<p>I would say that whether you will enjoy Cinderella’s Castle depends on how much patience you have for other people’s little princesses. I am pretty sure that all of the meals there are now character meals, and while we do still like some character meals even though D is now 19 (Crystal Palace is our favorite), I will add my two cents and say that Cinderella’s Castle is not one of them. The dining area is very crowded (tables packed close together) and there is a lot of activity with the princesses rushing around. I have always felt kind of rushed here at a character meal. We ate dinner here once when it was not a character meal and it was a great expereince. I am sad that they changed this.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The problem is that the transportation system is set up to take you from your hotel to the parks and back–it is not set up to take you from one hotel to another. I agree that the system is good for what it is supposed to do, but if you want to go from the Contemporary to Animal Kingdom Lodge, I can’t even think about how you would do it on the buses (bus to Animal Kingdom park and then bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge, I suppose).</p>
<p>I think the taxi is a great idea–that is what we do when we want to go somewhere that the bus does not go directly.</p>
<p>If your DH wants to see Hallowishes (the fireworks show for the Halloween Party) but without going to the party, either eat at Ohana or Kona Cafe, or eat elsewhere and head over to the beach at the Polynesian. You can watch the fireworks from there!</p>
<p>At the Contemporary, I would also include the Wave - excellent food, wonderful drinks & not quite as crazy as the California Grill. Also, if you do book the California Grill, don’t get too obsessed with the fireworks time - not every table at the CG looks over the Magic Kingdom. If you can’t get the timing right, just keep your receipt from the CG - you can watch the fireworks from the CG balcony on the same day as you’ve eaten there.</p>
<p>Please note that Disney has made one change to its ADR policy - even if you’re on the meal plan, you must reserve certain signature restaurants (mostly the 2 credit ones including Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge) with a credit card. If you do not cancel within 24 hours, you’re charged a cancellation fee.</p>
<p>"–it is not set up to take you from one hotel to another."</p>
<p>I was assuming OP would be going from a park to one of the hotels for dinner, then back to the park or a different park (OP has park hopper). That’s what we did.</p>
<p>It would be easy to take the boat to and from Epcot to the hotels on the water there though, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, etc.</p>
<p>Where does one catch a taxi if you’re at the parks? Or I guess we would go back to the Contemporary to change for a nice dinner. What about from the Contemporary to Hollywood Studios? We definitely want to do Fantasmic. Are Boma and Saana at the Lodge or the Park for the Animal Kingdom. Could we take a taxi from the Contemporary to those restaurants? I’m guessing we’ll be able to take a boat to Artist Point and Kouzzina and Citrico’s and Narcossee’s. Thanks for the tip on the Halloween Wishes watching. We don’t want to go to the Halloween Party. It’s an extra admission on top of our hoppers and will likely be very crowded. We’re just two 50 somethings going for an anniversary trip. We would like to catch the different fireworks, though, if they’re different from the usual show. Maybe we’ll do the Luau on one of the nights that’s going on and try to see the fireworks from there.</p>
<p>If you are at a park, I would just take a bus to any of the hotels. The taxi is the best option, I think, if you want to go from your hotel to another hotel, or from another hotel back to your hotel. All of the hotels will have taxis out front. I think that there are taxi waiting areas at each of the parks but they are a little out of the way (we once took a taxi from Epcot to a local church when we were there for Christmas; I think the taxis were in the parking lot past the buses). I would ask a cast member at the gate where to get a taxi if you want to take one from a park. </p>
<p>Boma is at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Saana is at the new DVC part of Animal Kingdom Lodge (I can’t rememebr what it’s called). But neither is at the park.</p>
<p>One of the hardest places to eat is at Magic Kingdom because of so few choices. Liberty Tree Tavern is the best of them, but eat early (see below).</p>
<p>My favorites - Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Chefs de France in Epcot. We went twice to Flaming Tree Barbeque, a counter service meal in Animal Kingdom. The food is good and the portions there are big enough to split a meal and save for the double ticket restaurants.</p>
<p>Ones I would not go back to - Ohana at the Polynesian (crowded, slow, lousy service, so-so food) and Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge (where we stayed and not worth the double price).</p>
<p>A note of logistics might be in order as well. For sit down meals at lunchtime, especially within the parks, get early lunch reservations. Lunch at 11:30 takes only 30-45 minutes; lunch at 1pm takes 90 minutes.</p>
<p>Transportation: it can be a big pain to go from one resort directly to another resort, or from a park to Downtown Disney. We spent 1 3/4 hours trying to get from Animal Kingdom to Downtown Disney last June. That’s when a car comes in handy ;)</p>
<p>^^^Argh! I think we are going to skip Downtown Disney totally for this trip. If we do a Universal/Disney trip with our son, where we’ll have a car, we may try to see some of it then. Don’t know when that trip will occur, but one I would like to do with son in the next couple of years. Right now, focusing on a no car, couples anniversary trip, where we can eat at places that don’t have to have chicken nuggets and french fries.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you are not going “commando-style” for doing the parks, eating at different resorts would be a great way to check them out. Since you are at the Contemporary, if you wanted to go to Boma at AKL, you could walk over to MK and take the bus to AKL. </p>
<p>If you are at Epcot or Hollywood Studios for the day, you can walk or take the boat to Beach or Yacht Club, Boardwalk Inn or Swan/Dolphin. All have good restaurants. And of course, when you are at MK, you have the monorail to take you to the Poly or GF, and the boat to go to Wilderness Lodge.</p>
