Need help deciding what to do

[Kristi391]

My mom and I are heading down this weekend for a quick visit and to experience MNSSHP. We get in around noon on Saturday so I am hoping to check into Pop by 2. We are not planning on going to a park that night, just checking out other resorts and perhaps going to DTD. I am assuming we will be hungry when we get there.

What are wait times going to be like at TS places in the afternoon? How bad are the waits at night? I am leary of making an ADR because what if something happens with the flights and I can't keep it or cancel it (due to still being on a plane).

I suppose we could always just get counter service at the hotel, if worse came to worse. Or make a reservation for later on for dinner and just get a snack when we get there.

What do others do on arrival days?

Thanks for any opinions or input!

 

[travelgip6]

I like DTD on an arrival day. There are so many restaurants, both TS and CS that you have many choices. On an afternoon at DTD you shouldn't have a problem with long waits.

 

[crabbygal902]

I would say...it depends. You may get lucky with a walk-up, maybe not. There are so many factors that play into this it is hard to predict. I'm sure you'd have better luck with a less popular place like GF Cafe than a busy place like 'Ohana, and at off times rather than at peak.

It may be fun to explore DTD as a first day activity, and Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD is a wonderful CS restaurant if you don't want the hassle of ADRs.

If you like sushi, I think that it would be great fun to eat at the sushi bar at the Poly (no ADRs necessary,) watch Wishes and the Electrical Water Pageant from the Poly beach, visit the resorts on the MK monorail, and maybe even ride the monorail over to Epcot to enjoy the view.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I would say...it depends. You may get lucky with a walk-up, maybe not. There are so many factors that play into this it is hard to predict. I'm sure you'd have better luck with a less popular place like GF Cafe than a busy place like 'Ohana, and at off times rather than at peak.

It may be fun to explore DTD as a first day activity, and Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD is a wonderful CS restaurant if you don't want the hassle of ADRs.

If you like sushi, I think that it would be great fun to eat at the sushi bar at the Poly (no ADRs necessary,) watch Wishes and the Electrical Water Pageant from the Poly beach, visit the resorts on the MK monorail, and maybe even ride the monorail over to Epcot to enjoy the view.

Love this idea!!
But if you wanted to hang around DTD instead I'd say EoS is awesome too.
I have heard the WPE is good too if you didn't want to make an ADR.
If you want a TS rest. without making an ADR I would try for a walk up you never know, then try EoS or WPE if needed.
Have a great trip!

 

[kathyell]

We tried to do a post-AK day visit to DtD for the evening last Saturday, and it was NUTS over there. DtD was super crowded. If you're taking Disney transportation to DtD then the complete lack of parking spaces issue we encountered won't bother you, but I found the crowd level to be unpleasant.

I made a call over to Port Orleans Riverside while we were making our way out of DtD to confirm that Yee Ha Bob, a performer who does a show there on certain nights, would be playing. He was, we bailed out to Riverside, got a table, waited for the show with some drinks and some food we got at the counter service nearby (which our bar server told us was fine to do because of the limited bar menu) and then we enjoyed the show. The show ran from 8:30 pm until about 10 pm.

I just wrote about that evening on my blog (link in .sig) but I would heartily recommend Bob's show and he should be playing this Saturday.

 

[Pugmalion1]

On arrival day, we normally get to check-in in the early afternoon. If we can get in our room, we will drop off our stuff and usually grab a quick bite at the hotel before heading out. If not, we may be more inclined to just grab a snack at our destination.

I would say that, unless we somehow happen to get such an early flight that we get to WDW before noon, we wouldn't bother with a table service meal for lunch, let alone an ADR.

I highly recommend looking for a reservation somewhere around the resort monorail loop for a dinner ADR, though. Will you be able to walk up in some places? Perhaps, but why take the chance of having to wait up to an hour to be seated? It's better to reserve your spot. If you can't make it for some unforeseen reason, just call up and cancel your reservation. The new credit card hold policy hasn't gone into place, yet, and it probably wouldn't apply to anywhere you could actually get an ADR in such short notice, anyway.

 

[wdwrich]

Another option is to call WDW dining when you arrive and ask what TS places have availability for that day, then make an ADR at that time if one fits your needs.