Walt Disney World ADRs - Advanced Dining Reservations - Necessary or No?

If you even glance at the previous list of posts you can tell that I adore Walt Disney World. What I don't love, however, is the hype surrounding it. If you are like me and love to research and plan your vacation in advance you can start to feel a lot of pressure to create the "perfect" experience.  Websites will tell you that you must eat with Mickey or that you need to get dining reservations 180 days in advance if you are going to give your family a dream vacation.

I'm not so sure. I've made reservations. We've had numerous Character meals. It's nice. I'm just not convinced that its critical to a great Disney vacation.  Next time we go to Walt Disney World I plan to go without any advanced dining reservations (ADRs). If I decide we want to eat somewhere specific I may call in a day or two before --or even just a few hours before --since walk up tables are notoriously hard to get at most Disney restaurants.


Crowd level mid-week Magic Kingdom, first week of June

Here is my experiment with Dining Reservations in the Spring of 2013.

How to Book a Last Minute Meal
You can always call WDW-DINE and ask about available reservations. If you’re flexible about where you eat, Disney’s online reservation system makes it easy to find your best dining option, even at the last minute.

1. Start at the main Disney Dining reservations . Make sure your “Location”  remains the “No preference” to see what ALL your choices are.
2. After that, choose the date and your party size as well as the meal you’re interested in booking. To maximize your options, choose the “Dinner” (for example) rather than choosing a specific time.

If you can't find any reservations you want try the following:

• Split larger groups - a family of 4 becomes two groups of 2. Let them know when you arrive that you want to sit together.  Disney meals that include photo packages (CRT, Akershus) will provide one package to each party of  4 or less. Booking as two parties means you get 2 photo packages!
• Use your phone to get a last minute reservation using the My Disney Experience app.

What I Learned
Disney charges a per person cancellation fee for Character and Signature Dining reservations that are not cancelled within 24 hours.That means that while Kona Cafe may not have a last minute table available Ohana might. The fee is typically $10 per person so if a party needs to cancel they will typically do it a day or two before - prime time for you to snap up a reservation.

It used to be that "the" reservation to get was Cinderella's Royal Table (CRT).  It seems easier now. This may be because CRT requires 2 table service credits for anyone on the dining plan.  It  is also competing with the new Be Our Guest Restaurant. Be Our Guest was the one restaurant where I had trouble finding an opening. I scored a reservation for a party of 4 at 8:50PM just 2 days in advance.

There are only 14 restaurants with Character meals that I'm aware of. These seem to book up earlier than other restaurants.

90 days out:
I searched for mid-week dinner reservations for a party of 4 around 5:00 PM, with no particular restaurant in mind for the first week of June (not a low or high season) 6/3/2013 dinner 

• 88 available choices including
• Character dining such as
• Akershus
• Cinderella's Royal Table
• The Crystal Palace and
• Hoop de Doo Musical Review
• Signature dining experiences including
• Jiko
• Coral Reef
• Le Cellier
• Victoria & Albert's

 

60 days out:
I found 86 restaurants with availability based on the same search I used at 90 days. There were still tables available for prime spots like the Fantasmic Dinner, Victoria & Albert's, Hoop De Doo, even Cinderella's Royal Table (at 9:20 PM).

I searched midweek for a Character breakfast. I found reservations for a party of 4 at most of the main restaurants. If I reduced the party size to 2 I was even able to get reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table at the most desired time -- before park opening! That means we could have been first in line for almost any ride. I chickened out because I didn't want to put down the almost $90 non-refundable payment.

Turns out that was a big mistake! While a credit card is needed to guarantee your table it won't be charged when you make your reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. ONLY if you are a no show or cancel within less than 24 will it be charged the ten dollars per person. When you get to the meal you can pay with dining credits, another credit card, the same credit card, or cash. However, even guests on the Disney Dining Plan need to have a credit card on file to hold a table at this popular restaurant.

30 days out:
Still 85 restaurants with available dinner seating -seven within the Magic Kingdom. There were still character meals available including an early dinner at the Crystal Palace or a late dinner with the princesses at Akershus. Fantasmic dinner packages were available as were fine dining options such as Jiko, Monsier Paul, Hollywood Brown Derby, Narcoosees and Victoria & Albert's.

