Top 5 Table Service Restaurants for Breakfast

As promised here are my Top 5 Favorite Table Service locations!


1) Kona Cafe!!  This restaurant is a must for us most trips.  They have a unique menu offering including Macadamia Pineapple Panckaes,  Kona Coffe and my all time personal favorite...TONGA Toast.   This is a small LOAF of sourdough bread stuffed with banana's, friend and dusted in Cinnamon and Sugar. It's as good (and fattening) as it sounds. If you don't have time for a full sit down meal, Tonga Toast is available at the Polynesians Quick Service Location, Captain Cooks.

2) Boma is a must do on any Disney trip I take with my husband. It's the perfect mix of american food with a few exotic offerings, plus how can you beat all you can eat? We love the custom omelettes as well as goat cheese scrambled eggs, mini chocolate croissants, fresh fruit and more...not to mention my all time favorite Disney breakfast sausage. Oh and don't get me started on the juice!

3) Looking for a quiet breakfast location close to the Magic Kingdom? Try out the Grand Floridian Cafe. While they  no longer service this amazing stuffed croissant they have a ton of great  and simple options like  Steak and Eggs, Buttermilk pancakes and Mickey Waffles. They also offer some different options like Lobster Eggs Benedict and Citrus Pancakes!

4) You didn't think I'd leave character dining off the list did you? I'm not a huge fan of Character dining but my daughter and I really enjoyed 'Ohana.  I think part of why I loved this experience is that the food is all served family style so you don't have to worry about missing character interactions while you are filling your plate at the buffet! Plus Lilo and Stitch were a ton of fun and not the normal characters you run into!

5) I'll throw one more Character meal on my top 5...Cape May Cafe. The things I loved about this meal included the quiet atmosphere, the character interaction but most importantly the French Toast Bread pudding! I'm a sucker for bread pudding! The buffet was simple, not a huge number of offerings but everything was very good and it didn't feel as time consuming as other character meals.

Girls Getaway Trip Planning-Itinerary and Dining

With a little less than 5 weeks to go, I thought I would share with you today some details of our plans! This trip was VERY different not only from most trips we take but from most trips I plan for my clients.  Here are a few reasons why:

1) No children
2) No husbands
3) No dining plans
4) I'm pregnant

Not only that but we are trying to squeeze a lot of things into a limited amount of time!  It's a tough combo between what we can do, what we want to do and only having 4 days to do it!!

So let's jump right in! Lauren is attending an amazing Travel Agent training and we decided to sneak a few days in ahead of time as long as she's flying to Florida anyway!




Arrival
We originally planned to arrive on Thursday but after doing a little digging we found that if we flew in a night early we'd save money AND get more time at Disney!  We'll be arriving later in the day so our plan is to pick up our rental car and grab Earl of Sandwich before calling it an early night. I'm very excited for a Holiday Sandwich!

Day 1
Our first day will be a Magic Kingdom day, the best way to start off our trip!  We'll be taking things slow and doing all the things we miss when we rush around the parks trying to hit up all the big attractions. Plus we'll be taking lots of pictures AND we bought Photopass+  so we can come back and report how we like it.

The park closes early for the Christmas Party and we have special plans. We are having dinner at California Grill. It was already one of our favorite restaurants so we can't wait to see the renovations!!

Day 2
Today we originally had other plans but once I found out I was pregnant we had to do a little adjusting.  Since I can't ride many things at Animal Kingdom we'll just be heading there for the morning.  We'll spend some time seeing the shows, checking out the animals and of course eating!

That night we have plans to start the Christmas fun by going to Hollywood Studios for Osborne Family Lights and dinner! Lauren has never seen the lights and they are one of my favorite things that Disney does so I'm very excited about this!

Day 3
We have another Magic Kingdom day planned PLUS we have FastPass+ reservations for Be Our Guest. I've toured the restaurant but never eaten here and Lauren has never done either.  Magic Kingdom is our favorite so we had to plan 2 full days here (although we might decide to sneak over to EPCOT later)

Day 4
Our last full day will be spent experiencing Christmas at EPCOT. As much as I love Magic Kingdom, I really love how EPCOT does Christmas. I wish Candlelight Processional had already started but we are still hoping to catch as much Christmas as we can by touring World Showcase. We'll end the trip at one of our favorite restaurants, La Hacienda for Illuminations.

