Really Need Help! ADR's For TEN.

[Martyap]

This will be our first family vacation to WDW. We are ten, 6 adults and 4 kids (8,9,9,10.) We will be going late July, 2013 so we are beginning the process of making ADR's. We selected My Way Plus Dining.

1.....Is it difficult to get reservations for 10?
2.....Is it only necessary to make reservations for dinner?
3.....We only opted to take adult service for the 10 year old.....will that be
an issue? Are there sufficient choices on the childrens' menus? ALL
of the kids are excellent eaters with eclectic tastes rather than just
chicken tenders
4......We are staying at Port Orleans. Logistically where should we direct
our attention in selecting restaurants to reserve for dinner? Which
parks are easiest to get to?

Thanks for your suggestions.........Karen

 

[NicoleK1974]

I'm not sure about a large party size, but as far as needing ADR's for other than dinner, if you are wanting anywhere decent (more than fast food or food carts) I would personally make ressies.

Summer is going to be crazy busy and everyone wants to get indoors and out of the heat.

As far as the kids meals....my then 3 year old, who is NOT a picky eater, and quite adventurous, was VERY tired of mac & cheese, pizza, hot dogs and burgers by the second day and was thrilled to be able to have steak, real veggies and variety at CRT.

Buffets are a great idea....
1900 Park Fare and Crystal Palace being our top 2 buffets.

Hope this helped a bit!

 

[deakam]

The regular dining plan will get you one counter service/fast food meal and one sit down meal....plus one snack per person per night. You can use them anyway you want. For example 2 adults and 2 kids in the same room staying for 7 nights would equal 14 adult table service and 14 adult counter service and 14 kids table service and 14 kids counter service plus 28 snacks.

Adults can not use child credits and kids can not use adult credits. Your table service sit down meals all need reservations. These credits can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most counter service places also serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

With ten people in your party I am going to assume that you have more than one room. The dining plans are attached to the rooms.

As far as reservations for a party of 10...I recently booked reservations for 12...all of Disney will take a reservation for as many as you like. They will note that you may not all be seated at the same table. I would split your party to 5 and 5....this way you are not going to be charged the automatic 18% tip for parties of 6 or more. In order for that to work you need to make 2 separate reservations. We usually tip 20% anyway so it makes no difference to us.

Family style and buffets make no distinction between adult and kids as far as the food selections however they do deduct from your account accordingly.

Some spots require 2 dining credits....On our trips we always get a dining plan...we stay 7 nights and usually book one table service breakfast and one table service lunch the rest dinners. We like the Tusker House Breakfast because it gets you into the Animal Kingdom early enough to get the Safari and Expedition Everest done before the crowds arrive. The same goes for breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Breakfast here can get you into the Magic Kingdom early enough to get a picture in front of the Castle with no one behind you. Both are buffets. We also enjoy an early lunch at Yak and Yeti in the Animal Kingdom. It is air conditioned and the Animal Kingdom always seems to be very hot. We also lunch at the sci-fi diner for the same reason. And it is really cool to sit in the cars and watch the old movie trailers.

Hope this helps.

 

[deakam]

As far as where to make your reservations that would depend on your ticket type. Without park hopper tickets you should probably book in the park you plan on attending that day. If you are leaving a park to head to a resort to eat then you should pick one close to the park you are attending that day. We do not use park hoppers but have enjoyed many of the table service spots at the resorts.

When visiting the Magic Kingdom you have the choice of any spots at the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness. Epcot or MGM you can easily get to Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Clubs. Downtown Disney has some fine places to eat as well.

 

[sunshinejk]

I have a family of 10 going to Disney in35 days. I can tell you my experience so far. This is our second trip for this group:

1.....Is it difficult to get reservations for 10?

This depends when you book. If you go during peak season, and wait till the last minute, you may get ressies, but not somewhere that you were hoping for. I booked THE DAY I was first able to, and we did get the restaruants we want, however, we were told that we will more than likely be split into two tables for many of them. I think Tepan Edo is the only ressie that guaranteed we'd be at the same table. All others warned us of a split. Last time we went, we were able to all sit at the same table, BUT it wasn't peak season....it was January.

2.....Is it only necessary to make reservations for dinner?

If you want a sit down restaurant, YES, make reservations. You can try to get in, but you will either have a VERY long wait, or may not get in at all. I would especially make reservations if you have a specific place you want to eat. Counter service won't need reservatins.

3.....We only opted to take adult service for the 10 year old.....will that be
an issue? Are there sufficient choices on the childrens' menus? ALL
of the kids are excellent eaters with eclectic tastes rather than just
chicken tenders

Your 10 year old will have to order off the adult menu. The kids menus do have pretty good choicesw. Most are pretty basic, but that's what most kids want. Go online and look at the restaurants. you can view their menus on the Disney website and you will be prepared for what types of food they offer. If all hte kids are good eaters, most adult meals are fairly large. My daughter likes to try new things, so she would order her kids meal, and then I'd let her have a few bites off of my plate, too. But if your child has a kid meal plan, they do have to order off the kids menu.