Mid-week character breakfast options for a party of 4 included Supercalifragilstic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, Mickey & Friends at Cape May Cafe and Disney Junior friends at Hollywood & Vine - before park opening so you could be inside the park before rope drop! Can you say "first ones to ride Toy Story Mania"?

One week before:
Results were much poorer at this point. Only 1 character breakfast available, although there were 5 character dinners with available reservations.

Overall there were 85 restaurants with available dinner reservations for 4, most with perfectly reasonable times between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. Specialty meals like Ohana and Hoop de Doo Musical Review had vacancies as did many of the fine dining places.

Since we're not on the dining plan, I double checked for inexpensive restaurants. There were 54 in the "moderate price range. Considering there are only 28 restaurants total in the Magic Kingdom I was happy to find 11 restaurants with dinner seating, including The Plaza in the "$14.99 and under" category. 

 And that's my definition of "poor choice" ;)

RESULTS

My opinion based on this admittedly informal research:

If you desperately want to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table or Be Our Guest, by all means put WDW-DINE on speed dial 180 days out and call, call, call until you get the table of your dreams.   Another almost impossible reservation to get is the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party - call 180 days out if this is a MUST for you. 

If you aren't as specific in your dining desires you can definitely let it slide.

Princess character meals seem to book up faster than other character meals. If your little darling wants to dine with the princesses I'd suggest making reservations at least 60 days out.

I'll follow up with day before & day of reservation results.

Princess Experiences without a Princely Price Tag

Most Disney blogs and websites highly recommend that you take your princess obsessed little girl to a Character Meal if they want to meet any of the Disney princesses. For my first three trips I bought into that and paid big bucks for the Princess Breakfast at Akershus. We did meet lots of Princesses. The food was fine, but not filling nor was it exactly gourmet.

It was nice, but it wasn't really worth the more than $200 it cost my family of four last year.

If your little darling wants to be a princess most bloggers highly recommend the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique with packages ranging from $55- $200. I do not. I recommend you spend less money and more quality time giving your daughter a princess make over yourself.

I can think of 11 Disney Princesses - Ariel (Little Mermaid), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle (Beauty & the Beast), Cinderella, Jasmine (Aladdin), Merida (Brave), Mulan, Pocahantas, Rapunzel (Tangled), Snow White and Tiana (Princess and the Frog). Hold in mind that you can't find all eleven at any one park.

So, how and where do you meet the Princesses of your adorable dear's dreams?

Disney World really does make it possible to see most of the princesses for free - after all, characters are one of their main draws. You just need to know where & when to look. The Magic Kingdom & EPCOT are prime princess viewing locations.

Disney changes characters and locations to keep up with current trends. Make sure that you pick up a  Times Guide when you enter any Park. Shows, parades and character greeting locations are all listed. Things change daily so get one every time you go.

Most younger children (4 and under) are happy viewing the characters from a distance. That makes your job easy. 

In the Magic Kingdom you can go to the Dream Come True Parade at 3PM any day. The main problem with this parade is that it is incredibly popular and therefore incredibly crowded. Instead of waiting on the curb for the parade to begin an hour in advance we go on the rides (the lines are shorter.)

Another alternative is to view the Dream Along with Mickey show that happens in front of Cinderella's castle. You can see this from almost anywhere in front of the castle, even if you aren't close.
 

 

Snow White, Cinderella & Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Princesses are featured in Fantasmic (Hollywood Studios),

but it might frighten younger children.



Mulan, Belle and Snow White

Chances are that older girls are going to want to meet the actual princess. You know, snap a photo, chat, get an autograph, hang out...Belle and Ariel are Amanda's favorite. Danielle likes Aurora. The friend we're bringing with us this year loves Cinderella.

Check the Times Guide for the time and location of different characters. Or search the Disney site by typing "meet Ariel". For one on one meetings you'll need to wait in lines. An often overlooked character meeting spot is the gazebo  just to your right as you enter the Magic Kingdom. In the past we've met Snow White, Pinocchio and other characters there with almost no wait.

Now you can get a Fast Pass to meet the princesses at Town Square Theater.  This is one of the places where you might meet Cinderella...normally you have to book a character meal to see Cinderella up close. She's the most popular princess so you typically have to pay a premium to meet her. Other princesses that appear here are Aurora and Rapunzel. I think this is also the only place to meet Rapunzel.

