WDW veteran, a few specific questions....pretty please

[Becca1007]

Another vote for the Safari....dumb question, but if you see this, do you 'drive' through it in your own car....that is sounding rather nice! Thank you a ton for the tip on Embassy Suites, we always use these in Chicago and love them, so I'm sure that is a great idea for San Diego, I will look into those right away! Thank you so much!

No, the safari park is similar to Animal Kingdom in that there is a tram tour of the animal habitats. I'm linking a review below that does a good job talking about all the aspects of the safari park vs the zoo. https://www.travelcaffeine.com/tips-info-safari-park-san-diego-zoo/

 

[bethwc101]

5 adults in a GCH room would be TIGHT. The rooms are smaller than the DLH, and to be honest, we feel tight with only 3 adults in the room. We prefer the DLH over the GCH every time. Everyone says how great the Grand is, so I kept trying to like the Grand, til my daughter finally said "Why do you keep doing this? You know we prefer the DLH...."

That said, I really enjoy club level at the DLH. Servers are so friendly. Club hosts are so helpful.

With your passion for the DLH and club level, how often do you spend at the hotel vs parks? And Do you ever get bored just being at the hotel?
We have thought about for our next trip fall 2020 to try DLH club level. We usually do 3 days in park back to back, but are thinking of spreading out the days and doing 3 park days over the week with a designated hotel day, but don't know if it can hold our interest level.

 

[Erin M]

Hello to another Erin! You’ve gotten plenty of answers to your questions about DLR so I just wanted to add that if you have time in SD stop by Adalberto’s on Rosecrans. It’s near Point Loma. I went to college there many moons ago. The restaurant is still there though. It makes what I consider to be the best carne asada Chips (or fries) ever in the history of ever. The portion is huge, share it! It’s just in a little strip mall so unassuming, but man I think about that place more often than I care to admit.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

No, the safari park is similar to Animal Kingdom in that there is a tram tour of the animal habitats. I'm linking a review below that does a good job talking about all the aspects of the safari park vs the zoo. https://www.travelcaffeine.com/tips-info-safari-park-san-diego-zoo/

you are awesome, THANK YOU!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

With your passion for the DLH and club level, how often do you spend at the hotel vs parks? And Do you ever get bored just being at the hotel?
We have thought about for our next trip fall 2020 to try DLH club level. We usually do 3 days in park back to back, but are thinking of spreading out the days and doing 3 park days over the week with a designated hotel day, but don't know if it can hold our interest level.

For us, Club Level at any Disney resort is the ultimate convenience, but I'll admit, as the mom and provider of FOOD, it gives me the chance to completely relax....I don't pack granola bars, think about drinks, anything, it's a treat!!! We like a longer Disney vacation regardless of WDW or this time DL, because that afternoon break, pool, kids stare at screens or nap (yes, they are 20, 17, 14...still like the Disney nap), hubby and I love a pool break with a few tropical cocktails, then hit the club lounge before closing down the parks. I think if you consider a club level stay part of your true vacation, and take the time to enjoy the resort, the pool, the lobby, the shops, the lounge, it makes it worth it to us. Hope this helps....we are type A folks, so this approach helps us to slow down and actually take a vacation, even when we are slightly theme park commandos!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Hello to another Erin! You’ve gotten plenty of answers to your questions about DLR so I just wanted to add that if you have time in SD stop by Adalberto’s on Rosecrans. It’s near Point Loma. I went to college there many moons ago. The restaurant is still there though. It makes what I consider to be the best carne asada Chips (or fries) ever in the history of ever. The portion is huge, share it! It’s just in a little strip mall so unassuming, but man I think about that place more often than I care to admit.

Have a wonderful trip!

