First day - what to do between ADRs?

[portmaster1000]

You are going to be at Epcot in the middle of the Food and Wine Festival (with fabulous food and drink from all over the world) and you are going to go to Le Cellier for lunch?!? That's crazy. For that reason alone, you should cancel the reservation and instead sample the foods from the various booths.

We have one day devoted to the FW festival (possibly two days). We'll not miss out on it in the least. Plus 10/22 is a weekend and a high crowd day in Epcot - the World Showcase is going to be packed!

 

[portmaster1000]

I have to agree with the others who said to cancel Le Cellier. It does sound like a rat race and a big waste of 2 meals, and it also does not sound like a very enjoyable day. That is only my opinion, of course, but we learned a long time ago that in spite of the necessity of ADR's and the desire to eat in certain restaurants, DO NOT LET THE MEALS DRIVE YOUR VACATION!

From my time on these boards and researching the DxDDP, I don't see how you can have the DxDDP and not let the meals drive your vacation. If can you can tell please do!

ADRs have been hard to come by in the places we wanted to eat. We wanted to the deluxe plan to experience the best of Disney dining. From the reviews, Le Cellier is among the best. I won't cancel it unless I cannot make it.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I know I already put my $0.02 in, but about what to do in between:

Here's what the day will end up:

9:20: Plane Lands, get off the plane, herd everyone together, everyone uses restroom, make way to ME
10:00: Arrive at ME -- assuming wait of 30 minutes plus loading time
10:45: Leave for Resort - Assuming you are the last resort to unload
11:45: Arrive at resort - check in
12:00: Walk to room, drop luggage, use restroom, etc, go to bus stop
12:30: Wait for bus to Epcot
1:00: Arrive at Epcot, go thru bag check, walk to back of park to LeCellier
1:30: Arrive at LeCellier.

(((Assuming you make it))))

12:20: Reservation time
12:30: Seated
1:45: Leave Restaurant walk to front of Epcot to catch bus, get to resort, ride around to bus stop, get to room
3:00: Get ready for California Grill - put on dress clothes for Signature Meal
No later than 4:00pm: Take bus to MK, hop monorail to Contemporary and check in at desk.

There really won't be any down time to do much, but maybe explore the resort for a few minutes. If you don't have kids, you may shave a little time off. We don't have kids, and prefer to take a town car rather than ME, we also prefer taxis to resort breakfasts and dinners. Everything can take longer on the busses.

 

[Pugmalion1]

From my time on these boards and researching the DxDDP, I don't see how you can have the DxDDP and not let the meals drive your vacation. If can you can tell please do!

ADRs have been hard to come by in the places we wanted to eat. We wanted to the deluxe plan to experience the best of Disney dining. From the reviews, Le Cellier is among the best. I won't cancel it unless I cannot make it.

I don't know what everyone else is on about, but it sounds like you have things pretty well in hand to me. I say keep them both! Like you said, if you're going to miss your lunch, no big deal. There's plenty of food to be had in Epcot, and you can just schedule a signature dinner later in your trip.

Also, unless you plan on gorging yourself at both meals, five hours between lunch and dinner is definitely not too small a duration. I had breakfast as soon as I got to work this morning, and I'm hungry now at lunch time. That's only four hours. Granted, my breakfast was light, but even if it was a regular egg platter kind of meal, I could still comfortably eat during my lunch break.

Yeah, do what you want to do. Nothing sounds unreasonable to me.

 

[AnnetteF]

From my time on these boards and researching the DxDDP, I don't see how you can have the DxDDP and not let the meals drive your vacation. If can you can tell please do!

ADRs have been hard to come by in the places we wanted to eat. We wanted to the deluxe plan to experience the best of Disney dining. From the reviews, Le Cellier is among the best. I won't cancel it unless I cannot make it.

That is exactly why we don't do the dxddp, and if you're ok with that, then it might work for you. We usually do the regular dining plan, and often find that to be too much food, with many credits for CS and snacks leftover at the end. we probably would not do the DxDDP unless we wanted to plan a big breakfast in the morning and a later dinner at night, with a snack in between meals. And I would plan the meals according to where we were going to be, and might even consider some of the less popular locations, rather than just jumping from place to place according to which restaurant we want to try.

But I really wouldn't want to waste time with 2 sit down meals per day. Is this your 1st time to WDW? The logistics of getting around to all the desired restaurants can wear you down quickly and will suck up most of your touring time. It could wind up being a vacation to eat. Again, if you're ok with that, that's fine. Years ago we found ourselves wanting to stay in the park we were in but we "couldn't" because of an ADR in another park or hotel and had to allow time to get there. Not fun. Now we have fun first and put eating second.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

We weren't planning on going to the room when we arrived. We'll only have a small carry on bag and the rest will be checked. Is there a compelling reason to go to the room after arrival?

