Dining Reservations made but wrong days or times?

[freshstart19]

Hello! I've made dining reservations and am now concerned that I'm doing the parks on the wrong days because of what the Touring plans crowd calendars show. We'll be staying at Grand Californian arriving on Sunday night Aug 24 and staying until Thurs. I've traditionally booked early lunches at the more expensive restaurants at WDW since it is cheaper during lunch but am now concerned that they will take too much time.

Sunday night possibly arrive in time for Fantasmic. I didn't book too many dinners thinking we were taking longer lunches and would need the time to finish up the attractions or have pool time. Not too mention the cost! There are 4 of us with DD24 and DD11.

Mon - DCA day with Ariel's Grotto 11:20 AM. Must do for the 11 year old. Afraid to do it for breakfast and be there too long to take advantage of early hour.

But, are we losing time at the wrong time of day here? Very confused on the Fastpass situation now that RSR is connected. Thinking we'll be tied up until 1 or so for lunch with what I'm reading about waiting to see Ariel.

Tues DL with Blue Bayou at 11:30.

Wed DCA with Carthay Circle at 11:40 but then Goofy's Kitchen at 6:30.

Thurs Back to DL for the morning. Can't make reservations until tomorrow. This might be an all characters morning if we've missed anyone. I've been trying to get the Plaza Inn and it's booked each day.

I've read that the Frozen characters take up a lot of time. Maybe, I should not have booked lunches.

I'm starting to suffer from information overload! I also would like to squeeze in a visit to the Angels ballpark while in town in the evening.

 

[Rubygoose]

I've been trying to get the Plaza Inn and it's booked each day.

I've read that the Frozen characters take up a lot of time. Maybe, I should not have booked lunches.

We'll be there the same days as you

I'm a little confused that you couldn't get a reservation for Plaza Inn and that you wanted lunch. Plaza Inn offers a character breakfast (Minnie and Friends) which accepts reservations, but lunch and dinner caffeteria style. We like to do a 10am Minnie and friends breakfast and count it as lunch. Then we have ice cream in the afternoon to tide us over until dinner.

I think the way you have timed your reservations is ideal. Get to the parks early and make good use of EE, then you have a bit of a break at lunch when the crowds start to arrive.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Hello! I've made dining reservations and am now concerned that I'm doing the parks on the wrong days because of what the Touring plans crowd calendars show. We'll be staying at Grand Californian arriving on Sunday night Aug 24 and staying until Thurs. I've traditionally booked early lunches at the more expensive restaurants at WDW since it is cheaper during lunch but am now concerned that they will take too much time.

Sunday night possibly arrive in time for Fantasmic. I didn't book too many dinners thinking we were taking longer lunches and would need the time to finish up the attractions or have pool time. Not too mention the cost! There are 4 of us with DD24 and DD11.

Mon - DCA day with Ariel's Grotto 11:20 AM. Must do for the 11 year old. Afraid to do it for breakfast and be there too long to take advantage of early hour.

But, are we losing time at the wrong time of day here? Very confused on the Fastpass situation now that RSR is connected. Thinking we'll be tied up until 1 or so for lunch with what I'm reading about waiting to see Ariel.

Tues DL with Blue Bayou at 11:30.

Wed DCA with Carthay Circle at 11:40 but then Goofy's Kitchen at 6:30.

Thurs Back to DL for the morning. Can't make reservations until tomorrow. This might be an all characters morning if we've missed anyone. I've been trying to get the Plaza Inn and it's booked each day.

I've read that the Frozen characters take up a lot of time. Maybe, I should not have booked lunches.

I'm starting to suffer from information overload! I also would like to squeeze in a visit to the Angels ballpark while in town in the evening.

Why would you even trust touring plans for anything, the are so inaccurate on every thing they post.

Jack

 

[Escape2Disney]

Honestly, the touring plan estimates aren't all that accurate. I think you'll be fine. That's the best time for Blue Bayou. Be sure to show up early and request a water side table.

If you're planning to hit the parks at rope drop, an early lunch is a nice break before heading into the busier time of day. The meals you've chosen do take longer than a counter service option, but IMHO are worth the time. If you think of them as part of the experience, it won't feel like a time drain.

 

[MinnieMom13]

I'll be there the same week as you--flying in Sunday and flying out Friday. I prefer to make reservations each day between 11:30 (for restaurants with specific seating options such as Blue Bayou waterfront) and noon (for restaurants that don't fill even without a reservation such as Wine Country) so I think your times look great. It's a good point during the day to rest our feet and hydrate. EE and MM will be at 8:00 that week--at least they were last year--so you'll have enough time to avoid the crowds in the morning. I use the term crowds lightly since this is the least busy time of year I've ever visited; my thanks to all the SoCal schools who start before Labor Day.

Like you, I tend to make reservations for the park that has early entry since we stay onsite. I used to make the reservation in the opposite park so we could grab a fastpass in that park before heading to our reservation, but RSR has changed that strategy. We get in the RSR fastpass line right before the regular park opening time, which gets us a fastpass near our lunchtime so we like to stick close. They've let us show up late with a receipt from the restaurant though (not counter service).

Have you picked your restaurant for Thursday yet? Our favorite restaurant in either park is Café Orleans. We're among the masses that love Monte Cristo sandwiches and beignets.

My kids have outgrown the characters, but if you go to Frozen first I would think you'd be out in time for lunch. Other threads speak to what time of day the 3-4 hour wait time hits.

 

[superlarz]

Just stick with your original plans. You dont have to plan everything out though, just go to the parks and enjoy yourself.

 

[tiffjoy]

That's a lot of reservations is my thought.

