My ADR Priorities in order?

[coopmato]

I'm the planner for a family (there's 13 of us) trip and they're all relying on my to make all their hopes and dreams a reality. No pressure! We aren't always going to be together but there will be significant overlap. Our 60 day mark is coming up in a few weeks and I'd like some opinions on my current ADR priorities. I threw in a couple things that aren't restaurants that I know I'll have to do reservations for - do those open up earlier (like 12:00am vs. 6:00am)? I'm listing them in order of my current priority.

1. 60+7 CRT lunch for 10 people
2. 60+7 BBB in the morning for 2 (this is ALL one of my nieces can talk about)
3. 60+4 Droid Depot late morning to build a droid for 1
4. 60+0 Savi's in the evening for 2 people
5. 60+4 Space 220 dinner for 8
6. 60+4 Akershus dinner for 2
7. 60+6 HDDR preferably 4:00 show for 13
8. 60+3 LTT dinner for 13 (it's a MVMCP night which we won't have tickets for so I'm targeting as late as possible)
9. 60+1 Kimono's dinner for 2
10. 60+9 Tusker House late breakfast for 13
11. 60+5 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3
12. 60+8 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 (just one of these will be enough for us)
13. 60+4 Via Napoli dinner for 3
14. 60+2 Yak & Yeti lunch for 2
15. 60+5 Rodeo Roundup (it should be open by then...right?) dinner for 3
16. 60+7 Boma dinner for 3 (I was debating between Boma and Sanaa)
17. 60+10 Ale & Compass breakfast for 3

There are basically 3 family groups - two groups of 5 and a group of 3. I've warned everyone that I'm sort of planning 3 separate trips and trying to get overlap where I can. So on the meals for 13 people, I'm ok if it is necessary to break it up into 5, 5, and 3. I've also already told them I'm not handling their Genie+ stuff...just my group's (I'm in the group of 3). Critiques and opinions welcomed!

 

[kittercats85]

Akershus is not open at this time and I don’t believe there has been any reopening date mentioned either.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

1. 60+7 CRT lunch for 10 people
2. 60+7 BBB in the morning for 2 (this is ALL one of my nieces can talk about)

Is there a second person you trust to be online doing this at 6am? I would be dragging Hubby out of bed so that both of these could be priority 1 for one of us. Unless BBB doesn't open at 6am? I haven't done it, so I can't remember if that one is timed separately from dining.

6. 60+4 Akershus dinner for 2

No announced opening yet, so reservations not available.

9. 60+1 Kimono's dinner for 2

I don't think they offer reservations.

15. 60+5 Rodeo Roundup (it should be open by then...right?) dinner for 3

No announced opening yet, so reservations not available.

11. 60+5 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3
12. 60+8 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 (just one of these will be enough for us)

I know B&C is easier to get since the renovation, but I think this is still higher than you're giving it credit for.


Given that you have a ton of tough reservations just because of party size, I would recruit in some other adults to get what you want.

 

[sponica]

I recommend having another adult help. While I was able to manage reservations on my own for a 4 day trip, I'm sooooooooo glad for our 7 day trip my husband helped. We divided up the high priority ones and then he worked from the front end of our stay and I worked from the back end.

60+4 Space 220 dinner for 8

This one might be challenging.

 

[coopmato]

Thanks for the replies!

I was not aware that Akershus was closed so I'll keep an eye on that. The two who were going to that would fold into the Space 220 ressie...and given the popularity of that option Biergarten is my backup plan for that group.

I know Rodeo Roundup isn't open yet but everything I've read says 2022 so still hoping that'll open. I'm thinking, if it does open, I'll probably have to bump that up my list because it may be popular for a while.

It's probably ok that Kimono's doesn't take ADRs. We'd be looking at an early dinner so would show up around the time it opens.

B&C is as far down the list because we'd like to get it but it isn't one that I'd lose sleep over not getting. And I'm not sure what I'd move it over...maybe over TH at 60+9?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

So you are really kind to do this for the other groups and clearly nicer than I am, I've been down this road before with family and friends and while I still love them all, I've learned some lessons. Some issues were their fault and some were my own.

