Your Dining Secrets

[JerseyJanice]

The Garden Grove dinner at the Swan is a great value if you have AAA. You get 20% off the food so it’s less than $30 per adult. Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale make the rounds while you dine. They gave my baby great nieces plenty of time and attention.

The restaurant is much calmer than Chef Mickey, but the best part of all is that ADRs are not needed. Just walk right up and get seated. It’s conveniently located by boat or walking from Epcot and the Studios.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We only visit five TS eateries at WDW when we go there for an actual meal.
.
1) We prefer
. . . fine food
. . . excellent, top notch service
. . . innovative dishes with flair and quality
. . . overall great value
. . . relaxed and soothing dining atmosphere
. . . behaved and somewhat quiet patrons
.
2) The only sit-down restaurants we routinely visit,
. . . Sanaa - Animal Kingdom Villas Resort (one of my personal favs)
. . . Artist Point - Wilderness Lodge Resort
. . . Citricos - Grand Floridian Resort
. . . Shula's Steakhouse - Dolphin Resort (no DDP)
. . . Il Mulino - Swan Resort (no DDP)
.
3) Our (nearby) off-site Recommendations:
. . . Bull & Bear - Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek - Fine Dining
. . . Café D'Antonio - Celebration - Casual Italian
. . . Columbia - Celebration - Casual Spanish/Cuban
. . . Fish Bones - Hwy192 - Seafood
. . . Venetian Room - Caribe Royale Hotel - Fine Dining
. . . The Hotel Tea Room - Davenport, FL - Casual - Friday Steak-Fry, Afternoon Tea

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I would have said Captain's Grille, but unfortunately that is gone, and the menu and theming at the place that replaced it don't look nearly as good to me.

But there is still The Wave.

 

[GMG_3]

I miss alfredos in Epcot.

Will have to wait for Roma to taste it again!

 

[disneyAndi14]

We love Sanaa and Tokyo Dining and rarely need an ADR for these two.

I think we might change our California Grill to Citrico’s, sounds like a better choice and I don’t have to decide quite yet.

 

[AngiTN]

Sometimes the really popular places ('Ohana, BoG, Chef Mickey's, Cindy's Royal Table, etc) are more of a challenge to book. What are your favorite places that you can get into with less effort and stress?

When we are looking for a last minute ADR or a walk-in, we go to Tokyo Dining. It seems to have availability much of the time, and I don't know why. The atmosphere is tranquil, the food is presented beautifully and the waitstaff may be the most pleasant in all of WDW. Maybe I shouldn't have told anyone...

My next tip is not a place but a strategy to avoid making ADRs, have a good meal, and save some money. We have older kids (12 and 17) and are able to eat in the lounges of the signature dining spots where we share appetizers. The portion sizes are more reasonable and priced accordingly. The food is also really, really good...I find that the apps are often the stars on a menu.

What are your secrets? Shhh...I won't tell anybody.

Wait and book them about 24 hours out.
There's not been 1 dining location we couldn't find with some flexibility to eating times, the day before.
The only exception I made to booking more than 24 hours in advance was 12/31.

 

[crabbygal902]

The second floor of the Columbia Harbor House is usually available for seating even during the prime lunch hour.

We love doing this! CHH can be nutzo-crazy downstairs and still hardly anyone is upstairs.

 

[crabbygal902]

Kona Cafe is sometimes available when Ohana isn’t. The food has been good for us every time.

This is a great idea for a substitute when you're wanting 'Ohana-style food but can't get an ADR or just don't feel like being in all the busy-ness.

 

[crabbygal902]

We only visit five TS eateries at WDW when we go there for an actual meal.
.

Always great advice. Thanks, Rusty!

 

[crabbygal902]

Wait and book them about 24 hours out.
There's not been 1 dining location we couldn't find with some flexibility to eating times, the day before.
The only exception I made to booking more than 24 hours in advance was 12/31.

Can I get an amen? It's fun to play restaurant roulette and book at the last moment, there is certainly less stress than the 180 business. There is a lot of availability when that ADR cancellation window closes.

 

[Magic_Man]

There is a lot of availability when that ADR cancellation window closes.

Also...if you haven't been able to land one of those hard-to-get ADRs even after you tried and tried 4, 5 or 6 months in advance, try looking again each day between 55 days and 30 days prior to the date when you want that ADR. Why? Well, let's start with the 40-30 day window. Disney packages have to be paid in full 30 days prior to arrival. Many people have changes in plans and have to cancel their trips, and many do that at the last possible date. So people arriving anywhere between 40 days to 30 days prior to the date when you want your ADR might toss back their reservation during that window. Even if they cancel exactly 30 days prior to their arrival, they might be tossing back ADRs that extend from 30 days to 40 days out. (Example: You want an ADR on March 30. A person with an arrival date of March 20 cancels their trip on February 19. They might also be cancelling ADRs that go all the way from March 20 through March 30. So you want to start re-checking on February 19 which is 40 days before your arrival.)