Is this your first DLR trip? It's a different experience than WDW. I personally make far fewer reservations at DLR than WDW. I have a TS reservation pretty much every day at WDW, but only a couple over our whole trip at DLR.

Ariel's Grotto for midday is a good bet. You can do the rides first thing in the am.

The counter service at DLR is much better than at WDW, I think. More options and better theming. Flo's in DCA is our favorite- it's almost like TS food. The Plaza Inn (for the fried chicken- pasta is bland) and French Market are favorites in DLR.

One thing I personally love about DLR over WDW is the ease of eating without reservations. I would pick a few must do places and then do CS the rest of the time and focus on enjoying the park. Jmo.

 

[Cinderpamela]

I would just stick to what you have, it looks good... though as PP tiffjoy mention, it's a lot of dining reservations for a DLR trip. Unlike at WDW, we do lots of counter service at DLR, and are way less reservation heavy.

If you have park hopper tickets (a must do for us when at DLR... not so much for WDW) its simple to just switch parks as needed so it shouldn't matter so much which park your reservation is at.

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks for all of you replies. This will be our first visit to California. So, I'm in overplanning mode! Didn't have a restaurant in mind for Thursday with the possible exception of the Plaza Inn for breakfast. I've been trying to get it for dinner to try the Fried Chicken but it's sold out. I can easily drop the Wednesday Carthay Circle reservation if things are taking too much time. DD11 wants another character meal and I heard Goofy's was a good one similar to Chef Mickey's in WDW.

If I can't trust Touring Plans for the Unofficial Guide book, is there a link here to recommended plans? I've cut and pasted bits and pieces from this site but I was going to plug in my dining reservations to the touring plans site to come up with custom plans. I need to figure out how to find characters. I know it's not as organized as WDW.

Our plan was to head down to San Diego on Thursday afternoon to avoid the Labor Day Weekend traffic. Found out today that one of the tv tapings that we have been looking out for in LA is filming on that Friday. Anyone familiar with how horrible it will be to start our trip in LA because of the Mets-Dodgers game on the 23rd and then head to Disney on Sunday, then back to LA on Thursday night for the Friday taping BUT then to San Diego on Saturday morning during Labor Day weekend? We fly home on Sunday out of San Diego! Really wanted a couple of days there. Maybe, there's a train from LA to San Diego so it won't be soooo horrible to drive there. This tv taping is a big curveball. I had given my husband a tee time for Torrey Pines for that Friday when the tv show taping is!!! Sorry for the diversion on that the tv taping.

 

[Jennafoo]

Thanks for all of you replies. This will be our first visit to California. So, I'm in overplanning mode! Didn't have a restaurant in mind for Thursday with the possible exception of the Plaza Inn for breakfast. I've been trying to get it for dinner to try the Fried Chicken but it's sold out.

My understanding is that there are no reservations for dinner at Plaza Inn. It's just counter service, so you can plan that in.

 

[BriannaRuth]

You're going at the same time of year we usually go -- I don't think you'll have a problem. The parks are not too crowded that week, so you shouldn't be spending too much time in line and can get a lot done, especially if you have EE, before an 11:30 lunch. I especially think that 11:30 is good for BB, since that's right about when they open. Get there a little early if you can to try to get a waterside table. It shouldn't be too difficult at that time of day as long as you get there at the right time.

I think your main challenge will be pulling a FP at the right time for RSR given your 11:30 lunch. But who knows how that situation will be by late August.

Personally if it was me with kids, I'd skip Carthay Circle for lunch and go to Flo's V-8 instead while you're in CarsLand ... which you should be able to do about that time of day if you get an RSR FP in the AM, I would think. Flo's is a lot more fun for kids and you'd be right there, without having to worry about the long lunch at Carthay and working around FPs. If it was me, I'd have DD22 take DD11 out for about an hour while you and DH go have a drink at the CC lounge in the evening.

 

[freshstart19]

Funny you mention Flo's. DD11 saw that the other day in the guide book and wants to go there. So, I will probably cancel Carthay's since we have the Blue Bayou.

The touring plans around characters has me stumped!

 

[tiffjoy]

Funny you mention Flo's. DD11 saw that the other day in the guide book and wants to go there. So, I will probably cancel Carthay's since we have the Blue Bayou. The touring plans around characters has me stumped!

To answer and earlier question, the Plaza Inn is not TS for lunch and dinner. It's CS. They only do reservations for the breakfast buffet because it's a character meal.

I think you will both like Flo's. We like to sit on the back patio and watch the cars from RSR go by. If you do this, just make sure to wander back through the restaurant because the theming really is phenomenal- hands down the best theming in the parks, and I'm not even a huge Cars fan, and neither are my girls, and we all live it there.

The characters are a little trickier at DLR, but I do prefer the interaction and spontaneity here. You can ask at City Hall in DL and near the Carthay Circle Restaurant in DCA for where to meet which characters. There are always the standard locations listed in the guide. The front area of Main St always has different characters at different times. We have met 5-6 in one swoop around the circle. Same with DCA and the area near CC.

I've actually never done a touring plan for DLR. I plan our first bit in those early critical hours for the popular rides, then we wing it after that.


,

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks for the additional info. Think I'm stressing out about this too much. DH hates to wait in lines so I bend over backwards doing research to avoid them and the complaining that goes with the lines!

 

[SMD]

Thanks for the additional info. Think I'm stressing out about this too much. DH hates to wait in lines so I bend over backwards doing research to avoid them and the complaining that goes with the lines!

FYI, the merge points for FP at DL are not near the ride loading areas. You will often wait 10 or even 20 minutes I'm a line, even when using FP.

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks, SMD. 20 minutes is fine. When it's gets over 20-30 minutes, the gang starts complaining!