Anyone else NOT planning meals/restaurants?

[discookiemonsta]

Let me just start off by saying that I'm not new to Disney, the 180 day ahead reservation system or the dining plan. It's just that we have done the dining plan once and were not happy at all, sorry to say

We were not very excited about any of the restaurants we tried (we were there for 10 days, so it was quite a few of them), except for Nine Dragons in China (which is closed right now) and Captain Jacks in DTD.

So, this time around we are not doing the DDP and we are not making reservations at any restaurants ahead of time for our May trip.

As strange as it may sound to some, we prefer the fast counter service meals, or grabbing food from the little stands on the side of the walkways in the parks.

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Stacy_C]

I feel the same way. Rushing to your ADRs adds too much pressure and the long meals are too time consuming for my taste. I'd rather be out in the parks. I don't mind one or two TS meals during my trip, but I do NOT like having a TS everyday.

 

[eliza61]

I stopped making ADR's about 3 years ago and I've never gone back. I just would never plan them right and was missing way more than I kept so I figured, why bother? I usually eat 2 TS meals a day.

I usually go May, late August and November so the parks are not super packed. My next trip is 5/2-5/8 and I have exactly 1 ADR for sci fi diner (my family is taking bets that we'll miss that one also. LOL)

We did the DDP once when it was free and hated it so we just never went back.

I also don't have any "must do" restuarants either.

There is a small minority here on the dis, that go to wdw without ADR's, schedules, never make rope drop & tourguide mike. We always have a great time and get done every attraction we want.

 

[Michael623]

If I make an ADR it is at guest services after we enter the park. I've woken up at my resort many times not having decided which park we're going to for the day. I think us spontaneous people should unite like the insane overplanners do!

 

[discookiemonsta]

I usually go May, late August and November so the parks are not super packed. My next trip is 5/2-5/8 and I have exactly 1 ADR for sci fi diner (my family is taking bets that we'll miss that one also. LOL)

I guess we'll see you at DW then...we will be there May 1st - 8th

 

[lizzyb]

We went on the dining plan last year and wont do it again. My problem is not the TS it was the CS.

I will be making some reservations this time but not many

 

[MELSMICE]

There is a small minority here on the dis, that go to wdw without ADR's, schedules, never make rope drop & tourguide mike. We always have a great time and get done every attraction we want.

Looks like I'm in that small minority. We just did the DDP a few weeks ago & weren't impressed. We don't eat big meals like that every single night, so it was too much for us.

We enjoy doing pizza at least once each trip or sometimes what we call a "topsy turvy" night - just heading to a park & having every snack we love for dinner!!!!!

We also get a car & have our favorite restaurants off-site, which we missed. I cancelled the DDP for our April trip - although I did leave our ressie for O'Hana's because we really enjoy it.

Only made rope drop once in my 30+ trips & probably won't ever see it again.

If I make an ADR it is at guest services after we enter the park. I've woken up at my resort many times not having decided which park we're going to for the day. I think us spontaneous people should unite like the insane overplanners do!

LOL - I'll unite with you. We rarely know what park we're going to or if we're even going to one when we wake up.

Actually, we've been there so many times that most days are pool days. We head back to the room around 4:30 or so, shower & head to dinner or a park.

We have AP's so we're very flexible & I love it!!!!! It's so much more enjoyable. We feel like we are on a vacation & not at the "Festival of Lines"!!!

 

[LauraAnn630]

To many ADRs just ruin it. We found ourselves trying to get to an ADR all the time. I like to make a breakfast ADR at Donalds before AK opens or Crystal Palace at MK. Ohanas' two evenings is a must do. Id aslo like to try the Hoop Dee Do but thats about it.

We thought most of the counter service food was good enough.

We are going to DL this time. Im not making any ADRS.

 

[alyssa810]

I am pretty sure that the only time we made an ADR that wasn't while we were already at WDW was when we went to DL for my birthday and wanted to eat at the Blue Bayou. Like michael623 said, we don't always know where we're going-sometimes we even decide while we're in the car!! (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but still...)
Plus, with too many ADRs, what happens when someone gets cranky, or decides they just aren't that hungry, or you get into a really deep complicated pin trade!?!? Sometimes you just need to go with the flow.

 

[mommylibrarian]

I love this thread! I went to Disney more than ten times before I ever made an ADR before my trip. I do enjoy fine dining, but I much prefer the freedom of deciding where I want to eat that same afternoon and calling WDW DINE from my mobile phone. (Before mobiles, I'd do it at the kiosk).