I don't know if you've done planning for a group this size or if ya'll have traveled together before but this a HUGE undertaking for you and for meals you won't even be present which seems unnecessary for you to book these. Based on the fact that you said it's up to you to make their dreams come true, and this is just my two cents, I'd politely recuse myself and let each group make their own ADRs. I'd offer to do the reservations for the groups of 13, 10 & 8 and of course, do your own ADRs, but I'd leave the 2s and 3s that aren't yours to navigate making their own dreams come true and provide windows of time so you can try to overlap meals. You may also want to enlist a teenager/spouse or someone in your party to help get these larger groups reserved since you need all hands on deck for this. Just trying to get ADRs for these large groups will be a big enough challenge, let the other folks book their small groups and at least get some of that stress off of you.

I've been to WDW with other groups and more times than not, you get people that want to bail on meals, not realizing it's not olive garden and you can't just cancel or change their plans completely. And you're left with the no show fee, someone upset about it, someone that said they wanted to eat at 7pm, not 7:30p, etc. And let's say they do their own G+ and they book a LL that conflicts with a meal and want to switch/cancel, it's your ADR reservation. That's just too much for one person to manage on a vacation and so not worth it imo.

As far as your actual priority, I'd say you're pretty spot on with this list. I added a few notes below. Good luck!!

1. 60+7 CRT lunch for 10 people
2. 60+7 BBB in the morning for 2 (this is ALL one of my nieces can talk about)--So morning BBB reservations are hard to come by so you're smart to prioritize that one. I believe it's 6am ET for reservations. Not sure about Droid depot.
3. 60+4 Droid Depot late morning to build a droid for 1
4. 60+0 Savi's in the evening for 2 people
5. 60+4 Space 220 dinner for 8 This is going to be a tough one, if you could have this meal later in the trip, I'd try for closer to the end of your stay.
6. 60+4 Akershus dinner for 2 This restaurant has not reopened since Covid. this is flex space and at one time was a relaxation area for mask free chilling.
7. 60+6 HDDR preferably 4:00 show for 13
8. 60+3 LTT dinner for 13 (it's a MVMCP night which we won't have tickets for so I'm targeting as late as possible)
9. 60+1 Kimono's dinner for 2
10. 60+9 Tusker House late breakfast for 13
11. 60+5 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 B&C is still tough to get, we love it there and our last two visits we could never get in, even tried walkup.
12. 60+8 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 (just one of these will be enough for us)
13. 60+4 Via Napoli dinner for 3
14. 60+2 Yak & Yeti lunch for 2
15. 60+5 Rodeo Roundup (it should be open by then...right?) dinner for 3 Just says late 2022, I'd have an alternative in case it's not open.
16. 60+7 Boma dinner for 3 (I was debating between Boma and Sanaa) Not sure who is eating here but I prefer Boma to Sanaa. The food at Sanaa can be good, it's just not consistently good and we prefer the buffet variety at Boma.
17. 60+10 Ale & Compass breakfast for 3

 

[youngdeb12]

BBB opens at 12AM EST I believe. I was able to make my reservations for BBB prior to my ADR booking window opening at 6AM. I wasn't able to get a spot for our 60+2 day (I had to book 3 spots and wanted morning) but had lots of selection at 60+6. We are travelling late October.

 

[coopmato]

The 60 day mark has come and gone and here is my update on how we did. We had to be a little flexible but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The dining ADRs took about 2 hours to make everything. I was not prepared for my card to start declining the holds so it might be a good idea to let your bank know ahead of time to expect it. I ended up making a total of something like 24 individual reservations.

