How many ADR's do you make?

[jellydisney]

With my trip only a couple of weeks away, and crowd levels predicted to be level "10" almost every day, I'm starting to get nervous that I should book more ADR's. I currently have 1 ADR per day, either a lunch or a dinner. I was going to leave the rest up to whim, but I wonder if that's not a good idea with the crowds...?

How many ADR's do you typically make, and how many meals do you leave to spontaneity? What do/would you do if the crowds were going to be 10 every day?

 

[OhThePain]

On our upcoming trip (8 nights), we started with 1 a day but by the time we finished we ended up with 13 (making ADR's online can be quite addicting). We usually only leave CS meals to do on a whim. But keep in mind we are the types that have our ADR's dictate what parks we go to on what days and not the other way around.

 

[winterman]

I'm starting to get nervous that I should book more ADR's. I currently have 1 ADR per day, either a lunch or a dinner. I was going to leave the rest up to whim, but I wonder if that's not a good idea with the crowds...?

I hope you are not on the Deluxe dining plan.

We usually make one ADR per day. That is true whether we are on the regular DDP or paying OOP. If you want to eat more than one TS meal/day you may be out of luck but if that is the case see what you can do to book more ADRs NOW.

 

[ancestry]

How many we book depends on which dining plan we are doing. Last year we had the DxDP and we had three ADRs everyday. Yes, we actually did a sit down breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This year we are doing the regular DDP and have about one ADR each day. There are two days were we have none because we are doing two 2 point restaurants during our stay. On those days we will just do counter service even if we have to pay out of pocket.

 

[AJKMOM]

We are DVC, paying out of pocket. We make 2 or 3 per vacation, usually Crystal Palace lunch, and one other lunch.

 

[Hopefully]

We like one sit down meal a day. So I make one ADR per night of our trip - usually 7 total. That often includes one lunch and the rest are dinners.
We eat breakfast in our villa, then CS for the other (usually lunch) meal. We also go during F & W festival, and snacking around the world is included as well.
I would make an ADR in advance for EVERY TS meal you want.

 

[n2mm]

we make one per day regardless of time of year or dining plan we have or do not have. I find myself changing them while there often too. I always have my netbook and find it easy to get on in the morning and make changes.

 

[MrsLS]

We are on the deluxe plan and have 2 ADRs a day for 8 nights (have one 2 credit place a day most days). One day we have 3 since we want to do a breakfast too. We might change a reservation around if we want to/can when we get there but usually we stick to the plan and don't go anywhere else, we hate CS.

 

[bitohoney]

I have 3 ADRs a day except for arrival day I have 2 and departure day no ADRs. Yes, I'm on the DxDP. 8 nights so I have 24 ADRs. I'm starting to think I'm going to leave WDW the size of an elephant. But, I prefer TS over the hastle of standing in line and searching for a table at CS.

 

[jcarwash]

Since we're on the Disney Dining Plan with one TS per day...we make one TS ADR per day! And, carefully construct our week to tie the theme park visits to the dining. In our family, the planning is part of our fun.

I assume you're not asking about making multiple TS reservations for the same time slot? Last year when I made ADRs on the phone, the CM said their system will look for and cancel both overlapping ADRs. So, supposedly it's not a good idea to make "backup plans" with two ADRs on the same day for the same time.

 

[Pakey]

We are not fans of the various dining plans and pay OOP. We are going for 8 nights in May and have 4 ADR's, all for dinners. We used to do the WDW vacations that were centered around eating but we have found we prefer the flexibility of not having plans to be at a certain place at a certain time.

 

[jellydisney]

We are not on the dining plan, we pay oop. I'm trying to find a balance between planning meals to guarantee us a table, and also allowing for some spur of the moment "lets eat here!" type of thing. Also, to borrow the phrase, I don't want us to leave feeling like elephants!

I'm not a huge fan of counter service, and I'm having these nightmares of us waiting in huge lines for a bad hamburger..... But I guess I will leave as it is for now...

Interesting post about the multiple ADR's at the same time. I'd never tried that, but good to know!

 

[focusondisney]

We go in Sept, so no "10" level crowds, thankfully! We still make adrs for all table service. This trip is a split trip...we will do regular dining & then deluxe for a few nights. So we will have a table & a counter service daily during the first half. During the deluxe dining half we have a 2 table service per day, including a 2 credit dinner & meals for our departure day.

The key is being able to NOT clean your plate!!! I'm OK with eating only half of my meals, so I can eat all 3 courses while on the deluxe dining!! That's my story & I'm sticking with it!!!

 

[fla4fun]

I pay OOP for food, and prefer to work my dining in around my day, instead of planning my day around my dining. So I typically only book one or two TS meals and eat CS the rest of the time. I've had pretty good luck getting a few walk ins, but I very seldom travel during peak season, and always have a CS backup in mind in case I can't get in.

However, anyone on the dining plan should book ADR's ahead of time for any TS meals their plan includes - just to be sure your credits don't go to waste. Certain restaurants, like character meals or Le Cellier, also are a good idea to book ahead because walk ins are virtually non-existant. Anyone who wants to eat at a TS restaurant during peak travel times (like Christmas or Easter) should also book ADR's ahead of time.

In the OP's case, visiting when the crowd levels will be a "10" everyday, if they want to eat TS, then they should be booking as soon as possible. I would seriously doubt if they have any chance at all of getting a walk in (with the remote exception of maybe a resort restaurant at lunch time). I would also plan on having one or two CS restaurants in mind as a backup, as it may be too late to get ADR's for every meal they would like to.