where to eat WDW? Update with reservations

[pinkpeony08]

We are planning to our trip to WDW in March 2020.  It looks like reservations open next month?  Do we need to go ahead and make them that early?  

We are staying at the Polynesian from Tuesday night (presumably later arrival) until Saturday am.  It will be just our family of 4, daughter age 7 and son will be almost 5.  My in laws are coming Thursday night until Saturday am.  In laws are picky/very "meat and potatoes," we actually avoid taking them to our favorite restaurants in town when they visit because no matter how good it is, they always say, "eh, it didn't have much taste."   My husband and I are hoping for delicious meals and are pretty adventurous eaters.

I was thinking we would do one character meal?  Suggestions?  My daughter likes princesses but certainly isn't obsessed with them.

Otherwise, thinking we would order groceries and have breakfast in our room with the exclusion of potentially a character breakfast.

Thinking one sit down meal a day.  

Current thought for schedule is likely park in the AM, back for a rest/pool in the afternoon, then potentially back to a park around 4 for an hour or two (why we are staying at the Poly):

Wednesday- Magic Kingdom
Thursday - Epcot
Friday- maybe Hollywood?  My in laws think "there isn't much to do there."  
Saturday- undecided but something until after lunch, then we will drive back to my in law's home in Naples. 

Thank you!

Update:
I decided we would do one sit down meal most days.  I was surprised to see Ohana only with 3:45 left on the day we wanted on the first day I could make a reservation!  I'm planning to just keep checking back and hope for a later time.  I presume at some point I will be able to get one, right?  

We are doing the Bon Voyage character breakfast- though it's later than I planned but maybe we will eat a bit in our room and then walk through Epcot on our way? On the day with the in laws, eating lunch at Sci Fi Diner and dinner at Kona at the Poly.


Thanks for the suggestions! 

[Patsy Baloney]

We had fun at the Crystal Palace character meal - we did breakfast. Both DD and I love Pooh bear and friends. Tigger was pretty sassy the day we were there and there's a great picture of me getting "the look" after I remarked, "I didn't know Tiggers were left handed!" as he signed my daughter's autograph book.

Epcot - we ate at the restaurant in Morocco - Restaurant Marrakesh. There's a belly dancer and Jasmine is in the lamp shop right by it. Food is fine and the atmosphere is fun.

Hollywood Studios - Sci-Fi Drive In forever and ever amen (this is my fav park even though much of it has been out of commission for all of the building going on. I just love the vibe, shows, and could ride Tower of Terror all day!)

If you're planning on hitting up Animal Kingdom, we had a wonderful meal at both Tiffins and Yak & Yeti.

[erbear]

The only restaurant we ate in that I thought was actually really good was Sanaa at AKL. Ohana was fine, BOG was fine, Akershus was fine, but Sanaa was amazing.

[jaycee]

Chef Mickey's was an awesome character breakfast and it'll be very convenient for you location-wise. We loved Ohana when we stayed at the Polynesian. You will need to make reservations for those right at the 6 month mark. I agree with above that the SciFi Drive In Diner was very fun and good food.

[nicolewi]

Yes, you should make reservations when they open.

Can you eat without the ILs a couple times if they aren't into it?

We did the meal plan, so we tried a fair amount of places with kids ages 4, 6, 8 and 10. If you are at the Poly, I think you'd probably want to do Ohana, which is very popular and fills up.

We really loved Sana'a at AK Lodge, but it's a bit of a hassle to get there as you have to shuttle out of AK. And if you aren't even headed that direction, it just doesn't make sense.
We loved Cinderella's table, but that fills up for sure and is super expensive...but it's like the premier princess meal.
For a more low-key one, we really enjoyed the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno. I think for you, I would choose that one. It's just outside of Epcot's International Gateway, on the boardwalk. It seems "grown-up" enough for a 7 year old and has princes for your son. They have Ariel & Rapunzel.
We also really liked the Cinderella meal at 1900 Park Fare--kind of fun interaction with the naughty stepsisters and great food, but if I were doing just one meal with kids your kids' ages, I would choose Bon Voyage over that one.
Be Our Guest is a nice way to get into the park early, and it's fun to see the inside if it works out, but I didn't feel it really lives up to all the hype.
My kids really enjoyed Teppan Edo at Epcot (Japanese hibachi).

There is TONS to do at Hollywood Studios. That was 2nd favorite park for most of my kids to the Magic Kingdom. My kids loved the Indiana Jones stunt show, Toy Story Land, Jedi Training, Frozen Sing Along, Star Tours. We missed the muppet thing that's supposed to be really good, too. Plus, they will have some new stuff and the entire Star Wars land. The only really bad meal we had all vacation was Minnie's Seasonal Dine at Hollywood & Vine, so I would skip that one! It was super crowded and while we were there the food was awful. Characters were great, though, and dressed cute.

