Solo trip and need some opinions :)

arrical8

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
DxDDP or King Preferred Room at Coronado Springs May 11-18, 2020 :)

If you choose the room, what dining should I cut? These are all restaurants my kids will not go to that are on my bucket list :) We are also heading to the Poly for 11 days 08/31-09/09, 2020 as a family :)
I have also added activities I have already paid for :)

Monday May 11th
Magic Kingdom (3)
  • 2:00 PM Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch
  • 9:35 PM California Grill Dinner (2)
Tuesday May 12th
EPCOT (2)
  • 7:10 PM Jiko - The Cooking Place Dinner
Wednesday May 13th
RESORT HOPPING (2)
  • 11:35 AM Beaches & Cream Soda Shop Lunch
  • 8:35 PM Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White Dinner
Thursday May 14th
Magic Kingdom (3)
  • 10:35 AM Trattoria al Forno Breakfast
  • 5:15 PM Narcoossee's Dinner
  • 7:00 PM Disney Villains After Hours ~ 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM
Friday May 15th
EPCOT (4)
  • 12:30 PM Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch (2)
  • 5:05 PM Topolino's Terrace Dinner Dinner
  • 8:00 PM Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot World Showcase
Saturday May 16th
ANIMAL KINGDOM (OOP)
  • 2:25 PM Tiffins - FOLK Tier 1 (5:30PM show includes small group Safari) Lunch (OOP)
  • 7:00 PM Disney After Hours at Disney's Animal Kingdom ~ 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM
Sunday May 17th
Magic Kingdom (2)
  • 11:30 AM Be Our Guest Lunch - QSR
  • 5:20 PM The Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen Dinner
  • 8:00 PM Magic Kingdom After-Fireworks Dessert Party
Monday May 18th
DISNEY SPRINGS (2)
  • 11:30 AM The BOATHOUSE Lunch (2)
 
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I was not a fan of the Skipper Canteen, neither was my daughter. Maybe the menu has changed but it was far to eclectic for me. I would switch to BOG for dinner or Liberty Tree Tavern...
 
They are all good picks! (Haven't been to Topollino's yet) I would choose the room over the dining plan, it always feels like so much food. The only restaurant I would think of skipping is Le Cellier. There's lots of great food to eat around Epcot at FG :flower1: We've never had lunch at Le Cellier but dinner for us was rushed and packed. The food was good but the experience was just ok. I'll be there the same time! Enjoy your trip!
 
I don't know if I'd do Le Cellier and Topolino's on the same day - both are very heavy meals. Topolino's is my favorite restaurant on property now; maybe you should skip Le Cellier.
FYI - you don't have Topolino's listed as a 2 credit restaurant, but it is.
 


Your list made me smile and was a bit reassuring that I'm not the only one who lines up my ADRs and then rides as a second thought. I'm (hopefully still) heading down for a conference at the beginning of April as a solo traveler and using it as an opportunity to check out some restaurants that would be fun for a future family trip (50s Prime Time and Chefs de France as new experiences) but also some that that a bill for 4-5 people would make me cringe. I ended up switching the days I was doing Liberty Tree Tavern and Skipper Canteen to have a lighter meal before Villains After Hours and have Tiffins (lunch, new experience) and Jiko (dinner, new experience) on the same day hoping their proximity make it a bit easier to get between the two. I've also got Le Cellier on the list as my last restaurant of the trip to help reclimatize before heading home to Canada. Plus, I wouldn't want to miss out on the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread...
 
Monday May 11th
Magic Kingdom (3)
  • 2:00 PM Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch
  • 9:35 PM California Grill Dinner (2)
Liberty tree is pretty hearty and heavy fare. We always enjoy it.... When eating here we like to have a later lunch 2 to 3 then we are good to go for the rest of the day, maybe a snack much later on. I would try to move your ADR back some, or choose a counter service, or the Plaza something a littler lighter... so that you can really enjoy California Grill it is 2 credits...
Tuesday May 12th



EPCOT (4)
  • 12:30 PM Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch (2)
  • 5:05 PM Topolino's Terrace Dinner Dinner
  • 8:00 PM Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot World Showcase
I would skip Le Cellier... I can say honestly say that this was the biggest disappointment to us... and at 2 credit... We tried it twice and that was way more than enough.... I know alot of folk here really like it, for DH and I not so much... Our ADR was 6:00 and we did not get seated until 6:45 the first visit and the 2nd it was almost a hour.... and the food was just okay, nothing special in our opinion, the service was good, the tables are so close together, closer than most European cafe's, so trying just to get in your seat was challenging... Another reason to skip it is again this is heavy food... and the service is longer... so if you get seated at 12:30, it will be around 2:00 ish if you push it, then you will be sitting down for dinner in 3 hours... then dessert at 8:00...


