Latest / Mom Street USA / 51. The Best ADRs (Disney Dining Reservations) for your Family - Part 1 - Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom

Transcript

51. The Best ADRs (Disney Dining Reservations) for your Family - Part 1 - Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom · Mom Street USA

• 0:04
  Welcome everybody to Mom St. USA.
• 0:06
  My name is Kate AK the Disney Cicerone.
• 0:08
  And with me as always is my beautiful Co host Jackie, AKA
• 0:11
  Wishes Mama. And tonight we're talking about
• 0:13
  Advanced dining reservations that is AD Rs.
• 0:16
  And we're starting a new series about the best AD Rs in Disney.
• 0:21
  So tonight we're specifically going to talk about Magic
• 0:24
  Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and their resort areas.
• 0:27
  So. That's what we're diving into
• 0:29
  tonight. Jackie, how are you doing this
• 0:31
  evening? I'm good and I'm excited for
• 0:33
  this. I don't do a ton of AD Rs just
• 0:37
  with you know we typically will do quick services or we do a lot
• 0:40
  of packing lunches and things like that when we go into the
• 0:42
  park. So it was really fun and
• 0:45
  interesting to like look up all the menus and see what all the
• 0:48
  offerings were and now I've got some places I want to try.
• 0:51
  So you know that's good too. That's great.
• 0:54
  Yeah, I'm specifically planning a trip for my family this
• 0:57
  summer. So it's nice to kind of think
• 0:58
  about it in the context of what would my kids like to eat or
• 1:02
  what places have my kids loved in the past.
• 1:05
  And it's really interesting. You know, as we were planning
• 1:07
  this episode, you and I didn't necessarily agree on everything.
• 1:11
  This is where like, let's top, let's do like the top five.
• 1:14
  And we're like, well, which ones are the top five?
• 1:17
  You know, and I feel like this is true of all the Disney
• 1:19
  community. We some of our sometimes we have
• 1:22
  things that are like nostalgic, some things we like for the
• 1:24
  food, some things we like for the atmosphere.
• 1:27
  So you know, the the 5:00-ish with some honorable mentions
• 1:31
  we'll have and we'll we'll go through some of these as we go.
• 1:35
  But you know, it's really interesting, right?
• 1:37
  We always have such a hard time like sticking to a list of like
• 1:41
  with a certain number. I feel like every time we do
• 1:43
  lists of things it's like 10:00-ish or 5:00-ish because we
• 1:48
  just we have too many things we want to share.
• 1:50
  But yes, it it was, it was so interesting because I truly came
• 1:54
  from this without having been at any of these places.
• 1:59
  So when I was looking at the list, I was looking at what was
• 2:03
  on the menu and the cost point because to me that is the the
• 2:07
  one of the biggest things when it comes to AD Rs and I you
• 2:11
  know, so I sent Kate my. Suggested list And she was like,
• 2:13
  wow, because because I've been to a lot of these places and
• 2:19
  I've been to them with my children and without my children
• 2:22
  in some cases, but with my children and I know which ones
• 2:25
  they are asking to go back to because they made such an
• 2:28
  impression on them. So I think absolutely cost and
• 2:32
  menu have to be factors in there, especially with kids that
• 2:36
  are picky eaters and things like that.
• 2:37
  But but also atmosphere and experience also has to play a
• 2:42
  part in it as well. So our goal here is to just give
• 2:45
  you the information about our recommendations and things that
• 2:48
  we have enjoyed in the past. And also we have our audience
• 2:51
  here as well as we record this live that might chime in about a
• 2:55
  few of their favorite AD Rs as well.
• 2:57
  So we'll give you the information from our Mom, St.
• 3:00
  community, and then you can make the best decision you can for
• 3:02
  your family based on that, Yeah. And I will say we are really,
• 3:06
  truly focusing on the best AD Rs when you're traveling with kids.
• 3:11
  So this is not date night, this is not solo trip, this is when
• 3:16
  you're taking kids. You want to book those AD Rs.
• 3:19
  What are the best options for you, right?
• 3:22
  And well, most of the these will be in the parks just because
• 3:26
  that tends to be the most popular.
• 3:27
  But we will include some of the ones that are in the resorts
• 3:30
  area of the park we're talking about just in case you are
• 3:34
  staying at those resorts or you want to get off property,
• 3:36
  because sometimes that is the best choice too for dining is
• 3:39
  getting off property, going out of the park, not off property
• 3:42
  totally, but getting out of the park.
• 3:44
  And and going to a nearby resort might have the better food
• 3:47
  option anyway. So yeah, definitely.
• 3:50
  And I will also just mention that we are not going to discuss
• 3:52
  any character meals in this series at any of the locations
• 3:56
  that we're getting ready to talk about for the next 4 episodes.
• 3:59
  We did already cover all of the character meal options in
• 4:04
  episode 43 of Mont St. USA.
• 4:06
  So if you're looking for information on your character
• 4:10
  meals and who, what characters are where and what offerings and
• 4:13
  all of that, that is the episode for you.
• 4:16
  This is going to focus more on the non character meals and the
• 4:21
  meals at the resorts as well. Right.
• 4:24
  So kicking it off, I think that we probably should head to Magic
• 4:29
  Kingdom first, because I feel like that's the one we're always
• 4:31
  asked for the most. So what do we got first, Jackie?
• 4:35
  Well, I will say Magic Kingdom had of the two, had
• 4:38
  significantly more in their resort area and in parks.
• 4:42
  So this was the one that Kate and I were like, well, what
• 4:44
  about this one? Well, I'm not sure what about
• 4:46
  this one. And Kate had some ideas and I
• 4:48
  had some ideas. And so we did our best to kind
• 4:51
  of merge our two philosophies together to bring you this list.
• 4:57
  So the first one that we're going to start with is actually
• 5:01
  one that I feel like people may or may not choose because it
• 5:06
  isn't all you care to enjoy option and that is Liberty Tree
• 5:11
  Tavern. We kind of piggy backed also
• 5:12
  Diamond Horseshoe because their menus are the same, right and
• 5:15
  the price point is the same and all of that.
• 5:17
  So Liberty Tree Tavern and Diamond Horseshoe, they do both
• 5:21
  offer lunch and dinner. I will let me backtrack for a
• 5:25
  second and say that we are looking at when we're looking at
• 5:27
  prices and menu comparisons, we're doing like lunch, dinner
• 5:30
  because breakfast is hit or miss.
• 5:32
  So it was a lot easier to compare kind of across the board
• 5:35
  lunch and dinner, but you will see that some of these that
• 5:39
  we're going to talk about don't have both.
• 5:41
  Lunch and dinner. So we'll try our best to mention
• 5:43
  that for you guys as we go through.
• 5:45
  I also want to mention that I'll I'll show a few pictures of the
• 5:49
  restaurants and food and stuff and the resource for that is
• 5:51
  Disney Food Blog which we recommended before.
• 5:54
  They're very great resource for kind of detailed information
• 5:57
  about what's what menus are and things like that.
• 6:00
  So, and they also have some great list of recommendations of
• 6:03
  places and snacks and all that kind of thing too.
• 6:05
  So I'm going to just be showing a few pictures from them, but I
• 6:09
  wanted to give a shout out to them so they get credit for
• 6:12
  that. Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:14
  So like I said, Liberty Tree, Liberty goodness, let me try
• 6:17
  that again. Liberty Tree Tavern and Diamond
• 6:20
  Horseshoe do offer lunch and dinner both they are and all you
• 6:23
  care to enjoy menu. And when we are looking kind of
• 6:27
  over their menu that means that there's no specific kids menu.
• 6:33
  So you'll hear us in some of the later locations talk about like
• 6:38
  kids menu options and what they have specifically on the kids
• 6:41
  menu because we are focused on kids.
• 6:43
  But this option is just a true all you can eat or all you care
• 6:48
  to enjoy depending on what you like to call it.
• 6:51
  So it is $23 per child plus tax and gratuity.
• 6:56
  So this is more on the pricey side of the ones that we chose
• 7:01
  just because it is that all you care to enjoy and it is a flat
• 7:04
  rate. So you don't have much variance
• 7:06
  when it comes to ordering different entrees or things like
• 7:09
  that off the kids menu. So their basic idea of what they
• 7:14
  have, they do have some starters and some kind of appetizers, but
• 7:19
  basically you're going to be looking at a salad option you're
• 7:24
  going to be looking at. They do have some dessert
• 7:26
  options, but then they've got roasted Turkey, pot roast, oven
• 7:29
  roasted pork. And mashed potatoes, seasonal
• 7:31
  vegetables, herbed stuffing and house made Mac and cheese.
• 7:35
  I will say that the Mac and cheese is like a win for pretty
• 7:39
  much everybody. I mean if your kid likes Mac and
• 7:43
  cheese, they're they're probably going to love that and and all
• 7:47
  of the the meat that they have with it as well that the Turkey,
• 7:49
  the pot roast, the pork and the sides that go with it.
• 7:52
  Of course my kids always skip the gravy.
• 7:54
  They think gravy is gross, but that's so funny.
• 7:58
  I don't know why for that and I I think.
• 8:01
  That's my gravy. Yeah, I think that that's that's
• 8:04
  probably fairly common. I will mention there is also
• 8:08
  plant based options here as well.
• 8:10
  So Kathy B is saying over here in my end of the chat on TikTok
• 8:13
  that the vegan meatloaf was not bad and she's not vegan, but it
• 8:16
  was something that they tried. So they do have an impossible
• 8:19
  meatloaf with mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and seasonal
• 8:23
  vegetables. And they do have a the plant a
• 8:26
  plant based warm apple cake as well.
• 8:30
  Yeah, but I will say that the star of the show is the sticky
• 8:33
  toffee pudding. And if you get any other
• 8:35
  dessert, I'm going to question no, I was kidding.
• 8:39
  You're wrong. For real.
• 8:41
  I, like, dream about that sticky toffee pudding.
• 8:43
  I would eat all of that just to get to the sticky toffee
• 8:47
  pudding. And I've when we went there, I
• 8:51
  that our waiter actually was just like some people order it
• 8:54
  first because they don't want to get so full and not be able to
• 8:57
  eat it because it's that good. I mean, that's pretty smart.
• 9:00
  Not going to lie. Yeah, that sounds.
• 9:02
  Like a really good hack. Save room for the sticky toffee
• 9:05
  pudding because it's really good or?
• 9:08
  Order it at the beginning at the.
• 9:10
  Beginning. Yes.
• 9:11
  You're You're on vacation at Disney.
• 9:13
  You can do dessert first. No one tells you I can't.
• 9:15
  There. That's right.
• 9:17
  I see. I was just scrolling through
• 9:19
  here and I see bread, and I also see cornbread too.
• 9:21
  So those are big for kids. You know, my kids like if I buy
• 9:24
  a thing of rolls, their rolls are gone in like a day because
• 9:27
  that's what my kids want to eat. So all the definitely a kid
• 9:31
  friendly you're through. My kids loved the food there and
• 9:34
  the atmosphere is really unique, especially in Liberty Tree
• 9:38
  Tavern. It's kind of like going back to
• 9:40
  colonial times and all the rooms are themed after like a figure
• 9:43
  in American history. So you can also have a little
• 9:46
  education, a little little edutainment there with the rooms
• 9:52
  in Liberty Tree Tavern. It's a really fun.
• 9:54
  Experience. Yeah, absolutely.
• 9:56
  Would you prefer the atmosphere in Liberty Tree Tavern Over
• 10:00
  Diamond Horseshoe? I'm just curious.
• 10:05
  Yeah, it's interesting. I haven't actually been
• 10:07
  physically in the Diamond Horseshoe in Walt Disney World
• 10:10
  because it's only been like a reservation.
• 10:12
  I was like, I always just choose.
• 10:14
  I personally choose Liberty Tree just because it's really neat to
• 10:18
  have that kind of colonial vibe to it.
• 10:20
  But I think that the kids probably would also like Diamond
• 10:23
  Horseshoe. But I probably would lean
• 10:26
  towards Liberty Tree myself, especially because they're
• 10:28
  exactly the same menu. And it's like it seems to make
• 10:31
  more sense to have this like Thanksgiving dinner in like this
• 10:35
  old colonial vibe area. You know if that makes.
• 10:40
  Sense fits the vibe totally, absolutely.
