1st Time...do we have to make ADR?

[twodancingprincesses]

My family and I are headed to WDW for the first time the first week in July and I wanted to know if we HAD to make ADR for each and every meal. I have already made ADR for Cinderella's Royal Table. I have a 21 month old and 4 year old and we are just not sure how they will do at some of the restaurants. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if there are any "must see and do" restaurants for families with young kids, let me know. Thanks!

 

[Mermaid02]

If you want a sit down meal- you better make adr's. I can't tell you how many people we have seen turned away when they don't have adr's.

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!! We have good friends in Apex!

This is my first trip since 1990, so take it for what it's worth.

We're on the DDP, so we're planning one sit-down meal each day. If you haven't already considered it, think about it: your younger child would not be included (assuming he or she would just pick from the other plates) and your older child would be $10 per day. The adults would be $40 per day.

Anyway, why not make the ADRs you THINK you'll want? Make them early--say between 4 and 5 pm, or make them for an early lunch. There are lots of character meals and I bet your 4 year old would love them.

If it turns out that the kids are having an off day, call as soon as you can and cancel the ADRs.

The ones we (translation: "I") have chosen are:
-Dinner at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary
- Coral Reef in Epcot (you look into a humongous aquarium. It's beautiful!)
- Cinderella dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian
- Le Cellier in Epcot (my son is a big steak fan!)
- Fantasmic Dinner Package at Hollywood & Vine (proabaly too loud for your youger child)
- 'Ohana at the Polynesian.

I've started this thread for other newbies: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

 

[southtexasmom]

In July I would asolutely make ADR's for every sit down meal. My kids love Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace.

 

[mrstomrice]

I would suggest not too many TS meals since it is your first trip, as well as based on the age of your kids. I do suggest a character breakfast...get an ADR today We like the latest seating for BF b/c you can eat a snack, do some of the park and then eat a brunch!
We feel bogged down by too many ADR's and I think the CS meals give enough variety overall. Have a great trip!

 

[Mkrop]

I agree make some ADRs and then see how it goes. We did lunches bc we wre enver sure how DS5 was going to hang later in the day. We also did charcter meals bc it kept the kids distracted and no one noticed too much if they acted up.

We like Chef Mickey(B), Garden Grill(L), H&V Playhouse Disney(B) and CP(L).

 

[jetprincess]

It really depends on how you and your family eat. When we are at Disney, food is not our focus. I just can't spend 1.5 to 2 hours in a restaurant when we could be running around the park having fun! Counter service meals are fine with us! We can eat when we are hungry and we don't have to manage our time around a reservation. I have younger children so I don't have to worry if they are going to have a meltdown in a crowded restaurant while trying to waiting to be served.

If we have an ADR, we make it for a day that we are not going into the parks (ie. 1900 Park Fare, AKA The Grand Floridian). That way, we can relax and have a nice meal without having to feel hurried.

Just remember that there are plenty of places to eat decent food in WDW that do not require ADR's! You are not going to starve if you don't have them. I felt like that after reading these boards before our first trip. I was so nervous about not getting them. When we got there and I started to look around, I realized that there were TONS of places to get food!

There are a lot of ways to plan your Disney trip! This board is a great resource. You will find people that have to plan every single meal and others who are the grab and go type (we are the latter!)

You will find your own Disney vibe!

 

[gonemousin']

In the July heat & crowds, with little ones, you may want to steal a little park time for a relaxing lunch or dinner...we consider it our cool down time! If you're concerned about your children sitting through a long meal, perhaps consider some buffet/character meals like Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey, 1900 Park Faire...or even preplated meals (food comes to the table quickly) like O'Hana or Liberty Tree Tavern. You will definitely need ADR's for any table service meal during your trip.

 

[Rylee]

My family and I are headed to WDW for the first time the first week in July and I wanted to know if we HAD to make ADR for each and every meal. I have already made ADR for Cinderella's Royal Table. I have a 21 month old and 4 year old and we are just not sure how they will do at some of the restaurants. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if there are any "must see and do" restaurants for families with young kids, let me know. Thanks!

I always schedule one Table Service (TS) meal per day. It is a nice break from the parks, heat and busy Counter Service (CS) locations. Many of the restaurants are nicely themed and fun to experience. Also, I would be miserable eating "counter service" food for my entire vacation.

