Opinions Please DW says lets wing it on ADR

[fuzzy164]

My DW is against me doing the ADR for our Sept. 11-18 trip. I'm very nervous and have insisted on at least getting reservations for Cinderella's table at a minimum
I want to plan each table service and have ADR's everynight, she's under the impression that we can just walk in to a resturant and get seated.
What is the consenus of the group, should I make ADR's for every night or just wing it?
WDW Sept 11-18 2007 1st Trip

 

[SherylR]

The time you are going isn't a peak time, but for me (and this is my first time) I want to know there's going to be a table waiting for us in a reasonable window of time. After hauling our cookies around the park all day in the heat, I think we'll be tired and a bit cranky. lol And knowing that there's a table with our name on it, in a nice air conditioned restaurant will be nice respite in the day.
You can always call and cancel an ADR when you get there, but at least you've got something concrete to rely on. kwim?

 

[explorer1977]

I would suggest to make some ADR's for places you would like to try since free dining will fill the resturants pretty quickly. We have been in Sept and in Jan and the dining plan has made it more difficult to get walk up seats at off peak times at the good and popular table service locations. As stated you can always cancel if need be and make changes closer to the date (for our last trip in Jan we changed ADR's practically weekly).

 

[highland3]

I'm one of those people who like to wing it..... BUT........

when it comes to ADR's, I made sure to book (well ahead of time) the ADR's we wanted. We did wing it a few nights, but when it came to the restaurants we really wanted to try, I decided not to take chances.

 

[hockey mom]

Are you kidding - thats free dining. Unless you plan on eating only counter service get on the phone now.

 

[NancyK]

I've been during free dining the last 2 years. Please get your ADRs together this week. You can always cancel them when you get down there. I'm going the week of September 15th and there are already restaurants that I can't get into for the day/time I want. During free dining the restaurants are busy, busy, busy.

 

[Daddio]

Absolutely no problem walking into any table service restaurant and getting seated within 10 to 15 minutes, if you arrive between 4:00-4:15PM or 8:30-10:00PM. Don't expect to get into many other places outside those hours without an ADR.

 

[pkitty]

It would be wise to book ahead. Even with advance reservations you often have to wait 15-30 minutes for seating at peak times. I always marvel at the bravado of some people who walk up to the podium of resturants like Le Cellier at 6:00 in the evening and ask for a table. When they are told that the restuarnt is fully booked until 10:00 pm they are often indignent and put out.....hello? What do you expect...do the math....times the number of people in WDW by the number of spaces available for sit down dining and what have you got? Nothing if you have no advanced dining reservations. I could see you being okay at your resort possibly (even at SSR The Turf Club is almost always fully booked) but places like Magic Kingdom....no way. Crystal Palace, Liberty Square tavern and Cinderella's Royal Table are definately required to be booked in advance. Er on the side of caution and cancel the reservation if you can't make it.


SSR -2008........
SSR -2007
Old Key West and Boardwalk-2006
SSR-2005
POP-2004
POP-2003
Movies-2002
Movies -2001
Sports -2000
Music- 1999
Music- 1998


Music - 1999

 

[declansdad]

On our first trip, we knew nothing about ADRs. We ate a very few restaurants without and 1.5 hour wait. Make your ADRs.

 

[Think I'm Tink]

Are you kidding - thats free dining. Unless you plan on eating only counter service get on the phone now.

Exactly! I would say that due to the Free Dining promotion, this trip is not the trip for you to be "winging it". Especially since it's your first trip. Search out the menus to find out which restaurants appeal to you and make those ADRs. A couple of good spots to find the menus are: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm and http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

 

[PrincessNED]

First - Welcometo the DIS !!

second - ADR's are crucial unless you only want counter service - especially with all the free dining foodies going. Call ASAP as the foodies will certainly be calling.

 

[toesmom]

That's the one thing I don't like about the dining plan is that you have to preplan your whole dining schedule months in advance. What if you decide to do another park that day and you are not near Crystal Palace for your 11:30 lunch??? then what??

Definitely make ADR's. It's a real pain in the ___, but will make your life easier once you are there. And I would say do them soon, because with the free dining promotion, there may not be great times left for the restaurants you really want.

And do them without his knowledge if it makes you feel better.

 

[declansdad]

And do them without his knowledge if it makes you feel better.

Without her knowledge.

 

[toesmom]

My dh can't believe that any men actually care about Disney World at all, so I just assume a woman is always posting. I should read through more thoroughly, sorry.

Back to the discussion, make ADRs without her knowledge just in case you need them.

 

[tigercat]

Are they calling PS's ADR's now?
tigercat

 

[highland3]

My dh can't believe that any men actually care about Disney World at all, so I just assume a woman is always posting. I should read through more thoroughly, sorry.

 

[maryliz]

Make your ADR's now ... and if you change your mind about a particular park one day, then just wing it and try and get something different. It's always nice to cancel an ADR that you know you aren't going to get to ... but you can do that right from your room, or any CM in a store in the parks will let you use a phone to call Dining.

I had a friend who went in Sept during free dining ... her DH felt the same way as your DW ... we had to set him straight! And he was glad that we did.

 

[Shawn d]

My DW is against me doing the ADR for our Sept. 11-18 trip. I'm very nervous and have insisted on at least getting reservations for Cinderella's table at a minimum
I want to plan each table service and have ADR's everynight, she's under the impression that we can just walk in to a resturant and get seated.
What is the consenus of the group, should I make ADR's for every night or just wing it?
WDW Sept 11-18 2007 1st Trip

One thing I know is that when i booked for my ADRs, the woman told me that the top 3 restaurantsto book are Le Cellier, Chef Mickey, and Cinderella's table. With Le Cellier, I phoned in Febuary, and she told me if I wasn't going solo, my chances would have been shot. She also said that they are booking solid into August.

Good luck with your picks

 

[declansdad]

My dh can't believe that any men actually care about Disney World at all, so I just assume a woman is always posting. I should read through more thoroughly, sorry.

Back to the discussion, make ADRs without her knowledge just in case you need them.

No problem, just wanted to let you know that there are husbands who do like getting involved in the planning.

Are they calling PS's ADR's now?
tigercat

Yes they are. It changed a couple of years ago, I think.

 

[thejollyfinn]

Everyone here is in total agreement. Make ADR a priority.

It sounds like maybe your DW wants some variety.
This is what we did last year and it seemed to work out pretty good.
We planned our ADR for all of our TS meals and one or two CS meals that we really wanted to experience. The remaining CS meals we left up to where we were that day and time. Being a bit more flexible with our lunches made us feel like we weren't strapped to a time-table and that made our park visits alot more enjoyable. And since lunch time spans over a larger time period, there usually isn't a problem getting a good meal into you.
Golden Rule - don't go at peak periods (noon).

Just remember: no ADR's at all - then you'll be the group that I saw many times last year being turned away from the headliner restaurants.