Reservation Help! Please!

[ccigliano]

Getting ADRs on the fly was never really an issue until Disney started the Dining Plan. Think about it Sherm - you are getting a snack, counter service meal and table service meal all for $39 a day including tax and tip. If you eat at Le Cellier for a table service meal plan on spending at least $70 per person for an appetizer, entree, dessert, tax and tip. Now throw in a counter service meal at $10 and a snack a $3. Your basically getting an $83 value (maybe even more depending on the restaurant) for half the price each day of your stay. I don't know the stats but I would think a very high percentage of Disney on-site guests are taking advantage of this value. In 2008 the dining plan is changing and I think it will be much easier to make ADRs on the fly. Keep calling as people cancel and also check the day of. Good Luck.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Welcome to the DIS Sherm Glad you found us and hope we can help.

You are receiving lots of great advice, and you are going to Disney at a very magical time of year. Lots and lots of people think so, hence the need for ADR's.

Here is a link to the menus on the DISboards. Every dining place is listed along with the menus for each.

Disney is so huge and there is SO much to do, a plan is important. Disney is not the place where you can walk in and wing it. Well you can, but you will probably miss out on lots.

There are park hours to consider, what days Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party will be held (the parks close early for this special ticketed event), there is the Candlelight Processional dinner package to consider....

Not to mention the days and times of Extra Magic Hours (the question there is do you do them or not)

When we did our first trip, I bought the Unofficial guide to Disney (that was in 1998 and before I found the DISboards ) The book helped me understand just how much there was to do. (Your local library or ebay might be an inexpensive way to get it)

If you are doing the DDP, I would strongly recommend making some ADR's. We here so many stories of people frustrated that they can't eat where they want. It takes some of the spontaneity out of the day, but it is SO much better than Dad, we are hungry, when are we going to have dinner? (and you know the tone to the voice there!)

Hope that is enough to get you started. Make the planning fun, have planning sessions with the kids and talk about what you discover. Make a list of a couple places you want to eat and be flexible! Many of the top choices may already be booked, but there are many more choices that should still be available. A CM can help you find some too.

Good luck!

 

[jmkrat]

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?

We still do some character dining and my kids are much older. They are only 1 TS credit as some have mentioned, except for Cinderella's Round Table, which is hard to get a ressie for even when booking early. Character meals are fun.

 

[Frankiesmom]

You should also check out allearsnet.com for their dining section with menus and prices. We just booked a last minute trip yesterday for dec. and I was next on the phone and got just about all the reservations I wanted. The first thing you need to do is figure out what parks you plan to visit on what dates;you can find the park hours on disneyworld.com under the parks tab. and plan your days;then figure out where you'll want to eat. I know-it seems like a lot of work for going on vacation;but trust me if you have a plan you'll have a more magical vacation! Really!!! Disney is just too large and can be overwhelming-so a vague plan can be an enormous stress saver while you're there. Have fun planning-that's half the fun!

 

[Nancyg56]

One more person chiming in to say that you can have fun and enjoy your day if you plan your meals. Your family will thank you for the good meal.

Everyone has directed you to Debs and the website for menus and park hours. That is where I would start as well. Once you decide which park you want you can work a meal into your plan. I would suggest that you consider if your resort has a table service restaurant as well as some of the resort restaurants. We had dinner at Shutters last week because my DGD would not last any longer in EPCOT and it was a good meal and away from the hectic environment of the park restaurants.

Character meals are a nice way to relax and let the characters come to you. If you like breakfast 'Ohana in the Polynesian Resort has the Lilo and Stitch breakfast which is good. Garden Grill in EPCOT was a favorite of my 5 YO DGD. Chip and Dale, Mickey and Pluto seem to be there.

If you let us know your family likes and dislikes we can help you narrow it down a little, and if you let us know which parks you are going to visit we can help you find a meal that may not be in the park but close enough to make travel easy.

 

[roselark]

Whenever I hear about a bad trip, it is normally because the only planning done was making hotel/plane reservations. Like a previous poster said, a little planning will make a ton of difference. Disneyworld is HUGE!

You are going during a great time of year, but during a time when a lot of special events are going on. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is one. Please be aware that several nights a week, Magic Kingdom will close early to everyone except ticket holders. Also, there are extra magic hours to consider.

At the very least, have a general plan of what park you will attend each day. This is really a lot easier than it sounds. Go to the disneyworld.com site and look at the park hours. Also check out allears.net for MVMCP dates and look at menus.

Once you have that determined, then you can decide where to make your table service ADRs. Only a few places have a charge if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice. If you change your mind on your trip about where you want to eat, just call the 1-800 reservations number and see if you can change it. While your options might be limited, it is still a possibility.

I agree that spending the time planning now will enable you to have that relaxing vacation you were hoping for.

 

[roselark]

Oh, and you did not mention when in December you are going. The first 2 weeks will be a bit more open and flexible than the last 2 weeks due to crowd levels.

 

[tiggrsbride]

Welcome to Disboards, Sherm!

I booked our trip under two weeks ago, and got all the ADR's I wanted for our mid December trip, except for LeCellier. Last Saturday night, after daily phone calls to Disney Dining, I got LeCellier on Saturday 12/15 @ 7:00 pm! Don't worry, just think about what you want to do at night, and plan some of your dining around that. You may want some TS lunches and breakfasts with your kids, and yes, character dining is wonderful, and a great value. Like most folks on this board, I enjoy the planning aspect almost as much as the trip. Our ADR's are based on our favs, plus ease of transportation from resort to restaurant. Unless you have a car, resort dining can sometimes be difficult, especially at night. Good luck with your planning and let us know what you choose!

 

[mdoc]

If you have the DDP, you definitely need to get on the phone and make ADRs. I hope you're going in the less crowded part of December, because it'll be tough to get good times right now. I'm having trouble getting the times I want for my spring break trip in late March. Disney counter service is pretty good, though. I wouldn't necessarily characterize it as fast food. We've been on week-long trips where we ate nothing but counter service and it was fine.