Dinning reservations questions

[bears163]

has anyone tried to make reservation for the end of sept. i keep hearing & being told if i want to eat anywhere i should make reservations for either lunch or dinner. i am using the dinnning plan & so far just have 1 reservation. i am thinking we would probably use our sit down points for lunch while we are in the parks & probably go to DTD for the counter service. i just can not believe at that time of the year with it being usually slow that it would be that hard to get in during lunch.

 

[LadyOmega]

Thats the thing about this time of year......although the crowding in the parks may be less than other times of year, the restaurants are absolutely booked to capacity because of the free dining program. So yes, if there are specific places you know you want to try, then get ADR's made as soon as possible. If you'd be happy being more spontaneous just taking what's available, then you might be alright. Just be prepared to potentially have a long wait at all restaurants, and be prepared that you very well may be turned away from many places, as they don't set aside tables for walk-ins (this applies for lunch just as much as for dinner).

 

[PureTcrazy]

changing our reservations. We were cancelling Chef's de France and the only other places at Epcot were marakesh and beirgarten at very late times. We were able to schedule garden grill at lunch without much trouble for the same day for our friends. I would be afraid that you may not be able to use your TS credits if you don't reserve. They even started a deal at Pop to use a TS there and also offer 2 snacks or a pin if you use a TS for a CS. It may be that you will be able to be spontaneous at lunch, but some people have reported signs saying no walk ups to restaurants in the parks. Good Luck, Hope yall have a great trip. We are going the end of september also.

 

[jenr812]

Definitely call ASAP to make those ADRs. As was already mentioned, all restaurants will likely book to capacity with the free dining and if you can't get an ADR you may lose your TS credits! Using the TS credits for lunch will not give you the most value but if that works better for you then do it without hesitation Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[castleri]

Called to try to book last ADR for the last week of Sept and had choice of 4PM or 10PM for Captin Jacks on a Thursday- split between several tables - Now we need to start over for that one. We have been trying for the 5-6 seatings which may be a problem as well as the fact that we have anywhere from 3 to 10 people at any given meal. Maybe we will have to try for a TS lunch our last day to use up the credits. We are DVC members and are paying for the plan so don't want to lose those TS credits. We have been doing these for several months now and had problems getting what we wanted even at the beginning. You may have better luck with lunch hours but I would at least try to get some of those reserved.

 

[PortieOwner]

Keep calling. A week ago I dropped a 6PM Chefs de France and a 630PM Spoodles. Other people will do the same, especially once they get there and cannot make it to all the meals they booked.

 

[aubriee]

We were there last Sept and even though the parks were almost empty all the restaraunts were completely full and almost all were turning away walk ups. For this Sept I made ADRs back in late April, but then in June had to cancell them all to add another person. I tried for over a month to get Whispering Canyon for dinner, but was never able to get it. Within the last month I've made a few changes, but unless you're lucky enough to get a cancellation the only things available right now are either very early or very late (after 9:00pm). I was finally able to get a 9:20pm ADR for 'Ohannas a few weeks ago and then called back every day for about 2 1/2 weeks trying to get it changed to earlier. I was finally able to catch a 7:50pm cancellation. Still later than I wanted, but better than 9:20pm. We'll be there Sept 22nd-30th BTW.

Last year we saw ALOT of very unhappy campers complaining that Disney had 'sold' them the free dining plan, then wouldn't let them in anywhere to eat. People were just wandering around looking for anyplace that would let them in. MGM and MK both had signs posted last year that all TS restaraunts were full and were not taking any walkups. To prevent so many unhappy people this year Disney has opened the Tommorrowland Noodle Station as a buffet that will not take ADRs and is also offering a plan where people can trade a TS credit for a Cs credit, plus a free gift. Disney has announced that alot of their TS restaraunts are now going to open an hour earlier and stay open later, as well. Disney Dining is also calling people asking them if they have made ADRs and telling them that if they haven't that they need to. To get an idea, you might just call a few places you might want to eat at and just see if ADRs are available, to get an idea of how crowded it might be. I still remember the unhappy, screaming woman at Le Cellier last year with the two kids crying they were hungry and her yelling at the CM outside, that she going to guest services to complain because Disney wouldn't let them in anywhere to eat. There was also the guy that tried to tell the CM they didn't need a PS, because they had automatic access because they were on the free dining program and could just walk up to any restaraunt they wanted.