So why begin checking 55 days in advance? This one is a bit trickier. Disney changed the "paid in full date" to 30 days only somewhat recently and it used to be 45 for a very long time. Many people either don't know about the change, or forget about it and use 45 days as their cancellation date. So, using the same logic, factoring in a 10 day window for ADRs, a person who cancels 45 days prior to their arrival might also be cancelling ADRs that go all the way out to 55 days. So it can't hurt to start re-checking again then.

 

[Micca]

Don't waste time or money on breakfasts. A quick trip to Publix for breakfast foods for a week will cost you what two people would pay to dine at a Disney restaurant for one meal. And it saves a lot of time when you eat in your room while getting ready in the morning.

You make a lot of great points, this is one of my favorites. We don't have any big breakfast eaters in our family, and the little ones eat next to nothing at any meal. We make a Publix run on our arrival day and one of our items is the plastic box of croissants. A box of 4 large croissants is just a bit more expensive than ONE croissant on property. When you start thinking about the number of things you're paying Disney 3 or 4 times the amount of the similar item purchased off-site it's an eye opener. And don't get me started on beer--for the price of two Disney brews you can score a 12 pack at Publix. (Oops, just realized we were talking about breakfast and I included beer in the discussion. Obviously beer is more of a brunch item.)

 

[AngiTN]

Don't waste time or money on breakfasts. A quick trip to Publix for breakfast foods for a week will cost you what two people would pay to dine at a Disney restaurant for one meal. And it saves a lot of time when you eat in your room while getting ready in the morning.

Actually, breakfast can be the best meal of the day to eat out if you are on a tight budget and want to get in a character meal (I know but folks do like them), this is the cheaper meal to go with. You can't split them

 

[Simba's Mom]

We love Sanaa and Tokyo Dining and rarely need an ADR for these two.

When was the last time you ate at Sanaa? I ate lunch there a couple years ago, and had a hard time getting an ADR. Then, when I was there, it was very busy and I mentioned it to my server. She said that the word had gotten out and they were getting pretty busy now.

 

[AngiTN]

You make a lot of great points, this is one of my favorites. We don't have any big breakfast eaters in our family, and the little ones eat next to nothing at any meal. We make a Publix run on our arrival day and one of our items is the plastic box of croissants. A box of 4 large croissants is just a bit more expensive than ONE croissant on property. When you start thinking about the number of things you're paying Disney 3 or 4 times the amount of the similar item purchased off-site it's an eye opener. And don't get me started on beer--for the price of two Disney brews you can score a 12 pack at Publix. (Oops, just realized we were talking about breakfast and I included beer in the discussion. Obviously beer is more of a brunch item.)

You obviously need to try Oatmeal Stout

 

[Magic_Man]

and want to get in a character meal

Fair point. If character dining is a priority, breakfasts can be a good way to knock those off. Our family was always more of a "make rope drop count" family, so we found that getting to the park early, having already eaten cereal, donuts, fruit, yogurt, orange juice and the like in our room was both the most efficient and cheapest way to achieve our goal.

 

[crabbygal902]

When was the last time you ate at Sanaa? I ate lunch there a couple years ago, and had a hard time getting an ADR. Then, when I was there, it was very busy and I mentioned it to my server. She said that the word had gotten out and they were getting pretty busy now.

We ate there on Thanksgiving Day and I had to watch the Disney app closely for an opening, I started paying attention about 4 weeks out. I know it was a Holiday and all, but I was shocked to see it completely booked. Maybe we should start a rumor that its gone downhill...

 

[Micca]

You obviously need to try Oatmeal Stout

It has fiber and lowers cholesterol!

 

[disneyAndi14]

When was the last time you ate at Sanaa? I ate lunch there a couple years ago, and had a hard time getting an ADR. Then, when I was there, it was very busy and I mentioned it to my server. She said that the word had gotten out and they were getting pretty busy now.

We just have 2 in our party, we were there last February for a late lunch, we usually see it as a choice when we are at Disney. It maybe harder with more than 2 people.

 

[dminnie]

Actually, breakfast can be the best meal of the day to eat out if you are on a tight budget and want to get in a character meal (I know but folks do like them), this is the cheaper meal to go with. You can't split them

If you want a character meal and to do rope drop...you have a snack before going to the park, schedule breakfast at about 10:30 at someplace like Tusker House or Crystal Palace. They start making the switch to lunch while you are there, so you can enjoy both breakfast or lunch type foods...and they charge you the breakfast price.