Please share you ADR strategy with me.

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

My mom just informed me the other day that she will be treating us to a WDW trip in June. Last year we wnet in May and it was our first trip. I pretty much ADRs for places I wanted to try and it didn't work out very well. We ended up missing 2 of the ADRs since we were not at that park and couldn't make it in time. So this year I want to be more prepared. I know I can't even make ADRs yet but I want to have it all planned out so that when it comes to the 180 day mark I can call up and get them all taken care of right away. Right now I am looking at Sci- Fi (one that we missed last time), Le Cellier, The Crystal Palace (the other one we missed), Whispering Canyon (new family tradition) and maybe Chef Mickey. I tried to plan at least one meal in each park so we can just go to that park all day or at least half day and hopefully not have any problems with making the ADRs, but how do you plan resort ADRs? We will being staying at BC last I heard so I was thinking of maybe going to the Cape May Cafe for breakfast one morning but I am also interested in trying 'Ohana or Kona. Problem is MK is kind of towards the bottom of our list of the parks so I do not know how practicle it is to have CM, CP, WC and a Poly resort meal. Basically we would only be going that way to eat and than head back down to another park or resort closer to BC.
Thanks for any advice you are willing to give me.

 

[drgreene1096]

We are leaving one week from today and I have to say that making your ADR's before you plan what park you will be in is a huge mistake.

Buy TourGuide Mike (very helpful as to what the busy times are in what parks) and decide where you will go on what days then plan your adr's around that.

I'm getting ready to cancel a LeCellier because I don't want to spend my last night of vacay in a restauarnt.

JMHO.

 

[lucincia]

Just had to ask - with 3 kids 6, 4, and 2, MK is the bottom of your park list? Nothing wrong with that, just finding it curious

Like the previous poster, I plan out Park-of-the-Day first. I typically split my planning into two halfs in a day - AM park/activity and Late PM/Evening park/activity. We typically do not stay in the same park much past early afternoon, except for EPCOT - but EPCOT is really 2 parks in one Once that is set, then I plan meals around it.

THEN, at 180 days, I call. Finally, spend the last 179 days making adjustments and calling WDW Dining until they get sick of me

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

Okay this is how I plan.
We always stay at POLY b/c we have a 5 year old and MK is the bomb for her and its so close to POLY. Also I feel that the best resort restaurants are at the Poly and the GF so we stay in close proximity to them. So if we are going to MK in the morning we will either eat at MK (CRT or CP) or at our hotel (Ohana, Kona). If we are going to Epcot in the morning we will eat in our resort or at Epcot (dd loves the princesses in Norway). We don't like AK too much......if I want a zoo we have a great one here but we have done it. And if we are heading to MGM again eat at our hotel or at the GF (1900 Park Fare or GF Cafe) or the Contemporary (Chef Mickey). Since everything is on the monorail is quick to get around.....that is why I love POLY!!!!! We usually spend the morning to mid afternoon at the one theme park and then the later afternoon in the pool, dd loves to swim. Then we will eat dinner either at POLY (Ohana, Kona), GF (1900 Park Fare, Narcoossee )and Epcot ( so many great restaurants there). We also plan one day to go to MK in the morning and then leave after lunch and head to Downtown Disney and then we stay there for dinner, that is our longest day out. I also book 180 days out and I tend not to change it too much! Have fun planning!

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

I am sorry I should have specified that I was planning on planning out the parks first but I knew that if I picked one TS from each park I would be pretty safe so than I could just get an ADR for the day we are going to be there. I am a total foodie though, so there are some places I would like ot try while I am there if I can.

As for MK being toward the bottom for us? That is pretty simple, we use to live in So Cal and had APs to Disneyland. We would take the girls at least once a month. Since a lot of the things at MK are very similar or the same as Disneyland I feel like spending more time at the other parks give them more of a taste of something new.

 

[ParkPrincess]

We do like some of the other posters, pick park days first then restaurants. The days you're at Epcot, you could take the monorail to one of your resort restaurant choices. Plus, you could go to another one the day you visit MK.

 

[Colleen27]

Like the previous poster, I plan out Park-of-the-Day first. I typically split my planning into two halfs in a day - AM park/activity and Late PM/Evening park/activity. We typically do not stay in the same park much past early afternoon, except for EPCOT - but EPCOT is really 2 parks in one Once that is set, then I plan meals around it.

