ADRs and Other Reservations

Edited September 2, 2013

It can be a real challenge to get a table in many of the sit-down restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort (also known as "table service" in Disney lingo) unless you make an Advance Dining Reservation (aka "ADR"). You can make ADRs up to 180 days in advance, adding up to an additional 10 days if you're staying at one of the Disney resorts. Trying to decide where I might want to eat six months before I even get to Florida was a little challenging. (And when I say "little," I mean "huge, massive, seemingly insurmountable.") Fortunately for me, I'll be eating most of my meals with longtime Disney-vacationing veterans. Thank you, Mel and Michael, for making this process easier!

We made our list, and I got up before 6am at the 180-day mark, which was March 14, 2013. I tried booking our ADRs on the WDW website, but due to a known-at-that-time glitch, was only able to schedule our first day. A phone call to Disney's dining line at 7am took care of all but one of our choices.

There are other events you can book ahead of time, such as special dinner shows, tours, parties, etc. With Mel's help, we've been able to schedule a lot of great restaurants and events. Here's how the schedule looks so far...

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

• I fly to Orlando
• 1:30pm lunch reservation for Tony's Town Square in the Magic Kingdom (MK)
• 8pm seating for the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at Disney's Polynesian Resort

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

• 12 noon lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway, Epcot's World Showcase
• 7pm dinner at the Coral Reef in Epcot's Future World

Thursday, September 12, 2013

• 9am character breakfast at the Crystal Palace, MK
• 8:10pm dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, MK

Friday, September 13, 2013

• 12:05pm lunch at 50s Prime Time Café in Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS)
• 5:05pm dinner at Mama Melrose's Ristorante in DHS--Fantasmic! dinner package
• 8:30pm Fantasmic! showing

Saturday, September 14, 2013

• 11am brunch at Kona Café at the Polynesian Resort
• 5pm dinner at Sanaa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Resort

Sunday, September 15, 2013

• 9:30am Keys to the Kingdom Tour in the MK, which includes lunch at the Columbia Harbor House
• 6:30pm dinner at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco in Epcot's World Showcase

Monday, September 16, 2013

• 8pm dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney (Yes, I'm going to the one Irish pub on Disney property. This should surprise no one. lol)

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

• 12 noon lunch at the San Angel Inn in Mexico, Epcot's World Showcase
• 5:30pm dinner at Be Our Guest in the MK
• 7pm Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (This is a "hard-ticket" event, meaning a separate admission fee on top of your regular park admission. They offer a special parade, special fireworks show, trick-or-treating throughout the MK, and special appearances by Disney villains. I already have my costume planned: I'm going as a hippie chick. Love beads and peace signs, man!)

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

• 9:30am character breakfast at 'Ohana at the Polynesian
• Much wailing and gnashing of teeth as I leave WDW and fly back to Washington.

You'll notice that not all meal times are scheduled. At those times, we'll be eating at what Disney calls their "counter-service" locations, which don't require reservations--nor are reservations allowed. I'll most likely catch some breakfasts at the food court at the Pop Century. The breakfast selections look yummy!