WWYD: planning adult time and dinner reservations

[xtina!]

We'll have all day at the park Thursday 2/1 and Friday 2/2. Traveling to and from Wednesday and Saturday. Daytime is for the kiddos, but after 6pm they will be with a sitter and we will have 4 adults in our group looking for fun, in the way of adult rides, good food, and probably a lot of wine. Looks like the park is open until 9pm Thursday; Friday CA is open until 11pm and DL park until midnight. Our group: me (my first trip), DH (has been several times but not in years, and two in-laws who live locally and have gone regularly multiple times a year for years. I am the planner and when I ask them what we should do, their response is inevitably "I don't know." I will also mention that we will probably be going fairly regularly in the future, maybe every year or two, and are tentatively looking at going for a week this coming summer!
So I have to make dinner reservations and normally we eat at 7pm, but since the park is only open until 9pm on Thursday, I wondered if we should eat later, to maximize park time. We wanted to eat at Carthay Circle one night (for a birthday celebration) and probably Naples Ristorante the other (because I love Italian!). Looks like reservations will be easy to get any time at this point. DH wondered if we should eat Thursday at 9pm at Carthay since that's when the park closes anyway, but that sounds so late to eat lol. Would you eat at 9pm? Or is 8pm more reasonable (from a digestive perspective lol)? I think DH wants to make sure we have time for some adult rides. And what time do you think we should make dinner reservations for Friday?
I hate that I'm so indecisive about this, I know I'm probably overthinking it.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I might do counter service Thursday. It’s really good.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Will you guys plan to pick up some fast passes for the adult rides during the day on both days so you can ride at night? If you wait until night you won't be able to get fast passes for GoG, RSR, or Soarin most likely. California Screamin is down so that doesn't leave much else at DCA for you (that you can't do with your kids during the day). I would probably make the Thursday a nice leisurely adult evening of food (Carthay Circle) and wine at DCA and not worry too much about rides. On Friday, same question, will you plan to pick up fast passes during the day for the headliners like SM, ST, Indy, Matterhorn? If not, you might not be able to get too many fast passes by the time you get to the parks for your adult evening time. Having Maxpass would be ideal for you situation as you can pick up fast passes at both parks throughout the day to be redeemed later during your adult time.

 

[Niltiac]

9pm doesn't sound too late to me, but we don't really follow a meal schedule (in daily life or at Disney). We make most of our meals counter service so that we can just stop when one of us is hungry or needs a break, and I realize not everyone functions that way. When we do plan a table service it's because we want to eat at that specific restaurant, and we plan it for the time that works best for our park plans and work our other meals around it (so for example if you're going to have dinner at 9pm, I would have a later-than-usual lunch or an extra snack in the afternoon).

I don't think you can make a reservation for Carthay for at/after park closing since it's in the park. I could be wrong, but I would imagine they would want people to be finishing up their meals so they can finish closing. I'm sure if you're already there they will let you finish your meal, but I would imagine they would stop seating a bit before closing. Again, I could be wrong, I've never tried. So assuming you can't do Carthay at 9pm, I would probably plan on doing Naples that day right after park closing. Then on Friday do Carthay at whatever time feels comfortable since the park is open late.

 

[xtina!]

Nooooooooo!!!!!!! lol

I might do counter service Thursday. It’s really good.

 

[xtina!]

Will you guys plan to pick up some fast passes for the adult rides during the day on both days so you can ride at night? If you wait until night you won't be able to get fast passes for GoG, RSR, or Soarin most likely. California Screamin is down so that doesn't leave much else at DCA for you (that you can't do with your kids during the day). I would probably make the Thursday a nice leisurely adult evening of food (Carthay Circle) and wine at DCA and not worry too much about rides. On Friday, same question, will you plan to pick up fast passes during the day for the headliners like SM, ST, Indy, Matterhorn? If not, you might not be able to get too many fast passes by the time you get to the parks for your adult evening time. Having Maxpass would be ideal for you situation as you can pick up fast passes at both parks throughout the day to be redeemed later during your adult time.

I hadn't thought about getting FPs for at night! Brilliant!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I hadn't thought about getting FPs for at night! Brilliant!

If you plan strategically you can get many passes with later returns. Get the Disneyland App on your phone. You can click on each attraction and see what time the fast pass return is. Some attractions run out of fast passes fast and early, so to get a night return you have to get the fast pass at 10:00 or 11:00am (like RSR), and you might have an 8:00 return. Others last longer, so to get a 7pm return, you might want to look to get a fast pass around 2:00pm or 4:00 or whatever. You can make a list of the general pace of returns at popular attractions ahead of time and set alarms on your phone that day to remind yourself to pull a fast pass at the approximate time.

