Rate my Plan (or lack thereof)

[BuzzL71]

Only been to Disney once before (kids were in strollers). This is second trip and kids are boys age 12 and 9. We wanted to have a more leisurely vacation and are headed to disney in the later half of august for 10 days/9 nights. Did not purchase the dining plan and am renting a small car from Alamo. (rate was very cheap actually)

Plan was to shop at local supermarket for breakfast items and snacks so no need to have a sit down breakfast anywhere, we can eat in the room while we shower, get ready each morning, etc...

Plan to arrive at one of the parks around 9:00 to 9:30AM each morning and ride/play until around 2:00 to 2:30 PM ish (eating at a counter service lunch place whenever we're hungry). I have 3 fast passes booked for each park we plan to visit, times between 10:30AM and 1:30 PM each day. Once fast passes are done, we would make our extra fast pass reservations for whatever is available later in the evening after 7 or 8 PM.

Next, we get in the rental car and either go back to the resort (CSR) or to one of the water parks for a few hours. Basically swim, relax, wait out the afternoon thunderstorm, or whatever the day brings at that time based on everyone's mood. BTW, I have 2 water park only days also built in to the 10 days (day 5 and day 10 will be water park only days (plane leaving late on day 10 so we can still enjoy day).

Next, after the pool/water park afternoon break and when we are hungry, take the rental car 15 minutes to one of the chain restaurants outside disney (applebees, red lobster, benihana, rainforest cafe, buffalo wild wings, steakhouse, etc...), it HAS to be cheaper eating dinner there, plus no need for any ADR's enabling us to eat dinner when we are hungry rather than having scheduled it 180 days out. After dinner, we would then decide to either go back to the park and ride using our fastpasses booked previously or go to the resort pool and relax depending on everyone's mood at that time.

Rinse and repeat next day.

I am not a planner, but I wanted to "plan" a relaxing vacation, but with the main attractions fast passed each day. We are not doing any character meals, or frozen stuff, A &E, etc... (my kids could care less, they want to ride the rides, do the water parks and swim in the resort pools)

Does this "plan" sound okay? Am I completely off base in my reasoning and timing of things? When I read this board, my plan is woefully inadequate, but maybe it just might work?

 

[Spunky946]

In my opinion I don't think it's worth it to drive off property to a chain restaurant to save a little money.

I think if I were you I'd do one or two adrs on property and then eat quick service the rest of the time. There are a lot of difference choices.

 

[slickpoetry]

I like your plan mostly. It seems logical. I will say that if the primary goal of eating offsite is to save money, then you have to counterbalance that equation with the knowledge you're spending x amount of dollars each day on a rental car JUST to drive offsite to save money. Does that really save you money? Just a question worth asking (If you were using the car to drive to another place, like Universal or something, then the rental car makes more sense).

I'm just a big proponent of not getting the rental car and using the Disney transportation. I know it takes more time, but its free and easy.

(and I know you want to go to the grocery store, but you can get groceries without getting a rental car. Look up Orlando grocery delivery on google and you'll find good companies that only charge a $10-$20 delivery fee, saving you the time and hassle of driving to the store yourself, not to mention renting the rental car)

 

[slickpoetry]

You also mention you don't want to book ADRs 180 days out. Just my two cents here---apart from the really high demand places (Cinderella's royal table, be our guest, akershus, etc.) you will probably have no trouble making ADRs as little as 7-14 days before your trip.

 

[JimmyV]

In my opinion I don't think it's worth it to drive off property to a chain restaurant to save a little money.

I agree 100% with this. At least, I wouldn't do this for the entire trip. The rest of your trip maps out like most of mine. Stay on site. Shop at Publix. Eat breakfast in the room. Avoid the buses and drive when practical. But the offsite "family dining" seems a bit misplaced. You might save a bit of money. But not enough to make or break the vacation. And you may not save any time. Many of the family dining places you think that you will stroll right in to will be crowded, will take your name, hand you a UFO blinky thing, and have you wait in the bar for 45 minutes before your table is ready. A couple of beers or a Margarita later, there goes your savings. And you haven't saved any time. Make a few ADRs at casual TS restaurants at WDW. The food will be comparable to Applebees, you won't have to wait in the lounge area for your table to be ready, you will save lots of time, and you won't spend a whole lot more money. Perhaps do a mix of 50/50 on site to off site dinners to compare so that you will have a good idea of what to expect next time you go.

