Reservation Help! Please!

[Sherm]

Going to Disney with the kids in Decmeber. It is my first time since a very young age and my Wife & I are getting stressed! We were told by several people at Disney on the phone that we need to make reservations for meals NOW or else everything will book up! We don't understand at all. This is vacation, we want to be spontaneous to some degree. How do I know which park I will want to go to on what day 2 months prior? How do I know what time we will want to eat on Thursday night, 2 months prior? Etc etc.....If we don't make reservations as suggested, are we screwed? They said there is a charge if you make reservations and don't show up. What if it rains, and we decide to go elsewhere that day? Can anyone please shed some light! Thank you for nay help. By the way, new to the forum, this is great, thanx!

Sherm

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Yes, dining at Disney (especially in December) has become quite an effort.

All you say is true. But. If you do not make reservations (Disney calls them ADRs) for the table/full service restaurants you wish to dine in, you run the very real risk of only being able to eat at counter service places.

The only thing to do for it is choose at least a few places and plan your days on those days, around the dining venue for that day.

Hope that helps a bit.

If you have your own transport you can turn your back on Disney's nonsense and have lovely meals in the Dr. Phillips area.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Yes! Yes! Make your ADR's now!!! This is the reality at Disney...we saw tons of people get turned away without and ADR during our trip. As for spontaneous...sorry...but I just don't think one can be really spontaneous to a certain degree if your going to WDW...maybe a cruise...vacation by the ocean....but Disney does take some planning. You don't have to schedule Everything...but many months in advance we did have an ADR for each day and knew which park we were going to visit that day...once you get there...have fun and you don't have to follow a touring plan if you don't want to (although you'll see MUCH more if you do!). Good luck!

 

[engle]

Hours for the parks are out for December...why not at least plan what parks on what days and then make some dining ressies. If you want to sit and eat at a table service restaurant, being spontaneous is sort of out of the question at WDW with ressies.

As far as being charged if you are a no show, there are only a few places that require credit card deposit/payment so steer clear of those unless you REALLY want to eat there...then show up.

Rain won't scare you away from the parks or your plans...unless it is a FULL rainy day and even then you can brave most areas and not cancel your plans. Have a great trip!!

And hurry, get those ressies!! It is already late!!

 

[Sherm]

Thanx for the replies guys...looks like we have no choice but to make reservations.....I called Wifey to let her know.....I am starting to get down on the whole Disney thing....I hope all goes well......

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Thanx for the replies guys...looks like we have no choice but to make reservations.....I called Wifey to let her know.....I am starting to get down on the whole Disney thing....I hope all goes well......

Sherm,
The only places that charge if you don't show up are the ones that take a credit card or that you have to pay up front like CRT and the dinner shows. However IF you make an ADR and find even that day you are not going to make it, call and cancel it, just for curtesy sake.
You might be surprised to know that Many people call 180 days in advance to book the popular spots. and now it will not be too easy for you to find any TS places that you might want at anything like popular times.
Are you on a dining plan? if so they by all means make whatever you can, you can also check once you are on property and see if anything has opened up. If you are not on a dining plan you may want to rely heavily on counter service places which don't require ADRs obviously. Good Luck.

 

[Sherm]

Hours for the parks are out for DecemberQUOTE]

What does that mean?

 

[Sherm]

mickiethepooh, i did buy the dining plan (should i not have?) if i understand all this correctly, the counter service will be all fast food type stuff...i certainly cant eat that stuff every meal for a week!

 

[pikaboo27]

I felt the same way for our last trip in 2005, but my DH convinced me that we needed to plan ahead. I am so glad we did. We were there at a time when the parks were pretty empty and still most people were turned away without a reservation.

I know it seems counter intuitive to plan this much for what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation, but it's better to rush and figure out everything now, and then once you are there, you can relax knowing that your plans are made.

Plus, planning the living daylights out of trip can be half the fun. That's why most of us are on DIS! he he he You should see the spreadsheets some of us make to plan everything! And yes, I'm a convert and for our trip next year, everything is planned.

BTW, not all counter service is like fast food. Some of them are what Disney calls "fast casual" which has more choices. ABC Commisary at MGM and the Sunshine Fair at Epcot are like that.

Since you are on the dining plan, definately call to get some ressies. You don't want to waste all those TS credits!

Don't forget that most of the hotels have Table Service restaurants too, so if you have a car and are willing to drive, check them out.

Good luck and enjoy your time with the mouse!

