Canceling BOG ADR on a Party Night- Right Move?

stickeymouse

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 6, 2013
I was excited to see that a BOG reservation became available a couple weeks ago, so I snatched it up(we always somehow book our WDW visits after the ADR-open date). Unfortunately, it is at 6:45pm on the night we are going to the Halloween party. After reading many recent threads, it seems it might be foolish to "waste" party time at a sit-down restaurant. There also happens to be a 5:10pm reservation available at Skipper's Canteen for the same night, which would be less intrusive into the actual party time, with the added bonus of getting us into another restaurant we very much would like to try.

Is cancelling the BOG ADR the right move? and would the 5:10pm Skipper's Canteen reservation be an improvement, or is it still foolish to book a TS meal on party night? We will be in the MK most of the afternoon, if that makes any difference.
 
I was excited to see that a BOG reservation became available a couple weeks ago, so I snatched it up(we always somehow book our WDW visits after the ADR-open date). Unfortunately, it is at 6:45pm on the night we are going to the Halloween party. After reading many recent threads, it seems it might be foolish to "waste" party time at a sit-down restaurant. There also happens to be a 5:10pm reservation available at Skipper's Canteen for the same night, which would be less intrusive into the actual party time, with the added bonus of getting us into another restaurant we very much would like to try.

Is cancelling the BOG ADR the right move? and would the 5:10pm Skipper's Canteen reservation be an improvement, or is it still foolish to book a TS meal on party night? We will be in the MK most of the afternoon, if that makes any difference.
I would definitely cancel BOG - not a good idea to waste valuable party time inside a restaurant. I do like doing a sit down meal before the party and think you'll be fine with Skipper's at that time - but if one opens up for 4-4:30 that would even be better. We've eaten as early as 3:30 and as late as 5:00 and it has worked for our family. That being said - if you plan on doing any of the popular character meet & greets you will want to be sure to eat on the early side so you can line up as soon as is permitted.
 
I have the exact same dilemma! I currently have a 4:30 ADR at Skippers and a 6:30 at BOG on a MVMCP night. Have eaten at BOG a few times and it's one of our favorites, but it will kill me to waste the party time. We aren't interested in lining up for special characters, so no issue there, but we do like to take advantage of short ride lines. At this point I'm leaning towards Skipper Canteen since we've been wanting to try it anyways and it will free up the party time.
 
I was excited to see that a BOG reservation became available a couple weeks ago, so I snatched it up(we always somehow book our WDW visits after the ADR-open date). Unfortunately, it is at 6:45pm on the night we are going to the Halloween party. After reading many recent threads, it seems it might be foolish to "waste" party time at a sit-down restaurant. There also happens to be a 5:10pm reservation available at Skipper's Canteen for the same night, which would be less intrusive into the actual party time, with the added bonus of getting us into another restaurant we very much would like to try.

Is cancelling the BOG ADR the right move? and would the 5:10pm Skipper's Canteen reservation be an improvement, or is it still foolish to book a TS meal on party night? We will be in the MK most of the afternoon, if that makes any difference.

Have you ever had dinner at BOG? If so, I would probably cancel. If you have not, I would keep the reservation. BOG is the most difficult reservation to book. You were lucky to get it! I think the experience of dining there is every bit as magical as the party will be!
 


We used to book early dinner reservations @ LTT on party nights back when they still had characters. I always made sure not to overlap the actual party hours with the dinner reservation so we wouldn't miss an of the actual party activities. I think you are definitely better off doing the Skippers Canteen at the earlier time so you have all the party time free for the special party activities. You are paying enough for the party tickets that you will want to make the most of your party time. If you are like most of us you will probably still not even get to do everything you want during the actual party. There will always be another chance to do BOG at a better time.
 
I have the exact same dilemma! I currently have a 4:30 ADR at Skippers and a 6:30 at BOG on a MVMCP night. Have eaten at BOG a few times and it's one of our favorites, but it will kill me to waste the party time. We aren't interested in lining up for special characters, so no issue there, but we do like to take advantage of short ride lines. At this point I'm leaning towards Skipper Canteen since we've been wanting to try it anyways and it will free up the party time.

Too funny- I'm making the same decision- between a 5:20 for Skipper's Canteen or a 6:30 at BOG on our MVMCP night! We have never been to BOG for dinner, so I'm sad to think of canceling it (although we have a PPO breakfast there the next morning), but I'm also leaning towards Skipper's Canteen so that we can be done before the party starts. We aren't planning on lining up for special characters, but we'll have a two year old with us and won't get more than a couple hours of party time in... I know a lot of people recommend QS on a party night, but we find locating a table/balancing trays pretty miserable with two small kids in tow. I'll be curious to see others' opinions in this thread!
 
