Dining without ADR's??

[NewfieMom]

Hi,

Friends of mine are looking at booking a WDW trip for this July. She is not a researcher/planner and was getting slightly overwhelmed when I told her about the planning, ADRs needed, etc. if booking the meal plan.

Two questions....

what are the chances of getting ADRs now for July anyhow?
&
what are the chances of getting a sit down meal without an ADR in July? Actually - how would that work anyhow?

Thanks!

 

[RMulieri]

July is very very busy at the world. TS places ( especially the popular ones) will most definitely be booked and not be taking walk ups. I would find out what her preferences are for meals and book adrs. Many places may already be booked for then, but you may get a few. Walk ups can not be counted on.

 

[moparop]

She could still totally get meals now for July. Depending on the time in July she is going, it's going to be hard to score ADRs like CRT or LeCellier, but there will still be plenty of options on where to eat. IIf she goes without booking at all, she is going to find that she has to eat at the places that have openings or at less than optimal times. She'll get food, but maybe not Chef Mickeys.

 

[B-Ride]

It depends on whether you are willing to eat CS or try a less popular TS restaurant. There will usually be a few walk ups available but that only works if you are willing to eat CS if you can't get one. I am not sure if your friend is on the Dining Plan. If she is then she should definitely not be going without all of her meals booked.

 

[JenEeyore]

There is still time to book ADR's for July. Today is the 90 day start for booking for guests checking in July 4th (+ up to 10 days of their trip) so you are not super late yet. However with it being a busy month, I too would highly recommend booking at least something ahead of time or she will be deeply disappointed if there were specific places she wanted to eat at since she likely won't get in. Since the advent of the dining plans, it has gotten pretty competitive for reservations. We used to be able to travel years ago with only a couple of ADRs and wing it for the rest, but even personally we've been forced to switch over planning if we want to get something specific and not just eat QS places. It is sometimes challenging to plan around meal times if you are a spontaneous personality, but ultimately if you want that special meal, it is worth it to plan ahead.

Jen

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hi,

Friends of mine are looking at booking a WDW trip for this July. She is not a researcher/planner and was getting slightly overwhelmed when I told her about the planning, ADRs needed, etc. if booking the meal plan.

Two questions....

what are the chances of getting ADRs now for July anyhow?
&
what are the chances of getting a sit down meal without an ADR in July? Actually - how would that work anyhow?

Thanks!

OMGoodness,
MAKE ADR's Or you will be eating fires and burgers for her whole vacation....You can always cancel (please do that versus just not showing up so another family can go) but MUCH better to have them in place than not IMHO.
Call now and make whatever you can get, atleast it is better than having NOTHING and limited/no options especially if it is a busy period, which appears it is.
Good Luck!!!

 

[Lynne M]

If she's not sure about making ADRs, or can't/won't make them at 90 days for a July trip, she should not get the dining plan. She'll end up either wasting money, or eating at out of the way places they don't like just to use up the dining credits.

Impress upon her that this is a fact of life at WDW: If you get the meal plan, you make ADRs at 90 days or you waste money. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

 

[buckirj1]

Impress upon her that this is a fact of life at WDW: If you get the meal plan, you make ADRs at 90 days or you waste money. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

I don't think the OP mentioned whether or not the newbie in question actually has the dining plan. If so, you're absolutely right. But if the newbie was clever and said NO to the DP , then there's no reason they can't score at least some restaurants in combination with counter service, so long as the party isn't big (one or two people, three at most)

 

[winterman]

I agree that if she doesn't want to make ADRs than she should not get the (regular) DDP. That would just be money wasted. She won't starve without ADRs but she might get very frustrated if she expects to eat at TS restaurants without them.

 

[moeferg]

I am going June 19-27 and have not been able to get sanything I wanted. No LeCellier, no Boma, no fantasmic package. Should I be worried, or keep calling looking for a cancellation.

 

[RMulieri]

I am going June 19-27 and have not been able to get sanything I wanted. No LeCellier, no Boma, no fantasmic package. Should I be worried, or keep calling looking for a cancellation.

Keep calling and see if anything opens up. Are you being flexible with dates and times?

 

[crazelion]

I am going in June without ADR and I am happy without table service resturants. I do not make a comminment to something so far in advance. No I want be eating burgers and fries the whole vacation. Beeen looking at the menus and found some excellent choices I like to eat at.

These is places I am planning eating at June:
Big River Grille
ESPN
House of Blues made ADR on website easier that way
Planet Hollywood
Rain forest Cafe maybe not sure yet that one.

 

[NewfieMom]

Actually, it looks like they've decided to stay off property, and not go with the dining plan. Thanks for all your input - I'd forgotten that they'd switched to 90 day reservations since I was there in October. To me, half the fun is the planning and researching, making the reservations - I spend so much time on these boards that I sometimes forget there are people out there who don't like to plan everything out to the last detail

I am sure they will have a great time - now I need to make sure she understands the fast pass system and getting there early!

 

[PinkPrincess4Ever]

ADRs a MUST DO! ...... JULY

 

[shocker]

Opps! Just saw your post they are staying offsite...They will still llikely want to eat in a park and will still need ADR's for any sit down meal they may want and they are still allowed to go to a resort and eat there and can even drive to a resort location from their hotel for a meal. On DIS I can help out as people are actually posing questions and wanting answers but when an individual asks for my help, I tend to only answer their specific questions and not create an itenerary for them to MY liking. When a friend returned from WDW 1st timer trip he said to me "You didn't say we wouldn't be able to eat" (they were turning away all walk-ins at every TS they tried) to which my reply was "you didn't ask about dining." So just gently suggest making a few ADR's and cancelling later if not desired, pointing out the benefits of a sit down airconditioned break to the day and let your friend decide. It is sometimes hard to make the leap from a Six Flags type-no plan, only CS meals, stop and eat where and when your hungry, to a theme park that offers choices of "experiences"

Good luck

 

[eliza61]

OMGoodness,
MAKE ADR's Or you will be eating fires and burgers for her whole vacation....You can always cancel (please do that versus just not showing up so another family can go) but MUCH better to have them in place than not IMHO.
Call now and make whatever you can get, atleast it is better than having NOTHING and limited/no options especially if it is a busy period, which appears it is.
Good Luck!!!

So not true. You may not get your favorite places but we rarely have adr's and I guarantee you we eat TS every day.

 

[Piglet843]

OMGoodness,
MAKE ADR's Or you will be eating fires and burgers for her whole vacation....You can always cancel (please do that versus just not showing up so another family can go) but MUCH better to have them in place than not IMHO.
Call now and make whatever you can get, atleast it is better than having NOTHING and limited/no options especially if it is a busy period, which appears it is.
Good Luck!!!

Talk about heartburn!!!