Oh my magical word Erin, I love this and am writing this on my list as I type this. See, this is why I love disboards, people really caring for each other and sharing our experiences. Many thanks!!!!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

So thanks to all of you....update: Embassy Suites Downtown San Diego booked. Minivan with Alamo pick up in San Diego upon arrival and drop off to Paradise Pier Alamo location upon arrival to DL also booked. Our Embassy Suites has a bay view and is walking distance to USS Midway which is on our list, walking distance to Gas Lamp/Light? area, etc. very convenient. Debating on zoo vs. safari vs. Seaworld. I feel like the zoo is a must as it is really so famous for being amazing. Flying back out of John Wayne, likely Uber there. Anyway, plenty of time to research. I am really happy that we have settled on staying on DL property from Tuesday to Sunday with a 4 day park hopper. I really want to soak in as much as possible of DL, we won't be back soon. Walking with Walt tour is a must. Now onto restaurants at DL, my list so far: Fantasmic and World of Color dining packages (since we don't know the good places to sit, figured this would help), Steakhouse55, Blue Bayou, Corn Dog place, Plaza? Not sure on Napa Rose or the wine restaurant. We are happy snacking as well and like to munch club level and snack our way through a meal too. You guys are so great, many thanks! I will check back tomorrow after work! Cheers, Erin

 

[Malcon10t]

With your passion for the DLH and club level, how often do you spend at the hotel vs parks? And Do you ever get bored just being at the hotel?
We have thought about for our next trip fall 2020 to try DLH club level. We usually do 3 days in park back to back, but are thinking of spreading out the days and doing 3 park days over the week with a designated hotel day, but don't know if it can hold our interest level.

We don't. We are also APs, so we can spend a few hours in the park, then back to the room. I enjoy the lounges. Even on full park days, we spend a few hours at the hotel. I'm not there often for the dinner part, but we usually have breakfast, pop in and out thru the day, and at least 2-3 days have dessert. Kids enjoy the pool. We enjoy having movies in the room. I enjoy it as a chance to relax.

 

[ktlm]

I was scared of this at first, as we are so comfortable being WDW veterans, but it's time to get out of your box and try something new, we can't wait!

LR is SOOO easy compared to WDW, and there is so much flexibility. You really only have to plan the dining reservations/packages you don't want to miss and have an idea of the most popular rides so you can have a plan for those. Everything is in easy walking distance and you can easily hop if the lines in the other park are shorter and modify your plans. The only thing we miss from WDW is EPCOT World Showcase-- well and now Pandora is pretty impressive.

I don't know if you have looked at the World of Color dessert package-- but it is pretty fantastic. You actually have tables and chairs and you get to sit and eat and drink while you wait for the show. The dining package is the other way to go-- but it still involves a lot of planning to get a good spot, especially if you are short. Everyone stands during the show, so if you are short like me and don't plan well, you can wind up looking at someone's back or head. When we do the dining package- we take those cheap dollar ponchos and go to the wet zone and get in front (and yes-- if the wind is blowing the right way-- you can get soaked in the wet zone, so ponchos work perfectly. I also usually pack a big folded ziplock bag in my purse- to put my purse in both for that, and for splash mountain)

I really want to soak in as much as possible of DL, we won't be back soon.

Yeah-- that is what we said...and we have been there every year since saying that!


Sounds like you have a good plan--I have heard good things about that Embassy Suites. La Jolla is a fun place to go see the seals. I asked DD (13) zoo or safari park and she said Safari Park- especially since the Pandas are no longer at the zoo. Technically the Safari Park is part of the San Diego Zoo- just in a different place. It is the "San Diego Zoo Safari Park". To help make your decision, you might go look at the list of animals in each place and see if that helps. We really like the tram ride at the Safari Park. They are both great.

In our opinion WDW doesn't have that great of CS food. DLR has a lot of good CS food. Even if you don't have dining reservations you can still get good food at CS, and also usually can still find at least some TS reservations or walk ups available. We still like to book our must dos--especially the popular ones that will fill up ahead of time. Our last trip on a whim (related to cancelling Lamplight Lounge because it conflicted with our Galaxy's Edge reservation), we cancelled all of dining except for Minnie's Breakfast, Cafe Orleans, and the WOC dessert package (decided we had done Fantasmic a ton of times and would skip it this year so cancelled that package). It gave us a ton of flexibility. We ate in CS places we had not tried before or had not been in a long time-- we had some TS we had not had in a long time (really enjoyed Carnation Cafe). Now- on a first trip I would recommend being sure to make reservations for all your don't want to miss places-- but it is going to be hard for us to go back to a lot of bookings because we really enjoyed the flexibility we had this year of not having to be anywhere at a certain time for 3 of our 5 days.