If you decide to add more ADR's, just put the Disney Dining phone number into your cell, and call and cancel if you need to change your plans. Only a few restaurants require a credit card to hold the reservation, most do not.

If you are purchasing hopper passes, you'll have more dining flexibility, but hoppers aren't necessary... just be sure to schedule ADR's in or near the park you will be visiting each day.

Character meals are an easy way to get some great pictures with the kids, without waiting in long lines. (We buy the autograph books that have the picture slots on the facing page.) Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom has Pooh & friends. Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort is also very popular and easily traveled to (on monorail.) At Epcot, my family insist on dining at the Coral Reef, good food and the aquarium keeps the kids attention a little while longer so Mom and Dad can usually have a relaxing meal. On Animal Kingdom days, we usually have dinner at a Downtown Disney restaurant, since this park usually closes earlier than the others. At the Studios, we enjoy hitting the Boardwalk restaurants, which is a beautiful boat ride from the Studios, catch the boat at and return to, the Studios. Dining at resort restaurants is a great way to check out the other resorts.

Have a magical trip!

 

[Mkrop]

It really depends on how you and your family eat. When we are at Disney, food is not our focus. I just can't spend 1.5 to 2 hours in a restaurant when we could be running around the park having fun! Counter service meals are fine with us! We can eat when we are hungry and we don't have to manage our time around a reservation. I have younger children so I don't have to worry if they are going to have a meltdown in a crowded restaurant while trying to waiting to be served.

If we have an ADR, we make it for a day that we are not going into the parks (ie. 1900 Park Fare, AKA The Grand Floridian). That way, we can relax and have a nice meal without having to feel hurried.

Just remember that there are plenty of places to eat decent food in WDW that do not require ADR's! You are not going to starve if you don't have them. I felt like that after reading these boards before our first trip. I was so nervous about not getting them. When we got there and I started to look around, I realized that there were TONS of places to get food!

There are a lot of ways to plan your Disney trip! This board is a great resource. You will find people that have to plan every single meal and others who are the grab and go type (we are the latter!)

You will find your own Disney vibe!

Everyone does need to find their Disney vibe, I do agree there.

What I dont agree with is that this is a waste of park time. CS if it is busy can take just as long as TS IMHO. And then we are doing nothing else but eating with at least character meals to me you are killing two birds with one stone, EATING and MEETING characters. Ir ather be eating then just standing in a line at Camp Minnie Mickey or someplace. And I have enver found the wait time to be that long that my kids were at risk of metldown esp at the buffet. You can eat right away.

Like I said I look at least character meals as a way to multitask

 

[Desnik]

Yes you do need to make ADR's for July. However, I wouldn't plan on one everyday. Since it is your first trip you don't know your Disney style of touring yet! I would suggest a couple of ADR's for sit down lunches. It will get you out of the heat and give you a nice relaxing break in the middle of your day. A great place is Crystal Palace at MK(Pooh and friends).

 

[Kim1964]

We've gone with no ADRs, ADRs every day, and ADRs some days. No ADRs was a nightmare and I won't do that again. In my defense, we went at a slower time of year and I really didn't think it would be a problem....live and learn.

Last year we had TS meals every day because we were on the DDP. For us, that was too many. Most of them were dinner and it meant we had to cut pool time short in the afternoons to get cleaned up and to the restaurant in time for our seating. We don't have a pool at home and the kids LOVE splashing around at our Disney hotel.

This year we have 6 ADRs for an 11 night stay. Two of them are dinners (including Chef Mickey), three are lunches, and one is breakfast (our hang at the resort day). My kids are perfectly happy with CS meals.....in fact, when we give them the "Anywhere you want" option, they choose the food court at POR, even if we aren't staying there. I think this plan will work well for us, given our "rope drop, at the park until lunchtime, pool time until dinner" style of Disney vacationing. Keep in mind, it has taken multiple trips to the World to come up with this plan.

My advice is to make the ADRs for the places you think you'd really like to go. In July it is pretty unlikely that you could walk in and get seated without an ADR at any Disney sit down restaurant. A character meal is a must for kids, IMHO. If you do a buffet (like Chef Mickey) there is the advantage of not having to wait for food to be served if your kids are starving.