THEN, at 180 days, I call. Finally, spend the last 179 days making adjustments and calling WDW Dining until they get sick of me

That's my method too! Park days first, then ADRs, then endless changes. Which reminds me, I have a phone call to make...

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm the exact opposite, I decide where I want to eat, then I plan my vacation around it! I really love to eat though, so I guess it makes sense for me. I also consider making an ADR a priority, so I make sure I have a plan to get to the restaurant with plenty of time. I usually stay at Saratoga Springs, so its really easy for me to walk over to DTD and catch a bus to one of the hotels if I have an ADR there. I guess the most important thing is to be aware of the time and make sure you have a good plan for getting to where you need to eat.

 

[septbaby]

I am looking at Sci- Fi (one that we missed last time), Le Cellier, The Crystal Palace (the other one we missed), Whispering Canyon (new family tradition) and maybe Chef Mickey. I tried to plan at least one meal in each park so we can just go to that park all day or at least half day and hopefully not have any problems with making the ADRs, but how do you plan resort ADRs? We will being staying at BC last I heard so I was thinking of maybe going to the Cape May Cafe for breakfast one morning but I am also interested in trying 'Ohana or Kona.

Plan your park days and try to get ADRs to match. Sometimes if yo really want a particular ADR you have to adjust your park plan. MK is the easiest park to plan a meal away from: boats to Poly, GF, or WL; monorail to Epcot make any of those places viable, especially if you have parkhoppers. If you don't have hopping then you need to be more precise or eat before entering a park for the day so you can change plans if needed.

If you are going to CP, be in MK that day, even if its just before or after the ADR. It worked well for us to plan our meals at obvious break in the day: 8AM at MK, no way we would'nt be hungry by 2pm and that gave us plenty of time to even get hung up and still make the ADR. We were 30-60 mins early and got seated right away. Our Chef Mickey's started the day for us. Boma was right after we got "booted" from AK ie. park closed, so we had to go somewhere. The only problem child was our Fantasmic package, but there is very little flexibility with those and I won't inconvenience myself like that again. Been there done that.

To me to say we are going to eat dinner at 6 or 7 every night didn't make sense. Depending on where you are in the World you could easily be in the middle of rides or a great nap so I didn't force that kind of rigidity to our days. We were not afraid to use our TS credits for B, L or D. Some think TS is just for dinner, we disagree and think they are for good meals, in AC that force you to take a break.

 

[Pakey]

First I make a list of every place I think I may want to eat. Just a list at this point. Then I decide which parks on what days and I check the park hours. I split each day on a grid like paper--each day is split morning and afternoon. I then plug into the grid which parks I'm going to be at every day; on the afternoon grids I write down the park closing time. Some days are going to be all day at the same park (like Epcot) and other days may be split. Some days we may want to stay in the parks later than others. I try not to plan back to back days of being late in the parks (personal preference). After my park days are laid out, I then take that list of places I want to eat and write next to each one the park that would be most convenient to go with that restuarant. Then I redo the list to be restuarants by park, all MK together, all Epcot, etc. Then I prioritize the places with "1" being "gotta go there" on down. Then I slot in my "1's", then "2's" etc until I don't have any that go together anymore. At that point, sacrifices are made. Example: Do I really want to take the extra time to travel from MK to eat at BOMA or am I willing to sacrifice BOMA and maybe go Ohana????

Another thing I prefer is not to book lunch meals. Except at MGM where CS is so terrible, we are fine eating CS mid-day and it keeps the trip from being any more structured than it has to be.

Maybe because we've been so many times, I just don't feel horrible if I have to skip a restaurant because I know I can do it next trip. I'd rather get the most out of the park without having to watch the time during the day to make sure I don't miss that midday ADR or leave an hour before I wanted to because I had to catch a bus clear across property to eat dinner.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

We plan similar to the PP. We make a preliminary list of places we'd like to try and eat at, then we look at the WDW park calendars and decide which park we want to go to on each day, then we plug restaurants into the days as needed. If we are eating at a resort, we choose to go there on a day when we are close to that resort. But if we are at MK we eat at a restaurant in MK if one is on our list. HTH.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

CandleontheWater you are my type of girl. I totally love food. My mom says I should be like 500 pounds since whenever we go on a trip the first thing I do is plan where we are going to eat

septbaby last year we were on DDP and we had a couple TS lunch ADRs. I loved them, I felt it helped us get more out of the plan. We could use a snack credit for breakfast, have a late TS lunch and than CS dinner if we want or switch CS for Breakfast and snack credit for dessert. It worked pretty well for us. I don't like to eat to heavy later in the day anyway.