Which Fantasmic dining package are you doing? Are you doing the package where you get a pass and go to the area--- or the River Belle Terrace package where you get a table at the restaurant. The River Belle Terrace doesn't have the best view, but you don't have to deal with the crowd. It is good if you have issues that make it difficult to sit on the ground in the dining area or to get up and down off the ground. If you don't mind sitting on the ground, we like the Blue Bayou or River Belle Terrace dining package where you go to the designated area. We have done both more than once. Blue Bayou has a very similar feel to the San Angel Inn- just cajun instead of Mexican. For us, that one is more about the atmosphere than the food. It is pretty neat to sit in there and watch the POTC boats go by. We have found the food itself hit or miss-- I would probably rate the food as generally mediocre-- not the quality you would get for that price outside of disney----but that atmosphere is pretty great-especially if you get a table by the water.

We really like Cafe Orleans-- it is our favorite. We have never had a bad meal there. It is always on our must do list.
We like Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza because of the variety of characters. Alot of people say the fried chicken is great at the Plaza for lunch or dinner. We are from Oklahoma where there is a lot of fried chicken- and also have had fried chicken from the south-- and we thought the Plaza fried chicken was absolutely greasy and disgusting. It was pretty much the first time, DD had ever met fried chicken she wouldn't eat. She and I both threw ours away. Maybe we hit it on a bad day. We were a one and done there. We think the fried chicken at Flo's in Carsland is much better--- I actually really like the Pot Pie at Flo's. . We have never done Steakhouse 55 or Napa- we tend to stay in the parks. We do like Wine Country Trattoria- although it gets mixed reviews. Our meals there have been good. Allears has all the menus for DLR just like they do for WDW. You can browse them and see what appeals to you.

OH--- and I HIGHLY recommend the Churros-- they are much better than the ones at WDW. I am partial to the cart near the castle. DD and I often make that our breakfast!

.

 

[wowsmom]

We enjoy having movies in the room. I enjoy it as a chance to relax.

We stayed Club level at PPH a few years ago and this was one of our favorite perks! We borrowed Big Hero 6 and Tron: Legacy, took plates of snacks back to our suite and just enjoyed some family time.

 

[The Lucky Bug]

We just returned from five nights at the DLH. I was concerned about how much farther it would be compared to the GC but we actually found that it seemed the same or shorter going from Disneyland to your room at the DLH vs the GC.

The entrance is closer at the GC but you can have a long walk from there to your room. At the DLH if you have the adventure tower or even fantasy tower your room is very close to the entrance from downtown Disney.

GC is closer from DCA.

You didn’t mention what time of year you are going so I wanted to mention that at the DLH you walk outside uncovered around the property to trader sams, the other towers, etc. You also have to walk uncovered through the entire downtown Disney to get there unless you are taking the monorail.

The GC walkways are all covered which connects you to the large lobby, restaurants, bars, etc. It is also a shorter walk through downtown Disney to get to the covered area. This is beneficial if it is rainy, very hot, or Santa Ana winds.

Incase it matters to you the DLH lobby’s are small/more like sitting areas. They have really nostalgic detail but it is missing the grandness of the GC. You mentioned Animal Kingdom so I would compare Jamba house to GC with the grand lobby, I would compare the DLH to more of a value resort as far as the grandness of the hotel design. With each building being separate and having to walk outside to get places. (Not trying to put the DLH down I’m just trying to make a comparison of the hotel buildings).

The rooms at the DLH are full of magic and the property screams nostalgia.

Weighing all the pros and cons I would pick the DLH if it was my first time at the Disneyland resort and I loved Walt.

 

[DisneyDoc5]

LR is SOOO easy compared to WDW, and there is so much flexibility. You really only have to plan the dining reservations/packages you don't want to miss and have an idea of the most popular rides so you can have a plan for those. Everything is in easy walking distance and you can easily hop if the lines in the other park are shorter and modify your plans. The only thing we miss from WDW is EPCOT World Showcase-- well and now Pandora is pretty impressive.

