Going ADRless..advice?

[polineedyan]

We are 6, going in late June, and have no ADR's. My TA told me that even with a ressie, it just takes time out of the day, and really, we are okay with fast food. With a 2yo dd, sitting for long periods doesnt always work for us.
Will we starve without sit-down meals?

 

[mefordis]

We are 6, going in late June, and have no ADR's. My TA told me that even with a ressie, it just takes time out of the day, and really, we are okay with fast food. With a 2yo dd, sitting for long periods doesnt always work for us.
Will we starve without sit-down meals?

No way, you won't starve. If you decide to have a sit down meal, try one of these restaurants (they are easy to get into, meaning no need for an ADR):

Grand Floridian Cafe
ESPN
Beaches and Cream

There are good CS places around. You'll be fine.

 

[polineedyan]

thanks for the quick reply!!We are going in 1 month 19 days, and I could just DIE!!! Havent been there since 83. Our VERY "BRADY" family!!

 

[DisneyMOM09]

This is our plan too! we are going to make an ADR at CRT or The Princess Breakfast in Norway and the rest will be counter service unless we decide to see if a restaurant has an opening for that day.

 

[Amy&Dan]

You won't starve! Thankfully, there are a wide variety of counter service places that serve above and beyone the typical burger or hotdog!

I would advise you to go over to http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm You can see the menus for all the counter service places there (as well as full service places). That site is really helpful to help you budget and get an idea of what type of food is available at each park/resort/DTD. Click on the menu section on the left side of that link, for each park and resort it will list every single place and tell you whether its counter service or table service.

Some of my favorites for non burger type meals:
Magic Kingdom: Columbia Harbor House, chicken strip and fish baskets, some really nice soups and sandwiches and a salad or two. It has seating upstairs which I love since its less crowded and has some window views of Fantasyland.

Animal Kingom: Pizzafari, sandwiches, salads, pizza and breadsticks.
Also, Flame Tree BBQ which has ribs, sandwiches, salads and onion rings! There is also Yak and Yeti which has a full service and counter service which serves various Asian inspired dishes.

Epcot: All over the World Showcase you will find Japanese, Mexican, French, Fish and Chips, burgers (in America), Chinese and all sorts of snack carts. In the Future World section, in the Land Pavillion is the Sunshine Seasons area which has a food court that has sandwiches, rotissiere chicken, salmon and lots of other things.

MGM Studios: Various places all around that have sandwiches and salads and there is also the Toy Story Pizza Planet that has pizza.

In Downtown Disney there is Earl of Sandwich that has reasonalby priced sandwiches (really good place) as well as Wolfgang Puck Express that has flatbread pizzas, salads,sandwiches and much more.

Those are just a few examples. I do have to disagree with your TA, I do think its nice even with small children to do one or two sit down meals. Especially a character meal. However, you might not be able to get much in the way of a reservation at this point. So its good there are so many places to choose from. If you are staying onsite, all the hotels have either food courts or counter service places that will be quick and easy for you. Have a great trip!

 

[pepe of ohio]

Us too, we do not schedule our meals, we eat when we're hungry and in the World, you'll never know when that is. The only thing we pre reserve is the HDDR. It's also one one the reasons we're against the dining plan. Schedules take too much out of the day and we might have found something that alot interesting only to have to break to make a eating reservation. Nope, we fly by the seat of our pants, been doing it this way for 40 trips and no regrets. We found the meals huge anyway, CS, so wife and I split the meal, have room for ice cream snacks during the day and we're fond of pool picnics during our mid day break supplied from the grocery stop we made en route. We do a regular breakfast at the resort food court, we each get our own here and again, they are filling so we're good for awhile. We also found out that when in Florida, we seem to eat less, or maybe the meals are so big, and walking in the hot sun with an overfull stomach is not alot of fun, seems we do more drinking and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[disneymomto5]

We rarely make ADR's and we're fine with it. With our family of 7 and no dining plan it's just too expensive to do TS.

 

[Luv4Disney]

I usually can't finish my CS meals. There will be plenty!

 

[Pumbaa_]

I think your TA did a disservice to you. If your kids have not been, a character meal is an experience! They get to see characters, eat, take an air-conditioned break and recharge!!

Crystal Palace for lunch is one of my favorites. A nice midday break, then we usually head back to the hotel for a swim or nap then go back out again at night

You can though, have a great trip doing CS. As a PP indicated, there are so many choices that do not include burgers.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

 

[Lisa06468]

I have only made one, and dont intend on making any others. I just made it at Rainforest Cafe at AK. Its one place I really want to go to and I think the kids will really enjoy. The rest, we'll do CS or pick something up on the way back to the townhouse, like pizza or something else easy. I do have suggested CS places to eat at - which you'll find on this board, everyone is so helpful - which is good enough for me, I'll know where is good at least and if thats where we want to go, cool.

Have a great trip.

