maybe, but if it matters to you check. i was out to parks before opening and it was closed long, long before evening
I stayed at Jambo in October and January for two nights each time. I was not bothered by the quietness of it but I haven’t been there when things are normal. It’s pretty cool to have that lobby all to yourself! There is a shuttle between Jambo and Kidani. I rode it once each trip with basically no waiting.
The pool at Jambo is bigger. Kidani has the big splash pad feature. As a slide connoisseur, neither slide is as good as CSR or OKW but still fun.
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Well, my littles aren’t so little anymore. DD20, DS16, DS11 twins. 
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It’s open now, right?
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Yes, it is.
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OK, then Stress 
Then I would prefer Kidani for more food option and the gift shop being open with kids that age.
Lol
Normal times, those sorts of things almost always can slide through, but… 
I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to re-find where I saw it when I was initially reading up on ADRs, but I thought I saw somewhere that even infants-in-arms needed to be included in the reservation number because of the restaurant capacity limitations due to Covid. They may need to be stricter about those things right now? I have no idea in practice how much it’s enforced, but thought I’d mention it just for awareness.
ETA: Oh, here it is…again, no idea how much it’s really enforced…but Covid times are wonky…
“ Children under 3 ALWAYS need to be included when making your reservation. Sometimes folks don’t include the baby when making their dining reservations and are surprised when the restaurant is unable to accomodate their party size upon their arrival. Just because the baby will sit on someone’s lap and not take up a chair does not mean they don’t count as a person when it comes to the occupancy of the restaurant. Remember, a person is a person no matter their age.”
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I think this policy is not covid specific. Pretty sure you’ve always had to include littles in the total reservation number.
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Thanks for the research! Luckily so far I’ve been able to get reservations for 7 for all the restaurants I’ve booked so far.
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When we were there in January 2020 Future World was all under a construction wall mess. Did that ever wrap up?
Nope! But it is better now than it was then.
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So some DS restaurants can be reserved either through MDE or Open Table (or I guess maybe other reservation systems since I’ve only looked at a couple)?
Pros/cons to using MDE over whatever is on the restaurant website?
Only advantage I can see in using MDE is to have them show up there with my other ones (which still won’t be complete because we are doing some non-Disney restaurants).
Cons…I think Open Table generally has an even more flexible cancellation policy (30 min prior)? And can reserve out further than 60+10? And if there is any wonkiness when I cancel my leading reservation, my Open Table reservations won’t be impacted.
Am I missing anything?
I would personally book with MDE if convenient and then check Open Table if there was no availability. I like your “all in one place” pro. Also the cancellation policy with Disney is essentially the same thanks to bump and dump.
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I generally always book Raglan and Morimoto through Open Table. There is always so many choices. I swear Raglan has always seated me faster when I booked Open Table but that might be my imagination.
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Ok, I have updated my original post with my meal and snacking plans so far. ADRs in process of being made. (Need to get to work on the Open Table ones…)
Favorite dishes at places on the list?
Favorite foods at UOR IoA and USF I should watch for (quite a selection is included in the meet-up but we haven’t been there in 10 years so not sure what I should key in on or avoid)
Favorites from Epcot Flower & Garden?
We plan to get take-out from Epcot to take back to our room for dinner 2 or 3 times. Katsura Grill once for sure. What else would travel well? (I’ll put tupperware in the backpack.)
Also anything to add to our grazing day at AK?
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At Universal Harry Potter and Thunderfalls Terrace foods are the best. Get some ice cream at Florean Fortiscues. I don’t remember much being available from Leaky Cauldron but it’s my fave quick service and we eat there every time. People swear by Fast Food Blvd but I wasn’t very happy with my chicken sandwich last time. I’ve only tried it once. I don’t typically eat anywhere other than HP these days but I remember the USF burgers place wasn’t bad…the one from All American Graffiti whose name is escaping me this early. Just really avoid Toon Lagoon food and you’ll be okay and try to eat as much in HP as you can.
For Cowfish get the app on your phone and get on the waitlist from inside the parks. They do not take regular reservations. Everything I’ve ever eaten there is good and we eat there every time so feel free to be adventurous or not. It’s all good.
And I know we have one Austin now so maybe you’ve been with DD but do everyone a favor and grab a voodoo donut. You won’t regret it!
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Mel’s Diner!
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I don’t really have any good advice to add, I just wanted to say that my friends and I are going to the OI meetup as well… we’re staying at Cabana Bay Thu-Mon.
Foods to try:
- Buffalo chicken tots in Seuss Landing
- Ice cream in Diagon Alley… they have an early grey flavor that’s really good
- if you haven’t tried a Beyond (non-meat) burger and want to there should be a few different burger places that have them during the free food time
- Finegans has a good pasty
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Thanks!
Edit: Did I seriously type “All” American Graffiti. Can you tell I had not had coffee yet?!?
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