Reservation confirmation in hotel at disney and best places to eat in parks?

Walt Disney World: Reservation question and cheapest places in theme parks to eat?

From julian owens
Posted January 11, 2013 at 7:19 AM
My family will be visiting Disney world for the week of Jan 14. Magic kingdom, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom. A couple of questions.

1. The rates were best only for the weekday and we will be in Orlando sunday night. Well enter magic Kingdom monday morning but wont get into our hotel till the park closes. We have our reservations and deposit paid for the 4 days already. Do we still have to show up at the hotel in disney to confirm or would we be safe showing up at the hotel at 9-10 pm after the park starts closing?

2. For that sunday night, any thoughts on the best hotel to get close to disney that we could spend the night before entering in monday morning?

3. what are the best deals on meals inside disney for a family of 4? Cheapest deals to eat inside each park maybe?

Thanks for any info you can provide. We leave saturday morning from Tx.

From Russell Meyer
Posted January 11, 2013 at 7:55 AM
You can do the e-check-in, which is like checking in for a flight. You can also physically go to the hotel in the morning before the parks open and get your room keys that will activate when the room is officially ready for you, especially if you want to make a special room request. Obviously, if you bought tickets as part of your hotel package, you will need to go get your keys before going into the park in order to have your admission tickets (admissions are loaded onto your room keys--Keys to the World). You can also drop your baggage at the front desk of your resort, and the staff will transfer them into your room when it's ready. However, if you already have your tickets, and don't have any special room requests or need to drop bags or valuables in a secure location, the e-checkin process will secure your room, which will be available at any point during your first day of your vacation.

We stayed in a Hampton Inn that was near Universal during our most recent stay (about 15-minute drive to WDW). It was undergoing renovations and was running some seriously good sales to fill rooms (less than $50/night including breakfast and internet), but I don't know if they're still running that deal because the renovations are probably finished by now (we were there in late-October).

For meals it all depends on what type of food you want. If you're looking for sit-down meals, typically the buffets are the best "deals" because they offer the most food for the cheapest price. It also depends on if you want to do character meals. We really enjoyed Akershus in Norway, which is a princess-themed experience that includes buffet-style Scandinavian-themed apetizers and a good selection of entrees. If you're looking for counter service meals, Pecos Bills is one of the better places in Magic Kingdom because you can add all of the toppings you want to your burger for a single price, plus the burgers always seem a little better there than other counter service places in the parks.

If you want to eat at table service restaurants, buffets, and/or character meals, you should go online right now to see if there are reservations available. Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) are almost a must for just about any table service restaurant, especially the super-popular ones like LeCellier, Cinderella's Royal Table, Chef Mickey's, and California Grill. Ultimately it depends on what types of food your familiy likes, the ages of your children, and your willingness to leave the park for meals versus eating at an in-park restaurant.

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