No ADR's made here....... maybe i'm crazy

[bballdiva]

.........Anyone else with me. I'm goin the last week of oct. Me and bf just cant bring ourself to do it. I give everyone credit thats calls and makes all these ADR's. I am a plan freak but i just never now when i'm gonna wanna eat, so I can never image makin plans for dinner 90 days or less out. Am I crazy or is anyone else with me? I dont have any kids and were in our 20's.

 

[PigletsPal]

If you dont' mind the chance of waiting a few hours before you would get seated at some of the rest. then you want have a problem. With the free dinning it has been really hard to just walk up and get into some places without a long wait. Of course there always CS if that is the way you want to go instead of any sit downs meals. Good luck and hope it works out for you.

 

[Manon]

It's ok to have no plan, but you have to realize that maybe you won't eat at the restaurants that you want...

With kids its a different thing, we have to have ADR's if you want to be shure to eat a nice dinner!!

Have a nice trip!!

 

[bballdiva]

I'm also not goin during free dining so hopefully that will help. I also like fast food more than sit down dinners, I'm just not a fancy eater. I guess i will just have to see. I cant wait to go i think its just 39 days a way. WOO HOO

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I can understand when you don't have children. I vaguely remember those carefree days. With 3 children I have to make ADRs or I wouldn't enjoy my vacation as much. I try to make our reservations around the same time that my children normally eat. It really helps!

Lori

 

[christinadei]

I'm also not goin during free dining so hopefully that will help. I also like fast food more than sit down dinners, I'm just not a fancy eater. I guess i will just have to see. I cant wait to go i think its just 39 days a way. WOO HOO

As long as you aren't going to have sit down dinners you should be fine. This is my first time making ADR's and it's only because of the free dining. Otherwise, we'd wing it and eat when we wanted at CS places.

 

[jann1033]

we never ( well hardly ever) eat at cs so we always make adrs . however ( know this is heresie) we actually walked into wcc( had an adr but was way early for it llike an hr) and if i had just the 2 of us might not make them off season except for popular places( like walked into wcc for a late breakfst but foolishly waited an hr at Kona for brkfst,no worth it there imo) i think the major problem would be if you are not in aprk...just because then you are stuck either waiting forever, eating counter which gets old fast for me or going to another resort which would be a pain and take forever if you are hungry and want to eat.

 

[tjmw2727]

Even though you are not on the dining plan if you want a table service meal you will need ADR's due to the number of people who are on free dining having made them already. If you know that your going to be at a particular park even one or two days in advance call to see what is available. Try for late lunch or late dinner and you may have more luck. Remember, except for a select few, your ADR's can be cancelled without penalty if your plans change. Otherwise, if you are happy with CS then you will be fine.

FYI, for our trip the 2nd week of October the ADR choices were very slim at the 40 day mark when we dediced to go. We do lots of CS as well but I can't imagine several days of it!

TJ

 

[calgarygary]

Did they extend the free dining? I thought the OP was going at the end of Oct. Originally free dining was for a max. of 10 nights with Oct. 4th being the last possible check in date. I don't think you will have to wait hours for a ts but I would suggest calling at least the morning of the same day if there is a ts that you absolutely want to do.

 

[Grumpy92]

Hey make sure you do a report when we get back so we know what your experiences were.
Since F&WF will be going on at EC you will have a rough time getting into the sit down restaurant there. But a great alternative will be the food booths around WS where you can eat your way around the world
Have a great time!

 

[HM]

I would usually be a bit like you...just a couple ADRs for a week's trip. But, last week we saw a lot of people turned away from eating places due to completely full reservation schedules.

At LeCellier, two couples came in at 6:45 to see if they could get in early (thier ADR was at 7:50) and were given one of the pagers to use. We were seated for our ADR of 6:50 at around 7:15. When we were getting ready to leave around 8:20, they were just being seated!

It probably won't be as busy when you go in late October (no free dining), but it really was a wake-up to me to see so many people disappointed.

