What Time Do You Have Lunch at DLR?

[ksdisneyfan]

As a Disney first timer, I'm been lurking around these parts for a few months. What great info you have here! One thing I haven't gotten a good hold on yet is when the best time is to eat lunch.

We'll be in the park from Monday, May 11 to Thursday, May 14. It will be my DH, myself, and our four children 8 and under.

Our plan is to get up early each day, make it to the park for opening, and fit in as many rides as we can early on. Then, we'll eat lunch at the park everyday around 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. In fact, I've made PS's at sitdown places for lunch everyday we are at the park. (My reasoning here is that I'd rather have a hearty lunch, go nap and relax at the hotel after lunch, and then have a light dinner at a counter service restaurant.)

I guess my main question is this: If we get to the park at opening and don't eat lunch until 12:30 or 1 p.m., am I planning too much time to ride rides before eating? (Of course, we'll bring snacks to have mid-morning too.) Or will we be exhausted and ornery by the time 12:30 or 1:00 rolls around?

And as far as PS's at 12:30 or 1 p.m. go, what would your estimate be on our wait time to get a table? Is it smarter to get the first available PS, eat lunch, go back and do rides for an hour, and then go to the hotel for a midafternoon break?

Thanks for any input you have!

By the way, our plan is to eat lunch at WCT, Carnation Cafe, Ariel's Grotto, and Blue Bayou.

 

[Lakewood]

As a Disney first timer, I'm been lurking around these parts for a few months. What great info you have here! One thing I haven't gotten a good hold on yet is when the best time is to eat lunch.

We'll be in the park from Monday, May 11 to Thursday, May 14. It will be my DH, myself, and our four children 8 and under.

Our plan is to get up early each day, make it to the park for opening, and fit in as many rides as we can early on. Then, we'll eat lunch at the park everyday around 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. In fact, I've made PS's at sitdown places for lunch everyday we are at the park. (My reasoning here is that I'd rather have a hearty lunch, go nap and relax at the hotel after lunch, and then have a light dinner at a counter service restaurant.)

I guess my main question is this: If we get to the park at opening and don't eat lunch until 12:30 or 1 p.m., am I planning too much time to ride rides before eating? (Of course, we'll bring snacks to have mid-morning too.) Or will we be exhausted and ornery by the time 12:30 or 1:00 rolls around?

And as far as PS's at 12:30 or 1 p.m. go, what would your estimate be on our wait time to get a table? Is it smarter to get the first available PS, eat lunch, go back and do rides for an hour, and then go to the hotel for a midafternoon break?

Thanks for any input you have!

By the way, our plan is to eat lunch at WCT, Carnation Cafe, Ariel's Grotto, and Blue Bayou.

Id try and take a late lunch, 2 or 3, that way when the masses go eat at 12 you can hit up the rides....

 

[Ken2Blitzkrieg]

Not a regular visitor as such to the park(s)
and we stay up in west hollywood

normally we set off eaely morning via dennys for breakfast

maybe have a little snack around 11am as were walkin to the next ride , usually have lunch between 1:30 and 2:30

hope this helps

 

[Mom of three]

This is actually a really good question. I have some of our stuff planned out as well and figured we would just wing it the rest of the way.

Without hijacking, how hard do you suppose it is to catch a meal without PS arrangements at places such as Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans? I suppose it depends on what time of the year you are going, but can anyone shed some light?

Thanks and sorry for the hijack.

 

[Funbobbi]

Id try and take a late lunch, 2 or 3, that way when the masses go eat at 12 you can hit up the rides....

Totally agree. We always try and do a later lunch since it's very busy at "lunchtime" (12 to 1, sometimes even later). That way if you do a later luch you have more ride time!!

 

[Ken2Blitzkrieg]

This is actually a really good question. I have some of our stuff planned out as well and figured we would just wing it the rest of the way.

Without hijacking, how hard do you suppose it is to catch a meal without PS arrangements at places such as Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans? I suppose it depends on what time of the year you are going, but can anyone shed some light?

Thanks and sorry for the hijack.

bliddy hijackers!!!

personally im not sure about the PS for those places .. but for some reason we have never had a problem without at carnation cafe
With comin from the arctic circle area of the uk , we are nomally drinkin liquids more if its very warm

 

[Disney Dreams]

To the original poster: I think you have to work backwards.

Example: Let's say the park closes at 9pm. If you plan on staying until closing, are you going to see fireworks at 8:45pm? If yes, you will want to find a spot at least 30 minutes prior, 8:15pm. If that's the case, what time do you want to eat dinner? Let's say 6pm. If you are eating at 6pm and you plan on leaving the park for a break in the afternoon, how long is that break? Let's say 2 hours? So, you need to decide when do you want that break? If you take it from 2pm - 4pm (with say a 12:30pm lunch), then once you get back in the park you only have about an hour and a half before dinner. If you take it earlier, maybe 1pm - 3pm, then you need an earlier lunch. Of course, you will want to plan for viewing a parade too (historically at 3:30 or 6:30pm).

Does that make sense?

We skip the mid-day break because it just eats so much time. We find a nice spot along the Rivers of America and people watch while our feet take a break - but we are kid-less. I know when friends with kids from out of town come, they often plan a break. Work it backwards, planning out your evening, and you will find your lunch time.

HTH,
Dreams

...how hard do you suppose it is to catch a meal without PS arrangements at places such as Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans? I suppose it depends on what time of the year you are going, but can anyone shed some light?...

The day and time of year are a huge factor, but we have eaten at both and never made PS.

