those who Do Not do ADR every day/meal

[ajleone]

You'll be fine. I don't like being tied down with ADR's and much prefer just doing CS as we go with the occasional Sit-down(maybe 2 or 3 in a normal week). And even though so many seem to complain about them we really enjoy most of the CS places in WDW.

 

[eliza61]

Please, reassure me Disclosure- I am fully aware I will not be able to walk up for TS and I am ok with it, I know it will most likely be CS. But for some reason, I always question my decision to not inundate my trip with planned meals. Too many posts say this is CRAZY...We do a few and choose where we like or want to try. So its not crazy right? I know we arent the only family that doesnt plan every meal. We do have a plan for which parks which days and some plans as to must see attractions/rides/shows, when to try to get FP and to be sure to allow rest times.
We did not have ADR last trip for many meals and it was fine, However it was extremely rainy so we escaped the parks/storms many times and retreated to our off site resort.
This trip, we have right now 3 ADR, Chef Mickeys(for one character meal) 'Ohana on our day of rest so a leisurely trip, enjoy a monorail ride and then San Angel in Epcot. In DHD, ds requested pizza planet which will be lunch. We figure a meal at CBR is possible after an afternoon swim before reentering park. AK, we enjoyed Flame tree for lunch, dinner I dont have any plan for it.
So with all of that said, is this an ok plan since we are ok with CS and have no set have to aside from those? I expect some ppl not to agree, I am looking for support or feed back from those who choose to do something similar. TIA

I never understand the obsessing over adr's?

Anyway Op, we rarely do ADR's.
this trip I'm doing a few only because its a family reunion and I'll be traveling with guest.

1) for whatever reason we use to make them and never seem to keep them.
2) none of the restaurants are that good that I feel the need to plan around them.

Anyway, we go the end of August and we've never had a problem getting a sit down meal.
When I wake up in the morning, I call Disney Dining and see whats available. I have always, always been able to snag a sit down meal. Now let me be clear, some places like Le Cellier which is extremely popular are usually booked. But like I said, there are 4 other places on site that serve just as good steaks if not better than LC so it doesn't bother me.

If you're flexible and don't "have" to get into the popular places, you'll be able to snag a sit down.

 

[BrerVixen]

It's your vacation, do what you want to!

 

[LaurenT]

I think it's fine. Our family, in general do one ADR per day, but that doesn't mean I feel that we HAVE to! Flame Tree is awesome, Becky loved pizza planet (notice I didn't say it was awesome!) - but as long as you aren't a "foodie" and can find enough food to keep yourselves nourished, you're good to go! And somehow I think there'll be enough non sit down food in WDW to satisfy you!
It's especilly fine if it's not very busy....when it's VERY busy, I know (for me...) I want that afternoon ADR as a rest from the crowd..I don't go back to the room for a rest like many others do.
You are fine with your plan and you'll have a great trip.

 

[21hearts]

We made ADR for TS but none for CS. We didn't on our last trip and never had to wait more then 10 minutes in line at a CS place.

 

[jm106]

Thank you all for replies. I am sticking with my plan then.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We only do a few TS meals every trip. Two or three is enough for us. I don't like to be tied down to an ADR and I don't like the time it takes to do a TS. Especially the restaurants in the resorts.

We most always have a couple we really want...Hoop Dee Do and Chef Mickeys.....we've been to WDW more than enough to know where we can grab the food we want and most is CS from parks or resort food courts. Never cared for the dining plan and ADR's, we don't want our trip ruled by the clock or schedule.....we enjoy pool picnic lunches and when we're hungry, we eat.....if we decide we do want a TS someday, we'll can the bight before or that morning....if we get in fine...if not, we won't starve. If we're enjoying a park or pool we're not going to leave because we have some pre-scheduled ADR....we're on vacation!!

 

[SuperTink]

Pretty much ditto Pepe and tndisneyfan.

Meals are certainly secondary to our other activities. We plan a couple of ADRs and the rest are winged.

 

[Luvamouse]

Our first family trip we had one or two ADR's each day for our Grand Gathering. I enjoyed it, but felt it was too expensive and a serious waste of time for us.

Last trip, we made one ADR for Kona, night of arrival and cancelled it to go to the MK right away This trip, we have none. My family doesn't like having to be in a particular park, at a particular time. (Even though we hop almost daily.) At home we never eat on such a schedule, because day-to-day we have no idea exactly what we'll be doing. We know which CS we enjoy, that have good food and we try to eat a bit early or a bit late to avoid real crunch times. I've been known to let my kids get ice cream sundaes for lunch... There is a part of me that would love to do TS a couple of times on each trip, but without ADRs, it isn't realistic when we travel. Plus, to sit in a restaurant when we could be on rides??? Not at this point in our lives

Relax, enjoy, you won't starve. But have those few ADRs to enjoy and remember you can cancel

 

[blessedby3]

We only book 2 adr's and do counter service for the rest of our meals. Works for us as we dont like spending too much time in TS places. Everyone is different and wants different things for their vacations. Do what you are comfy with!

