How many times have you changed your mind on dining res...?

TERRILYNN

TERRILYNN

Active Member
I feel like a lunatic, I cannot make up my mind! I've switched and swapped days, canceled, rebooked, canceled again, I've promised myself not to even check times anymore, I'm just keeping what have. It's not that I want the trip to be perfect, I'm sure it won't be, something always happens it seems, I just don't want it to be horrible. My husband is super picky on food, doesn't like to be on a schedule, and hates standing in line and waiting for anything (no patience!!) And yes, I've still decided to travel with him!! :p I think that's why I'm so indecisive. Does anyone else feel this way about making vacation plans? or do you know exactly what you want and stick to it? We didn't get the park hopper, and I think that's part of it too, it's hard to decide what park to do what days, and since we had to start over with our dining res last week, it's been really difficult getting times (hubby wont like to eat at "weird" times). Ugh.. I'm feeling more stressed than happy about finally getting a real vacation.
 
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disney magic 06

disney magic 06

Well-Known Member
Oh I think most of us are similar, we are constantly changing our dining reservations until we go. We think it's all sorted then the DDP changes, or EMH change, or a menu changes and so on. In the end this year I stopped coming on these boards for the last couple of weeks to try to leave things alone.

It all turned out good though, and was worth all the time and effort that went on to it. But I've started on next year now.............
 
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D

DisneyDebNJ

Well-Known Member
That actually depends. Once I book the resort, that never changes, and when I make up my ADR list and that magical 180 day mark comes up, and if I get all I wanted, I don't budge.... not an inch LOL If I have room on my schedule for a *new* experience, I change my mind back and forth a dozen times. This year we got very lucky (thanks to my Kingdom Konsultant TA Jessica) and she was able to get all our wish list ADRs.
 
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Pooh Lover

Pooh Lover

Well-Known Member
Never change resorts. ALWAYS get the park hopping option....it's a must for us, especially because we sometimes gauge dinners around EMH parks for the evening and its not usually the park we spent the day at. Normally don't change ADRs unless I'm trying for a better time or I'm adding an event to our schedule...ie MNSSHP. My best advice to you would be to try to swing the park hopping option and show your husband your chosen restaurant's menus now. From what you've said about your husband's likes/dislikes, I hope he is able to go to WDW knowing this may not be his idea of vacation nirvana but can have a good time because every one else is and be a little open minded. WDW takes patience, even for the most avid fan.
 
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wendysue

wendysue

Well-Known Member
TERRILYNN said:
I feel like a lunatic, I cannot make up my mind! I've switched and swapped days, canceled, rebooked, canceled again, I've promised myself not to even check times anymore, I'm just keeping what have. It's not that I want the trip to be perfect, I'm sure it won't be, something always happens it seems, I just don't want it to be horrible. My husband is super picky on food, doesn't like to be on a schedule, and hates standing in line and waiting for anything (no patience!!) And yes, I've still decided to travel with him!! :p I think that's why I'm so indecisive. Does anyone else feel this way about making vacation plans? or do you know exactly what you want and stick to it? We didn't get the park hopper, and I think that's part of it too, it's hard to decide what park to do what days, and since we had to start over with our dining res last week, it's been really difficult getting times (hubby wont like to eat at "weird" times). Ugh.. I'm feeling more stressed than happy about finally getting a real vacation.
Click to expand...

Seriously? If I had that much stress planning my vacation, I wouldn't go.... What ever happened to just going and deciding that day where you might want to eat?? Why does it have to be at a place that requires you to make a ressie 6MONTHS in advance?? I know for some here it part of the planning fun, but it's just way too structured that way.
 
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Pooh'sBuddy

Pooh'sBuddy

Well-Known Member
No, you're not a lunatic. When you say your hubby is really picky, do you mean the types of foods he will eat or once he gets his plate, he may or may not like what he ordered? If it's the former, you can easily narrow down where you can eat. If it's the latter, that happens anywhere.o_O

When are you going and for how long? I don't like crowds and the hubby doesn't like crowds. Hence, our going next year right when school's out and, hopefully, before it's too busy. I got the hidden mickey book to keep us occupied in line.

Are you on the DDP? Is it free? Do you really need to make ADRs? We're going to stay at a moderate, and if we choose the free dining promotion (if it comes out), we may try to make it work for us. If not, we're perfectly happy stopping off at a quick service place where we are and when we're ready to eat. So many good options. It's not just burgers, pizza and fries. We don't want to be tied down to being somewhere at a specific time, eating and spending too much.

