First day TS ADR

[Clare Voince]

I usually book a flight that arrives at MCO in the early to mid afternoon, and haven't had lunch. I'll be getting a rental car, driving from MCO, then checking into the Dolphin. After check in, I'd like to have a nice sit down lunch, maybe at the beach club, but I'm unsure how much time to allow. Once I left too much time, and I was starving waiting for my ADR time. Does anyone else do this? If so, how much time do you allowed from your flight's arrival to your ADR?

 

[tstidm1]

I would say two hours from the time you land because you have to get luggage, get the car, fight rush hour traffic possibly, check in, drop luggage off and then go to Beach Club. Have you thought about having lunch at the Dolphin? I know I would want to relax after all of that travel.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

I prefer not to have an ADR on arrival day, as there are too many factors that could affect my timing (but we usually travel from the north in winter).

"They" sometimes say you could plan for three hours after landing or so? Tricky.

 

[ncc1701]

We have done a few ADRS on arrival day the last few trips but they were for dinner. We arrive between 9:30 to 10:30am but even when we rented a car ( we now use ME ) it was an hour at least once we got from the plane to car rental then the resort. I never made lunch ADRs( one never knows what delays you can run into).If you are staying at the Dolphin you can walk over to ESPN or Big River and get lunch there since they don't do ADRS (as long as it is not a football Saturday or Sunday). I have made ADRS for lunch at Capt. Grille and the Grand Floridian Cafe 2 hours before by using MDE . You can do that from the airport that morning either waiting for flight or once you arrive in Orlando . Disney Springs at lunch time is also a good place to go to, we did lunch at Cooke's of Dublin and Puck Express Marketplace on arrival days.

 

[Alesia]

There is no way I would give it less than 3 hours. Even then you may not make it and be stuck paying the no-show fee. We only eat counter service on arrival day.

 

[senadler]

We arrive early afternoon as well, but I would never try to make a lunch ADR. We do make a dinner ADR on arrival day, either at our resort or the theme park we plan for the first day. Depending on how the timing works out, we either have a CS lunch or just a snack before dinner.

 

[Clare Voince]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe sticking with dinner is better. I don't care for ESPN, but I forgot about Big River Grille. I might try that. I suppose I could always stop somewhere off property before I go to the hotel.

 

[subtchr]

I love Boardwalk Bakery for a CS meal. Great lobster roll and some very good salads. I'm with everyone else, too many possibilities for air travel delays to make a lunch ADR on a travel day.

Have a great trip!

 

[purple figment]

Because of the $10 per person no show penalty and the possibility of missing a dining reservation because of flight or travel delays we now wait until we have arrived at our resort before checking to see what is available. While there aren't many Table Service restaurants open for lunch at the Epcot Resorts (Captain's Grill and Beaches & Cream take reservations, Big River Grill and ESPN Club do not, also a couple TS restaurants at Swan & Dolphin serve lunch), we've had very good luck getting last minute reservations at World Showcase restaurants.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

We arrive mid-afternoon and typically eat dinner at T-Rex after 5:00.

I wouldn't plan anything within a three hour window.

 

[Clare Voince]

I didn't want to hear that! I once scheduled an ADR 3 hours after my arrival, and it only took an hour, so I had to wait 2 hours to eat! I was kind of hoping I could safely reduce that, but it looks like a bad idea. Guess it's CS or take my chances on a last minute seating.

 

[Nancyg56]

Even with an early mornign arrival time we schedule ADR's for dinner. I do not like having to begin a vacation running to make a reservation, and you just don't know if there will be a delay. Too much stress for me!

 

[SM101]

We usually fly in the morning and get to MCO by about 10am. Even so, I will only make ADR's for d dinner/not before 5, not lunch, because frankly there are so many factors in travel that can delay arrival.

Last trip, my daughter was not well at all the day we traveled, and we ended up spending the first day just hanging in the hotel room and sleeping it off (upset stomach to begin with, aggravated by motion sickness due to the flight). We did a quick stop at the grocery store for staples so we could have soup/crackers and ginger ale for the room and that was about it. She felt fine the next day and we had a great vacation, but I would not have dragged her to a dinner reservation that night.

Although it's nice to have a "tradition" of lunch/dinner when you get there, it's hard to plan ahead sometimes. I find it easier to keep the schedule open and either do a good CS (WPE or EoS) or just see what's available last minute - there usually is something.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It's so difficult to time resort arrival when flying in. We sometimes schedule a dinner ADR (hours after our flight lands) or just wing it.

Big River Grille is a good option. Fresh in the Dolphin has great salads and the Fountain is also good. None of these places need ADR's.

Maybe wing it for lunch and do a dinner reservation? Swan/Dolphin has some of the best restaurants on property and you can call direct to make the reservation without a cc hold. Plenty of places to eat there that won't put you at risk for a no-show fee.

 

[tabrizia]

I really won't book an ADR when flying in in the afternoon. We just flew home on Tuesday. The flight was on time, but we had checked luggage and it took almost an hour to get our luggage because of various issues the airline was having. There is just no way knowing what kind of delays there will be.

 

[OhThePain]

I also won't book an ADR for lunch on arrival day (and we usually land at 9:30 AM or so). I don't think I slept for 180 days after booking the Wanyama on our arrival day (if you don't know, that is a special dinner for AKL guests only, costs almost $200 per person and meets at 3:30 PM). Luckily that worked without any issues (I also proposed when we got to our room, right before we had to check in for it). Even $10 for missing the ADR is not something I want to deal with.

If you want a TS lunch, once you are checked in at the Dolphin, just go to the app and see what TS are available for DS or any park or resort you want to go to. That's what we do now. Others have also pointed out some good lunch options in the Boardwalk area that you don't really need to plan ahead for.

 

[Hopefully]

We take the first morning flight out and usually arrive at MCO around 10 AM & the BCV by noon. I never schedule an ADR earlier than a 7 PM dinner ADR.

 

[Baklava]

Once you're enroute from the airport you could check and see if there are openings. I'd be reluctant to book for arrival day before that, but there might be something open.

 

[Clare Voince]

Once you're enroute from the airport you could check and see if there are openings. I'd be reluctant to book for arrival day before that, but there might be something open.

I like that idea! I can use the app once I get my rental car, just before I set off for the hotel.. I could even do an ADR at another resort or Disney Springs before checking in.

 

[Baklava]

Exactly! As long as you aren't hyperfocused on one specific restaurant, there's almost always something with openings.