I don't know if you have looked at the World of Color dessert package-- but it is pretty fantastic. You actually have tables and chairs and you get to sit and eat and drink while you wait for the show. The dining package is the other way to go-- but it still involves a lot of planning to get a good spot, especially if you are short. Everyone stands during the show, so if you are short like me and don't plan well, you can wind up looking at someone's back or head. When we do the dining package- we take those cheap dollar ponchos and go to the wet zone and get in front (and yes-- if the wind is blowing the right way-- you can get soaked in the wet zone, so ponchos work perfectly. I also usually pack a big folded ziplock bag in my purse- to put my purse in both for that, and for splash mountain)



Yeah-- that is what we said...and we have been there every year since saying that!


Sounds like you have a good plan--I have heard good things about that Embassy Suites. La Jolla is a fun place to go see the seals. I asked DD (13) zoo or safari park and she said Safari Park- especially since the Pandas are no longer at the zoo. Technically the Safari Park is part of the San Diego Zoo- just in a different place. It is the "San Diego Zoo Safari Park". To help make your decision, you might go look at the list of animals in each place and see if that helps. We really like the tram ride at the Safari Park. They are both great.

In our opinion WDW doesn't have that great of CS food. DLR has a lot of good CS food. Even if you don't have dining reservations you can still get good food at CS, and also usually can still find at least some TS reservations or walk ups available. We still like to book our must dos--especially the popular ones that will fill up ahead of time. Our last trip on a whim (related to cancelling Lamplight Lounge because it conflicted with our Galaxy's Edge reservation), we cancelled all of dining except for Minnie's Breakfast, Cafe Orleans, and the WOC dessert package (decided we had done Fantasmic a ton of times and would skip it this year so cancelled that package). It gave us a ton of flexibility. We ate in CS places we had not tried before or had not been in a long time-- we had some TS we had not had in a long time (really enjoyed Carnation Cafe). Now- on a first trip I would recommend being sure to make reservations for all your don't want to miss places-- but it is going to be hard for us to go back to a lot of bookings because we really enjoyed the flexibility we had this year of not having to be anywhere at a certain time for 3 of our 5 days.

Which Fantasmic dining package are you doing? Are you doing the package where you get a pass and go to the area--- or the River Belle Terrace package where you get a table at the restaurant. The River Belle Terrace doesn't have the best view, but you don't have to deal with the crowd. It is good if you have issues that make it difficult to sit on the ground in the dining area or to get up and down off the ground. If you don't mind sitting on the ground, we like the Blue Bayou or River Belle Terrace dining package where you go to the designated area. We have done both more than once. Blue Bayou has a very similar feel to the San Angel Inn- just cajun instead of Mexican. For us, that one is more about the atmosphere than the food. It is pretty neat to sit in there and watch the POTC boats go by. We have found the food itself hit or miss-- I would probably rate the food as generally mediocre-- not the quality you would get for that price outside of disney----but that atmosphere is pretty great-especially if you get a table by the water.

We really like Cafe Orleans-- it is our favorite. We have never had a bad meal there. It is always on our must do list.
We like Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza because of the variety of characters. Alot of people say the fried chicken is great at the Plaza for lunch or dinner. We are from Oklahoma where there is a lot of fried chicken- and also have had fried chicken from the south-- and we thought the Plaza fried chicken was absolutely greasy and disgusting. It was pretty much the first time, DD had ever met fried chicken she wouldn't eat. She and I both threw ours away. Maybe we hit it on a bad day. We were a one and done there. We think the fried chicken at Flo's in Carsland is much better--- I actually really like the Pot Pie at Flo's. . We have never done Steakhouse 55 or Napa- we tend to stay in the parks. We do like Wine Country Trattoria- although it gets mixed reviews. Our meals there have been good. Allears has all the menus for DLR just like they do for WDW. You can browse them and see what appeals to you.

OH--- and I HIGHLY recommend the Churros-- they are much better than the ones at WDW. I am partial to the cart near the castle. DD and I often make that our breakfast!