• 10:42
  I was just curious what you're your input was on that.
• 10:47
  All right. Shall we hop to choice #2?
• 10:51
  Yeah, we're going to head over to the Plaza, which is really
• 10:55
  interesting because it's different.
• 10:57
  Really same ish, but super different than the one that's in
• 11:01
  Disneyland. So if you're used to the one in
• 11:03
  Disneyland, it's not the same thing.
• 11:05
  It's not like a buffet like you have there.
• 11:08
  It's definitely a table service restaurant and it's a lot
• 11:11
  smaller like crazy. You would think Magic Kingdom
• 11:14
  would be bigger, but it's not. It's way smaller.
• 11:16
  It is small, like I have walked past it.
• 11:18
  I think I walked past it for years without realizing that it
• 11:21
  was even there. Yeah, it's in located roughly in
• 11:24
  the same place as it is in Disneyland.
• 11:26
  So it's you know, it's Plaza Street so, so to speak is what
• 11:30
  they would call that area there in Disneyland.
• 11:33
  But it's it has lunch and dinner.
• 11:34
  It's got five options. It's hamburger cheeseburger,
• 11:37
  grilled chicken strips, Turkey sandwich, PB and J are all good
• 11:40
  for kids. So there's a lot of, it's a very
• 11:42
  kid friendly menu and we've had we've dine there once and I was
• 11:47
  like, this is fine. It wasn't like I was like blown
• 11:51
  away by it that I'm like I have to come back here, you know, And
• 11:54
  the atmosphere was pretty, but it wasn't, it was so small.
• 11:58
  It was really loud in there, quite honestly, yeah.
• 12:01
  And I think the main reason that this one made our list was just
• 12:04
  because it did have a little bit different of a menu for kiddos.
• 12:09
  So if you've got really specific eaters, really picky eaters, you
• 12:14
  know they do have some different options with a like a Turkey
• 12:17
  sandwich or that PB and J. So those different options are
• 12:21
  nice to have. Especially if you're going to be
• 12:22
  eating, maybe multiple meals, multiple AD Rs inside of Magic
• 12:27
  Kingdom, having something a little bit different can be
• 12:29
  really helpful for your kids. Yeah.
• 12:32
  And it yeah, the price point is definitely better there than a
• 12:35
  lot of other AD Rs. And I feel like, I always feel
• 12:38
  like it should have more reservations than it does.
• 12:41
  But it's so small that it doesn't, you know, that's the
• 12:44
  only reason why like they're gone is because.
• 12:46
  But I don't think it's anybody's.
• 12:47
  Like, this is my top pick for. Going.
• 12:50
  It kind of looks like like this inside.
• 12:53
  It's kind of Victorian ish, but it's not highly ornate in detail
• 12:58
  like it is in Disneyland. So for me it's always a little
• 13:00
  bit of. Let down, Yeah, when you're used
• 13:03
  to that, I could see that Kate mentioned the price point.
• 13:06
  I will just kind of throw out there that your kids entrees at
• 13:10
  the Plaza are going to be anywhere from 10:50 up to
• 13:13
  $12.00. And that typically includes
• 13:15
  their like main course, main dish that they're choosing and
• 13:19
  then a choice of a beverage. And then they do have some
• 13:22
  little appetizers, soup and apples and grapes and salad and
• 13:25
  those types of things. So all very, very kid friendly.
• 13:29
  And fairly budget friendly as well.
• 13:31
  Yeah. I feel like my kids didn't
• 13:33
  complain about the food while they were there.
• 13:34
  That's how I'm like, judging some of these, right.
• 13:37
  Do my kids complain that they had nothing they wanted to eat
• 13:40
  or not? Right, Exactly.
• 13:42
  Well, and that's the thing. And this is part of the
• 13:43
  conversation that Kate and I had as we were making up this list.
• 13:46
  Is I grew up a very, very picky eater and going out to eat gave
• 13:53
  me a lot of anxiety as a child and it still even does as an
• 13:58
  adult because I'm still fairly picky.
• 14:00
  There are things that I won't eat or I like things very plain
• 14:03
  if I am going to, you know, go out.
• 14:06
  So looking at a menu and only seeing maybe one option that I
• 14:11
  will hopefully like as a kid, I can very like vividly recall
• 14:15
  that. So having some of these
• 14:18
  restaurants and some of these menus and some of the reason why
• 14:20
  I chose some of the ones that I did was just because I saw two
• 14:25
  or three options that my, my kids aren't super picky, but
• 14:29
  they're they're particular, you know, and I saw two or three
• 14:32
  options and I'm like, OK, yes, this looks like a solid choice.
• 14:36
  My kids aren't going to feel like they don't have a choice,
• 14:39
  you know, because I don't want to take that away from them when
• 14:41
  it's so much fun to go out to eat.
• 14:43
  And we don't do it very often. So if we're going to go out to
• 14:45
  eat, I want to make it something special and fun for them.
• 14:48
  Yeah, that makes sense. I mean I get I can get behind
• 14:51
  that but that's where we you and I were kind of like, but wait a
• 14:54
  minute cuz I was like because we not that we go out to eat all
• 14:58
  the time at home, we barely ever do.
• 15:00
  But when we're at Disney because my husband's such a foodie we I
• 15:03
  tend to prioritize food for him. So we have tried a lot of these
• 15:06
  restaurants and the ones that my kids love the most are not
• 15:10
  necessarily anything to do with the food.
• 15:12
  It's everything to do with the atmosphere of what it is.
• 15:14
  So that's why I was just like, but you have to think of the
• 15:17
  atmosphere. At the same time, I think
• 15:19
  there's a balance between the two.
• 15:21
  And you'd also know your kids. If you have very, very picky
• 15:23
  eater kids, then you're probably going to lean towards the ones
• 15:25
  that have more food options for them.
• 15:28
  If you know your kids like will eat almost anything, then you
• 15:31
  have more options of where to go, right.
• 15:34
  Yeah, absolutely. I agree.
• 15:37
  So let's hop over now to our #3 on our list, which is Tony's
• 15:43
  Town Square, which Kate and I had a little bit of a discussion
• 15:46
  about this one that they have made some improvements to their
• 15:50
  menu recently. Yeah.
• 15:52
  And we've we've heard very good things about the improvements
• 15:55
  that they've made to their menu recently.
• 15:58
  Yeah, I used to never recommend this.
• 16:00
  Never. Because it was basically just
• 16:02
  overpriced, really cheap spaghetti, you know?
• 16:05
  And it was. It was not good.
• 16:07
  But everything that I've heard recently about their menu is
• 16:09
  like, this is something that's back on my list as as an adult
• 16:13
  that I would like to eat at. Because pasta is always a solid
• 16:17
  bed for most kids. You know, you can get it various
• 16:19
  ways or without, with or without sauce or butter.
• 16:22
  You know, all the things like pasta is a pasta is a easy one
• 16:25
  for kids, but it wasn't always a great option for parents.
• 16:28
  Right, right. Yeah, so at Tony's you will find
• 16:33
  only three options on their on their kids menu.
• 16:37
  But I do feel like, like you said, pasta is a fairly safe
• 16:41
  choice for a lot of kiddos. And they have some really good
• 16:45
  side options to hear, which I thought was helpful when you're
• 16:48
  like looking at like building your meal so to speak.
• 16:51
  So the options they do have lunch and dinner here.
• 16:54
  The options that they have for the kids meal is a grilled
• 16:58
  chicken with roasted potatoes, a whole wheat spaghetti with
• 17:01
  Turkey, meatball and Mac and cheese.
• 17:04
  So all good options with that. And then they have a lot of
• 17:07
  really good sides. They've got several different
• 17:09
  veggies and fruits and things like that that the kids can
• 17:12
  choose from too. Yeah, the theming is really cute
• 17:14
  too. Lady in the Tramp.
• 17:16
  So the kids are are Lady in the Tramp fans and they'll probably
• 17:20
  really enjoy that atmosphere as well.
• 17:23
  And if we're looking at prices, the 1st 2:00 that I mentioned,
• 17:27
  the chicken and potatoes and the spaghetti are 12:50.
• 17:30
  And the Mac and cheese is 1150. So again, a lot of, a lot of the
• 17:35
  entrees that you're going to find are between that 10 and
• 17:37
  $12.00 range, kind of. So this one fits right in the
• 17:40
  middle of that. Yeah, so I mean, I would, I
• 17:44
  would give this a try. I'm really looking forward to
• 17:46
  going back and trying this one. It just hasn't been.
• 17:48
  I just haven't gotten to it in the last couple trips because
• 17:51
  they've been really quick once. But it's definitely on my list
• 17:53
  of like things to do, except for now my kids only want to go back
• 17:56
  to the places they've already been to.
• 17:58
  It's hard. To get them to try something
• 18:01
  new. Let's try something new.
• 18:02
  I'm like, no, we'd want to go to this and they don't go very
• 18:05
  often. So they're like, this is all I
• 18:06
  want to go to because that's what I know.
• 18:08
  I'm like OK. That's fair.
• 18:09
  So that's fair. Yeah, it's good.
• 18:11
  I mean, aren't we all the same way?
• 18:12
  We find that one like dish that we like and then whenever we go
• 18:16
  back, we're like, I got to get that again.
• 18:18
  It was so good. Right.
• 18:19
  I know we're creatures of habit. There's a bunch of studies done
• 18:23
  too that showed. But if you you feel guilty about
• 18:27
  always ordering the same thing at your favorite restaurant.
• 18:30
  But they said you're actually like, you're so much happier
• 18:33
  when you do have that favorite thing because it brings you joy
• 18:35
  and happiness. So you should stop feeling
• 18:37
  guilty about it and just order it anyway.
• 18:38
  And I was like, OK, that's there.
• 18:41
  Yeah, yeah, I like that. That makes me feel better about
• 18:44
  the fact that I literally, every time we go out to eat, it's
• 18:47
  always. Like, wherever we go, I have a
• 18:49
  thing at every restaurant that we could ever go to and it's
• 18:53
  like, Nope. That's my order, right?
• 18:55
  Like there's maybe some people that just want to try something
• 18:57
  new every time, but I'm kind of like maybe I'll try one small
• 19:00
  thing new, but I want my main entree to be like the thing I
• 19:02
  like, you know? Well, and I feel like like my
• 19:05
  husband, for example, he like rotates through a couple.
• 19:08
  So like we could go somewhere and I would be like, oh, do you
• 19:10
  want this again? And he's like, no, I think I'll
• 19:12
  do this. So like he rotates through a
• 19:14
  couple different options so. Yeah, yeah, I think Elliot does
• 19:19
  the same well, Erin says. I have the same issue with
• 19:21
  staying at the same resorts. Yeah, that's also the thing.
• 19:25
  It's like you have your home resort that you feel at home at
• 19:29
  and unless you're just on a budget and then you just stay at
• 19:32
  the cheap ones, so. But there's also something to be
• 19:36
  said for like returning back to a resort.
• 19:38
  Regardless of if it's whatever resort it is, it's like
• 19:41
  returning back you your second trip.
• 19:44
  You always feel more at home than you did your first trip,
• 19:46
  yeah? Courtney says.
• 19:48
  I always say I choose things or the same things over and over
• 19:51
  because it genuinely brings me joy, Right.
• 19:53
  Yes. Alpha brings you joy.
• 19:54
  Don't feel guilty about it, just do it.
• 19:56
  Yeah, exactly. I think this next one brings
• 19:59
  Kate joy. Kate, do you want to talk about
• 20:01
  the next? One on our list.
• 20:03
  Yes, I'm excited about this one. This is the Skipper Canteen,
• 20:07
  which is located in Adventureland, and it's
• 20:10
  technically like the Jungle Cruise Navigation Company
• 20:12
  Limited Skipper Canteen. It's got a very long title to
• 20:15
  it, but we all call it the Skipper Canteen because who's
• 20:17
  going to remember any of that? It's available for lunch and
• 20:21
  dinner and I will say the atmosphere here is spectacular.
• 20:26
  It has a few different rooms that you can be in.
• 20:29
  You can be in the main crew mess hall or you can be in like the
• 20:32
  family, the family library, family area, the family room or
• 20:38
  you can be in the secret room behind the secret bookcase which
• 20:41
  is the Society of Explorers and Adventures meeting room.