Is this your first trip? That may explain your jitters, too.

Pick a method to decide and go with it. Bottom line, we pick our park by the Extra Magic Hour in the a.m. and stick with it. (Except, I let it slip that it will be Star War Weekend while we're there [banging head against the wall].) If we need to make an ADR, we go by that. We'll make it to all the parks on their days, so no biggie for us to hop.

Hope this helps make you feel better.:)
 
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K

KCKAS

Member
I HAVE ABOUT 60 DAYS TO GO AND I AM STILL TINKERING WITH 2-3 RESTAURANTS. MY PROBLEM IS THE KIDS. THEY ARE PICKY. MY SON IS THE PICKIEST EATER I'VE EVER MET AND HE JUST GAVE THE GREEN LIGHT ON TEPPAN EDO, SO I AM TRYING TO MAKE THAT WORK. IT'S NOT THAT I NEED HIS PERMISSION, OF COURSE, BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE A KIDS OPTION THAT HE WILL EAT AND TEPPAN EDO DOESN'T OFFER A HOTDOG, ETC. I CANNOT ENJOY MYSELF AT A MEAL IF 1 OF MY KIDS WON'T EAT. THEN I WOULD JUST FEEL GUILTY AND SELFISH.
 
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TERRILYNN

TERRILYNN

Active Member
Original Poster
This is our first time to go, so I know that's part of it. Hubby and I went to MK for 1 day 6 years ago (before we had DD now 4) but now we are staying for a week. As far as I know or have read anyway, it's practically impossible to walk up to a "sit down" restaurant without a reservation and be able to get in, is that not true? We do have the dining plan and I wouldn't want to waste those meals by going in without ressies.. am I wrong? Is it possible to just walk in to some places (that are not quick serve)?? I've been looking over all the menus, and I know what DH will and won't eat so at least that part has been easy, I've been able to ax a few fairly quickly, after he gets his meal he rarely complains about it. It makes me feel sooo much better to know at least a few of you are on the same page as I am! ;) and I'm not crazy! :D The planning is fun and it does feel like a game to me too, then after I start second guessing myself I start getting stressed. I think I've finally narrowed down the plan and I promised myself I'm not going to check anymore dining reservations until we are there or something happens to change our plans. Since we had to pay for dining I'm going with all character options that I know at least my daughter will love and I'm hoping that even if he's not crazy about the food, seeing her beaming will be more than enough for him to enjoy the meal also. I chose CRT for our first day, nothing for Monday (will have to do Q/S that day..not sure where will go yet for those, that's my next task) tuesday we have CP, Wednesday is Akershus and Garden Grill, and our last day we will end with 1900 Park Fare. I'm also hoping that will eliminate most of our standing in line to see characters which should be a bonus too.
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
One of my friends always jokes that I need a group called ADR Changers Anonymous :D

Seriously though, if I'm booked before day 180...I have this amazing spreadsheet of dining that I've taken months to compile and fine tune. By day 180 is has every meal we intend to book, date, meal, ideal time, acceptable time range, back up plan, and are then ranked in terms of difficulty booking so I am booking according to demand. And of course there are spaces for the actual times/dates I got, confirm #s, etc. It's quite the masterpiece! :rolleyes:

AND THEN...I get new and AMAZING (or crazy depending on how you want to see it) ideas. Usually, it's just me adding ADRs. i.e. I'll decide to add a breakfast on a certain day or decide I want to try some place soooooo badly that I'll work it in any way possible. I did this back in 2010- suddenly wanting 'Ohana dinner, Crystal Palace Breakfast, Tusker breakfast and 1900 PF breakfast. At least my stalking paid off and I got all of them! :) HOWEVER, this upcoming trip, I actually decided to restructure a couple of days about 2 wks after my 180 mark. In the 3 weeks following my 180 mark, I changed my ADRs over 20x! I've since calmed down w/this, but I've still had another 5 or 6 changes since then.