[mslhb]

Lots of good places to eat. Some of my favorites are Boma at AKL, San Angel In in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot, Biergarten the German buffet at Epcot, Cinderella’s Castle at MK, Ohana at the Polynesian, The Wave breakfast buffet at the Contemporary and Sci-Fi Inn at Hollywood Studios. Also enjoyed the character breakfast buffet at the Grand Floridian but that was more for the characters then the food.

[curbsideprophet]

I would make ADRs at the 180 mark. You can always drop/adjust them later. People change ADRs all the time as plans shift. Some of the more popular places will book up quickly.

Since you are staying at the Poly I would look over the Ohana and Kona menus. I would try at one of them. Ohana is a LILO and Stitch character breakfast. There are no characters at dinner.

I would try Skippers Canteen for lunch or dinner on your MK day.

Epcot has lots of option. I would think about what other things you want to do and you might be near around meal time. Akershus is a princess meal and is a good option for more adventurous eaters.

No one really knows what HS will be like when Galaxy’s Edge opens. Prime Time Cafe could be a good option for meat and potatoes eaters but the servers also have an act. www.disneytouristblog.com/50s-prime-time-cafe-review/

Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge have some great dining options. Tiffins and Yak and Yeti in the park and Sana’a at the Lodge.

I think one table service meal a day is a good plan. As is one character meal. You will just need to decide which type of character meal you want. Mickey, princesses, other.

Good luck with your planning.

[mainelyfoolish]

For a character breakfast, I think the Bon Voyage breakfast at the Boardwalk has the best food (it’s a little different from standard breakfast fare) and it’s one of the least stressful because it’s not a buffet so you don’t have to worry about watching the characters rotate through the room so you can make food runs in between table visits.

[arch01]

nicolewi, mainelyfoolish-how long should I plan on for the Bon Voyage breakfast? Snagged a last minute reservation on our Epcot day Wednesday.

[mainelyfoolish]

Aug 15, 2019 17:57:42 GMT -5 arch01 said:

nicolewi , mainelyfoolish -how long should I plan on for the Bon Voyage breakfast? Snagged a last minute reservation on our Epcot day Wednesday.

Probably between 60 and 90 minutes. 

[alleinesein]

The Turf Club, Biergarten, Jiko, Rose & Crown, and Le Cellier are good options for the "meat and potatoes" people. They have safe items but still have things that more adventurous eaters will enjoy.

[bowies]

My mom is not an adventurous eater but I think she would have really liked O’hana. She happily ate at both Akershus breakfast and Boma for dinner. Akershus offered a really good mix of standard breakfast fare served tableside with more adventurous stuff (think lox etc.) at a buffet. Everyone was happy. Plus it was a character meal.

Epcot is a day I prefer not to plan since there are so many food carts and stalls.

And if you’re over your ILs, take them to 50s Prime Time Cafe at HS. They’ll like the food and you’ll enjoy them getting sassed by the waiter. Ask for a TV table.

[litebright]

If you end up at the MK with your ILs, I would suggest Liberty Tree Tavern. The food is reliably good and will appeal to meat-and-potatoes types, and they may enjoy the early Americana of it.

I really like that as a lunch place when we've been at MK. It's great for a cool, sit-down lunch in AC for a break.

[Patsy Baloney]

Liberty Tree is great! We had a late dinner there one night with my H, my mom, and DD (she was 5 at the time). We had just come from Haunted Mansion, and poor DD was afraid the portrait of Ben Franklin we were sitting by was going to come to life. The meal was otherwise fine, lol. We ate ourselves silly on the dessert, and my kiddo had eaten so many fries to that point, she was grateful for some green beans.

It's fun when your party gets announced. Got a pretty hard mom-smack from my mom when I quietly booed a party from England, but I was just trying to be authentic!

[covergirl82]

My parents are "meat & potatoes" types. When they came with us a few years ago, we ate at 50's Prime Time and Biergarten, and they liked both. You could also consider 1900 Park Fare, as it's a buffet and has food that most people like. The dinner meal has Cinderella and Prince Charming (plus the Stepsisters and Stepmother), which your DD may enjoy. (Also a nice proximity to Poly.) I've eaten at Liberty Tree Tavern as well, and it has "meat & potatoes" type food and was very good.

We stayed at Poly last trip, and had breakfast at O'hana, which we really enjoyed. We'll probably go again on our next trip. We also went to Kona Café, but probably won't go again, mostly because they have quite a bit of seafood and fish on the menu, and we don't like seafood/fish.

I didn't see Whispering Canyon Café mentioned (at Wilderness Lodge), but my kids really like it. It's fun - they do hobby horse rides around the dining room and if you ask for ketchup, you get all the ketchup (and then have to take it to the next table that asks for it). We haven't gone, but I've heard that Hoopdy-Doo Revue is a good show and has good food.

[pinkpeony08]

Updated

[PatBenatar]

I didn't get ideal times the first time around but eventually I was able to change them. I kept stalking the app and things would open up.

I really liked the Bon Voyage breakfast.

[mslhb]

Touring plans has a reservation finder that I’ve used with good success. They will alert you when what you are looking for opens up.