 

[ntsammy5]

One suggestion though. See if you can get an ADR for at least one character meal. They're a lot of fun and it's hard to get into them without an ADR. Something like Crystal Palace or possibly one of the breakfasts.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

As others said you certainly won't starve. Because people often spend an entire week at WDW there is a lot more variety at the CS locations than just burgers and fries.

Cosmic Rays has very good variety. Some don't like that you have to go to different windows based on which menu you are ordering from, though.

However, if you do want to try for a sit down meal as a walk up I've had success in Epcot at Restaurant Marrakesh and Biergarten. Also some of the resort restaurants are seldom full. Don't forget that sometimes if you eat during "off" hours (like 3pm) you may be able to be seated without and ADR.

 

[nytimez]

Every child is different... but my 2-year-old loved the character meals. Having said that, I think going without ADRs is a fine plan and will save you money too -- I have been happy with most of my counter service meals. One of my favorite meals in any park -- the Flame Tree at AK -- is a counter service location.

 

[Luv4Disney]

Every child is different... but my 2-year-old loved the character meals. Having said that, I think going without ADRs is a fine plan and will save you money too -- I have been happy with most of my counter service meals. One of my favorite meals in any park -- the Flame Tree at AK -- is a counter service location.

Yes I agree. Some of our fave meals are CS and Flame Tree is one of them!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

You'll be fine. We did ADRs for character meals only - 4 of them over 7 days. We're not big eaters, and when we dine here at home we usually go higher-end, so for us to shell out Disney prices for food that, in the past, hasn't impressed - just didn't make sense for us. CS is just fine. If we feel we need something else, we have a car, and will head off-property.

 

[DisneyDogg]

Our family of 4 went July 6-13, 2007 and only made 1 ADR for Chef Mickeys. We did the DDP and we got into all of the other restaurants that we chose (Sci Fi, Ohanas, Wispering Canyon, Planet Hollywood) without any long waits. My DH says, if you have to plan out where to eat 180 days in advance, then it really isn't a vacation-it turns into a job. Have a good vaca!!

 

[septbaby]

I think your TA did a disservice to you. If your kids have not been, a character meal is an experience! They get to see characters, eat, take an air-conditioned break and recharge!!

Crystal Palace for lunch is one of my favorites. A nice midday break, then we usually head back to the hotel for a swim or nap then go back out again at night

You can though, have a great trip doing CS. As a PP indicated, there are so many choices that do not include burgers.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

I second this sentiment. A Character meal should be scheduled. Another to consider for a 2yo is the Play 'n Dine at Hollywood and Vine in the Disney Hollywood Studios. That is a Breakfast or Lunch option. Also you don't all have to attend. So if you and hubby just want to take 2yo that's fine. There is no charge for the 2yo.

A TS meal isn't an ordeal, its food that you need and really nice break. Not sure how much lead time you have planning this trip, but sometimes it can be hard getting ADRs for a party of 6 and your TA either didn't want to try or have you get frustrated trying. Please do yourself a favor and book at least a character meal for DD 2yo. It will never be cheaper to take her!

 

[septbaby]

Our family of 4 went July 6-13, 2007 and only made 1 ADR for Chef Mickeys. We did the DDP and we got into all of the other restaurants that we chose (Sci Fi, Ohanas, Wispering Canyon, Planet Hollywood) without any long waits. My DH says, if you have to plan out where to eat 180 days in advance, then it really isn't a vacation-it turns into a job. Have a good vaca!!

If you think of those ADRs as entertainment vs just food it can be as fun as buying tickets for MVMCP.

 

[Luv2Roam]

You certainly won't starve. Just be prepared and know you probably will not be eating at places you rather.
Epcot is a good place that allows unplanned eating. There are good counter food services in Epcot, including the food court in The Land building.
Pepper Market at CSR has a good selection too, esp for counter service.
I think Big River Gill on the Boardwalk is usually easy to get into and I think quite good. (Love their beer cheese soup.)
It is do-able. You just be as particular and may be wishing you were eating somewhere else.
If you change your mind, you can always call WDW DINE and see what is available. Again, you can't be picky. But you will get something good, even last minute.
I called about an hour before eating last Saturday and got the Maya Grill at CSR.
Turf Club at SSR is also VERY good, and often can get there last minute. There is always Olivia's at OKW too.
Often the resort sit downs are easier to get into last minute. But may take a little more time and effort.

 

[debilovesmickey]

Well we just spent a week on property, with the dining plan and I loved having an ADR every day-- I do not have a 2 year old however-- my kids are much older.

Personally I think you miss out a lot only eating counter service, and while the counter service meals are good, there is a ton of variety at WDW.

However, if you change your mind, once on site I was able to make a reservation for the lunch buffet at Husker house in AK( I highly recommend this) and Nine Dragons for dinner ( chinese) in Epcot after we arrived and we went during a school spring vacation week.

Just my 2 cents. If you go back with older children I highly recommend having ADRS. We did not feel we missed out on rides or attractions to eat!

Debi