Are ADRs absolutely necessary?

[eliza61]

We're going May 8-14. We're arriving 4:30 p.m. Thursday and our plane leaves at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday so we probably won't be eating at WDW on those two days.
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We're going the week before 5/2 and I have exactly 1 ADR but then I never make adr's and I usually have 2 TS per day. My family and I are weird though, here's what works for us.

1) We don't eat at the high traffic times. We never eat at noon, restaurants are too crowded and way too noisey for us. Usually the poor waitstaff is whipped also. Same goes for 6:00 pm. some days we'll start the day with a great breakfast ( I'm telling you the Yacht club galley or Olivia's at OKW are absolutely never busy) and then maybe an early dinner. This works great for us especially since the rides are often empty when every one goes to eat.

2) We check with disney dining when we get up in the morning and see whats available. We have found some really great restaurants this way. There are very few restaurants I have to do every year, so if I don't get into Le Cellier it's no big deal. I'll try some thing new.
Check out the resort sit downs, they are not as packed as the park restaurants.

This trip in may we are not even planning our park days. We decided that we will get on the first bus that comes. It should be very interesting. The only rule we are going to have is "no same park, back to back"

 

[Cee]

I don't think ADR's are necessary. If you absolutely have to have a certain
restaurant at a certain time then yes, you should have one. Otherwise, we
have always just called WDW-Dine the same day, seen what is available, made
a choice and enjoyed our meal. We've experienced some places that we would
not otherwise have chosen and been very pleasantly surprised. It's fun!

 

[Rylee]

I think you should make a few ADR's. Write down the confirmation numbers and carry it with you, along with the Dining number. This way, you'll be sure to dine at some of your chosen restaurants. If you wake up in the morning and decide to do something totally different on that day, you can always call and cancel. Also, you can check dining availability right at your hotel, upon entering the park or by calling the number yourself, if you find you'll be somewhere other than planned.

With a car and hoppers, you'll have quite a bit of flexibility. I would schedule an ADR on your first night at a nice restaurant, and also one for the night before you check out. If you schedule another TS for a breakfast, that still leaves the rest of the day to "wing it." I would probably leave the day of the 11TH, open, that's right in the middle of your trip and might be a good day to head out for other Orlando attractions.

 

[wannabprincess]

One night we were too tired for the haul over to Chef Mickey's so we tried Maya Grill, with no ADR's and after Cali Grill it was the best meal of the trip. And we ate at Le Cellier, Coral Reef, and Kona. The kids were able to get mozz sticks and chips and salsa as their appys, a nice change from the typical Disney menu, and fried shrimp as their meal. I got shrimp cocktail and a Mixed Grill with Filet, ribs, and fish, the filet was better than Le Cellier.

 

[Asuka]

I took everyone's advice and made my ADRs. Here's what I ended up with:

5/8 (flight arrives @ 4:30pm)- 7:40 dinner at Ohana's

5/9- 7:00pm at Teppan Edo

5/10- Lunch at Sci-fi. I know people say the food is not so great, but we're going for the experience

5/11 Early dinner at Coral Reef 4:10pm was the only time available all week

5/12 Going to AK for morning EMH. Lunch at Tusker House

5/13 Lunch at Biergarten

I really wanted to try Le Cellier but it was booked solid all week according to 2CMs I spoke with. It's okay though, I'm pretty happy with our choices.

 

[septbaby]

Congratulations, you even got Coral Reef and Biergarten! Keep trying for LeCellier if you like.

With these ADRs you have a "seat" somewhere everyday and you have the option to cancel any meal that you decide to pass on.

Its been a pleasure, enjoy your trip!

 

[Jubilee]

So much good advice here, I couldn't even read it all... I just have a couple comments. Medieval Times is much better than Arabian Nights. One thing you could do off property is go to Old Town. I haven't been since 2001 actually but we loved going as a kid on one of our Orlando days. I wouldn't spend too much time off property now that I stay on property, though, because there is quite a bit of free or cheap stuff to do there such as sightsee the resorts, marshmallow roasting and an outdoor movie with Chip and Dale at Wilderness Lodge, there's a small petting zoo (I've heard; haven't even been) and then of course the pools and such....

as for ADRs, like PPs have said, it really depends on the restaurant and when you are going...I had booked reservations 180 days in advance for our Grand Gathering last trip and then we got there and people decided they didn't want to eat there, were able to change to other restaurants (resort ones particularly) on the very day we wanted to dine there!

 

[Asuka]

Jubilee- We ended up getting tickets for Saturday night at Medieval Times even though I could have gotten tickets for Arabian Nights a lot cheaper.

septbaby_ I was really lucky to be able to get that ADR for Coral Reef. The CM said it was the last spot for the entire time we are staying there. I'm a little concerned because Sunday is supposed to be our free day and having such an early dinner time back at WDW constrains us a little. I know we can always cancel, but we both really want to eat at the Coral Reef.

Rylee- We took your advice on leaving the 11th open (with the exception of ADR at Coral Reef)
You said:How about a signature meal, or two? (Uses 2 TS credits per person.) This would be one way to make sure you get your money's worth and give you a couple of days without scheduled reservations. With a 4:30 arrival, you could even make a late ADR for your first evening... maybe California Grill and then watch the evening fireworks from there. A great way to start your trip!
We thought this was a great idea but I was told that CG was booked up for that night.

I know I read a thread here earlier where people were wondering if those on the DDP were being told places were full when they really weren't. I was starting to wonder too. The CM that made my reservations asked if we were on the DDP before taking any of my requests. I know I made my ADRs late by Disboard standards so maybe that's why so many of my requests were unavailable.


I think DH is starting to realize that there is a lot to do at WDW and there really aren't too many reasons to go off site. He still wants to do an airboat ride which sounds like fun to me too. Then he wants to hit the outlet mall to check out the Van's store which is fine because I want to go to the Coach outlet. And we both want to go to the Swatch store. It's a tradition for us to buy at least one Swatch if we visit a place that has a store while on vacation.

 

[dburg30]

Stick with burgers and shakes at Sci-Fi and you'll be fine

 

[tom401]

What we'e done is make the ADRs based on our agenda. If things change, I keep the phone number in my cell, then call and cancel the ADR and re-book another. Bottom line, if you can not get and ADR same day, getting a seat may mean a 45 to 60 minute wait.

 

[Asuka]

Stick with burgers and shakes at Sci-Fi and you'll be fine

I think that's our plan based on what we've read here about the other food. Can you get a shake on the DDP or is it OOP? We've been thinking about just paying OOP at Sci-fi and getting a nicer ADR for our TS credit.