 

[shalom]

I always question my decision to not inundate my trip with planned meals. Too many posts say this is CRAZY...

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's crazy not to, but if I had a DDP with TS, I'd make ADRs for all of those. But if you don't have the DDP, and you're not going to sweat it if you can't get TS the nights without ADRs, what difference does it make? It's only "crazy" if you absolutely must have TS those nights without reservations, and even then, the craziness depends on time of year.

Personally, I think anyone with ADRs for every day scheduled months ahead of time is crazy. But that doesn't mean they are -- just that I sure would go crazy with that kind of schedule.

 

[kaligal]

I don't think you're crazy.

I hate the whole, "We have to be in Canada at 2:05 to have lunch at Le Cellier" thing.

You will not starve at WDW. Promise. And you can almost always find some TS restaurant in which to dine if you aren't too picky. My very most favoritest restaurant is never booked.

Some people LOVE the restaurants and are picky about where they want to eat, which is fine. I get it. Been there, done that. Good for them.

But you aren't alone.

 

[Neverland98]

Not crazy!
We did the DDP for our big family trip (first trip for kids, first trip for us/grandparents since WE were kids!) The meals were fun, but in the end, over 8 days, they ate up a lot of time!

In retrospect, I'd either go with the QSDP or do the DDP and book fewer meals (skip a sit-down one day in lieu of eating at a 2TS credit another night). Or, I would just pay OOP for a few sit-down meals over the course of our trip.

I thought a "break" each day would be great, but some days in did seem to get in the way. MOST of our meals were great, and I was glad I booked them (without O'hana we wouldn't have been able to meet Mickey without standing in a long line, but we had a terrible table and the food was only so-so, with a long wait - other meals (Sannaa, dinner at 1900 Park Fare) were great...but, on a future trip, I would mix it up, and keep it more flexible!

 

[iloman]

You are not crazy! We do the same thing. We are going the end of October for a week and I will be making 3 ADR's, Biergarten and Yachtsman for dinner and then Crystal Palace for one breakfast. The rest of the time we wing it and do CS. I can't be held down to a week long schedule. I'm from old school WDW where you could actually call or go to a kiosk in Epcot the day of and actually get a ressie for dinner!

I was going to say almost the exact same thing. Last time I didn't even make an ADR for Biergarten. I have the WDW-Dine number in my cell phone, so on the day we were at Epcot I called them and asked if they had anything available for dinner. They did which was great, but I was also prepared to ask them what they did have available elsewhere if nothing was open at Biergarten. We're flexible.

 

[PoohMama]

You are so NOT crazy! I make ADRs for the few things we really are passionate about (Cinderella, Bistro de Paris for Valentine's Day) and we wing the rest. I don't want to take hours each day to sit in a restaurant, but I'm the mom of a family of grazers. We get a little bite here and there and do a lot of sharing so we can try more variety. It's just the way we like to do things. If we get a craving, I call and see if I can get an ADR same day. DH really wanted to try Le Cellier when we went without kids in '09. I missed getting it booked ahead, but called each day that we were in EPCOT to see if there were any openings, and sure enough we got in. If we hadn't, though, it would certainly not have been the end of the world for us. I think every family has their own travel style and none are right or wrong.

 

[jm106]

Thanks- My reasoning for thinking ppl would say its crazy are posts like "should we book ADR?" and get replies of "only if you want to eat" or about missing out on great places, being stuck with gasp CS.
Its the extremes of each I guess, hence the disclosure or I fear getting the OMG/ your crazy replies, just like my standard yes we plan rest into our trips or ppl get on the you must take your kids to nap your kids will melt down... replies,lol.
I am a foodie and while I can find enjoyable meals at WDW the ones I would get to on vacation with 2 preschoolers are not in that category. I love to cook great, elaborate meals at home but on vacation, I am there for experience not food.
Not on DP so no credits to use up. I have a list of CS places, I have the number for dining if we choose

 

[midnightlouise]

The last few trips we have done a few ADRs and that was enough. Once I actually get to Disney, I don't want to have every day scheduled within an inch of its life. I prefer "organized chaos." We have a framework, but everything within that framework is spontaneous. This may seem like an oxymoron to some, but living with two people who have ADD have made it the story of my life

We've never done the DDP and we've never regretted it. Our boys are so funny about food that half the time they'd rather go back to the room and eat a sandwich!

 

[dzorn]

It is Okay to skip TS the only time I would say it is silly is if you are paying for dining plan but not using it.

Denise in MI

 

[TagsMissy]

Our next trip, which will be for about 10 days we have 2 ADRs --- that's it. One brekkie and one dinner. The rest we are happy with counter service or just trying our luck at a whim. We had planning our vacations around reservations. We did it once and never again; it was so hard -- can't do that we need to be at x-location, can't go there we need to be a y-location, etc.

 

[ambertides]

We walked in to Sci-Fi yesterday, they told us a 15 minute wait, but it was more like 30 seconds. I had an awesome milkshake, and DH had an awesome burger, and we had a great time. But it is the slow season, and we picked a day we knew would be slow for DHS.