 

[liamandcaili]

This is the first trip where I have made all my ADRs, just because I have two young children and I am going with my DSis who wanted to eat at specific places. If you like to eat early or late, you'll likely be fine. Our last trip, we arrived when the restaurants (Brown Derby one night, then Rose and Crown three nights in a row because the children insisted upon it!) first opened for dinner and had no problems getting seated, but we did hear the CM telling people a half hour later that they were fully booked until much later that evening. If you like to eat when most people flock to the restaurants, you should probably call.

 

[jackmac]

I'll be there the last week in October also and I don't have any ADR's. We'll probally meet you at the boardwalk eating pizza.

I've gone to Disney for the past 5 years during this time, granted there was no free dining, and have never had trouble. I've had many very nice dining experiences because I was flexible. Usually I'll go to the front desk and ask guest services to see if we can get a reservation for that night. It has always worked.

This trip I'm expecting to be at ESPN for the World Series with the Red Sox, they don't take ADR's. The only problem will be that no Yankee fans will be around to heckel.

 

[bballdiva]

GO RED SOX . Me and bf will def be at the ESPN. WE'll be there everynight if theres a game. I dont think hes ever missed a game, when it comes to the red sox. I usually eat dinner around 7 or 8 at night anyway. Not a regular dinner time for many. Did i say.....GO RED SOX!!!!!

 

[Blondie]

We have never made an ADR and have always gotten a table. I'm thinking it might be different this trip with the free dining plan.

What we've always done in the past is made a reservation sometime between 10-10:30 AM at the restaurant for a seating anywhere between 11:30 and 12:15. It's never been a problem. But now I'm starting to worry! We never do character meals so that's not an issue, and we always have our big meal of the day for lunch. Dinner is usually counter service or snacks.

I find it hard to believe that they sell every single table in the restaurant and there's no leeway for walk ups, especially with the times we need.

I might get on the phone tomorrow morning just to see what is available. We are always flexible it's just that we don't go by a schedule. We wake up and decide what park we are going to and take it from there.

I'll keep you all posted!

 

[Aliki]

I guess it depends on where you want to eat, and how long you're willing to wait, and whether you'll be disappointed if you don't get to eat a restaurant.

This is our first trip to Disney and probably our only trip before we return with kids (ack), so we wanted to hit a lot of adult/romantic type restaurants such as Artist Point, Cali Grill, Le Cellier, and YSH for dinners. Reservations for two are EXTREMELY difficult, let me tell you! We knew we definitely wanted to eat at these places, so we made ADRs. We're also in our 20s.

If you and your bf are willing to swing it and dont have your heart set on any restaurant, going to Disney withour ADRs is just fine!

 

[KathylovesPooh]

Our neighbors go every year at the end of October and said they've never made an ADR until they get down there. As long as you don't have your heart set on a certain place and am flexible about time, you should be fine. It is one of the slower times of the year and even though the parks have shortened hours, they still have as many restaurants operating.

 

[skipwick1]

I'm totally with you all the way. We have been going to Disney for 15 years, 2 or 3 trips per year, (we can drive in 1 1/2 hrs), and have never, ever, made an ADR before we left home.

Our trips are totally spontaneous, we never know what we are going to do, where we are going to eat, etc. You know what? Our trips just keep getting better and better.

We have not had much problem getting into nice restaurants during lunch, even with Free Dining. Last week, I made an ADR on thursday for Ohanas on Friday evening, and we drove over for dinner.

On the rare occasion that we make an ADR while we are there for, lets say, the next day, I find that I don't like having to be at that restaurant at a certain time.

More power to you all that like to plan every move you make. As for us, we will continue to "wing it".

 

[NMW]

I'm also not goin during free dining so hopefully that will help. I also like fast food more than sit down dinners, I'm just not a fancy eater. I guess i will just have to see. I cant wait to go i think its just 39 days a way. WOO HOO

My husband and I did this on our honeymoon. We had to eat A LOT of counter service meals and this was before the dining plan! It was okay at the beginning, but I got sick of it pretty fast. We had more luck with dinners in DTD. We just waited at the bars and sometimes even ate there. Good luck!

 

[laurabelle]

Well, call me crazy too then! I'm not on a dining plan, going for MNSSHP and Food & Wine festival where we'll be noshing around WS!