We don't want to starve at Disney again

[pennyplanner]

I suppose it is just the way you look at a situation.

I figure out what parks we plan to visit and then make an ADR for dinner each night. I don't find that confining but rather liberating because it gives our family direction. And we do have family members that get cranky without eating. We are always prepared with a snack just in case we can't get to a snack cart quick enough!

Do plans change? Yes, they do. Visiting in November for Thanksgiving Week is a motivator. It is definitely crowded!

--penny

 

[jann1033]

we always make adrs and we go off season. i don't see how it ties us down in fact i like knowing where we are going for dinner and not having to decide it that day. we know about what time we usually want to eat and where we want to go or not go. we plan on being in that area around that time and it has always worked out fine for us. we could never stand to eat at cs for a whole trip ! we view the adrs the a same as we do wishes or some other "timed" event, if we want to eat at a certain place we make an adr.

 

[jennymouse]

We were there the first week of February and I'd made ADRs for every night. We ended up having to go a day early to outrun an icestorm that would've caused us trouble getting there so we didn't have an ADR for that night. I was suprised, but we even had to take our third choice of restaurants in World Showcase because everything was booked up and that was a really slow time of year. Everyone thought I was crazy when i tried to pin down where everyone wanted to eat 90 day out, but when we were having problems that one night they saw the light!

 

[SB in KY]

Well the good news is you are staying at SSR....so if you starve it is your own fault (LOL)!!....the Artisit Pallatte there is never crowded and while it is not fine cuisine they have a great variety....definately not just burgers and fries....and you will have a full kitchen (if you are in a 1 or 2BR villa)....so you can always keep an emergency back up meal there in case you can't find what you want in the parks....I highly recommend a grocery run for those in villa's!!

 

[lorik]

Definitely make ADR's. Even though you are going during a slow time of the year, there are still not enough table service seats available for everyone who wants them. Even if you find out there is availability somewhere, you might not want to spend an hour or more traveling from where you are to where the table is available.

We were at Disney the end of August, beginning of September, which is a relatively slow time and we were glad we had ADR's. There were many people who were turned away from the restaurants. Our friends tried to eat at any TS restaurant in MK one night and there was nothing available. They ended up with hot dogs from Casey's.

 

[TDC Nala]

The dining plan is really going to affect the crowd levels at table service restaurants. If you know you want to go to one, you need to seriously consider making an ADR. The more popular the restaurant, the sooner the ADR should be made (for example,if you know you want Le Cellier, be on the phone as soon as the booking window opens).

 

[marcyinPA]

We make a list of all the places we want to eat and then try to get ADRs for those places. We plan a tentative schedule around those plus the other events we want to participate in.

Yup, what she said. I'd rather go prepared than to be scrambling at the last minute. If we change our minds, we can always cancel when we get there.

 

[Song bird]

Try making reservations at Guest Relations at your resort We always do that when we go, except at Christmas. We made these "Resis" a couple of weeks ago, and places were already filling up.(We are not ones to normally do that but we did this time, and are glad that we did) Also, be willing to eat a little earlier or later. We are from a different time zone so eating later is no big deal. Our stomachs don't know it's seven in the evening and not 5:00. Be flexable, and have a snack if you eat late, or eat early and then have a snack later. Also the resorts have wonderful places to eat. You might try one of them. It gives you a chance to check out the other places and eat some good food at the same time.

 

[foxfire]

We made these "Resis" a couple of weeks ago, and places were already filling up.(We are not ones to normally do that but we did this time, and are glad that we did)

Same here. I normally don't make that many ADRs (we winged it a lot previously) but after reading how popular the new dining plan is and how it seems to be affecting the availability for getting walk up seating, I made several ADRs at my 90+10 mark. Since then, I have added 2 more so I hope this new planning for us will all work out.

Hey, I just realized I'm down to almost 4 weeks on my ticker!

 

[Frantasmic]

:tongue in cheek: Just wing it again. Your last trip was a fluke.

 

[Leota]

You'll need areservations if you want a sit down meal. On both my trips earlier this year (April & Aug) I saw many people turned away from a variety of restaurants. They were not happy campers.

I don't find one AR a day restrictive at all. We tend to make ours for dinner, having breakfast on the fly (we like to hit the Parks at opening & won't waste those precious early hours on a sit-down breakfast) and a counter service or poolside lunch. We have had days where we had 2 ARs a day & still didn't feel restricted. I plan what Park I'm going to on what day and base my Ressies around that. If our plans change, I either call & change the AR if possible, or cancel it.

A note on Dec. in particular - I called 79 days out to make ressies for our early Dec trip & had problems getting some of the more popular meals & times. If I were you, I'd get on the horn ASAP & make some arrangements.

 

[mommyoeo]

Start now and make all of the ADRs you can. Book a 5:00 dinner and an 8:00 dinner for most nights. You can cancel them (and its good manners to do so) once you see how your schedule is looking. I thought sticking to a schedule would be a chore but calling the 800 number on the top of your resort key will get you any service you need. They connected me to restaurants so I could tell them I'd be late, they made new reservations for me, whatever I needed. Just make as many as you can, IN CASE you need them. You are not locked in to using them, but if you cannot get in somewhere else, at least you will be able to eat!

