should we just wing it?

[pickeypokey]

First trip to disney since the 80's. Taking the wife and kids (4, 2) staying at CBR 4/2/09-4/9/09.

If I never came across this site I would have never started to panic like I am now. Our trip is in less that 30 days (just booked it last week). I want to make sure that we get one sit down meal a day. Only thing is I don't know any of the restaurants, which park we'll be in on any given day, and where we'll be at dinner time.

Can anyone suggest an approach to planning this? Do I just pick a park for a day then pick a random restaurant and call to make reservations? Should I have a few alternative restaurants for each park so I don't have to make multiple calls?

We were originally just going to wing it but that doesn't sound like a rational approach anymore.

Any advice for a newbie would be much appreciated.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

See where you want to go each day a pick a resturant asap. Dinning ress go quick .

 

[java]

Check out the menus here
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Look at park hours- emh's Decide where you want to be each day and go from there. When you call have 3 choices ready in case your top pick isn't available.
Good luck. Character meals fill up early usually. So if you want to do any of those be sure to book ASAP.

 

[princess-rn]

NO...Trust me..Do not try to wing it. My very first trip (which was my honeymoon...DH had been many times as a child) I didn't know anything about Disney and I didn't do my homework. We winged it and while we had a great time..we missed alot too. I didn't realize it until we went on our 2nd trip and we had everything planned including our dinners. Now i probably border line over plan...but I love it!!! Start will www.alllears.net. that will give you TONS of information!!! Good luck!

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

You can still get sit down meal reservations, just probably not your first choice. I go on the 18th of March and I am still changing mine around!!

 

[septbaby]

First trip to disney since the 80's. Taking the wife and kids (4, 2) staying at CBR 4/2/09-4/9/09.I want to make sure that we get one sit down meal a day.

We stayed at CBR in summer of 2007 and really enjoyed our stay. We were also a short notice trip, so no worries man!

I would add the dining plan to your reservation if you don't already have it. Since you want one TS meal per day, the Basic plan will be your best choice. There is not charge for the 2yo, so you'll pay the fee for the 4yo and adults.

At the Disney Hollywood Studios there is a character meal called Play & Dine. That one is perfect for the preschoolers and usually has good availability. You can book it for lunch or breakfast.

Boma is another wonderful place to eat. It is not a character meal, but visiting the Animal Kingdom Lodge would be a lot of fun for you and the kids. I recently had breakfast there and our family has had dinner. Both are great meals. It is easiest to book that the same day you visit the Animal Kingdom. If breakfast just go before heading to the park. We really liked having dinner after leaving the park, AK tends to close early so perfect timing for dinner.

We liked Coral Reef in Epcot it has a full wall aquarium and unlike the other meals I mentioned is not a buffet so the food comes to you. We loved lunch there and you may have better luck booking lunch than dinner as it is popular. Keep in mind any meal inside a park requires park admission to the park. If you have Parkhopper tickets, no big deal, but if not you really do need to plan to be in that park for the meal.

Garden Grille is a character meal in Epcot it is now only a dinner option.

Shutters at CBR gets mixed reviews, but it will be convenient so if that works for you book it. We really liked our meals in the food court there so the TS can't be that bad!

There are lots of other good places to eat at WDW. Really you can enjoy a meal at every place on site.

 

[Samrain]

Disney is one of those places where it's really hit or miss. I don't think (please correct me if I'm wrong!) the dates you're traveling are extremely busy, but ADRs tend to get booked very fast. If you're flexible, there's always a chance a table will be available (you can always check in the morning or earlier in the day if a table is available for dinner and make a reservation if one is available) but obviously there's no guarantee. If you're willing to eat at less peak hours, there's also an increased likelihood that more tables will be open.

 

[nsalz]

I didn't think the dates I was traveling was extremely busy...I go tomorrow. I made reservations for dining a couple of weeks ago, since this was a last minute trip. I could not get all the restaurants I wanted. I would make a reservaton for each day and if you change your plans just call them to let them know and open up that time for someone else. That's what we do anyway!...Hey did I mention we leave tomorrow

 

[DISHUD]

I agree, wingin' it is just insane! You absolutley need an itinerary or else your trip will not go well especially if there are children involved. I would look at the menus on www.allear.net and get your ressie's made immediately or you won't be eating at any resturaunts that you choose.
Hope this helps....have a wonderful trip!

 

[angiejg]

No you should definitely not wing it. Make your plan for which park you'll be in on which day, then make some sit down reservations. On our first trip we over scheduled and felt like we were always trying to get to the next place to eat. Don't do that. Last trip we were there for 5 days and did two sit downs and the rest counter. This next trip we are staying for 7 days and are doing four sit downs and the rest counter. Hope that helps!

 

[GatorLady]

I don't think (please correct me if I'm wrong!) the dates you're traveling are extremely busy, but ADRs tend to get booked very fast.

Sorry, but OMGosh, OP is going smack dab in the middle of spring break! Yikes!

Don't know if OP is on the dining plan, but holiday surcharges will be in place during their stay. This is from allears.

"The holiday surcharge for buffet and character meals around the World is returning, as previously announced. Prices for meals during these dates will be several dollars more per person than at other times of the year. The dates affected are April 5 - April 18, 2009, and May 24 - July 11, 2009."