• 20:45
  So the theming here is is something that you want to take
• 20:48
  some time to linger and look at if your kids will allow you to
• 20:51
  do it. Maybe sometimes you can do some
• 20:52
  exploring with them to find different animals and things
• 20:55
  like that because it's so it's themed of the Jungle cruise, but
• 20:59
  to like the Instagram so it's it's the theming is amazing.
• 21:03
  Anyway, I will say that in terms of kids eating there, there's a
• 21:10
  couple of options for kids, including a coconut Curry
• 21:13
  concoction, grilled steak, Mac and cheese, and crispy chicken,
• 21:17
  right? Yes, now I, I, I kind of want to
• 21:19
  read the full names off the menu because they're all themed.
• 21:23
  Kate was talking about the theming.
• 21:25
  So it's like Congo Connie's coconut Curry concoction and the
• 21:29
  sizzling Savannah grilled steak. Junior skips macaroni and
• 21:34
  cheese. And I don't know how to say, is
• 21:37
  it Tanjayi? Is it AJ Tanja Tan Tan Da?
• 21:43
  I don't know. I don't have in front of me Chef
• 21:45
  Tan Dajis. I'm going to go with that crispy
• 21:48
  chicken which it's just the the the themes are fun.
• 21:51
  The names are fun. Even if I can't pronounce them,
• 21:54
  it's still fun. Yeah.
• 21:57
  And yeah, it's. And your server as well is is
• 22:01
  dressed as a skipper and they tell skipper like jokes
• 22:04
  throughout your meal. So that's a really fun theme in
• 22:07
  that way as well. Kids get a good giggle out of
• 22:09
  that and it's I asked my youngest what was her favorite
• 22:14
  place to eat and she was like Skipper Canteen.
• 22:16
  I was like, wow, OK, because a lot of people will say they
• 22:19
  don't recommend this one for kids because the flavor palette
• 22:24
  is a little bit unique. It's a little bit more leans,
• 22:27
  more like Asian or you know like it's it's got different flavors
• 22:31
  to it. That may not be for all, but
• 22:33
  they have such great kid options here that aren't super, super
• 22:37
  weird that my kids loved it. They thought it was amazing.
• 22:41
  So yeah, take that for what it is, yeah.
• 22:44
  And the price honestly is again very fairly similar to what
• 22:47
  we've been seeing. The steak option is 1450, but
• 22:51
  it's steak. So that's kind of to be expected
• 22:53
  when you're comparing those prices.
• 22:56
  But the Mac and cheese is 1150, the chicken is 1250, you know,
• 23:00
  so you you definitely have a little bit more of a spread
• 23:04
  there, but it makes sense based on what you're, what you're
• 23:07
  getting. And they do have some unique
• 23:10
  sides, even for the kids. Like they've got jade rice,
• 23:13
  they've got marbled potatoes. You know, some different options
• 23:17
  that are not too terribly adventurous, but a little
• 23:21
  different than what you typically get.
• 23:23
  Yeah, and like the chicken there you can also ask for like
• 23:26
  without the sauce and things like it usually comes with this
• 23:30
  this kind of sauce you can see, but it you can get it without
• 23:34
  the sauce if you prefer more of just like chicken strip, kind of
• 23:38
  a a vibe to it. And like plain rice, you can ask
• 23:41
  for things to not have all the stuff on them and they're
• 23:44
  usually pretty good about accommodating that, especially
• 23:46
  for children. So there's lots of lots of
• 23:50
  options there, but my my kids liked it a lot.
• 23:54
  So even my son who's super picky about what he eats because they
• 23:57
  had Mac and cheese, right? So yeah, he was good.
• 24:00
  As long as they had Mac and cheese, we're we're salad solid.
• 24:04
  And I think something to be said about, you know, you hear Mac
• 24:07
  and cheese on the on the the list a lot, something that my
• 24:09
  husband and I have really done. And I know people think I'm
• 24:12
  crazy because I plan out all of our meals ahead of time on my
• 24:15
  spreadsheet. You're crazy.
• 24:17
  But honestly, the reason that I started doing that was for our
• 24:21
  kids. So that way we weren't repeating
• 24:24
  the same meals back-to-back to back.
• 24:27
  So that way we gave them some variety.
• 24:29
  So like if we knew that we were going to go to Skipper Canteen,
• 24:31
  for example, and I know that my daughter's going to get the Mac
• 24:34
  and cheese, well, wherever we go the next night, I need to make
• 24:37
  sure there's something else that she can have on the menu that's
• 24:41
  not Mac and cheese. She would eat Mac and cheese
• 24:43
  happily, but I don't know that I necessarily want her to eat Mac
• 24:48
  and cheese every night of our entire.
• 24:52
  That's fair. I that's like the only time I
• 24:55
  allow my son to just have it. Every night is on.
• 24:58
  It's just eat. The rest of the time.
• 24:59
  I'm like, no Sir, like you have to eat like what I'm making for
• 25:02
  dinner. You can't just have Mac and
• 25:03
  cheese. Not going to lie, she will have
• 25:05
  it probably three or four times throughout the week in different
• 25:09
  meals, but we try to give some variety just for her own good.
• 25:14
  Yeah, no, I think it's that's why.
• 25:16
  And see, with my son, he would eat pizza every single night if
• 25:19
  we let him. So we try to make sure that he's
• 25:21
  not having pizza every single meal.
• 25:25
  And there is, luckily enough options at Disney where you can
• 25:28
  make that happen even if it's a even if it's a rotation from
• 25:31
  like pizza to Mac and cheese to like cheeseburger like at.
• 25:34
  Least back again. Yes, exactly.
• 25:35
  And that's and that's why I have a spreadsheet.
• 25:38
  So that way I can make sure that wherever we're going to eat,
• 25:42
  that it gives them some more variety because they eat it
• 25:45
  better. Honestly, Like for my kids in
• 25:47
  that moment, like having that little, even if it's just a tiny
• 25:51
  little bit of variety of a rotation, they're going to eat
• 25:53
  it better. They're not going to get sick of
• 25:55
  it, 'cause, you know, the worst thing would be you you plan on
• 25:59
  them doing Mac and cheese two nights in a row.
• 26:02
  And the second night they're like, I don't really want it.
• 26:03
  And that's the only thing that they'll eat off the menu.
• 26:06
  Or, you know, I just, I just had it last night.
• 26:08
  You know, maybe they're in a mood.
• 26:09
  You never know. They're kids.
• 26:10
  My kids are five and seven. Like, you literally never know.
• 26:14
  So trying to give them some options and trying to make sure
• 26:16
  that wherever we go they have at least two options to choose
• 26:19
  between is something that I I really like to try to do for
• 26:23
  them. And that's where my spreadsheet
• 26:24
  comes into play. I, I I get it.
• 26:27
  It's it's fair. I we don't do that.
• 26:29
  I usually just ask my kids like what restaurant they because
• 26:32
  they've been to them before, which they like, or we'll look
• 26:35
  at the menu of them and be like, does any of this stuff look
• 26:38
  good? If they find something they're
• 26:39
  like get really excited about, then they're like, no, I want to
• 26:42
  eat there because I want to have that thing.
• 26:44
  You need to pray that they still have that thing by the time they
• 26:46
  go. Right, right, right, exactly.
• 26:49
  Well, and your kids are a little older and they have been to more
• 26:53
  of these restaurants. So I think that's helpful when
• 26:55
  it comes to to that. Whereas like doesn't two of my
• 26:58
  kids are pickier eaters, but one of them is not.
• 27:00
  But like I'd say two of mine are like they probably would find
• 27:03
  something to eat. And the only other one is my son
• 27:06
  who is very, very picky, but even he will find something
• 27:09
  usually at most of these places without a problem.
• 27:12
  So yeah. Well, and my kids asked to go
• 27:14
  back to some of the like quick service places that we've done
• 27:16
  before. So like, they know that when we
• 27:18
  go to Pinocchio Village House, there's those windows that
• 27:20
  overlook small world. So they go, they ask to go sit,
• 27:23
  you know what I mean? Those types of things.
• 27:24
  So it's the same, but we just do more quick service than we do
• 27:28
  the AD Rs. So now I get Is it a little bit?
• 27:31
  Little bit tricky. Yeah, I will say if you go to
• 27:35
  the Skipper canteen, I did. We did what, a two episode
• 27:40
  series on the Skipper Canteen, History of the Skipper Canteen
• 27:42
  and all the little details in it for our District Kate and Kirk
• 27:44
  podcast. So we did.
• 27:46
  In case you want to do a deep dive into it before you go and
• 27:49
  learn all the things to look for, that's where you can find
• 27:51
  all the information. So I won't get into much of it,
• 27:53
  much of it here. But if you do nothing else.
• 27:56
  If you do nothing else, go and look at all the books on the
• 28:00
  bookcase and read part of them. Yeah, you probably will get
• 28:03
  through all of them. But just read a couple of them
• 28:05
  because they're funny and you can read them out loud to your
• 28:07
  kids because a lot of them are jokes and they're all family
• 28:09
  appropriate. So yeah, yeah.
• 28:11
  Absolutely that that would be my suggestion too and I don't I'm,
• 28:15
  I'm not affiliated with that podcast.
• 28:21
  OK. All right.
• 28:23
  Also the other I will just mention that the thing I also
• 28:26
  really like about Skipper Canteen is it's, it is a little
• 28:28
  bit more on the affordable side. So it's it's not a super, super,
• 28:32
  super expensive meal, but it has a really fun theming to it and
• 28:36
  you kind of get a character in that.
• 28:37
  Your server is like a Skipper. So you know, it's not like the
• 28:41
  Disney characters, but it's like, you know what I mean?
• 28:44
  So it's fun. Yes, it's.
• 28:45
  Theming from head to toe. Yes, enough about Skipper
• 28:49
  Canteen. We should move on.
• 28:53
  All righty, let's talk about #5 on our list of Magic Kingdom AD
• 28:59
  Rs. And for this one, we actually
• 29:00
  are going to leave the park. So we're going to hop on the
• 29:02
  monorail and we're going to take the monorail around boat or
• 29:05
  we're going to take a boat. Take a boat and.
• 29:07
  We're going to go across the water over to the Polynesian
• 29:11
  resort in to Kona Cafe. So this one was one that again
• 29:17
  we kind of picked because it had some different options from what
• 29:21
  you typically see at AD Rs for kids.
• 29:23
  They do have lunch and dinner at Kona Cafe, but they have four
• 29:28
  options and their options on the kids menu include a grilled
• 29:36
  chicken Taco, cheeseburger, macaroni and cheese, and they
• 29:42
  also have these really cute kids sushi rolls.
• 29:45
  It's fully cooked sushi. It's like little like chicken
• 29:48
  Nuggets essentially inside of the sushi rolls.
• 29:50
  So that that is a super fun option that.
• 29:53
  You may ask, I just want a. Picture of it and it's really
• 29:55
  cute. I was like Mickey is inside
• 29:58
  there cute. Yes, so super super cute.
• 30:02
  Options there again 105011501250 for those options for for Kona
• 30:11
  Cafe. And the the thing that's nice
• 30:13
  about this is not only do they have some different options, but
• 30:16
  like Kate mentioned, sometimes it's nice to get out of the park
• 30:19
  for a little bit. So if you can plan that
• 30:23
  accordingly on your Magic Kingdom day, it's a nice little
• 30:26
  escape. Yeah, and I struggle with Magic
• 30:29
  Kingdom. I'm, I'm there a lot.
• 30:30
  I spend a lot of time there. When I do visit Disney World
• 30:32
  because I'm that's where a lot of the content I need is AT.
• 30:36
  And I struggle with the food there so much because I have a
• 30:39
  couple of things that are like my go to's but I'm not I'm not a
• 30:43
  crazy fan of the quick service there.
• 30:45
  I know we're out talking quick service but I'm like some of the
• 30:48
  quick services I'm like eh, it's fine like I have a couple of
• 30:51
  things that I know I can eat and it'll be solid But and the AD Rs
• 30:56
  though the the restaurants that have table service are tend to
• 31:01
  be I like them a little bit more but I'm like hardly ever eating
• 31:04
  there. So I have like gone off to
• 31:06
  explore and some of the, I'd say some of the restaurants that are
• 31:10
  around the Magic Kingdom, do you have some better food options
• 31:15
  for quick service as well as even table service in some
• 31:17
  instances. So getting over to the
• 31:19
  Polynesian is also like, I think you and I talked about this,
• 31:22
  Jackie. It's kind of like it's a really
• 31:23
  fun little escape because it's what did your kids call it, they
• 31:26
  said. It, oh, they call it the the
• 31:27
  Tiki Hotel or the Tiki Resort. Yeah, because we went.