The biggest chore is figuring out what parks you will be at each day so you'll know where to pick the restaurant. Once you've done that, the rest is easy-- make ADRs for several meals-- you just might want to eat several times that day!!! And if not, someone will gladly fill your spot.

Happy dining!

 

[malonefamily]

Sounds as if it's nearly unanimous: No reservations = hungry family (or at least lot of hamburgers and outdoor eating).

I'm in the middle of a political campaign and don't really have time to decide which parks for which days / which restaurants until November 9th-- hope there's still something left then!

If we have no luck maybe another DIS'er will take pity and invite us to their Grand Villa to cook for us?

Seriously, as mentioned we can always go shopping and cook in our 2BR, it's just that we don't want to go back and forth between SSR and the parks too often. It'll work out somehow.

I guess we're too late now to see the Candlelight event at Epcot? I'd forgotten about it completely until it was mentioned in this thread.

 

[Kaycee]

Some times and restaurants will still be available for the CP package, although they probably are limited by now. You can see the Candlelight Processional without the dining package though. The CP is included with your Epcot admission; you just won't get to sit in the reserved section for those doing the dinner package. The standby line is very long, so if you choose to do this you will probably want to line up early. I'm not sure how early because I have always done the package (hate waiting in line any more than I have to!) but maybe someone else can give you an idea.

If you choose to do the CP package, you can just call and ask WDW Dining about what restaurants are still available for the night that you want to go. Have a list of restaurants you are interested in, and just go down the list until there is one with an opening. The first show usually fills up less quickly than the other two, whether you do the package or standby, because many people don't think the show is as good if it isn't completely dark out yet. I disagree, and in fact I prefer the first show because it means I don't have to get in line quite as early! I also prefer dining after the show instead of before it so that I don't feel rushed to get through my meal and to the show, and that works better with the first show.

 

[kymberwolf]

At first I thought this was a joke thread! At any rate, have you ever heard the saying: the definition of insanity is when you do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Learn from your previous mistake, make reservations! If not, you'll only be angry at yourself for missing out yet again on the good places to eat- go to touringplans.com- look at the best days to be at any particular park and plan around that- you won't be sorry!
Have a great time- I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I really think you'll have a better time with a few reservations!

... I was thinking it was a joke thread also, but apparently not. Forgive me for coming off as unsympathetic, but am I supposed to feel bad becuase the OP chose to not make reservations?.... especially considering the OP had had such a bad experience before. What is the harm in making any number of ADRs (with MAYBE the exception of those now requiring a credit card)? That said, I've got to believe the original poster is the type of person that would complain if you hanged him with a new rope... and probably thetype of person that wouldn't cancel an ADR they decided not to use.

 

[LoveWDW]

I like to plan ahead, but my husband always says aw let's just wait till we get down there and make reservations or better yet, just walk up! He has forgotten the times in the past that we tried walking up and didn't get in. And now with MYW it sounds as if things are even tighter. Thank goodness I started coming to DIS and first of all found out about MYW DP- my AAA TA didn't mention it, and secondly found out about making reservations ahead. What I did was to read the threads and decide where I wanted to eat, made AR's for those, and am now planning our trip around those. It shouldn't be a problem since it is just husband and myself and we don't mind a casual pace.

 

[dcgrumpy]

I would definitely make a few ADR's ASAP. Even if you do end up eating CS for some meals there are a lot more choices than burgers. We usually eat one TS and 1 CS a day and I can honestly say I don't think I have ever eaten a burger at WDW.

 

[Kaycee]

Please watch the personal attacks or this thread will be closed.

 

[sleepyone]

... I was thinking it was a joke thread also, but apparently not. Forgive me for coming off as unsympathetic, but am I supposed to feel bad becuase the OP chose to not make reservations?.... especially considering the OP had had such a bad experience before. What is the harm in making any number of ADRs (with MAYBE the exception of those now requiring a credit card)? That said, I've got to believe the original poster is the type of person that would complain if you hanged him with a new rope... and probably thetype of person that wouldn't cancel an ADR they decided not to use.

D@ng! Do you have new rope on hand??

 

[malonefamily]

... That said, I've got to believe the original poster is the type of person that would complain if you hanged him with a new rope... and probably thetype of person that wouldn't cancel an ADR they decided not to use.

Hey, that's not nice at all... what'd I do to merit this sort of vitriol? I'm not even complaining so much as trying to understand how common stories like mine above are. In fact, we loved our trip to WDW so much we bought into DVC and intend to go every year.

However, it does seem unfortunate that so many families wind up like ours did on the last trip. I'll bet experiences like mine are one of the factors that lead to the creation of Downtown Disney, since they didn't want to turn the parks themselves into a giant table service restaurant, but saw a need for more dining options. I hope they keep coming up with creative ways to improve the dining availability-- it does seem strange that a couple of months out there are apparently already many options closed to us for reservation.

Thanks for all the great advice in this long thread by the way!