Dining Plan but doesn't want to make and ADRs?

scrappinginontario

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Have you ever done this?

Have you ever bought the DDP that includes table service meals but not booked any reservations? My friend is going the first week of February and she doesn't want to be tied down to reservations/parks so is just going to try and do walk ups.

Have you done this? How difficult was it to find places to eat and did you have to wait a long time once you arrived at a restaurant?

According to Touring Plans it's not a crazy busy time but still rating at least 50% capacity.
 
Honestly? Unless you friend is very flexible with what she eats and what time she eats, it is not a great idea.

Disney will not reimburse guests for credits they are unable to use. And your friend could find herself in a park where the restaurants are booked up when she is hungry, or the ones that have availability are not to her taste. Would she be ok then waiting (maybe quite a while) or traveling to a resort to have a meal? If the answer is no, then she really needs to make some ADRs ahead of time.
 
They're taking a chance that they might have to either do a lot of waiting or leave a park to get a meal, especially if they want peak mealtimes. Hopefully they're flexible. It's correct that they won't be reimbursed for unused credits, and while they could use their TS credits for CS meals that would pretty much destroy any money-saving capacity the DDP had for them.
 
We never made any prior ADRs until our last trip. We usually waited until we got to WDW. They can always call the morning of for a dinner ADR based on where they want to be that day. They should be able to find something especially at the time they are going. Just to get an idea of what might be available they can play around with making same day ADRs on WDW website before the trip starts and see what places come up.

For instance - checking today there are 60 places that come up with availability for dinner and only 15 that have no availability. Le Cellier even had an 8:50 time available.
 

I've made same day ressies in the morning before and have been successful during low season but I think the OP's friend's situation is a little different in that they want to do a walk up to the restaurant and try and get in. I don't think that is a very smart thing to do - more likely they will be spending way too much time just looking for some place, any place, to eat.

.

JMHO and YMMV
 
I would never do that with the dining plan. Too much risk that she will end up with credits she can't even use or credits for places she would have been better off just paying out of pocket for (the cheaper and less popular places). If this is the approach she wants to take, I would cancel the dining plan and go out of pocket.

It is also very possible that a free dining promotion might come out for February, and if that is the case, she can forget about getting into restaurants. Even with the current promos I would be concerned because they do include a discount on the dining plan.

This is her vacation and she should do what she wants, but she will have a lot of heartache if she is expecting anything less than long waits and possibly nowhere to stop and eat if she doesn't make ADRs. Just my opinion, of course. I have been there in slow times in January and have still had no luck getting into a restaurant last minute for a family of 5.

I really don't feel "tied down" to dining reservations as long as I limit them to one a day. In fact, it is a nice respite and something to look forward to.
 
I really don't feel "tied down" to dining reservations as long as I limit them to one a day. In fact, it is a nice respite and something to look forward to.

I totally agree. That's exactly how we feel about it.
 
I guess that's okay as long as she's not planning to eat at all at MK. They almost are always fully booked up. Epcot would be easy, Hollywood Studios relatively easy, Animal Kingdom could at least go to Rainforest.

I've gotten same day reservations, something is always available. Just maybe not what I'd prefer.
 
I guess that's okay as long as she's not planning to eat at all at MK. They almost are always fully booked up. Epcot would be easy, Hollywood Studios relatively easy, Animal Kingdom could at least go to Rainforest.

I've gotten same day reservations, something is always available. Just maybe not what I'd prefer.

Same day ressies are one thing but simply walking up to the restaurant when you feel like it - I don't think that will be very successful or smart. Kinda makes it pointless to purchase the DDP option, imho....
 
Personally, I would never dream of going without ADRs if I were actually using my hard earned $ to pay for DDP. i.e. you're paying for the plan, so the least you could do is make some reservations to ensure you're not wasting your $. Sure, it's a low capacity time but if someone tells them that "there's this really great place called 'Ohana over at the Polynesian" they're going to find out the hard way why reservations are highly recommended.
 