 

You can meet other princesses in the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland and around Cinderella's Castle. Look for Ariel, Belle and Merida.  Don't forget Tiana in Liberty Square! Also, while not princesses, you can meet Tinkerbell and the fairies as well.You won't find international princesses like Mulan and Jasmine here - try EPCOT instead.

 

You can normally find the EPCOT princess meeting times on line (follow links for each princess below). Be warned - if you show up at 2:59 for a character greeting that ends at 3:00 PM you won't get to meet the character! This is one area where Disney is completely inflexible. Character actors are closely scheduled to avoid overlap, heat exhaustion, etc. They will not wait even if your child is in line. Trust me, Mulan walked away from my kids.

Our best luck with individual princess meetings has actually been in the EPCOT World Showcase. We've met

Belle (typically near France)

 

 

Jasmine & Aladdin by Morocco Pavilion

 (We also saw Jaffar here, but my kids were scared of him).

Mulan ditched us just outside of the China Pavilion but we did see her up close. You can also meet Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) near France and Snow White in the Germany Pavilion.


There are no Princess greetings at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom (although Pocahontas may appear at Rafikis Planet Watch or along the Camp Minnie Mickey Trails.)

We've never been on a deliberate search to find princesses because I've always scheduled the breakfast at Akershus. This time we're going without any advance dining reservations - and no character meals. I wonder who we'll find?

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique - on the Cheap

Okay, that title was misleading. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is expensive by most people's measure.The cold, hard fact is that the cheapest you are going to get out of it is $55 plus tip.

For $55 you get the "Coach Package" which includes hairstyling, glittery makeup and a Princess sash. The nearly $200 "Castle Package" includes these things plus a fancy princess costume and 5 photos.  You can bring your own dress and only buy the basic package if you'd like. That's the only true tip for actually doing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on the cheap.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is pink, poufy heaven designed for girls between ages 3 and 12. The "princess transformation" takes between 30-60 minutes, depending on the package you chose. To see what it's like just enter Bibbiddi Bobbidi Boutique on YouTube.


You get to keep the makeup used on your daughter as well as any accessories that you purchase. If you make an advanced reservation you also get a nice, customized "Princess Your Child's Name" welcome brochure as a souvenir. Pretty expensive souvenirs....As you might know I'm a bargain Disney souvenir shopper.

I know that many parents avoid the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on principal. They don't want their little girls that heavily made up. I really don't either. If you feel like me, we aren't alone.

Now if your little girls is a die hard Princess fanatic or this is a once in a life time experience - stop worrying about the expense and just go for it.

We have two additional problems with the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique:

1)  We may live in the South, but we're not true Southern girls. Neither of us can accept the "beauty means pain" philosophy. My daughter doesn't like to have her hair pulled back tight. The primary service at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is giving little girls up dos. They whisk your daughter's hair back, pull it up and tease it into a big bun. Then they hold a plastic shield over her face and spray, spray, spray. One Mom wrote,"they enjoyed it for the most part...except for the whole hair pulling, tight and glued to your head thing."

If your daughter is accustomed to having her hair styled for dance recitals or cheering then she'll be fine, However, if your daughter doesn't want her hair pulled back hard and heavily coated with hair spray - don't waste your money here.

2) My daughter, despite being 6, still doesn't like costumed characters. She probably wouldn't have a problem with the "Fairy Godmother in Training" that performs her services, but she would lose it when the actual costumed Fairy Godmother came around to visit her.

 

Don't get me wrong! My daughter loves to be pampered as much as the next little girl. She has already had a spa mani/pedi. I would happily pay $200 for an experience she would enjoy. This just isn't it.

 

However, I don't want her to envy all of the other little girls running around in their makeup and sashes.

Here's my solution: I simulate the princess transformation experience.

A) Buy glittery makeup, lip gloss and nail polish in advance. If you want you can buy washable, glitter hair spray for about $2 at Walmart or a beauty supply store.  Also buy a Princess Sash . You can get these through Amazon.com for about $5. If you are near a Hobby Lobby a princess sash is only $3. The sash is my secret weapon...

B) If your daughter loves, loves, loves princesses buy her a Princess dress before you go. You can find these at your local Disney store or online for about $45. Or pick up a pretty princess tiara for $15.  If you are lucky you'll hit a sale. I found 25% off costumes in early March.