.

wow, this is truly amazing, all of this info is really helpful!!! We sound similar, and you are right, we will probably have so much fun and be back!!! We like counter service dining, especially when we are doing CL, and my teens are happy with counter service casual dining, so maybe just the dining package and one other special meal. The info on the Fantasmic dining is helpful, my son and I don't like to be in really crowded areas and do better with a little space, so maybe the boat option sounds nice. We have done dessert party now in Magic Kingdom WDW for Happily Ever After and love it. Now I'm hungry with all this food talk! Thank you so so so much! Erin

 

[DisneyDoc5]

We stayed Club level at PPH a few years ago and this was one of our favorite perks! We borrowed Big Hero 6 and Tron: Legacy, took plates of snacks back to our suite and just enjoyed some family time.

thank you, that sounds awesome, love bringing a few snacks back to the room to relax!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

We just returned from five nights at the DLH. I was concerned about how much farther it would be compared to the GC but we actually found that it seemed the same or shorter going from Disneyland to your room at the DLH vs the GC.

The entrance is closer at the GC but you can have a long walk from there to your room. At the DLH if you have the adventure tower or even fantasy tower your room is very close to the entrance from downtown Disney.

GC is closer from DCA.

You didn’t mention what time of year you are going so I wanted to mention that at the DLH you walk outside uncovered around the property to trader sams, the other towers, etc. You also have to walk uncovered through the entire downtown Disney to get there unless you are taking the monorail.

The GC walkways are all covered which connects you to the large lobby, restaurants, bars, etc. It is also a shorter walk through downtown Disney to get to the covered area. This is beneficial if it is rainy, very hot, or Santa Ana winds.

Incase it matters to you the DLH lobby’s are small/more like sitting areas. They have really nostalgic detail but it is missing the grandness of the GC. You mentioned Animal Kingdom so I would compare Jamba house to GC with the grand lobby, I would compare the DLH to more of a value resort as far as the grandness of the hotel design. With each building being separate and having to walk outside to get places. (Not trying to put the DLH down I’m just trying to make a comparison of the hotel buildings).

The rooms at the DLH are full of magic and the property screams nostalgia.

Weighing all the pros and cons I would pick the DLH if it was my first time at the Disneyland resort and I loved Walt.

oh wow, this is just what I need to hear, I'm glad you had fun and your review is super helpful. We will go see GC lobby, but we aren't the type to sit in the lobby much, especially with CL, so that is ok with us. The nostalgia aspect and the new vibe of DLH compared to WDW resorts we are familiar with wins out. And interesting feedback on the proximity...sounds great. We are going the first week of June (juggling college and high school schedules we are locked into summer travel for the family). It's usually melt your skin off hot in Florida by then and we manage, so I'm not too worried about CA, in fact we would welcome cooler temps, or even the lower humidity. We live in Michigan and are used to humidity in the summer, so the dry heat will feel nice to us. I don't know when CA schools get out, but hopefully we can navigate crowds there like we do at WDW, we just deal with it and know how to rope drop and make the most of FP. I am for sure doing MaxPass, it sounds like a great tool for us. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I greatly appreciate it!!! Erin

 

[ktlm]

The info on the Fantasmic dining is helpful, my son and I don't like to be in really crowded areas and do better with a little space, so maybe the boat option sounds nice. We have done dessert party now in Magic Kingdom WDW for Happily Ever After and love it. Now I'm hungry with all this food talk! Thank you so so so much! Erin

You are welcome!!

WOC dessert party is different than the WDW dessert parties. It isn't a buffet dessert deal. You get in line before the area is open and they check you in. They assign you to a table and take you to that table. Then you are waited on. There is a bread/cracker basket put on the table. You are each brought a plate of desserts/fruit/cheese, and they bring you the drinks you want. (There are alcoholic drinks for the adults if you so choose). You stay in your seat at the table for the show. It really is nice.

River Belle Terrace does sound like a boat! It is a restaurant though, not the boat. It is across the main path from the river.

You can google and find reviews and pictures for both if you want to see them.

