Rate our ADR's!

[Pluginbaby]

Our first trip to Disney World is this October (6th-27th), myself, my wife and our young daughter (15 months old) along with my wife's parents will be going for three weeks. I was basically left to sort all of the bookings out which has made me feel a little pressured as I am trying to make it as perfect as I possibly can for everybody.

As this is our first trip to Florida (we are from the UK), this isn't just a Disney trip (visiting Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens too) and thus we have a few days eating off property - but we are staying at Pop Century for the entire stay, on the Disney Dining Plan. We have booked more restaurants than our credits allow so will be paying for some of them out of pocket too (the cheaper ones!). I have tried to book restaurants for the park we are at for that day (although, it's worth saying that aside from the days when we are not at Disney, we will be for sure having mid-afternoon breaks before returning). To try and keep to our daughters usual eating schedule, predominantly we are trying to eat between sort of 5 and 7pm, but there are a few outside of these boundaries we have booked too.

6th October - Land at 3pm - ADR at Via Napoli (7.05pm)
7th October - Animal Kingdom Day - ADR at Tusker House (4.50pm)
8th October - Magic Kingdom/Disney Springs Day - ADR at BOG Breakfast (8.50am), The Boathouse (7.15pm)
9th October - Universal Day (Eating Offsite)
10th October - Universal Day (Eating Offsite)
11th October - Typhoon Lagoon/MNSSHP - ADR at O'Hana (4.15pm) - MNSSHP afterwards
12th October - Sea World Day - ADR at Hoop De Doo (6.15pm)
13th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table (5.50pm)
14th October - Animal Kingdom Day - ADR at Rainforest Cafe (6.45pm)
15th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at BOG (5.50pm)
16th October - Busch Gardens Day (Eating Offsite)
17th October - Volcano Bay Day (Eating Offsite)
18th October - Epcot Day - ADR at Garden Grill Breakfast (9.00am), San Angel Inn (6.30pm)
19th October - Epcot Day - ADR at Le Cellier (5.25pm)
20th October - Blizzard Beach/Disney Springs Day - ADR at Art Smith's Homecoming (5.35pm)
21st October - I Drive 360/Fun Spot Day - ADR at California Grill (8.05pm)
22nd October - Hollywood Studios Day - ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In (5.55pm)
23rd October - Universal/Disney Springs Day - Me and Wife ADR at The Edison (7.30pm), Grandparents and Daughter ADR at T-Rex (7.20pm)
24th October - Outlets/Millenia Mall/Epcot Day - ADR at Beaches and Cream (7.10pm)
25th October - Hollywood Studios Day - ADR at 1900 Park Fare Breakfast (9.35am), Mama Melrose (5.35pm)
26th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at BOG Breakfast (8.45am), Liberty Tree Tavern (5.10pm)

I suppose it's not just a question of critiquing the restaurants and times we have booked them, but also the overall 'plan' we have come to the decision of on which days to visit what etc! I realise there are some dubious choices on the ADR list (as far as reviews on here go) so will be interested to see some of the responses!

 

[holden]

I’m concerned about your day 1 dinner. If your flight is delayed at all you might miss it. I wouldn’t book a dinner this day. Even if your flight is on time you are cutting it close.

Also, TRex and Rainforest Cafe are very noisy and stimulating. Will your daughter be ok with that? Some kids get very upset there.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

First, I just want to say I'm jealous of your long trip! How fun! General comment, this is a LOT of sit down meals with a baby. You know your child best, but I know my kids at that age wouldn't have done well with so many TS reservations. Also, you have a few days planned at Epcot, but no mention of trying the F&W booths. I would maybe cut out one or two of the Epcot ADRs and instead sample the booths.

6th October - Land at 3pm - ADR at Via Napoli (7.05pm) Are you sure your family will be up for an ADR on your arrival day, after what I assume will be a long day of travel?

