Dining Questions

[gillybeaaan]

Hello again =]

We're nearing the 200 day countdown for our holiday which means we're really starting to think about our ADRs and where to eat. My mum's not so big on the idea of planning our meals 180 days before we actually eat them so i was wondering how important ADRs are for the time that we're going? (Aug 24th - September 8th) Obviously i know that the popular places have a definite need for ADRs but is there any chance of just walking up to some of the TS places without a ressie and getting seated?

We've got a few ideas of the places we want to eat but i want your opinions, if you could only make one ADR for your entire trip, where would it be?

This seemed like a LOT of waffle for two questions, Thanks in advance

 

[queendisney]

I would just go ahead and do the ADR on the 180day date..you can always change/canx them but at least you have a baseline to work from. You can leave it to chance but firstly you may not be able to get the restaurant you want or secondly you may have to eat at 11am for lunch or 4pm for an evening meal etc...on the other hand you may get exactly what you want, when you want..

So for peace of mind just book them anyway..

If I was to make one reservation it would be for Jiko at AKL as they cater really well for vege's like me!!

Enjoy...x

 

[nipperlocko]

I would just go ahead and do the ADR on the 180day date..you can always change/canx them but at least you have a baseline to work from. You can leave it to chance but firstly you may not be able to get the restaurant you want or secondly you may have to eat at 11am for lunch or 4pm for an evening meal etc...on the other hand you may get exactly what you want, when you want..

So for peace of mind just book them anyway..

If I was to make one reservation it would be for Jiko at AKL as they cater really well for vege's like me!!

Enjoy...x

totally agree with you, we did exactly this last august, and yes some got cancelled but there was always somewhere to rebook with hotel concierge, but the must book ones like jiko, ohana, narcosee, california grill,yachtsman,Le cellier and cinderellas royal table which we did on our last night were kept due to popularity as these would be nigh on impossible to get a table on the day especially in august

 

[Elise79]

Are you on the DP?

If so I would book enough ADRs to cover the TS credits.

Cancelling and booking different ones is easy - we have got last minute as in day before or a few hours before at loads of restaurants including Ohana.

Remember if booking a meal with a CC hold you need to cancel in time to avoid a penalty.

 

[2Tiggies]

I agree with all the advice above. Book and just plan ahead if you need to cancel or amend ADRs to avoid a penalty charge. We were there last September and it was the quietest we have ever seen the parks. But there are a lot of free dining offers out for this time of the year and while that seems to have little impact on the parks, it does have an impact on the restaurants. We had off peak time ADRs for a few places last year and twice while waiting after checking in, a CM was walking down the queue announcing that there was no availability for walk ups. One of these was a 3 pm lunch, which is hardly prime time for dining so I would at least cover the TS credits as advised if you are on the DDP and change as and when you need to once you are there.

If you are not on the DDP then only book the ones you really want. We have paid OOP for our TS meals a few years in a row but had the QSDP as our plan and this year I am not making any ADRs at all as I find them a pain. It depends on your circumstances, but don't leave it all to chance

 

[RDP]

I would definitely book. My one ADR would be California Grill.

 

[starrysky]

We did this for the first time last year as we had the Dinning plan for the first time.
I did like your mum think the whole 180 day thing was a bit crazy but it did help with the planning. I think if you make a few for the places that you really want to try then at least you know you won't be disapointed.

We always book California Grill as its our favourtie. Another one on our list for this year is Tusker House for Breakfast we loved it last time and can't wait to go back.

 

[UKDEB]

Although we love planning and building an itinerary in the months leading up to a trip, we can't bear to be bound by one once we're there. For that reason, we've only ever booked those we consider to be must-dos (probably a maximum of 3 per trip). As long as you're willing to accept that you might have to keep an open mind about precisely when and where you eat, you'll always find somewhere. If you're in a park, the best bet is to go to Guest Relations when you arrive and they'll tell you which have availability and at what times. For resort restaurants, just call as soon as you have an idea that you want to eat there, be it a day or two in advance or on the day itself. On balance, we've had far more luck than we've had disappointments as far as walk-ups are concerned, but we do tend to visit at slower times of year. It goes without saying that if you were going to be there at a mega busy time this strategy wouldn't work. And, of course, there are a handful of dining experiences which absolutely do need to be booked. Most are over-rated in my view.

 

[Snow8882]

We're booking our first ADR tomorrow (we're staying off property). I've never been before so we looked at what parks we'd be in on what days and then decided if there was somewhere we definitely wanted to eat. So our first morning we're going to MK and aiming for a character breakfast at CP. Then we've looked at where we want to have a special meal at the end of our trip and so on.

We've ended up with only a few ADRs to make but that leaves us flexible

I'm getting a bit excited about it!

 

[gillybeaaan]

Thank you to every one for your input, I've managed to convince her that we can always cancel ADRs so we've agreed on about 10 places that we want to eat including our 4 must do's!

Getting super excited now!

 

[Mouseketeer1974]

not sure if you are or not but we're on the DDP for our visit in Aug. So, I'm just trying to get the TS reservations made so I can play with them between now and our trip.