Why I Think Lunch ADR's Are The Way To Go

[Jasper Dale]

in 2001, my wife and i took our first trip to WDW and making ADR's was the highest of priorities. like little greedy piggies, we had ADR's 3 times a day for every day of our trip. by the 3rd day, we were both miserable.

we recently visited the world in December of last year and again this past March. for us, the perfect day involved getting to the parks at opening, leaving after lunch for our hotel, and returning to the parks around five in the afternoon.

when we have a really nice lunch at a sit down venue, we find that we just aren't "hungry enough" for another full service meal in the evening. yes, it's an added bonus that it usually less expensive to dine at lunch. however, the most important thing is that you don't want to overeat while touring the parks, which is likely if you gorge yourself with a ton of sit down dining.

our favourite evening dining experience? a corn dog and a dole whip in adventureland, right before Wishes. if we have a "big" lunch around noon or one in the afternoon, a light "snack or two" in the evening is just the right amount of food. we don't feel stuffed at bedtime, and by morning, we are ready for breakfast.

i know the excitement of advance planning and making reservations, it becomes a kind of sport. just remember that it is soooooooo easy to overeat and it really affects the quality of your trip.

we limit ourselves to one evening sit down meal, our first night at the world. after that, we stick to lunch ADR's. just a friendly tip from someone who learned the hard way that you CAN have too much of a good thing. there is nothing worse than sitting down at a nice restaurant and still feel stuffed from the meal you just had 3 or 4 hours before.

Trust me, there is nothing worse than getting that coveted 6:00 p.m. Le Cellier table, and not even being hungry when you look at the gorgeous menu. Even at WDW, you CAN have too much of a good thing.

Anyone else's thoughts?

[mrshams]

I agree with you. This upcoming trip I made more lunch ADRs than previously. We have two young kids and most of the time, when I've made dinner ADRs, since we arrive at the parks early, we are all tired by the time dinner comes around. Or for some parks, we're done with touring and have to hang around until our ADR time. Lunch takes care of eating and trying out new places and then when we're done touring, we can leave whenever we want.

[wdwmaw]

Great tip for newbies

I agree with you and recomend this pattern for 1st timers or for those with young children. For our July or December trips this is our plan as we also go back to resort for nap everyday and the lunch meals are cheaper.

That said we now love going to the world in Oct and with shorter park hours we have come to love other eating patterns. We still take meal/breakfast bars or so we are ready to go in the morning, eating our to go breakfast while waiting for the park to open in the morning if we do not get breakfast and we eat a very early lunch before we return to our resort. If we eat a TS breakfast then we are all good to go till CS in whatever park we are in that night.

We love 8am breakfast in AK and MK so that we get in a park, eat and are 1st in line to ride without following the crowd at opening.

We love a 6-6:30pm meal in DS so we can walk out of an empty park.

We also must have O'hanas and Cape May Cafe and those do not serve lunch so we have to do dinner. We prefer LeCellier for dinner so I need to add that one also.

[es45]

We have a short trip planned in August with our two young daughters. We already have CRT breakfast scheduled as a treat for the girls but I was considering scheduling a late lunch ADR. By the time we spend all day in the heat, the last things my daughters will want is to sit down at a TS restaurant at the end of the day. A quick evening snack will work best for everyone.

[Tinkerbell3014]

Thanks for the tip. We like to do breakfast ADR's for that same reason. It is easier to eat a bigger meal early in the day and snack or CS for lunch/dinner. Maybe we will try some lunch ADR's on our next trip.

[disnut8]

We do this all the time. A very small something in the morning (like a couple of mini-muffins), then a nice sit down lunch in the heat of the afternoon. and then maybe a soft pretzel or an egg roll later on. Pure bliss. We've been doing this at Disney World for a long time. Lunch reservations (especially around 3:00) are great. And the menu is cheaper than at dinner. If you time a buffet just right (try Germany's), you can be there for both lunch and dinner but for the lunch price.

[tami82]

thanks very much for your input. I have some nice early dinner times on most of my reservations except one (chef Mickey which is a late lunch on our arrival day) i have been trying to change this to dinner with no luck. I guess im worrying about too much rushing around and i want to be checked in before we eat our first big character meal. I guess maybe you are right it may be the best thing for us to do lunch because we wont be going to the MK until the evening and it is a extended hours night & spectromagic. I definitely dont want to be overly full trying to walk around a park in the heat & feeling tired (i will probably need a few hours to digest so i will be able to function again & walk around without being uncomfortable. Now maybe i wont stress so much about this one reservation not being the way i want it.

