170 responses

  1. Dave
    May 9, 2019

    Jane–yes, they will!!

    Reply

  2. Jane
    May 9, 2019

    Thanks! Also, I’m interested in Garden Grill but my friend isn’t. I was thinking of booking an 8 am breakfast there for just my young daughter and I, and then the Trattoria al Forno “breakfast” for our lunch at noon. Will Disney let me do that, or can I not have two that are considered “breakfast?” I’ve read that they must be 2 hrs apart and this is 4 hrs, but they are still both “breakfast.”

    Reply

  3. Jane
    May 7, 2019

    My friend who’s coming with us has become very interested in doing the Trattoria el Forno breakfast with the characters but I don’t know how to work it in b/c we don’t have a non park morning. He thinks we can do it while at Epcot….but doesn’t want to do the early morning time slot. I am uncertain what to do. I don’t want to be at Epcot early and not be doing rides. I also don’t want to enter Epcot, leave Epcot, and then have to reenter. It will probably be Black Friday. Thank you again for all your good advice. 🙂

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 8, 2019

      Jane, the Trattoria al Forno character breakfast takes reservations until noon. It is not such a pain to get to as you may think, especially if you are heading to World SHowcase around then anyway, which makes a lot of sense as crowds in WS are lowest late morning and early afternoon. So in your shoes I would book it for noon…

      Reply

  4. Jeanne
    November 24, 2015

    Hi, Dave. My 7 year old granddaughter lives Peru and doesn’t get over to see us very often. When I found out she could stay for a longer than usual visit I decided to plan a WDW trip for her as I don’t know if and when we will ever get another opportunity. The dates we have to go however, are not ideal, nor is the fact that we’re only a little over 30 days from our trip. Needless to say I’m doubtful that we will be able to get reservations for any character meals at this late date, since every thing is booked.
    So in light of the fact reservations are doubtful, should I just not get a Dining plan? Also, both a standard view room and a club level standard view room are available at the Polynesian with the club. I am trying to figure out if the extra $1000 is worth the club food and the concierge help that comes with that price tag. Our party of four includes me, my 18 year old son, my 33 year old son and my 7 year old granddaughter and we will be at WDW from the 3rd -9th. It seems like the convenience factor of eating our breakfast and snacks there might be worth it, or worth at least half of the extra charge if I’m calculating correctly. What do you think?

    Reply

    • Dave
      November 25, 2015

      Jeanne, absolutely skip the dining plan. The concierge service is of little value–you need to book your FastPass+ NOW— but the food and drinks can replace some meals and alcohol purchases. First timers aren’t usually in their rooms enough to get a lot of benefit from this, though…

      Reply

  5. Wendy
    August 1, 2015

    Thanks – I did see that on-line last week, but my kids are not interested in character meals…sniff, sniff.

    Reply

  6. Kelly B – Agent with Destinations in Florida
    August 1, 2015

    Hi Wendy,

    I’m not sure what your travel dates are, but just this week, Disney opened up reservations for a character Breakfast (and lunch) at Garden Grill (in The Land Pavilion in Future World in Epcot) for reservations starting November 8th.

    Reply

  7. Wendy
    July 31, 2015

    That seemed too easy – thanks!

    Reply

  8. Wendy
    July 30, 2015

    Hope your summer has gone well – mine has left a great amount of time to plan our Nov trip to HP and WDW.

    I am thinking of our Epcot days – and I see that the bakery in France is open at 9:00 – but the World Showcase is not open until 11:00. How does one get in to eat there at 9:00?

    Thanks!

    Wendy

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 31, 2015

      Hi Wendy and welcome back! There’s several dining options in World Showcase that open before 11a–Princess breakfasts at Norway, and, as you note, the Boulangerie in France. You just walk to them…

      Reply

  9. Tammy
    July 28, 2015

    Again, I come back for your advice! What would we do without you!???
    This time my question is about SciFi. You have it as a snack in the itinerary. I saw the comment you left near the top here that it is intended for a late arrival walkin. Should we be looking for an ADR to ensure entry or is that not allowed? We really want to experience SciFi but have an ADR with 50’s prime time for dinner.

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 30, 2015

      Hi Tammy!!

      Frankly, the only way to guarantee entry is via an ADR. What you then order is up to you!

      Reply

  10. Tammy
    July 17, 2015

    Hi Dave!
    In your experienc with ADR’s in November week before Thanksgiving, have you waited to get into restaurants for lunch and dinner during prime meal times even with an ADR? If so, which restaurants do I need to be planning to wait to get into? I read in either yours or Josh’s review that BOG lunch definitely has wait times even with an ADR but as for the others recommended, I can’t seem to find anything on. Thank you so much in advance for all your help. Couldn’t have planned this without you!

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 18, 2015

      Tammy, I’ve waited even with an ADR a million times at all different times of the year, including a week that I ranked as crowd level “lowest” where I waited 30 minutes for one ADR and 40 for another. Check in 10-15 minutes befroe your ADR starts.

      Reply

  11. Kylie
    June 8, 2015

    We are staying on property with another family. They arrive one day before we do. We have our reservations linked. Can I make our reservations for both families on their 180 mark or do I have to wait the extra day to our 180 mark to make them?

    Reply

    • Dave
      June 9, 2015

      Kylie, they can make reservations that include you, but you can’t make reservations that include them til your own 180 day hits.

      Reply

  12. Jane
    May 18, 2015

    Hi Dave, we are already going to do Crystal Palace. We are planning one full day and one half day in MK, with the first part of the day at AK. Our ideal is to have everyone eat at CP and BOG, and then split up for just my daughter and I to go to Cindy and the others to go to Liberty Tree. I guess I’ll book them into the Plaza as an alternative. We haven’t been to Liberty Tree or Plaza, but we liked the long history of Liberty Tree. I know we could do counter service but we had such an easy time with no lines last Thanksgiving week, and it was largely due to having reservations for both lunch and dinner. We are aiming for the most relaxation we can get!

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 19, 2015

      Jane, I meant no dis on Liberty Tree, just that I’d forgotten you were already doing CP!! Liberty Tree is a fine choice, Plaza is cheaper.

      Reply

  13. Jane
    May 18, 2015

    Hi Dave, if we don’t get BOG or Cindy we might do Liberty Tree. However, it is closed for its big refurbishment until a day before our vacation starts. I know things like this sometimes take longer than expected. Will they be letting us book it for later that week? If they do, what happens if it’s not available? I guess they couldn’t really offer us something else b/c it would all be booked…

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 18, 2015

      Jane they won’t let you book until they are sure it’s gonna open. What about Crystal Palace??

      Reply

  14. Mike
    May 12, 2015

    Just want to thank you for your advice on which days to visit each park. Today was our 180 day till WDW and we used your charts to plan our meals and we got everything we wanted at the right time. We were on line at 6am and was done by 615 am. Before we used my way and it was a real hit and miss and almost scheduled anger manners class. Now we wait for our fast passes. Thanks again Dave.

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 14, 2015

      Great, Mike!

      Reply

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