Please help me with ADR's!!

[mickeyluv]

I am getting a migraine trying to decide times for ADR's. Is there any good "rule of thumb" that you guys use? I've tried to plan my ADR's around our park days, but I just don't know what parks we'll be in on what days yet. Any advice?

 

[bleeps]

Deep breath! It will be all right -- it's all for having fun, right?

No, there's no perfect, magic formula that's guaranteed to be the best for everyone! Use the information that's available and that's important to you (if you are morning people and getting to the EMH park(s) in the morning matters, or night owls/evening hours matter, use that info first to rough out your plan). Also, think about which restaurants (if any in particular) are important to you, and pencil those in. Early dinners *may* give you some flexibility around both when/where you have lunch and where you spend your evenings; big breakfasts at TS restaurants *may* suit your style and dictate the start of your day but not the end of it.

Said with kindness and respect: I think it's easy for us, here on DIS especially, to get caught up in the idea that "perfection" exists. It does not! The perfect vacation is what makes sense for you and your family -- it's not one map that anyone/everyone can follow. The process shouldn't be migranie-inducing, so take care of yourself, lean back, and do your best to make some choices that make sense for your family. Then, get ready to enjoy!

 

[cheerbop]

My advice to you is to try and get a rough draft in your head of what days you will MAYBE be in what parks...
Then, make your ADRs for that time.

Except for very high demand restaurants, you should be able to change them as you discover for sure what parks you will be in when. I changed a few of mine as my plans changed.

As for time, try and get the ones a tad earlier than most...like luch more around 11 or 2 and then dinner earlier also..

We usually only ate 2 large meals a day...

Relax and have fun with the planning. Most things can be "tweaked"!

 

[Hopefully]

I agree there is no one "Perfect" rule of thumb for everyone. Each families needs and desires differ. So relax and try to have fun with it.
I think you are on the right track. I first made a rough draft of which park on which day. I based those decisions on several factors: What my family likes to do best, which parks were EMH both morning and evening (We are not early risers, so for us we avoided the EMH parks), how much time we felt we would devote to each park, and the nights and times of Wishes, and the Unofficial Guide best and worst days recommendations, etc. I considered it a rough draft and that helped to take some of the pressure off of me. We had Park Hoppers and I factored that into the equation too.
Once I had a rough draft of the parks and days, I reviewed the menus on allearsnet.com for restaurants in those areas. During this process, I discussed my thoughts, and the menus, with my husband and son for their input. Their primary input was to roll their eyes at what they consider my obsession with planning. But I was able to get them to commit to restaurants that appealed to them, and I went from there.
We usually eat between 7 and 8 at home, so those were the times I made our TS dinner ADR's for. We used our CS for lunch and I didn't worry about those at all, I figured we would find CS wherever we happened to be.

Remember, You can change your mind!!!! I actually did cancel one ADR while we were in WDW because we simply didn't feel like keeping it on that day. I also was able to add one, so there is flexibility in the process.
Relax and Enjoy, I love the planning as long as I don't let it make me crazy!

 

[lillygator]

I have found that my ADR's always change once we arrive! It's so hard to know what we'll want to eat 180 days in advance isn't it?

Since we have AP's I am not too hung up on what days and what parks, but I am trying to include new restaurants each visit....although once you havea favorite it's hard to not go back!
I try and book a TS for dinner every night and then a couple lunches here and there. It's seems to work out better for us, as we are not usually at the park early and kind of arrive, eat CS lunch, head back to the hotel for naps and then get ready for a nice dinner.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I worked out which park on which day first, mostly looking at which parks have early entry. I try to schedule a different park each day for the first 4 days, then we go back to each park later in the week to catch whatever we missed. If we are going to early entry then we book a late TS breakfast. If we aren't going to early entry (like on the days there ISN'T an early entry park) we book an 8 AM TS breakfast in the park (Crystal Palace, Donald's) or eat CS breakfast in the resort. Lunches are all CS - most days we won't even eat an actual lunch. Dinner is TS every night. I try to book them so we will have enough time to finish eating and get a spot for fireworks afterwards. Dinner is either in the park where we plan to spend the evening or a resort nearby.

My one HUGE mistake in October was cutting it too close for SpectroMagic after dinner. We ate at Concourse in the Contemporary at 6 PM, Spectro was at 8 PM. We finished dinner around 7 PM and got on the monorail. Stupid, stupid. We should have walked to MK - would have been faster. MK was a ZOO. The CMs had us walk down a back alley behind Tony's. We came out near Tomorrowland Noodle Station, where we were directed to Frontierland. DS was getting a cramp from trying to hurry with a full stomach! We ended up standing on the porch of the Diamond Horseshoe with people crammed all around us. The kid standing next to me kept poking me with one of those stupid light up roses, and the adults with that kid kept leaning over on me to try to take pictures of the parade. I was NOT happy.

Moral of the story is to allow PLENTY of time to get to whatever entertainment you have planned after dinner!

 

[Disneyrsh]

Well, here's what works for us...

We usually plan around a few big character meals, work the parks around the meals.

We always try and get the first seating for a buffet-fresher food, fewer hands and sneezes on it. (Sorry, being very Monk-ish here!)

Like sit down lunches better than dinners, a bit cheaper, less crowded, and I can walk off those enormous meals the rest of the day rather than sleeping on them (burp!)

Know where the good counter services places are! That way you're not standing in the middle of the magic kingdom with your kids freaking out with hunger and you're looking at a map going, should we wait in line at the Plaza Restaurant for half an hour for a 10 dollar burger? Nope, go to Cosmic Rays! Huge, fast, and fairly cheap!

Hope this helps!