 

[BuzzL71]

great thoughts. To clarify a bit, I got the rental car in order to save time, not necessarily money. But given the pretty low price of the car, it probably will save me a small amount of money, but that's not the motivating factor. I figured the ability to just get in the car and go wherever we want with no bus wait times, etc.. would make for a more enjoyable experience. And yes, as far as an ADR, I definitely want to leave it open to make one onsite if we decide we want to and if not, we go offsite. With a rental, it looks easy as pie to just drive offsite and eat somewhere without worrying about the time. Is the food at a run of the mill Table Service at Disney better than a chain restaurant? I hear conflicting reports.

 

[BuzzL71]

Rental car also acts as a storage locker for our stuff throughout the day.

 

[Spunky946]

great thoughts. To clarify a bit, I got the rental car in order to save time, not necessarily money. But given the pretty low price of the car, it probably will save me a small amount of money, but that's not the motivating factor. I figured the ability to just get in the car and go wherever we want with no bus wait times, etc.. would make for a more enjoyable experience. And yes, as far as an ADR, I definitely want to leave it open to make one onsite if we decide we want to and if not, we go offsite. With a rental, it looks easy as pie to just drive offsite and eat somewhere without worrying about the time. Is the food at a run of the mill Table Service at Disney better than a chain restaurant? I hear conflicting reports.

I think the food is better and certainly different. We have all
of those chains at home, so we'd rather eat at different places. Plus we don't rent a car when we stay on site. The few times we stayed off site, it always took longer then we thought it would to get off property and back. I think you are underestimating how long it will take.

 

[slickpoetry]

great thoughts. To clarify a bit, I got the rental car in order to save time, not necessarily money. But given the pretty low price of the car, it probably will save me a small amount of money, but that's not the motivating factor. I figured the ability to just get in the car and go wherever we want with no bus wait times, etc.. would make for a more enjoyable experience. And yes, as far as an ADR, I definitely want to leave it open to make one onsite if we decide we want to and if not, we go offsite. With a rental, it looks easy as pie to just drive offsite and eat somewhere without worrying about the time. Is the food at a run of the mill Table Service at Disney better than a chain restaurant? I hear conflicting reports.

I don't know if its better or worse, but all things being equal I'd rather eat somewhere that is unique, as opposed to chain restaurants I can eat in at home. You might save some dollars with your plan, but you're sacrificing time (driving even a few miles offsite can take longer than you think in Orlando) and you're sacrificing uniqueness. I'm not saying your plan is bad, either. Some people feel they need a "break" from the whole Disney thing once in a while and I completely understand that.

 

[JimmyV]

With a rental, it looks easy as pie to just drive offsite and eat somewhere without worrying about the time.

On paper, it looks easy as pie. But it is not as fast as you think. Disney is vast, and traffic can be brutal. I am not suggesting that you not rent a car. We almost always do. (Though, to be honest, lately we have used the strategy of renting a car for just the day that we fly in. We pick up the car from National, drive straight to Publix and buy all of our supplies for the week, and then return the car at the Dolphin that same day. The cost of the car is under $30 for the single day, and we save way more than that by having breakfast in our room, by bringing our own snacks and water to the park.) I like the time savings that having a car provides over waiting for a bus. But in terms of popping off property and then driving back on, there is no time savings there whatsoever.

As far as food quality is concerned, Disney does family dining as well as Applebees or Chili's.

 

[BuzzL71]

I like the 50/50 idea of onsite dining vs offsite dining. It's just tough to try to figure out way ahead of time, what time and day exactly my family will all be hungry for dinner, and I worry about the stress of dragging everyone out of the pool so we can "get ready" for the exact time. I want to be able to make the dinner reservation that afternoon for what time we all agree on that night, instead of 30 days out, or 7 days out, whatever. I think I'm going in to this during a slower season (aug 18 to aug 27th), so maybe I can get an ADR somewhere the day of, instead of planning dinner this far in advance?

 

[JimmyV]

I want to be able to make the dinner reservation that afternoon for what time we all agree on that night, instead of 30 days out, or 7 days out, whatever.

As you point out in your first post, it has been many years since you have been to WDW. Unfortunately, the freedom that you seek is mostly a thing of the past. One either buys into the "best practices" of visiting WDW or one does not. Same day ADRs at certain restaurants are still possible, as is the ability to walk in and put your name on a list. But it is nothing like it used to be.

