Do we REALLY need ADR's?

[Mickey'snewestfan]

We just got back from 5 days in WDW. I had made one reservation for each day, but ended up changing almost all of them while we were there, because we changed our mind about where we wanted to eat. I didn't get the perfect times, or my first choice restaurant every time, but I did get yummy food and a chance to sit down and order. We ate as follows:

Monday: Rose and Crown 4:50 (got this same day, only time we could get. Tried Le Cellier and it was sold out).

Tuesday: Kona at 5:30 before the Halloween party (sudden craving for sushi led us to cancel Crystal Palace).

Wednesday: Walked in at Wolfgang Puck Cafe with no wait -- the best food I've ever had in WDW (more sushi), hands down -- including California Grill, and Jiko.

Thursday: Cape May at 10:55 (the only ADR we kept, but could have changed it to another day or time) delicious. We also had a reservation at Spoodles for dinner that we made the day before -- no HS restaurants had space. We ended up missing this one.

So, while you might not get your first choice, you'll be able to get something yummy if you're flexible about times and willing to eat at a resort close to the park instead of IN the park.

 

[tigger_03]

If you're wanting to eat at table service restaurants then having an ADR is pretty much a given at most every restaurant. You won't need an ADR at counter service restaurants. You might be able to be lucky enough to get a table but you might also be waiting a long time or be told they have nothing available.

You can always try calling to see if something opens up.

We had our ADRs for 6 months in advance of our trip.

 

[septbaby]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to dive in and do some more research then. I don't really want to spend a TON of time sitting around eating when there's so much fun stuff to see, but I'd like to have the OPTION of eating...

Half the problem is that due to my husband's schedule (he's on trauma call 24/7/365) we don't really ever have set mealtimes, so the idea of being forced into setting a time/place is sort of foreign to us...

Any suggestions on the kinds of places we'd want to go with a 2.5 year old? Mickey will be at the garden grill, so I'm not too worried about character dining other than that.

You only need ADRs for TS or Table Service meals; Counter service are walk up casual meals.

As for good places to consider taking a 2.5yo:
Play & Dine at Hollywood and Vine
Crystal Palace if there are Pooh lovers
1900 Park Fare for Cinderella
Coral Reef in Epcot (try for lunch)

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Yes, you do really need ADR's. It's not easy eating at TS anymore without them. Try calling right away and see what is available. Because its late, there may not be much, but you can still try. With all the dining plans disney offers now, people are making their ADR's 6 months in advance. Maybe there will be some cancellations and you might get lucky.

 

[goofygal531]

The Biergarten is fun for kids too in Germany. It's a germany Oktoberfest (sp) buffet with a show.

I highly suggest you make just one ADR per day. Maybe lunch one day, a character breakfast another day, dinner in Epcot another night, etc....

As for counter service food, Epcot has the best options. If you have the park hopper pass you can always go to Epcot just for dinner and "dine around the world". Grab two entrees from two different countries and share. My boys love to eat at the Japan counter service (I forget the name of it). It's a little out of the way, as you have to climb a hill - fun with a stroller! But at the top is the c/s restaurant and outdoor seating by a Koi pond. The boys love to watch the fish and there's usually not too many diners there. They can walk around and not disturb anyone.

I truly believe the key to planning is to always have a back up plan. No one's schedule is written in stone. We're traveling with kids, things happen. You can always call and cancel your ADR, just have a back up plan.

 

[ReneeA]

Considering that Disney offered free dining packages for certain groups for that time of the year, you will need ADR's. The restaurants are jammed whenever there is a free dining promo because so many people have credits that they have to use up.

You may have some luck eating at "off" dining times - like late lunch or very early dinner, but I wouldn't even count of that.

 

[brianm27]

Don't worry about it. We go at least twice a year. We find too many ADR's is a cause for stress, trying to cut things short to make it somewhere so we can eat.

When our daughter was a preschooler (now 6), we usually only made 1 or 2 table service reservations, which where at character buffets. It was much easier to be able to "read her" and eat when the timing was right.

Counter service at the World doesn't mean burgers and fries. There are many full meal choices at the parks and hotels.

Some of our favorite "dinner" counter service places are Cosmic rays at MK for the rotisserie chicken with steamed green beans and mashed potatoes, which my easily shared when my daughter was that age. The food court at the Land at Epcot has every thing from stir fry to meat and potatoes meals as well as great artisan sandwiches. Japan, China, Morocco, and Mexico all have counter service with their own international cuisine.

At the Animal Kingdom, our favorite CS Tusker House has now become a TS buffet but we have been able to secure a walkup there. Flame Tree BBQ is a great place for ribs.

The Studios are a little harder as the counter service there is a little more "fast food' style.

 

[Micca]

Being hot, tired, and hungry at WDW is no fun at all, and chances are that when you get hungry, you'll be either hot or tired. Make some ADRs and cancel if you don't need them.

 

[TiggerGuy67]

We work very hard to make our ADR's. Don't get discouraged if you don't get what you want. You will get openings due to cancellations, etc. We had called for two weeks to get Tutto Italia at a certain time and finally got it.

