Is it smart to make ADR's every day?

[Adam5897]

I just started booking some ADR's today which included dinner at Tutto Italia and Prime Time Cafe. We will be in the world for 7 nights. I already had dinner at Be our Guest a while ago. I don't know if I should make a dinner reservation at a full service restaurant for every night because I worry that it will take time away from spending in the parks. If anyone could give me some advice and also give me some good quick service places that are on the healthier side in each park that would be great. Thanks!!

Ps: how many days do you need in magic kingdom to do everything plus go on some things more than once?

 

[flynnibus]

Are you park hopping?

ADRs every day aren't 'bad' - but you should aim to make ADRs where you plan to be anyways. Having to leave the place you are at 'just' for an ADR is a good way to end the evening early. People often use ADRs as a break point in their day. Like, making an early dinner reservation, then taking a break, and then maybe going back to the park for night cap, etc.

1 per day.. no biggie. 2-3 per day.. I would raise flags. I wouldn't recommend more than 2 per day, and even that don't do every day. You'll want flexibility.

For MK.. 1-2 days is enough for most. But what I recommend is if you are park hopping, don't dedicate a lot of time to the MK. The MK is always open the latest of all parks, and it's key entertainment is at night. So do other parks, then end the evening at MK. You do ride and fireworks at MK most nights. Doing it that way, you won't spend more than a day at MK during normal hours.

 

[harveyt0206]

I think the answer to this question really depends on your own personal habits and park touring style. Whether or not you have paid for a dining plan would also be a factor.

My husband and I typically do at least one sit down meal every day of our trip. We both really enjoy that little break in the middle of our day. It gives us an hour to just chill out and relax. On the opposite side of the spectrum we have his sister and brother-in-law. They absolutely despise planning their trips ahead of time and like to tour the parks by the seat of their pants. As you can imagine, we learned not to go to Disney together awhile ago. If you have some place in particular that is a "must do" for your trip, then I would definitely recommend that you book it.

 

[Adam5897]

We are park hopping a few days and no we are not doing the dining plan

 

[CP_alum08]

It really depends on the individual how much time you want to spend eating. For us, we like sitting down at least once a day and having a nice meal but we go pretty often and taking an hour or two out of each day isn't a big deal for us.

How many days at MK depends on your kids I think (or lack of ) If you have a big age range in kids you will most likely be going on almost all the attractions which obviously takes longer. If you have only young or only older you will probably end up skipping some. I would say 2 days though and make sure one of them you are there early at rope drop and the other you are there late at night. Totally different experiences but equally magical!

 

[jharvey]

I just started booking some ADR's today which included dinner at Tutto Italia and Prime Time Cafe. We will be in the world for 7 nights. I already had dinner at Be our Guest a while ago. I don't know if I should make a dinner reservation at a full service restaurant for every night because I worry that it will take time away from spending in the parks. If anyone could give me some advice and also give me some good quick service places that are on the healthier side in each park that would be great. Thanks!!

Ps: how many days do you need in magic kingdom to do everything plus go on some things more than once?

We try to have at least one day without an adr and just use cs credits or go oop. This frees you up to just go with the flow. If you must do an adr everyday, try to mix in a lunch adr instead of only dinner ones. That way, you have a more open itinerary later in the day. After the lunch adr you can take a midafternoon break and wander back when and where you want to. If the mode strikes you to go to Mk, have at it. You can go all out and hit CHH whenever. Same goes with the other parks.

As far as hitting everything in the MK, it really depends. Are you lugging around any kids? Will people in ur party be up for arriving at MK up to an hour before rope drop ( less if it is a low crowd day)? Do you have any adrs that day (god forbide at another park)? On our last trip, we did 2 full days at MK, plus the mnsshp. We had two kids (8 and 5) with us. We ate breakfast before arriving to avoid the main street bakery trap. We used fp as effectively as we could and hit everything at the park, except space mountain (coward), country bear (refurb), tsi (yawn), at least once. We hit splash 9x, pooh 2x, jungle cruise 2x, buzz 3x, potc x 2, hm x 3. So to answer ur exact question, if you can commando it, use fp, don't parkhop, and use adrs sparingly, I think you can hit just about anything in a loooooong day, but that would be no fun. Do all those things and still pace yourself and 2 days could do it. At which point go to Epcot because you need culture you heathen

 

[JohnLocke]

I don't know if we have enough information. Do you have a meal plan where you're locked into a certain number of ADRs? Are Table Service meals a must? Are you park hopping?

We usually do the meal plan so we have 7 to use, we split them between dinner and breakfast though, and I think that's the best way to go. It's pretty special seeing the park almost all alone in the morning. If you're hopping and can kind of plan out your day where you can get to the general area for a dinner every night, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but you could also start to see it as a burden more than a treat if it's taking you away from doing something fun at night. Hopefully that helps.

Ask for the MK, about 1 1/2 to 2 days is perfect, but I know I'm probably there for some parts of at least 3-4 days on our typical 7 day trips.

 

[Adam5897]

We are park hopping a few days and no we are not doing the dining plan

I don't know if we have enough information. Do you have a meal plan where you're locked into a certain number of ADRs? Are Table Service meals a must? Are you park hopping?

