Question about Eating and Meal Strategy

[Sunblossoms]

I am a newbie here and we are planning our trip for the beginning of October this year. So I'm sensing that people around here think a late lunch is the way to go, instead of dinner. Is that the case? We were there 2 or 3 years ago and we just did regular time dinners with our ADR. We are on the food plan. Should I be thinking about doing late lunches? I just feel like that will really break up the day and not allow for as much done in the park. I'd love to hear what everybody thinks. Thanks!

 

[twokids0204]

I am a newbie here and we are planning our trip for the beginning of October this year. So I'm sensing that people around here think a late lunch is the way to go, instead of dinner. Is that the case? We were there 2 or 3 years ago and we just did regular time dinners with our ADR. We are on the food plan. Should I be thinking about doing late lunches? I just feel like that will really break up the day and not allow for as much done in the park. I'd love to hear what everybody thinks. Thanks!

We eat when we are hungry... if we are hungry...

We try to have a big breakfast, and then we don't even think about food.

We usually do dinner ADR's around 6:00 ish.

to the DISboards...

 

[ZoZo]

Welcome to the DIS!

Here's my advice: Don't worry about what everyone else does. Do what makes most sense to you! Some people are big eaters, and some eat very lightly. Some can't imagine a day without one or two (or three!) table service meals, and some eat mostly quick, counter service meals. For some, a very important part of their trip is dining, and dining well -- but for some, eating is simply about feeding the body and not that important. Some spend lots of money on food, and some try to eat as inexpensively as possible.

After several trips to WDW, here's what I've figured out about myself. If you have a room with a fridge, you can save both time and money by eating breakfast in your room. I usually just get a box of cereal, a carton of milk, and some fruit, and call it good. I do mostly counter service meals (with a couple of nice table service meals thrown in during the week). To me, what I eat isn't really that important (don't get me wrong, I like good food!), so I'd rather focus on other things.

Whatever "road" you take, have a wonderful time!

 

[Sunblossoms]

Thanks you guys. I'm sitting here feeling very overwhelmed tonight because we are past our 180 days (by a few days) and so I feel like I need to book all of our meals tomorrow so we don't miss out on anything. But I feel much better, you're right, where we eat is just a very small piece of the Disney experience.

 

[twokids0204]

Thanks you guys. I'm sitting here feeling very overwhelmed tonight because we are past our 180 days (by a few days) and so I feel like I need to book all of our meals tomorrow so we don't miss out on anything. But I feel much better, you're right, where we eat is just a very small piece of the Disney experience.

Make those ADR's... you would be quite surprised how quickly they fill up.

If you change your mind, you can always cancel them.

Just don't let it stress you out...

 

[vroomagain]

I don't think I would do a sitdown lunch in the park again. I felt rushed bc I wanted to get back out there! I would do ADR's at dinner.As far as lunch at a Counter Service location- we went during January,it wasn't busy we walked on rides but trying to get a table to eat CS at Noon was Next time we will try to eat CS at non standard lunch times.

 

[Sunblossoms]

Thanks everybody. We are going to go and get everything reserved today. We are only about 2 days past the 180 so I'm hoping we're OK.

 

[goofy4tink]

We find that grabbing something quick in our room, before heading out, works best. Then, we get a late breakfast..around 10-10:30. That way, we don't need lunch and we can grab a light snack mid-afternoon and then eat dinner around 7ish.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Making reservations everyday is super annoying for me. I don't mind a few but that is why quick service works best for us.

 

[LaurenT]

Thanks everybody. We are going to go and get everything reserved today. We are only about 2 days past the 180 so I'm hoping we're OK.

You'll be fine, remember you can always do F&W for lunch or dinner! We have a Disney villa (full kitchen), so - with the exception of a couple of character breakfasts, we have a nice breakfast in the room and then head out for rope drop. When we do the Character bkfsts, we plan it so we are finishing up as the park opens - it's a great way to get the 7 year old moving in the morning and a great start to our theme park day!

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

If your tentative park plans change sometimes you can be lucky and make a last minute ADR also... I have called the evening before and been lucky to get Chef Mickey breakfast because another person was so kind to call and cancel.

 

[mom2rtk]

It also depends on your park touring style. We tend to pick one park and often stay from open to close (or something close to it). Having a nice TS ADR mid-day in the park provides us a chance to sit, regroup, relax and recharge our batteries!

