Newbie Question - ADRs????

[jennk]

Sorry in advance, because I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times before, but this is my first trip to WDW in about 25 years and I have NO idea what I'm doing when it comes to ADRs. I know what it stands for and that's about it, so far

Our travel dates are 12/11-12/18 and we're doing the MYW+Dining for our family of 5 (3 young kids ages 4-7). Do I need an ADR for each night of our stay, or only for the really popular things? How am I supposed to know where we'll eat each night???

And why does it seem to be important to know the parks hours before making ADRs? Don't you just make them for around dinner time?

Should I have already made them for my trip?

Oh, I'm so confused!!!

 

[squirrel]

You can start booking ADR's 90 days from your check-in day.

If you are doing the DDP then you will have one TS credit per person for the amount of nights you are staying. Just re-read your post and it sounds like you have this.

If you aren't doing a dining plan then you can choose how many ADR's you want. You are going when some people will have Free Dining with the PIN codes that Disney sent out.

Park Hours help some people who want to view Wishes or Illuminations from the restaurant, others want to eat before the fireworks start so they can be there to watch from the park.

I would make all of your ADR's 90 days from your check in day. It is hard to get walk ups at certain times of the year. You can have your TS meal at anytime. If you want to do two on one day that is fine. We go during Free Dining and like doing some Breakfast and some Dinners.

 

[Cinderella94]

Sorry in advance, because I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times before, but this is my first trip to WDW in about 25 years and I have NO idea what I'm doing when it comes to ADRs. I know what it stands for and that's about it, so far

Our travel dates are 12/11-12/18 and we're doing the MYW+Dining for our family of 5 (3 young kids ages 4-7). Do I need an ADR for each night of our stay, or only for the really popular things? How am I supposed to know where we'll eat each night???

And why does it seem to be important to know the parks hours before making ADRs? Don't you just make them for around dinner time?

Should I have already made them for my trip?

Oh, I'm so confused!!!

To guarantee yourself a seat at some of the more popular restaurants (Chef Mickeys, Le Cellier, Cinderellas Royal Table, definitely!) you really want to make an ADR. But some people who like to "wing it" more on vacation, or just don't want to be tied down, don't make them. We, and a lot of other people, make ADRs for every night of our stay, no matter what.

People want to know the park hours before they make ADRs because then they can plan which day they will be in which park. Once they know where they will be on a certain day, they can make an ADR for a restaurant in that park. Does that make sense?

ADRs for all restaurants can be made 90 days out.

I hope that helps!

 

[DomFromPhilly]

Welcome to the boards!

A couple of quick answers, based solely on my experiences:

1. The more you have an idea of where you want to eat and when, the better. If you can have your ADRs (and I would assume most people on these boards that eat at Table Service restaurants DO have ADRs for almost all of their meals) before your trip, you obviously won't have to deal with any disappointments of not being able to eat at certain places.

2. Park hours aren't really important if you are going to be eating at normal (or even slightly later) dinner hours. However, park hours are important to your overall planning strategy. In other words, step one is figuring out which park on which day. This is usually determined based on park hours (including Extra Magic Hours). After you determine that, you can start lining up ADRs.

Of course, I, like may people here, am an over-planner (or I plan the perfect amount; it depends on how you look at it ). You may not want to plan to that degree; but, like everything else, the more you plan ahead of time, the more likely you won't be disappointed!

Have fun!

 

[Baloosgirl23]

Hi Jenn -- Welcome to the DISboards!!! Planning a trip to the World can be stressful enough besides having to worry about when/where to eat, right??!! Don't worry, everyone here is really helpful and can help you plan the perfect trip for you and your family I agree with the previous post, plan your ADR's for 90 days in advance, it will give you the best chance to get what you want and hopefully when you're looking to eat too. For you, you'll want to call for ADR's (or use the online system) on September 12, 2009. From what I can tell, with the dining package you've chosen, you and your family will be able to have one table service/sit-down meal per night of your stay/per person as well as one counter service/quick service meal per night/per person and one snack per night/per person. Here's a link that can help you with more detailed information: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/dining/

The dining plans are designed to help you choose the dining experiences that fit your family best. You are more than welcome to use one snack, one table service and one quick service meal each day or skip and day and use multiple credits for other dining experiences like a character meal for example.

Here's another link for you to check out that gives you the menus for each restaurant: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Some popular choices that people like to go to (especially with kids) include: Chef Mickey's, 50's Primetime Cafe, Sci-Fi Dine In, Cinderella's Royal Table, Crystal Palace, Trail's End, O'hana and Whispering Canyon Cafe...just to name a few There are many more than that, but that should give you somewhere to start at least!!

Good luck with your upcoming trip and Happy Planning!!!

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Hello!

You should make ADR's as soon as you can for Table Service (TS) meals....

The popular ones have been explained in above posts....

Our family chooses: CRT at MK, H&V at DHS (Fantasmic Pkg), Teppan Edo at Epcot, and we've done Rainforest at AK although that is not on the dining plan.....

We've also done Cape May Buffet at the BC where we've stayed the last few visits.....

So research your TS meals. I highly recommend Breakfast at "Ohana" at the Polynesian resort...it's a LOT of fun for young kids....good choice for a second day at MK.....

Our last visit...I also planned out Counter Service meals....

This is what I planned:

MK: Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons in "The Land"
DHS: Sunset Market near ToT and RnR....

I've also heard good things about Flame Tree BBQ at AK.......

Hope that helps......please email with any additional questions....you will have a wonderful time!

Hugs,
Mary

 

[BBG-BLT]

If you want to get into Magic Kingdom (MK) ahead of the rope drop (RD) then get the Crystal Palace for breakfast at 8:00-8:15 am on a day when the park opens at 9:00. You can enter the park early on that day with your reservation number. We usually finish breakfast by 8:50 or so - try to - if not send someone out for a fast pass at 9:00.

This allows you to:
Beat the crowds getting through the entrance line.
Take some great pictures of your family in front of the castle without other people around.
Get to some of the best rides fast (like Dumbo that ALWAYS has a long painful wait (if you have small kids that is) fast as your rope drop will be at the castle and not the beginning of main street.

We do this every year. - We hit Dumbo, Buzz and sometimes Pooh before the rest of the crowd makes it way up Main Street.

Good luck - and welcome to the boards.

 

[jennk]

Wow! Thanks for all of the info everyone! SO much to think about (but in a fun way ). I guess I'll start making a preliminary list of where we want our TS meals to be then wait for a listing of park hours for Dec.? We definitely plan to do Cinderella's table, although not the first day. And we're staying at the Poly, so the Ohana b'fast will definitely be on the list. Whew! This trip planning is starting to wear me out Not that it dampens my excitement in the least, though!!!!

 

[TLinden16]

Welcome to the DIS, Jenn!

I'm going to move this over to our restaurant board. You'll find lots of great info about ADR's and restaurants over there.

 

[Cinderella94]

Wow! We definitely plan to do Cinderella's table, although not the first day. And we're staying at the Poly, so the Ohana b'fast will definitely be on the list.

We love those two!! We're doing both again this July!
You definitely want ADRs for those two.