Help, feeling overwhelmed!

[dbug209]

Hi everyone I am looking for some help. We are traveling in march 2011, I have no earthly idea where to begin with reservations. Where to eat, when to make ADR's (I know some 180 days out), what time to eat (lunch/dinner), when is payment due for ADR's ...... any advice you have will be helpful. I am feeling very overwhelmed when I look at all the resturants to choose from. We will be doing the DDP. Thanks, Dani

 

[onescgirl]

You do not pay in advanced for the reservations, except a few Like Cinderellas Royal Table & some dinner shows.
You just give them your Key to the World Card if you purchased the DDP after you eat.
As to where to eat, do you have kids that are going?
You are smart planning ahead. I did not plan far enough ahead of time on our 1st trip & it was a big mistake!

 

[danceintherain]

When I make ADRs, I start with which park I plan on being in on which day. That narrows down my choices some.

Also, determine if you're only interested in park meals or if you would like to eat at resorts. (Epcot and Magic Kingdom both have fairly easy access to resort hotels) This may depend some on where you're staying.
Keep in mind that the resort restaurants tend to be a little less expensive(and easier to get ADRs) than the parks (there are some exceptions), but there's some travel involved which takes time.

On my first trip that I planned dining, I scheduled a lot of lunches and late breakfasts. They were the safest choice for us, because of park hopping and unsure schedules. That way we were free to sleep in if we chose to, or we could get there early and leave after lunch.

 

[dbug209]

Thanks, there will be no children just DH and myself. We are staying at OKW. How do you decide which park on which day? Thats one of my concerns as well.

 

[Nadjalu]

If you will have hoppers it isn't a big deal to know which park which day. But if you aren't hopping then it is necessary to know where you will be at.

You can purchase a membership on Unofficial Disney's Guide to gain access to their "coding" system. If you are not familar it gives a number system for how crowded each park is on any given day...based on history, EMHs, events...things like that.
That is one way to figure it out.

Another is just pick what day you want to do what park. That is what I do. History tells me to stay away from MK on the weekends if I can. (they are always busier on those days) But I don't always follow that rule.

Some people say to avoid the park with the EMH. That it will be more crowded, as people without hoppers will choose that park because they can't come to evening EMH without hoppers.

And to answer your question on where to start picking restaurants, I look at all the menus, they are online and choose the best menus that I like, then go from there.

 

[Kathy Z]

Original poster, since you will be staying on property at OKW your dining window will open 180 days before your check-in and you can book for 10 days of your stay on that date. If you have any question how Disney counts days check their system when you figure you are getting close and their calendar will let you know if you are trying too soon. From that you'll be able to figure out your exact 180 + 10 date. There are sites that tell you exactly how to figure it out way ahead of time but I don't remember where they are.

If this is either your first trip to WDW or the first time in many years and you do not already have a copy of the "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" I feel it is well worth the cost to purchase it. It will help you decide what parks you want to do on what days (especially important if you do not purchase park hoppers.)

There is a free spot on the web where you can check expected crowd numbers. It is www.easywdw.com. I'm not sure if it goes all the way out to March 2011 yet though.

In general, you get "more bang for the buck" if you use your table service credits for dinner. But if you can only get a certain restaurant for lunch or want to use your credit for a breakfast buffet then you might want to do that and eat a counter service meal for dinner. If you have a few more TS places you want to include than you have credits for, find out which one(s) would be the lowest cost and pay out of pocket for them. For example, we really enjoy Kona Cafe for breakfast (at the Poly.) It is TS so we pay OOP there if on the ddp.

www.allears.net is a good place to look for menus & prices (some older than others, few actually current, but they give you a good idea of what's available.)

 

[sjs314]

Check the disney monthly calendar for park hours and also check out the special events pages for each of the parks for the time you plan on going to the World.
Once you know what is going on for the dates you want to be there then you can pick what parks what days and then decide where you want to eat and make your ADR's 180 days before your arrival
The ADR' you make are not set in stone except for the ones you have to prepay for such as HDDR, Aloha Dinner etc. All other ADR's can be cancelled and you can rebook a time change and or book another place if available for your dates

 

[gadb1]

Please buy the latest 'unofficial guide to WDW'.

It is the best book for this stuff. It helps you out with restaurants. park plans, counter service food etc. It is our best friend when planning a trip

 

[danceintherain]

When I plan my park days I make a list of the attractions in each park that I wish to experience. If this is your first trip ever or in a long time then that list will probably be long.

