Switching Days & Dining Reservations

[beantrees]

I asked a couple weeks ago about Pop vs. a moderate resort. I eventually (still subject to change!) chose the Play Stay Dine offer at Pop and upgraded to the regular dining plan. I priced out the difference between using my PIN code and buying tickets from a third party vs. the PSD deal. It's a difference of $936 for the entire week. I figured we would probably spend $800-$900 on food for the four of us for the whole week, so I thought it was worth it to pay $100-$150 more and not have to worry about ordering something cheaper on the menu or getting groceries. Plus it would give us a chance to try more restaurants!

So here are the reservations I have right now:


Sunday Arrival Day: Epcot, no reservations

Monday (MLK Day): Studios,1:40 Sci Fi

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, 6:25 Ohana

Wednesday: Animal Kingdom, 4:30 Boma (should I switch to Sanaa?)

Thursday: Magic Kingdom, 8:05 BOG, 11:35 BOG, 5:30 Ohana (I will only keep one BOG and one Ohana)

Friday: Epcot, PPO Garden Grill - I had a PPO Askershus booked but canceled bc I think GG works with our touring plan better, but maybe this is a mistake?

Saturday: Magic Kingdom, no reservations

I have to fit in two more table meals (after I cancel one of the Ohana reservations). I'm thinking The Wave on an MK day or 1900 Park Fare. Thoughts? Maybe a good Epcot table service in there as well? I would really like to squeeze in another character meal because we love them. I'm thinking Crystal Palace on departure day? Or Askershus dinner?

Ok, so the park hours for our trip dates are really short. MK closes at 8:00 pm each night. I'm half tempted to move days around so that we have EMH at MK one night and maybe EMH at Epcot. I know it's best typically to avoid EMH, but we went to EMH at MK on our last trip and had an amazing time. I think keeping the hours how they are would force us to be in bed at a reasonable hour and ready for rope drop the next day? What would you do?

Thanks for reading this novel if you made it this far!!

[Deleted]

Oct 24, 2016 16:07:28 GMT -5 beantrees said:

Sunday Arrival Day: Epcot, no reservations

Monday (MLK Day): Studios,1:40 Sci Fi

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, 6:25 Ohana

Wednesday: Animal Kingdom, 4:30 Boma (should I switch to Sanaa?)  I've never been to either but I loved Tusker House.

Thursday: Magic Kingdom, 8:05 BOG, 11:35 BOG, 5:30 Ohana (I will only keep one BOG and one Ohana) Keep in mind that BOG for breakfast and lunch only uses a Quick Service credit.

Friday: Epcot, PPO Garden Grill - I had a PPO Askershus booked but canceled bc I think GG works with our touring plan better, but maybe this is a mistake?  I had both booked and chose GG ultimately because we had no desire to see princesses.  Do you have any princess lovers in your group?  I haven't been to either yet so can't comment further.

Saturday: Magic Kingdom, no reservations

I have to fit in two more table meals (after I cancel one of the Ohana reservations). I'm thinking The Wave on an MK day or 1900 Park Fare. Thoughts? Maybe a good Epcot table service in there as well? I would really like to squeeze in another character meal because we love them. I'm thinking Crystal Palace on departure day? Or Askershus dinner?

Ok, so the park hours for our trip dates are really short. MK closes at 8:00 pm each night. I'm half tempted to move days around so that we have EMH at MK one night and maybe EMH at Epcot. I know it's best typically to avoid EMH, but we went to EMH at MK on our last trip and had an amazing time. I think keeping the hours how they are would force us to be in bed at a reasonable hour and ready for rope drop the next day? What would you do?  Disney keeps adding hours days beforehand so I wouldn't count on the calendars being accurate this far out.  This is last year's park hours on MLK week: www.characterlocator.com/?p=cal_index&mo=01&yr=2016&cweek=4

Thanks for reading this novel if you made it this far!!

[spankswife]

I would keep BOG lunch and drop breakfast. Do a cinnamon roll from Gaston's tavern.

Also, we love Tusker house too (character meal)!

At Epcot we like coral reef. The kids love the tank. Akershus has a good princess meal if you're interested.

ETA- the beast is only at dinner. No charactera at breakfast or lunch.

[beantrees]

We did Tusker House too last trip and LOVED it. I kind of wanted to see AKL, which is why I scheduled Boma. But we may still do Tusker House, it might fit our plans better. And there's usually lots of availability last minute.

I have two boys that aren't necessarily princess obsessed but are definitely not opposed to meeting them. I thought it would be fun to do a meet with face characters? Never done that before! The Coral Reef menu looks good too!

I was definitely leaning towards the BOG lunch. We had the breakfast last trip and it was not very good. The only thing holding me back is the empty MK photos and the quick ride on 7DMT. Hmmm... I will probably wind up keeping the lunch though bc the food looks so much better.

Great point about the park hours @notquiteblushing. The hours last year are much better! I'm hoping they will extend Tuesday's hours that we can Rd, break, Ohana, stay tIl close!

[curbsideprophet]

We really enjoyed Biergarten at Epcot.

We loved Sanaa. Have not had a chance to try Boma yet. I would be concerned about the time of the Boma reservation system since it is not in the park. Seems early. In park we have enjoyed Yak and Yeti and Tiffins.

I would also recommend Skippers Canteen at MK.

The Wave was great.

[buckeyegirl]

We're going at the same time and doing:
Sunday MK - Crystal palace for dinner
Monday (MLK day) - AK - Tusker house for dinner
Tuesday - Epcot - Coral Reef for dinner
Wednesday - HS - Mama Melrose for dinner
Thursday - MK Liberty Tree for dinner

We did the play, stay, dine package with the regular dining plan. We're staying at the Caribbean beach because it was only $200 for the whole trip more than a value. I couldn't get any reservations at BOG or Askershus.

[beantrees]

curbsideprophet I booked the 4:30 Boma time so that we could be one of the first reservations and get a window seat to see the animals, and then watch the nighttime entertainment (Rivers of Light??) Or the Lion King show at 7:00. 4:30 gives up plenty of time for that! We will have an early lunch that day! I would really love to try Boma all the reviews look excellent!

Keep checking for dining reservations. For example, I know I will cancel one Ohana and one BOG at some point. So if you do want into something that's booked up just keep checking.

[curbsideprophet]

Sanaa is the restaurant with a view of the animals. Boma is the buffet restaurant.

[beantrees]

Oct 25, 2016 18:28:30 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Sanaa is the restaurant with a view of the animals. Boma is the buffet restaurant.

You're so right! Hopefully I would have figured that out sooner or later? Hmm not to decide if we want Sanaa with the view or more options at Boma. Thankfully it seems like they both have plenty of availibilty most of the time so I have a while to decide.

[curbsideprophet]

I would book both now and decide later. If the times overlap too much have someone else in the group make the other reservation.