In a shock development, I’m completely rethinking my plans for next summer. And there’s still 240 days to go. Buckle up.
I’ve decided that breakfast is the way forward. I did 1900PF, Ohana and H&V this summer and I really enjoyed them all. So now I’ve decided I should do breakfast every day. Gotta spend those deluxe dining credits somehow.
First: scheduling. I’m thinking of going for 8.45am reservations. Feel free to explain why this is a dumb idea. My plan is to wake up at 7am each morning. I figure making it to breakfast by 8.45am is reasonable. I’m staying at Pop and will aim to use buses for park breakfasts and Uber for hotel breakfasts.
Second: locations. 1900PF, Ohana and H&V again, obviously. To which I’m adding: CP, GG, Boma, and CG (brunch).
That leaves one spot open. On the shortlist are: TH, Cape May, GF Cafe, CM.
BOG is out because I want to have dinner there. CRT is out because I want to have lunch there. Akershus is out because face characters freak me out.
I welcome any thoughts. I only have 60 more days to firm up these decisions.
I’m going to throw another idea out for you, Kona Cafe. We really enjoyed our breakfast there. I loved Tonga Toast and my daughters thought that the Macadamia Nut Pancakes were awesome. They apparently have amazing coffee (I wouldn’t know since I don’t drink coffee) and the delicious POG juice. It is a quieter place since it is not a character meal. One of our favourite meals on our trip.
Thanks for the suggestion but Kona Cafe is also on my “No” list. I had a look at it this year and it didn’t look like an exciting place to eat. And Tonga Toast is just ridiculous! I had it for room service at the Poly.
Face characters: fair point. It’s the princesses I can’t deal with. They’re not real princesses. I can tell. We have real ones in the UK and the WDW ones are not real ones. Whereas the Mad Hatter I can believe is real.
CRT is going to be a challenge. I was going to ditch it. But I feel like I’m probably locked into the deluxe DDP plan and I intend on punishing Disney by racking up massive dining expenditure. I might wear a t-shirt that says “leave me alone” or I might wear a bag on my head.
To be honest, CRT last year was a disappointment. The starter is an outrage and should shame the place into closing permanently. A salad is not a starter. And a charcuterie plate isn’t a thing.
But, you know, it’s in the Castle. And I’ve got dining credits to spend. Maybe I’ll go to Skipper Canteen and Liberty Tree. And have two lunches.
Well, I love the food at Akershus. It’s been a favorite of ours even before it became a character meal. I’ve heard such bad reviews about the food at CRT that it doesn’t really appeal to me at all. However, it’s all very subjective, isn’t it?
The problem with Akershus in my mind is (a) princesses and (b) location is weird — it’s deep into Epcot and in the middle of nowhere. GG makes more sense to me and gets great reviews.
I’m rethinking my timings. I’m now thinking maybe a later (10am?) breakfast. Because: maybe get a few rides in before I fill up on food, maybe less busy? Less pressure in the mornings / more flexibility. Also, less burning the candle at both ends.
I would do TH over Boma you could do the ROL package as well. Any thought on the new one taking over at AP, I know face characters but also Grumpy and Dopey.
Have you considered the Wave at CR? It has an excellent buffet, or you can order off the menu. I think it would be a nice break after a few rides at MK, easy walk there and back. The sweet potato pancakes are delicious!!
What about the Bon Voyage breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk? I’ve not tried it yet, but I’ve seen such good Liner reviews on it that it’s on my short list for next time. It is face characters though.
We had breakfast at Boma in October and it was fantastic. The food was top notch, loved the venue and the staff. I would definitely choose to do it again. The only reason I picked it was for an excuse to experience AKL as we were staying at another resort. When I return, I plan to have a meal at WL & GF for the same reason.
I think doing a big breakfast and then a signature dinner would be a good use of your deluxe dining plan. On your shortlist I would vote for TH or Cape May. Another suggestion is the breakfast buffet at The Wave–it’s quite nice.
I LOVED the Garden Grill when we went in September. The food was tasty, it’s a rotating restaurant (!), and the characters were fun. Also that cinnamon roll… oh man was that good.
Also, we did a couple of late-morning breakfasts—we ate at GG at like 10:30ish. It didn’t super work for me because it was too early for me to want to stop touring (and because it was SO HOT we ended up needing another break midday), but I can see how it could work for your purposes.
We went to GG on our last trip and it ended up being the overall favorite. Food was delicious, characters were engaging, and view of LWTL was so great!
So I stayed up all night ripping up my spreadsheets and redoing them all with the All New Strategy.
Leave Pop at 8.30am. Arrive at parks at 9am. Get 1 FPP in and whatever else I can, then breakfast at 10am. Followed by two more FPPs timed so I can do them back-to-back (i.e. one at 10am and one at 11am so that I can go straight from breakfast to the first one — at, say, 10.45am — then straight from there to the second one.) Then ride the FPP lotto for the rest of the day.
Dinner at 8pm at a signature. Which leaves time for a light lunch at say 3pm — this way I get all my credits used up.
For clarity’s sake: I’m visiting UOR on three of my days, so I won’t use all of my allocation of dining credits on those days — hence the lunches. I will have breakfast at WDW before going to UOR.
