I’m coming upon my ADR window in about a month. Right now my only priority is Cinderella’s Royal Castle. We went in 2021 and that was really the standout. We will be doing the extended hours so will be going on Weds. What time is best? Like 6 pm? Firework show isn’t a huge priority for us since we are local to Land.
We are staying at AKL in a villa with a kitchen and will have a car. So we have the option of grocery shopping and cooking (but not sure how much cooking I want to do on vaca). I do want to do Boma and probably Saana but do I really need ADRs for those?
My other thought is maybe trying for space 220 but it seems so expensive. Should I try for the lounge?
How is the dining situation now that the “rules” have changed? Is there more day-of or day before availability? We like restaurants but aren’t super picky this time around.
Do you mean Space 220? I’ve done the lounge twice there. You can order apps and drinks. The experience is cool. My family would not have eaten the standard dinner/lunch menu so we’ve opted for the lounge.
Yes I meant Space 220! Ok that’s great news on the lounge. Did you walk up or can you get reservations? There will be 4 maybe 5 of us.
Boma I’m thinking I may try to get reservations the night of arrival. I have been trying to look at the app and there does seem to be some last minute availability some days But we are going in June which I expect to be busy!
I believe CRT has gotten a bit easier in recent years and if you are flexible for time I suspect you can grab one on your ADR day without too much hassle. No advice on dinner times I’m afraid, I have only done breakfast there.
The Space 220 lounge reservations are among the most competitive (and much harder than the restaurant ones, I suppose many people are not so keen on the expensive prix fixe) - it was the only one I couldn’t get on my last trip at 60+4 or even with dining alerts. I believe you can order off both the lounge and the restaurant menu if you’re in the lounge, so it really seems to be the best of both worlds.
Since you are staying at AKL, besides Boma breakfast I can also highly recommend the casual/quick service breakfast at Sanaa - the quality of the dishes is outstanding (and good value for money at around $10-15 per plate) and the setting is phenomenal. We went on the Sunday morning after Veteran’s Day (busy weekend) and it was quiet/easy to grab a table at the window, where we were joined by a group of crested cranes immediately next to our table and saw giraffe, zebra, antelopes and Ankoli cattle nearby (they put animal feed out around that time of day). A highlight of our trip. I think it’s particularly good value if you have young kids who don’t eat much (and for whom the Boma buffet prices are hard to justify).
An important change for dining reservations is that you can now cancel up to 2hrs in advance, which gives you a bit more flexibility to adjust your day based on how you are feeling/if plans for the day have changed. This change also seems to have increased day-of availability at some restaurants, which makes ADRs less important unles you have absolute must-dos. It’s also always worth asking about walk ups of course.