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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fredtom

fredtom

Active Member
Absolutely... Dining is a major part of our WDW vacation planning and something else my wife and I get excited about. We always have a few must-do TS restaurants and a long list of favorites that we have to draw for or rotate. We usually try a new place or two also, which of course results in our list growing longer each visit. It's the same wiith CS locations too.




"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:
 
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slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Sitdown meals are just as important a part of our WDW trips as the parks themselves. Some ADRs in the parks, to just break up the park touring. Some in resorts to check out their décor, or maybe use some of their amenities. For instance, renting boats to ride around Seven Seas Lagoon after a breakfast or before a lunch at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness, a movie after eating at Trails End in FW, carriage ride after Boatwrights in POR. Visiting the animals at AKL before dinner at Boma. Maybe a restaurant with a view of Wishes so you can enjoy it from afar. Being DVC members, we can take advantage of free valet parking where available & go to the parks after a meal (or before) without having to repark or feeling we're doing something nefarious. We used to eat at DTD restaurants before a night at PI. You get the idea.

And like others have said, having guaranteed seating, being served, recharging your batteries, taking your time to enjoy a meal, all of this has its allure, too.

If you're not enjoying your TS meals, you must not know how. :p
 
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LoriMistress

LoriMistress

Well-Known Member
ADRs are very important. It's not only a break to sit down and relax, but depending on the restaurant it's nice to dress up, and truly enjoy the dining experience. You walk around so much in the parks that you need food. Every time I go to the parks I lose about 5-10lbs because of all the walking. Even though we would eat three huge meals a day and sometimes a dessert.
 
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wvdisneyfamily

wvdisneyfamily

Well-Known Member
LoriMistress said:
ADRs are very important. It's not only a break to sit down and relax, but depending on the restaurant it's nice to dress up, and truly enjoy the dining experience. You walk around so much in the parks that you need food. Every time I go to the parks I lose about 5-10lbs because of all the walking. Even though we would eat three huge meals a day and sometimes a dessert.
Click to expand...

We indulge while there, too, and usually come back thinner. I'd like to wear a pedometer while there, but it would get messed up on ride I'm afraid.
 
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EvilQueen-T

EvilQueen-T

Well-Known Member
we go both ways depending on whose going. if it's just my husband and i we do sit down meals because we take things a little slower and basically honeymoon. also he's a big eater and needs the break from the crowds. we tend to go in the summer for our anniversary so a little nap, shower, and fresh clothes in time for dinner is a nice way to refresh and hit the parks til the end of emh plus it cuts out some of the hottest part of the day.

when i go with just my sister we go during the early december value season when the parks close early so we counter service or snack during the day and do a sit down meal at like 9-930pm after the parks close on some days and on others (like epcot & dhs days) just nibble all day and drink. i like the sit down meal after the park closes because it feels like we're still doing something... sitting in a hotel room starting as early as 9pm just kills me.
 
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bamillerpa

bamillerpa

Active Member
We use ADRs for every day of our trip. We normally have some type of small breakfast in the morning, counter service for lunch and then a late supper using the ADR. By the time our ADR rolls around we really need a break from the heat, crowds, and insanity. While some of the restaurants are very crowded and have their own sort of insanity we still have a table that is all ours without a family breathing down our necks waiting for us to make the mistake of standing up and thinking we are done. We get off our feet, get to look at a menu instead of staring at a menu board, and have the food delivered directly to our table. I personally love the theming of the restaurants we eat in and when we are done we have just enough energy from our break to finish up our day.
 
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AJScooch

AJScooch

Member
I will concur with what many other people have said. Dining one of the major parts of our trips to the World. Especially if you have the dining plan, you can't go wrong with ADR's. We love the variety of TS restaurants available. We have a few favorites that we make sure to eat at every time we go (i.e. Le Cellier, Narccoose's, Kona Cafe, Chef Mickey's, etc.). We also like to try a few new places every time. When we get the DDP, we usually will buy breakfast, have a CS for lunch and TS for dinner. My wife and I are planners and usually plan out an itinerary for our trip. We obviously are flexible. We usually will look at what park has EMH in the evening and plan to go to that park and work our dining around where we will be. We will also occasionally park hop to go to dinner. We enjoy having the 1 - 1 1/2 hours of sit down time that the TS restaurants give us. In addition, we are bringing our daughter this year for the first time (16 months at the time of the trip) and this will be good for her to have a nice break as well. Plus, it is really nice not to have to stalk out a table.

Sorry for being a little long-winded but I feel really strongly about using the TS restaurants. Definitely get on the DDP if you can, it still is a great savings.
 
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worldfanatic

worldfanatic

Well-Known Member
If it wasn't for the table service restaurants, we wouldn't go nearly as often to WDW.
On our typical 10 night trip, we generally enjoy 15+ sit down meals, and just a few counter service ones.
We justify it costwise by rarely eating out at home, saving it for vacation.
 
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dizzney

dizzney

Member
We make an ADR for every evening every trip, we all sit down including kids and decide where we wqant to eat, everyone has input and a vote. Our New Years Eve trip this past NYE, we went to Rose and Crown; Biergarten; Le Cellier (always a must); Mama Melrose; The Wave; Kouzzina; California Grill; Ohana (favorite of teenage son) and Grand Floridian Cafe. We have the Tables in Wodnerland Card so it was 20% off in each restaurant and we varied between 5 and 8 people. It was wodnerful to sit and relax at the end of the day - sometimes we did EMH after, another Osborune Lights etc. Its a relaxing way to end teh day.

In august, DH and I are there for our anniversary and are heading to Victoria and ALberts (on our anniversary); Flyng Fish; Tutto Italia (never been but will try) and Todd English Bluezoo.

I make our ressies 180 days out so I know we will go where we want. Its just part of our WDW experience
 
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