New help choosing

[disney is my life]

Hello! I am pretty new to the dis but have been a lurker for a while. I am beginning to plan my second trip to the world but am having trouble with all the decisions there is to make.Last time my family went was nov. 2011 and it was the most unorganized thing ever. we had no idea about dining reservations, we didnt have the dining plan, we ended up in mighty ducks in asmo because we didnt know about the prefered room option, etc,. Well this time we have decided to get the dining plan and stay at AoA but i need some opinions. Which would you choose?
Nemo suites or lion king suites?
table service meal for dinner or lunch? (were bringing breakfast with us)
would you be more likely to do character dining for lunch or dinner?
and lastly what restaurants do you recommend?
TIA

[MichaelH]

Originally Posted by disney is my life

Hello! I am pretty new to the dis but have been a lurker for a while. I am beginning to plan my second trip to the world but am having trouble with all the decisions there is to make.Last time my family went was nov. 2011 and it was the most unorganized thing ever. we had no idea about dining reservations, we didnt have the dining plan, we ended up in mighty ducks in asmo because we didnt know about the prefered room option, etc,. Well this time we have decided to get the dining plan and stay at AoA but i need some opinions. Which would you choose?
Nemo suites or lion king suites?
table service meal for dinner or lunch? (were bringing breakfast with us)
would you be more likely to do character dining for lunch or dinner?
and lastly what restaurants do you recommend?
TIA

Well I have not stayed at the AoA, but are there big differences in the room? If there are not major differences you will be ok with which ever you decide probably, One thing to consider is how far from pool and food court the suites are. I know when we go we spend little time in the room except for sleeping.

I would do table service for dinner. After walking in the parks it is nice to take a breather and have a nice meal.

I would do the character dining at dinner for the same reason as above.

Restaurants:

Rose and Crown
Le Cellier (need to book early popular, great steaks)
Teppan Edo
Yachtsman Steak House (Another great steak place)

Just a few of my favourites.

[katt789]

-Is your family more Nemo fans, or Lion King fans? I haven't seen the suites, but me being a LK fan more, I'd choose those. Although the Nemo ones are closer to the main hall, main pool & bus, not that LK is far behind that!

-I would say alternate your meals, don't do all dinner, don't do all lunch
-Look at the prices/menus, for example, Le Cellier has pretty much the same menu at lunch & dinner, but is far pricier at dinner

-I like to do a lunch at Epcot (somewhere in World Showcase) and at DHS, take a break in the middle of the day, or park hop elsewhere, then come back for the evening show!
-At MK I like doing dinner, and for AK, lunch is also a good one, because then you do a late lunch, and leave the park!

MK Resturants:
-Cinderella's Royal Table (lunch is cheaper I'm pretty sure, also characters! and it's in the castle!)
-Be Our Guest (dinner, for lunch it's quick service, but book NOW)

Animal Kingdom
-Tusker House has characters at breakfast & lunch, I really like lunch here, great selection for American style food and African food, they're delicious. Buffet, so you eat as much as you can

DHS
-50's Prime Time or Sci Fi Diner. I'll be honest, I don't like the food in this park, ahah, but both of those are good options for TS

Epcot
-Le Cellier, HANDS DOWN. Do lunch, it's cheaper (1 credit vs 2 on the DDP) It has amazing filets, soup, and pretzel bread, it's amazing

I also recommend:
-Tortuga Tavern & Cosmic Rays in MK for QS (and Be Our Guest)
-Sunshine Seasons in Epcot
-Pizzafari in AK
-Starring Rolls in DHS (sandwiches and cupcakes!!)
-The foodcourt at AoA has TONS of different, and awesome choices for all meals of the day, I really liked it!

Have a wonderful trip!!

[iamfishie]

We stayed at AofA in November. We were in the Little Mermaid section but the Nemo section looks to be more "fun" however, LK is quieter since it doesn't have a pool. I'm a fan of late lunch/early dinner TS meals. We had luch at around 1:30 and it worked out really well for us. We also had TS dinners and we ended up missing the fireworks both times. Next time, I'll stick with 1:30 lunches or 4:30/5pm dinner. Early dinner is just another excuse to get ice cream!! We loved Ashkurus House (Norway). The food was great and the princesses were fantastic. It's only 1 meal credit, while the castle is 2. Teppan Edo was good, but we have a great Japanese steakhouse at home. The Disney Jr lunch at DHS is great. It had the best food out of all the character meals. Breakfast at O'hana's is one of our favorites, too. We usually do breakfast in the room but we'll do this meal. Then we just do a snack for lunch.

[Aaeolien]

Places I enjoyed on our first trip were Ohana (probably my favorite), Biergarten was alot of fun with the polka band. We also did Hoop de do which was awesome. I wasnt truly impressed with the food at hollywood and vine for the dis jr breakfast but we did have a later adr towards the end of serving so not sure if that maybe had something to do with it. DS loved the characters though.

[j-me]

Glad you got "organized" for this trip. You will be SOOO glad you did.

If you want to go to a character meal..

Tusker house (AK) breakfast and lunch both have characters and are only 1table credit.
I believe the Askerhouse (sp) in Epcot also is 1 table credit and it too have characters.

We are going in March and are there 5 nights but only have park tickets for 4 days. We eat at the wonderful resturants at the resorts or downtown disney with the dining plan..

Another hint.. at the end if you have quick service credits.. you can go to downtown disney to the Earl of Sandwich and get sandwiches with your quickservice credits for the airplane ride home.

[lthiesfeld07]

You'll love AOA! It's a beautiful resort and the food court is really good too.


I recommend the Crystal Palace for lunch in the MK. It's a character meal with Pooh and Friends. Boma at Animal Kimgdom Lodge is really good too! In Epcot I recommend Rose and Crown for dinner. Try to score a later dinner (7:30 or 8:00) and request to sit outside to view Illuminations!

[disney is my life]

Thanks for all your ideas! I ended up going the complete opposite direction. We have officially booked and will be staying at POP-prefered pool view. We have also made our reservations.
monday(arrival day)-crystal palace
tuesday-akershus
wednesday-1900 park fare
thursday-chef mickeys
i made them all for dinners as many of you suggested