How do Logistics work for Park Days and ADRs?

SusannaBanana

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
This might be a pretty dumb, newbie question...but just thinking about logistics for my January trip with family of 5...how do people do their dining and park visits? Like, if we are going to be at MK on a Tuesday, and want to do 2 table service restaurants, would it be wise to choose both in the park? Or maybe one at our hotel (AKL)? Or do people like, leave the park and go to Ohana or whatever at a resort, and then go back to the park? Wouldn't that be really stressful with 3 kids?
 
Well, we don't plan at all, sorry. We just decide when we get hungry what we want to eat or we will hop on MDE some time in the afternoon and see what's available. We always have park hoppers and are just sort of go with the flow folks. I'm not sure we have ever done 2 TS in one day except maybe way long time ago a breakfast and a supper. In which case the breakfast was at the resort.
 
Hm. I am such a planner (first trip, on DisBoards, listening to podcasts, and the trip is next Jan! Ha ha.) I've got my Touring Plans subscription bought and paid for. :)
So my thinking is that in order to take a break, we might like TS restaurants. Or maybe just at dinner. Or lunch? But looking at these threads where people talk about ADRs and where they like to eat...I am wondering how it all works.
 
We make a list of restaurants we want to eat at first, ignoring their physical location at disney completely. We then make a plan of what parks we are going to. Sometimes we stay in the parks to eat-we like tusker house a lot so that's an animal kingdom day. Some parks we don't stay all day at or primarily tour during the day like AK, so we may use that opportunity to go to a resort for dinner. We have also done the whole eat dinner and then go back to the parks, but this is specifically reserved for days we are at MK and the restaurants are on the monorail or boat lines at MK. We do a really early dinner like 3 or 4pm, and then go back if desired. We don't find it stressful with kids(we have 6), but we allow lots of time. Most often far more than neccessary, but can't hurt.
 


I agree with the above posts that it depends most on where you actually want to eat. Not all restaurants at Disney (even the table service variety) are created equal. Also, credits on the dining plan can be split up however you want over the course of your stay...so you don't have to use a certain amount on day one, a certain amount on day two, etc. So I would start with a list of the restaurants you'd like to go to, then work it out from there. As far as the specific MK table service dining question goes, we love Crystal Palace, and I've always heard great things about Be Our Guest dinner (only dinner is table service here). Cinderella's Royal Table is also quite the experience but requires two TS credits.
 
So my thinking is that in order to take a break, we might like TS restaurants.

I think whether or not a TS meal works well depends on your kids and their ages. A kid who is in a stroller most of the time may not need a nap break, but more a run around break, and may find a sit down restaurant is just one more place to be stuck sitting and not moving.

Even kids out of strollers may get worn down by too many sit-down restaurants. After our last vacation our (now) 9 year old (then 8) begged to please stop going to sit down restaurants. He couldn't stand how long they were. He just wanted to grab food and go. His idea of a break is some place less crowded where he can run, splash, swim, then just chill a bit. On the other hand, we find the transportation time actually helps out kids a bit, so leaving a park to go eat can help in that regard. We might leave earlier than necessary and head to a resort ADR with time to let them hit the play areas of the resort first. :)

As for the ADRs we do make, we do like to have an idea of when we might be where in mind first, but we have hoppers, so it makes it easier for us. Because say we really want to rope drop MK on Sat. or Sunday, we don't need to be there all day, so we can make an ADR for AK on those days or another day when we might already be in AK from the beginning. So I keep a note pad with the ADRs we are hoping for and a few days/times each that might work for them.

Bear in mind that people will make multiple ADRs for the same place, planning to cancel later as they piece together their final plan. so keep trying if there are any ADRs you cannot make at the 180 day mark. I was recently checking (for fun) for much closer ADRs for BOG, for instance, and was finding them, becuase people keep dropping their extras. :)

Good luck and have fun!!!
 


We don't eat table service meals every day, but we do make sure that they are near to where we will be. I personally will not ever leave a park just for a meal. If we want to eat at a resort we make it breakfast/early lunch or a late dinner. I'm not going through security multiple times for any meal.
 
I agree with the PPs, and also want to add that sometimes you can kill two birds with 1 stone with TS reservations; for example, character meals. Especially on a dining plan I would much rather the characters come to me than me have to stand in line for my kids to meet them. Long ago, we started the tradition of being rope droppers and leaving the park for a break, and coming back for a table service supper most nights. A little tip of the hat to Tour Guide Mike. :goodvibes My 3 kids loved this routine. This year my husband and I are taking our 4 year old grandson and so far have only planned 1 table service meal all week. He's not a big eater and my gut instinct is he's going to prefer DOING instead of having even a wonderful meal experience.
 
For us, especially on a first trip, or for people who dont get to go often, I do not think it is worth it to miss lots of park time travelling around to restaurants. We pick ADRs that fit our other plans. So what park we are going to be in, what breaks we want to take, etc. I dont find any disney restaurant food worth missing park time and dragging kids somewhere out of the way when we arent the type that get to go multiple times a year.

I know that's tough bc you have to make ADRs first even before FP. My plan of attack is to decide where I'm going to be on what days first (what park, or if I'm doing a break day or a DS day). Then when it's time I make ADR's for in or near those places. Then once I make my FP's if I have to drop or change an ADR due to our touring plan, I do. Not many ADR's trump park touring for me.
 
Decide what your priorities are each day. Rides trump food for our family (but character meals are a highlight). I don’t typically plan more than one table service per day because I don’t want to spend that much time sitting and eating, plus it gets really expensive. I also like planning a character brunch on a non-park day. It’s relaxing for us and fun for the kids.
 

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