Monday May 18th
DISNEY SPRINGS (2)
  • 11:30 AM The BOATHOUSE Lunch (2)
This is our favorite spot at Disney Springs... Enjoy...

Hope you have a wonderful time...
 
Deluxe Dining Plan or Preferred King Room? What the room if you keep the Dining Plan? You don’t have any ADRs for the restaurants at your hotel and CS has no geographical advantage that the monorail or Epcot resorts do. So I would go with a cheaper room and keep your dining plan.
 


DxDDP or King Preferred Room at Coronado Springs May 11-18, 2020 :)

If you choose the room, what dining should I cut?

Room over dining plan.

I've never been able to make the dinning plan pay off as a solo. I don't always want the most expensive option and there are times when I don't eat lunch at all in anticipation of a big dinner. And many times I'll eat lunch and then just feel like something light for dinner.

There isn't any dining I suggest you cut. Paying for everything on your list OOP is still less than the DDP.
 
DxDDP or King Preferred Room at Coronado Springs May 11-18, 2020 :)
Ok, even though I relish a king size bed, even when alone, I also enjoy Disney's signature dining. And I'm also not really a fan of CSR so I don't see a preferred room really doing much for me beyond maybe making the walk to transportation a little better. Maybe switching to the DDP+ would let you split the difference? I can't say.

But if you had to trim some meals from your list, these would be it. Some, like Liberty Tree and B&C are just better spent with familyand the rest because I'm just not a fan. I mean, I do like Jiko, but unless I were staying at AKL I don't think I would bother. It's all very subjective of course.
  • 2:00 PM Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch
  • 7:10 PM Jiko - The Cooking Place Dinner
  • 11:35 AM Beaches & Cream Soda Shop Lunch
  • 5:15 PM Narcoossee's Dinner
  • 12:30 PM Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch (2)
 
DxDDP or King Preferred Room at Coronado Springs May 11-18, 2020 :)

If you choose the room, what dining should I cut? These are all restaurants my kids will not go to that are on my bucket list :) We are also heading to the Poly for 11 days 08/31-09/09, 2020 as a family :)
I have also added activities I have already paid for :)

Monday May 11th
Magic Kingdom (3)
  • 2:00 PM Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch
  • 9:35 PM California Grill Dinner (2)
Tuesday May 12th
EPCOT (2)
  • 7:10 PM Jiko - The Cooking Place Dinner
Wednesday May 13th
RESORT HOPPING (2)
  • 11:35 AM Beaches & Cream Soda Shop Lunch
  • 8:35 PM Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White Dinner
Thursday May 14th
Magic Kingdom (3)
  • 10:35 AM Trattoria al Forno Breakfast
  • 5:15 PM Narcoossee's Dinner
  • 7:00 PM Disney Villains After Hours ~ 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM
Friday May 15th
EPCOT (4)
  • 12:30 PM Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch (2)
  • 5:05 PM Topolino's Terrace Dinner Dinner
  • 8:00 PM Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot World Showcase
Saturday May 16th
ANIMAL KINGDOM (OOP)
  • 2:25 PM Tiffins - FOLK Tier 1 (5:30PM show includes small group Safari) Lunch (OOP)
  • 7:00 PM Disney After Hours at Disney's Animal Kingdom ~ 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM
Sunday May 17th
Magic Kingdom (2)
  • 11:30 AM Be Our Guest Lunch - QSR
  • 5:20 PM The Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen Dinner
  • 8:00 PM Magic Kingdom After-Fireworks Dessert Party
Monday May 18th
DISNEY SPRINGS (2)
  • 11:30 AM The BOATHOUSE Lunch (2)
I can only manage one sit-down meal at Disney per day. It's just SO much food. If I try to do more than that, on top of the caffeine & couple beers I'll have plus snacks, I get sick (and I'm obese so it's not like I don't normally eat!). If money isn't the issue, I'd definitely do Cali Grill over Liberty Tree tavern. Jiko is also great. I've heard Le Cellier has gone downhill in recent years but haven't eaten there so I can't personally attest to that. I'm obsessed with Skipper Canteen, especially for lunch. The pad thai noodles are fantastic, the sangria is fantastic, the apps are fantastic. I think BOG is overpriced for the food but lots of people are willing to go anyway for the fun of the venue. I love Boathouse too! Skip the caesar salad, it's the saddest thing I've ever eaten. The lobster bisque is amazing & the bread is free so I'll go there and just eat that! I don't know if that helps at all, but those are my opinions. :)
 

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