Reservations just for dinner - or lunch too???

[Carlyzmom]

All of you Disney experts and frequent travelers - do you normally make just dinner reservations or dinner and lunch too? Seems kind of highly regimented to make lunch and dinner reservations every day!
BUT, I also don't want to be stuck with no place to eat lunch because I have not planned ahead.

 

[tjl1388]

Speaking from my family's experience we usually do counter service for lunches unless it is a special sit down place we would like to eat.

 

[Island Mouse]

We usually make adr's at the places we really want to eat at each day whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For most of the days I have planned for our upcoming trip, we don't have anything scheduled for lunch so we'll just play it by ear those days. If there is a specific place you want to eat at during lunch, I say go ahead and make the ADR.

 

[tinkandpan]

We usually do TS for breakfast and DInner on the same day. Or a TS for lunch then eat CS in between. If i know the park is going to be particularly hot (like an AK day) I do like to make a TS for lunch so i get to sit down and relax in the cool for an hour or so.

 

[disneychick0412]

I usually do one or the other per day. For example, we will have Chef Mickey's for breakfast one day, and will probably eat counter service for
any other meals that day. (Just playing it by ear and eating whenever we feel like eating or snacking). We do the dining plan, BTW. Or I will book Ohana for dinner and do counter service for breakfast and just do a small midday snack since we want to save plenty of room for dinner!!

We always do Sci-Fi for lunch because we like the menu better, but that is usually the only lunch I book. Generally our TS ADR's are 2 breakfasts(Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace), Sci-Fi for lunch, and the rest dinners.

 

[suzimar57]

we alternate - today lunch TS and dinner CS, tomorrow lunch CS and dinner TS, and so on - works for us on DDP

 

[ssjerauld]

I've never had reservations for lunch because we always eat counter service for our mid-day meal. I always have reservations if we're eating a table service dinner for 2 reasons--I like having a plan, and I've seen too many people turned away at the podium.

 

[mickeynut1]

We usually do CS for lunch and TS for dinner . On any days we schedule a breakfast TS (2, sometimes 3) we usually skip lunch altogether or just eat a snack since we know we'll have a big dinner. But for our family, having a sit down for lunch AND dinner would be way too much .

 

[bleeps]

It really depends on your family and your plans for the day. Like others, we (DDP) first think about the restaurants we absolutely want to visit on the trip, and then figure out if a lunch or a dinner (or breakfast!) makes the most sense for the given day. For example, we all love Coral Reef and we always have an ADR for lunch there and use that cool, quiet break mid-day to enable us to schedule a very full and long day.

Think about the pace of your overall trip and your pace/plans for each day. I think the biggest mistake people make is underestimating how tiring a day at WDW is and how long it can take to get from place to place. A mix of early start days, later start days, early nights and longer evenings -- all tempered with meal plans that fit the pace of the day -- works well for us. BUT, all that said, I would NEVER count on being able to have a TS lunch without an ADR....

 

[Wendy5055]

My way of thinking is that I am going during FREE dining which is not only an incentive for ME, but for EVERYONE else too!!!

I have upgraded to DlxDDP (because I was never able to before) and have been working on ADR's for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. I try to schedule EARLY breakfasts and lunch around 1:00 with dinner around 6:00 or later.

I know myself and DD6, if we don't eat we get pretty difficult to be around!!! We don't want that... so we will eat 3 meals per day and enjoy the respite from the heat.

I am thinking that Counter Service would be CRAZY during free dining and I don't want to waste time standing in different Looooooooong lines to get food for grumpy me and less than sparkly DD6...not to mention mean DH waiting with less than sparkly DD6... while grumpy me gets the food...heaven only knows what I would get for everyone to eat!!!

No thanks, I will make my ADR's!!! We are even trying places we have not eaten at before!!!

 

[BCV23]

We do make reservations for lunch and dinner. We have done so for over 20 years now. We enjoy the break from the parks and visiting with each other over a nice meal.

We do have the odd day that I leave lunch open for one reason or another. The if necessary I make a same day reservation for lunch.

But most trips, I make reservations for both meals every day of the trip.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

My way of thinking is that I am going during FREE dining which is not only an incentive for ME, but for EVERYONE else too!!!

I have upgraded to DlxDDP (because I was never able to before) and have been working on ADR's for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. I try to schedule EARLY breakfasts and lunch around 1:00 with dinner around 6:00 or later.

I know myself and DD6, if we don't eat we get pretty difficult to be around!!! We don't want that... so we will eat 3 meals per day and enjoy the respite from the heat.

I am thinking that Counter Service would be CRAZY during free dining and I don't want to waste time standing in different Looooooooong lines to get food for grumpy me and less than sparkly DD6...not to mention mean DH waiting with less than sparkly DD6... while grumpy me gets the food...heaven only knows what I would get for everyone to eat!!!

No thanks, I will make my ADR's!!! We are even trying places we have not eaten at before!!!

We are doing deluxe dining as well and I have several days with 3 ADRs. Some days we plan to sleep in so we will have an early lunch and a signature dinner. DS and I are also slaves to our blood sugar and must eat even if we don't necessarily feel super hungry. I figure having the opportunity to sit in a nice air conditioned restaurant is much more appealing than those CS lines! Yes, we will be a slave to our ADRs but we have 11 days this trip so I am sure we will get to see everything we want to plus enjoy all the yummy food!

 

[maraki527]

We do a little bit of both. We like to do lunches because then we get to snack all evening .