I’m torn over what I should do about a couple ADRs for our trip in the beginning of March. Here is what I’m deciding between:
Option 1:
MK day: 8am ADR at Crystal Palace
HS day: get there pre-RD and hustle to JTA sign ups with my 5yo
Option 2:
MK day: 815 ADR at BOG
HS day: 815 ADR at H&V, sneak out mid way through to sign up for JTA to insure a good return time?
We will be doing one day at MK and one day at HS. We are on the dining plan and this is our last table service credit left to play with. My son will be 5 and looking forward to trying JTA again - and it’s pretty much the only reason we are going back to HS this trip.
I know that I have already weighed in on the other thread, but just saw this. I definitely think option 1 would be better, strictly in terms of ensuring a JTA sign up spot AND getting to relax and enjoy a character meal. I have not tried H&V, so I cannot speak to the character interaction there or the food. If you want to do H&V, what about a later time slot? Get there early for JTA, get some rides in, then sit down to eat as a break, hopefully at a time that will work as brunch.
The problem is that a preRD CP will not get you the same advantage as a preRD BOG. I agree with moving the H & V to later. Also, wait until February before changing anything! Park opening times can change!
Does option 1 include any dining for HS? I feel like I don’t have enough info to make a choice. Even so, I’m leaning towards option 1. 
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Haha! If we didn’t have breakfast at HS, we would just have something in our room before heading out and then a counter service lunch inside HS.
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I would also lean towards Option 1. I wouldn’t want the stress of pre RD H&V and trying to get to JTA in time – I’ve heard H&V can be slow in the morning. The consensus there seems to be to go for brunch or lunch instead for a more enjoyable experience although I have no first-hand experience with that. I did have a very positive experience with pre-RD CP. My family loved it and requested it again on our upcoming trip. But you will lose the pre-RD advantage of BOG and you probably won’t beat the crowds into the park, although you should finish up about 9 or shortly thereafter if you are one of the first seated. So it depends on how important it is to hop on 7DMT or meet A&E or beat the rush to another ride. If you are okay not being one of the very first people in line, I would go for the pre-RD CP. Otherwise, you could try for a brunch or lunch at CP. Also, check the historical opening times in March. Since that is spring break time, they might open early eliminating the benefit of pre-RD reservations.
I very emphatically weighed in on JTA earlier as my boys were very passionate about being able to do this. JTA line actually starts somewhere around 8:30 so with the H&V scenerio you actually miss most of breakfast or get into the park early and still miss JTA because you are at breakfast.
On the other hand we did 8am BOG, actually really enjoyed our leisure breakfast In the West Wing and got to 7DMT with a 10 minute wait!
If you get an early JTA could you hop to MK and do CP later that day? Or what about sci-fi at HS?
If you could make a later h&v adr, option 2.if not option 1
One thing I am sure of is that I would only do a pre-RD breakfast. I wouldn’t want to waste valuable park time having breakfast! Having only one remaining table service credit to work with, I guess my dilemma was which ADR I should choose - all while increasing our chances of getting a decent JTA spot. My kids are only 5 and 2 so 7DMT isn’t appealing to them and, luckily, neither is A&E!
Since we had good luck starting our morning in the left side of MK, I think I will stick with Option 1 and just b-line to JTA at RD. The only other option would be for my son and I to sneak out of H&V breakfast for a few minutes to get a JTA pass and then come back to eat. That seems immoral to me. Haha!
I definitely don’t think it’s immoral, but it probably would not work. It will take way too long to sign up. Even if you are the very first in line, there is still a wait of at least 20 minutes before you can sign up, which to me is a lot of time away from the meal.
I hear you on not wanting to take away park time. We have done it both ways - pre-RD ADR and brunch-time ADR. Whether a pre-RD ADR works to your advantage in terms of park time depends entirely on whether you get seated right away and whether you can get out of there right away. We did Akershus pre-RD. Took forever to get seated, then meal was very slow between waiting for server to bring check, meeting all the characters, etc. We did not get into the park until 9:20, and I felt we had really lost out on valuable park time. On the other hand, we did CP at I think 10:45. It was very fast, almost to the point of feeling rushed. The upside to that was it took way less park time, and it kept us full for the day. We just snacked before dinner.
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