• 31:31
  So we ended up going there. We were going to try Kona Cafe,
• 31:34
  and then our AD Rs shifted because Topolinos became
• 31:37
  available on our last trip. So we cancelled our Kona Cafe in
• 31:42
  favor of Topolino's, but we ended up eating at the quick
• 31:45
  service at the Polynesian and they loved it like just being in
• 31:49
  such a different atmosphere. And then we did go back another
• 31:52
  night to get Dole Whip there too.
• 31:54
  But they just the atmosphere is so much fun for the kids to go
• 31:58
  and just like look around and they like wanted to go and look
• 32:02
  at the like the gift shop and stuff there because they have
• 32:05
  like cool like tiki statues and all sorts of stuff.
• 32:08
  So it was just like a really cool, like you said, escape from
• 32:12
  like the Magic Kingdom area. Yeah, it's a little bit like,
• 32:15
  you know, going to a different country.
• 32:17
  It's so to speak, you know, like a very different vibe.
• 32:20
  And it does feel more relaxed and calm, which is also really
• 32:23
  helpful for kids that are maybe getting a little over stimulated
• 32:26
  from being in the park. So that can also be a really
• 32:28
  nice way to just take a little break and get away from the
• 32:33
  hustle and bustle at the parks, yeah.
• 32:35
  Yeah, definitely. So again, that's Kona Cafe at
• 32:38
  the Polynesian. So one option that will give you
• 32:41
  kind of outside the parks for that.
• 32:44
  And then we we mentioned that we're really bad at limiting our
• 32:48
  lists to how many we're supposed to be giving you.
• 32:52
  So Kate has an honorable mention that she wanted to talk about
• 32:55
  for our Magic Kingdom list. Yes.
• 32:59
  And this of course is be our guest, which is one of the most
• 33:03
  difficult ones to get AD Rs to get because it's so popular.
• 33:08
  And I will say again, it's the theming, it's the experience of
• 33:12
  of going in. You know they do have the last
• 33:15
  time I was there, I don't know if this this has changed because
• 33:17
  they used to have like you'd meet meet and greet with the
• 33:20
  beast was different than it is. I think he's still just walking
• 33:22
  around like he's. Far as I in profile, yeah, so
• 33:25
  we. Kind of like announce him and
• 33:27
  he'll come out wall applaud, and then he'll want to run around
• 33:30
  the room and like wave at you and then he'll go away for a
• 33:32
  while, then he'll come back out in a little while.
• 33:35
  So it's it's it's a questionable character dining experience, but
• 33:38
  we don't really consider it character dining because it's
• 33:41
  not even like he's coming table to table like you would get at
• 33:44
  somewhere where you are doing a true character meal.
• 33:46
  He literally is just wandering through.
• 33:49
  Yeah, but so in the main ballroom is like the biggest
• 33:54
  dining area, which does get a little bit loud.
• 33:56
  So just FYI in case you have kids with sensitivity to noise.
• 34:00
  But the windows, what you can't see in this picture, it makes it
• 34:03
  look like it's snowing outside. So if you sit near the window
• 34:06
  and it every once in a while like a flurry comes by and it
• 34:08
  like changes up, it's actually really quite enchanting.
• 34:12
  My kids like to sit in the was in The West Wing, like the the
• 34:16
  part where the the beast has destroyed the room and it's
• 34:20
  super dark where you can barely see your food.
• 34:24
  And there's like his portrait which his claws have been
• 34:26
  slashed over it and then they have the Rose, the enchanted
• 34:29
  rose, that every once in a while the lightning will flash in the
• 34:31
  room and it will drop a pedal and it's just really a really
• 34:35
  experience. Yeah, and then the.
• 34:37
  Theming is just so well done. Yeah, and I haven't actually sat
• 34:42
  in. I've walked around it, the other
• 34:43
  room on the other side that has like the portrait galleries, and
• 34:48
  then they have a big statue that I think rotates of Belle and the
• 34:51
  Beast in the middle. But it's just, it's really like
• 34:53
  just a spectacular location. They used to let you choose
• 34:57
  where to sit and now they just kind of assign you a seat and
• 35:00
  make you sit there. But the food is, the downside is
• 35:05
  it's very, very expensive and the food quality is not as good
• 35:10
  as it used to be, But it's not bad.
• 35:12
  It's not like inedible. It's just like, it's just like I
• 35:15
  had, I'm for sure had box mashed potatoes instead of real mashed
• 35:19
  potatoes last time I was there. I was like, this is not what I
• 35:22
  expected, not as price point. Yeah, no.
• 35:25
  So you know, take that for what it is, but the experience itself
• 35:28
  is pretty neat. Do you want to talk a little bit
• 35:30
  about the food for Kids? There.
• 35:32
  So they do have lunch and dinner at be our guest and it is a set
• 35:38
  price. So it's not price dependent on
• 35:40
  what you order. The child price is $41.00 per
• 35:44
  child and that's ages 3 to 9. I should have mentioned that
• 35:47
  previously, but that's kind of what the Disney category for
• 35:52
  kids when it comes to kids menus.
• 35:54
  So $41.00 per child plus tax and gratuity.
• 35:58
  Do keep in mind that it is $70.00 per adult like Kate
• 36:01
  mentioned, it is more on the spendy side when it comes to
• 36:04
  that, but that is the that is the price for that.
• 36:08
  They do have several options for the kiddos.
• 36:12
  They have a pan seared chicken breast, they have grilled steak,
• 36:16
  they have pan seared shrimp, they have chicken strips and
• 36:18
  they have house made macaroni and cheese.
• 36:20
  It's very specific on the menu. Pretty sure.
• 36:24
  It was just like everything else that we had.
• 36:26
  Everywhere else. Just saying it didn't look that
• 36:29
  much different. Yeah, yeah.
• 36:33
  But they did. I feel like.
• 36:34
  I don't know if they still do this.
• 36:35
  When we went, they had a really fun dessert for the kids.
• 36:40
  Sorry, I'm trying to pull it up for you here.
• 36:42
  And it's this little chip. I'm sorry, I'm struggling with
• 36:47
  this. OK.
• 36:48
  It's this little Chip cup that you can paint with, like,
• 36:51
  frosting. It's made out of white
• 36:52
  chocolate. So then they can eat it.
• 36:53
  And then of course, they have the Gray stuff with it as well,
• 36:57
  and a little truffle for the kids.
• 36:58
  I wonder if they're they have a dessert trio on the menu.
• 37:01
  It just says dessert trio. I wonder if that's what that is.
• 37:04
  Yeah, this is well. Yeah, it says it right there.
• 37:06
  If I. Would need it.
• 37:06
  Says there's a dessert trio for the kids and then the adult 1:00
• 37:09
  is way more adults. So I feel like we have like a
• 37:12
  Grand Marnier truffle and a couple of other things.
• 37:15
  But for the kids, they keep it. Yeah, the.
• 37:17
  Adult is a chocolate tart, a dark chocolate truffle and a
• 37:20
  lemon jam macaron. And they were really good.
• 37:24
  So save room for those. If you do, go for that.
• 37:28
  But for those of you who maybe haven't been a beer guest for
• 37:31
  many, many years, it is just a different experience than it
• 37:34
  used to be. We used to love it for breakfast
• 37:37
  and lunch. It was like a reasonable cost
• 37:41
  and it was really fun experience and the food was really, really
• 37:44
  good and now it's just a lot more expensive.
• 37:47
  You don't have that meet and greet with the beast and the
• 37:50
  food is is yeah, it's maybe some of it is really, really good.
• 37:55
  Like, I think we had one of the best steaks I've had in a while
• 37:57
  there. So that's saying something, but
• 37:59
  I would just say it's not, it's not as as good as it used to be,
• 38:03
  Christina says. I've heard recently the food's
• 38:05
  been getting better, probably because there's been a lot of
• 38:07
  reviews of like what's going on with the quality of the food
• 38:10
  here. So yeah, take that for what is
• 38:12
  it it's worth. I think it's still worth it
• 38:14
  though, even at the price at least once.
• 38:17
  I think it's a one and done maybe for that price point, just
• 38:21
  like Cinderella's Royal table. I don't know if we'll ever dine
• 38:25
  there again just because it's so expensive.
• 38:27
  But having the experience at least once I think is a really,
• 38:30
  really special. So if you're celebrating a
• 38:32
  birthday or a special occasion, or you can just really want to
• 38:35
  splurge on like one really cool thing, I'd I'd say be our guest
• 38:40
  is is a win for the kids for that.
• 38:42
  Yeah, well, in places like be our guest I feel like are
• 38:45
  especially fun if you're if you're a family who's done like
• 38:48
  Bippity, Boppity Boutique or you know you have a kiddo who loves
• 38:52
  Beauty and the Beast. You know, there are certain
• 38:54
  aspects of that that I feel like can make it a little bit more
• 38:57
  special. But yeah, I mean, Todd said here
• 39:00
  on my side of the chat that I thought it was very spendy for
• 39:03
  what it was, what it actually was.
• 39:06
  Yeah, it's you're paying a lot for the atmosphere and the
• 39:09
  experience of being there at this point.
• 39:12
  And yeah, people are asking they don't have breakfast anymore.
• 39:15
  Yeah, they don't have breakfast anymore like they used to.
• 39:18
  I I was hoping that would return, but it doesn't look like
• 39:21
  it is leaning that way. Looks like it's just going to be
• 39:23
  lunch and dinner. Yeah, well, and they used to
• 39:26
  have like a like a quick service type.
• 39:30
  Like it was like a quick service for breakfast and lunch was
• 39:33
  quick service. Right.
• 39:34
  And then dinner was your. Table prefix?
• 39:37
  Yeah, you still had to like, Yeah, it was.
• 39:39
  It was like a walk up list that you like.
• 39:41
  I remember people lining up outside of be Our Guest when
• 39:44
  they used to have the more like quick service because I don't
• 39:47
  think there was no like mobile order or anything like that.
• 39:50
  So it was like first serve kind of deal?
• 39:53
  I'm trying to remember. It's been so long now, but it's
• 39:56
  not that way anymore. Now you have to have a
• 39:57
  reservation. There might still be walk UPS
• 40:00
  for any of these AD Rs. Sometimes the day of you can do
• 40:04
  walk up reservations if they're available.
• 40:06
  Just check on your My Disney Experience app and it'll tell
• 40:10
  you if you. Navigate to the dining tab of it
• 40:13
  and you go to the restaurant. It'll tell you if there's a walk
• 40:16
  up available or if it's full, so you can always try that if you
• 40:20
  weren't able to get an ADR. And if you're not picky about what
• 40:24
  time, because it's one of those things that you know what I
• 40:28
  mean, that like the you you get called when you get called and
• 40:32
  you either take it or you miss out and don't go.
• 40:35
  Yeah, that's true, Yeah. And I will mention before we
• 40:38
  because that kind of wraps up our Magic Kingdom area.
• 40:41
  But before we hop over to Animal Kingdom, we have mentioned
• 40:44
  before and I'll just mention again in this episode that there
• 40:47
  are several different places that you can sign up for alerts
• 40:51
  for dining. So if you hop on the morning
• 40:54
  that your dining opens and you don't get somewhere like be our
• 40:57
  guest, you can go to to Mouse Dining is one option that you
• 41:00
  can do. Somewhere you can sign up for
• 41:02
  text alerts through there or e-mail alerts for different ones
• 41:06
  that you're looking at. And then Kate, you have another
• 41:08
  one that you've used before, right?
• 41:10
  Yeah, Unlocked Magic and they have AI think they have a Mr.
• 41:14
  Lincoln bio if you're here with us live, but there is, I am an
• 41:18
  affiliate for them, so I'm just going to disclose that fully.
