adr - what is the best time of day to eat?

[meanmom121]

I was thinking about lunch at 11:00 to beat the crowds and 4:30 for dinner for the same reason plus I figure we will be ready to get out of the sun for awhile by then. Any opinions or experiences that might change my mind on this plan of action?
Hugs, Karen

 

[HayGan]

You plan sounds like a good one (although we like later dinner ADRs - we like afternoon swim/naps with light snacks.)

 

[CanadianImagineer]

It depends on how many TS and CS meals your planning on having per day. We've always done the basic dining (1 snack, 1 CS, 1 TS). We use the CS credit for breakfast (usually around 8-9am for us..), then have a snack at around noon, and make dinner ADR's for around 4pm which works out nicely as it's considered a quiet time.

 

[meanmom121]

It depends on how many TS and CS meals your planning on having per day. We've always done the basic dining (1 snack, 1 CS, 1 TS). We use the CS credit for breakfast (usually around 8-9am for us..), then have a snack at around noon, and make dinner ADR's for around 4pm which works out nicely as it's considered a quiet time.

planning on breakfast in room most am's taking muffins, danishes, coffee etc from costco. I though we would use the snack for around 7o or 8opm
Karen

 

[ShannonMB]

Hi OP, on our first trip, we had dinner ADRs on the earlier side, and it worked out well, but on our last trip I decided maybe it cut into our park plans to have to leave a park at an early time for dinner (if eating at a resort). I ended up making our ADRs for the 2nd trip in the 7pm hour. What a mistake! Pretty much every restaurant was running behind by that time, and we ended up waiting quite a bit. Since we were already on the late side with our ADRs, it got very late by the time we were seated/eating.

I'm going back to your strategy for our next trip, except will probably make them a little later if eating at a resort -- or else if they're early enough, we'll feel like going BACK to the park. I'm not planning on anything after 7:30pm (and only a couple of those) unless it is a very slow time of year!!

Plus, late night snacks are the best, IMHO!!

 

[FireDancer]

If you are paying oop I would suggest getting the latest lunch possible. Most restaurants that serve lunch and dinner have almost the same menu at lunch with lower prices. This is especially true of most buffets.

 

[RMulieri]

We generally do just that. Breakfast in our room about 6am( we are early risers), Lunch between 1030 and 1100, and dinner from 4p-5p. We beat most of the dining crowds this way, and we eat like this at home too.

 

[Faldred]

"Best time" is very subjective, of course, as everyone's tastes and schedules are different.

For TS locations, though, the earliest ADR possible for each seating has the advantage of not being "behind" because it's taking longer to turn over tables than the ADRs are budgeted for.

 

[vcgirl925]

I think it all depends on what your touring plans are going to be.

We like to eat in the room for breakfast, eat a late lunch (1pm), and then a late dinner (7:30/8:00). The reason for this is if we decide to leave for a hotel break right after lunch would be the perfect time....so around 2 or 3pm. Then we can stay at the hotel and then head out for dinner (eating a later dinner gives a chance to relax a bit longer). On days where we schedule an in park breakfast we we'll eat a late lunch and late dinner. Or if it's a day where we (the adults) skip breakfast we'll eat an early lunch and an early dinner.

So it really depends on the day and what we have planned. Luckily for me my family adjusts well to schedule changes.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

If i want to eat in the park, I go for the earliest breakfast reservation if the park is opening at 9 so that we will be done when the park opens. Or we would go for 11/11:30 lunch on a day with EMH morning hours and plan to leave the park after for a break. I have daughters who enjoy a break during the day. We leave the park around 12/12:30 and go back to the resort pool. We would get back around 1/1:30 depending on the bus. I used to make dinner reservations for 5/5:30, but then i found that it really did inconveniece us. I woud have to get the girls out of the pool and showered and be ready at 4 so that we could be sure to get the bus on time to get to the reservation. It really was a bummer. This year we opted for the QSP, but are paying OOP for an early morning breakfast at CP and a late dinner at Chef Mickey's.


I think that you should make plans based on your family's needs. Consider how long it takes to get ready compared to how long yu will wait for transportation, walking distance, etc.

It's never easy to make ADR's with everything to cnsider.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

The best time to eat is very subjective and depends on a lot of things. Some things to consider are who you are going to be with at the parks, any eating issues (diabetes/hypoglycemia/etc), park hours, and the time you are going to leave in the morning.