I would never do that with the dining plan. Too much risk that she will end up with credits she can't even use or credits for places she would have been better off just paying out of pocket for (the cheaper and less popular places). If this is the approach she wants to take, I would cancel the dining plan and go out of pocket.

It is also very possible that a free dining promotion might come out for February, and if that is the case, she can forget about getting into restaurants. Even with the current promos I would be concerned because they do include a discount on the dining plan.

This is her vacation and she should do what she wants, but she will have a lot of heartache if she is expecting anything less than long waits and possibly nowhere to stop and eat if she doesn't make ADRs. Just my opinion, of course. I have been there in slow times in January and have still had no luck getting into a restaurant last minute for a family of 5.

I really don't feel "tied down" to dining reservations as long as I limit them to one a day. In fact, it is a nice respite and something to look forward to.

:thumbsup2
 
IMO, you're already throwing your money away (in almost all circumstances) by being on the DDP.. If you can, change up your ressie to try to take advantage of a room discount (whenever they're annouced) and drop the DDP.. You'll be better off..
 
One suggestion for her if she is determined to do this...go at opening. I've had places where I could not get a ressie at a restairant I wanted. I went at opening and always got in.
 
If I am paying for a plan I need to make sure that I am going to get my money's worth from the plan, I would not go without ADR's if I paid for a DDP
 
There is a really fun dining report on here where they did not make any ADRs, or at least called the day before. It worked for them and made a great thread for me to read. :)

Best of luck to anyone that tries that approach because there are no guarantees the results will be as great.
 
While I'm usually good with one ADR during a 10 day stay, I pay OOP for food so I can save money and stay spontaneous. I would NOT suggest that for someone using the DDP.

I would book at least half of the meals before the trip, especially any character meals or popular restaurants. For the remaining days, I would plan on checking two or three days ahead to see what is available. Maybe remind them to book restaurants that do not have the cc guarantee so they can cancel and change more easily if necessary.

Not everyone uses the DDP for the cost savings. Some do it for the convenience of having meals prepaid. So they may not mind using some of the TS credits at CS restaurants if necessary. But I would at least make sure they understand the risks of losing money if they don't plan ahead, and then whatever decision they make will be up to them.
 
I would also ensure she has park hopper tickets to maximize the chance of getting a table somewhere, and keeping the "restaurant reservation line" handy in her cell phone.

I for one, would never chance it... after a long day of walking the parks with my kids, the last thing I need to hear is them whining that their tired and hungry, and not knowing where/when we are going to eat.

I made reservations for a friend (WDW rookie) who went down last year at that time with her two boys... but she didnt like the idea of being tied down HAVING to eat somewhere specific... so she cancelled them all and thought she would just "wing it"... she came home disappointed saying she ended up wasting more than half of her credits, and paying OOP for QS meals because they just couldn't find anywhere without long waits once they decided they were hungry. (She was kicking herself for cancelling all the great reservations made at 180 days)

If they want to do character meals at all- I would strongly advise that they at least reserve these, since they are a lot less likely to be available for walk-ups.
 
A friend of ours when at Eastertime, which I told her to reconsider. She did not, and they went as Easter. They also got the Deluxe Dining Plan and did not want to make any ADRs. I strongly advised them to make some reservations. They did not.

That was last March and she will still say she wishes she listened to me about both things. Not a great time for them.
 
Have you ever done this?

Have you ever bought the DDP that includes table service meals but not booked any reservations? My friend is going the first week of February and she doesn't want to be tied down to reservations/parks so is just going to try and do walk ups.

Have you done this? How difficult was it to find places to eat and did you have to wait a long time once you arrived at a restaurant?

According to Touring Plans it's not a crazy busy time but still rating at least 50% capacity.

Jan 2 - Mar 7 is the SP&D promotion - so it will likely be busier than they expect, especially with the dining plans included.

Personally, I would not go without ADR's - especially since the majority don't require a credit card hold. What do they have to loose by making some ADR's? If they change their mind at the last minute, they can just cancel them - with no penalty.

We try making our ADR's for dinner - and at a resort restaurant - that way it doesn't matter what park we visit.
 












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