There is another method that I see quite a bit. It really makes me seethe. We saw it at Chefs de France and one or two others. A party of four approached the host with a gentleman doing the talking. He was sent away and approached his party. At that point, his very angered date approached the man and argued with him for 5 minutes. They were very nicely dressed and felt they were entitled to this. Eventually, the host left to get his manager who also argued with them for about 5 minutes. She had hands on hips when they weren't pointing at him and everyone was staring. She would not accept no for an answer so this manager went to get his manager and after another 5 minutes, they were not only seated, they were seated immediately.

I hated looking at the victoriously smug look on their faces as they ate. This was during Christmas season and I know that those who were eating there went through a lot to make their ADR's.

 

[myladyisatramp]

Kevin, it takes all kinds, right they had no ADR and probably don't for the whole vaca

 

[silvergoldberry]

If you don't have regular mealtimes then don't sweat it too much. I have walked up to Cinderella's Royal Table a few times and gotten a table at off times. That was before I started reading these boards a year ago.

Think about the places you REALLY want to go and keep trying to get ADRs there, but don't sweat it too much if you are willing to settle for dining at CS or be flexible with your times.

Most of all have fun! With a 2 yo, you are going to want to be a little more flexible anyway.

 

[Redbudlover]

Another place you could try to get a last minute ADR with characters is Cape May Cafe breakfast. A great breakfast, too. A good lunch to try on a walk up basis is Tusker House in AK.

 

[HonnyDipp]

I'm not sure if ADR's are really necessary, but I'm not taking any chances! I made our ADR's for our November trip back in May!

 

[Scrubba2]

You asked for suggestions for where to eat with a 2.5 yr old, and I want to chime in! I found that the character buffet meals are the best! You can get the little one eating as soon as you are seated. Crystal Palace at MK is great for little ones to see Winne the Pooh characters. Hollywood and Vine at DS has the Little Einstiens and friends.
With a 2.5 yr old, you may not want to take time at sit down meals anyway. We have found that the counter services offer a lot of healthy choices and rather tasty meals...not just hot dogs and hamburgers.
We are right with you though without ADRs. We just decided to take a trip in Decemeber (a very busy time) and upon calling for ADRs, I've had very little luck this far. I have secured only one table service this far for our 5 day trip. I'll keep trying, but we aren't on the meal plan and we are more "on the go" type of people rather than sit and dine anyhow. If we get another one or two that'll be great, otherwise we'll be just as happy with counter service. Just happy to be going!!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I am guessing you will get in if you are flexable wit times. My son is 3 and he loved:

Crystal Palace for dinner with tigger and pooh
Little Einsteins breakfast at HS
Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary

I just changed around some stuff 2 weeks out and found that most Signature Restaurants had multiple times available. Those being:
Citricos at GF
Narcoosees at GF
Jiko at AKL

Just pick something you would like and see what is open I think you might get lucky.

 

[Sarubo]

I'm not a fan of the ADR. My husband and I are not "planners" so to speak, it's vacation, it shouldn't be work. Now to be fair, when my husband and I went last January we weren't on the meal plan. This January will be our first time using the DDP, and I think it psychologically affects you. I guess because your paying up front, you want to make sure you get into a restaurant. Last January, we had no ADR's and we were only turned away from one place, 50's Prime Time. But then we strolled up to Sci-Fi and got right in. Other than that incident we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a meal. This time we have the meal plan and eventhough we had no problem getting into restaurants, we still went ahead and made ADR's. And contrary to what I was warned about, we had absolutely no problem making those either. In fact we just sat down tonight, picked out some places and made the call. We got everything we wanted. I realize that for alot of people this is their first trip, or perhaps it's been awhile since their last visit. My advice is this...no one but you knows what kind of vacationer you are. If you're someone who will be totally stressed out worried about where you're going to eat, then make ADR's. If you a "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" type like me, it may be worth it to you to make one or two ADRs for the "must do" places and leave the rest up to fate. Have a great trip BTW!

 

[klmrph]

Was able to get Crystal Palace for a last minute trip Nov 17-21, but Chef Mickey's is full.

 

[Melora]

I love to plan to its fun for me to make our ADRs in advance. That said there are some restaurants that are hard to get into and others that there shouldn't be that much of a problem.

I have been waiting numerous times and seen people walk up and get seated without a ressie. Yak n Yeti didn't even ask for our name or if we had an ADR. Sci-fi is hit and miss but lots of people can walk right up, especially if its right at opening or a little later than peak lunch or dinner hours.

Numerous world showcase restaurants have availability at the last minute. Last January we walked up to Tokyo dining and were seated without an ADR at 6PM. We had a bit of a wait but it wasn't too bad. Mexico almost always has tables available.

Calling now to see if you can get something more popular might be a good idea but if not, you should be able to find some table service.

 

[LONES]

We were there last January, and the only ADR we made was for a character breakfast at Ohana's. We hadn't been to Disney for many years, and didn't really know any better. After our first night of wandering all over downtown disney trying to find anywhere to eat, we finally settled on the food court back at the hotel at about 8:30pm. At Epcot we made an ADR at Biergarten early in the day for about 8:00pm. At DHS we were able to make a sameday ADR at 50's Primetime for 7:00pm. We also did a walk up at Boatwrights at POR one night. We also did a walk up at Raglan Road in DD one night. The rest of the time was counter service, or food court.

 

[bound2travel]

I have to agree with TDC Nala, there are plenty of good counter service places in WDW. I have gotten TS as a walk up but I am single.

two of my favorites.
MK - Pecos Bill
Epcot- Sunshine Seasons