We usually do the meal plan so we have 7 to use, we split them between dinner and breakfast though, and I think that's the best way to go. It's pretty special seeing the park almost all alone in the morning. If you're hopping and can kind of plan out your day where you can get to the general area for a dinner every night, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but you could also start to see it as a burden more than a treat if it's taking you away from doing something fun at night. Hopefully that helps.

Ask for the MK, about 1 1/2 to 2 days is perfect, but I know I'm probably there for some parts of at least 3-4 days on our typical 7 day trips.

Thanks. I feel the same way about magic kingdom just didn't know if I should send that same amount of time just there but I'm considering it

 

[JohnLocke]

I'd say you'll probably average about 1-2 days there, but spreading it out, makes things better. I just try to find the lulls in the MK's capacity, usually early mornings and later on, I think. Afternoons can be tough, because most children/parents will be up and out then.

 

[networkpro]

QS for healthier options always look for the new fruit stands that have popped up. Otherwise its burgers, dogs, and fries.

IMHO 2 TS meals a day can leave you with no room for ANY snacks... no dole whips, Mickey bars, pretzels or popcorn. We just did a 14 day stay with almost 2 TS per day and it takes a toll on your appetite... I don't think I want to eat much until spring. Mind you most of the places were great food with wonderful service but it becomes too much.

 

[thomas998]

I just started booking some ADR's today which included dinner at Tutto Italia and Prime Time Cafe. We will be in the world for 7 nights. I already had dinner at Be our Guest a while ago. I don't know if I should make a dinner reservation at a full service restaurant for every night because I worry that it will take time away from spending in the parks. If anyone could give me some advice and also give me some good quick service places that are on the healthier side in each park that would be great. Thanks!!

Ps: how many days do you need in magic kingdom to do everything plus go on some things more than once?

Can begin to answer that question, as I have no idea how much you enjoy MK whether you have kids or only adults... You should look at the time you will be there and then determine just how crowded it is likely to be and the hours open that part of the year. Those thing will all determine if you can do it all in 2 days or you need 3 or more... Frankly you should also decide what the best place is in each park, decide if you think you will want to try it and plan for it.. don't do every day unless you are just some foodie that wants to try stuff. Often the options in some parks aren't everyone's cup of tea and simply trying to pack a meal a day will likely result in dinners you don't enjoy or wasted time going from one place to another just to eat.

Also remember, this is not out of this world food.... often it is only slightly better than institutional food, a lot of time you are just paying extra for the atmosphere not what goes on the plate.

 

[awoogala]

We do plan 1 ts a day, with some days as 2 ts. We find 2 ts every day to be a bit much..they are usually bigger meals.
We usually do lunch, sometimes dinner..
Once or twice in a week we do a big breakfast..if breakfast is a buffet, then we skip lunch (just get snacks) and get a ts dinner.
Most mornings we do a quick breakfast in room (bagel, bar), then do our big ts meal as lunch (or late "lunch-dinner at 3 pm ish), then grab whatever or pick at snacks for dinner.

 

[ddbowdoin]

The DW and I try and keep it real simple.

As some have mentioned it varies for every family. What you value, what meals you enjoy the most etc.

We like to keep breakfast real light, I'm taking granola bars in the room. I think it gives is enough energy to go but doesn't lug us down with a full breakfast. As much as I love Mickey waffles I hate spending 70 bucks on breakfast and walking around with bacon and sausage in the stomach isn't easy!

But the way I see it having those light meals allows you to enjoy that ice cream bar, dole whip, or popcorn you get the picture.

 

[dreamfinder]

Totally depends on your touring style, and how/what/when you like to eat. If there is a restaurant in park, then its not a bad idea. Get a bit of a break without having to go back to the resort. However if you are already planning on taking mid day trips back to the resort, then I think it is a waste of time. Between the 2+ hrs break, and the 1 hr for the meal, its almost 1/4 of a normal park day wasted. The same applies if you need to park hop, or make a long haul to a resort for the meal. Some the resorts have fantastic restaurants, but making that trek can be a time killer.

 

[WDW 3]

QS for healthier options always look for the new fruit stands that have popped up. Otherwise its burgers, dogs, and fries.

IMHO 2 TS meals a day can leave you with no room for ANY snacks... no dole whips, Mickey bars, pretzels or popcorn. We just did a 14 day stay with almost 2 TS per day and it takes a toll on your appetite... I don't think I want to eat much until spring. Mind you most of the places were great food with wonderful service but it becomes too much.

It's not just burgers, dogs and fries! We were there for a week with 2 ADRs and never had a dog and intentionally had a burger our last day at Peco Bills. We were able to walk up for lunch at Mama Melrose and Rose & Crown and dinner at Paradiso 37 and House of Blues.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Like Dreamfinder said, it depends on how you work your days at the parks. For us, we do not like an ADR everyday because we like some freedom and we love all different QS options. Also for our Disneymoon, we are using the DDP for the first time so we are saving some days for 2 pointers.

What ever you chose to do-enjoy! As for MK, to do everything it depends on the time of year (wait times) but usually we able to cover everything and then some in 2 days.

 

[luv]

No way. Not crazy at all. I always had at least one - sometimes two.

You have to eat, right?

 

[traylorc]

You also have to factor in when you are visiting the world. If you are planning to go during a high traffic period....it can become more difficult to simply walk into a sit down restaurant and expect to be seated immediately.

If I were visiting during a high traffic period, I would be more inclined to make ADRs.