ADR questions and places to eat.

[Guest]

Dear friends,

I have a couple of questions, I hope some of you can help me

1) I got an ADR for 8:05 at BOG. There are no extra magic hours on that day, so the park will open at 9. What time shall we arrive to the transportation centre so we can make it on time to the restaurant.

2) When we went there a few years ago, we didn't make any ADRs at all. We found ourselves in quite a few occasions desperate searching for places to eat, at the end of the day, tired and hungry. We thought we could go in and eat at any of the proper restaurants in the parks only to be turned away because we didn't have reservations. Therefore we ended up going back to the hotel and ordering bland pizzas or eating junk food at the park. Once the food was so revolting my daughter and I got sick almost immediately and ruining the night for both of us. Do you actually plan every single night where to have dinner? I have made a few ADRs for diners but we cannot really afford to eat 14 nights on the Disney prices. We algo got a apartment with a kitchen, so I will do some basic cooking some nights. How do you all people manage? How do I find decent restaurants that do not need an ADR, don't break the bank and are nice? Do you go out of the Disney resorts and eat outisde? We'll be relying on Ubers as we want the flexibly of a having a drink and avoid parking costs.

Thank you all in advance!

[collybird]

I usually aim to be at the TTC for around 7.15, they’ll let you into the park at 7.45. In our experience the Express Monorail is rarely running at that time of day so they'll direct you to the boat, we usually take the Resort Monorail instead. As you are going during the summer you may have more luck with the monorail.

For budgeting ideas check out dixonsontour’s dining reviews. They have done multiple trips on $100 a day for a family of three.

I agree that Disney prices are eyewatering for families, the price of a QS meal for everyone can get you a decent table service meal offsite! However, there are some options for you if you're prepared to be flexible about where you eat, although you don't have a car the World is your oyster with Disney Transport.

Disney Springs has an ever-increasing variety of QS options that won’t break the bank, Earl of Sandwich, Blaze Pizza, D-Luxe Burger and Wolfgang Puck Express are all big favourites.

Other on-site restaurants that are reasonably priced are Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater in Hollywood Studios (best burgers on property, and fun theming), The Plaza at Magic Kingdom, Trail’s End buffet (you must do this one, it’s the best deal in Disney) and Via Napoli in Epcot (you can share pizzas) and Yak & Yeti in Animal Kingdom (if you get a Landry Card you’ll get $25 off your bill). Then basically any resort table service restaurant, particularly for lunch, favourites of mine are Grand Floridian Café and Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge. Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club is a bit of a bargain.

[sha9]

If staying offsite we wouldn’t generally eat dinner at Disney as we don’t often do evenings in the parks. We would normally be back at the hotel and head out to a restaurant nearby.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by collybird

I usually aim to be at the TTC for around 7.15, they’ll let you into the park at 7.45. In our experience the Express Monorail is rarely running at that time of day so they'll direct you to the boat, we usually take the Resort Monorail instead. As you are going during the summer you may have more luck with the monorail.

For budgeting ideas check out dixonsontour’s dining reviews. They have done multiple trips on $100 a day for a family of three.

I agree that Disney prices are eyewatering for families, the price of a QS meal for everyone can get you a decent table service meal offsite! However, there are some options for you if you're prepared to be flexible about where you eat, although you don't have a car the World is your oyster with Disney Transport.

See more...

Thank you very much. I will check the links.