• 41:20
  But I have used them over the past year because I wanted to
• 41:24
  see how I've always used now signing and or touring plans
• 41:27
  also has one as well but I wanted to see how it works and
• 41:31
  actually it's it's quite quite good because it it does a text
• 41:35
  alert which a lot of those other services don't necessarily do
• 41:37
  texting unless you pay a lot for it.
• 41:40
  So and it has unlimited you can use unlimited ones.
• 41:43
  So I've really enjoyed using that one.
• 41:45
  It's been really helpful to find the reservations I do need.
• 41:48
  But yeah, those reservation finders in general are very,
• 41:52
  very helpful if you kind of missed out on your ADR date.
• 41:55
  Especially, yeah, yeah. And I've seen a couple people in
• 41:58
  my chat here mentioned that like same day reservations will pop
• 42:01
  up or like week of or day before.
• 42:04
  So it's definitely, you know, don't don't feel discouraged if
• 42:07
  you're like on your way and you haven't gotten that ADR that you
• 42:10
  want. Have faith that something will
• 42:12
  pop up. Yeah, yeah.
• 42:15
  And usually does like right before the day people will
• 42:18
  cancel because their plans change or they or they were
• 42:21
  holding extra ones they didn't like.
• 42:23
  That's a whole nother conversation.
• 42:25
  But but that does happen where people have been kind of like
• 42:29
  hoarding their reservations and then they're like, Oh well, I'm
• 42:32
  not going to go to this one and this one and this one.
• 42:34
  So I'm going to cancel these ones And and then that does make
• 42:38
  it so that there is last minute reservations in that way.
• 42:40
  So I guess that's good in for that.
• 42:42
  But right, And do keep in mind that previously Disney's policy
• 42:47
  was different, but it's currently now a 2 hour
• 42:49
  cancellation policy. So if you're looking for a 2:00
• 42:54
  time, be checking the app between that like 11 and 12:00
• 42:59
  hour because that is the time that people are going to have to
• 43:02
  be canceling without having to like pay a fee.
• 43:06
  Right. Yeah, it used to be 24 hours in
• 43:08
  advance. I think so, yeah.
• 43:10
  It's they've shortened it quite a bit.
• 43:14
  It's interesting. They shorten the timelines for a
• 43:16
  lot of things they used to have longer timelines for.
• 43:20
  Yeah, I don't really. Yeah, I'm sure there's some
• 43:23
  logical reasoning behind it, I guess, but.
• 43:27
  That a lot of people, the day of they were having to make
• 43:30
  exceptions of that, couldn't make it to their reservation
• 43:32
  because you know, their plans changed, which happens a lot at
• 43:36
  Disney. Well, I mean, I told you all and
• 43:38
  if you missed it, you know we had an issue with that with
• 43:41
  Topolinos because my kids were sick.
• 43:43
  They got sick overnight and I had to call and cancel it and I
• 43:48
  was like literally trying to do it as the two hour window
• 43:52
  happened and it, you know, I ended up having to call and talk
• 43:55
  to someone. I literally was telling the cast
• 43:57
  member, like I really don't want to bring my my sick child to
• 44:00
  your restaurant. So like can you please cancel
• 44:02
  this? Right.
• 44:04
  Which. And they they do their
• 44:05
  understanding about that usually.
• 44:07
  So they don't want that either, right.
• 44:10
  Exactly. Like, I I I don't want to.
• 44:12
  But like, if you're going to charge me for it anyway, then
• 44:14
  I'm going to come eat. Yep.
• 44:19
  Yeah, and it's $10 per person, right?
• 44:21
  So it's it can add up. If you've got a whole family,
• 44:24
  that's a lot of money for not showing up.
• 44:26
  So make sure you cancel your reservations if you're not going
• 44:28
  to use them friends. Just saying, and if you are
• 44:31
  within that two hour window, call and talk to the very nice
• 44:34
  cast members, explain what happened and cross your fingers
• 44:37
  because you're you're at their mercy a little bit when it comes
• 44:41
  to being under that two hour window.
• 44:43
  Yeah. And I will say there was a time
• 44:45
  when we just got really hung up with a whole bunch of
• 44:49
  transportation nonsense that happened to us.
• 44:52
  And we were going to be like, 45 minutes late for a reservation.
• 44:56
  Not because of anything we did. Just like some monorail chaos
• 45:00
  happened. Oh, no.
• 45:02
  Yeah. So we couldn't, we couldn't get
• 45:03
  to the park in time. And I was freaking out.
• 45:05
  I was like, oh, my gosh, they're going to charge us.
• 45:07
  Oh, my gosh. And so I called and I asked and
• 45:09
  they were like, Oh no, we usually give you like an hour
• 45:11
  grace period. And if if it's anything beyond
• 45:14
  that, just call us and we'll like, work it out.
• 45:16
  I was like, OK, like they understand.
• 45:19
  So don't have a panic attack if you're going to be a little bit
• 45:22
  late. I mean, yeah, but don't expect
• 45:26
  always to be late and abuse it either.
• 45:27
  So try to be in time to your reservations, but if you are
• 45:31
  going to be late because of something that's out of your
• 45:33
  control, you know, just know that you can talk to somebody
• 45:36
  about it and hopefully you can still get in the restaurant if
• 45:38
  they have availability for you. Yeah, Yep, for sure.
• 45:43
  All right. Shall we take a bus to Animal
• 45:46
  Kingdom? Yeah, let's go.
• 45:50
  It's always a bus. Buses.
• 45:52
  I feel like I have trauma from the buses from this last trip.
• 45:54
  It's like all buses, all. Buses.
• 45:57
  They're so hit or moose. It's always it's the best thing
• 46:03
  in the world is the feeling when the like the Caterpillar like
• 46:06
  double bus shows up and you know you're like everybody's getting
• 46:09
  on. You get a bus and you get a bus,
• 46:11
  You get a bus. We're all getting on.
• 46:14
  Especially if you're like, counting and you're like, I
• 46:16
  don't know if we're going to make this one.
• 46:18
  We might. Know.
• 46:19
  For the best one. And then the double best.
• 46:21
  Best. Ever.
• 46:22
  And I'm cursed where it's always like I'm they won't let me on,
• 46:25
  especially when I'm just by myself.
• 46:27
  You're like just one person. I can, I can.
• 46:30
  I can squeeze. I can make myself small.
• 46:33
  But yeah, good times with the bus anyway, So let's take the
• 46:37
  bus over to Animal Kingdom and we're headed to Yak and Yeti.
• 46:43
  Yes, for a lunch or dinner. Yes, Yak and Yeti has a really
• 46:48
  great menu. So it does have some things that
• 46:53
  are a little bit different maybe or a little bit unusual for kids
• 46:58
  to try, but they have eight options on their kids menu,
• 47:03
  which I think is probably I think one of the most of all of
• 47:06
  the research that I've done so far.
• 47:10
  So that is really exciting and the prices are all 1149 no
• 47:15
  matter what you order. So the kids options are a
• 47:19
  cheeseburger. They have stir fry noodles, they
• 47:22
  have chicken fried rice, they have mini corn dogs.
• 47:25
  They have a grilled chicken breast, Mac and cheese, teriyaki
• 47:29
  chicken breast and chicken tenders.
• 47:30
  So a really, really great kids menu at Yakinetti I.
• 47:34
  Mean. It's very diverse.
• 47:36
  There's a lot of options there. And it's really interesting.
• 47:39
  I've seen just kind of researching for this.
• 47:42
  I've been to yakinetti once, but only with adults.
• 47:45
  And this is actually like a little bit controversial.
• 47:47
  There's some people that just swear they will never go back to
• 47:50
  Yakin Yeti because they had such an awful time.
• 47:51
  And there's people that are like, it's a must every time I
• 47:54
  go because it's so good. So it's very, very interesting
• 47:59
  dynamic with this restaurant because some people either love
• 48:01
  it or hate it. It's very polarizing.
• 48:04
  I didn't know it was. Polarizing, I know, Dwayne says.
• 48:07
  Apparently. Chicken.
• 48:09
  Fried rice. My son loves the chicken fried
• 48:11
  rice, That's what Dwayne says. So yeah, so there's lots of
• 48:13
  really good options there for kids.
• 48:15
  And I feel like that's something that my kids would be, like,
• 48:19
  willing to try. Yeah, it's a very interesting.
• 48:23
  The decor in there is very interesting too that it's very
• 48:27
  it's not themed like Disney themed, it's themed like country
• 48:30
  themed for because you're in an Andoper, right.
• 48:32
  So it's like a it's a fake country that Disney invented but
• 48:37
  but it is this very much a style of that part of the world.
• 48:40
  So they have all kinds of interesting antiques and whatnot
• 48:44
  that are inside that's fascinating to look at all the
• 48:46
  different things, so. Yeah, it very much like it.
• 48:50
  It just fits perfectly. I feel like when you look at
• 48:53
  that, you know coming from when you're you're at you know the
• 48:57
  different attractions around in that area, I feel like it's just
• 49:00
  very perfect and Todd has some really good advice that I was
• 49:03
  going to mention. So thanks for reminding me,
• 49:05
  Todd. Advice for Yak and Yeti join the
• 49:09
  Landry's Club because they are part of that.
• 49:13
  Oh, I forgot about that. Thank you, Todd.
• 49:15
  It's true, yes. So they have essentially like a
• 49:18
  membership card. I don't have one because I've
• 49:21
  never needed one, but I know. A lot of people don't frequent
• 49:24
  to yak and Yeti are you? I am not, but that's not to say
• 49:29
  that they don't have good food, but basically that gives you a
• 49:35
  better chance at getting reservation, better chance at
• 49:38
  getting walk up. I don't know for sure.
• 49:41
  And maybe, Todd, you can help out with this if it has.
• 49:43
  If they do a discount for that, I know there's like a deal when
• 49:47
  you sign up that you get like a gift card for signing up too.
• 49:50
  So like, I know there's a couple other perks with that membership
• 49:54
  card that they have. That's good advice, yeah, Dwayne
• 49:58
  says. Only $25 for membership.
• 50:00
  A card and you get that back back plus preferred seating.
• 50:03
  OK, that's what it was. It's yeah, you pay 25 to join,
• 50:06
  but then they give it back to you in a gift card to use.
• 50:09
  So. Yeah, that's pretty great.
• 50:11
  Yeah. Especially if you like, know
• 50:13
  you're going to be going and you're going to use it on your
• 50:15
  trip, like just do it ahead of time because it probably takes a
• 50:18
  couple days for that. Yeah, transaction.
• 50:21
  Yeah, that's neat. Oh, I think, I think T Rex is
• 50:25
  one of them. The T Rex location in Disney
• 50:27
  Springs I think is is another one that's on there.
• 50:30
  Oh, Todd says you can do it there.
• 50:32
  It's not an issue. So it must be super quick
• 50:34
  whenever you join. So that's good to know.
• 50:36
  You forget. There you go.
• 50:40
  I think the price point is also really good at Yak and Eddie as
• 50:43
  well. I feel like it's very fairly
• 50:44
  affordable. You listed the price series
• 50:47
  1149. I feel like it's like that's
• 50:49
  super affordable for Disney. Yeah, yeah, probably because
• 50:52
  it's a third party vendor. Just saying.
• 50:57
  Right. Yeah, I think that probably has
• 50:59
  and it's, it's always nice for budgeting when everything is the
• 51:03
  same price. Well, the menu, you're not going
• 51:05
  to lie like I understand why there are differences when it
• 51:08
  comes to something like Mac and cheese versus steak, but it's
• 51:11
  something like that, right? But it's nice for budgeting
• 51:14
  purposes when you know that no matter what your kids are going
• 51:17
  to pick off of the extense somewhat extensive menu that
• 51:20
  they have there, that it's going to be 1150.
• 51:22
  So. Right.
• 51:23
  That's helpful. That's true.
• 51:25
  Well, should we move on to our next stop?
• 51:28
  Good with the acting, Eddie. OK, so this one was one that I
• 51:33
  suggested we put on here, and this is not in Animal Kingdom,
• 51:36
  this is in the Animal Kingdom Lodge specifically, this is in
• 51:41
  Jambo House. So there's Animal Kingdom Lodge
• 51:44
  has Kidani and they have Jambo House and they're right next to
• 51:47
  each other, but they're not the same.