4......We are staying at Port Orleans. Logistically where should we direct
our attention in selecting restaurants to reserve for dinner? Which
parks are easiest to get to?

We are staying at Port Orleans, too. What I did is determined what park we are going to that day, and that is how I determined my meal plans. I have everything planned out by day. We opted to go to the park that has magical disney hours so we can stay late if we opt to.

Send me a PM if you are interested in the spreadsheet i created. It is basically an agenda that I give to our entire party before we leave for our trip. Then we know what days are what park and if we split up, we have the times and confirmation numbers on it, too. I also have a column that states how many meals it requires, so we don't go over for meals or snacks. I can't see how I can attach it on here.

 

[Martyap]

I have a family of 10 going to Disney in35 days. I can tell you my experience so far. This is our second trip for this group:

1.....Is it difficult to get reservations for 10?

This depends when you book. If you go during peak season, and wait till the last minute, you may get ressies, but not somewhere that you were hoping for. I booked THE DAY I was first able to, and we did get the restaruants we want, however, we were told that we will more than likely be split into two tables for many of them. I think Tepan Edo is the only ressie that guaranteed we'd be at the same table. All others warned us of a split. Last time we went, we were able to all sit at the same table, BUT it wasn't peak season....it was January.

2.....Is it only necessary to make reservations for dinner?

If you want a sit down restaurant, YES, make reservations. You can try to get in, but you will either have a VERY long wait, or may not get in at all. I would especially make reservations if you have a specific place you want to eat. Counter service won't need reservatins.

3.....We only opted to take adult service for the 10 year old.....will that be
an issue? Are there sufficient choices on the childrens' menus? ALL
of the kids are excellent eaters with eclectic tastes rather than just
chicken tenders

Your 10 year old will have to order off the adult menu. The kids menus do have pretty good choicesw. Most are pretty basic, but that's what most kids want. Go online and look at the restaurants. you can view their menus on the Disney website and you will be prepared for what types of food they offer. If all hte kids are good eaters, most adult meals are fairly large. My daughter likes to try new things, so she would order her kids meal, and then I'd let her have a few bites off of my plate, too. But if your child has a kid meal plan, they do have to order off the kids menu.


4......We are staying at Port Orleans. Logistically where should we direct
our attention in selecting restaurants to reserve for dinner? Which
parks are easiest to get to?

We are staying at Port Orleans, too. What I did is determined what park we are going to that day, and that is how I determined my meal plans. I have everything planned out by day. We opted to go to the park that has magical disney hours so we can stay late if we opt to.

Send me a PM if you are interested in the spreadsheet i created. It is basically an agenda that I give to our entire party before we leave for our trip. Then we know what days are what park and if we split up, we have the times and confirmation numbers on it, too. I also have a column that states how many meals it requires, so we don't go over for meals or snacks. I can't see how I can attach it on here.

Thanks so much for the great advice. How far in advance and where do I find the parks that have magical Disney hours? The spreadsheet would be fantastic.....could you email it to me? markar23atoptonlinedotnet
Have fun on your trip.

Marty

 

[sunshinejk]

Thanks so much for the great advice. How far in advance and where do I find the parks that have magical Disney hours? The spreadsheet would be fantastic.....could you email it to me? markar23atoptonlinedotnet
Have fun on your trip.

Marty

I just emailed you the spreadsheet.

The links to the park hours are: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/

 

[nanhol]

I agree with what other say--definitely get reservations, but first plan out what parks you'll be in and check out the restaurants in the parks and at nearby resorts to decide where to dine. There are so many great restaurants--check out menus on allears.net and reviews there and here on disboards. If WDW is new to all 10 of you (or most of you) then you might consider buying one of the guidebooks, like Birnbaum's. There is a kids' version, too, which the kids in your group might enjoy. It will give you guidance on rides & attractions at each park, as well as restaurants and is fairly well organized. Since you've already found the disboards you know that there is great info here, but it can be overwhelming!

Groups of 10 are quite manageable by Disney standards--you might be split up, but that depends on the restaurant. I have found some CMs on the restaurant reservation line are knowledgeable about what restaurants can easily accomodate 10--(some restaurants may not--Tutto Italia could not handle a ressie of 11--not sure about 10).

When you're planning park days you might check out one of the crowd calendars out there, like this one:
http://www.undercovertourist.com/pl...-calendar_july-2013.html#disney-opening-hours
You should know that in general the calendars direct you away from parks that have extra magic hours, but if you don't have park hoppers and want to hit EMH then you may want to ignore the crowd calendar.

You also might consider splitting into different groups for some meals, depending on food preferences or just to build in breaks from each other. I'm part of a family group of 16 headed to WDW in February. We are together in various groups for different meals, some days we're all in the same park and planning to eat together, other days we're scattered. It's my family's vacation as well as our family reunion, so I want to make sure my kids and my husband and I get some time together. My SILs and I talked about what restaurants we all wanted to eat at and planned meals around that. If there are a grandma & grandpa in the group they might enjoy taking the kids to dinner one night while parents enjoy a dinner alone!

The trip is great, but the planning is pretty fun, too! I hope you enjoy it!