January 2013

[dawnhaze]

Originally Posted by SingingMom

Wow! Very impressive!!! We are the opposite. Lol. One or two ADR the most. We are spoiled with wonderful restaurants in our area, so food isn't high on our WDW priority list. Or, as DH says, "I don't know what I feel like eating a few days in advance - how the heck will I know MONTHS in advance.!?!" Lol

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Yeah, if I still lived in NYC or Philadelphia I'd be less excited about the restaurants. But, where I live right now, we barely even have any typical chain places to eat at, much less anything special.

I'm a super-heavy planner. I have a spreadsheet laid out that schedules my January trip hour by hour. I probably won't follow it exactly, but I like to have the plan to fall back on.

[SingingMom]

Originally Posted by buzznina

We are the same way, not big into ADR's maybe 1 or 2 for an 8 day trip, and those are mainly character ones for our DD's. We really do not like spending all that time inside a TS restuarant. We use to plan everything and now we enjoy it more when we do not have the days totally planned out.

As the years have gone by, more visits, and DD growing up, our approach has changed. We still like TS for dinner, and I do " plan" to the extent of where we think we want to visit on which day, but having the luxury of visiting five years in a row gave us our "fix" lol. After a two year hiatus, where we took a Bermuda cruise and a FABULOUS AbD trip to London /Paris, we are returning to WDW.

This trip is the first time for us in January, so that in of itself will be different! We also met wonderful cast members on our AbD trip that we are planning to visit while we are there, so their schedule will decide on some of our plans.

I'm hoping we will be able to eat at a few of our favorites. If not, staying at the Dolphin helps, since there are great dining options in that entire area!

(Or... We wing it and eat better when we return home. LOLOLOL. )

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[SingingMom]

Originally Posted by dawnhaze

Yeah, if I still lived in NYC or Philadelphia I'd be less excited about the restaurants. But, where I live right now, we barely even have any typical chain places to eat at, much less anything special.

I'm a super-heavy planner. I have a spreadsheet laid out that schedules my January trip hour by hour. I probably won't follow it exactly, but I like to have the plan to fall back on.

Yep! We are very spoiled to live in the middle of the great melting pot of cuisine !

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[babynala]

Originally Posted by dawnhaze

I'm doing DxDP for my January trip, so food is a big highlight for me too. I'm hitting just about every signature meal, character breakfast, and dinner show there is.

My ADR list:
1/8 - 8:30PM Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue
1/9 - 11:30AM Hollywood Brown Derby
1/9 - 5:30PM Jiko
1/10 - 8:05AM Tusker House
1/10 - 8:05PM Flying Fish Cafe
1/11 - 8:05AM Cinderella's Royal Table
1/11 - 8:15PM Citrico's
1/12 - 8:15AM Akershus Banquet Hall
1/12 - 6:15PM Bistro de Paris
1/13 - 10:15AM 1900 Park Fare
1/13 - 6:00PM Garden Grill
1/14 - 7:40AM Cape May Cafe
1/14 - 9:35PM Narcoossee's
1/15 - 8:05AM Crystal Palace
1/15 - 8:00PM Spirit of Aloha
1/16 - 9:20PM Artist Point
1/17 - 9:20AM Ohana
1/17 - 6:00PM Yachtsman Steakhouse
1/18 - 9:00 AM Chef Mickey's

That sounds like a great way to max out your DxDP. Yummy. Can't wait to hear which will be your favorite.

[danceintherain]

We haven't had access to much great cuisine for most of our marriage, so Disney dining is a lot of fun for us.
Even though our trip isn't set in stone, I have an ADR scheduled for pretty much every day that we will probably be there. I have 14 scheduled right now for a 12 day trip.
Maybe we don't know exactly what we're going to want to eat 6 months in advance, but I usually know where I won't want to eat. Even though you can probably find somewhere to eat at the last minute, your options are much more limited. By planning them in advance, I can make sure that we have a good variety throughout the trip. For example, when I went with my family the last time, I gave my youngest siblings a list of places I knew had things on the menu they would eat. Instead of my brother saying "I want pizza" at every meal like he did on our last trip, we got him to branch out and eat at Sci Fi Dine In and Biergarten.
With my husband it's easier, since he'll eat just about everything. I just have to make sure that he has at least one opportunity to order a steak, a burger, and some fish & chips.

[mya174]

Need advice. Unfortunately, we are dropping one park day. Now we are only doing 3 park days. I was concerned about being overtired and stressed since we are driving down. We will be there from the 21-25th. We are doing 2 days MK but now need to decide between Epcot and DHS for the 3rd. I have 3 boys (8,5,& 2 years) and my husband. It is their first trip but my 3rd. Just wanted it to be good for them. I imagine I could cram another park in but I want it to be a little laid back. Well, as laud back as can be with 3 boys! Thanks!!

[loveshak22]

Originally Posted by mya174

Need advice. Unfortunately, we are dropping one park day. Now we are only doing 3 park days. I was concerned about being overtired and stressed since we are driving down. We will be there from the 21-25th. We are doing 2 days MK but now need to decide between Epcot and DHS for the 3rd. I have 3 boys (8,5,& 2 years) and my husband. It is their first trip but my 3rd. Just wanted it to be good for them. I imagine I could cram another park in but I want it to be a little laid back. Well, as laud back as can be with 3 boys! Thanks!!

I'd recommend 1 day at MK, 1 day at Epcot, and 1/2 day at HS and AK. OR....if you have park hoppers I'd do 1.5 days at MK, 1/2 day at Epcot, and 1/2 day at HS and AK. I'd look at the crowd calendar at easywdw.com to see which parks are slower when and plan my visits according to where people aren't...if possible!

[Babka]

Please add me to the page 1 list under "arriving the week of January 20-26"

We'll be there Jan. 23-30, and staying at the CSR.

[letthewookiewin]

Originally Posted by Babka

Please add me to the page 1 list under "arriving the week of January 20-26"

We'll be there Jan. 23-30, and staying at the CSR.

& added

[Eventer98]

Originally Posted by mya174

Need advice. Unfortunately, we are dropping one park day. Now we are only doing 3 park days. I was concerned about being overtired and stressed since we are driving down. We will be there from the 21-25th. We are doing 2 days MK but now need to decide between Epcot and DHS for the 3rd. I have 3 boys (8,5,& 2 years) and my husband. It is their first trip but my 3rd. Just wanted it to be good for them. I imagine I could cram another park in but I want it to be a little laid back. Well, as laud back as can be with 3 boys! Thanks!!

Hi there! I would def do two full days at MK and then a full day at Epcot...my kids are 4, 3 and 1 and Epcot and MK are their favs. There isn't much at DHS for kids under 5 or 6..at least not to make a full day out of. AK is also fun but we get it done in 3 hrs when we go.

[Chocolab23]

Originally Posted by ButterflyJen

We are on the S/P/D plan & have 6 table credits to use. Our ADRs...

Monday - 'Ohana dinner
Wednesday - Whispering Canyon Cafe dinner
Thursday - 1900 Park Fare dinner (older DD's request)
Friday - Cinderella's for breakfast (younger DD's birthday request)
Saturday - breakfast at Chef Mickey's before we hit the road

Our first visit to WDW so we are trying to hit the "big" meals, but have some fun too!

We have reservations at 1900 Park Fare that same evening

[Chocolab23]

We're going from January 26-February 2!!

[mya174]

Thanks for the advice! It helps a lot.

[letthewookiewin]

Originally Posted by Chocolab23

We're going from January 26-February 2!!

& added

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Headed to WDW January 25-29th, staying at AoA Finding Nemo!!