Are ADR's necessary with dining plan?

[cathymailme]

Hi,

We will be in Orlando Jan 21-28 and have the dining plan. Is it necessary to make ADR's early? We don't have a plan regarding which parks we will be at each day. We really like to pick the park the night before. Will we be able to get reservations the night before?

 

[goofyintoronto]

Hi,

We will be in Orlando Jan 21-28 and have the dining plan. Is it necessary to make ADR's early? We don't have a plan regarding which parks we will be at each day. We really like to pick the park the night before. Will we be able to get reservations the night before?

First off, your signature is all messed up. A bunch of funny random numbers/letters are showing.

How many ppl in your group???

I think you shouldnt have any problems finding a restaurant the night before, esp in January. I have done this MANY times and was able to get seated AS A WALK UP to the following places: Teppan Edo, Rose/Crown, TRex, Raglan Road, Sci Fi, & Tony's (awful food btw). As long as your not picky about the cuisine, you will find a place. There's always something available, and ppl are always cancelling at the last minute, and even not showing up.

 

[cathymailme]

Thank you for the information. There will be 4 in the group.

As for my signature, I have no idea why it is like that.

 

[OhThePain]

The only suggestion I will make is that if there is any restaurant you really have your hearts set on eating at, make an ADR for it. While the parks may be quiet, free dining (I don't know if your DDP was free or not but I checked and there is FD for the time of your trip) has a way to making sure that the restaurants are full. Character meals will be hard to get just a night before you plan on going. If you absolutely don't care about where you eat or when you eat or how long you have to wait to eat, then don't worry about ADR's. Just remember, it's easier to cancel an ADR you don't want then to walk-up to a restaurant you do want.

 

[djrobinn]

What if you don't cancel an ADR? Do you lose credits or is it just the "right thing to do" to cancel ahead? thx!

 

[tinkerbellnsnowwhite]

If you want to eat at any of the popular places you will need ADR's. Especially character meals.

 

[maxiesmom]

You can usually find someplace to eat without an ADR, but you will have to be very flexible. You may have to eat at off times, and be willing to do a bit of traveling to find someplace with an ADR open. If you don't mind eating dinner at 4pm, or leaving the Magic Kingdom and going to the Boardwalk for dinner, then ADRs are not such a necessity for you. If you like to eat at more typical times, or don't want to have to maybe leave the park for your meal, then yes, you should try and make ADRs.

The biggest worry is the fact that if you can't get into a sit down meal, and you have credits left at the end of your trip, you are simply out that money. No refunds. I can tell you I have been to the Magic Kingdom many times when they had signs out stating the restaurnts were all full, and not taking any walk-ups. So there is always a little risk. And it is possible you could waste a lot of time trying to find someplace to eat, and then getting there.

 

[OhThePain]

What if you don't cancel an ADR? Do you lose credits or is it just the "right thing to do" to cancel ahead? thx!

If you have a dinner show, Akershus, CG or CRT (or any other restaurant I am missing that needs a CC hold) you will be charged unless you cancel a day or 2 before hand (depending on the restaurant). As for other, non-CC hold restaurants, it is just the right thing to do. It benefits the restaurant but more importantly it benefits someone else who may want to eat at that restaurant that day. You can either call Disney Dining or stop off at your resorts concierge desk. They can cancel the ADR's you want and can also help booking you an ADR for that day once you know what park you'll be in.

 

[Cafeen]

If you have a dinner show, Akershus, CG or CRT (or any other restaurant I am missing that needs a CC hold) you will be charged unless you cancel a day or 2 before hand (depending on the restaurant). As for other, non-CC hold restaurants, it is just the right thing to do. It benefits the restaurant but more importantly it benefits someone else who may want to eat at that restaurant that day. You can either call Disney Dining or stop off at your resorts concierge desk. They can cancel the ADR's you want and can also help booking you an ADR for that day once you know what park you'll be in.

As a note on this, they'll charge the CC you put down, not the dining plan.

CRT and the shows will be charged at FULL price, PER PERSON. Akershus and CG will be charged at a different fee PER PERSON. Note that at the dinner shows, CRT, and Akershus, this charge WILL (most likely) be charged even if part of the party shows up. (They'll charge for the portion that did not). CG is his or miss with this portion of it.

Everything else, yup, just wanted to emphasize the fact that it's the CC charged and not the dining plan .

 

[no capes darling]

IMO if you are doing the dining plan and not making ADRs you're quite possibly making a gamble of losing out on being able to use the credits if you can't get a walk up. If I were using the plan, I'd make sure to have ADRS and the slight inconvenience that goes along with having to plan well in advance.

More than likely this upcoming trip, we're not using the plan, but I still made the reservations as soon as I could. If there is free dining being offered while you are there, then again, all the more reason to make them.

JM.02