Would you change your trip dates for dining ressies?

[ericaseiler]

I am a little torn on what to do and think I am a bit crazy for considering this but we just booked Room Only (we are FL res. and will be getting tix separate) for first weekend in Dec. when the deals came out on Monday. I am having so much trouble getting ADR's (would love to take DD3 to CRT) and it is frustrating me. So ,out of curiosity, I checked in Jan and they have the same room offer AND all of the dining ADR's available that I am looking for. DH is willing to do whatever (prob just to have me stop obsessing over Disney already) but I can't decide if I should change our trip around just for dining. If I change to Jan then we won't get to see any Holiday decorations AND it is wihtin a few days of when my sister is due with her first child. Plane tix aren't an issue as we live in FL and will be driving. So, worth it to change trip for dining (and possible a little lower crowd level) or keep the original plan and keep trying for those ADR's, even if it means trying to be a walk-up? Thanks for your advice

 

[Kathy Z]

The big question is how bad will you feel if you miss being home when your sister might be having her baby? (I'm guessing she lives near enough to you that you would be seeing her soon as soon as possible when the baby is born.) If she lives across the country then it probably doesn't matter where you are when she gives birth.

You're very right that the crowds would be lots lower the beginning of January than the first week of December. But you're also right that you would miss all of the Christmas decorations. Which is more important to you - CRT or fantastic holiday decorations? Have you checked to see if there are any ADRs available for Askershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway? Belle is the hostess and you are guaranteed to see at least 3 other princesses. We had Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty.

 

[ericaseiler]

Thank you
Yes, my sister does live close enough. I did find a great price w/ available ADR's the weekend before. But again, I would miss the Holiday decorations.
Such a tough decision!

 

[larryz]

Thank you
Yes, my sister does live close enough. I did find a great price w/ available ADR's the weekend before. But again, I would miss the Holiday decorations.
Such a tough decision!

You can't eat (most) Christmas decorations.

If you're IN Florida, by all means take a weekend jaunt over to see the parks dressed up in their holiday finest! Then go back for the serious fun in January, when you can hit all your desired ADRs and get the good discount/free food.

 

[TDC Nala]

I wouldn't change a trip just to get specific regular ADRs. For a special event, yes (I do it all the time for the food & wine festival) but there's just so much variety that there's always somewhere else to go if you can't get your first choice. Can't get the castle? Try Akershus or 1900 Park Fare, your daughter's only 3, not sure how much the castle would mean to her over just seeing princesses.

I also don't know how important it is for you and your sister for you to be around when she has her child. You'd also have to decide which is more important to you - food or decorations.

 

[ilovepete]

I wouldn't change them just for dining. Just keep checking on the places, maybe someone will cancel.

 

[ocean702]

I can't figure out the obsession with "scoring" the sought after reservation. of course i booked my ADRs the minute we booked our trip, but only because we learned you have to if you want to eat at a certain time and in a certain park/area. We didn't know you had to make ADRs so far in advance back in 2008 and had to go way out of our way to just eat a decent dinner some nights.(and missed all of the fireworks/shows. As DINKs we prefer sit down to CS for dinner.
IMHO if you are going to Disney specifically for the food, then yes move your trip. If you want an overrall magical Disney xmas experience, go in December.

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I can't figure out the obsession with "scoring" the sought after reservation. of course i booked my ADRs the minute we booked our trip, but only because we learned you have to if you want to eat at a certain time and in a certain park/area. We didn't know you had to make ADRs so far in advance back in 2008 and had to go way out of our way to just eat a decent dinner some nights.(and missed all of the fireworks/shows. As DINKs we prefer sit down to CS for dinner.
IMHO if you are going to Disney specifically for the food, then yes move your trip. If you want an overrall magical Disney xmas experience, go in December.

I agree

 

[DCDisney]

For a 3 year old I would really not worry about the adrs and go in Dec which seems best for your family. At that age my kids were so hit or miss at meals--sometimes to tired to even go or too crabby after a long day or night to get as excited as I expected. There seem to be a decent amount of cancellations for adrs too so as long as you are open to checking in fairly often you may find some you like especially if you are willing to do odd times like evry late lunches mid-afternoon which seemed to work nicely for my kids at that age after taking a nap break mid-day.

 

[disneygirl0706]

I would plan my Disney trip around my ADR. But then again we live in North Carolina and always drive down so if I am going to be making an 11 hour drive then I atleast want to be able to eat at my favorite places. Call me crazy but I changed our up comming trip three times just so I could have an Ohanas ADR.

 

[maznorm]

I wouldn't do it for a 3 year old. I just recently got back from DH's 30th birthday trip. I took a day off work to book Le Cellier for his birthday. On the day, DS3 and DD2 were in no mood to sit down and eat. We ended up getting Room Service. That said I am glad we made it to the one character meal we did make it to, which was Playhouse Disney Breakfast at Hollywood and Vine. I made 8 ressies. We made it to 2 of them. It was either miss them or have an experience none of us would enjoy.

Good luck on your trip. Disney through the eyes of a child is a truly wonderful thing.

 

[birdie757]

We live in FL too...so this is our predicament quite often. You would be surprised what reservation you can get last minute if you check the online reservation system at least once a day. We actually got CRT 1 week before we left for our last trip in May along with Garden Grill. We never book more than 1 month in advance and can always find somewhere great to eat while we are there.

We have done both Jan and Dec trips. Last year we did Jan instead of Dec and are going back to Dec this year because the Christmas atmosphere was just too good to miss. Especially for us since it is really hard to get into the Christmas spirit here in Ft Lauderdale. We enjoy being immersed into the holidays for a few days.

That being said I would stick to Dec and keep checking in on the reservation system.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I personally would not change dates for ADRs. There is plenty of great food and fun to be had at lots of the restaurants at WDW. In fact, I have plenty of fun just eating at counter service! My opinion though.