Day 5
I have a late flight today and Lauren doesn't need to check-in to training until late afternoon so we have plans to head to the Wilderness Lodge for breakfast before I go.

On top of our specific plans, since we are taking things slowly we'll try and fit in some resort touring as well.  I'm excited for a relaxing weekend of eating and hanging out with one of my favorite people. We are also excited to try Photopass+, test out MagicBands and more!  We'll be bringing back tons of information and pictures!

Trip of A Lifetime- Day 9

It was finally time...our last day on the Disney Wonder. Even writing it up now I can't believe how fast the trip went by!

For our last day there aren't too many photos.   We spent some time in the gift shop picking up some souvenirs. Not these...

Today was the last and final BINGO of the trip. We started out the morning with breakfast and the $10,00 Jackpot BINGO and final BINGO was at 3:00 p.m. Don't ask Lauren about it as she's still a little bitter we lost the whole thing by 1 number ;)

To try and make ourselves feel better we went upstairs for some food...and ice cream.

We did catch the Magic Show that afternoon which was a nice way to fill our day.  Hubby and I spent some time up on deck enjoying the view one last time.

I even recorded my first video for you! Hubby and I should have practiced using the video before we left...

So did hubby, lol!

Before we knew it was time for our last dinner. 

We had an entire bottle of wine leftover that Lauren took home.

We loved the farewell parade with all the servers showcasing their countries flags!

Our servers came over to say Good-bye. There were hugs shared and quite possibly a few tears. One of our favorite parts of a Disney Cruise, especially longer cruises, is how well we get to know the Cast Members and how attached we become.

After dinner we spent some time looking at all the photos we had taken. I really wish we had budgeted more because the photos are pricey!!  This is the one we selected to purchase and it came in a nice Vinyl book with a gorgeous photo of the ship. I think it's the epitome of the trip.

 After we were done, we were ready for the Till We Meet again "show". This where everyone comes out and says Good-Bye in the main atrium. I will be honest...there were MANY tears shed during this.  The video is a bit long but worth viewing!

There are many opportunities for meet and greets.

Well that's it for the trip! I'll be doing one more post with a recap of our thoughts on the trip as well as uploading Personal Navigator's from the trip as well! I hope you all enjoyed!

Trip of a Lifetime-Day 8

Today was our last port day and we'd be in Ketchikan. We we woke up to our first day of bad weather. It was raining pretty hard and since we had no specific plans, we laid low for the morning.

There was a Double Up Jackpot Bingo at 10 a.m. so after breakfast that's where we headed. That's where you could find us most days, lol.

After another round of losing BINGO, we  decided to play another round of Chip It Golf (DH loves golf, the rest of us weren't that great).

Despite the rain we decided to bundle up and head off the ship.  We didn't have specific plans for the day but really wanted to explore the town.  The ship was pretty empty at this point!

I have to say that when I think of going to Alaska, Ketchikan was it. This town was everything I was hoping to see in Alaska (albeit a little Touristy).  We loved exploring!

We even got to see Santa Clause! I sent out a few postcards and we bought a few Christmas Ornaments.

How could we not stop in a shop called Ketchicandies??

We of course had to grab some as souvenirs.

A lot of the shops had the same touristy kind of gifts but we had a lot of fun exploring and even brought a few gifts home :) Not these....

It was still really overcast so you couldn't see much but I can't express how much I loved this little town.

My favorite gift from this trip was my Whale Tail necklace that hubby bought me :)

It was still raining pretty hard and we were soaked and a bit chilly.

Upon returning to the ship we were greeted with hot chocolate and cookies! YUM!  We headed upstairs to have lunch and had beautiful views of the rain and Ketchikan.

After taking some hot showers we got ready for the evening. First up was a Ventriloquist show that was pretty hysterical.

After the show we all headed outside as it was time to pull away from our last port.  The sun had started to come out and I couldn't believe how gorgeous Ketchikan was!

 We even had some special appearances as we pulled away from town!

We headed back in and tried to catch a few more special friends!