11th October - Typhoon Lagoon/MNSSHP - ADR at O'Hana (4.15pm) - MNSSHP afterwards You can enter the park at 4pm with your MNSSHP ticket...maybe try getting an earlier ADR so you can take full advantage of the party ticket? Also, are you sure you want to do a water park before the party? It might be better to have a more leisurely morning so you can stay later at the party.

23rd October - Universal/Disney Springs Day - Me and Wife ADR at The Edison (7.30pm), Grandparents and Daughter ADR at T-Rex (7.20pm) T-Rex is pretty loud and can be kinda scary for little ones. Just something to think about.

Have a great trip!

 

[FSU Girl]

I think you have a great fun filled trip ahead of you! I personally wouldn't want to do an ADR on arrival day. There could be delays with the flight and everyone will probably be jetlagged. I think eating at the quick service at your resort would be easier. It would also allow you not to waste a park day when you would only get a few hours out of the ticket.
To cut down on driving all over the place maybe move the Universal days all together? I'm not sure if you know, but Busch Gardens is going to be about an hour or more drive since it's located in Tampa. Maybe move the 1900 Park Fare to a day you'll be at the Magic Kingdom to cut down on travel time. Everything else looks good to me

 

[piratepride]

Great ADR choices!!! They are all some of my family's favorite restaurants when we come to Disney. Have a great time!

 

[Pluginbaby]

I’m concerned about your day 1 dinner. If your flight is delayed at all you might miss it. I wouldn’t book a dinner this day. Even if your flight is on time you are cutting it close.

Also, TRex and Rainforest Cafe are very noisy and stimulating. Will your daughter be ok with that? Some kids get very upset there.

I hadn't really thought of a flight delay! You might be absolutely correct actually, and to be honest I had been in half a mind about how tired we could be that night. We are actually landing at Sanford airport (as we are going with Thomson from the UK who only operate there), could that make this even more of a concern time-wise?

First, I just want to say I'm jealous of your long trip! How fun! General comment, this is a LOT of sit down meals with a baby. You know your child best, but I know my kids at that age wouldn't have done well with so many TS reservations. Also, you have a few days planned at Epcot, but no mention of trying the F&W booths. I would maybe cut out one or two of the Epcot ADRs and instead sample the booths.

6th October - Land at 3pm - ADR at Via Napoli (7.05pm) Are you sure your family will be up for an ADR on your arrival day, after what I assume will be a long day of travel?

11th October - Typhoon Lagoon/MNSSHP - ADR at O'Hana (4.15pm) - MNSSHP afterwards You can enter the park at 4pm with your MNSSHP ticket...maybe try getting an earlier ADR so you can take full advantage of the party ticket? Also, are you sure you want to do a water park before the party? It might be better to have a more leisurely morning so you can stay later at the party.

23rd October - Universal/Disney Springs Day - Me and Wife ADR at The Edison (7.30pm), Grandparents and Daughter ADR at T-Rex (7.20pm) T-Rex is pretty loud and can be kinda scary for little ones. Just something to think about.

Have a great trip!

Hey thanks for the advice! As far as our daughter goes, we eat out a lot with her and she genuinely is good as gold (as long as she is being fed!), we tend to take things like breadsticks with us which she really enjoys nibbling on whilst waiting for her course to come. On the very rare occasions she gets upset, one of us would take her outside of course as we wouldn't impact on other diners experiences (most times a short walk for 5 minutes outside if this occurs does the trick).

I think we will re-think T-Rex/Rainforest as a few of you on here have mentioned the loudness now (it's funny, I picked them because I assumed they would be perfect for kids, but hadn't realised how loud they could be I guess with the animatronics making noises?). I had a few contingency choices in mind for each park/place so that shouldn't be a big issue.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[DJFan88]

Don't underestimate the value of a little downtime.

 

[KenHutch]

I like most of your choices but have you considered Tusker House on the 14th instead of Rainforest? Food is far superior and if your little one likes any of the shows she can meet some characters.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think, overall, it looks really good.

