Making ADRs at Theme Parks

[LeeAnn]

With limited hours at the Theme Parks, is there enough time for a sit-down dinner? We do enjoy eating at WDW restaurants and it could take up to 2 hours in the past. But now, I'm not sure how many to book and at what time.

What is the latest you can make an ADR for a restaurant at a Theme Park?
How long do dinners last?
Do they stay open after Park closes or do they rush you out?
Is better to eat at Disney Springs after Park closes?
And which restaurants are worth going to these days?

 

[HiStitch626]

1. It depends on the restaurant, but some have ADRS that are right at park closing or possibly even after
2. It depends on what you order and how long you take to eat, I would guess a minimum of about 45 minutes
3. You will not be rushed. It can be nice to walk through a mostly empty park after finishing your meal
4. We found Disney Springs too crowded for our comfort at night in December
5. What do you like to eat?

 

[LeeAnn]

We do like to eat. We pretty much tried it all from comfort, seafood, ethnic, to fancy. We usually have Free Dining but this time we will on a budget. May splurge a night or two, if we can swing it. Basically looking for an enjoyable delicious budget friendly meal. It would be nice to sit there and enjoy.

So it looks like it's best to get a late seating at a theme park. Any suggestions?
Do you think hours would be extended in early August? Don't want to miss park time.
Any place in Disney Springs worth trekking there for?

 

[LeeAnn]

Where are good places to make ADRs?
What are good times?

 

[HiStitch626]

I would recommend taking a look at the Disney dining site and seeing what’s appealing to you. The menus are all posted and generally very up-to-date.

People have differences but our favorite in MK is Skipper Canteen, Epcot is Monsieur Paul (not yet open), Studios is Hollywood Brown Derby and AK is Tiffin's. Favorite at DS is Homecomin'

 

[gharter]

Just did our ADRs today.
For this trip we have very few ADRs for the evening meal as the parks close so early.
The few we did, I put as close to park close as possible.
I'm still not excited about balancing and ADR vs getting in line for a popular ride at closing time.
In park ADRs, the latest time seems to be about 5 minutes before the park closes.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Note that if the park extends hours, eventually they will add dining reservations. I say eventually because for my 1st week of March trip, they extended hours on Feb. 5th but dining windows for that 6 PM to 7 PM time frame didn't open in MK til yesterday.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Whether hours are extended or not has a great deal to do with how long it takes to do a proper overnight Covid cleaning. While it would be nice if hours were extended, I'm not counting on it at least in the immediate future.

 

[MomOTwins]

Honestly, we like to eat the same time each night, so we book a dinner somewhere around 6:30-7 whether or not the park is open until 5/6pm (in which case we'll eat at a resort or Disney Springs) or 8/9pm (in which case eat in park). That said, you can book restaurants right up until park close time and sometimes after.

 

[gharter]

Because of shorter park hours, we have more of our evening ADRs outside of the parks.
Many of our favorites still are not open as well, so this time was more challenging.

 

[LeeAnn]

Traveling outside the parks for dinner, what time did you make your ADRs? How late are the hours for restaurants outside the theme parks?

 

[gharter]

we are planning to go back to the room, clean up and change, so put our ADRs about 90 minutes to 2 hours after park closing.
Most are 8-8:30.

 

[LeeAnn]

Is it easier to ADR for lunch than dinner? Or just limited all around?

 

[MomOTwins]

Is it easier to ADR for lunch than dinner? Or just limited all around?

Both are pretty limited availability but it does vary and often depends on the restaurant. For example, more expensive prix fixes like CRT and BoG or Signature in park restaurants like HBD and Tiffins are easier to get at lunch because people don’t want a bug 3-course meal midday. Other places with more classic lunch menus like Plaza or Sci Fi sometimes fill up at lunch first.

 

[summerw]

Just did our ADRs today.
For this trip we have very few ADRs for the evening meal as the parks close so early.
The few we did, I put as close to park close as possible.
I'm still not excited about balancing and ADR vs getting in line for a popular ride at closing time.
In park ADRs, the latest time seems to be about 5 minutes before the park closes.

This is what I’ve been struggling with. We love to get in line for a headliner at park close and enjoy the less crowded walk out when it’s over. Hard to plan that with park hours being so up in the air.