Would You Chance Booking an ADR on your Arrival Day

[LDISNEYFOX]

We are flying out on my Birthday May 14th from Manchester, planned to land at 15.00 Orlando. If on time do you think its realistic to be out the airport by 16.30 and at the hotel at 17.30!!!

If so I am hoping to drop my bags at the Port Orleans, literally, and rush to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes for my Birthday.

BUT do you think its risky booking a ADR Table reservation at say Crystal Palace for that evening, purely for Birthday Celebrations.

I know its a bit of a rush and if the flights delayed then we wont make it.

Would you chance it do you think.

Louise

 

[Pixiedust34]

We are flying out on my Birthday May 14th from Manchester, planned to land at 15.00 Orlando. If on time do you think its realistic to be out the airport by 16.30 and at the hotel at 17.30!!!

If so I am hoping to drop my bags at the Port Orleans, literally, and rush to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes for my Birthday.

BUT do you think its risky booking a ADR Table reservation at say Crystal Palace for that evening, purely for Birthday Celebrations.

I know its a bit of a rush and if the flights delayed then we wont make it.

Would you chance it do you think.

Louise

I wouldn't cut it that close. With any flight delay, you'd be late.

Even if everything is running on time, it takes an average of 90 minutes to step off your plane by the time you do registration. Then you have to count on that registration line being short, taking care of luggage, and getting a bus to the MK which may take a while if you happen to just miss a bus that left.

Your arrival day will be stressful if you have to rush-rush-rush. I'd count on cs for arrival day, hit Wishes if it fits, and then have a relaxing meal the following day to celebrate your birthday. JMHO.

 

[AlixaLock]

I'm interested to see what the real experts think ...

I went back and forth and finally book a lunch ADR for arrival day ... I know it's not a good idea to routinely book ADR's that you mightn't make, but I think sometimes you have to on arrival day.

 

[addiln]

i would make the reservation for that day. if everything works great, but if you see things are not working out i would call and cancel the reservtion. it is not going to cost you anything and what will it hurt. go for it and roll the dice. what is the worse thing that can happen? you will have to cancel this?

 

[MHSweb79]

I would go ahead and make an ADR at the Crystal Palace. There's no penalty for cancellation so you've got nothing to lose.

If you land at 3:00 you should be at your hotel around 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. Drop the bags and rush to the parks- I would say a 6pm ADR would give you a safe bit of leeway.

 

[Disney st8 of mind]

I would say go ahead and book an ADR. As long as it isn't a place that charges a deposit you won't be penalized for not making it there. You might also want to consider not taking the bus to MK. Last week we went to La Nouba and set up a ride with Mears both ways. What is usually a 30-45 minute ride to DTD from the BW/BC area by bus took literally 5 minutes by private car! And it was only $13 each way (plus driver tip).

 

[clanmcculloch]

We are flying out on my Birthday May 14th from Manchester, planned to land at 15.00 Orlando. If on time do you think its realistic to be out the airport by 16.30 and at the hotel at 17.30!!!

If so I am hoping to drop my bags at the Port Orleans, literally, and rush to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes for my Birthday.

BUT do you think its risky booking a ADR Table reservation at say Crystal Palace for that evening, purely for Birthday Celebrations.

I know its a bit of a rush and if the flights delayed then we wont make it.

Would you chance it do you think.

Louise

What a great birthday. That's my brother's birthday as well.

As others have said, it's an ADR with no cancellation penalty so no reason NOT to book it.

Something to keep in mind though is how exhausted you'll be. You'll have already been dealing with a very long travel day just to get to Orlando let alone to your resort. Are you really going to be able to enjoy your dinner and the fireworks? Then how extremely exhausted will you be the next day? I wouldn't want to start my vacation this way, but that's just me. IMO you're setting yourself up for a not-so-fun and cranky time.

I'd strongly suggest you plan something really special on another day. Make it a celebration specifically for your birthday. There's nothing that says you have to celebrate on the actual date of your birthday. In fact, wear a birthday button through your whole trip. Don't forget to note it on all of your ADRs.

You might also want to consider not taking the bus to MK. Last week we went to La Nouba and set up a ride with Mears both ways. What is usually a 30-45 minute ride to DTD from the BW/BC area by bus took literally 5 minutes by private car! And it was only $13 each way (plus driver tip).

Taxis can only drop people at the TTC, not MK. From TTC you still need to ride the monorail or ferry over to MK. Busses are just as simple for MK. For all other destination, a taxi can definitely be much faster. If you do want to take a cab then taking it to the Contemporary works better as you're dropped much closer and then have just a simple 5-7 minute walk over to the gates.

 

[LDISNEYFOX]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I probably wont ever be in Disney again on my birthday and to see Wishes would be wonderful.

We have so much going on on this trip as we are having a Wedding Service the day before and are planning a celebration meal at the California Grill. The kids dont know anything about this trip which makes it more special.

Maybe I should settle for a meal at the food court at Port Orleans then if I feel up to it get the bus the MK for Wishes.

Like you all say it wont hurt to book an ADR and I could call up if delayed. Fortunately we are on Virgin Atlantic and I have never experienced any delays, not up till now anyway

Being on the Disney Dining Plan for the first time I have a task ahead of me choosing our ADR's and we are completely spoilt for choice.

Take care all.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, unless it is a reservation that is prepaid (CRT, dinner shows) or require a credit card hold (Akershus, California Grill, Fantasmic Dinner Package, Candlelight Processional Dinner Package, Victoria & Albert's). My rule is to never book anything for which you will pay a penalty for missing on an arrival day unless the scheduled arrival time is more than 5 hours before the time of the meal. I'm not flying internationally though. There's added time at the airport for you as you have to go through immigration.