Pakey you are my kind of planner. I will have to secretly make my chart so my mom and sister wont think I lost it.

 

[jwwi]

I made a plan for what park I was going to be going to for each day, even though we park hop, I found it easier to pick one park for sure each day. Next I made plans for a TS lunch, we do not do the dining plan, so lunch TS is more affordable. We also do not like to eat a large meal late evening. I have one TS ADR for Breakfast, not sure if I will keep it though. Heck I will be surprised if we eat more than 3 TS meals in our 6 day stay. Our choices, so far are lunch Coral Reef, Kona, Prime Time and GF Tea. Breakfast CP, which is tradition. Happy planning.............

 

[MadamMim]

First I make a list of every place I think I may want to eat. Just a list at this point. Then I decide which parks on what days and I check the park hours. I split each day on a grid like paper--each day is split morning and afternoon. I then plug into the grid which parks I'm going to be at every day; on the afternoon grids I write down the park closing time. Some days are going to be all day at the same park (like Epcot) and other days may be split. Some days we may want to stay in the parks later than others. I try not to plan back to back days of being late in the parks (personal preference). After my park days are laid out, I then take that list of places I want to eat and write next to each one the park that would be most convenient to go with that restuarant. Then I redo the list to be restuarants by park, all MK together, all Epcot, etc. Then I prioritize the places with "1" being "gotta go there" on down. Then I slot in my "1's", then "2's" etc until I don't have any that go together anymore. At that point, sacrifices are made. Example: Do I really want to take the extra time to travel from MK to eat at BOMA or am I willing to sacrifice BOMA and maybe go Ohana????

Pakey... I bow down to your planning skills. I am in awe. I thought I was organized, but you put me to shame. Well done!

 

[Leota]

I'm a combo of Candle & Pakey.

I plan my vacation around my food choices. I make a list of my "Must Do" dinners & plug them into my word calender. I don't do lunch ressies very often, maybe a Crystal Palace lunch on my commando EMH morning MK day.

I try to plug my meals into spaces that make the most sense for me, but honestly, Parks are not a huge part of our trips anymore. I don't really care which park I do on what day anymore. I know I'll do all my highlights while I wander.

If food is your goal, plan where you want to eat & work your trip around that. We've been doing that for years quite happily.

 

[butterfly8]

We look at it from a different perspective in my family. Since we always travel at the busiest times of year (we're both school teachers and can ONLY travel on school holidays), we have come up with a 3 part plan which allows us to fit in all the rides, relax, AND enjoy a nice meal each day.

1. We usually stay for about 7 days. On most of those days, we use the uncrowded morning time to ride rides. We get to the parks by rope drop and ride one ride after another with little to no wait at all! This strategy works GREAT and we get ALOT done by 11 AM when "everyone else" shows up. (We usually don't eat breakfast on these days, maybe just a small snack from our room.)

2. At 11'ish, when the lines get loooonnnggg and our tummies start rumbling, we start thinking about lunch. So we head off to whatever lunch spot sounds good- usually an air conditioned CS place, sometimes a sit down. We don't mind hopping if need be, or even going offsite. After lunch we play it by ear..... Sometimes we head to a water park, other times we nap/swim at the resort, take a daytrip to the beach, explore WDW or the rest of Orlando..... whatever strikes our fancy.

3. Around 5 pm we head back to our room to clean up for dinner. We like to have a nice sit down dinner every night between 6:30 or 7:00 and then stroll around after dinner, riding anything with a short wait time, until the fireworks show. Therefore, we always match our ADR's to which park we want to be in that NIGHT, not that DAY. In our family we pick our ADR's this way: Every person gets to pick 1 old favorite to return to, and 1 new place to try out for the first time. As a group we also vote on one Signature Restaurant to visit on our last night so we can "go out with a bang". Then we just do our best to slot our choices into the most appropriate night, based on which park we want to be in to see the fireworks or do EMH. Sometimes we have to hop after dinner, but that doesn't bother us. Disney World is so beautiful at night with all the lights in the trees and the soft music playing in the background that we enjoy ourselves no matter if we're just riding the monorail between parks!