AboutBarbon Expertise I have been to Disney over 30 times. I am very familiar with all of the resorts,
restaurants and parks and can be helpful when planning a Disney vacation. I have eaten at almost all of the Disney restaurants from the
most expensive to counter type of eateries. I have stayed at most of the
resorts at least one or more times, and can suggest what resort would best
meet your budget and accommodate your party. I can be of help with planning
strategies on touring the parks, and help with making the most of your time
in Disney. I also have access to many other web sites and informational
areas that can make your trip a more pleasant one.
I have also written a series of articles for the www.wdwig.com web site on
traveling to Disneyworld as an empty nester.
Expert: Barbon Date: 6/20/2008 Subject: Dining Plan
Question QUESTION: Hi my nake is jacob and my girlfriend and i are taking our first trip to disneyworld on the 5th of july through the 11th and are a bit concerned about dining. I would like to save some money but I would also like to eat out and enjoy our first trip. What are your thoughts about this and can you give me some advice on what to do?
ANSWER: Hi Jacob,
First, did you take the Disney dining plan? This is available for Disney guests. If not, I can suggest some ways that you may want to eat and not be extravagant at each meal. I also would like to suggest that you make your dining reservations NOW, ASAP, because it will be busy at Disney that week.
I would do a light to go type of breakfast at the hotel. Most Disney hotels (if you are staying on site) have a food court/fast food venue where you can grab a muffin, bagel, etc. or you could eat at a quick to go type of place in the park you are visiting. I would then eat a nice lunch somewhere, perhaps doing a resort lunch alternating with a fast food venue at the park. I would then do a great sit down dinner at one of Disney's nicer restaurants. The web site www.wdwig.com has all of the menus with prices at all of the Disney restaurants under their dining section. Why not look over the menus, then e-mail me back with the ones you think will appeal to you and I can let you know what I think of them.
Also, I do suggest during this busy time, get to the parks early upon opening, going back to the hotel in the afternoon for a swim and then returning to the parks again in the evening. Take advantage of the 11pm parade in the Magic Kingdom, by that time some of the people with young kids have left for the day. If you do a water park, go early, when they first open, there will be no lines for the slides, etc.
Hope this helps you get started.
Barbara
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for our help and i have looked at some of the menus and I was kind of thinking of the riverside mill food court for breakfast because we are staying at that resort. We are big breakfast eaters so we are really interested in breakfast more than dinner. We are thinking of doing the Donald safari breakfast, but is it weird for two 20 year olds to do a character dining? I do not really know where to eat for dinner so I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a good dinner experience. We do not have the dining plan but are thinking of it. Is it a good idea to get it? or could we save money by keeping sandwich food ect. in our room so save some money?
Answer Hi Jacob,
First, it is not weird for the two of you to do a character type of breakfast, my husband and I (both past the age of 50) did the 1900 Park Fare Character breakfast when we were in Disney over the Memorial Day Weekend.
My only thoughts on doing a long breakfast is that the parks are really not as crowded early in the am. If you get to the parks when they open, you can really see A LOT in the first 2 hours. For this reason we do not waste time on a really long or character breakfast. We did 1900 Park Fare on the day we were leaving, so we were not doing a park anyway. Also remember that Disney has early entry days for their on site guests. If you do not want to get up an extra hour early for this, avoid the early entry park on that day. Also keep in mind that this is a VERY busy week at Disney. I am not trying to discourage you from nice breakfasts, but I would hate to see you in long lines all day because you spent the time at breakfast rather then in the park.
It would be hard for me to say whether to take the dining plan or not. It depends on what they will charge and how much you actually eat. We do not do the plan.
As for dinner, I would really have to have some idea of your budget to recommend where to eat. I can tell you about some of our favorites but I do not know if they fit into your budget.
WE love the following restaurants for dinner.
Portabella Yacht Club in the Downtown Disney area.
Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian
Brown Derby at MGM
50's Prime time at MGM, a little less pricey.
Liberty Tree Tavern character dinner at Magic Kingdom, again, not as expensive.
Yachtsman Steakhouse
California Grill at the Contemporary
Fultons Downtown Disney area
These are just a few of our favorite places.
Hope this helps a little.
HAve a great time.
Barbara