Fantasmic the dining package area isn't too bad and they usually let you sit instead of stand during the show. Unless it is oversold you do have a little room to move around. If you do the first show, they also let you stay there and watch the fireworks. I will say if you do not like really crowded areas- when you leave the area-- duck into POTC. The crowds leaving after Fantasmic/fireworks are awful- it is a bottleneck and you sometimes can't move. We have found that we break loose and go into POTC-- the line is usually short and by the time we are out of the ride the crowds are gone.

 

[Aladora]

Now onto restaurants at DL, my list so far: Fantasmic and World of Color dining packages (since we don't know the good places to sit, figured this would help), Steakhouse55, Blue Bayou, Corn Dog place, Plaza? Not sure on Napa Rose or the wine restaurant. We are happy snacking as well and like to munch club level and snack our way through a meal too. You guys are so great, many thanks! I will check back tomorrow after work! Cheers, Erin

I'll chime in with my restaurant thoughts since you seem to have settled the hotel issue. (But for us, we have stayed at all 3 onsite hotels and we all prefer the Grand. There is nothing like being so close to the parks. Our favourite thing to do is ride Grizzly, get soaked and then pop back to our room to get dry! We loved PPH, the room was big and we loved the more relaxed feel to the hotel but since they stopped letting PPH guests cut through the GCH, we took it off our list. DLH is great, we stayed there on our honeymoon as well as other trips but we just like the feel of GCH more.)

I would change the WoC dining package for the WoC dessert party for sure! The dining package (we have done Wine Country once and Carthay twice) is fine but you still have to get to the viewing area early and camp out for a good spot then stand for the show. You get a table and chairs at the dessert party, cheese and bread along with a plate of desserts, unlimited coffee/tea/hot chocolate and an alcoholic drink per adult. We just did our second dessert party in August and for us this is the only way we will watch WoC.

F! dining is a different story. The only way you get somewhere to sit (a chair, not on the ground) is if you do the River Belle Terrace package. Blue Bayou and Hungry Bear packages are either sitting on the ground or standing room only. We had Hungry Bear reservations but ended up changing plans because neither DH nor I wanted to sit on the ground.

Other than that, I would recommend SH55 breakfast for sure. Blue Bayou is divisive, some love it and some do not. The ambiance cannot be beat but the food is expensive and (imho) mediocre. We have eaten there 4 or 5 times and the meals have ranged from ok to not good.

We love love love Napa Rose. We've eaten in the main dining room 3 times and just did our 3rd time at the chef's counter this August. We rank NR as the best food on property but many others dislike the type of food. Same with Carthay, we love it but the cuisine does not appeal to everyone's taste.

Corn Dog - 100% yes.
Plaza Inn - love their fried chicken!
Cafe Orleans - probably the only restaurant in DLR that I will not go back to. I had the worst meal of my life there. Never again.
Carnation - I am on the fence about this one, we've never had a bad meal there but I always walk away from there thinking that it was just ok.
French Market - we walk away from every meal there happy that we went. It's not one that is always on the top of my list but I have never walked away from there unhappy with the food.

If you are interested in a report of our chefs counter meal at Napa Rose, I'll be posting a thread with pictures hopefully this weekend.

Hope that helped a bit!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

You are welcome!!

WOC dessert party is different than the WDW dessert parties. It isn't a buffet dessert deal. You get in line before the area is open and they check you in. They assign you to a table and take you to that table. Then you are waited on. There is a bread/cracker basket put on the table. You are each brought a plate of desserts/fruit/cheese, and they bring you the drinks you want. (There are alcoholic drinks for the adults if you so choose). You stay in your seat at the table for the show. It really is nice.

River Belle Terrace does sound like a boat! It is a restaurant though, not the boat. It is across the main path from the river.

You can google and find reviews and pictures for both if you want to see them.

Fantasmic the dining package area isn't too bad and they usually let you sit instead of stand during the show. Unless it is oversold you do have a little room to move around. If you do the first show, they also let you stay there and watch the fireworks. I will say if you do not like really crowded areas- when you leave the area-- duck into POTC. The crowds leaving after Fantasmic/fireworks are awful- it is a bottleneck and you sometimes can't move. We have found that we break loose and go into POTC-- the line is usually short and by the time we are out of the ride the crowds are gone.

