BEST DISNEY WORLD DINING TIPS: Top Ten {Tuesday}

Last September I did a post about Best Disney Websites. And honestly, I didn’t have a long list. I’m kind of a newbie when it comes to the Internet-Disney subculture. Most of you real Disney fans were properly shocked by my naivete then proceeded to DEMAND that I read The Disney Food Blog.

I did and promptly fell in love.

The food at Disney MAY be my most favorite thing. And the Disney Food Blog highlights every bit of Disney-food there is! We’re talking snacks, meals, drinks and planning. When we were on vacation in September, I pulled up the Disney Food Blog on Les’ phone more times than I can count!

Well, when I was at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration (Cinderella’s Castle Day 2 *is* underway and will be up this week!) I finally got to meet the author of the Disney Food Blog, AJ Wolfe! She is delightful and I decided we must do something together. Which worked out perfectly because she just released the MOST FABULOUS ebook EVER.

I read it all and learned so many new things I’m going to start searching out answers on the Moms Panel about food! Not to mention it made me so excited about our upcoming trip in December! I think I’m going to plan our trip around restaurants and meals I need to eat!

So, before I read the book I thought, “I’ll do a post about some of my favorite Disney restaurants and meals. Then I’ll mention the Disney Food Blog Guide Ebook, etc.” But the book is SO good that basically this post is going to be about the ebook with an aside to me and my favorites. I’m telling you, if you are going to Disney World and plan on eating there YOU NEED THIS BOOK. Here we go:

The Top Ten Things You Need To Learn From The Disney Food Blog Guide & A Little Bit of Stuff From OhAmanda

{nice one, huh?}

1. The Disney Dining Plan

I told you we did the Dining Plan on our trip in September. It was free when you booked a room and bought tickets. And to me it was worth every single penny and every single calorie. The food was divine, the service excellent and the experience unparalleled.

Well, apparently, I may have missed out on some savings! AJ gives an awesome rundown of the cost of the Disney Dining Plan–whether or not it’s a deal for you and your family. If the FREE Dining is worth it and more. She actually gives charts with prices to help you decide!

2. Top 5

You know I love me some lists. (Clearly.) And if I had to choose my Top 5 Disney Restaurants, it would be tough. Especially because I haven’t eaten at all of them. But I’ll give it a stab anyway. Here’s a list within a list for ya:

1. 50’s Prime Time Cafe {I can’t help it. I’ll never get over the surprise of my waiter yelling at me.}
2. Akershus (Breakfast) {Maybe it was because of Lydia’s love for it? Plus, I love breakfast.}
3. Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue {Best of the best!}
4. Boma {It’s at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! And so much food! SO MUCH FOOD!}
5. Kouizzina {I’ve been there 3 times, so I kinda feel like an expert.}

If my list doesn’t do it for you–AJ has TONS of these Top 5 lists…for counter service, character meals, table service and more. She’s speaking my love language.

3. Itinerary

The other day I read a question on the Moms Panel site where someone asked if they thought they could eat at 3 sit-down meals in Epcot in one day. I don’t know if it was possible or not, but I sure would want to try! AJ gives some sample itineraries for your meals–where to eat (and what to get) if you are at each of the parks, at some of the resorts, if you are trying to save money, if you are a vegetarian or if you have a large group.

4. SNACKS

Ok, I love the meals. I love sit-down dinners. But I can down some snacks. I made certain we did not waste our snack credits on frivolous snacks like bottled water or *gag* turkey legs! I wanted the most fun and interesting snacks we could find. And Disney Food Blog came to my rescue. We had the carrot cake cookie at Hollywood Studios…

The Zebra Cupcake at Animal Kingdom…

and the Cinnamon Roll from Main Street Bakery. And fudge. And Mickey Mouse Rice Krispies Treats dipped in chocolate. And more…and more!

5. Specialty Meals, Events & More

The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is FULL of great food (ok, I’ve only been once and it was like 10 years ago and I was with my 70 year old grandmother, so I don’t really remember much of the food). Every holiday serves up new and exciting foods. You wanna know about how to get a birthday cake delivered to your table? Propose to your girlfriend at dinner? Watch the fireworks from your table? AJ tells you every bit of it in her ebook.

However, she did NOT mention these special Halloween cupcakes we bought while we were there. In honor of my favorite Wicked Witch’s sister (I have a favorite Wicked Witch?!)…

6. Printables

You know I’m a sucker for a printable. And AJ includes some for budgeting, booking, calendaring and even brainstorming your meals. My little fill-in-the-blank heart is pitter-pattering right now!

7. Reviews

On the Moms Panel, people always ask about our favorite restaurants. Or the best restaurant for a certain age-group. (See, here’s one I answered about best character meals!) The DFB Guide includes reviews of EVERY RESTAURANT ON PROPERTY. Are you kidding me?!

8. Dining With Kids

There’s picky eaters, no naps, missed bedtimes, too much sugar and more to deal with when you are eating with kids at Disney. The DFB Guide covers all of it and more–the character meals, picky and adventurous eaters, baby food and even baby-sitting! Lydia’s favorite thing about the kids’ meals is that they were always served on a Mickey Mouse shaped plate!

9. ADRs

For the uninitiated, ADRs are Advanced Dining Reservations. You NEED these for certain meals (like if you want to eat at Cinderella’s Royal Table or with Chef Mickey)! We were hoping for a character breakfast to end our vacation. But I couldn’t get anything. I ended up calling EVERY SINGLE DAY while we were at Disney and finally got 1900 Park Fare (see my #momfail on that one) the day before!

10. Money Back Guarantee AND Coupon Code

The DFB Guide is 250 pages (including TONS of links and full color photos). And it is $18.95 which I admit, is kinda steep for an e-book. BUT if you don’t like the book or you don’t think it’s helpful, you can get your money back! (But believe me you will NOT want your money back!)

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Let’s see your Top Ten! WRITE it on your blog. Then LINK back to me somewhere in the post (you can use my button or just a text link, I don’t mind) so others can play along. Finally, come back and PASTE your url in the linky below. And if you wanna up the fun factor, start visiting and commenting, stumbling and tweeting, facebook liking and sharing the rest of the Top Ten Tuesday’s participants!