Maybe OP should sign up for the Unofficial Guide or Tour Guide Mike, to help with touring during this busy time.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

You don't have to schedule every minute of your trip - but if having a sit-down meal is something you want on your trip, you should arrange for them ahead of time. If not, I think you are setting yourself up for frustration. Restaurants do not keep open slots for walkins - they can be all booked up and you're walking around trying to get a place to eat.

As an insurance policy - book an ADR for each evening you want to have a sit-down meal. Make the best guess as to what park you'll go to each day. If you end up someplace else and can get a different restaurant for that day, just call and cancel your ADR. But having that reservation will actually make your trip more relaxed.

 

[rbork]

Here's the winging it approach I took last week. Made ADR's about 40 days out.
The majority were made at resort restaurants like Boma, Wave, Ohana, WCC etc. ..
That way I was not tied to a particular park. Then after we arrived, I ended up changing 5 out of the 7 ADR's I had. (O'hanas was in stone as that place is hard to get into! We enjoyed Ohana's the most) I was flexible and it was not a particularly busy season. I had ADR's so I knew if all else failed I'd be eating at one of the originals. I did cancel the ADR's I would not be using once I replaced them w/ the new one's. I called at various times during the week or just used the concierge to arrange ADR's.

The Dis Boards have been a great resource and I had a good idea of the good restaurants and not so good ones too. I am a planner and this trip was totally different for us as I purposely didn't make plans for every moment. We just let it happen and did what we felt like when we felt like it. In fact, we didn't even go into a park one day and we had tix for it.

Good luck and have a great vacation

 

[idatwilight]

What others have said is true--you're going at a really busy time, and it helps to have an itinerary, even if you wind up diverting from it a little. I would plan on having the sit-down be breakfast, lunch or an early dinner so you don't feel you have to stay in the park if the kids are exhausted. At the very least, you should have an ADR for each day so that it's there if you want it. If not, you can always cancel.

Definitely try to do a character meal; I think Crystal Palace at the MK is great--it's Pooh and friends, the place is freaking huge, and it's always been our go-to character meal.

Just don't let yourself go too nuts; it is, after all, a vacation.

 

[Miss Ang]

I've been to Disney 4 other times and never had a plan. We still had a great time. (once as a teen, twice with dh and once with dh and the kids). This time though, I am getting ultra-organized; probably over-the-top. One morning during our last trip I called and was able to get a castle breakfast and we rushed out the door and made it just in time. You just never know. If you want to have sit down/table service meals, I would certainly plan which ones you want and get on the phone asap. Call back every day and see if there are any cancellations, because they could be available. Good luck! And don't stress out. Even if you have zero sit down meals at a table service restaurant you are still going to have a wonderful time!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Dont panick, we make ressies all the time and change it up while in WDW and always find something to eat. What I would do is get some idea where and when you want to eat and call to see what you can get...we leave tomorrow and as of last week I was tweaking all my days and times and have been able to get into places....if nothing else there are a ton of awesome CS places to choose from.

 

[Perditamarie]

Make a plan...pick a park and then select a restaurant in/near that park.

Here is a list of hours:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ca...ly_endDate=20090612&asmbly_startDate=20090602

Here is a list of parade/fireworks times:

http://intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/events.asp

It will be extremely busy, so even a little bit of planning will go a long way. Have a great trip!

 

[DannysMom]

Don't panic, but do think about what park you will be on what days & plan out & make some ADRs ASAP. If you want one sit down meal a day, it should be booked ahead of time, especially character meals. I'm just guessing with your kids ages, you want at least one or two character meals.

You will likely find the parks pretty busy (my son's school is closed for spring break 4/6-4/10 -- likely many others are as well) and you risk being shut out of table service restaraunts if you don't make any ADRs ahead of time. Disney restaraunts do not hold tables for walk-ups, if there is no availability you will be turned away. So, get planning. There are plenty of menus online, both here at the Dis & at AllEars. Happy planning!

 

[tripplanner]

Years ago, I felt comfortable winging it. I would get up each day, ask the kids at breakfast where they wanted to go that day, after breakfast head back to the room to gather our stuff for the day and call to make ADR's for lunch or dinner. I never had problems getting what I wanted. It was easy. It's just not like that anymore. I now make my ADR's on the first possible day, so I can get what I want. Sometimes, even though I do this I still can't get Le Cellier.

When I make my ADR's, I look at park hours and try to figure out where I'm going to be to get in those have to do meals at the parks. The rest of the meals I make at resort restaurants. This way I'm not tied to a park and I can still get up and ask the kids where they'd like to go that day and not feel tied to a schedule. I usually only plan one TS a day. Sometimes it's a breakfast TS, or lunch, or dinner. The rest of our meals our CS, so no real planning is involved.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I didn't read all the replies, so someone may have mentioned this. I wouldn't plan on your dates not being crowded. We live an hour from WDW & our school district is out for SB 4/06 - 4/10. They'll actually be out from 4/04 - 4/12. The surrounding counties have the same week off. I'm not sure about the rest of the state. Regardless, ADRs at that time of year will be necessary at most restaurants.