If you book somewhere other than the above, there's no penalty if you end up missing your ADR.

 

[lilpooh108]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I probably wont ever be in Disney again on my birthday and to see Wishes would be wonderful.

We have so much going on on this trip as we are having a Wedding Service the day before and are planning a celebration meal at the California Grill. The kids dont know anything about this trip which makes it more special.

Maybe I should settle for a meal at the food court at Port Orleans then if I feel up to it get the bus the MK for Wishes.

Like you all say it wont hurt to book an ADR and I could call up if delayed. Fortunately we are on Virgin Atlantic and I have never experienced any delays, not up till now anyway

Being on the Disney Dining Plan for the first time I have a task ahead of me choosing our ADR's and we are completely spoilt for choice.

Take care all.

On 9/4, my plane landed at 9:30 a.m.-ish...and we barely made it to Crystal Palace for a 3:15 p.m. reservation

We got to DME station at 10:00 a.m., waited another 20 minutes for DME. We took DME (which took 1.5 hours), check in took 40 minutes due to the crowds (and a newbie CM earning her ears), we cleaned up and headed out from AKV to MK (which took 40 minutes on the bus)...on and on...checked in at 2:50 p.m. exactly.

Your day might go smoother than mine, but I was cutting it kinda close still.

 

[MissionMouse]

We are flying out on my Birthday May 14th from Manchester, planned to land at 15.00 Orlando. If on time do you think its realistic to be out the airport by 16.30 and at the hotel at 17.30!!!...
I know its a bit of a rush and if the flights delayed then we wont make it.

Would you chance it do you think.

Louise

Lately, we have found US Customs to be a lot slower at some airports. Not sure how Orlando is staffed, but don't be surprised to run into some lines that can take 30+ minutes alone...not to mention the time you have to wait to get your bags that could be 20-45 minutes too, plus the walking time involved from the gate to the first component to the last station of the customs process. Then you are off to wait in your ground transportation line.

Oh forgot to mention..it is alway fun to arrive on time,, but even if you arrive on time it is nothing more than when the wheels of your plane touch the ground. Then there is the time to taxi to your gate which depending on the runway, gate and number of flights active at your arrival time...it could be another 10-20 minutes until your arrive at the gate. The wait to exit the plane....

 

[bsbrady]

Book it!! I looked at the May 2009 schedule and Saturday's in May MK closes at either 11pm or midnight which had Wishes scheduled for 10pm. So if this is any guide, a 7pm ADR should give you plenty of time to get there, eat and watch Wishes, depending on how long you plan on spending in the Crystal Palace, you might be able to push the ADR to 7:30 or 8:00. This will give you the leeway you need.

 

[tony67]

Book it. Worst case you get a QS in the MK.

BTW: Yeah customs\immigration has REALLY slowed down (not as slow as the UK though!).

I usually fly out of Shannon and we have had pre clearance for several years.
Last year it was closed for a referb so we had to go through immigration in the States.

We have a US passport so we got to go through that line which was about 1/3rd of the other line and it was still ridiculous.

It sounds like you have done this flight before so you know you will be tired, but it's not that bad. I think it's worse going back.

 

[MrsLS]

Well you won't loose anything by making an ADR as long as its not one of the ones (CP is not) that you have to put down a deposit for just booking or the dinner shows that you might have to pay for in advance.
But I personally don't think you will make a 5:30 reservation, 2 hours from estimated time of landing in the afternoon, going through customs and getting to the hotel, checking in, and the transportation to the park (which could be 5-45 mins depending on what hotel you are staying at, how long the bus takes to get to you/etc), if anything I would make the ADR much later.

 

[eliza61]

Yep, I would chance it. what's the worse that could happen? You miss your adr. that's about it.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Book it. We always make a dinner adr for our arrival day and although we've cut it close, we've always made it. We usually get there just in time for dinner, then the parade and wishes. We might have time for one ride before dinner, but even if we don't it's a great way to start our trip.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Book it-it's your birthday!

I can't speak for customs. Unless we are coming in late then we do make a dinner ADR. Usually at Kona. It's a nice way to start the trip.

We don't do ME but rent a car which probably takes a little longer than getting on the ME bus.

 

[Bell30012]

Crystal Palace is the one restaurant in the Magic Kingdom that on multiple occasions when I really need to have a sit down meal I've been able to get in with no reservation. We've done this at least three times.

 

[dixonsontour]

Also flying Virgin from Manchester. We land 2.30.

I usually factor 2 hours for the airport - immigration, that double bag drop, queuing for the hire car. Yes it can be alot quicker like the day we flew in on thanksgiving but not guaranteed.

Then drive to hotel and check in. If you are on a weekday remember it will be rushhour traffic.

We usually do cs. Have an adr at our resort this time - we'll see how we feel when we arrive.

If you are dead set on wishes how about cs at somewhere like casey's.

Also what time are wishes on when you arrive - we struggle to stay awake late due to time difference.

I'd save crystal palace for 8am the next morning when you will be up really early

 

[CathieArms]

I would absolutely book an ADR for my arrival day and - in your case - dinner. BUT, I think I'd book a late dinner. You're thinking you might be able to check into the hotel by 5:30. The earliest ADR I'd schedule is about 8:00.

With an ADR at Crystal Palace, there's no penalty if you can't make it. I wouldn't ever consider booking someplace like CRT or HDDR where you have to pay in advance and lose your money if you can't cancel in enough time; but, with something like Crystal Palace, I'd absolutely give it a try. Worst case scenario is that you have to call and cancel and find an alternative at the last minute.

Go for it.