Are we going to be out of luck and hungry???

[MASrules]

One more thing to remember to prevent going hungry. I am pretty sure that Table Service meal credits on the dining plan can be used as counter service meals.

What I mean is that if you can't find any table service places that can get you in on a particular day or a particular meal, just go to a counter service place and use your table service meal credits there.

It might not be economical to use your table service credits for counter service meals, but it is better than not using the table service credits or using cash for additional counter service meals.

This should a least prevent you from going hungry.

 

[Misty89]

no expert here, but our last trip, we had no ADR a particular evening, and while DH and kids were swimming, i went upsatirs to the Concourse Steakhouse( we were at CR)
and got got a reservation for about an hour later.
the family had enough time to get cleaned up and off we went.

we had ADR's all of our other days, and it jsut was not as "relaxed" as it was w/o them. it was a PIA to have to make sure you were at a certain place on time.
unless you have your heart set on a exact meal at an exact location mabye you could just try to play it by ear.

we are going back in 2 mths, and plan to not make one single ADR!
that was one of DH's 2 simple requests.

also, i do not think by not eating at TS places you will go hungry, there are alot of counter service and kiosks (sp?) that have great food that you do not have to make ADR's for.

 

[tzeitel]

How do you know what your "favorite places" are if you don't go to Disney all of the time? I went the 1st time in 1992 with "give kids the world" my child had leukemia, she is now a cast member, the 2nd time was with my sister on a business trip in 1997 and meals were with the company. Now since DD is a CM she wanted us to come and see her so we thought ok, not knowing disney vacations required an all out commando attack of planning, reserving, and re-reserving. We just want to see our kid and have a vacation. Maybe we will lose weight if we can't count on eating at the parks. Sorry, just venting.

When I was a CM my mom would come to visit and she never had any problems getting into the restaurants - but that was just 1 person (or 2 if my stepdad came with her). She walked into Le Cellier and was sat after 10 minutes. She also did not care where she ate (not much anyway) since she would visit me at least twice a year.

You don't need a commando attack and you will not go hungry - there are so many restaurants and counter service places you will find something. But if you want a nice steak at Le Cellier or you want to watch the fireworks from the California Grill or have a meal at the castle or watch the Hoop Dee Doo Review then YES, you do need reservations.

The thing is if you have a large party you will have issues getting tables at any TS restaurant. And that is the case even outside of WDW - think of WDW restaurants as a nice restaurant you would go to at home... on a Saturday night.

If making reservations seems like a hassle to you then just wing it. Just spend time with your DD and eat at whichever restaurant has an opening when you get hungry.

 

[winterman]

I don't even care where we eat, as long as we can eat a meal, at the park at a reasonable time!!!!! I can eat at fancy restaurants anytime here in Kansas City, but how can anyone know 180 days in advance where they will want to eat? I see us as having a downtime and saying "anyone hungry? let's eat!" We are 4 adults and 2 teens, that will eat anything. I would be crazy if the whole day revolved around, we have to make it to our next meal in whatever time, so get out of line and run to the menu. It does bug me that Disney has done all of this advance reservation stuff, what is wrong with first come first serve? I wonder how many reservations are made and cancelled or no one shows up or people make multiple reservations at multiple restaurants then just blow off what turns out to be inconvenient. And what's with 43 pages of people changing there minds and wanting to trade the reservations they made months ago, thus shutting out anyone else, this system is really strange to me. Oh well it could be popcorn for us!

DH and I love to do the planning for our WDW trips. We think that is is big part of the fun. I understand that not everybody feels that way. But If you are aware of the process by watching these boards, why are you doing the dining plan? It seems like you face the real possibility of not being able the use all of your TS credits. Whereas if you were just paying out of pocket you'd just pay for what you ate - even if that is all CS meals.

 

[RMulieri]

I will tell you that 2 weeks ago I was at the world.I ate mostly at WS and it was only a party of 3.We ate at dinner time 5pm most nights( except Le Cellier was 405pm).We had adrs...at each restaurant we saw people turned away, no walk ups ,no waiting for tables, booked solid all night.The only place that took walk ups was Maarakesh, and that was for after 7pm.If you are hoping to just swing into the themepark restaurants at dinner time, you may have a very very hard time.Especially with a larger party size.Some of the off the beaten track restaurants, or places in DTD you should be ok.Your best bet,if you are totally anti-adr..is calling wdw-dine in the morning as you leave for the parks and see what is available for that day.Walk-ins are possible, but can not be counted on.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We personally love to have an ADR for each day, and yes, we make them 180+ days out. I actually like to do this, but I know many do not. We also use the dining plan, DH loves it. Anyway, my thoughts are if you arn't worried about TS meals, maybe you should cancel that part of your package (if you still can) and just enjoy some of the wonderful CS meals available. Then if you do get a TS you like, you just pay for it. For us, DDP and ADRs work, we save money and like the planned breaks. But if you don't, I can't see you saving any money on the DDP, in fact you will probably loose money. Just my thoughts...
No matter what have a great trip visiting your daughter and I am glad she is healthy and happy working in Disney.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

In my opinion I don't think anybody is really thrilled on make adr's 180 days out. But if you don't then when you get there you get what you get.
And the crazy time that goes along with it.
That's why I make them cause I don't want to be eating cs for dinner or be eating 9 at night. It's a pain but it's one less worry especially when you have a family of all boys to.
So on that note I wish you good luck and have a great trip.

 

[tink70]

I don't even care where we eat, as long as we can eat a meal, at the park at a reasonable time!!!!! I can eat at fancy restaurants anytime here in Kansas City, but how can anyone know 180 days in advance where they will want to eat? I see us as having a downtime and saying "anyone hungry? let's eat!" We are 4 adults and 2 teens, that will eat anything. I would be crazy if the whole day revolved around, we have to make it to our next meal in whatever time, so get out of line and run to the menu. It does bug me that Disney has done all of this advance reservation stuff, what is wrong with first come first serve? I wonder how many reservations are made and cancelled or no one shows up or people make multiple reservations at multiple restaurants then just blow off what turns out to be inconvenient. And what's with 43 pages of people changing there minds and wanting to trade the reservations they made months ago, thus shutting out anyone else, this system is really strange to me. Oh well it could be popcorn for us!

I am one of the posters on the 43 pages and I can tell you I agonized over where we should eat so we would be close to the park we wanted to go to that night. I totally forgot about MNSSHP, and now will be near MK but not able to go there to see wishes, etc because it is closed for the party. So now I am scrambling trying to change one night so we can make it to wishes and the night parade. So things happen that you just cant help.
I also dont usually mind planning that far ahead. I think planning is part of the fun of the trip.

 

[sharadoc]

We're not planning to go with any reservations. Our plan is to eat a late breakfast, and a late lunch if we eat in the parks, or breakfast in our room and a late lunch. I think if you eat at more "off" times, you could get lucky. Maybe you could try and call dining from your cell phone while you're in a specific park and get an idea if anything's available for that day.

It's a shame you can't get the quick service dining plan instead. Maybe you could consider just paying out of pocket for meals and save the extra money. Or use up your TS credits on some specific dining that requires 2TS credits.