help- DH thinks we do not need ADR's!!!

[lumpysluck]

So DH thinks we can just walk into a restaurant and get a table- or we can leave(staying at CBR) and cruise Orlando for food- HELP

 

[Joan1]

Just make the reservations and don't tell him about it

 

[aprilmommy0205]

I hear you! My DH hasn't been all that much help. In fact, he keeps acting annoyed everytime I start discussing things. He says how is he supposed to know what he'll feel like eating 6 months from now!

Like the PP wrote -- just go ahead and make some reservations for things you want.

 

[beroh2253]

DH here, make the ADR's or you may be turned away from the best restaurants.
ME and DW look over all the menus 180 days out and make are ADR's.

 

[faindrops27]

Just make the reservations and don't tell him about it

Exactly!

 

[jmkrat]

Make the ressies, very few people can get in being a walk-up anymore. Especially if you are going at a crowded time at some of the more popular spots. Anymore it seems all the restuarants are popular. Disney is too crowded to take a chance. You can always cancel a ressie if you change your mind, but you may not be able to get one last minute.

 

[BrianD]

Make the ADRs!!! Having a reservation for somewhere is better than getting to eat NOWHERE. Believe me, this ADR thing has become insanity. We are two months out from a mid-December trip, and MANY restaurants are already fully booked!

 

[lynninpa]

So DH thinks we can just walk into a restaurant and get a table- or we can leave(staying at CBR) and cruise Orlando for food- HELP

Silly little man!

 

[sarose]

DH is laughing at me too. We are going in Jan!

 

[solferino]

Make the ADRs!!! Having a reservation for somewhere is better than getting to eat NOWHERE. Believe me, this ADR thing has become insanity. We are two months out from a mid-December trip, and MANY restaurants are already fully booked!

Agreed. Make the ADR's and don't tell him, especially if he requires a table service meal with waitstaff. Maybe for curiosity's sake ask at restaurants if they have any walk-ups available.

I did read in the UG 2008 that WDW does not save any seats for walk-ups, their goal is to fill all available seats ahead of time.

 

[danny1649]

It will save you much touring time.I don't think each meal each day you have to have a ADR for. A nice TS ADR is good to have at least once a day in my opinion.I think it is a part of a WDW experience and a ADR can make it a happy one.

 

[Maggi May]

My DH thought I was nuts at first, too, but after seeing so many people turned away from restaurants that we were eating at, he's a believer. We still try not to make our dining plans the be-all and end-all, but now he really appreciates that we have ressies and don't have to worry about finding a place to eat.

Sooo, as previous posters have said, just go ahead and make those reservations!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

So DH thinks we can just walk into a restaurant and get a table- or we can leave(staying at CBR) and cruise Orlando for food- HELP

Technically, he's right about being able to drive off WDW property to eat. There's plenty places to choose from. However, you would spend a lot of time driving to & from restaurants, unless you're staying offsite.

If you really want to dine at Disney restaurants, call one of the guys in your DH's social circle. Ask him to share with your DH how important it is to make advance ADRs. I'm sure he won't mind helping you out a bit. Your DH will come home full of information, & tell you that you really need to make ADRs ASAP. After all, "Bob" said it's necessary & he knows what he's talking about.

 

[eliza61]

So DH thinks we can just walk into a restaurant and get a table- or we can leave(staying at CBR) and cruise Orlando for food- HELP

We also don't make a lot of adr's. I can't make up my mind where to eat 180 minutes from now, let alone 180 days. We're going in November for 10 days and I have a grand total of 2!!. We always travel this way and never been turned away for a TS meals. The key to our success. Flexibility.

- We don't eat at prime dining hours. You definitely won't be able to walk up to restaurants at 6:00 pm or 12:00 noon. We eat late lunches/early dinners or late dinners.
- We hit the resort restuarants. Much easier getting a table at the resorts than in a park. I swear that the Yacht galley (YC) and Olivias (OKW) are 2 of the best kept secrets at Disney
- We're not choosey. We'll call disney dining first thing in the morning to check availability. What ever the lovely cm has open is where we eat. We have had some of our best meals this way because we end up trying new places.
-Our kids are older so we have a lot more wiggle room then say some one with small kids who has to eat at a certain time or they get cranky.
- We don't do the DDP, so we don't have to obsess over using all our credits.

