Who do you pick your ADR's so far in advance??

[proud_canadian]

We plan on basing our days based on what days are recommended parks for the day, but I don't think that information will be more accurate until it gets closer...

DO people really pick their park days 180 days in advance and stick to that??

Also weather might play into it with September, as some parks are better for rain. Are there any TS/Character meals we might be able to get into last minute in Sept?

 

[taylor3297]

We have never had any trouble sticking to our ADR's that we made 180 days out. It has just always seemed to work for us.

 

[LMO429]

We plan on basing our days based on what days are recommended parks for the day, but I don't think that information will be more accurate until it gets closer...

DO people really pick their park days 180 days in advance and stick to that??

Also weather might play into it with September, as some parks are better for rain. Are there any TS/Character meals we might be able to get into last minute in Sept?

I think last minute almost never applies for the following restaurants:

Cinderella's Royal Table
Chef mickeys
Ohana's
L'Cellier

The odds of you just walking up and being seated are slim to none if any of these restaurants appeal to you I suggest you make reservations at your 180 day window.

 

[LMO429]

We have never had any trouble sticking to our ADR's that we made 180 days out. It has just always seemed to work for us.

I agree for the most part I am able to stick to the plan I made 180 days out.

 

[Evan&Kimberly]

Soon as the September Hours came out I booked made my Schedule and my ADR'S Evan(DS4)& I stick 2 it come Rain Or Shine & I mean PourN Rain we have are Rain Gear and all Straight Comando Style! We do 1 park a day No longer use the hopper this works out best for us.HaveN A plan allows you 2 get the most of your vacation and ADR'S are A MUST!

 

[Donaldswife]

We plan on basing our days based on what days are recommended parks for the day, but I don't think that information will be more accurate until it gets closer...

DO people really pick their park days 180 days in advance and stick to that??

Also weather might play into it with September, as some parks are better for rain. Are there any TS/Character meals we might be able to get into last minute in Sept?

Yes, I make a plan as soon as the park hours are out, book all my adr's 180 days in advance, and 99% stick to the schedule. Always works for us!

 

[Evan&Kimberly]

Yes, I make a plan as soon as the park hours are out, book all my adr's 180 days in advance, and 99% stick to the schedule. Always works for us!

I am with you its the only way for me 2 do WDW Like anything If U Plan it will Pay off! I have WDW down 2 A science

 

[keishashadow]

I think last minute almost never applies for the following restaurants:

Cinderella's Royal Table
Chef mickeys
Ohana's
L'Cellier

The odds of you just walking up and being seated are slim to none if any of these restaurants appeal to you I suggest you make reservations at your 180 day window.

i'd add Crystal Palace, Coral Reef, Cape May, CA Grill & Narcossees to the list too, probably many more especially if FDP is offered

some book @ resorts outside the parks for flexibility & plan on returning later in the evening to same park, although park hours can be shorter in sept.

 

[milmore104]

I plan everything for our trips. My family just lets me know where they MUST eat and I work it in. We really don't do EMH or EEH. So that really doesn't factor in for us. We always go to MK on our arrival day and then EPCOT our first full day. We also end the trip in the same way making our last 2 days at MK and EPCOT. The rest I just fill in. Sometimes we do a certain park because of a b-day and I just work around it.

I try and make sure if we have a breakfast one morning, the next morning we have an early lunch and can sleep in. The only way I don't stick to my ADR plans is if I can't get something I want. Then sometimes I need to rearrange things around. But for the most part it stays the same.
And yes I do make them right at 180 day mark.

 

[OhThePain]

We basically use our ADR's to give us an idea of where we are going for a day. However, since we also get park hoppers nothing is really set in stone. Everyone does things their own way.

Getting into a TS restaurant in September, if there is free dining, is not likely, anywhere. You can always make ADR's and then as the day gets closer see what you can switch around. Add one thing, take something out, add one more thing, and another, and another (making ADR's online can be REALLY addicting ).

No one can tell you how to plan your trip. Just about every question will get 100 different responces. Figure out what works best for you and go with it.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Yes, we do. One time we saved one TS, in the hopes of getting a walk-up, (also in September). It was VERY difficult, we even tried places that normally are easier to get into. We finally were able to get a late lunch at the Plaza, I think it would be very hard to get any character meals if you wait.

We've done most of the parks in the rain. MK, DHS and EPCOT Future World aren't too bad, they have quite a few inside attractions.

 

[Simba22]

We always stick to our schedule. I plan out what parks to go to on what day, based on the EMH schedule. I don't care about morning EMHs, but night EMH are a definite. I make the ADRs based on the park we are visiting that day, as we don't get park hoppers. I actually get excited for my ADRs and eating at certain places!

I've only cancelled reservations twice: once was a dinner ressie for Biergarten and I only cancelled it because it was 3 hours away and we were starving...at the time, I didn't know we could check in early so I cancelled it and we went somewhere else. The 2nd time was a breakfast ressie after a late night and we just couldn't get ourselves up!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Yes.
I make dining my plans based on the Park Hours and EMH schedule. I schedule 1 TS a day. The reason we are able to do this successfully...2 words:
Park Hoppers
We can make our ADR's 180 days in advance and still have flexibility and spontaneity on vacation.

 

[francie57]

We aren't extreme planners but we do make ADRs 180 in advance. We pick the restaurants we want and then put them in order of which meals we love the best and save them for the end of the trip. Other than that we don't go planning according to best days, et. As we get closer we will figure out which day we want to go where and what two early morning hours we want to do. The biggest thing I can say for planning ADRs so far in advance is love the PARK HOPPER - we wouldn't go without it. We don't have to worry about anything with that.

 

[DW2010]

For us it was really easy. We're only going for 3 nights. We knew that we wanted to go to DHS, MK and Epcot and that we wanted full days for MK and Epcot. Since DD will get her hair done at the BBB at MK at 8AM, we decided we needed to go there on our second day and then Epcot on our 3rd day . It would have been more challenging if we were staying a lot longer.

 

[n2mm]

Easy for us. We choose our dining before we choose our parks. We are AP holders, so we often just go to a park to eat. If we want to avoid EMH we do try to keep an old schedule around to go by. We are the lay-back visitors who spend 50 days a year at the parks. Nothing we really have to do, just relax and have fun now.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I've only cancelled reservations twice: once was a dinner ressie for Biergarten and I only cancelled it because it was 3 hours away and we were starving...at the time, I didn't know we could check in early so I cancelled it and we went somewhere else.

You can check in that early?? I never knew that!!

 

[princessallegra]

We actually love when the park hours come out, getting to plan out our trip. It gives us that "real" feeling. We have no problem making touring plans and ADRs 180 days out, and we still love them when our trip rolls around.

 

[buzyanne]

We also stick to our 180 day ressies. We normally have them discussed and planned from when we decide to go. Then it is just a matter of getting them and the time we want. The Hopper makes it easy because we do not have to worry about what park we go to each day if we go to one park and dinner is at another we just hop over to our dinner reservation.

 

[sissy_42]

I love planning my vacations just as much as the trip! I just made ADRs for my Oct trip yesterday, the day the window opened. I am not worried about crowd level too much for that time. Plus the middle of the day when the parks are busiest is for relaxing by the pool I made my park itinerary based on hours and the amount of time I want at each, picked restaurants I wanted, then overlapped the two best I could. I left out a few places I would like to try, but that is why there is a next trip