Same Day ADR Sucess!

[nat8199]

i was up at 6am so I thought I would check to see what ADRs I could get...

And now I am taking my kids for an unplanned preopening Garden Grill 8:05am breakfast with Chip and Dale.

Akerhus for 8am was also a choice.

If it were an MK day for us we could have had an 8:05 BOG.

Chef Mickey and Tusker house were also available with multiple times.

I am going to try again on Thursday to look for the BOG on our MK day!

 

[DisBuckMan]

We never make ADR's more than a day in advance anymore, due to the vast day-before and same-day availability.

We simply don't like scheduling our Disney vacations around eating what we experience to be increasingly mediocre food. Dining is the last thing we schedule now, and we're able to schedule based on what we're in the mood for then, and not what we were in the mood for 6 months ago. Have very few problems getting into what's considered "popular" restaurants, either.

 

[AngiTN]

I've been saying for years that people could easily find an opening at almost any ADR they want day of, or day before. We rarely make ADR more than 24 hours in advance. I haven't even booked a trip 180 days out, much less had any interest in getting up early to book ADR.

Our trip next weekend is an exception only because I needed an ADR to order custom cakes for DGD. It's real hard to lock ourselves in to these ADR too. I'm not used to it

 

[crabbygal902]

Thank you for this post! I used to buy into the whole ADR frenzy and was completely stressed out about availability and perfection 180 +10 days before the meal even happened! When our plans changed suddenly on a more recent trip, I found that we had lots and lots of options to choose from, including the most popular locations even at busy Holiday times. We've discovered some hidden gems this way.

I'll book one, maybe 2 ADRs, and leave the rest until the car ride down to WDW or even the day of.

 

[Fangorn]

The only time we make an ADR prior to day of anymore is for those few occasions where timing/schedule actually matters due to some other event that is a fixed point on the timeline. Haven't yet had a problem getting anything we've wanted the day of, or day before.

Steve

 

[Minnesota!]

This is how we typically do it, too. Same day. Never an issue getting something "good"..

 

[MakiraMarlena]

once I booked lunch at Le Cellier while riding the boat over to Epcot from Studios.

 

[KenHutch]

While I admire people who can do this I could never never do it. My IT soul plans everything and disorder and such would kill me.

 

[MainMom]

While I admire people who can do this I could never never do it. My IT soul plans everything and disorder and such would kill me.

I can’t because my kids have specific requests and I want to make sure we can get in when we want. If it’s ever just my DH and I, we would be more flexible.

 

[gulliesmom]

I am hoping to just book a couple ADRs and then wing it the rest of the time. I am just nervous b/c it is Thanksgiving week and I don't want to be stuck with no options.

 

[MSPeeler]

There are some ADRs though that require pre-payment or are always sold out (CRT, Mickey Backyard BBQ for instance) that are never available the day before in my last 10 years or visiting that I know of & 1 or the 2 is always a must do, so that one is definitely booked.

But that’s very encouraging to know I don’t have to stress over the others so much!!

 

[MSPeeler]

I am hoping to just book a couple ADRs and then wing it the rest of the time. I am just nervous b/c it is Thanksgiving week and I don't want to be stuck with no options.

Same here.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I think this approach works if you are not on the dining plan. I’m think it might be a little stressful if you are. We are going back to out of pocket this year after 2 yrs of DDP so maybe we’ll pick up a lunch ADR or two this way.

 

[gulliesmom]

Yes, no dining plan here! We initially had it and I cancelled b/c I realized we would be spending more $ than if we just paid for food along the way.

 

[Momof2Singers]

I hear during free dining times it is very hard to find a reservation. We are going Dec 16-23, and although I would love to be more spontaneous, I think I would stress out. That being said, this trip, just me and my 18 year old, first time at Christmas, we are open to more things and are not as picky as where we eat. We have 4 must dos, the rest are flexible. If anyone has been this time of year and has an experience, I would love to hear.

 

[pattyw]

We usually wait until the days before and day of to check for ADR's now. We were even successful with making a Candelight Processional dining package ADR with Neil Patrick Harris just a few days before back in December.

 

[Momof2Singers]

We usually wait until the days before and day of to check for ADR's now. We were even successful with making a Candelight Processional dining package ADR with Neil Patrick Harris just a few days before back in December.

This is really what I would like to do. Which restaurant did you find?

 

[ewasilau]

This is great to hear. We have a bunch of ADRs but I have been thinking of them as "disposable" and we are very likely to make changes once there. I think we will do our final meal at WDW on the fly or schedule the day before. You can cancel ADRs up until midnight the day before regardless of the ADR time, right?