I will give you my situation in which I have me, my husband, and two kids (now 6 & 5). I am hypoglycemic and get REALLY cranky if I don't eat and my son has taken after that So given that, I always eat 3 medium meals, and 2 large snacks during the day normally and I encourage my children to do the same. But at Disney, you are walking a lot and burning a LOT of calories (I've never gained weight there no matter how much I've eaten) so be flexible and if you need a snack - stop & get one even if you think 'oh, i'll be eating in an hour'. Ok, so we eat a light breakfast in the room (or on our way to the parks) and have a snack if needed before lunch. We eat lunch BEFORE 11:30 am because that is usually when the rush starts. We leave the morning park around 1 pm, and this is where it counts who you are with - we need a NAP or downtime! So we must schedule that in. After nap/downtime, we head to the pool where we have a snack and swim to refresh. We have usually eaten CS around 6pm when we get to the parks. There doesn't seem to be as much of a rush for CS restaurants in the evening. This year, we will be doing the DDP for the first time and I do have ADRs for around 6pm each evening. This gives us enough time for our afternoon siesta but not too late that we are all starving.

OK, that said, maybe you are travelling with 4 adults who would rather eat dinner at 8pm. If that's the case, maybe you eat after the lunch rush. But I will say this, if you don't have an ADR for a lunch TS, and that means you need a CS for lunch, try to avoid the 11:30 - 1:30 rush.

I will give this piece of advice about eating though - don't wander around trying to figure out what to do. This is the surest way to get everyone hungry and cranky. If you aren't sure, and you need to eat, just stop and eat - even if it is grabbing fish 'n' chips in Epcot's England and sitting on a bench

Hope that helps and have a great time!

 

[Mickey_Man]

The best time to eat is when you are hungry!


Seriously though, we like to do an early lunch if we do an early or light breakfast. We find that - say 11:30 lunch is a good break in the day for us. We like to do AM EMHs, so we have usually been in the park for a long time by then. We will then assess the rest of our day - break, nap, more park, etc.- bur we almost always make an ADR for dinner so sometimes it will be an early dinner and sometimes it will be an afternoon snack to bridge us to a later dinner. It really depends on plans for the night - PM EMHs, night at downtown, early night in, etc.

 

[2manypets]

Keep in mind that the portions in Disney are usually huge. You may not be hungry 5.5 hours after lunch. Even the big eaters in the family weren't hungry til about 7 hours after lunch.

 

[tgrundy]

I was thinking about lunch at 11:00 to beat the crowds and 4:30 for dinner for the same reason plus I figure we will be ready to get out of the sun for awhile by then. Any opinions or experiences that might change my mind on this plan of action?
Hugs, Karen

When we went in 2007 we thought we would eat dinner around our normal times, we were wrong. It seemed that we ate a late lunch and dinner. We were never hungry before 1pm for lunch and dinner we were never hungry before 6-6:30 (we normally eat dinner around 5pm). This time I booked our dinners between 6-7pm.

 

[colinsdad]

The best time to eat is when you are hungry!

The best advice is always the simplist, but we know you need those ADR's to actually eat!

Since I travel with children, I try to make all of our ADR's at the time we normally eat. 8am BF, 12-1pm L, 6pm D. I know these times are obviously the most popular, so I make sure I call and have them booked at 90+10 to stay on schedule.

 

[Day-Day]

What crowds are you concerned about if you have an ADR? If you have an ADR surely not restaurant crowds...

Park crowds are still growing at 11 so a lunch later might be better when the park is the most crowded you will be inside resting.

 

[Melody L]

We plan on being at the parks at rope drop, riding the big rides like crazy and stopping for lunch at 1pm or 2pm, using our snack credits in the morning. Then go back to our hotel, swim/nap, head out for dinner ADRs at 7pm. Then, we'll call it a night and start over the next day. We're morning people and I like being at the hotel in the afternoon to relax by the pool.

 

[meanmom121]

What crowds are you concerned about if you have an ADR? If you have an ADR surely not restaurant crowds...

Park crowds are still growing at 11 so a lunch later might be better when the park is the most crowded you will be inside resting.

Well I have gotten some advice that dinner popular lunch 12:00 and dinner 5:00 to 7:00 when a lot of people are eating it also eleviates some of the wait time for rides.
Karen