[Jasper Dale]

for those of you who are planning your first trip to WDW, or to those who have visited before but who are seriously working on an ADR plan, it's important to remember several things before you do something that might spoil your vacation.

as i have a few minutes, i thought i would share with you what happened to my wife and i on our first trip to WDW for our honeymoon in 2001:

at the time, we both had credit cards with very high credits limits (boy, those were the days!), and as we thought this would be our one and only trip to the world, we decided that we would do anything, buy anything and get the most out of our 8 day trip.

on the positive side, we "did" come back with over $6,000 worth of cel art which i don't regret, but the biggest regret i had was overeating and how it affected everything we did in the park.

now, for all of you experienced DIS'ers, all this info is nothing new, but for those of you who are new to this, i hope this info will keep you from making the same mistakes we did.

the idea of being able to experience food from all over the world is enticing and the more you look at the menus and all that is available in the world, it is easy to get all caught up in the whole WDW dining experience.

in theory, the whole point of "Priority Seating" or ADR's as we know it today, is that you can fit in your meals without having to wait long, therefore allowing you to tour the parks without having to miss out on the attractions.

however, the abundance of food choices can quickly become a curse as we found out on that first trip. having a nice table service meal is a great way to spend the first evening of your trip, and we do so every time we visit the world. after a long day of travel and anxiety, it's a great way to calm down and relax.

now here comes the trap. you wake up on your first full day at the world and you have scheduled a character breakfast or a buffet. since you more than likely "overate" the night before, you are not "really" hungry enough to justify such a big breakfast, but you keep your ADR and have yet another huge meal, right before you begin touring the parks.

now it is lunchtime and you "know" you are not hungry, but you end up keeping your lunch ADR and once again, you find yourself eating more than you really want to because you want to get your money's worth. now you "really" feel bloated and instead of having the energy to spend more time in the park, all you want to do is go back to your room and sprawl out on the bed.

you head back to the park around 4 or 5 and realize that you have yet another table service meal in an hour or so. by the time you finish that meal, the last thing you want to do is make that bloated tummy of yours even more upset.

at the end of your stay, you realize that you missed a lot of the attractions you so looked forward to seeing, all because you simply ate too much. do not underestimate the effect doubling or tripling your normal calorie intake will have on your body. not only are you overeating, but you are doing more walking and physically pushing yourself, which will quickly catch up with you.

i remember that by our 3rd day, we felt so sluggish and sleepy all the time that we skipped entire areas of the parks, simply because we didn't want to have to turn around and walk all that way back to the front of the park.

in fact, i actually didn't ride Splash Mountain on our first trip, the one attraction i wanted to do, because the night we planned to go on it, i was so stuffed from just eating a huge dinner that all i wanted to do was get back to the room.

remember, you are taking this trip because you want to experience "all" disney has to offer. fine dining is just a small part of that experience. my advice is that unless you truly "feel hungry", limit yourself to one full service meal a day. if you have eaten a big lunch with all the bells and whistles, frankly you are not going to be hungry enough to sit down four or five hours later and gorge yourself again.

sometimes, sitting down with a warm pretzel in Norway, or picking up a yummy corn dog in Frontier Land will satisfy you and you will have the energy and stamina to spend those precious extra hours in the parks later in the evening, when crowds are lighter and lines are shorter.

just because the food is there doesn't mean you have to eat it. this is not about "saving money", although you will have lots of extra cash for other things if you limit your fine dining experiences.

there is nothing worse than sitting down to a meal when you are not hungry. no matter how wonderful the cuisine, you cannot enjoy the experience if you are not hungry at the time. trust me, i know from personal experience.

now when we go to the world, we only eat at a nice place if we truly are hungry. the food always will taste better and you will actually enjoy the dining experience.

finally, if you book too many ADR's you can always pick up the phone and cancel if you are not hungry at the time. disney will always have plenty of food choices and if you don't make it to the special place you wanted to dine at this time around, there is always next time.

and if you think, as my wife and i did, that the first trip to WDW will be your only trip to WDW, once you experience the magic, you will somehow find a way to return to your special place.

just ask the thousands of obsessed DIS'ers on this forum. once you catch disney fever, you will find a way to make it back to the most magical place on earth.

happy dining!

[lacrosse_lady72]

For the most part, I am the same way but so many restaurants I want to eat at aren't open for lunch

I just love signature dining too much...

[mhmcduff]

Originally Posted by disnut8

We do this all the time. A very small something in the morning (like a couple of mini-muffins), then a nice sit down lunch in the heat of the afternoon. and then maybe a soft pretzel or an egg roll later on. Pure bliss. We've been doing this at Disney World for a long time. Lunch reservations (especially around 3:00) are great. And the menu is cheaper than at dinner. If you time a buffet just right (try Germany's), you can be there for both lunch and dinner but for the lunch price.

