Late ADR with a 7 and 4 year old

[TaraBara]

We wanted to try Ohana for dinner while we are at WDW. All I could get was a 8:30pm reservation. Will that end up being okay for my two young boys? Are there lots of other people that take their young kids that late at night? Or am I making a big mistake?

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

I know my dc -- ds11,9 and 3 and dd 7 would never make it that late for a dinner. When we go (every Aug) we always book our ADR's as close to our reg dinner time at home which is 5pm. We find that for our family it just works better. If we tried to eat that late it might get ugly

I have passed on ARD's for that purpose. You can always keep trying to see if an earlier one opens up. We had to change some ADR's around for this trip and managed to get an earlier seating less than 180 days out.

You are the best one to know your dc to know how they handle eating later than normal. Also take in account that you will mostly be on the go all day. That makes kids hungrier and crankier than normal too.

Have you tried a really early ADR like 430?? I find sometimes by the time you are seated and actually served 20 mins or so can pass. Play with the on line reservation system to see what else it gives you.


Good luck with deciding what is best. Sprinkling pixie dust for an earlier ADR!

 

[scanne]

I'm sure you will see kids at 'Ohana at all hours. We have a few later ADRs this year and I am insisting on naps for my entire family almost every day of our trip. Last summer we had a couple of late ressies and my kids (ages 4 and 6) did great! But that was because we took naps. We also go in prepared with activities for our kids (coloring, DSI, game boy, etc.). So as long as you plan ahead you should be fine.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

Hi Tara, I don't know your kids and only you know best, but I do know for our DD at those ages, that would definitely have been too late. I think the biggest challenge you will have is that you are wanting to provide a great experience that, because of the late time, might not end up BEING a great experience and so is self defeating.

Again, this is not saying there are children who couldn't handle it, but waiting until 8.30 PM with our DD (especially if it were after a day at a park) would have been pointless.

That said, I also don't know the reason specifically for Ohana. Is one of their favorite characters there? Is it their favorite food? Did one of them ask for it or is it something you think they would like?

My advice would be to keep trying for an earlier ADR but, again, only you will know best.

 

[Marthasor]

I agree with the other person who said to try to keep your ADR's as close to your normal dinner time as possible. An 8:30 ADR at Ohana means you probably won't get out of there until about 10 pm, then you have to get back to your resort, get to bed, etc. So it may mean adjusting your schedule for two days (day of and day after Ohana), just to make sure everyone gets enough rest for Ohana and touring the next day. Ohana is great, but not worth sacrificing two days of planning for.

I would keep trying to get an earlier ADR. If I remember correctly, we had a 5 pm ADR last year at Ohana and I believe that is the earliest you can get. Or you could try Ohana for breakfast, maybe on one of the mornings you are going to MK?

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[madalex]

We wanted to try Ohana for dinner while we are at WDW. All I could get was a 8:30pm reservation. Will that end up being okay for my two young boys? Are there lots of other people that take their young kids that late at night? Or am I making a big mistake?

There will be lot of other kids there that late, so no worries there.

As to whether your children will be okay eating that late, that is, obviously, an impossible question for a bunch of strangers on a message board to answer. One would hope that you would be able to answer that question.

 

[alexandhadleysmommy]

I am always in the minority on this issue but we just have our kids take a nap later in the day if we know we are doing a late dinner. We are doing a late Ohana's so that we can see the fireworks at 10 We will be going back to the room, clean up a bit and the kiddos will rest/nap.

 

[jlhill4444]

My kids can handle a late ADR if they have naps and a good lunch. We are planning on a 9:00 dinner at CG with the kids one night so that we can watch the fireworks. We are staying at the Contemporary so getting back to our room after will be a breeze. I would think that one late night would be fine, but you might want to utilize naps and a big lunch that day. If you are really concerned just keep trying to get an earlier time and if one opens up jump on it! Either way I think one late night will be fine. In May we had two late ADRs and after a nap and big or late lunch our kids did just fine!

 

[TaraBara]

Thanks for all the advice and replies. Honestly, I DO feel like my kids could handle it, but then again, I could be totally wrong when you throw in all day at a park. I'll just keep trying for an earlier time and if that doesn't work, I guess we'll just have to hope and pray that our late time won't kill us!

 

[CathieArms]

I think it entirely depends upon your children. If your kids are used to eating at 5:30 every night and in bed by 8:00, they'll never make it and you'd be an idiot for trying it. BUT, if your kids are used to a more flexible schedule, I think you'd be fine.

Remember: You're likely going to be at the parks all day from fairly early in the morning onward. Your kids are going to be more tired than usual.

With that said, I'm tentatively planning a couple of 8 or 8:30 meals that will include my son who will be 6 1/2 when we go. I *think* it'll work with him, but I may be an idiot for trying it.

 

[serene56]

We would also factor in if there is a early park day the next day.
Our big thing is rope drop. If we were to do that late of an ADR we would not be able to make that rope drop.

 

[TaraBara]

Woo Hoo!!!! It pays to keep checking the reservations!!!! I just got an ADR for 5:00pm at Ohana's. So nevermind about the late ADR question because I was able to change it afterall!!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

If anybody with young kids gets a late reservation and you want them to do the kids' activities in the restaurant, let them do those right away, because they stop the activities at 9:30. If you hold them at the table because you want them to eat first, they may not get to do the activities.