• 51:48
  So they're two different spaces. But Boma is inside Jambo House
• 51:54
  and for me this is like a must at each time we're staying in
• 51:58
  the Animal Kingdom area. It's a little bit of a trek to
• 52:02
  get there if you're in the park because especially if you're
• 52:04
  using Disney transportation, you're going to have to take a
• 52:06
  bus to it and a bus back. So it's not like an super easy
• 52:09
  like stroll or something to it, but it is worth it in that the
• 52:13
  food is spectacular and it's a really interesting taste palette
• 52:19
  for that's more like African flavours of food.
• 52:23
  But there are also things that are just kind of like your
• 52:26
  regular buffet fare. So there's literally something
• 52:30
  for everybody there to for every taste palette, and the breakfast
• 52:33
  is particularly really good there.
• 52:35
  If you can't get there for breakfast, you know dinner is
• 52:38
  good too as well. Do you want to talk about what's
• 52:42
  available for dinner? Yes.
• 52:45
  So they do have kind of an extensive list of, and it even
• 52:49
  says partial listing on the Disney website or like on your
• 52:52
  app if you're looking up menus. But they've got breads, They've
• 52:56
  got hummus. They've got a chickpea salad.
• 52:58
  They've got couscous and shrimp. They've got a North African
• 53:02
  cauliflower salad, spice green beans with golden raisins, Black
• 53:05
  Eyed Peas, greens and cha. Oh goodness, it looks like it
• 53:12
  says. Get the hard things to
• 53:13
  pronounce. Why don't?
• 53:14
  I do this for myself, greens and it looks like chaka laka so I'm
• 53:20
  going to go with that. They have a peanut rice or a
• 53:22
  coconut rice on rotation. They have then a ton of really
• 53:29
  accessible options for kids. They've got Mac and cheese,
• 53:31
  They've got chicken bites. They've got penne pasta with
• 53:34
  marinara and meatballs. They've got herb cress, herb
• 53:38
  herb crushed potatoes, sweet corn pudding.
• 53:42
  They've got lamb, chicken, pork ribs, beef strip loin, butternut
• 53:47
  squash soup, They've got all sorts of stuff and that's like
• 53:50
  they said, that's a partial listed.
• 53:51
  Menu massive. And they've got all kinds of
• 53:54
  pastries and breads and all the things like it's everywhere.
• 54:00
  And I will say that I I actually prefer breakfast here.
• 54:03
  I think over dinner, especially with kids, all the breakfast
• 54:06
  foods, we've got some of the standard fare.
• 54:08
  I think they have the symbol waffles there instead of the
• 54:10
  Mickey waffles. But they've got lots of really
• 54:13
  fun stuff, I think. I feel like with dinner, they
• 54:15
  also have the zebra Dome cakes there, which are kind of that's
• 54:18
  also kind of like a polarizing thing.
• 54:20
  People either love or hate the zebra Dome cakes.
• 54:23
  I was, I was so excited to try it and then I didn't like it and
• 54:26
  it's so sad. I was like, what is?
• 54:30
  This I was looking to see. Yeah, so the the breakfast menu
• 54:34
  just says waffles. It doesn't specify, yeah, on
• 54:38
  there what it is. And they don't have their
• 54:40
  desserts. Yeah, they don't have their
• 54:43
  desserts on their menu because they probably rotate out and
• 54:46
  have seasonal stuff when it comes to that.
• 54:49
  But they have so many options. I'd be shocked if your child
• 54:52
  couldn't find something they wanted from that buffet.
• 54:54
  It's just massive. It is a little bit spendier.
• 54:58
  It's $33 per child. I feel like breakfast is about
• 55:03
  the same price point, but I haven't looked it at.
• 55:04
  Let me look, but I would say it is. 22 per child.
• 55:08
  OK, so breakfast is more affordable, More affordable,
• 55:10
  Yeah. So that's why I say I'd probably
• 55:12
  recommend breakfast just because you can.
• 55:15
  It's a little more affordable and it's just really good.
• 55:17
  And you get the pog juice too that you can have with.
• 55:20
  It and again when we were looking up these it was much
• 55:23
  easier just to kind of compare dinner and lunch across the
• 55:25
  board. So that's kind of what we're
• 55:27
  focusing on. But yes, we will definitely
• 55:29
  mention if we, if we. If this one can breakfast, yes.
• 55:32
  Like what people go to Boma for is breakfast.
• 55:34
  So but yeah, I I definitely think and the theming is is fun.
• 55:39
  It's not overtly anything, but the the lodge itself is an
• 55:43
  adventure to go to, just like going to the Poly because you
• 55:47
  can go and see the animals, you can go out and walk in the
• 55:50
  outdoor area and actually take a look at the zebras and the
• 55:53
  giraffes and all the the animals that are grazing onto the
• 55:55
  Savannah. So you can you don't have to be
• 55:57
  staying at the resort to go and see the animals there, which is
• 56:00
  really fun. So that's neat for the kids.
• 56:03
  Yeah, and I will, just because we were talking about breakfast
• 56:05
  to read you through. For breakfast, they've got
• 56:08
  muffins, pancakes, waffles, breakfast potatoes, bacon and
• 56:11
  sausage, cinnamon Raisin bread. They've got carved ham, They've
• 56:13
  got coconut, steel cut oatmeal. They've got Turkey.
• 56:16
  They've got omelets, a bunch of different kinds of omelets,
• 56:18
  Cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, deviled eggs with salt.
• 56:22
  Salmons. Yeah, yogurt, parfait.
• 56:25
  They've got avocado. I want a grapefruit salad.
• 56:27
  They put them. Sorry.
• 56:30
  So lots and lots of options on that buffet as well for Boma.
• 56:36
  Yeah. Now I'm kind of thinking, I
• 56:37
  like, maybe I can convince my son to go there for for his
• 56:39
  birthday dinner. There you go.
• 56:41
  It's got Mac and cheese. Yeah.
• 56:43
  Yeah. Big.
• 56:45
  People there be happy with that too.
• 56:47
  I feel like, yeah. We love it in the same location
• 56:52
  as kind of just across the hall. If we're good, we're good with
• 56:55
  BA, BA, yeah, we're going to move on.
• 56:57
  In the same location, kind of across the hall is Chico, which
• 57:02
  for dinner only. And I.
• 57:04
  This was another one that we kind of went back and forth on
• 57:06
  just because I'm like, it's very much kind of an adult vibe in
• 57:10
  there. It's you kind of you don't, I
• 57:12
  don't know, as a parent, especially with the young kids,
• 57:15
  I always got so much anxiety taking my kids to kind of a
• 57:17
  fancier restaurant, like, am I going to ruin somebody's like,
• 57:20
  anniversary dinner because my child is like, tired, you know,
• 57:25
  Right. But if you go earlier in the
• 57:28
  evening, you know, 5:30-ish crowds, you know, like the
• 57:31
  earlier times, I think a lot of the adults that are celebrating
• 57:35
  something special tend to go a little bit on the later side.
• 57:38
  So then you'll still see kids that are in there.
• 57:40
  Would you want to talk about the options for food there?
• 57:44
  Yes, I was just looking because I wanted to make sure.
• 57:48
  So yeah, their dinner starts at 5:00.
• 57:51
  So if you're looking at timing wise kind of what time you want
• 57:54
  to go, they do a 5:00 to 9:30. So plan accordingly for whatever
• 57:59
  you choose. So for the kids, they have six
• 58:05
  different options here. And again, this has a little bit
• 58:09
  more of a diverse menu. So they've got a market fresh
• 58:14
  fish, they've got a grilled chicken breast, they've got
• 58:17
  shrimp with Kushari, which I don't know what that is.
• 58:19
  Do you know what that is, Kate? Probably some sort of topping
• 58:23
  sauce something, but I don't know.
• 58:25
  I don't know for sure, but it's probably something you can ask
• 58:27
  for on the side or you left off if you need to.
• 58:30
  They've got a steak. So Saudi, I'm going to do my
• 58:34
  best of these pronunciations again.
• 58:36
  They've got a Mac and cheese and they've got the cheese pizza as
• 58:41
  well. So we haven't seen a ton of
• 58:43
  pizza, honestly, in the options that we've been given.
• 58:46
  So that there is a pizza option there.
• 58:47
  I think they do like flat bread there and I feel like that's why
• 58:50
  that's an option because they probably have some sort of wood
• 58:53
  fire option. I will say it kind of cracks me
• 58:57
  up that looking at their menu. So then they have a bunch of
• 59:00
  sides that you can add to those. You get a selection of two, and
• 59:03
  some of them are are very standard seasonal vegetables,
• 59:06
  fresh fruit, but they have ancient grains as one of the
• 59:08
  other sides which. Just make cause like for keto
• 59:13
  people like they have ancient grains.
• 59:14
  That's like a thing. So it's just I.
• 59:17
  Don't know. I think about keto, so just
• 59:18
  saying at this time. Making Dessa and they also have
• 59:21
  Pumba's dessert grub, which I feel like has to be like dirt
• 59:24
  pudding because. Yeah.
• 59:26
  That's super cute and a make your own Mickey Mouse moose too,
• 59:30
  so lots of fun dessert options for sure.
• 59:34
  I will say that depending on what you're ordering on this
• 59:37
  menu, the price does vary a lot. So the fish and the shrimp
• 59:43
  options are 1850 and 17 respectively.
• 59:48
  Yeah, so that's that's pretty pricey for a kids meal.
• 59:53
  The chicken breast is 1550, the steak is 15, the Mac and cheese
• 59:57
  and the pizza are both 10:50. So looks like the Mickey is like
• 1:00:01
  something you can paint like a like, oh, another white
• 1:00:04
  chocolate of a Mickey that you can paint with frosting.
• 1:00:07
  That's fine. Or some sort of gel.
• 1:00:09
  Yeah, like gel food coloring. Or gel something like that.
• 1:00:12
  I don't know. I don't.
• 1:00:13
  Know how that'll taste? But it'll be fun.
• 1:00:15
  Yeah, I don't know. So again, this kind of made the
• 1:00:19
  list just because of the different options that they
• 1:00:21
  have. If you've got a kiddo who really
• 1:00:22
  likes fish or shrimp, then this is a really good option if
• 1:00:26
  you're at Animal Kingdom. And the nice thing is for some
• 1:00:29
  of these that are dinner, Animal Kingdom closes fairly early.
• 1:00:33
  So it may just be something that you're able to do kind of on
• 1:00:37
  your way out of the park before you make it back to your to your
• 1:00:40
  resort if you're not staying there.
• 1:00:43
  Yes. And I know we're doing at Animal
• 1:00:47
  Kingdom Park, we're seeing a lot of the ones that are Animal
• 1:00:49
  Kingdom Lodge, but that's because a lot of the best food
• 1:00:52
  is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, at least when it comes to AD Rs.
• 1:00:56
  In particular, there's a lot of great food inside Animal Kingdom
• 1:00:59
  that's like quick service, yes. But most of the ADR amazing food
• 1:01:05
  is in the resorts. So, So along that vein, over in
• 1:01:12
  Kidani, which is next to Jambo House, and there's a bus that
• 1:01:17
  runs in between them or you can walk.
• 1:01:18
  It's up to you what you feel like you'd like to do if you're
• 1:01:21
  at one and need to get to the other.
• 1:01:23
  But there's Sanaa inside Kidani, which is known for its bread
• 1:01:27
  service. If you've ever been to Sanaa, it
• 1:01:30
  does also have a really great view of the animals, as long as
• 1:01:33
  it's still light outside when you dine.
• 1:01:35
  So if it's dark out, you're probably not going to see a
• 1:01:37
  whole lot. But Sanaa is open for lunch and
• 1:01:42
  dinner and also has like a lot of to go options.
• 1:01:45
  So if you're staying in one of those resorts, you can also get
• 1:01:47
  that food to go. A lot of people don't know
• 1:01:49
  that's an option, yeah. Todd is say, Todd is saying the
• 1:01:53
  bread service is a must in all caps.
• 1:01:56
  Yeah. So besides the bread service,
• 1:01:59
  let's talk about what the kids options are here.
• 1:02:02
  Again, kind of a little bit standard, a little bit more
• 1:02:05
  unique. They've got four options for the
• 1:02:07
  entrees. They've got just a fish of the
• 1:02:09
  day. They've got cheese pizza,
• 1:02:11
  they've got butter chicken and they've got a cheeseburger.
