Too little time, too much to do

[DarthVader]

I'm in my ADR window and I've booked most of my reservations but I think my experience in trying to get that settled is a microcosm of the whole Disney experience.

Disney offers so much, that a week is not enough to see everything, and do everything. I wanted a reservation for the Kona Cafe and/or O'hana Yet my itinerary is already filled up with other reservations and activities.

I've shied away from lunch reservations and I was unable to snag any early morning ADRs which is a bummer. I really wanted a character meal in the morning but the earliest they had on various days was 9:05 and later. Since we're here to be in the parks, I'd rather not lose that time.

Not really complaining about the lack of availability but rather pointing out that even with 9 full days in WDW, I could not do all that I wanted. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Courtney6682]

Don't over-do it! I learned this the hard way one trip. We literally spent our days racing from FP to ADR and it was so stressful! I think this is where being a Disney vet can come back and bite you. We know exactly what we want to see, ride, experience, eat and can potentially miss out on. I know in my case I tried to cram it all in in 9 days thinking there would be PLENTY of time and it backfired. We were late for meals and FP's and just beat at the end of day!

Good luck!

 

[DarthVader]

Don't over-do it! I learned this the hard way one trip.

Definitely, the risk of needing to squeeze too much in, is certainly high. My wishlist of what I wanted to do, is not fitting into reality.

 

[Courtney6682]

Definitely, the risk of needing to squeeze too much in, is certainly high. My wishlist of what I wanted to do, is not fitting into reality.

Yes! Scale it back, it will be worth it. We were in WDW Feb 1-9th of this year and in that time frame I crammed in a college visit 2 hrs away, my daughter's 17th birthday complete with horseback riding at Tri Circle D Ranch, my husband's birthday, activities for Super Bowl Sunday, renting a surrey at a resort we weren'tt staying at, Spirit of Aloha, a few nights at Lilo's playhouse for my step-daughter, as well as a few other ADR's and days packed with FP's. It was INSANITY!!!

 

[Courtney6682]

Oh, and 2 ADR' s on my daughter's b-day...along with the horseback riding lol...

 

[larandtra]

You are realizing what people who only go once a year or so figure out. The WDW property is HUGE and there are lots of things to do beyond the typical park experiences. Meals at Disney can be fun but the learning curve on not overdoing it takes time. I wont book more than one sit down ADR per day and sometimes leave one day completely free for whim choices. On short weekend trips I try to do different restaurants each trip and then on longer trips do a split, half new, half favorites. The worst thing you can do is overplan and have half your trip taken up waiting on ADRs and planning around those. If you arent a Florida Resident who goes all the time, or an AP holder who goes a lot and has time to do things slowly on each trip or visit, sometimes going for very specific purposes, then pick out the things you REALLY want to do, work everything around those things including meals, and take your time.

 

[TXDisney]

I’ve done trips where I booked too many ADRs. My advice is to prioritize which ones mean the most. And cancel a couple of them. You don’t want to miss out on the parks bc of non stop dining reservations. For me the shorter the stay the less dining. The longer the stay the more dining. Bc you still have time in the parks with a longer stay.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Disney wants you coming back for more. No matter how long our trips have been I never get to do everything I want in the time I have. Most of our trips have been 10 to 14 days lengths and still its not long enough. I prioritize my wish list so that at least the most wanted to do's get done early on and the things left over at the end, although they get missed, they arent critical and I relegate them to the "next time" list. Disney is just so expansive, continually adds on or changes and has such a variety of entertainment options available that a non-local will never be able to do it all.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I'm in my ADR window and I've booked most of my reservations but I think my experience in trying to get that settled is a microcosm of the whole Disney experience.

Disney offers so much, that a week is not enough to see everything, and do everything. I wanted a reservation for the Kona Cafe and/or O'hana Yet my itinerary is already filled up with other reservations and activities.

I've shied away from lunch reservations and I was unable to snag any early morning ADRs which is a bummer. I really wanted a character meal in the morning but the earliest they had on various days was 9:05 and later. Since we're here to be in the parks, I'd rather not lose that time.

Not really complaining about the lack of availability but rather pointing out that even with 9 full days in WDW, I could not do all that I wanted. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

9 days? Try going for 3 days like I'm about to do on Monday if you want a real challenge.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Disney wants you coming back for more. No matter how long our trips have been I never get to do everything I want in the time I have. Most of our trips have been 10 to 14 days lengths and still its not long enough. I prioritize my wish list so that at least the most wanted to do's get done early on and the things left over at the end, although they get missed, they arent critical and I relegate them to the "next time" list. Disney is just so expansive, continually adds on or changes and has such a variety of entertainment options available that a non-local will never be able to do it all.

9 days? Try going for 3 days like I'm about to do on Monday if you want a real challenge.

Yes, Disney always wants you to come back for more! That's why there are so many restaurants! I agree with @TXDisney . The longer the trip, the more you feel like you can enjoy the dining. We live in Colorado so we tend to go for about a week most years. We allow ourselves to enjoy a sit down meal each day. It's nice to enjoy Disney's food and atmosphere while "taking a break" from the business of the parks.

We've figured out we can't do it all each time, so we talk about what we can skip and what we need to hit. We skipped Fantasmic last year, just because we wanted an extra evening in MK, but that allowed us an extra dining ressie, because we didn't do the Fantasmic package.