 

[jolynda]

OP, I like your original plan. It sounds well thought out, and it's a great idea to schedule the afternoon break for the young ones to decompress - we use that time at the hotel to swim, rest, & relax and when we return in the evening ~ 5-6pm, we are rejuvenated and ready for round 2!

Here's the really great thing - if your plan doesn't seem to work that first day, you can change it up for the remaining days to better fit your family's needs! You are not required to honor your PS's and there are plenty of good places to eat outside the park (and within walking distance) if you decide to leave the park a bit earlier or go back later.

 

[luvsmickey1968]

Disney Dreams, I really like your idea of working backwards when planning your meals!
I am definitely going to try that!

 

[avalon451]

What time do we have lunch?

Um... when we feel hungry. No, we change it up each day. It just really depends.

We took loooonnngg midday breaks, 3-4 hours, because with early arrival at 8 or 9 a.m., we were very ready by 1 to be out of the parks. And we had 3 full days and 2 half days, so plenty of time to stretch it out and see everything leisurely. We had groceries in our room, and a lot of times we just ate when we got back in the room. Crackers, cheese, yogurt, fruit, etc.

We had breakfast in the room, too, to save time before those early MMs.

One day we had a character breakfast, and we scheduled it for the last seating at 10:30 a.m. So we just ate a light breakfast in the room, hit MM and lots of rides and picked up a couple FPs before going to the Plaza, and that was kinda like brunch. When we took our break around 1 that day, we ate snacky stuff and fruit in the room. Then we ate a late counter service supper that evening in the parks when we felt hungry.

Another day we had an early lunch PS at Blue Bayou, for the first seating at 11:30 (again, on a MM day, so we'd had breakfast in the room before starting out early). We checked in at 11:15, were the first seated with no wait, and got a beautiful waterside table.

Those snacks in your backpack help a lot, too. Our kids had their own waist packs on our first trip, with energy bars, goldfish, etc. whatever, that they could eat as much as they wanted, whenever they wanted. That kept the grouchy hungries to a minimum.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I wouldn't worry about being cranky by lunch at 12:30-1:00 because I dont think the park opens early in may. So you wont have been in the park terribly long. If you grab breakfast around 9 or then your lunch time seems just fine. What we usually do is have breakfast right when we get to the park, or eat in the room while getting ready. Then we go to the park and ride some rides. Once we get hungry we usually eat, around 12:30, sometimes later. Yes this is when everyone else eats but mid may wont be terribly busy so you will be fine. Plus you are going midweek so that cuts down on locals. Right after lunch we are usually ready to take our break...it is usually around 1:30. We go back and nap or swim then nap and rest. Get ready and head back in around 4. We are usually almost ready for dinner which we have around 5. An evening snack before fireworks and we're all set. Whatever time you choose will work out just fine! You know your family better than anyone. But I do not recommend skipping an afternoon nap/break!

 

[bumbershoot]

We are a little bit strange b/c hubby and I don't really get hungry while in the parks, but DS does, so we try to go by his needs.

But we don't like waiting in line,which is what happens when you eat lunch at lunchtime, so on the days when we didn't have a small snack early then a later breakfast, we try to either have lunch early or well after lunchtime.

But since you have table service places that you're planning on for lunch, the counter service "how long IS this line" question doesn't apply to you, and as long as you know that a PS isn't a "reservation" and you might still have to wait a bit, you should be fine.


Of course if you have smaller kids going with you, they might throw your plan out the window entirely!

 

[pixiewings71]

We eat when we get hungry. We rarely make PS anymore. We have eaten at both CO & CC without PS but that's off peak season. When we ate at CO once in July without PS we did wait about 45 min. for a table.

 

[PinkBudgie]

For CS we eat either at 11:00am or 1am. We avoid the crowded "lunch hour". For a PS I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not. It has been years since we went to a TS and are making a few PSs for the first time this trip. My sister and I discovered that 11:00am was the best time to go to Bengal BBQ before the line got crazy. Last summer my family and I waited in an hour long line there.

 

[Jennifer03]

I always eat lunch at 11:00 AM when I'm there.

 

[ksdisneyfan]

Thanks for the input so far! I'm loving the idea of working backwards, something I would have never considered. Yes, I'm feeling we will definitely need a mid-day break. Otherwise, my 2 year old will be having major meltdowns and mom will be having major stress!

I think part of what is going to help me plan better is knowing what time the park will actually be opening when I'm there in May. I'm guessing either 9 or 10 a.m., but hoping for 9!

We will be eating the breakfast provided at our hotel before we head over each morning, so I'm hoping we'll get a good 3 or 4 hours before lunchtime. Of course, I'm willing to be flexible with my schedule, and I'm sure we'll have to tweak it here and there.

 

[Snow Orange]

I'm not as experienced as most at DLR - but having 3 kids and DH who definitely likes to eat - your plan seems like a good one. And your not going at a normally busy time - so looks like all is good.

Just stay flexible and keep drinking no matter what. The kids might be too excited to sit down for an hour for food.

 

[PigletGurl]

11:30

 

[mechurchlady]

when ever I feel like it

I try to stay full enough as to not have a problem like when the Blue Bayou was closed and I ended up at the plaza inn. I know where I can eat and how long the lines will be, in theory, so I plan accordingly. I knew that I could do Plaza Inn at noon or eat at 1 if I had to deal with pizza or 12:45 for Taste Pilot grill.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We always eat on the earlier side. 11:00-11:30 to beat crowds.