options like the hoopdedoo too. We went when they had free dining as an option, chose that and then upgraded the FREE dining to the Deluxe dining. It was a couple hundred additional, but that was more than made up for in one day alone. So like LRM said, if you can go during a time when there is free dining, you'll be set. It's highly worth it when it's included in the package, not so much when you have to pay out of pocket for it.

kira&jake · September 2010

All of the above advice is pretty solid. I agree that you should absolutely wear the ears. FI and I got engaged there last Aug and we wore the ears and got all sorts of fun stuff. It's totally worth it!

The only other thing I would add is if you and FI enjoy games, I would definitely go to Disney Quest. We have done that twice and spent multiple hours in there without getting bored.

As far as restaurants go, we ate at the Coral Reef (Epcot) for dinner and it was fabulous, but a little on the expensive side. We also had dinner at the Brown Derby (MGM) and Taken Edo (Epcot), but I can't remember how they were priced. All were realllly good.

Hoopdeedo Review is good. I haven't seen it recently, but we went a few times when I was younger. The last time I saw it actually, Steven Speilberg was there with his family sitting 2 tables over. Great memories there!

Happy planning!

Ms.BriarRose · September 2010

Wow- that's a whole lot of GREAT advice!

FI is in charge of the HM. He already has booked the dates (12-19 of Oct) and paid, but is going to check tomorrow to see if we can transfer dates and to see what we are locked into. The dining plan isn't available for our dates, but I don't know when it is free. Can anyone tell us how much dollar amount each meal on the meal plan has? That will help make our decision easier, of whether to upgrade to the deluxe or to pay cash.

I think we are going to skip the car, and try to make the buses work. Is there a better, closer resort that we should transfer to?

Heather, anything and everything you want to email/PM me, go right ahead. Anything you can help me with I will be in debt to you (anything you want from WDW, haha?). I think the Cinderella's castle dinner is booked, but I was also told to ask a CM when the characters are scheduled to be out, and they should be able to tell us.

There is just so much info....

LaRositaMonita · September 2010

This should give you the info you're looking for about what each dining plan will cost per person per day.

http://www.mousemisers.com/2010/2011-disney-world-dining-plans/

Part of the difference between the Deluxe and Moderate resorts in WDW is the proximity to the parks and other attractions. You can transfer to another resort that will be closer to the parks and HoopDeeDoo if you want to pay for it. If you are concerned about travel times, you can always call Disney and ask someone directly about how long it takes to get from one place to the other...or, better yet because it's a specific question, ask someone on the Disboards

Personally, I would just suck it up and not be concerned. You have made an excellent choice of resorts - in my estimation (not having stayed at them all), Port Orleans French Quarter is the best of the Moderates. There are a lot of crazier people than me who will back me up on that.

Here are the dates/details on the free dining promotion for 2010-2011.
http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/specialOfferDetails?name=Promo&promotionCode=fy11dine&market=fy11dine

In terms of pricing out paying for the dining plan, you need to consider a few things, because the dining plan may include some things you would not ordinarily pay for out of pockey and exclude others you would want. It's annoying and time-consuming, but a good way to compare is to look up sample menus on the DIS and price out what you think you might order on and off the dining plan for 2-3 days of eating. See where you come out ahead. Another thing to not forget is that many of the places recommended here are "Signature" dining locations which will cost you more than one table service meal. California Grill, Jiko (the higher-end AKL restaurant), Le Cellier, HoopDeDOo, and the Luau are exampeles of this. Victoria and Albert's is not included in the Dining Plan at all - you will have to pay for this meal out of pocket no matter what.

Like I said, if you can't dine at Cindy's, the princess breakfast in Epcot is a fantastic subsititute (part of why they started it was because demand was so high for breakfast at Cinderella's).

Jesster153 · September 2010

Cara answered this but just to echo it.... Tony's is in Magic Kingdom, Main Street Town Square, next to Eposition Hall

After reading all this I'm really jealous and want to go back to Disney! haha

QTsgirl522 · September 2010

I ditto most things so I won't repeat everyone. I didn't particularly like the sci fi cafe. You sit in cars which is cool but it's so dark and they keep looping this sci fi old news thing on a big screen like you're in a drive in movie. The food wasn't great either and b/c there were 3 of us, DH (FI at the time) had to sit behind me and my step son and he fell asleep haha.
Loved Tony's town square and loved cape may cafe (if you like seafood)
Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom were my fav parks for rides.

We bought the bride and groom mickey mouse ears and I'd be happy to sell them to you if you want them. PM me if you're interested.

We did the regular dining plan which made dinners so much easier but I was so sick of the Disney pizza for lunch by the end of the trip.

nancyr · September 2010

Two suggestions: If you aren't locked into a meal plan that included breakfast at your hotel there used to be a bakery on Main Street where you can pick up pastry, bagels etc, price is right. The next is NOT an economical suggestion but not over the top: Try the Outback at the Buena Vista Palace, it's not your usual Outback but has kangaroo and gator on the menu, or it did last time we were there. It's a good place to go to get away from the park for awhile. I was sorry to hear they took the clubs out of Pleasure Island, we always enjoyed those as well. Have fun! I am so jealous! We used to go for two weeks at a time, we'd get yearly passes, save up timeshare weeks and go the beginning June the first year and the end of May the next, four weeks of pass for the price on 1 annual, saved us a ton of money (but only if you know you are going back!). Take time to float around one of the waterparks for a day off, the Lazy Rivers can't be beat!

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