Making same day reservations? Or showing up at restaurant?

[vinotinto]

Assuming that you would like to eat at a non-popular restaurant or during a non-popular time, what is your experience walking up to the restaurant or calling a few minutes in advance?

Specifically, I'm thinking about non-character breakfast at resorts (e.g., Whispering Canyon Cafe, The Wave, Kona, Trail's End, etc.). We're staying at WL and I currently have ADRs, but with the new cancellation policy, i'm thinking I would prefer to play it by ear. Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[TDC Nala]

Even if you call or book online the same day you'll still be putting down your credit card.

The one time I stayed at WL and tried to get into WCC for breakfast they were not admitting walk-ins. Wasn't a terribly busy time of year.

Can't imagine not being able to walk into the Wave or Trail's End.

Kona, don't even know anything about.

 

[purple figment]

I don't know if you can call a few minutes in advance and make a reservation. I know that when we tried to make same day online reservations, it didn't give us any options less than 2 hours in advance.

I'm pretty certain they won't be able to tell you if a restaurant is taking walk ups since that would be at the discretion of the restaurant itself.

 

[vinotinto]

The one time I stayed at WL and tried to get into WCC for breakfast they were not admitting walk-ins. Wasn't a terribly busy time of year.

Good to know!

 

[maxiesmom]

You would have to literally walk up to a restaurant in order to avoid putting a credit card down. Which is fine if the restaurant is at your resort. But at the parks it can mean quite a bit of walking around.

 

[Brian Noble]

You can get an ADR 2-3 hours in advance (I forget which). I routinely make ADRs the morning of or the night before; you'd be surprised at how much is available.

 

[SSRJen]

I would not risk trying to walk-up, unless you are willing to wait for a while or be turned away.

However, we were there Thanksgiving week and were able to make reservations (with the app) the night before, morning of, and even a few hours in advance for some restaurants (Il Mulino - night before, Shula's - night before, Kona Cafe - night before, Coral Reef - morning of, Liberty Tree Tavern - few hours before and even Via Napoli lunch - night before). We did not want to be tied down to specific plans every day. It worked very well for us! You just need to be flexible, and like us, not want any of the popular character meals/buffets.

 

[vinotinto]

You can get an ADR 2-3 hours in advance (I forget which). I routinely make ADRs the morning of or the night before; you'd be surprised at how much is available.

I'm so glad to hear that. I still need to figure out dinner for 3 out of our 7 nights, and 1-2 more breakfasts.

I already have ADRs for:
2 breakfasts
7 lunches (don't want to risk having to wait at a park)
4 dinners-

Normally, for a 7-night, 8-day stay, I would already have ADRs for 3-4 breakfasts, 6-8 lunches and all 7 nights' dinner. However, the new FP+ and the new CC policy for everything is making me less sure of our plans, so we'll play it by ear closer to the date.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm so glad to hear that. I still need to figure out dinner for 3 out of our 7 nights, and 1-2 more breakfasts.

I already have ADRs for:
2 breakfasts
7 lunches (don't want to risk having to wait at a park)
4 dinners-

Normally, for a 7-night, 8-day stay, I would already have ADRs for 3-4 breakfasts, 6-8 lunches and all 7 nights' dinner. However, the new FP+ and the new CC policy for everything is making me less sure of our plans, so we'll play it by ear closer to the date.

You will still have to give a credit card if you make your ADR even a few hours ahead of time. We did that once during our trip a couple of weeks ago, and they reminded us a few times during booking that we would be charged the no show fee if we missed our meal time.