How many is too many?

[crouton]

I have noticed that "don't make too many dining reservations" is a common point on many of the rookie mistakes lists, but nobody really tells you what this number equals. Although, I know it is different for every family, I wanted to get a feel for what people think is too many. I was thinking one a day should be the limit, but maybe that is even too many. We are going for 8 days in July and we currently have 9 reservations. My wife thinks it will be a good way to get out of the heat, but I think it may limit the "vacation feel" of the trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

The number varies a lot depending on how they fit into your touring plan. I feel like if you fit them into a place you're going to be already, it's great. Do a couple a day if you want. Especially in the summer when you need breaks to get out of the heat.

But if you're leaving a park to get to a meal, or if you're hopping just to eat, I feel like that's detrimental. Everyone feels different about it though.

 

[Shanti]

I have noticed that "don't make too many dining reservations" is a common point on many of the rookie mistakes lists, but nobody really tells you what this number equals. Although, I know it is different for every family, I wanted to get a feel for what people think is too many. I was thinking one a day should be the limit, but maybe that is even too many. We are going for 8 days in July and we currently have 9 reservations. My wife thinks it will be a good way to get out of the heat, but I think it may limit the "vacation feel" of the trip.

That is all about your wishes, how you eat, and how much structure you like. We tend to make 2 ADRs for each full day of our trips. My son is gluten-free, and table service dining at WDW handles dietary restrictions seamlessly, but there's always a long wait for special meals at quick service. So for us, eating regularly via ADRs is the way to go.

But everyone has their own style. If you want to try those 9 restaurants, don't let anyone dissuade you. WDW's restaurants are part of the magic. It's also quite magical to not have to carry around a tray of food while looking for an empty patio table, especially when it's hot outside, or cold, or raining, but I digress...

 

[pharm55]

The first time we went to WDW in 2014 we went for 11 days and did 12 ADR's which was too many for my family. The next time we only booked one every 2 days and that worked better but was still a lot for us. This time we are going for 14 days and I have only booked 5 but we stay in a villa so will have groceries for meals and will rely on quick service for the rest.

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

We normally go for a week and set about 4 TS ADRs.

 

[Alpineslide]

We generally schedule all dinners at table service restaurants. Each trip we’ll also do a couple table service lunches in the park we plan on being in that day, other than that we eat whatever we want when we want to.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but a lot of the time we see things we want to do as we are walking around the parks. If our schedule was to rigid I think we’d miss out on a lot of the things we’d like to do.

 

[crouton]

Thanks, everybody for your input. As I expected, there are a lot of different thoughts on this topic. It just comes down to your individual situation. Only problem I have is my wife is my individual situation, and we disagree a little, but I think we all know how that will end...I will be enjoying my 9 reservations

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think you'll be fine with nine. That's about one per day, which is what we generally to do, and I usually feel like it's just right. I tend to need that bit of a slow-down each day so I don't get overwhelmed.

(Plus, I feel like it's healthier than eating all quick service. - I know it really depends on what you order, though!)

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

We usually do 2 a day... One at break time, after we've done rope drop and done as much as possible. We usually do either a buffet character meal at that time IN THE PARK.
We then plan our evening meal according to which park and nightime entertainment we will be doing then.
BUT, we've been going for years and years. We don't feel like we have to rush or were going to miss something.
For a first timer, I would plan one TS per day, plan for either a noonish time break out of the sun and heat, or if you're planning on going to your resort for an afternoon break, plan an evening one where everyone can unwind before hitting the parks again.
You will find your rhythm.
AND you know your family. But that Florida sun gets brutal and commando park touring gets old real fast!

 

[NYCgrrl]

We'll be on site for 6 dinners and since there are 5 guests in the party ADRs will certainly be made for 5 of those nights. To keep peace in the valley everyone has 1 dinner reservation to make per trip. So far 2 of the kiddos have picked the usual suspects: HDDR, and 'Ohana's, which will replace our normal Twilight Feast from Poly's room service. A lunch ADR for Via Napoli for the kids and Brown Derby for me are required. Still got spots to fill but we have time.

 

[Sepo]

For us: Half the days max. Allows you freedom and flexibility for mood and weather changes. Hard-to-gets at premium times certainly take priority. We fill the other times with same day add-ons (surprisingly available on the MDE app) or walk ups.

 

[VandVsmama]

For our family, 1 ADR per day feels like too many. Makes us feel like we are on vacation just to eat and for us, vacation is way more than being all about food. We are Disneyland veterans and usually don't like to be tied down by a ton of dining reservations. One every other day feels more comfortable for us. I'm planning our 1st WDW trip for this June and I think we'll probably do 3 ADRs for the week.