 

[Narnia_girl]

On paper, it looks easy as pie. But it is not as fast as you think. Disney is vast, and traffic can be brutal. I am not suggesting that you not rent a car. We almost always do. (Though, to be honest, lately we have used the strategy of renting a car for just the day that we fly in. We pick up the car from National, drive straight to Publix and buy all of our supplies for the week, and then return the car at the Dolphin that same day. The cost of the car is under $30 for the single day, and we save way more than that by having breakfast in our room, by bringing our own snacks and water to the park.) I like the time savings that having a car provides over waiting for a bus. But in terms of popping off property and then driving back on, there is no time savings there whatsoever.

As far as food quality is concerned, Disney does family dining as well as Applebees or Chili's.

And then you take a wrong turn and you are going in the opposite direction you need to, and you have to remind the driver you are on vacation and he shouldn't use 'pirate language' in front of the children.

 

[BuzzL71]

Another thought is to dine offsite about 50% of the time and the other 50% either get the ADR last minute, or just simply eat Quick Service. Won't be as nice, but no stress for specific dining times. That's mainly what I want to avoid, the day planned around what time we eat dinner. That does not sound relaxing!

 

[MataHari22]

If you don't want to plan meals, I would just do quick service meals then. There's no way I would want to take all the time to go eat off property, and I don't think any of those chain restaurants' food is any better or much less expensive than eating on Disney property. To me, you're not saving anything (not time, not agrivation, or money) by the time you figure in travel time, and gas. I don't see the value in it, but that's just for me.
Maybe asking the folks on the restaurant board for restaurants where you can often get in same day may be helpful. They're very informed, and may be able to give you a few options.

 

[Rosebud123]

I think it sounds awesome! In fact, you've just inspired me to cancel some of my ADRs and plan some off property dining! We have a car and I wasn't planning on too many ADRs, but spending a lot of time on this board seems to encourage them. LOL. Thanks for reminding me we're happy at those places, too! There's nothing I hate more than dragging myself and my kids out of the pool because we have to get ready for the dinner ADR that we wished we never made.

 

[pooch]

I'd also suggest DTD for some great food. Wolfgang Puck and Earl of Sandwich both gave amazing food, no ADRs needed. I would however suggest Disney bus instead of your car due yo massive construction. Besides I love DTD!!

 

[abouley]

My plan is similar. I personally like to plan my mornings and lunch and then leave my afternoon/evenings open to wing it more. With that said, we generally make our ADR's for lunch. We have a dinner ADR our first day because we plan to sleep in, swim, and then head to Epcot in the afternoon. We also booked one dinner ADR at our resort as I wanted to try that restaurant. The rest of the time, we either have no ADR's or a lunch ADR.

I find that if you are driving somewhere anyway (home from a park, to a park, etc) that heading off-site to eat is sometimes nice and doesn't take long. We'll hit a pizza parlor or even something kind of quick and then head back to the parks or our hotel. We go a bit into overload and I get tired of the crowds so getting away works well for us.

One thing I don't negotiate much on though is being at the park for RD. With a 9:00 opening it shouldn't be too hard for us. I usually try to plan a day mid week where everyone can sleep in! Not sure if it'll happen this trip though as we are squeezing in US as well.

 

[Karin1984]

Sounds great, my only difference would be to have the pool days on day 3/4 and 8.

 

[Nancyg56]

And then you take a wrong turn and you are going in the opposite direction you need to, and you have to remind the driver you are on vacation and he shouldn't use 'pirate language' in front of the children.

This is the exact reason I refuse to have a car in Orlando. My DH drives for a living, so for us, there is no driving in Disney! The last thing I want is my DH heading in the wrong direction, behind some slowpoke, getting exasperated.LOL! Nope! This vacation is the only one we can ply him with alcohol (JK) and let that stress just melt away!

OP- I am the last person to tell someone how to plan a trip, but I will say that offsite dining takes time. More time than you think. If your family likes the breaks and enjoys a ride, then the plan works. You can save money, but if you are comparing QS prices to the fast casual restaurants you menioned I think the prices are comparable.

One of the nices things about using the QS restaurants onsite is that you can explore WDW. Most resorts have QS options to choose from, so if you wanted to hit the monorail or to explore the Epcot resorts, you now have meals along the way. I don't know if you have hoppers, but Epcot has so many QS optons to choose from, that park is worth a vsit just to eat.