You don't have to buy the dress through Disney. Party City has Disney princess costumes for about $20. Wands and crowns run about $4-6 each. They may not be the same style or quality, I'm not sure. Or, bring a costume that you already own. My daughter still enjoys dress up so we have a fairly extensive collection of dresses and crowns to chose from.

Now you have all of the pieces of the princess puzzle. Your daughter hasn't had the experience yet. So-- make a little note for your daughter then

I made this in about a minute using Microsoft Word

C) Do your daughter's nails the night before you go to the Magic Kingdom. When you wake up in the morning, put on a little sparkly makeup and let her wear a special outfit. You can finish it all off with hairspray and the sash - or you can save them for the next step.

glitter makeup, nail polish and glitter hair spray $4

D) Go straight to the Harmony Barber Shop when you enter Magic Kingdom. It is not a poufy, pink wonderland. It is basically Victorian themed with glitter “Pixie dust,” bubbles, and Mickey Mouse stickers. For about $5 the barbers will put colored gel and/or glitter in your child's hair. For $15 you can get an actual hair cut from a licensed cosmetologist. They will do this in about 10-30 minutes.

Once your daughter's hair has been decorated with colored gel and metallic confetti- surprise her with the princess sash (and a tiara!) then set off for your day.


You can do this all for as little as $20  with your own dress, makeup and nail polish. If you splurged for a new dress and tiara you have probably spent $55-75 at this point, but you've gotten hair, makeup and a new outfit - the deluxe $200 package. All you need now are the photos.

E) Last, but not least, find a Photopass photographer to capture your little princess. Allears.net has a very up to date table of all of the Photopass photographer locations. Find a photographer on Main street or in the Rose Gardens so you can get a photo with Cinderella's castle in the background. I have a lovely one that was taken of me and my daughter at night with the lighted Castle.  

Photopass photographers are free. They will take pictures with your camera if you ask nicely. Go ahead and let them use theirs as well. They are trained and get some great shots. Just make sure that you save the card you are given with the number on it so you can check out the pictures online.

You have no obligation to buy anything just because they took the pictures. While the Photopass CD is $120-150, you can buy just the downloadable version of the photo for less than $15.

What I like best about this compromise is that my daughter still looks like a little girl. She doesn't look like a cast off from Toddlers and Tiaras with shellacked hair and heavy makeup.

And, I like saving time and money for other things. The rest of my family doesn't really want to hang out for an hour while little one gets "transformed." Bringing my own makeup and accessories saves money. Also, if my daughter wants we can do this every day of our trip - without paying a fortune - worst case I invest another few dollars at the Barber Shop.

What my daughter likes best is that she is comfortable. She looks glittery and fancy, but her hair doesn't hurt. She's not stuck wearing a polyester dress all day in 90 degree heat or a tiara with combs that stick into her scalp. 

Best of all the kind Disney staff all still address her as "Princess" when they see the sash - even though it didn't come from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!
 

The 51 cent Walt Disney World Souvenir

Huh? A Disney Souvenir that is under a dollar? And isn't just a napkin from the restaurant where you had lunch?

Sure! Crushed pennies.  I admit that at first the idea of spending 50 cents to destroy your own penny sounds weird. However, it is a great way to solve a case of "Can I have..."

Instead of buying a $10 toy at every resort and park we go on a quest for a pressed penny machine. Even if we find 3 or 4 at a Park we've still only spent about $2.00. 

I've learned that the best way to carry coins for this project is to fill a small gumball machine container with an alternating pattern of  2 quarters and one penny. Each container holds 8 quarters and 4 pennies. That way you always have the correct change and they are easy to find in a backpack or purse. It's also not as heavy as carrying around a filled MnMs tube.

Walt Disney World Railroad Main St. Station

Crushed pennies are a great interactive souvenir. First there is the fun of searching for machines.

Sometimes you have a turn a handle to crush your own penny.

Then the fun of picking a character - and finally the thrill of watching the penny get squished!

I love that Disney World even places penny machines in some of the stores. The cashiers are always happy to make change so you can use the machine. They even go out of their way to find a super shiny penny. What an easy way to get your child out of the gift shop without spending a fortune. .(The Belle hat that she wears everywhere came from WalMart before our trip.)