Once I've determined my attraction list for each park, it is easier to figure out how much time I wish to spend there.

Generally speaking, people spend the most time at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are often described as "half day" parks. That said...I find it nearly impossible to accomplish Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in a half day, because the show schedules simply don't allow it.

Anyways...this is about Dining. Once you've figured out the amount of time you wish to spend in a park, you can look at the park hours for the time you're going and that should help you determine which parks on which days, which should help you figure out how many of your meals you'll be interested in at each park. Once this is determined, you should look at the menus of the restaurants to figure out which ones appeal to you.

You can get reviews and advice on here, but everybody has entirely different experiences. I'm a fairly picky eater, so the reviews of other people don't mean anything to me. If I can't find something I like on the menu, then it isn't worth my time or Dining credits.

Another way to pare down Dining choices is to determine whether or not you're interested in character meals and signature dining experiences. Signature dining requires two table service credits each which ultimately cuts back on the number of restaurants you can dine at using dining plan credits. Character dining is a judgment call. I personally enjoy it, because it allows me to get pictures with some characters without waiting in line, but it is pretty unanimous that the food is sub par at the character buffets. This does vary some, but if the quality of the food is your main concern, then it may be better to choose to forgo the character dining experience for elsewhere.

 

[crostorfer]

I would mention, also, that if you are going in March and will be running into Spring Break crowds that it is IMPERITIVE that you make your adr's at the 180day mark, the minute that the phone lines open if you intend on eating at places like Le Cellier or O'Hana for dinner, or if you want a Fantasmic dining package at DHS now that they have limited Fantasmic showings, those reservations will go like hot cakes the second they are opened.

In addition to the Unofficial Guide, I also recommend the Passporter's Guide to WDW by Jennifer and Dave Marx. It has a dining guide with reviews as well, and handy schedules and keepsake pockets as well as space to take notes. Also, if you have an iphone or a droid, get the WDW dining app, its wonderful!!!

 

[ToddyLu]

My ADRs are based on park hours, EMH and events. For instance I know that DH and I will be going to MVMCP 12/2, 12/7 and 12/9....for 12/2 I made reservations at 5 p.m. at Plaza Restaurant in MK--party starts at 7. I made reservations at WCC at 5p.m. 12/7 because it is a rather nice trip back to MK on the boat for the party by 7. Now on 12/9 MIL wants to eat in Germany. We had not planned to do this party so I made a reservation at Beirgarten for 5:40. Now I know that I can eat at the buffet rather quickly, walk to the monorail and get to MK without too much fuss. We will have already been to two parties and don't have to be in the gate at 7. We chose to do a third party becasue that Thursday evening most of the parks will have closed by 9-9:30 and we counldn't see ourselves heading back to the room that early.

So my ADRs are very much in relation to park hours.

 

[AirGoofy]

Thanks, there will be no children just DH and myself. We are staying at OKW. How do you decide which park on which day? Thats one of my concerns as well.

I would go to Disney's Website and they usually post their park hours about 6 month out. Does it make that much difference, i.e., do you want the EMH? We don't do Park Hoppers as we don't like spending time during transportation between parks. But, in the meantime, just plan your trip by what park you will be each day. Then, when the park hours are released, you can flip-flop days. If you are skipping park days, then plan a meal at Olivia's at OKW (very good) or a boat ride away from DTD and a few DDP restaurants. Use this site to look at different restaurant menus by park location and DDP. There are some restaurants that we really enjoy and some that we would not go back to. However, if you read enough on these boards, there are contradictory opinions. So, check out the menu, make the plan, and enjoy your trip. Good luck.

 

[ncc1701]

Thanks, there will be no children just DH and myself. We are staying at OKW. How do you decide which park on which day? Thats one of my concerns as well.

I plan our days at which park by the ADRS
A lot depends on what is most important to you.
It is just DH & I and for maximum flexability we buy park hoopers.We go to a park in the morning and then spend a part of our afternoons sitting by the hotel pool. We then go to another park in the evening if we have ADRS or want to watch a parade or fireworks show.We no longer need to visit every ride or run overselves into to the ground trying to see everything.
The Unofficial Guide is great resourse

 

[ktlm]

Go to allears.net and click on the dining section. It will show you which park (or resort) the restaurant is located in, and it has the menus for all the restaurants. You can look at the menus and see what has entrees you want to try.