Hi all! Staying at the Poly next fall with DH and two DDs, one will turn 3 while we are there and the other will be 18 mos. Any suggestions for not to miss meals? So far I’m thinking 'Ohana dinner, CM breakfast, GG dinner, and possibly 1900 PF dinner or Rainforest Cafe? I think two regular buffets is my max because it gets hard with them being so small. I also know we will be back, so not sure if it’s the right visit for CRT or Akershus, or wait a few years?
You are so lucky you are going just before the oldest one turns 3! TWO free kids —WHAAAATTT!
If they like Winnie the Pooh, maybe you could do Crystal Palace?
Akershus breakfast if they are really into princesses.
CRT if you don’t mind spending that much.
I know, right?? Hence the splurge on the Poly 
May not get a chance to stay there again! Thank you for the ideas! Oldest DD is currently only into Frozen, but a lot could change in a year as far as princesses go!
I know a lot of people probably feel differently, but personally I wouldn’t attempt a buffet with 2 littles. Regular restaurant or family style service would be so much less stressful to me than either balancing multiple plates in my hands or making multiple trips to get each plate while someone else occupies the kids.
Hmm. You have a very good point. I know it’ll be kind of difficult with the girls but may be harder than I thought. I may switch the CM breakfast to 'Ohans since we will be at the Poly anyways. That would be a good farewell breakfast departure day, and they’d still get their Mickey-fix. Wondering what to try instead of 1900 PF dinner. Any suggestions for DD3’s bday dinner??
Agree that buffets are a special kind of torture with kids that age!
- Akerhshus is nice for breakfast because of the princesses, and although there’s a cold buffet to start, platters of delicious hot food come to your table.
- Garden Grill great for same reason: no buffet, all food shows up on your table, very kid friendly
- Whispering Canyon Cafe an easy trip from Poly to WL, same thing: great menu, but if big appetite can get AYCE if you want. Also reasonably priced.
- We love Captain’s Grill at the YC - classy, quiet, delicious drinks, good food, and a really cool build-it-yourself sundae at the table (they bring a bowl of ice cream and toppings and kids get to dress it up however they want).
I like the idea of WCC! I hadn’t thought about getting there to be easy, but I guess it wouldn’t be too bad. May be a good bday dinner spot!
We went last year with DS3 and DD18mos and did Tusker House, Crystal Palace, and Akershus … they were all great!! We really loved both buffets (and I guess Akershus is sort of half-buffet) and didn’t think they were too hard to manage with the littles … it just meant we had to sort of eat in shifts, but that’s pretty normal for parents anyway, lol!
Hmm… from Poly take monorail or boat to MK, then 7 minute boat ride to WL… and WL is REALLY beautiful. I love the dock and whole Pacific Northwest vibe.
The MK boat is probably the most direct way to get to WL. The other option is Monorail to the Contemporary and hop the boat there to Wilderness Lodge. Gives you another option and could be fun to get a look at the Contemporary that way as well on one of the legs of the journey. Make sure to find the 5 legged goat on the mural…
We loved Garden Grill. Beaches and Cream was also fun. DH and I weren’t as thrilled with WCC, but I think we made a bad meal choice for our taste as I saw a lot of appealing looking food go by the table. DD5 really enjoyed WCC, she ate well and got a big kick out of the ketchup hoopla. I want to try Ohana breakfast next trip.
What really turned me off on buffets until DD is older was getting stuck in a people traffic jam so long on my first plate trip (I am not talented enough to fill and carry 2 plates without a disaster) that I missed my DD meeting Minnie. So then on my next plate trip I was stressed about trying to get back before another character came. Plus the restaurant (Hollywood & Vine) was so loud and chaotic that none of us really enjoyed the atmosphere although DD did love the characters. It wasn’t a relaxing and refreshing meal like most of our other meals were.
Thank you for this feedback! I think if we do a regular buffet (either CM or TH), I will limit it to 1. Was leaning more to CM for Minnie. I’m going to lean more towards the AYCE meals that are served at the table when we can
I’ll be the cynic and say go where YOU want to go and have the pictures taken that you want. For the 18m, you might as well be in a food court at the local mall. The DD3 would probably enjoy (or not enjoy) any one as much as the other and will most likely remember it only by looking at the pictures you take.
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While I think my suggestion may be derided by some, we took 2yo twins to Coral Reef on our first trip and go back every time. I got up and went to the bathroom and they didn’t even notice I was gone. I then proceeded to get an adult beverage and have a conversation with my husband for 3 whole minutes between their exclaimations of “Mommy! Look!” While I liked the food better at Garden Grill, the kids were a little scared of characters- same with OHanna and Akershus, characters were scary. Of the character meals, breakfast at the poly had little instruments to play in the parade which was more tempting to them than the simple parade of pricesses.
This is great feedback. I hadn’t thought of Coral Reef but will check it out! My oldest loves characters. Hard to say for my youngest just yet though!