• 1:02:14
  So a little bit kind of standard fare, a little bit maybe more
• 1:02:18
  exploratory for your kiddos, depending on what it is that
• 1:02:22
  they're interested in. They also have the pumbas,
• 1:02:24
  dessert grub, which is. So if that is something that
• 1:02:27
  your kids are wanting, yeah, you can find it both.
• 1:02:30
  Places, Hope says. We recently had a rice pudding
• 1:02:33
  there at Sanaa, which they loved.
• 1:02:35
  And she's not even a rice pudding girl.
• 1:02:37
  So so maybe the rice pudding is a good option as well.
• 1:02:42
  This one is 1. My husband loves because he
• 1:02:44
  loves a good Curry so he loves Sanaa.
• 1:02:47
  I'm not a Curry fan, so I find other things to eat there, like
• 1:02:52
  the bread service. Kate says Give me all the bread.
• 1:02:55
  Give me all the bread. Yeah.
• 1:02:58
  And they like, like Kate mentioned, they have a A.
• 1:03:01
  It's more of a kind of exploratory menu because they do
• 1:03:05
  have a lot of African flavors and African spices and things
• 1:03:08
  like that. But again, the great thing about
• 1:03:12
  Disney is when you go to places like this, they are really good
• 1:03:16
  at accommodating. Or if you request, like Kate
• 1:03:18
  mentioned, putting like a topping or a sauce on the side,
• 1:03:21
  a lot of the times they're going to be able to do that for you,
• 1:03:23
  which is really helpful. Yeah, and I think my kids did
• 1:03:28
  eat here one time and they they liked it, but it's not one that
• 1:03:32
  they, like, asked to go back to very much, probably because the
• 1:03:36
  food was all just a little bit different.
• 1:03:38
  So that's, you know, know your kids if they are.
• 1:03:42
  There is a lot of options for kids who are not adventurous
• 1:03:46
  eaters, but I would say it's not one that we would probably go
• 1:03:51
  back to accept for my husband and the bread service.
• 1:03:54
  Right, but Michael asked a good question over here.
• 1:03:58
  He asked, Did they stop serving breakfast?
• 1:03:59
  No, they do still have breakfast options there.
• 1:04:03
  Like we mentioned, we are just kind of focusing more on lunch
• 1:04:05
  and dinner just because it's easier to kind of compare across
• 1:04:07
  the board. But Sanaa does have a breakfast
• 1:04:10
  option as well. I will just say that their
• 1:04:12
  breakfast options for kids are very limited.
• 1:04:16
  So take a look at that if you're wanting to do Sanaa, but maybe
• 1:04:19
  dinner doesn't fit your schedule or lunch or whatever.
• 1:04:23
  They don't have a a ton for kids.
• 1:04:25
  But. They have enough that most kids
• 1:04:28
  are probably going to. They've got waffles, they've got
• 1:04:30
  Mickey waffles. So like most kids are going to
• 1:04:32
  be happy with Mickey waffles. They've also got like eggs.
• 1:04:35
  So one or the other when it comes to the kids options.
• 1:04:40
  Unless that's very aptly put there, Jackie.
• 1:04:42
  Yeah, I do. What?
• 1:04:45
  I'm here, you know. Well, Sanaa is also fairly
• 1:04:51
  affordable. I would say out of all the
• 1:04:53
  things, especially for kids, it's again in that, you know 11
• 1:04:57
  to to 14, 1/2 price point. So that's for Disney.
• 1:05:02
  That's fairly affordable. Yeah, And I mean the fish,
• 1:05:05
  wherever you go, if it's fish or shrimp or steak, those are going
• 1:05:08
  to be your more expensive options.
• 1:05:10
  It's that way no matter what menu, if it's a kids menu or an
• 1:05:13
  adult menu. So yeah, the fish of the day is
• 1:05:16
  1450, but then, like the cheese pizza is 1150, So you're in that
• 1:05:20
  range with whatever you order. Right.
• 1:05:25
  Well, we have one more in the Animal Kingdom area, yes.
• 1:05:29
  And that is over in the Coronado Springs Resort.
• 1:05:33
  And this is the Maya Grill, which I've, I openly admit, I
• 1:05:36
  have never been to Coronado Springs.
• 1:05:38
  So. I don't know.
• 1:05:39
  Either, but I've I've heard a lot of really good things about
• 1:05:43
  the resort, but because it's only it's a bus only resort, it
• 1:05:46
  makes me like not want to stay there personally fair.
• 1:05:50
  That's fair. So they do over at Maya Grill,
• 1:05:54
  over at Coronado. They do dinner only over there,
• 1:05:57
  so there is not a lunch option there.
• 1:06:00
  But for their dinner options for kids, they do have five
• 1:06:07
  different options. They've got a kids Taco, which
• 1:06:10
  you can do chicken or beef with that.
• 1:06:12
  They've got a quesadilla, they've got grilled chicken
• 1:06:15
  breasts, they've got chicken tenders and Gurney and cheese,
• 1:06:18
  but it is a white cheddar cheese sauce with their Mac and cheese,
• 1:06:21
  so keep going in mind. Yeah, it's interesting.
• 1:06:25
  Rainey over here says go. It's amazing for Coronado
• 1:06:28
  Springs and I have heard that that it's it's a really lovely
• 1:06:30
  resort. So no hate on Coronado Springs.
• 1:06:33
  I just like, I just haven't stayed there because of the bus
• 1:06:35
  situation. Yeah, it's more my more about my
• 1:06:37
  disdain for buses than anything else.
• 1:06:40
  Which we may have heard a little bit about earlier.
• 1:06:41
  So you know, but for yeah, for a price point as far as that goes,
• 1:06:47
  all of those options are $12.00 except for the quesadilla is
• 1:06:51
  1250. So you got to pay extra for the
• 1:06:54
  cheese, apparently, but I. Don't know, but this looks
• 1:06:57
  really good. Roasted poblama, potatoes,
• 1:06:59
  grand. This is like the adult menu.
• 1:07:00
  I'm like Oh yeah, it looks kind of good.
• 1:07:04
  I I'm a sucker for like cheese and potatoes.
• 1:07:06
  So but look, they have they have churros too.
• 1:07:09
  They're probably Disney World churros though.
• 1:07:11
  But look, probably Churros. Probably.
• 1:07:15
  Probably, yes. It's a fried churro ice cream.
• 1:07:18
  Fried baby churros is what the menu says stopped with a scoop
• 1:07:22
  of vanilla ice cream. So if you need a churro, fix
• 1:07:26
  another place for it and. Then as far as the just the
• 1:07:29
  adult menu, it's it's very similar to what I just read like
• 1:07:32
  they've got a lot of, they've got enchiladas and quesadillas
• 1:07:34
  and fajitas and all that kind of stuff.
• 1:07:36
  So that's the the kind of Fair you're going to get over at Maya
• 1:07:40
  Grill, Yeah. It does look like a good place
• 1:07:43
  to eat, I would say if I'm ever in Coronado Springs might have
• 1:07:46
  to visit it. There you go.
• 1:07:48
  Yes. And like we said at the
• 1:07:49
  beginning disclaimer, we have not eaten at all of these
• 1:07:51
  places. We are simply going based on
• 1:07:54
  research and looking at menus and prices.
• 1:07:56
  So we hope that these options are helpful if you're planning
• 1:08:00
  an upcoming trip to maybe at least give you some different
• 1:08:02
  options to look into or maybe get you out of your go to
• 1:08:06
  comfort zone like we talked about earlier of wanting to
• 1:08:09
  order the same thing every time. Maybe this will give you when
• 1:08:12
  your kiddos a new experience to to try out together.
• 1:08:15
  I feel like, Dwayne said. Where the pass was good way back
• 1:08:19
  when. I'm trying to oh the Landry's
• 1:08:21
  pass, I had it pulled up but I hadn't found.
• 1:08:23
  The location T Rex, Rainforest Cafe, Yak and Yeti are a few of
• 1:08:28
  them. That's what it says so.
• 1:08:30
  The Boathouse The Boathouse in Disney Springs and Yak and Yeti
• 1:08:37
  looks like those four locations on Disney World property.
• 1:08:41
  I learned something new. I didn't know all of those were
• 1:08:43
  included, so I've heard of it before, but never, like, really
• 1:08:46
  learned much. So yeah, that's.
• 1:08:48
  Interesting. Hey, you learned something new,
• 1:08:51
  right? That's what we're here for,
• 1:08:54
  teaching ourselves. And in turn teaching all of you.
• 1:08:59
  And I feel like something we we didn't address yet, Jackie, in
• 1:09:02
  the the sense we're starting this new series is just to
• 1:09:06
  remind people that if they can use their reservation finders.
• 1:09:09
  But the best way to get your ADR is to be 60 days out, right, 60
• 1:09:14
  days out from the day you check in and it is 6:00 AM online East
• 1:09:21
  Coast time. Yeah.
• 1:09:22
  So whatever that is for your time zone, do those calculations
• 1:09:26
  there. And if you plan, I always try to
• 1:09:30
  get the most difficult reservation to get closer to the
• 1:09:33
  end of my reservation because there's less people that have
• 1:09:36
  booked then because you can get your reservation like the whole
• 1:09:42
  length of your reservation starting on that date.
• 1:09:45
  So you don't have to. Unless you have, you're not
• 1:09:47
  staying in a a hotel or resort. You're like you can for the
• 1:09:51
  entire length of your trip, you can book all your reservations
• 1:09:54
  that first day. So just think of whoever checked
• 1:09:57
  in the day before. You also could book all of their
• 1:10:00
  days of their stay. So try to get your more
• 1:10:02
  difficult reservations closer to the end.
• 1:10:05
  I usually make a little list of like the order that I'm going to
• 1:10:07
  do it in and I just go one at a time.
• 1:10:10
  I have noticed that for me at least, if I'm have multiple tabs
• 1:10:14
  open on my browser, sometimes it will kick me off of a
• 1:10:17
  reservation if I'm trying to do more than one reservation at the
• 1:10:20
  same time. So I just work methodically one
• 1:10:22
  at a time so that I don't lose anything in the process.
• 1:10:26
  But that's the best way to get the reservations you want is
• 1:10:29
  that 60 days out at 6:00 AM Eastern Time, be on your device,
• 1:10:34
  use the. I usually use private browsing
• 1:10:37
  mode so that none of the cookies mess you up.
• 1:10:41
  So make sure you log in. Have the.
• 1:10:43
  Do you have any other tips for that time?
• 1:10:45
  Jackie, well and I I know that people will tend to do check the
• 1:10:51
  app and the computer. Computer tends to be easier to
• 1:10:54
  use when it comes to that. But there is something to be
• 1:10:58
  said of kind of checking both. To see.
• 1:11:02
  Something to keep in mind is if you're doing reservations, you
• 1:11:06
  need to make sure you have like there.
• 1:11:09
  Some of them ask for like credit cards up front, some of them
• 1:11:11
  you're going to have to enter like your phone number to
• 1:11:13
  confirm and things like that. So just like it can be time
• 1:11:16
  consuming, so you got to be quick, but you got to make sure
• 1:11:19
  you fill fill everything out too at the.
• 1:11:21
  Same time, yeah you can also in your Disney account before your
• 1:11:25
  ADR date, you can go and add your like card, your preferred
• 1:11:28
  card and have that ready to go. So your information it is
• 1:11:31
  already in there and you don't have to waste time adding your
• 1:11:34
  credit card info or what and what not.
• 1:11:37
  So that's something I definitely recommend doing before your ADR
• 1:11:39
  date comes. If you need help calculating
• 1:11:41
  what that date is, there is a really I'm trying to remember
• 1:11:45
  who does it Else for less, there's somebody that does a
• 1:11:48
  vacation calculator where you can just plug in your date of
• 1:11:51
  check in and it'll give you all the, like, important dates that
• 1:11:54
  you need to know. And so I use that for any trip I
• 1:11:57
  go on. It's really very handy to have
• 1:11:59
  and then I plug it in my calendar, my personal calendar,
• 1:12:02
  for which dates I need to kind of pay attention to so that I
• 1:12:05
  don't forget. So that is how you get these,
• 1:12:10
  these really good AD Rs, the ones that are really popular.
