How important is it to make advanced ressies? About This Page:

[hygienist]

I appologize if this is a repeat post, but I don't see my post that I thought I placed here yesterday. I asked whether it makes a big difference if you do not make advanced ressies, how hard is it to get in some places?
I consider myself a compulsive planner, but there is something to be said for just playing it by ear. I don't want to feel rushed to get somewhere "ON Time" if I am really having fun in one park, but have ressies in another. The only ones I want to stress over are the Character ressies, of which I have made 2. There are a lot of restaurants I want to try while we are at there, but I just want to go with the moment.
Which places is it just impossible to let that happen?
My list goes like this:
Whispering Canyon
50's prime time
Teppanyaki
San Angel Inn
and the last 2 are ones I feel are totally advanced ressie necessary : Brown Derby and
California Grill
Please give me your opinion. I don't want to miss out on the full effect of Dining Plan!

[luvnwdwgal]

You might not need one for Whispering Canyon, but I'd make ADR's for the rest of them.

[Disney Franatic]

It never hurts to make ressies, especially if you want to dine somewhere special or at a certain time. It's a good idea to atleast have them for the weekend when popular restaurants will be busy. You can always cancel them later if you change your mind.

[hygienist]

I guess you are right. I just wanted to hear it from the Professionals! I will nail my DH down to help me decide on the dates. Thanks for your help!

[lauren-roxy]

I would definitely make ADRs if there is a place that you really want to go and you want a specific time.

[CRCrazy]

I'd also agree that you will need ADR's for all of the restaurants mentioned above, with the possible exception of San Angel Inn (never ate there - so I'm not sure how busy it gets.)

Especially with the dining plan - which so many guests are taking advantage of - you really need to have those ADR's in place. You certainly could call dining and see if you can change them at the time - but I'd definitely want to have something to fall back on if this is not the case. All the restaurants you mentioned are quite popular - so you will need to have a plan in place.

[vsonnier]

I would not take a trip without making ADR's - but that's just me. I will usually make two ADR's for each restraunt I want to visit. That way if I change my mind about when I want to go I've got another option. Unless it is a place like CRT you aren't penalized at all if you don't show.

[TinkMulanMickeysMom]

I agree with Val. We don't go without making our ADR's. I've even been known to make more than one ADR for dinner for the same night, once I've made a final decision, or my family decides which park we will be at I call and cancel the other so it opens up for someone else.


On our last 2 trips, I had cancelled ADR's and tried to replace them with San Angel Inn and was told both times that they had NO openings - so if you want to eat there, make your ADR's now.

And if you are going during the Free-Dining period, I'm sure the restaurants will be quite busy.

[DrDolphin]

I think that for Whispering Canyon - you should have an ADR. The others you may have a wait of at least 30 minutes - I have seen an hour wait at San Angel and Teppenyaki -

that being said - I have no ADRs for this trip - don't have a clue where I am eatting yet..

[Nala]

We usually go to WDW during slower times but I still wouldn't even think of leaving home without ADR's in place.

There is nothing worse than deciding on a place to eat and finding out that without an ADR your wait is an hour +, or worse, they are not taking any walk ups at all.

I say make the ADR's for the places you think you want to eat at. If your plans change, you can call and cancel the ADR.

I guess I like to be better safe than sorry. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[hygienist]

Thanks everyone! I have never had the luxury of the dining plan before, so we have not been to many of the restaurants I have mentioned. I just know from what I have read on these boards that most of these seem to be at the top of the list of where to eat! I am so excited about getting to really enjoy the magic by staying in the parks for every meal.

[mattnkatsmum]

I made ADR's for our last trip, but decided to turn up at 5.30pm for or WCC ressie on the off-chance. (Our ADR was for 8.00pm). We actually got seated at 8.15! So I would say that you should definitely book those ADRs.

[hygienist]

OMG what a wait! Did you actually stay there the whole time waiting? I would have left to have more fun instead of waiting!