 

[rebelbuddhist]

My wife and I make 2 ADRs a day religiously. One for a brunch around 10:00 am ish after doing some time in a park or on the way to a park if we are having a sleep in day. Then a 2nd ADR for a late dinner after 7:00 pm. We find eating twice a day to be perfect for us, but we are an older couple and don’t do the parks commando-style. We use our meals as a break and restful time in the parks or a resort since we are there during the most crowded time of the year!

 

[NYCgrrl]

For our family, 1 ADR per day feels like too many. Makes us feel like we are on vacation just to eat and for us, vacation is way more than being all about food. We are Disneyland veterans and usually don't like to be tied down by a ton of dining reservations. One every other day feels more comfortable for us. I'm planning our 1st WDW trip for this June and I think we'll probably do 3 ADRs for the week.

My army marches on it's stomach even when we're camping which has one of my sisters throwing her nose in the air and saying camping is for burgers and dogs, LOL. Fortunately, I make our menus and think about how people camp in other countries too.

Same mindset goes along wherever we vacation so I put some thought into where and what we eat. What some of the kiddos who travel with us haven't figured out yet is we almost always eat our big meal of the day (dinner) at signature or 2 credit locales. One of the kids still thinks chicken nuggets and burgers is where life begins (and has the table manners to prove it) but the other two are fine w/ expanding their horizons.
Works for me.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Thanks, everybody for your input. As I expected, there are a lot of different thoughts on this topic. It just comes down to your individual situation. Only problem I have is my wife is my individual situation, and we disagree a little, but I think we all know how that will end...I will be enjoying my 9 reservations

You are one smart cookie ;-) But you didn’t mention kids.

We found with little kids one a day is too many. Ours were 2 and 5 last time. We don’t go out to eat often at home though, so restaurants are a rare treat. To do it every night and sometimes twice a day. we found they got very antsy and by the end of the trip they just didn’t want to sit through dinners anymore. We also had free dining and 1 TS per day so we felt like we should use it. This time we have a 2 year old again and only made 3 ADR’s over the course of 6 days, and one of those is a character meal with her beloved Minnie so we are hoping for the best!

If we only had our 13 and 10 year olds and had free dining (or money was no object) we would happily eat TS every night because it is a nice break and a step up from feeling like we are eating fast food every meal.

 

[crouton]

You are one smart cookie ;-) But you didn’t mention kids.

We found with little kids one a day is too many. Ours were 2 and 5 last time. We don’t go out to eat often at home though, so restaurants are a rare treat. To do it every night and sometimes twice a day. we found they got very antsy and by the end of the trip they just didn’t want to sit through dinners anymore. We also had free dining and 1 TS per day so we felt like we should use it. This time we have a 2 year old again and only made 3 ADR’s over the course of 6 days, and one of those is a character meal with her beloved Minnie so we are hoping for the best!

If we only had our 13 and 10 year olds and had free dining (or money was no object) we would happily eat TS every night because it is a nice break and a step up from feeling like we are eating fast food every meal.

The kids will be 15 & 13 at the time of the trip, so they can keep up. Getting them up in the morning will be the biggest challenge, but they do like breakfast food, so I have that going for me.

 

[Shanti]

My wife and I make 2 ADRs a day religiously. One for a brunch around 10:00 am ish after doing some time in a park or on the way to a park if we are having a sleep in day. Then a 2nd ADR for a late dinner after 7:00 pm. We find eating twice a day to be perfect for us, but we are an older couple and don’t do the parks commando-style. We use our meals as a break and restful time in the parks or a resort since we are there during the most crowded time of the year!

This is our basic pattern, too. ADRs for breakfast & dinner. The meals are generous at WDW, so we typically skip lunch. We tour the parks quite aggressively, and enjoy the comfortable breaks that the ADRs provide.

 

[3gr8boys]

We have an in-park TS meal each day. For me, the different restaurants are part of the vacation experience. Plus, we use that sit down time to make plans. After a scheduled morning, we sometimes split up in the afternoon and, with PH, have flexible evening plans.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

What works for my family is one TS per day, which is typically dinner but sometimes breakfast instead. We have tried 2 in one day before, but found that to be too much both in terms of food and time. We will sometimes do a day without an ADR, but that's generally when we're at Epcot during festival time.

 

[Belleofthehouse]

What works for my family is one TS per day, which is typically dinner but sometimes breakfast instead. We have tried 2 in one day before, but found that to be too much both in terms of food and time. We will sometimes do a day without an ADR, but that's generally when we're at Epcot during festival time.

This! We no longer use the dining plan but when my kids were younger we usually had one ADR per day. My kids are big eaters so there is no such thing as too much food. Now we book 2-3 ADRs and the rest is quick service. Do what works best for your family