Day 1 - you will have to go through customs and then drive an hour to WDW. There is no way you are going to make a 7 pm Via Napoli reservation. IMHO, I would simply eat at the Pop food court that night or walk over to AoA and eat at the food court there. If you really want to go to EP, I would wait until you get there and either eat QS there or go on the MDE app and find a day-of ADR. It may not be your preferred restaurant, but there are typically plenty of ADR's available in EP due to the sheer volume of restaurants there.

MNSSHP night - in years past, they have let party tickets holders enter MK at 4 pm, so you will be cutting into MK touring time if you eat at O'hana at 4:15 pm. If that doesn't bother you, the schedule looks fine!

 

[Pluginbaby]

I like most of your choices but have you considered Tusker House on the 14th instead of Rainforest? Food is far superior and if your little one likes any of the shows she can meet some characters.

We are actually going to Tusker House on the 7th on our first Animal Kingdom day . I am looking at alternatives now to replace Rainforest/T-Rex as having looked online following the advice on this thread I totally see what people are saying, those places look loud! I bet it's amazing to perhaps 7 year old's, but a 15 month old might find the dinosaur sounds etc a bit scary.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Adopt me....

Looks like a fantastic vacation, you've hit several of my favorites (Le Cellier, California Grill, Art Smith, Tusker House) We're trying the Edison in August.

 

[ccrosswhite]

Love Tusker house and 1900 park fare, have fun

 

[KenHutch]

We are actually going to Tusker House on the 7th on our first Animal Kingdom day . I am looking at alternatives now to replace Rainforest/T-Rex as having looked online following the advice on this thread I totally see what people are saying, those places look loud! I bet it's amazing to perhaps 7 year old's, but a 15 month old might find the dinosaur sounds etc a bit scary.

If your willing to leave the park Animal Kingdom Lodge is a 5 to 7 minute bus ride away and you could eat at Boma and then check out the animals at AKL.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Our first trip to Disney World is this October (6th-27th), myself, my wife and our young daughter (15 months old) along with my wife's parents will be going for three weeks. I was basically left to sort all of the bookings out which has made me feel a little pressured as I am trying to make it as perfect as I possibly can for everybody.

As this is our first trip to Florida (we are from the UK), this isn't just a Disney trip (visiting Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens too) and thus we have a few days eating off property - but we are staying at Pop Century for the entire stay, on the Disney Dining Plan. We have booked more restaurants than our credits allow so will be paying for some of them out of pocket too (the cheaper ones!). I have tried to book restaurants for the park we are at for that day (although, it's worth saying that aside from the days when we are not at Disney, we will be for sure having mid-afternoon breaks before returning). To try and keep to our daughters usual eating schedule, predominantly we are trying to eat between sort of 5 and 7pm, but there are a few outside of these boundaries we have booked too.

6th October - Land at 3pm - ADR at Via Napoli (7.05pm)
7th October - Animal Kingdom Day - ADR at Tusker House (4.50pm)
8th October - Magic Kingdom/Disney Springs Day - ADR at BOG Breakfast (8.50am), The Boathouse (7.15pm)
9th October - Universal Day (Eating Offsite)
10th October - Universal Day (Eating Offsite)
11th October - Typhoon Lagoon/MNSSHP - ADR at O'Hana (4.15pm) - MNSSHP afterwards
12th October - Sea World Day - ADR at Hoop De Doo (6.15pm)
13th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table (5.50pm)
14th October - Animal Kingdom Day - ADR at Rainforest Cafe (6.45pm)
15th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at BOG (5.50pm)
16th October - Busch Gardens Day (Eating Offsite)
17th October - Volcano Bay Day (Eating Offsite)
18th October - Epcot Day - ADR at Garden Grill Breakfast (9.00am), San Angel Inn (6.30pm)
19th October - Epcot Day - ADR at Le Cellier (5.25pm)
20th October - Blizzard Beach/Disney Springs Day - ADR at Art Smith's Homecoming (5.35pm)
21st October - I Drive 360/Fun Spot Day - ADR at California Grill (8.05pm)
22nd October - Hollywood Studios Day - ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In (5.55pm)
23rd October - Universal/Disney Springs Day - Me and Wife ADR at The Edison (7.30pm), Grandparents and Daughter ADR at T-Rex (7.20pm)
24th October - Outlets/Millenia Mall/Epcot Day - ADR at Beaches and Cream (7.10pm)
25th October - Hollywood Studios Day - ADR at 1900 Park Fare Breakfast (9.35am), Mama Melrose (5.35pm)
26th October - Magic Kingdom Day - ADR at BOG Breakfast (8.45am), Liberty Tree Tavern (5.10pm)

