Do I really have to make dining reservations for September?

[jannibaby]

Two 55 year olds going back to Disney without kids! Picked mid-September for low crowds. Do I really have to make dining reservations? We're really hoping to just wing it this time. Before I had everything planned to a T (thanks to these message boards). Now we're very flexible. Other than dining at Victoria and Albert's (reservations made), we thought we would like to just play it by ear. Is it true that the restaurants no longer take walk up seating? Even in slow season?

For the record, when I've looked to make reservations at certain restaurants that we are interested in, most are available.

Thank you,
Janice

 

[ThinkTink09]

I think it may hard to just walk in to any restaurant during free dining. But I would also say if there's no specific restaurant that you would regret missing, and if you plan on eating at off times, you'd probably be ok (assuming you don't have a dining plan - I would never not have a reservation for fear of wasting my credits, if I had the DP)

The idea that all the restaurants are turning people away if you don't have a reservation seems crazy to me, but if they are 100% booked I suppose it's possible.

In the end though, it's pretty easy to make a reservation on the Disney app. You could probably do that in the park the day of, without a problem

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Although it is slow season for WDW.... it is NOT slow season for WDW dining... Free dining is in September, which has made a lot of restaurants booked to capacity.

You might want to book some "just in case"... I noticed the other day that there are still times offered, but not at any of the popular places, and even then the times I saw were out of "normal" dining times (like 3pm or 9pm). Unless you are happy eating quick service the whole time, I would book a few.

 

[FreddyGlove]

Yeah, trust me- it's still necessary to get reservations. Though now, when I check the ones I made I keep getting an error..they better not be gone.