• 1:12:13
  Try to do it 60 days out. If not, you can use any of those
• 1:12:17
  reservation finders that we mentioned earlier.
• 1:12:19
  But that's what you want to do for making sure you get what you
• 1:12:23
  want and eat where you want. Science, man.
• 1:12:26
  It's. Crazy.
• 1:12:27
  It's a science. You got to got to know what
• 1:12:29
  you're doing and go confidently. Yes, go confidently into booking
• 1:12:35
  your AD Rs. Yes.
• 1:12:40
  So I think that that wraps up the our portion of the show
• 1:12:44
  that's about our advance signing reservations.
• 1:12:46
  I know that we have another Ask the Moms portion of this show.
• 1:12:51
  Are we ready to move on to that? I think we are.
• 1:12:54
  And then we'll recap at the end and let you all know what's
• 1:12:56
  coming next. So stay tuned for that.
• 1:12:59
  We're getting there. So every episode that we do on
• 1:13:03
  our podcast, we end with our Ask the Mom segment, where we take a
• 1:13:07
  question from our Mom St. community and we give our best
• 1:13:12
  quick answer to the best of our ability.
• 1:13:15
  So this question for this week is, are the individual lightning
• 1:13:21
  lane rides all worth spending money on?
• 1:13:25
  Which I think is a really good thing to consider when you're
• 1:13:28
  going to and I think we should answer world and land kind of
• 1:13:31
  both aspects of it. I think it's a really, really
• 1:13:34
  good question. Yeah, it's a really hard one.
• 1:13:37
  Yeah. We always say, I feel like we
• 1:13:39
  always say it depends on like all of these, but it does, It
• 1:13:43
  depends on your budget, first of all, because they can get very
• 1:13:47
  expensive because you're paying per ride, per person, right.
• 1:13:51
  So if it is a ride that your vacation would be ruined if you
• 1:13:56
  didn't get to, if it's so important to you that, like you
• 1:14:00
  get on this ride because it's going to be a maker, make it or
• 1:14:03
  break it for you, then you might want to consider it, depending
• 1:14:06
  on the ride of course, and your budget.
• 1:14:10
  But like I'll, I'll answer Disneyland, maybe you can answer
• 1:14:12
  Disney World. So for Disneyland, the
• 1:14:16
  individual lightning lane, there's not that many.
• 1:14:19
  We we have Rise the Resistance over in Galaxy's Edge for
• 1:14:22
  Disneyland and we have Radiator Springs Racers.
• 1:14:25
  I think there's only two right From what I remember.
• 1:14:29
  So that's right. Yeah you're like I think so we
• 1:14:32
  did a whole we did a whole series on Duty Plus where we
• 1:14:35
  went over these in detail. But I will say that for Radiator
• 1:14:40
  Springs Racers is a really tough one because you can try to rope
• 1:14:44
  drop it but as soon as those individual lightning lanes start
• 1:14:48
  going into the line, it makes that line extremely long.
• 1:14:51
  So that one, if you can't either rope drop it or go at the very
• 1:14:56
  end of the night when the park is closing right before it
• 1:15:00
  closes, and then nobody else can go in those individual lightning
• 1:15:03
  lanes. If you can't do those two times,
• 1:15:06
  you might want to buy an individual lightning lane for
• 1:15:08
  that. And I would say it's probably
• 1:15:12
  similar with rise to resistance. If you're not going to rope drop
• 1:15:15
  it, that one's not open all the way till close.
• 1:15:18
  It closes earlier. But if you want to catch it in
• 1:15:20
  the evening time before the queue closes, if you're not
• 1:15:25
  going to do those two times and it's a must do, then you might
• 1:15:27
  want to consider getting individual lighting lane.
• 1:15:29
  That's my best advice for that. Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:15:33
  OK, so Disney World, let me just go park by park because that'll
• 1:15:36
  be the easiest. So if we're looking at Magic
• 1:15:38
  Kingdom, your two options for individual lightning lanes are
• 1:15:41
  Tron and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Tron.
• 1:15:45
  I would do virtual queue over individual lightning lane.
• 1:15:49
  The only reason that I would buy the individual lightning lane is
• 1:15:52
  if that is your top choice ride and you want to ride it twice.
• 1:15:55
  Yeah, because that is going to run you at least $20 per person.
• 1:16:00
  Yeah, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train I typically don't buy.
• 1:16:07
  It's usually 11 to $13 per person for that one.
• 1:16:10
  That one is fairly, I won't say easy, but if you're on your game
• 1:16:14
  and you know what you're doing, that's it's it's a good one to
• 1:16:16
  rope drop. You can ride it during
• 1:16:19
  fireworks, which is another time that the line will be low.
• 1:16:22
  It'll be like 30. Minutes, 40 minutes, depending
• 1:16:24
  on the day. Which I think is reasonable.
• 1:16:26
  I would wait 30 minutes for that ride and then same thing with
• 1:16:31
  like park like right it right before park close with that one
• 1:16:36
  Epcot. Your option for individual
• 1:16:39
  lightning lane is Guardians of the Galaxy.
• 1:16:43
  Same thing with what I said for Tron.
• 1:16:45
  Same thing applies to Cosmic Rewind.
• 1:16:48
  So if I would do the virtual queue, I would only buy it if
• 1:16:51
  you have, if you want to ride it twice.
• 1:16:54
  Or like I guess I should mention, if you missed the
• 1:16:56
  virtual queue and you're not and you aren't able to get it and
• 1:16:59
  you're worried about getting the 1:00 PM, you know, easier,
• 1:17:02
  easier anxiety. If you're willing to buy it,
• 1:17:04
  just buy it. Yeah.
• 1:17:06
  When it comes to that, do keep in mind that for those two
• 1:17:10
  virtual queue, individual and individual lightning lane ones,
• 1:17:13
  there's just no standby line. So Tron and Cosmic Rewind do not
• 1:17:16
  have a standby line. So it's either virtual queue or
• 1:17:19
  individual lightning lane. At Hollywood Studios, your
• 1:17:25
  individual lightning lane is Rise of the Resistance and kind
• 1:17:29
  of similar to what Kate was talking about for the Disneyland
• 1:17:31
  version, You can buy it. That is honestly the easiest way
• 1:17:36
  to ride it if that's a a top one on your list.
• 1:17:39
  But doing that at park close, Do not rope drop.
• 1:17:43
  Rise of the Resistance. Please don't do it.
• 1:17:45
  That's really. Different in Disneyland versus
• 1:17:47
  Hollywood Studios. They're not the same.
• 1:17:50
  So, Hollywood studios, you do not want to rope drop Rise of
• 1:17:52
  the Resistance. I know I strongly discourage it,
• 1:17:56
  but doing that right within the last, you know, 15 minutes of
• 1:17:59
  the park being open is a good time to go.
• 1:18:01
  Or if you can honestly the other time, as if you can catch it
• 1:18:05
  when it's just come back up from being down because it does tend
• 1:18:09
  to go down. Frequently it's true.
• 1:18:11
  You could just kind of stalk it during the day if you.
• 1:18:13
  If you notice that it's down and you have a little bit of time to
• 1:18:17
  spare, just kind of hang out in that area, peruse the
• 1:18:21
  marketplace, maybe do some bounty hunting and just keep an
• 1:18:25
  eye on it. If you can hop in line right
• 1:18:27
  after it comes back up again, that's a good time to do it too.
• 1:18:31
  And that leaves Animal Kingdom. Flight of Passage is your
• 1:18:39
  individual lightning lane there? I would rope drop it if I were
• 1:18:42
  you and you have early entry. If you do not have early entry,
• 1:18:45
  I would, I would probably buy the individual lightning lane
• 1:18:52
  for that one. You can try and go again at park
• 1:18:56
  close like we talked about getting in line before the end
• 1:19:00
  of the park day. That is another option.
• 1:19:03
  Animal Kingdom is tricky because I it's just fact that a lot of
• 1:19:07
  people don't stay open to close. So you got to kind of weigh your
• 1:19:13
  options with that one. I think flight of passage is
• 1:19:16
  such a tough one because it's like it's always long.
• 1:19:19
  It doesn't really matter when you go unless you're like super
• 1:19:24
  early rope drop. You might be able to wait a
• 1:19:27
  little bit less time, but it'd be like the whole day.
• 1:19:30
  It's just long, yeah. And it just is what it is.
• 1:19:33
  Yeah. And that one will cost you.
• 1:19:35
  Generally it's around 15 for the individual lightning lane for
• 1:19:39
  that 1. So it's kind of in the middle
• 1:19:41
  just kind of in the hierarchy, hierarchy 7 doors, Mine Train is
• 1:19:44
  the is your cheapest individual lightning lane and currently
• 1:19:47
  Tron is your most expensive. Rise and Cosmic sit kind of on
• 1:19:51
  the upper mid and Flight of Passage sits on like the lower
• 1:19:55
  mid so to speak in the hierarchy of cost for those.
• 1:20:00
  Sometimes you can catch flight of passage if it's raining like
• 1:20:04
  pouring down rain. So a lot of people will
• 1:20:06
  abandoned that queue because a lot of it's outside.
• 1:20:09
  So if it starts pouring in, animal Kingdom, maybe try to
• 1:20:13
  head towards flight of passage. You might have a lot of people
• 1:20:16
  that are abandoning the line because they don't want to stand
• 1:20:18
  in the rain. So put on your poncho and go.
• 1:20:21
  Right, exactly. So hopefully that answers the
• 1:20:24
  individual Lightning lane question.
• 1:20:27
  Again, like Kate mentioned, it's really up to your priorities and
• 1:20:31
  your budget when it comes to those rides.
• 1:20:34
  Do I think all of them are necessary to purchase?
• 1:20:36
  Absolutely not. So definitely take a look at
• 1:20:39
  your options for each of those particular rides.
• 1:20:42
  Plan from there. Shall we briefly mention what's
• 1:20:46
  to come on our next few episodes?
• 1:20:49
  Yeah, let's talk about it. So like we mentioned, this is
• 1:20:52
  part one of our ADR series that we are planning.
• 1:20:55
  It actually is going to be 4 parts as we kind of dive into
• 1:21:01
  the different locations. So Part 2 next will be Hollywood
• 1:21:06
  Studios in Epcot and their resort areas.
• 1:21:09
  Part 3, we are going to talk about Disney Springs and
• 1:21:13
  Downtown Disney. So we're going to kind of jump
• 1:21:16
  coasts in that one to kind of bridge the gap between Disney
• 1:21:19
  World and Disneyland. And then part four will be all
• 1:21:23
  about to Disneyland and California Adventure.
• 1:21:27
  So the plan is to hit all of those for our next four podcast
• 1:21:30
  episodes in kind of a. Little a little.
• 1:21:32
  Not so mini mini series on AD Rs.
• 1:21:36
  Yeah, it's fun. It's fun to dig into these and
• 1:21:38
  kind of like go virtually go to all the ones that maybe we
• 1:21:41
  haven't gone to before. I haven't thought about that
• 1:21:43
  much. And and get out of your Disney
• 1:21:45
  rut sometimes, but also make the AD Rs.
• 1:21:49
  At places that make you happy, right?
• 1:21:50
  That's what we learned about in this.
• 1:21:52
  Yes, a little bit of adventure, a little bit of comfort food.
• 1:21:56
  Kind of do maybe one. You know, if you've got a couple
• 1:21:58
  of days, you've got lots of options, that's right.
• 1:22:01
  Thank you everybody for joining us for this episode of Mom St.
• 1:22:04
  USA. It's really fun to dig into all
• 1:22:06
  of these AD Rs and talk about them and especially in the
• 1:22:09
  context of which ones would be good for kids to go to and also
• 1:22:14
  that the adults can enjoy as well.
• 1:22:17
  So Jackie, do you have any final thoughts as we wrap up here?
• 1:22:20
  No, I think I have some new places to add to my list at at
• 1:22:23
  these locations. So I'm excited to see what's to
• 1:22:27
  come at the other locations and now I have to start saving to
• 1:22:31
  budget for them. Me.
• 1:22:34
  Too. Well, thank you everybody for
• 1:22:36
  being with us. We appreciate you guys so much.
• 1:22:38
  And we'll see you next time for Mom St.
• 1:22:40
  USA. Bye everyone.
• 1:22:42
  Bye buddy.