Totally agree this is the way to go
Too much in morning you feel gross on Dumbo - midday or mid afternoon is just right as you are hungry and it lasts you so you just have something little from CS and enjoy the evening without an overfull belly!

[tami82]

Originally Posted by Jasper Dale

for those of you who are planning your first trip to WDW, or to those who have visited before but who are seriously working on an ADR plan, it's important to remember several things before you do something that might spoil your vacation.

as i have a few minutes, i thought i would share with you what happened to my wife and i on our first trip to WDW for our honeymoon in 2001:

at the time, we both had credit cards with very high credits limits (boy, those were the days!), and as we thought this would be our one and only trip to the world, we decided that we would do anything, buy anything and get the most out of our 8 day trip.

on the positive side, we "did" come back with over $6,000 worth of cel art which i don't regret, but the biggest regret i had was overeating and how it affected everything we did in the park.

now, for all of you experienced DIS'ers, all this info is nothing new, but for those of you who are new to this, i hope this info will keep you from making the same mistakes we did.

the idea of being able to experience food from all over the world is enticing and the more you look at the menus and all that is available in the world, it is easy to get all caught up in the whole WDW dining experience.

in theory, the whole point of "Priority Seating" or ADR's as we know it today, is that you can fit in your meals without having to wait long, therefore allowing you to tour the parks without having to miss out on the attractions.

however, the abundance of food choices can quickly become a curse as we found out on that first trip. having a nice table service meal is a great way to spend the first evening of your trip, and we do so every time we visit the world. after a long day of travel and anxiety, it's a great way to calm down and relax.

now here comes the trap. you wake up on your first full day at the world and you have scheduled a character breakfast or a buffet. since you more than likely "overate" the night before, you are not "really" hungry enough to justify such a big breakfast, but you keep your ADR and have yet another huge meal, right before you begin touring the parks.

now it is lunchtime and you "know" you are not hungry, but you end up keeping your lunch ADR and once again, you find yourself eating more than you really want to because you want to get your money's worth. now you "really" feel bloated and instead of having the energy to spend more time in the park, all you want to do is go back to your room and sprawl out on the bed.

you head back to the park around 4 or 5 and realize that you have yet another table service meal in an hour or so. by the time you finish that meal, the last thing you want to do is make that bloated tummy of yours even more upset.

at the end of your stay, you realize that you missed a lot of the attractions you so looked forward to seeing, all because you simply ate too much. do not underestimate the effect doubling or tripling your normal calorie intake will have on your body. not only are you overeating, but you are doing more walking and physically pushing yourself, which will quickly catch up with you.

i remember that by our 3rd day, we felt so sluggish and sleepy all the time that we skipped entire areas of the parks, simply because we didn't want to have to turn around and walk all that way back to the front of the park.

in fact, i actually didn't ride Splash Mountain on our first trip, the one attraction i wanted to do, because the night we planned to go on it, i was so stuffed from just eating a huge dinner that all i wanted to do was get back to the room.

remember, you are taking this trip because you want to experience "all" disney has to offer. fine dining is just a small part of that experience. my advice is that unless you truly "feel hungry", limit yourself to one full service meal a day. if you have eaten a big lunch with all the bells and whistles, frankly you are not going to be hungry enough to sit down four or five hours later and gorge yourself again.

sometimes, sitting down with a warm pretzel in Norway, or picking up a yummy corn dog in Frontier Land will satisfy you and you will have the energy and stamina to spend those precious extra hours in the parks later in the evening, when crowds are lighter and lines are shorter.

just because the food is there doesn't mean you have to eat it. this is not about "saving money", although you will have lots of extra cash for other things if you limit your fine dining experiences.

there is nothing worse than sitting down to a meal when you are not hungry. no matter how wonderful the cuisine, you cannot enjoy the experience if you are not hungry at the time. trust me, i know from personal experience.

now when we go to the world, we only eat at a nice place if we truly are hungry. the food always will taste better and you will actually enjoy the dining experience.

finally, if you book too many ADR's you can always pick up the phone and cancel if you are not hungry at the time. disney will always have plenty of food choices and if you don't make it to the special place you wanted to dine at this time around, there is always next time.

and if you think, as my wife and i did, that the first trip to WDW will be your only trip to WDW, once you experience the magic, you will somehow find a way to return to your special place.

just ask the thousands of obsessed DIS'ers on this forum. once you catch disney fever, you will find a way to make it back to the most magical place on earth.

happy dining!

I totally see where you are coming from with this. My past few vacations i have been somewhat good when it comes to not overgorging myself in the beginning of the trip. I had lost weight and promised myself i would not totally pig out until maybe the end of the trip or i would overindulge maybe every 2nd or 3rd day, not daily. I felt much more energetic and had the stamina do to things, if i had overstuffed myself every day i would have felt really bad physically. As i get older i do notice that I cant eat the way i did when i was younger and certain ways of eating really affects me. I have all my ressies almost perfect (luckily only one TS daily except for one day) but i do worry that i all of the food i will be eating will start to effect me. I honestly dont think i can stay good while eating at these places, especially the buffets which i have a few booked. It could be great but a curse at the same time.