I suppose it's not just a question of critiquing the restaurants and times we have booked them, but also the overall 'plan' we have come to the decision of on which days to visit what etc! I realise there are some dubious choices on the ADR list (as far as reviews on here go) so will be interested to see some of the responses!

Are you taking the magical express from MCO to POP? Clearing customs and grabbing bags may take a good bit of time plus the drive time, I'd skip out on an ADR on your arrival day and just wing it for food.

I like all your ADRs and your trip sounds awesome! You have a great amount of time to enjoy all the parks. I will also say as a tip for your first visit, the days you have more than one ADR, you will spend a lot of time eating and not touring the parks. ADRs can eat up a lot of your day. Just be aware that having an ADR does not mean you are seated at that time. 1900 Park Fare, Cinderella's Royal Table, O'Hana, these restaurants, as others, are notorious for delays on being seated. Just a note so you are aware of potential delays and maybe potential impact to your FP+ touring schedule. Of your ADRs my least favorite are Rainforest Cafe, Le Cellier and Mama Melrose. Rainforest cafe food and service is not worth the money at all and if you do eat there, just note it might be scary for your daughter, the trees and noises can be a bit much for kids. Same potential issue for T-Rex especially that it will be the grandparents taking your DD and not you; and I'll add it has the same type of food and service, would summarize it as a place that can make ok american fare but anything that deviates from a burger or sandwich won't likely be very good. Rainforest its not a restaurant that is even unique to disney, alternatives at AK would include no ADR at all and eat at Flame Tree or Satuuli (both really good counter service choices) or Yak and Yeti or Tusker House or leave AK and head to AKL just outside the gate and eat at Sanaa or Boma, both very good.

Le Cellier is a tough one, the food is good but it's not high on my list for the best use of 2 dining credits. Also, we've eaten there with our girls ages 10 and 9 at the time and it's not a place I'd go to with kids, granted you don't have to pay for your daughter, but it's a wine cellar/steakhouse that IMO has no interest in catering to kids. It has no unique disney theming, or spectacular food choices either. Let's say the pretzel bread served when seated was the highlight of the meal. If you have eaten at an upscale steakhouse previously, it's not worth it to visit. It's only real homage to Canada is the bread based on different territories. There are so many other restaurants to use 2 dining credits on that IMO better, California Grill, Citricos, the list goes on. If you want to stay in Epcot, I'd do Rose & Crown or La Hacienda or Monsieur Paul if you want to do signature in Epcot.

For your DHS day, I hate to say this but the only ADR dining at HS that we enjoy is Sci Fi dine in. We do not like the dining choices at DHS especially the QS. Mama Melrose would be my last choice for an ADR. Hollywood Brown Derby would be a signature option at HS. It's just blah when it comes to food there.

I really do like all the other choices you've got and you will really have a great time with your family. Have fun!!

 

[Pluginbaby]

Are you taking the magical express from MCO to POP? Clearing customs and grabbing bags may take a good bit of time plus the drive time, I'd skip out on an ADR on your arrival day and just wing it for food.