However, I did find from time to time I couldn't get a restaurant I wanted (Le Cellier, Bistro) same day, even though I was there off-season (back in the days when that was really a phenomenon). So now that we've been many times, and there are restaurants where we are sure we want to dine... plus with the evil dining plan sucking people into TS when they really don't want to be there... we do make ADR's. I don't feel the pressure of getting there on time so much because we have been to Disney so often that if we end up skipping something to get to dinner... I don't really mind. I know there will be another chance.

I still can't bring myself to make them 180 days in advance, although I'm trying to force myself to do it for our October trip since there will be 9 of us all together. But I'll change them. And I may even change them the day of. I may end up only making the ADR for Hoop-Dee-Doo at the 180 mark, and then the rest can wait until we're closer to D-Day.

So put me in the middle of the road... I do make some ADRs, but I don't cling to them!

Now rope-drops? I swear by them. But only since I've had small children. Funny how differently the crowds affect me depending on the people I am with/am responsible for.

 

[MercyMe]

Count me in the spontaneous category! No schedules, no ADR's, no plans, whatsoever...in fact, we rarely FP because we don't want to keep to a set schedule. We don't want our watches to dictate our day. Time should stop (or at least slow down) as soon as you hit those turnstiles.

We hardly ever know what we are going to want to eat or when we are going to want to eat. If we do start our with a specific food goal, it's usually CS. If we want TS, we'll set at ADR at guest services upon entering the park.

 

[RJD]

We like to have breakfast at CM's our first day there--kind of a tradition and then we may make one or 2 other ADRs--we like Ohanas. But I also don't like to be tied down to a bunch of ADRs during our trip. Sometimes if I know we're going to be in a particular park that day, I'll call first thing in the AM and try to get an ADR in the park that day.

 

[wilda]

We are not big "foodies" so the DDP has never appealed to us.

Having said that, I think it is the limitations that ADR's place on you that turns me off to it. I can't imagine planning my day around where we are eating.

We are fortunate enough to go off season so we can enjoy more spontaneity than most folks. I suppose if we were going during a school vacation week or smack-dab in the middle of the holidays we would probably reconsider

 

[precious pixie]

we usually make our ADR's while on vacation (that day or a day ahead) to avoid just that. We usually dont have a problem.

 

[eliza61]

If I make an ADR it is at guest services after we enter the park. I've woken up at my resort many times not having decided which park we're going to for the day. I think us spontaneous people should unite like the insane overplanners do!

I think the overplanners would tranquilize us so we don't infect anybody else.

 

[tink fan]

Good friends of ours just booked their first trip (since they were kids) to Disney next month. They called for ideas and I told them about the dining plan and making ADRs. They were horrified at the idea. It made me realize that planning is not for everyone. I could see their point about not wanting to be locked into a time and place, and knowing them, they wouldn't make any of the ADRs. Best quote "If I'm hungry, and I see a funnel cake, I'm going to buy it. Then I'm not hungry for a couple hours. I don't want to not eat because I have a reservation. I'd rather just wing it."

But also, they are laid back, they just go along with what's going on, and they really don't care if they don't get everything in, and they don't have their heart set on a certain experience.

I did tell them about fastpasses and luckily they thought they were a good idea.

 

[DisneyWorldOct08]

I've been 30+ times and I've never really planned meals more than a day in advance. Then again, I don't care about character meals. The only place I'd make an advance reservation for would be maybe like Jiko, Artist Point, Le Cellier etc. Places that are always going to be packed.

 

[poohgirl6]

I can't get into doing the 180 day ADR thing....seems crazy to me. We usually do a couple of TS meals while we're there...we book them after we get there and wing the rest. But we go during less crowded times and are able to do that. I think having all those ADRs is too stressful. But then again, we don't do the DDP....if we did then we'd have to do ADRs to make it worth the money.

 

[Mocharilla]

Honestly, I'm an INSANE overplanner, and couldn't stand to go without exact schedules.

But, all the previous times I've gone, my parents were in charge, and we never had an ADR or exact plan or anything. Just booked the hotels, bought the passes, and went.

And you know what? We had plenty of fun and got everything we wanted done. It's totally fine to do it that way, if that's your style.

 

[MELSMICE]

.in fact, we rarely FP because we don't want to keep to a set schedule. We don't want our watches to dictate our day. Time should stop (or at least slow down) as soon as you hit those turnstiles.

A little off topic, but did you know that you don't have to return for your FP during the exact time it says on your pass? You can actually go later after it "expires" & you will still be admitted to the attraction.

We do this all the time.

Also, on the bottom of the FP is a time which tells you when you can get your next FP, so you can actually hold more than one (or two) at the same time.