It was time for dinner and for tonight's menu was the Taste of Alaska!

I think Tritons is one of my favorite restaurants! It's so pretty and soft :)

After dinner the lobby had a piano player and some character meet and greets.

Poor Stitch was all alone and no one was in his line.

So he decided to join some friends!

I had been looking forward to Match Your Mate for the last few cruises.  We never seemed to catch is so we were sure to show up early and snag seats!

It was hysterical! I'm so glad we finally caught it!

It was finally time for bed. Only one full day left on this amazing trip!

Character Dining Pro's and Con's

When making your choices as to where to eat during your Disney vacation, many people automatically jump to character dining. It's what Disney shows you in commercials, it's what all your friends come home talking about and you just know you HAVE to book it!  Today I'm going to talk a little about the pro's and con's of character dining to help you decide if character dining is for your family!

Lots of characters
I think the first obvious pro to character dining is, well the characters! It's true! By booking a character dining experience you can guarantee that you'll see some characters up close and personal. There is a variety of experiences available including:
-Princess
-Pooh and friends
-Mickey and friends
-Playhouse Disney

Time Consuming
While these experiences can be a great and intimate way of meeting the characters, keep in mind they can be time consuming. Character dining can often take 1.5 to 2 hours and depending on what time of day you've booked, that's precious park time!  If you are traveling during a slower season, meeting the characters in the park might be a quicker experience!

Quality of food
The quality of the food at character dining restaurants can be hit or miss depending on the location and meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner).  Many folks visit these restaurants simply to meet the characters regardless of how good the food is. Personally I've been happy with the few character meals we've been to, but they've all been breakfast. Do you research beforehand and know what to expect.

Location
Many great character dining experiences take place at some of Disney's Deluxe resorts. What a great excuse to check out some amazing locations and they are often very easy to get to from one of Disney's main theme parks (like Disney's Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Beach Club)!! You'll of course still have options within the theme parks for convenience but don't forget those outside the parks too!

Cost
Depending on if you are on the dining plan, the cost of character meals can be a bit daunting. They also might not be the best bang for your buck on the dining plan. For instance a character breakfast will run an adult approximately $25-$28 plus gratuity, although dining at Cinderella's Royal Table will cost you nearly double that!  Dinner's at most character dining locations will be closer to $40 per person.

Will your kids like the Characters?
In order to get into the most popular character dining locations, you'll need to book several months in advance (often 6 months!). For first time visitors, especially those with small children, you may not know how they'll react to the characters. For this reason I often suggest not booking EVERY meal a character experience just in case they don't warm up to the idea.

Early 2014 Discounts

Ok it's time again for more discounts!

Stay, Play and Dine
Travel dates: January 5 – March 5, 2014
This offer is a discounted offer where it appears Adults pay the same price as kids.

Discount Requirements

• Minimum 3 night stay
• Maximum 14 night stay
• Minimum 2 day park pass must be included in the package
• Dining Plan must be included in the package
• Guests staying at a Walt Disney World value resort must purchase the Quick Service dining plan or better
• Guests staying at a Walt Disney World moderate, deluxe or deluxe villa resort must purchase the Disney Dining plan or better

This discount excludes rooms at Art of Animation, Villas at the Grand Floridian, 3 bedroom villas, suites and the campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness.

This offer must be booked by December 31, 2013. Not all nights or resorts may be available. At this point, it does not appear that any nights have been blacked out, but many nights around the Walt Disney World Marathon and President’s Day Weekend may be difficult to find. Availability is extremely limited, act quickly for best availability. Please note that you must check in by March 5, 2014 in order to qualify for the discount. If you check in March 5 or earlier, you should receive the discount for your entire stay, based on availability.

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Room Only Discount
Travel Dates: January 5 – April 2, 2014

Walt Disney World has released a special discount where you can save up to 35% off of your room only reservation at select Walt Disney World resorts during the travel dates listed above. Again, this discount should be made available to the general public next week.