Danielle collected 11 pressed pennies during our last trip to Walt Disney World. We bought her a special Tinkerbell book to keep her collection in. The book came from the gift shop in the Polynesian Resort. The grand total for our pennies came to $5.61 - plus about $10 for the book. Bargain!

The book has room for 48 pennies ($24.48 worth) and 6 larger coins so your total can creep up quickly. We, however, have plenty of room left for future trips.

You can buy an album online before your trip, but they are about twice the price of buying them on Disney property. Don't worry! Most of the gift shops carry at least one variety.

We've discovered that there are penny crushing machines at most tourist attractions. Danielle's collection has expanded to include pennies from local museums and the zoo.

You can turn this into a serious collection, searching for missing or special coins and going out of your way to locate machines in more remote locations. We, however, prefer the thrill of the hunt!

Tips:

• Use pennies that are dated before 1982. These have no zinc in them and press better.
• Press the heads side up so the monument doesn't show through
• Clean the pennies in a little bit of vinegar before you pack them so they are shiny.

If you need a map of the locations of the machines at the various Walt Disney World Parks- here it is!

For a detailed description of pressed coins at Walt Disney World, including the locations of machines go to www.presscoins.com

 

How to Get an Autographed Photo from a Disney Character

What could be better than collecting autographs from the various characters you meet at Disneyland or Walt Disney World?

How about a personalized, autographed photo or postcard from your favorite character?

I'm going to request a free autographed picture of a Aurora for Danielle. Amanda already has pictures from Mickey & Belle, that I requested prior to her back surgery years ago, but Danielle doesn't have any yet. 

These are framed, hanging in the girls' bathroom.

To get a signed (black & white) picture, just send a request to:

The Walt Disney Company
Attn: Fan Mail Dept
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, Ca 91521

or to get a signed postcard, send a request to:

Walt Disney World Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-0040

I called Disney Guest Information at (407) 939-6244 when I wanted to get the pictures for Amanda. The good folks at Disney sent her photos very promptly because she was having surgery. I've heard that it typically takes 2-3 months to get a response, so plan in advance!

Disney Junior - Live on Stage! Review

Every time we visit Hollywood Studios we go to see the Disney Junior show. Danielle may be 6 but she hasn't quite outgrown Disney Jr. yet. She'll be thrilled to see new characters from Doc McStuffins and Sophia the First in the live show. Last year she asked me to take a picture of a Doc McStuffins poster!

Seeing Doc McStuffins in the show will be such a surprise. The show was one of Danielle's highlights from the last trip.  She still has the "gold doubloons" that rained down from the ceiling at the end of the show.

 

diving for the doubloons

 

In the past we because of the wheelchair have been admitted through the large double doors, but last year we waited in the regular queue with everyone else. The line wasn't too long. While it was hot, there were overhead fans to keep you cool and strategically placed TVs running Disney Jr. shows to distract the kids.

If you get there early you'll have a chance to meet some of the life size customed characters before the show.

When you get in, the theater is dark. If your party has a wheelchair you will be asked to stay in the back so you don't obstruct any other's view. There are no seats - everyone has to sit on the floor.

 

 

 

Amanda loves all of the shows! And it is nice to be in an air conditioned theater.

 

This was the third time we'd seen the show. The main plot is a birthday party for Minnie. It is a puppet show so the characters on stage are only about 2 or 3 feet tall. There is one live actor, who comes down from the stage to interact with the audience.

 

 



 

I found the live actor's voice grating, but the characters were cute. In addition to the Big Five there were characters from Handy Manny and Little Einsteins. These characters may have been written out for the new characters from Doc McStuffins and Sophia the First.

 

 

In 2012 the show also  featured characters from Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

 

 

Here is a short clip from the show we saw in 2012.

(You can decide for yourself if the girl's voice is annoying.)

 

We like the Disney Junior Live on Stage show, but it is definitely geared toward preschoolers. It is  interactive and fun for the kids. I think this may be the last year we get to enjoy the nice cool theater. At least there is still The Voyage of the Little Mermaid to watch inside on a hot day! Hopefully Danielle is now old enough not to be scared by Ursula and the eels.

 

From Disney http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/02/the-new-disney-junior-live-on-stage-opens-friday-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/