Do you really use your ADR's?

Jasper Dale

Jasper Dale

Member
we just got back from WDW Wednesday night, and i have to tell you, i think dining at a sit down restuarant is a waste of time.

our favourite meals were around the world in Epcot, and they were a fraction of the cost.

why spend all the extra money for food that you can get at home? my wife and i had a wonderful lunch at Boulangerie Patisserie for twenty dollars and the food was awesome.

i guess if money is no problem, sit down places are fine. but for those of us on a smaller budget, there is no reason to miss out on great food if you plan ahead.

plus, i always eat way too much at a sit down restuarant and end up not wanting to tour the park because i'm stuffed.

we cancelled our remaining ADR's the second day of our trip because we ate at the Liberty Tavern our first night and i just couldn't justify spending 80 bucks for a meal when we really weren't that hungry in the first place.

we used all the extra cash to buy stuff in the shops and it turned out to be our best vacation ever!
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
I'm going in February and have no ADRs at all. This trip I'm solo, so want to dedicate as much time to the parks as I can. Normally though, when I'm there with DS, we have our main meal each day at a Table Service. I enjoy the break and he gets slightly healthier meal choices.

If money was tight it wouldn't be an issue to drop some or all of the TS meals. I just enjoy eating good food and although I can get a lot of the same fare here, I actually find it cheaper eating at WDW than here for the high-end meals. I usually put on a bit of extra weight when I'm at WDW. :king:
 
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lilclerk

lilclerk

Well-Known Member
Personally, I'm not a fan of most of the CS choices in the World, with the exception of Flame Tree BBQ, which has portions big enough for two. So we usually try to go to the cheaper TS places -- The Plaza, Beaches and Cream, we're crazy and love Planet Hollywood... I keep meaning to try Trail's End Buffet.
Ya gotta do what works for you though. TS meals can add up (money and time wise) so if you don't enjoy them, don't waste park time =)
 
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Computer Magic

Computer Magic

Well-Known Member
We love TS and ADR. I never used Counter Service until the Dining Plan changed in 2005. I found I was missing out on some great CS, IE Flame Tree, Earl Sandwich, Columibia House, etc etc. I also ate too much before 2005 change in the Dining Plan. Two Table services was a lot of food.
 
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erstwo

erstwo

Well-Known Member
We like to eat TS for dinner so for us ADR's make sense. By 5 pm or so we are ready to have someone wait on us, rather than having to carry a tray, jockey for a table, go back for more ketchup when the kids run out, etc.

But I can totally understand if you aren't into the waiter/ waitress thing it would be much more cost effective to eat CS the whole time!

I'm looking forward to making our ADR's for June!
 
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CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, due to children and my wife being a teacher we have to visit The World during its busier times. I hate nothing more than stalking guests at CS establishments wondering when they're vacating their table. Then there are the other preditor guests ready to fight over the same table. Meanwhile my food is going cold

ADR's guarantee one thing - a seat at a table without having to fight other guests for it - its up to me how much I eat once seated.
 
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M

Monkeymama

New Member
As a former CP'er, I know exactly which restaurants I want to go to. I also am brining a 3 1/2 yr. old with me who will not want to wait 2 hours to get in where I want to go. So ADR's are great for us. By the end of the day, she needs to sit and unwind (sometimes unwillingly) and a TS meal allows us to do that and then still catch the closing show/parade.
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Sit-down meals work out good for us because we know the best way for us to plan them. Generally, if we eat a sit-down stuff-yourself meal then we end up having a light snack at the next meal. So if we have a heavy breakfast we'll have a snack at lunch and counter service at dinner. If we have a dinner ADR we make sure we hold off eating anything heavy so we're plenty hungry when it's time to sit down. We don't do 2 sit-downs a day very often. We try to do the character meals so we get the character interaction without standing in lines. Another reason afternoon or dinner ADRs work for us is the break off our feet. It's a good rest on our legs. The ADRs we make we use or call and cancel ahead of time. I think sit-down meals are what you make of them and how you plan them. They work for us! :wave:
 
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S

Susan Savia

Well-Known Member
For our 8 night trip, we book two meals. The rest is on the fly. We don't know where were gonna be any given day or time and I am not one for being in one park and having to rush to another for a meal...We do counter service if we want it or even wait and leave the parks and eat then. We can't eat a heavy lunch and turn around and do the same for dinner. A light noon snack works to hold til dinnertime.
 
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DizneyPryncess

DizneyPryncess

Well-Known Member
I take frequent trips to WDW, and after years I had eaten at all the quick service restaurants. I needed to mix it up. I found I loved the ADR restaurants because of the theming & character experiences. It was something different to do for someone who thought they'd done everything. It helps to spice up our trips :)

That said, I do like the quick service restaurants & have no problems eating at those during our trip too. We do a little mix of each.
 
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B

betteratmk

Member
:xmas: All year round we run like crazy from work, school, hockey ,soccer, cross-country.... you get my drift!! Sitting down at Disney for at least two out of three meals(including counter service) restores our sanity and gives us a chance to bond again without having to jump up and run to the next event. As much as we love the parks, we love our time together more!:sohappy:
 
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One Lil Spark

One Lil Spark

EPCOT Center Defender
krankenstein said:
I've never made an ADR in my life, but I do eat at sit downs from time to time. :shrug:
Click to expand...
Same way here! I haven't used something like an ADR since the days of Earth Station...

EarthStation.jpg
 
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Jasper Dale

Jasper Dale

Member
Original Poster
the main reason i cancelled our ADR's is because we end up eating too much food and then we feel so sluggish touring the parks.

it's so much easier to choose exactly how much food you want to pay for at counter service. while i do miss having a few superior dishes in the sit downs, to me it just doesn't justify the huge tabs at the end of the meal.
 
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Pooh'sBuddy

Pooh'sBuddy

Well-Known Member
We've got 2 in-park ADRs scheduled (Crystal Palace for breakfast and Biergarten for dinner) and 2 out-of-park ADRs (Whispering Canyon and Chef Mickey's). This is our first family trip and we don't want to be stuck to being at a certain place at a certain time and taking too long for meals too often, but we want to experience these TS restaurants. So, yes, we'll use our ADRs.
 
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wvdisneyfamily

wvdisneyfamily

Well-Known Member
Yes, we use our ADRs. DH and I are not big breakfast people. We schedule a sit-down dinner for about 6:00. Lunch is always a CS whenever we feel hungry (usually about 11:00). Some people say they lose time with a sit-down ADR each day, but we don't. We're in the parks open to close taking advantage of EMH. The hour or so it takes for a sit-down (more or less depending on where you are) gives us our second wind for the night in the park. ADRs and planning (menus, reviews, etc...) are part of the fun for us. I'm a really big fan of planning, and I'm not sure I could "wing" my trip and enjoy it. Many people see that as killing the magic and freedom of the trip, but I think of it as sanity.
 
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