My other issue..."PERFECTION." There is no such thing, but it bugs me when I don't have my ideal times. I wanted a 6pm at 50sPT and the best I could get at 5:17a on day 180 was a 6:25p. So, I check every day, multiple times per day to try and upgrade this. Also, in changing my days around I lost my perfect Crystal Palace time and had to settle for a 8:20a. So, I search a lot in hopes that I will get an 8:05a to open up. This is at least one wher 15 min really does make a difference IMO. The last is LTT. I added this a few wks after my 180 mark b/c my idea of watching MSEP from Tony's just wasn't sitting well with me. I have rebooked LTT 4x so far. I currently have a 5:50p ADR, but I'd really like 6pm and while I know 10 min isn't going to matter here, I just want it.

Now the crazy...I have an 11:35a at Le Cellier. Every now and then I check for the 11:30a b/c that's what I really wanted. With this being only 5 min off, I could still easily arrive and hear them sing O Canada, but that 5 min off from ideal bugs me. I may even drop Le Cellier in favor of CS/snack hopping around the WS, but I still keep checking now and then for that 5 min change.

And if BoG opens for our dates, I see even more changing in my future. Until then - I won't be checking more than 10x a day to upgrade times until we hit mid to late September...then I'll go into overdrive (b/c more people cxl when you get closer) and may allow myself to chking over 100x per day for those upgrades. :D

So yes....I change my ADRs - a lot!
 
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Pooh'sBuddy

Pooh'sBuddy

Well-Known Member
TERRILYNN said:
This is our first time to go, so I know that's part of it. Hubby and I went to MK for 1 day 6 years ago (before we had DD now 4) but now we are staying for a week. As far as I know or have read anyway, it's practically impossible to walk up to a "sit down" restaurant without a reservation and be able to get in, is that not true? We do have the dining plan and I wouldn't want to waste those meals by going in without ressies.. am I wrong? Is it possible to just walk in to some places (that are not quick serve)?? I've been looking over all the menus, and I know what DH will and won't eat so at least that part has been easy, I've been able to ax a few fairly quickly, after he gets his meal he rarely complains about it. It makes me feel sooo much better to know at least a few of you are on the same page as I am! ;) and I'm not crazy! :D The planning is fun and it does feel like a game to me too, then after I start second guessing myself I start getting stressed. I think I've finally narrowed down the plan and I promised myself I'm not going to check anymore dining reservations until we are there or something happens to change our plans. Since we had to pay for dining I'm going with all character options that I know at least my daughter will love and I'm hoping that even if he's not crazy about the food, seeing her beaming will be more than enough for him to enjoy the meal also. I chose CRT for our first day, nothing for Monday (will have to do Q/S that day..not sure where will go yet for those, that's my next task) tuesday we have CP, Wednesday is Akershus and Garden Grill, and our last day we will end with 1900 Park Fare. I'm also hoping that will eliminate most of our standing in line to see characters which should be a bonus too.
Click to expand...

You're right - from what I've read, especially here and The Unofficial Guide, some places are not so bad but popular places at busy times are hard to get into even at 180 days - not sure when you're going. draybook, going in September, posted this morning that he called back and a ressie time he liked better opened up.

I'm glad the planning is fun for you. It is for me, too, but there are times when I just want to light my hair on fire - just gotta walk away for a while. Just think - it is all going to be great, and if nothing else, it's a learning experience for next time.

Your idea to book character meals to use your TS credits for your DD is good. Except for the fairies, you should see practically everybody you want.
 
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copcarguyp71

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
I guess I am weird but my ADR's are like my crockpot....I set it and forget it.

On our first trip I switched probably six times and ended up losing the ones I really wanted in the process. From that time on I make my decision and stick to it. I do not feel like I want the enjoyment of my vacation to revolve around where I eat. The only ressie I am fanatical about is a CP breakfast sometime during our trip but other than that it is all good.
 
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Tomi-Rocket

Tomi-Rocket

Well-Known Member
Never. I do a lot of researching & planning before I make our ADR's that once they're made they're pretty much set in stone. Now we have made changes once we were in the parks on the day of the reservation but never before.
 
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I_heart_Tigger

I_heart_Tigger

Well-Known Member
I figure out what I want, book it & have never once changed my mind about any ADR. I don't see the point of creating stress and drama over a vacation. I'm going to enjoy myself no matter what, it's not like I'll be sitting in the Yachtsman crying because I wished I was at le Cellier or anything. Once my ADR's are booked I never even think about them again until I'm at WDW.

I don't recall ever eating a meal and wishing I had booked something different (other than when my travel party insists on doing Crystal Palace...blech) but I'm very much a "live in the moment" person.
 
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