This is so helpful and reassuring! You guys are lifesavers, really! The info here will make all of us more comfy and would take me a lot of research to find out....so a million thanks. The thought of being waited on at a table is a dream come true! My boys are 6'4 so people are happy when we are sitting and not blocking the view! If I can ever be of assistance with WDW questions....I would consider myself an 'expert' on that property. Thank you so much!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

I'll chime in with my restaurant thoughts since you seem to have settled the hotel issue. (But for us, we have stayed at all 3 onsite hotels and we all prefer the Grand. There is nothing like being so close to the parks. Our favourite thing to do is ride Grizzly, get soaked and then pop back to our room to get dry! We loved PPH, the room was big and we loved the more relaxed feel to the hotel but since they stopped letting PPH guests cut through the GCH, we took it off our list. DLH is great, we stayed there on our honeymoon as well as other trips but we just like the feel of GCH more.)

I would change the WoC dining package for the WoC dessert party for sure! The dining package (we have done Wine Country once and Carthay twice) is fine but you still have to get to the viewing area early and camp out for a good spot then stand for the show. You get a table and chairs at the dessert party, cheese and bread along with a plate of desserts, unlimited coffee/tea/hot chocolate and an alcoholic drink per adult. We just did our second dessert party in August and for us this is the only way we will watch WoC.

F! dining is a different story. The only way you get somewhere to sit (a chair, not on the ground) is if you do the River Belle Terrace package. Blue Bayou and Hungry Bear packages are either sitting on the ground or standing room only. We had Hungry Bear reservations but ended up changing plans because neither DH nor I wanted to sit on the ground.

Other than that, I would recommend SH55 breakfast for sure. Blue Bayou is divisive, some love it and some do not. The ambiance cannot be beat but the food is expensive and (imho) mediocre. We have eaten there 4 or 5 times and the meals have ranged from ok to not good.

We love love love Napa Rose. We've eaten in the main dining room 3 times and just did our 3rd time at the chef's counter this August. We rank NR as the best food on property but many others dislike the type of food. Same with Carthay, we love it but the cuisine does not appeal to everyone's taste.

Corn Dog - 100% yes.
Plaza Inn - love their fried chicken!
Cafe Orleans - probably the only restaurant in DLR that I will not go back to. I had the worst meal of my life there. Never again.
Carnation - I am on the fence about this one, we've never had a bad meal there but I always walk away from there thinking that it was just ok.
French Market - we walk away from every meal there happy that we went. It's not one that is always on the top of my list but I have never walked away from there unhappy with the food.

If you are interested in a report of our chefs counter meal at Napa Rose, I'll be posting a thread with pictures hopefully this weekend.

Hope that helped a bit!

are you kidding, it helped a ton!!! Alrighty then......WoC dessert package and Fantasmic Dinner package with River Belle Terrace......done! (if I can get reservations that is, yikes!) I think SH55 because my people love a good steak. We love California Grill and I would imagine Napa Rose would be comparable, this is the nice thing about spoiled older kids, they actually do appreciate a fine meal! I will check our your Chef's Counter meal post, sounds fabulous! I million thanks for your time and effort here, I'm really blown away by the kindness shown to me on this page, even when my questions are so common place here. Thanks everyone!

 

[Aladora]

are you kidding, it helped a ton!!! Alrighty then......WoC dessert package and Fantasmic Dinner package with River Belle Terrace......done! (if I can get reservations that is, yikes!) I think SH55 because my people love a good steak. We love California Grill and I would imagine Napa Rose would be comparable, this is the nice thing about spoiled older kids, they actually do appreciate a fine meal! I will check our your Chef's Counter meal post, sounds fabulous! I million thanks for your time and effort here, I'm really blown away by the kindness shown to me on this page, even when my questions are so common place here. Thanks everyone!

I made THIS slideshow a few years ago after one of our chefs counter meals. I'll come back here and update you with a link when I post a new thread.

 

[Aladora]

I had some time during lunch so I did up the Napa Rose thread.

Napa Rose Chefs Counter