Percentage Savings:

• Save 35% at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, Boardwalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard and pool view rooms only), Wilderness Lodge (standard and woods view rooms only), Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Boardwalk Villas, Polynesain, Contemporary, Grand Floridain and Beach Club Villas.
• Save 25% at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (savanna view and club level rooms only), Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, the cabins at Fort Wilderness, The Villas at Wilderness Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge (courtyard view and club level rooms only)
• Save 20% at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort, All-Star Music Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
• Save 15% at Disney’s All-Star Art of Animation Resort (Family Suite Rooms only)
• Save 5% at Disney’s All-Star Movies resort, Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter and Bay Lake Tower.

This offer must be booked by December 31, 2013.  Please note that dates between March 6 – 13, 2014 will be discounted at lesser rates than listed above. These dates are not blacked out, but not all resorts may be available with discounts during these dates.

Guests can book either a room only reservation or a package reservation including tickets and dining plans, though only the room portion of the package will be discounted. The dining plans will be at full rate. Availability is extremely limited.

Trip of a Lifetime-Day 7

We still had a full 3 days ahead of us, but Friday was a day we had all been looking forward to for a long time. Today was our day in Juneau!!  The day started pretty early because we had an excursion scheduled!  First up, breakfast!  We grabbed breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet per the usual.

The view was gorgeous! This was another morning that the longer we sat outside, the more the clouds cleared and the mountains came out!

After a quick breakfast we headed off the ship. There is a shuttle bus that takes you into town which was pretty quick!  We had to meet our group at 8 a.m.  I'd like to take a minute to stop and take about excursions.  For this trip we decided, due to costs, to only book one excursion. We all agreed on what we wanted to do most and started to research.   We found that by booking directly with the tour company we would save a ton of money.  We felt comfortable doing this due to our location, but I will warn you to be cautious who you book with.  Also keep in mind that if you are NOT booked with a Disney excursion, the ship does NOT have to wait for you.  Hence the reason we booked an 8 a.m. pick up!

We were meeting our group at the Mount Roberts Tramway.

After we met up with our group it was off to find our bus. For this particular excursion we chose Juneau Tours. I spoke with someone many times beforehand and they had great customer service and their price was also great.   Depending on the weather we were told we'd be picked up and head to the Glacier first or Whale Watching.

 Luckily for us we headed straight to Mendenhall Glacier. Our bus ride out was fantastic!

Our great bus driver who had moved up to Alaska for the summer to drive the shuttle!!  The ride out to the Glacier wasn't too long and we were given a time to meet back at the bus and were on our own for exploring.

I've said it before...Lauren takes AMAZING photos but no matter what, this picture doesn't do it justice. It was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen!

We LOVED watching the Eagles!

A video with an awesome view of the falls!

Soon it was time to head to the bus. We could have spent more time here but it was finally time to go Whale Watching!!   When we arrived at the boat many people headed downstairs (to keep warm) but being from NY we didn't mind the chill and we knew we'd get a great view by sitting upstairs.

The Whale Watching experience was AMAZING. We were out on the boat for quite a while and they really went out of their way for us to see the whales. The views were just gorgeous and while we weren't lucky enough to see any breaching, we saw tons of Whale tales!

We had to stay a certain distance from the whales so it was hard to get a close up shot even with Lauren's zoom lense.


We were pretty exhausted afterwards so we decided to skip more sightseeing and head back to the ship. By the time we docked the sun had come out and we had even more spectacular views then when we left.

It was time to say Goodbye to Juneau!

After some downtime, we got dressed for dinner and a show. We started at our favorite spot, Cadillac Lounge. I wish we got pictures but one of the most amazing moments was sitting in the lounge, listening to the music and watching the porpoises jump beside the boat in the wake. Unbelievable!

Dinner tonight was in Parrot Cay (my least favorite restaurant but the food was pretty good that night). Tonight was Pixar night and while we didn't make it downstairs to see the characters, the 3-D menus was pretty fun!

We were so hungry that we must have skipped photographing our entree's but here is dessert!

 Today was a pretty exciting day for another reason.  Lauren and I had signed up for a Martini tasting!  The tasting cost us $20 per person and we met up in Cove Cafe.  We were given several Martini's right off the bat and then we'd all taste them together as we were told what was in them.

The aftermath!  They were all good even though we definitely had our favorites. There were even leftovers from people who didn't show up!

It was time to call it a night. Saturday would be our last port day as our 7 night cruise was coming to a close.