 

[jmkrat]

I find it hard to know where I am going to be and get stressed over it a bit too, and I have been going for awhile. There was a time when you didn't have to make reservations, but not so any more. December will be busy, so if you want the sit down meals, book now. Take a look at the calender and see what parks may interest you, if you are staying on property you are eligible for the Extra Magic Hours, if you get park hopper tickets even better. We don't always eat at the park we are at, with park hopper we will eat at a different park. You also have some great meal options at the resorts. You can look at this site for some menu ideas and also allears has all the restuarants listed with menus and prices. It is great to look at to get an idea of where you might like to eat. You can try and plan your park visits around your meal choices. Sounds hard, but you can work it out. Once done, you will feel a great sense of relief , I always have all my information and calenders, menus and such in front of me to decide. Only the restauratns that require a credit card will charge you for a now show. It is nice to cancel if you do not show to free up the ressie for someone else. There are some exceptions for New Year's Eve Dinners, not sure of the restuarants that are requiring a credit card. Good luck planning, you can do it!

 

[G's mommy]

mickiethepooh, i did buy the dining plan (should i not have?) if i understand all this correctly, the counter service will be all fast food type stuff...i certainly cant eat that stuff every meal for a week!

Yikes! If you have purchased the dining plan you MUST make some ressies for your table service meals or you will end up with TS credits that you cannot use, a real waste of money . Not sure when in December you are traveling, but the entire holiday period is a busy time.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Sherm, the dining plan is a great thing but you do need those ADRs if you are going to use all your TS credits. You can find some good options that are CS credits not your standard fast food, but if you want TS you need to book it.

If you have not done so already go to http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm
and check out the menus, most though not all are up to date. be sure to check out the counter service places to for the more interesting choices.
for instance at POR you can do build your own pasta meal including shrimp or chicken and it is a counter service meal.

If you find that you cannot get enough and decent ADRs and you don't want to take a chance on getting last min. cancellations, you still have time to drop the dining plan from your package.

 

[Sherm]

thanx for all the feedback, this is very helpful!

 

[Vijoge]

mickiethepooh, i did buy the dining plan (should i not have?) if i understand all this correctly, the counter service will be all fast food type stuff...i certainly cant eat that stuff every meal for a week!

Not all counter service is fast food (like McDonald's, for example). One of DH's favorite counter service meals is the Prime Rib at CSR's Pepper Market. You get a real nice slice of Prime Rib, potato, vegetable, dessert, and a beverage (even the $3.99 smoothie) for one CS credit.

 

[solferino]

Yes, definitely be making reservations if you are getting the mealplan. If you want to "wing-it" maybe making breakfast reservations would be the way to go, that would allow you the rest of the day to just go at a whim and not worry about having to be at XYZ restaurant at a specific time later in the day.

There was a time when ADRs weren't necessary, but in the past few trips I've learned that they are very important if having a sit-down meal with someone waiting on you is something you require each day. (We do).

Many of their counter-service restaurants are good and not your run of the mill fast food. But if you are are ok with doing that cancel the mealplan. You also didn't say how old your kids are, but the character meals can be a lot of fun for them. There are several buffet-style ones with a big variety. Check out the dining pages here for links to menus http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

I know it seems like so much of a hassle to do it now, but the extra work now to do some planning really is worth it.

 

[Sherm]

My kids are 10,7 & 5 at time of travel. Should we do the character dining? That counts as 2 meals right? Is it really worth it?

 

[Terk-1]

My kids are 10,7 & 5 at time of travel. Should we do the character dining? That counts as 2 meals right? Is it really worth it?

The only character dining that is 2 meal credits is Cindy's @ the castle. All of the other character meals are 1 meal credit. My favorite character meal is at the Crystal Palace. Great food here.

 

[solferino]

My kids are 10,7 & 5 at time of travel. Should we do the character dining? That counts as 2 meals right? Is it really worth it?

As far as I know the only character meal that is 2 credits is in the castle, but at this point you might not be able to get in there anyways, because it's a very popular restaurant and many call at the 180 day mark to secure their dates.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you can't get your reservations for your table service restaurants, you might want to see if you can drop the Dining Plan. Because it just won't be worth it to keep it if you can't get the Table Service restaurants to use it.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Don't give up-we can all help you here on the Dis; most of us are planners and love a challenge! I'm sure you can get ADRs at many places, just be flexible about eating early dinners or lunches for your table service, instead of during peak dinner hours. We enjoyed late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (with Mary Poppins, Alice, Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger), and I changed the time on that reservation just a month ago (our trip was last week).

When are the dates for your trip, and we can help suggest some places that you might like to try?