1. 60+7 CRT lunch for 10 people Got it!
2. 60+7 BBB in the morning for 2 (this is ALL one of my nieces can talk about) Got it! Booked at 12:00am eastern
3. 60+4 Droid Depot late morning to build a droid for 1 Got it! Booked at 12:00am eastern
4. 60+0 Savi's in the evening for 2 people Did not get it. The latest opportunity was 3:45 but I felt that was cutting it very close so I booked a different day but stalking for a later time for this day. Booked at 12:00am eastern.
5. 60+4 Space 220 dinner for 8 Did not get it. There was nothing even attempting smaller groups. Backup plan was Biergarten - again no availability. I did get everyone into Via Napoli ( ADR's for 5, 5, and 3). Pretty good for a plan C.
6. 60+4 Akershus dinner for 2 Not open.
7. 60+6 HDDR preferably 4:00 show for 13 Got it! Category 1.
8. 60+3 LTT dinner for 13 (it's a MVMCP night which we won't have tickets for so I'm targeting as late as possible) Got it! Again broke us up into 5, 5, and 3. Two groups at around 4:45 and one at around 5:45.
9. 60+1 Kimono's dinner for 2 Doesn't take reservations.
10. 60+9 Tusker House late breakfast for 13 Got it! Had to break into 3 groups again.
11. 60+5 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 Didn't get either of the B&C...but I don't think we'll miss it too much. We landed all 13 of us at 50's Primetime (again 5, 5, and 3).
12. 60+8 Beaches & Cream lunch for 3 (just one of these will be enough for us) Picked up a Crystal Palace lunch for all of us.
13. 60+4 Via Napoli dinner for 3 See #5.
14. 60+2 Yak & Yeti lunch for 2 Got it!
15. 60+5 Rodeo Roundup (it should be open by then...right?) dinner for 3 Not open yet.
16. 60+7 Boma dinner for 3 (I was debating between Boma and Sanaa) Got it!
17. 60+10 Ale & Compass breakfast for 3 Got it!

Wanted to add Storybook Dining for 2 at 60+2 but nothing available so I'm stalking that one. Provisionally picked up The Plaza for dinner at 60+2. We'll probably decide if we want Yak & Yeti lunch or the Plaza dinner and cancel the other. If we can get Storybook, that'll make that decision.

 

[LisaL]

This is an amazing post. How do you know which reservations become available at (Eastern time?) 12:00, 3:45, 5:45, 6:00?

 

[onewishupon]

.

 

[coopmato]

This is an amazing post. How do you know which reservations become available at (Eastern time?) 12:00, 3:45, 5:45, 6:00?

It seems like the "extras" - BBB, Savi's, and Droid Depot open up at 12:00. I'd imagine similar non-dining reservations might be the same (tours and such?). I read a lot of posts on here that led me to believe that might be the case. I wouldn't say that I KNEW. Then the dining opened up at 6:00. I think 5:45 is recommended so that you are prepared when 6:00 hits and maybe they open a few minutes early on random occasions but that wasn't the case for me.

If you are referencing the 3:45 in my post, that was a reservation time at 3:45pm I was talking about not the time I was booking. Sorry for the confusion there.

 

[LisaL]

It seems like the "extras" - BBB, Savi's, and Droid Depot open up at 12:00. I'd imagine similar non-dining reservations might be the same (tours and such?). I read a lot of posts on here that led me to believe that might be the case. I wouldn't say that I KNEW. Then the dining opened up at 6:00. I think 5:45 is recommended so that you are prepared when 6:00 hits and maybe they open a few minutes early on random occasions but that wasn't the case for me.

If you are referencing the 3:45 in my post, that was a reservation time at 3:45pm I was talking about not the time I was booking. Sorry for the confusion there.

Thanks! I really appreciate it. Yes, I confused the time. You were perfectly clear, lol.

 

[handyl03]

It seems like the "extras" - BBB, Savi's, and Droid Depot open up at 12:00. I'd imagine similar non-dining reservations might be the same (tours and such?). I read a lot of posts on here that led me to believe that might be the case. I wouldn't say that I KNEW. Then the dining opened up at 6:00. I think 5:45 is recommended so that you are prepared when 6:00 hits and maybe they open a few minutes early on random occasions but that wasn't the case for me.

If you are referencing the 3:45 in my post, that was a reservation time at 3:45pm I was talking about not the time I was booking. Sorry for the confusion there.

Just happened to read your post 5 minutes before tour reservations opened at midnight (9pm my time) and got a Starlight Safari reservation for 8ppl 12/21. I would have waited until morning with the dining reservations and probably would have missed out! Thank you!!