If we don't go to the room and catch the bus from the main terminal at POR we really only have a walk from the enterance of Epcot to Canada, right?

Worse Case - everything takes the maximum time and we totally miss the reservation. Then we'll pay for something at the resort and use the extra credit to reschedule a regular dinner to a signature restaurant later in the week.

Medium Case - standard drive from airport, drop offs and wait times. In this case, I see us getting to Le Cellier right on time without racing.

Best Case - Good luck on every front. Get to Epcot with time to stop by Soarin' and grab a fast pass before Le Cellier.

Well, I guess we just always go to the room to put our carry on items in there (instead of checking them and dealing with them later), and to assure the room is in good condition. Once we were assigned a room another couple was in--and I'd be really mad if my checked luggage showed up there with other people in it, and twice arrived in rooms that had not been cleaned from the previous people----for us, it's easier to check things out and deal with it at the current moment. But you're right--everyone travels differently.

We do the DxDDP on every trip (we go 2 or 3 times per year) and have learned many valuable lessons on how to make it work perfectly in the past several years. A lot has to do with spacing, park hours, the weather, allowing time to change into dress clothes for signature meals, our plans for the day, and when we want to sleep in, etc. We get to see everything, still make our ADRs and have a great time.

It looks like you leave tomorrow! Hope you have a great time and great weather!! I hope you don't take any offense, but as someone who does do this often and has tried almost every dining opportunity--I'm just trying to help!!

 

[portmaster1000]

Well, I guess we just always go to the room to put our carry on items in there (instead of checking them and dealing with them later), and to assure the room is in good condition. Once we were assigned a room another couple was in--and I'd be really mad if my checked luggage showed up there with other people in it, and twice arrived in rooms that had not been cleaned from the previous people----for us, it's easier to check things out and deal with it at the current moment. But you're right--everyone travels differently.

We do the DxDDP on every trip (we go 2 or 3 times per year) and have learned many valuable lessons on how to make it work perfectly in the past several years. A lot has to do with spacing, park hours, the weather, allowing time to change into dress clothes for signature meals, our plans for the day, and when we want to sleep in, etc. We get to see everything, still make our ADRs and have a great time.

It looks like you leave tomorrow! Hope you have a great time and great weather!! I hope you don't take any offense, but as someone who does do this often and has tried almost every dining opportunity--I'm just trying to help!!

I know you're trying to help and I appreciate the input but the Le Cellier ADR is like the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket to us. We're silly about it!

I'm still wondering how late I can be for the Le Ceillier ADR and they still honor it. Should I call Disney Dining if we are running late? Or does Le Cellier have a direct number?

Thanks!

 

[portmaster1000]

That is exactly why we don't do the dxddp, and if you're ok with that, then it might work for you. We usually do the regular dining plan, and often find that to be too much food, with many credits for CS and snacks leftover at the end. we probably would not do the DxDDP unless we wanted to plan a big breakfast in the morning and a later dinner at night, with a snack in between meals. And I would plan the meals according to where we were going to be, and might even consider some of the less popular locations, rather than just jumping from place to place according to which restaurant we want to try.

But I really wouldn't want to waste time with 2 sit down meals per day. Is this your 1st time to WDW? The logistics of getting around to all the desired restaurants can wear you down quickly and will suck up most of your touring time. It could wind up being a vacation to eat. Again, if you're ok with that, that's fine. Years ago we found ourselves wanting to stay in the park we were in but we "couldn't" because of an ADR in another park or hotel and had to allow time to get there. Not fun. Now we have fun first and put eating second.

Planning it was logistically tiring. I reworked it no less than 3 full times. We're hitting each park on the day it's supposed to be the least crowded of the 4 and my ADRs reflect places in that park or near there. I've tried to minimize ADR travel time and with one exception I have.

It's just that some ADRs were impossible to move as there were no other times available. The first day we really don't have an agenda other than our ADRs so no park pressure there. The other days are all park-centric.

 

[portmaster1000]

9:20: Plane Lands, get off the plane, herd everyone together, everyone uses restroom, make way to ME
10:00: Arrive at ME -- assuming wait of 30 minutes plus loading time
10:45: Leave for Resort - Assuming you are the last resort to unload
11:45: Arrive at resort - check in
12:00: Walk to room, drop luggage, use restroom, etc, go to bus stop
12:30: Wait for bus to Epcot
1:00: Arrive at Epcot, go thru bag check, walk to back of park to LeCellier
1:30: Arrive at LeCellier.

