Do I need ADR's for ALL of our meals?

[micmacmissy]

We are going in January, after school is back in session, from what I hear park crowds will be low.

I've booked a few character meals, and we'll have breakfast at our hotel...but do I need to book lunch and dinner reservations EVERY day? It seems like all I hear about are how crowded the restaurants are now with the dining plan.

So...will that affect us in January? Is the free dining going on then? Should I book lunch and dinner every day, just in case???

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

we thought we would not need them in may thinking that its after spring break/easter and before summer but we're lucky we did b/c the place was just as packed the 2nd week in may as it was in the summer!! It would not hurt to make them, although some people don't like sticking to a schedule but i guess what i'm saying is is that it wont be dead when you're there but I think you'll be surprised at how many are actually there. When we were at WL they told us at check-in that the resort is basically booked every day all year with the exception with days here and there but I would book just incase and change if need be!

 

[AllyGirl_79]

I'd say to book everything you have your heart set on. If there's a place you really want to eat, make the ADR. Free dining isn't going on, but there really isn't a very slow season anymore. Between MLK day, the marathon, etc., some places will still get booked up.

Remember that if you book an ADR, you can always cancel if it becomes too hard to get there or you simply don't want to eat there anymore. And you can certainly change or make new ADRs during your trip based on availability. We usually add/change something. If you're flexible on your meal times, it shouldn't be too hard to find something, though it might not be your first choice.

I can't imagine making lunch and dinner reservations for every day, though, as you'll spend all your time eating. If we eat a lunch or dinner at a table service restaurant, we tend to do a lighter counter service meal for the other or skip the other meal altogether because we're just not hungry. Remember that there is a lot of very good counter service, particularly at Epcot. I tend to make one ADR per day on average, though in a few instances I will do a breakfast and dinner adr on the same day. (I've never made a lunch ressie if I've made a breakfast one or a dinner ressie if I've made a lunch adr.)

Happy planning!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Just my opinion but if you want TS places for any meals then you should make reservations, doesnt matter what time of the year you go. If you dont care about eating at CS places then dont wory about it

 

[newholidayx2]

I have several solo lunch ARs during my birthday week in Nov.
I even booked a brkfst (meeting 2 others) for my Birthday morn at Yacht Galley so we I/we can have mimosas!

 

[DISNEYmooner2008]

I made ADR's for all of our dinners and two character breakfasts. Other than that, we plan on choosing restaurants once we get down to WDW.

 

[ZoZo]

I can't imagine making lunch and dinner reservations for every day, though, as you'll spend all your time eating. If we eat a lunch or dinner at a table service restaurant, we tend to do a lighter counter service meal for the other or skip the other meal altogether because we're just not hungry. Remember that there is a lot of very good counter service, particularly at Epcot. I tend to make one ADR per day on average, though in a few instances I will do a breakfast and dinner adr on the same day. (I've never made a lunch ressie if I've made a breakfast one or a dinner ressie if I've made a lunch adr.)

This is what I was going to say. You probably won't want to eat more than one table service meal per day - it's just too time-consuming and expensive. We nearly always eat breakfast in our room, which saves money and time. On our next 8-day trip, we only have three TS meals planned (but we're going during Food and Wine Festival time, so we plan to snack our way around the World Showcase for many meals). For us, the only "must do" table service meals will be California Grill (for the fireworks), lunch at Le Cellier, and a late breakfast at Crystal Palace.

 

[micmacmissy]

Here's my dilemma: we are staying at SOG and have their dining plan (which I know, their food is bad but it only cost me $100 to add it on to our room. For the whole family, for a week...) That covers breakfast and dinner every day.

So, we'll have breakfast at the hotel every day (except for one breakfast at CRT).

I made one dinner ADR (Liberty Tree Tavern).

We'll do counter service for all lunches. I'm just wondering if I should make ADRs for all our dinners, just in case the food at SOG is that bad. (But then I wonder, will it be SO bad that it is actually worth spending the extra money when the dinners at SOG are free?)

Last time we were at Disney, we ate at Narcoosees, Cali Grill, Citricos, GF cafe, etc...so we've had those experiences before.

Any opinions? Maybe I'll just make the ADRs so we have them...and then if we can use them if we want to.

 

[jenins121681]

I would make ADR's for every TS meal you have your heart set on....that way you are guaranteed to have that meal. I wouldn't necessarily make ADRs for every lunch and dinner....you could always have some spontaneous meals at CS locations, or restaurants like Beaches and cream etc that you don't need ADRs to eat at or eat at local Orlando restaurants like Red Lobster, Olive garden etc.

 

[LizinSTL]

Here's my dilemma: we are staying at SOG and have their dining plan (which I know, their food is bad but it only cost me $100 to add it on to our room. For the whole family, for a week...) That covers breakfast and dinner every day.

So, we'll have breakfast at the hotel every day (except for one breakfast at CRT).

I made one dinner ADR (Liberty Tree Tavern).

We'll do counter service for all lunches. I'm just wondering if I should make ADRs for all our dinners, just in case the food at SOG is that bad. (But then I wonder, will it be SO bad that it is actually worth spending the extra money when the dinners at SOG are free?)

Last time we were at Disney, we ate at Narcoosees, Cali Grill, Citricos, GF cafe, etc...so we've had those experiences before.

Any opinions? Maybe I'll just make the ADRs so we have them...and then if we can use them if we want to.

Oh gosh, I'm cheap so I'd go with only make ADRs for the meals you are going to really really want to have besides your SOG meals. I'd choke down mediocre food for a week if it was included

Maybe pick a restaurant or two for lunch ADRs and then cancel them if the food is better than expected at SOG. That's a great deal for your meals. I'm sure it'll be fine. This is at the buffet that changes daily? or can you go to the other restaurants?

 

[micmacmissy]

The dining plan includes breakfast and dinner only at the buffet restaurant.

I checked the menus out, and I'm not too impressed. I think I'll probably make dinner ADRs for each day, and if the buffet turns out okay, I'll cancel them, unless we feel like eating in the parks, then we'll just stay and eat in the parks.