ADR help for first timer PLEASEEE!!!!

[aussiedaisy]

We are making our first visit to wdw from 30th oct to 8th nov. I have been reading about the adr's and I'm wondering whether it is necessary to make them at this time of year? If you don't have any adrs, how hard is it to get into a restaraunt? Also as we are staying at the contemporary, i think we will eat breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner alot at the concourse steak house....do I need to adr for this or is it easy to just walk into?

Another question about ringing for my 90 day adrs...does it have to be exactly 90 days when you call? And, when i call, can i make an adr for every day of my trip or do have to call every day? Hope someone can help me as I'm mighty confused!!!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

Hello.....I am not 100% familiar with the new dining reservations, but Disney resort guests can book something like 99-100 days out instead of 90. This way when you call you can get all your reservations at the same time. There is probably more info about this on allearsnet.com and mousesaver.com.
For breakfast and lunch you will likely be OK unless you are trying for breakfast at Chef Mickey's, which is very, very popular. If you plan on any character meals you must make reservations. For dinner I suggest you look over the menus on allearsnet.com and decide where you would like to eat. You are going during Halloween and the Food and Wine Festival is also running at that time so it may be pretty crowded. Also, the new dining plan is causing a definite increase in the numbers of people eating at the sit down restaurants. We were at WDW in June and saw many people without reservations being turned away every day. You should definitely make reservations for dinner so you won't be disappointed.
Have a great trip!

 

[wfloyd]

If there is a place you really want to eat or a time that you like to eat around, then it is definately advisable to make ADR's. Also if you don't like to wait around for 30-90 minutes for a table, you need to make ADR's.

Concourse Steakhouse tends not to be as busy but we have seen a couple of times when they would not allow walkup seating.

 

[MinnieM21]

I would call at your 90 day mark. Why wait and hope that the restaurants you want will have openings when you can just call now?

I recently made my ADRs for our October trip and I was able to get all of the exact times I wanted except for one
Also, I went during the value season last year and noticed that people were being turned away from a couple of restaurants that I went to. (such as Le Cellier, 50's PrimeTime, Crystal Palace)

At your 90 day mark (which is the day you check into your resort, October 30th), you can call and make up to 10 days of ADRs. Does that make sense?
So today (August 1st), you can call the dining reservation office and make all of your ADRs.

Just go ahead and make them. It doesn't take that long to do and if you get confused, they'll help you out..

 

[Cruz Family]

We went at last year about the same time and I was very glad I made ADR's. You will not need them for every meal (esp. breakfast) but any of the really good resturants ( Le Cellier, California Grill, Yachsman, CRT, etc.) you will. If you are staying at the Contemporary you really must try Cal. Grill during wishes, it is wonderful! It might also be a good idea for you to not limit yourself to resturants at your hotel. Because you are a monorail hotel you have very easy access to the Poly. and GF which both have excellent resturants and will take only a little more time. Have a wonderful trip!

Melissa

 

[SamanthaL]

I would make your ADR's as soon as you decide on them. I would also be aware that Disney is VERY large. It will not be easy for you to pop over to the Concourse Steakhouse for all your meals. Most people don't realize how huge Disney is. I would bet you will be in a park at lunch time and it can take 30-45 minutes to get back to your hotel from some of the parks. Not worth leaving IMO, unless you are going back for a rest. I would either eat at a counter or make an ADR for the park you will be visiting. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

 

[Hopefully]

The new procedure for making ADR'sis, as someone said, is what they are calling "90 + 10". How it works is this; You first call on the 90th day from your hotel checkin. They will ask your reservation confirmation #, and verify that you are staying on-site. You can now book 10 full days of ADR's on this 1 call (the +10).
I personally think it is necessary to make, at least, dinner ADR's right now. The Dining Plan is allowing many more folks to eat at Table Service Restaurants than in the past. There have been many reports of walkups being turned away. We mapped out which park we thought we would be in each day, and went from there. You can always cancel an ADR that you decide not to keep.
Good Luck and have fun!