I like all your ADRs and your trip sounds awesome! You have a great amount of time to enjoy all the parks. I will also say as a tip for your first visit, the days you have more than one ADR, you will spend a lot of time eating and not touring the parks. ADRs can eat up a lot of your day. Just be aware that having an ADR does not mean you are seated at that time. 1900 Park Fare, Cinderella's Royal Table, O'Hana, these restaurants, as others, are notorious for delays on being seated. Just a note so you are aware of potential delays and maybe potential impact to your FP+ touring schedule. Of your ADRs my least favorite are Rainforest Cafe, Le Cellier and Mama Melrose. Rainforest cafe food and service is not worth the money at all and if you do eat there, just note it might be scary for your daughter, the trees and noises can be a bit much for kids. Same potential issue for T-Rex especially that it will be the grandparents taking your DD and not you; and I'll add it has the same type of food and service, would summarize it as a place that can make ok american fare but anything that deviates from a burger or sandwich won't likely be very good. Rainforest its not a restaurant that is even unique to disney, alternatives at AK would include no ADR at all and eat at Flame Tree or Satuuli (both really good counter service choices) or Yak and Yeti or Tusker House or leave AK and head to AKL just outside the gate and eat at Sanaa or Boma, both very good.

Le Cellier is a tough one, the food is good but it's not high on my list for the best use of 2 dining credits. Also, we've eaten there with our girls ages 10 and 9 at the time and it's not a place I'd go to with kids, granted you don't have to pay for your daughter, but it's a wine cellar/steakhouse that IMO has no interest in catering to kids. It has no unique disney theming, or spectacular food choices either. Let's say the pretzel bread served when seated was the highlight of the meal. If you have eaten at an upscale steakhouse previously, it's not worth it to visit. It's only real homage to Canada is the bread based on different territories. There are so many other restaurants to use 2 dining credits on that IMO better, California Grill, Citricos, the list goes on. If you want to stay in Epcot, I'd do Rose & Crown or La Hacienda or Monsieur Paul if you want to do signature in Epcot.

For your DHS day, I hate to say this but the only ADR dining at HS that we enjoy is Sci Fi dine in. We do not like the dining choices at DHS especially the QS. Mama Melrose would be my last choice for an ADR. Hollywood Brown Derby would be a signature option at HS. It's just blah when it comes to food there.

I really do like all the other choices you've got and you will really have a great time with your family. Have fun!!

Wow thanks for the great advice, so much useful information there!

I am going to swap out Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex as the conscensus on here is pretty clear across the board (particularly paying attention to how loud it seems to be etc). Looking at the menu’s online, Boma might be a really good option for us with it being nearby to Animal Kingdom, so thanks for the suggestions from those above to point me that way.

We went for Le Cellier as we are huge steak lovers (who isn’t, I guess?!) so we’re torn between there and Yachtsman Steakhouse. We decided to go with Le Cellier just as it was in Epcot so made easier sense for us. Would you say the atmosphere is a little too quiet/intimate for a 15 month old? Or do you mean it’s just a bit less interesting visually for a baby?

Thanks again for all the suggestions

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Wow thanks for the great advice, so much useful information there!

I am going to swap out Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex as the conscensus on here is pretty clear across the board (particularly paying attention to how loud it seems to be etc). Looking at the menu’s online, Boma might be a really good option for us with it being nearby to Animal Kingdom, so thanks for the suggestions from those above to point me that way.

We went for Le Cellier as we are huge steak lovers (who isn’t, I guess?!) so we’re torn between there and Yachtsman Steakhouse. We decided to go with Le Cellier just as it was in Epcot so made easier sense for us. Would you say the atmosphere is a little too quiet/intimate for a 15 month old? Or do you mean it’s just a bit less interesting visually for a baby?

Thanks again for all the suggestions

If you are steak lovers than Le Cellier is for you, I've not done Yachtman's so I have no prior experiences there. It's not visually interesting for me and I'm almost 40 but it's fallen as my least favorite signature since it's devoid of unique, intricately themed decor, the food will outshine what it lacks in atmosphere. I will say though that the Canada pavilion has beautiful gardens, so so pertty. It's Disney so you don't have to worry that you'll have a baby with you, nobody will expect you to have a coat and tie on and hush your child, everywhere in Disney is child friendly. Go with what's easiest to get to for sure.