 

[Hopefully]

I too urge you to make your ADR's as soon as you can. Since you are on the Dining Plan, you are prepaying for your meals and you certainly want to be able to enjoy them.
What we do is eat a light breakfast in our room, then generally a CS lunch when we are hungry, where ever we are and a TS meal every evening. This is our dining style on vacation where ever we are.
I start by generally planning which park which day. Then we make our evening ADR in that vicinity or in WS at Epcot. We stay at the BCV and get hoppers, since we enjoy the restaurants in World Showcase. We often spend our days in one park and finish our evening in Epcot. But we have been to WDW many times and this works for us.
But the important thing is you do not want to be criss crossing WDW for ADR's . This is very time consuming. Consider sit down restaurants in the parks you are in that day, or in the nearby resorts to that park.
Good Luck, I find planning at least half the fun

 

[topmonkeygirl]

I don't know if you have kids or not but that has alot to do with eating around a schedule also. It's just DH and I and we prefer sit down meals to burgers and fries, so this is how we do it. Breakfast ADR's at the park before opening time. We're still full until after noon so I usually make ressies for a sit down lunch sometine around 1 - 1:30. With no kids we get more done when we're in the parks because we don't have to stop for the different things that parents do so we like to sit back, rest, cool off and have a casual lunch. Then I schedule a little later dinner because lunch was so late, usually around 7 - 8. I've seen people on the board making ressies 3-4 hours apart from each other just because it's noon and that means lunch. Just make them according to when you think you might be hungry.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our dining board.

 

[happymomof1]

We learned the hard way last trip to stick to your regular eating routine. DS6 was,of course, in "go-go-go" mode and didn't ask to stop and eat as often as he normally would at home. DH and I usually don't eat a big breakfast/lot's of snacks during the day. By the time day 4 hit, DS woke up with a tummy ache at 3am, from not eating enough during the days. To make a long story short, he was way overexhausted the bnext am at brekfast, could hardly eat,but desperately needed to eat, and ended up getting sick and needing a nap to recover. Kids have growing bodies, they can't go as long as we can without stopping for snacks, and full meals. This trip we will do breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner......just like he eats everyday at home. We will make sure we stop all those times instead of waiting for que's from him to tell us he's hungry. Kind of like kids not want ing to stop what they are doing to go and use the restroom...the's rather just keep on playing...

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I tend to skip breakfast, or if I eat something, just grab a pastry, have an early lunch, and an early dinner, and then just a snack later if I'm still hungry.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree that it depends on your touring style. We get to the parks at rope drop and tour hard for a few hours. Then we like to have an early lunch (no breakfast) or late breakfast and rest for a bit. We avoid the huge lunch crowds this way.

For dinner we normally eat late or just get counter service. A Mickey Bar or something similar can tide us over.

Welcome to the DIS by the way! Don't let this stuff get to you. Make your ADR's and change them later if you need to.

 

[VAN]

We are on the dining plan for September. We've been to the parks many times so making it on all the rides is not that big a deal for me. I did want all my TS for dinner though and booked those around 6:00 (don't like to eat too late). The last day there, however, is the start of the F&W Festival so we want to spend the day using our snack credits at the food kiosks ... we booked the HDDR which takes an extra TS credit so we will be all set.

We tend to split some of our CS meals such as breakfast and lunch so are eating a more sensible portion at our usual eating times.

Besides looking at park hours and parade times, I also looked at the type of cuisine the different restaurants had and tried to space them out somewhat. For instance, I have the HDDR and Whispering Canyon three days apart. We are not doing any buffets this year, but in the past I've tried not to have two days of buffets in a row.

Anyway, doesn't matter what others think ... plan for what you are comfortable with. One size does not fit all in this instance.

 

[goodferry]

Our touring plan depends on which dining plan we are on. If we are on the Deluxe Plan, we have a light breakfast in our room (think yogurt and fruit), then we make ADRs for as early a lunch seating as possible, then our dinner ADR is for either a signature meal or dinner show, a two credit meal. We tend to use our daylight hours for touring, so the early lunch ADRs helps us make sure we don't wait too long to be seated and we aren't held up too much at lunch, servers seem to be fresher and a little more on the ball if you will.
If we are on the regular meal plan, we still eat an early lunch, usually between 11-11:30 to avoid lines, and then a sit down dinner around 6 pm.
Don't be overwhelmed, ask away, that's why we are here!