[ocalla]

When did they start with all the ADR's? We used to just wake up, eat breakfast bars etc. on our way to the bus, go to whatever park we decided on that morning toured the park and ate Whenever and Wherever we felt like that day. It's been 5 years since our last visit, and the more I try to plan our next trip and keep reading about all the restaurants being booked it makes me really sad. I honestly don't know what I will be hungry for tommorow much less 3 months from now? Not to mention what area in the park I will be before our ADR time? I can't imagine having all the strict guidelines to follow while on vacation...."no we can't go on that ride because we need to start heading back to eat at (whatever restaurant) for our ADR time......." And to see that some people have more than one ADR for the day, I just think that would use up so much time during the day. Having never made ADR's, is it something that they require a CC for? And do they charge you something if you don' show up?

I really miss the days before dining plans, free dining etc. and I am sure I am the Minority on that one!!!

[FireDancer]

I am a lunch person at WDW also. It is cheaper and Disney is expensive enough. I also don't load up on ADRs ahead of time because I like to eat when I am hungry and not plan my trip around the restaurants I have to be at. My last 3 trips had only 1 ADR I made ahead of time (Boma dinner because it is my favorite) and the rest of the time I either walked up to restaurants I wanted to eat at or called a few hours ahead of time.

Being able to wing dining at Disney is not as hard as it is made on these boards some times. Make sure you don't eat at the peak dining times and don't go during peak attendance. I am usually there solo over marathon weekend so the crowds aren't so bad. It also requires flexibility in choice. I don't care if I get into any particular restaurant other then Boma so if I walk up to a restaurant with a long wait I either go on some rides and come back or try somewhere else.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the wait is often way less than they say it will be. As an example, on my last trip down in May my mom wanted to eat a late lunch/early dinner at Biergarten. We walked up and they said it would be a 45 minute wait. I put in my name and we spent about 10 minutes in the shops in the Germany pavilion. We would have shopped that pavilion anyway and if we made it past the time we were comfortable waiting we would have just turned back in the pager. After 10 minutes we were paged and sat for lunch/dinner...or linner.

There are people who plan their vacations around ADRs and that is great if it works for them but that isn't the only option.

[Jasper Dale]

on the one hand, ADR's are a wonderful concept. we are planning an 11 day trip to WDW in January 2010 and you can bet i will be on line at the 90 day mark to make my ADR's. it "does" take a lot of the stress out of your vacation because if you happen to be at a different park than the place you were planning to dine, you can easily cancel your ADR and there is no charge.

the bad thing about ADR's is that you are more likely to eat a big meal when you really aren't hungry because sitting down in an air conditioned place for an hour seems like a great idea, especially on a hot day. you are much more likely to sit down and eat a meal if you know you aren't going to have to "take a number" and wait for a table.

it's all about balance. i would much rather limit my "upscale" dining and truly enjoy the experience. if you only have one sit down meal a day, you are more likely to take your time and savor the food.

in 2001, we went to Hoop De Do after having a sit down breakfast and lunch and we barely touched our food during the show. no matter how delicious the food, if you aren't hungry, you will simply go through the motions of shoving food in your mouth.

for those of you who still question the amount of sit downs you want to plan for your trip, take the time to sit down and estimate how many calories you consume in a day.

we all know that, for the most part, when you go out to eat, the portions are larger than what you would eat for a meal at home. on top of that, consider the variety of buffets in the world.

we arrived at WDW around noon on our first day back in March and we had the German buffet at Epcot. as there are no German restaurants that close to our home, we wanted to sample all the buffet had to offer. after consuming a gazillion calories, we still had to sample the desserts they had to offer.

we left so stuffed, we didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day, and the next morning all we wanted was coffee before we left for the parks.

i don't think a lot of people realize just how many calories you consume if you eat three sit down meals in a day. why spend all that money for your family to sit down at that buffet if you just can't consume enough to justify the tab?

plus, if you visit Mission Space with your stomach full of a mix of Morocco, Japan and breakfast with Pooh, we all know what's gonna happen..............

[ocalla]

Does anyone remember back in the early 1990's, going into EPCOT in the buildings in Future World front area, you could go in and go to one of the computers and talk to a reservationist (must have been via Web Cam) to make your Reservation for that day? I used to love doing that (of course we always vacationed during the super slow times of the year, so there was NO line of people waiting to talk to them ahead of us!!) Now That was winging it!!