THANKS for this breakdown. I'm hoping I can shave an hour off of it. I don't think it will take the two of us 40 minutes to get from the US Airway gates to the ME desk. We'll wait to check out the room after Le Cellier and save that time.

With a bit of luck -



- elsewhere we should walk up on time or shortly after.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

THANKS for this breakdown. I'm hoping I can shave an hour off of it. I don't think it will take the two of us 40 minutes to get from the US Airway gates to the ME desk. We'll wait to check out the room after Le Cellier and save that time.

With a bit of luck -



- elsewhere we should walk up on time or shortly after.

With 2 people... you should be there in no time. When my little cousins have tagged along... everything took 3 times as long--to which I'm assuming is average when you travel with little ones. You'll be fine!!

 

[DizFan101]

i would check out the shops in downtown...especially at make your own shops (legos and tshirts) like the computers are fun to explore and you could make something with legos if you are extra bored... lol.

hmm. or just walk around take photos of items you might not have thought of.
or run around crazy yelling i'm at disney. lol. just kidding there.

hmm. pin trade if you are interested in that... or you could go to epcot and do the kim possible thing to occupy your mind. it's interesting what you will find.

 

[portmaster1000]

run around crazy yelling i'm at disney. lol. just kidding there.

BEST ADVICE EVAR!!!!

 

[Pats Dragon]

Even on a crowded day epcot is do-able. I would walk around showcase or see Living seas exhibit. Another option is to leave le cellier and walk around boardwalk shops. Third choice which would be my fav. is to take the monorail to contemporary and check out shops, get a drink or coffee and just sit and people watch or look out over bay lake. I like to relax the first day and you will get plenty of walking just getting to le cellier from transportation. Have fun!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

My wife and I will be arriving at the Orlando airport on Oct 22nd at 9:20 AM and I have our first ADR (Le Cellier!) scheduled at 12:20 PM. Then our dinner ADR (Cally Grill) is at 5:30 PM. I know that day crowd level is predicted to be high so I'm not sure if we want to stay around Epcot or MK until dinner....We're staying at Port Orleans Riverside so I thought about spending a couple hours in Downtown Disney.
Any suggestions?
Mark

Happy Flight! You will be landing soon!

I'd rethink your dining plans. Lots of things can change the timing of your plan. But even if everything goes perfect, you will only have 3 1/2 hours between meals and really not get to do anything in the parks. At most, you will have about 2 hours or park time at Epcot, and

Le Cellier is not worth a special trip to Epcot just to eat. Just cancel it and enjoy the food and wine festival samples. If on the dining plan, you can pay for most with snack credits.

Your dinner reservation is a little early to see the fireworks from there. I would enjoy dinner and go to Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks (9pm) You can see the Main St. Electrical Parade before at 8pm or after at 10pm. MK is open until 1am!!! Are you staying that late? If so, I'd do rides during the 8pm parade if you get to MK by then.

If your plane arrives on time (what if it's delayed/late) at 9:20am, allow up to 90 minutes after that to get to your resort, then maybe 30 minutes to check-in at the counter to get your key cards and store carry on luggage, then 30 minutes to get to Epcot, 10 minutes to walk to World Showcase, rushing not stopping to see or do anything on the way. It's now 12 noon... Perfect timing. What if you are not seated right at 12:20? Maybe 1pm... finish dinner at 2pm. Now, you only have about 2 1/2 hours before you have to leave Epcot to make dinner on time.

 

[portmaster1000]

We actually got to Le Cellier 30 minutes early and was taken right in!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We actually got to Le Cellier 30 minutes early and was taken right in!

and you leave us hanging.....
How was it, and further more how was the Cali Grill?

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
I was told that they'll hold your ADR for about 15 minutes, but that was about 2 years ago, so I don't know if they changed it. Also, I think that if your plane lands on time, you'll probaby make your ADR ok. Just check in to the resort and get right on the bus to Epcot. If the bus is taking to long, there are usually taxis, hopefully out front so you can get you there faster. No need to check into your room, plus it might not be ready yet. Our plane arrived at 9:30 in the past, and we went straight to Pop on ME and then went to Epcot. Made it by 12:30, so I think you'll be ok. If you really want LeCellier, keep it. We went in Sept. for lunch and it was great. My DH said the steak was delicious and I don't eat meat, so I had a pasta dish that was really delicious. Also, I don't think the portions are that large, so after walking around all day, I think you'll be ready for dinner. Have a great time!!