I think it depends how much you want to eat at BOG. The party is until midnight right? Personally I would keep it and stay the whole party. Of course I've never been to the party, but I think a good 4 and a half hours would still be enough time to enjoy it. I could be wrong as I've never been, but if it were me personally, I would keep it.
 


Have you ever had dinner at BOG? If so, I would probably cancel. If you have not, I would keep the reservation. BOG is the most difficult reservation to book. You were lucky to get it! I think the experience of dining there is every bit as magical as the party will be!
I could not have said it better!
 
I have the same problem on a Christmas Party night. I have a BOG at 6:45. It is the only day that we can do it on the trip and it is our preferred dinner time also. We figured we will miss about and hour of party time but hope to do stuff later in the night and hope we can do the very few character meets we want at the end of the night but if it doesn't work out then no big deal, we our at Disney and not at work so we will power through.
 
How important are the character meets at the Halloween party for you? Halloween party guests can enter MK as early as 4pm. These guests will often begin lining up early - before 7pm - for the rare character meets like Jack & Sally. If the characters are important to you, my suggestion would be to do an early QS dinner and get to the park early for this. A 5:20pm Skipper Canteen reservation would work fine, but wouldn't be ideal if you want to avoid long character lines that cut into party time.
 
Too funny- I'm making the same decision- between a 5:20 for Skipper's Canteen or a 6:30 at BOG on our MVMCP night! We have never been to BOG for dinner, so I'm sad to think of canceling it (although we have a PPO breakfast there the next morning), but I'm also leaning towards Skipper's Canteen so that we can be done before the party starts. We aren't planning on lining up for special characters, but we'll have a two year old with us and won't get more than a couple hours of party time in... I know a lot of people recommend QS on a party night, but we find locating a table/balancing trays pretty miserable with two small kids in tow. I'll be curious to see others' opinions in this thread!

Ppo the morning after the party? I admire your stamina. I didn't get back to my hotel until 1:30 am last party. I know I could never commit to an early anything next morning
 
Have you ever had dinner at BOG?
I have not. However, I also recognize that this will not be our last trip to WDW. Hopefully, next time we will book earlier, before ADRs open.
How important are the character meets at the Halloween party for you?
Not important at all. It is very rare for us to wait in a line to meet a character. Jack and Sally would be pretty cool, though. Is theirs the longest line of the party?
 
Not important at all. It is very rare for us to wait in a line to meet a character. Jack and Sally would be pretty cool, though. Is theirs the longest line of the party?

Yes, they are the most popular ones and their line will be consistently long the whole night from my own experience. We don't care much about characters either, so with that info, I would do the 5:20 Skipper Canteen if you can't get an earlier BOG one.
 
I would not waste party time in a restaurant. If it's not your last trip ever I'd do it on the next trip. I passed on it on my last trip in lieu of the party (in december) but picked it up for my february trip.
 
I know BOG is hard to get, but I would drop it. We spent close to 2 hours at dinner there in May, which would put you getting out close to 9:00 PM. If you know you will be back to Disney, I would save if for the next trip.
 
I would cancel BOG. A 5 pm reservation on a party night is perfect IMHO. It gets you out of the crowds that build as day and party guests merge in MK pre-party and gets you out in time to enjoy the entire party.
 
Ppo the morning after the party? I admire your stamina. I didn't get back to my hotel until 1:30 am last party. I know I could never commit to an early anything next morning

I'm sure I'll regret it the next morning! :) I think we'll leave the party right after the 8:30ish parade since even that is after my kids' bedtime. But that's all the more reason to not do a 6:30 pm ADR and maximize park time...

This thread has been very helpful. Seems like earlier ADRs are the way to go. Glad you posted it Stickeymouse!
 
We have a 4:45 reservation at skipper canteen for mnsshp. I agree with not wasting time at BOG. For me, BOG was a one and done. Yes, the restaurant was pretty, but it had a cafeteria-like feel and the food was horrendous. They served my daughter raw chicken and the "vegetable ratatouille" was anything but that. The famous "grey stuff" everyone raved so much about was nothing special. IMHO, one of the worst meals I ever had in Disney. Then again, it could just be my personal experience.
 
You made a good choice. The latest we would ever do an ADR on a party night is 5pm.. so we can relax and enjoy our meal without worrying about missing anything. Those 5 hours of the party go fast and the tickets aren't cheap. Have a great time!
 

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