<p>We did a much more relaxed WDW for our 30th anniversary trip sans kids. It was really quite nice to just take our time and enjoy the journeys instead of hurrying all the time. We had our anniversary dinner at Narcoossee’s which was wonderful and we were treated very well. We enjoyed walking around the GF and spent some time in the lobby listening to the band they had playing. We were also able to watch the fireworks from the boat dock outside Narcoossee’s which is followed by the electric water parade.</p>
<p>We usually just did a good sized breakfast and then an early dinner. It was warm so we really were not hungry for lunch. However, you can take the other angle and do a late lunch which might serve as your big meal of the day. Lunch at the table service restaurants tends to be less expensive than the same food at dinner.</p>
<p>And don’t forget the great places to eat in World Showcase. We enjoy LeCellier (we always do late lunch there instead of dinner to save on the cost) Rose and Crown (where you may be able to watch Illuminations from their patio), and Biergarten if you like German style buffet plus all the counter snack places. </p>
<p>So many choices!</p>
<p>Gosh, I am pea green with envy! I would love to be going to WDW again this year. We have been quite a lot over the last 25 years. The last two times using the DDP. My recommendation is to do the signature dining restaurants for your evening meal and a nice sitdown 1 credit lunch. You will have snack credits which you can easily use for a quick breakfast. You could also opt for a nice sit down breakfast and then use snack credits for lunch. The biggest complaint from people using the DDP is that it is too much food. I think it would be if you try to sit down for 3 meals a day with appetizer, entree and dessert. We loved all of the Signature dining restaurants especially California Grill, Narcoossees, Flying Fish and Citricos. My kids and husband loved Artist Point. Jiko was good also. My kids loved loved loved the Yachtsman as they are true carnivores! Cali Grill is in the Contemporary. Narcoossees and Citricos are on the Monorail; so easily reached from your hotel. Cabs are easy to take home from any resort.</p>
<p>For lunch, we loved Sanaa (Animal Kingdom Resort), Yak and Yeti(animal Kingdom Park), and Tutto Italia(Epcot). Mama Melrose(MGM) is kinda like Olive Garden.</p>
<p>I would avoid all buffets as being too boisterous and filled with kids for a lovely anniversary vacation. Same with the “Character Dining”…noisy and not about the food.</p>
<p>Logistically, there is a lot of walking at WDW. It is lovely to sit and have a long lunch and rest before tackling the parks again. Also, all Signatures will take a little longer at night. We planned our dinners late and used them to wind down and have a relaxing time. </p>
<p>You really need to get on the dis boards. They will have more information than you could possibly need. There are restaurant reviews and menus available. There are pictures. It’s an amazing resource. It’s my other “home” if not reading stuff here! As you do here, take everything with a grain of salt and sift through to find your people. The food trip reports are usually fun to read!</p>
<p>Have fun! (can I go with you?) Muppetmom</p>
<p>I agree 3 sit down meals are too much while there. We did sit down breakfasts and dinners and snacks in between. For us, less appetites when warm and there is always so much to do, the day flies by.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Mine too ;).</p>
<p>^^^Great posts, guys! We laugh at the too much food comments. We are from New Orleans. We chose the DDP because we figure we’ll do either a sit down breakfast or lunch, and then signature for dinner, so that takes care of our 3 sit down meals a day. We’ll use the snacks for lunch or breakfast, whichever one is not the sit down for the day. We’ll also be there for the Food and Wine Fest, which we’ll hit mid week, and plan to use plenty snack credits to sample the booths.</p>
<p>This is definitely not going to be commando, and we are looking forward to a relaxing trip.</p>
<p>I have checked out the dis boards, but I am enjoying reading the adult perspective.</p>
<p>Keep them coming!</p>
<p>@Montegut- I am excited for you! We are going to DW as well but over Thanksgiving. We’re doing a Land/Sea trip. Very excited! I’ve been mulling over the food choices as well…we are doing the Deluxe Dining Plan as well. I’d love to hear which restaurants you decide on. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for the bump. I haven’t made any restaurant reservations, so please continue to post. I am hoping we’re still able to get reservations, as we’re less than six months out, to fulfill our Deluxe plan. Please keep the suggestions/recommedations/avoids coming!</p>
<p>Definitely Sanaa. I’ve been to Disney World seven times and it’s my favorite dining experience. The food is truly incredible. That said, I went off season when the restaurant was nearly empty so the experience could be different at a more crowded time of the year.</p>
<p>^^^When is off season? My FIL is dying of cancer, and we may have to change our dates. If not going for the actual anniversary day, which is our FIRST CHOICE, I would like to book our trip for the off season so we can have a relaxing time.</p>
<p>I don’t think our anniversary is during off season, as the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and Columbus Day and Mickeys’ Not So Scary Halloween Party are all going on the week we will be there! But I can’t change the date of my anniversary!</p>
<p>[Disney</a> World 2012 Crowd Calendar](<a href=“http://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/06/29/disney-world-crowds-in-2012-3/]Disney”>Disney World Crowds in 2016)</p>
<p>This is a week to week “crowd calendar.” I believe I went on a level 3 or 4. These predictions are quite accurate. I made my trip plans about three weeks before we left and we had no problems getting reservations everywhere including Cinderella’s Royal Table. Magic Kingdom was deserted and we were able to ride the rides on loop without even getting off. It was really magical. PM me if you have any more questions. I’d consider myself a bit of a Disney expert.</p>
<p>@Montegut- </p>
<p>These are the ones I would go to:
For a nice meal:
Le Cellier, Tutto Italia, Narcoosees, Brown Derby, California Grill</p>
<p>For Fun:
Prime Time Cafe
Hoop De Doo Review</p>