Eating at Restaurants Solo

[CaliMouseKing]

Hi all,

I just found this board recently am I am very impressed with the wealth of knowledge and support you all give here. So here is my dilemma...

I will be at WDW in August for a full week for a conference and depending on the day, I will be done between 1pm and 5pm. A few of the days I should be free for the majority of the day. Since I’m going solo for work, I don’t want to do too much planning regarding which park I’ll go to on which days.

I was planning on just showing up to different parks depending on the evening and going to some of the good sit-down restaurants. I assumed getting a table shouldn’t be a problem since I’m by myself, but this is my first real experience going there. Am I’m being naive by thinking I'll be able to just show up and get a table or should I look into getting reservations?

I also thought if I didn’t feel like going to the parks some of the nights, I’d check out the Boardwalk or Pleasure Island and have dinner there. Would I need reservations for those places as well?

Any advice would be much appreciated as I really don’t know what to expect going in August. I did the DW Marathon a few years back in January and didn’t really eat or go to the parks at all (besides running through them).

Thanks in advance

 

[tiggergirlinMI]

I would make ressies for yourself, I'm going with just my 17 yr old son and I made reservations at the places we like, even though we are just kind of going with the flow, we had to make some plans for dinner because it's still considered a busy time of the year.
I will be there the same week as you but no conference for me, total pleasure and fun in the sun, woohoo,lol....
I probably won't be going to PI, I feel weird going places like that alone. Men are easier at doing that,lol....
But yea, make some reservations, you can try just walking up, but I have seen so many sit down places turn people away, and at less crowded times of the year.

 

[CaliMouseKing]

Thanks for the heads up. I was afraid of that answer, though.

I really didn't want to do too much planning in advance...just take it one day at a time and see how things go. And to be honest, I'm kinda a Disneyland traditionalist. I love how all the rides are in one park and don't like how they're spread out in Orlando. I did like how WDW (the one brief time I was there) has tons of resorts (or lack thereof at DL) and no Harbor Blvd encroaching at the entrance.

The reason I even thought of asking about dinner reservations was a recent trip to Disneyland this past December. My wife and I went down for the weekend after Thanksgiving and had the worst luck in finding places to eat without waiting over an hour wherever we went. And this was 'apparently' during a slow week!

And yes I do feel weird going places alone too...but I guess being a tall. fit, male has it’s advantages as safety has never been an issue with me. I just figured it would be fun to check out Downtown Disney/PI/Boardwalk (isn’t it all the same thing?) during the nights I don’t go to the park.

Maybe I’ll see you on the Matterhorn!

Whoops, WDW doesn’t have that yet

 

[Myrtle]

I hate going to conferences alone for the same reason. Always try to take my husband or a friend. If you've never been to Cirque - it's amazing. Please try to go if you get a chance. (need to order a ticket now though.)

Good luck!

Myrtle

 

[Karnak]

I have had very good luck eating at the table service restaurants at WDW as a solo traveler. (My next such trip is listed below.)

However, I do make my reservations ahead of time. These days it is almost impossible to simply enter any Disney table service eatery and expect to seated. They will say something like, "Sorry, we are not able to seat walk-ins at this time."

Enjoy, but plan ahead a bit.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Since your trip is in August, that's during the free DDP so the resturants may be crowded. I'm going solo in September, and had trouble getting ressies. The only one I could get at Coral Reef was before 5:00 (and I made ADRs 2 months ago). Today, I called back, hoping to change to a later time, and they were booked solid. I'd make a few ADRs if possible.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Put the number to Disney Dining into your cell phone and call as early as you can on the days you find time to dine...

Good luck!

 

[padalyn]

Make the reservation - they are not seating walkups in most of the sitdown dining places. I was there solo in June - I had ressy for all my dinners, and saw others turned away - with empty tables.

 

[BunsenH]

The sit down restaurants with 'display kitchens' or bars may be an option for an impromptu dinner. Flying Fish, Big River Brewing, Portobello, and Raglan Road come to mind.