 

[xtina!]

You were right. The latest reservation time offered was 8:10pm so that's what I scheduled.

9pm doesn't sound too late to me, but we don't really follow a meal schedule (in daily life or at Disney). We make most of our meals counter service so that we can just stop when one of us is hungry or needs a break, and I realize not everyone functions that way. When we do plan a table service it's because we want to eat at that specific restaurant, and we plan it for the time that works best for our park plans and work our other meals around it (so for example if you're going to have dinner at 9pm, I would have a later-than-usual lunch or an extra snack in the afternoon).

I don't think you can make a reservation for Carthay for at/after park closing since it's in the park. I could be wrong, but I would imagine they would want people to be finishing up their meals so they can finish closing. I'm sure if you're already there they will let you finish your meal, but I would imagine they would stop seating a bit before closing. Again, I could be wrong, I've never tried. So assuming you can't do Carthay at 9pm, I would probably plan on doing Naples that day right after park closing. Then on Friday do Carthay at whatever time feels comfortable since the park is open late.

 

[xtina!]

Do these or any restaurants have a dress code? I didn't see anything mentioned on the dining webpage, which surprised me.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Do these or any restaurants have a dress code? I didn't see anything mentioned on the dining webpage, which surprised me.

Absolutely not, people go to all the restaurants in park attire, but feel free to dress up for Carthay and your adult evening if you want! I saw some Dapper dressers when I ate there with my mom, love the clothes!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

You were right. The latest reservation time offered was 8:10pm so that's what I scheduled.

I think that sounds really nice, from 6:00 to 8:00 you could ride a few rides and enjoy the ambiance that is DCA at night (I love it!), then go to Carthay for your reservation. Perfect!

 

[xtina!]

If you plan strategically you can get many passes with later returns. Get the Disneyland App on your phone. You can click on each attraction and see what time the fast pass return is. Some attractions run out of fast passes fast and early, so to get a night return you have to get the fast pass at 10:00 or 11:00am (like RSR), and you might have an 8:00 return. Others last longer, so to get a 7pm return, you might want to look to get a fast pass around 2:00pm or 4:00 or whatever. You can make a list of the general pace of returns at popular attractions ahead of time and set alarms on your phone that day to remind yourself to pull a fast pass at the approximate time.

So helpful. Thank you!

 

[xtina!]

Will you guys plan to pick up some fast passes for the adult rides during the day on both days so you can ride at night? If you wait until night you won't be able to get fast passes for GoG, RSR, or Soarin most likely. California Screamin is down so that doesn't leave much else at DCA for you (that you can't do with your kids during the day). I would probably make the Thursday a nice leisurely adult evening of food (Carthay Circle) and wine at DCA and not worry too much about rides. On Friday, same question, will you plan to pick up fast passes during the day for the headliners like SM, ST, Indy, Matterhorn? If not, you might not be able to get too many fast passes by the time you get to the parks for your adult evening time. Having Maxpass would be ideal for you situation as you can pick up fast passes at both parks throughout the day to be redeemed later during your adult time.

I think I am going to revisit this with DH tonight. I think he is going to have to think about if he wants more dining time and less ride time, or if maybe he wants a quicker meal one night to maximize ride time.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I think I am going to revisit this with DH tonight. I think he is going to have to think about if he wants more dining time and less ride time, or if maybe he wants a quicker meal one night to maximize ride time.

If it was me, I would skip Naples and eat counter service in DL on Friday. There are lots of fantastic counter service options in DL, saves time and money. I absolutely loved my dining experience at Carthay Circle and it's definitely an elegant thing to do for "adult time" (I went with my mom and left my son at home). Although kids are of course welcome in all restaurants in DLR, it was more relaxing and enjoyable to be just with adults.

Another option would be to do an earlier dinner at Carthay Circle (like 6:00 or 6:30) and do the World of Color dining package there, which gives you entry to a reserved standing area for the show, which is ay 9:00pm the night you will be there. WOC is a fantastic show and would be a great way to cap off your night.

Yet another option would be to skip Carthay Circle, eat counter service in DCA and then do the WOC Dessert Party, which gives you a seat at a table with a plate of desserts, cheese and bread for each guest, as well as two alcoholic drinks a piece. That is a little pricy at $79 each and Ive never done it but I want to. Definitely a special thing to do just for the adults!