I'm going to post a trip report on how well we do with ADR's after our trip next month. I'll let you know how we make out.

 

[Micca]

They're just reservations. Make them, and if you decide to do something else you can cancel. As for not knowing what you want to eat months from now, you'll be eating the same things you always do. If you book a restaurant for steak and you're not in the mood, they have popcorn and candy everywhere you turn.

 

[carrie1626]

You haven't said if this is your first trip or not (or his first time?). My husband is a man that absolutely can NEVER make a commitment for " anything on a given day" unless it involves purchasing tickets ahead of time. Somehow I've put up with it for 20 yrs LOL

Personally I do not like ADR's for EVERY DAY. I like to have a plan, and I like
some flexibility, too.

If you really want the Character Breakfast or Dinner, you have to make the ADR. If you want to see Fantasmic at MGM, personally I would make an ADR dinner package for that. I like making an ADR for dinner at one of the Resort restaurants ( BOMA or OHANA or CAPE MAY) because you have the flex of going or not going into a park that day.

Good luck and happy eatin'

 

[mickeysaver]

This is our first and probably last time doing the DDP. For that reason alone, we needed to make ADR's in advance. I usually don't make as many ADR's as I have this time, but I usually do make a few. I like a TS breakfast early, so that our day gets a good start, preferrably at a restaurant with real coffee. I also know that we love Raglan Road and Rose & Crown. We try to visit one or both each trip.

Flying by the seat of your pants is fine, but realize that you are most likely going to be shut out of lots of nice choices by doing so. Also, personally, I hate leaving WDW property once I arrive. The rule is, "Once inside the pixie dust bubble, I will not leave until I am forced to do so!" Dining off property holds no facination for me once I am on property. I don't want to have to leave pixie dust to go out into the real world. It's an illusion breaker, traffic sux, and the service off property is never as good as what I have experienced on property, so why screw up a good thing?

Make the ADR's. Realize you may need to change some things along the way, but have some back ups. CS meals are fine, but sometimes, you just need to kick back and be waited on. Maggie

 

[septbaby]

Just for your own entertainment let him try for a walk up somewhere, maybe two places, then you go up to a podium, give your name and get a seat. You decide exactly when to let him in on you little secret...

Disclaimer: I don't do marriage counseling and I'm virtual so you DON'T know where I live.

 

[ZoZo]

Flying by the seat of your pants is fine, but realize that you are most likely going to be shut out of lots of nice choices by doing so. Also, personally, I hate leaving WDW property once I arrive. The rule is, "Once inside the pixie dust bubble, I will not leave until I am forced to do so!" Dining off property holds no facination for me once I am on property. I don't want to have to leave pixie dust to go out into the real world. It's an illusion breaker, traffic sux, and the service off property is never as good as what I have experienced on property, so why screw up a good thing?

Make the ADR's. Realize you may need to change some things along the way, but have some back ups. CS meals are fine, but sometimes, you just need to kick back and be waited on. Maggie

I totally agree. You can always cancel reservations you don't want to use, but you can't make them magically appear out of thin air if you don't have them! Even if you go at "slower" times of year, you'll still need ADRs at the most popular restaurants.

I say, make 'em without him. You'll be glad you did.

 

[JennyDrake]

Show him these responses. Once upon a time, you COULD go without ADRs. But not anymore. My work takes me to WDw 3x/year. For the last year + I have made a couple of ADRs, but have tried to get more once there. Please note that I am not a picky eater and I am not there during any peak seasons, but usually regular or value. One each of the last trips there was NO place in Epcot that wasn't full and NONE of them were accepting walk ups and we asked at 11:00 opening. Repeat, it was not even an option to standby and wait.

The only options we found one trip were Kona or O'Hana at 9 or 9:30 p.m. on a week night.

If he doesn't want ADRs, then he'd better not be a picky eater, he better not care what he has to pay and he can't be choosy at all as to time.