Do you need a MDE account to make an ADR?

[Jchoma]

My grandparents who are in their 80s are thinking of meeting friends from the UK at Epcot in early March.
They are not tech savvy in the least; I don't think their friends are, either. My grandparents won't purchase their park tickets until they arrive at Epcot due to health concerns....whether or not they go into the parks will be a game time decision. They're staying at the Dolphin. They're asking me about making dinner reservations without a park ticket. Is that possible? Do you just call and provide your credit card #? All of our WDW trips have been packages and very well-planned in advanced, so I'm not sure what to tell them.

 

[Dug720]

I can’t answer the MDE question (though I think so), but.

An ADR requires 24-Hour cancellation notice to avoid the $10/person no-show fee, so a “game-day decision” to not go would cost them $10/person for the ADR.

 

[Bree]

No MDE is required if booking by phone. They will still need to provide a credit card at time of booking. They will get a confirmation number after booking.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

As far as ADRs and park tickets, yes, you can make ADRs for an in-park restaurant without a park ticket. You obviously need a park ticket to get to the restaurant that day, but anyone can make an ADR without having tickets.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My grandparents who are in their 80s are thinking of meeting friends from the UK at Epcot in early March.
They are not tech savvy in the least; I don't think their friends are, either. My grandparents won't purchase their park tickets until they arrive at Epcot due to health concerns....whether or not they go into the parks will be a game time decision. They're staying at the Dolphin. They're asking me about making dinner reservations without a park ticket. Is that possible? Do you just call and provide your credit card #? All of our WDW trips have been packages and very well-planned in advanced, so I'm not sure what to tell them.

If they are unsure whether they will go into EP and won't know until the day-of, I would be wary of making a dining reservation inside the park. As others have noted, when you make an ADR (which you can make over the phone without a MDE account), you will need to give a credit card and will be charged a $10 no show fee if you don't show up for the reservation or if you don't cancel at least the night prior. Would your grandparents friends be willing to meet them at the Swan or Dolphin for dinner instead? There are some great restaurants there (Il Mulino, bluezoo) and you can make reservations there without providing a credit card by either booking through opentable or calling the restaurant directly. They can also cancel the reservation day-of without penalty. If they don't want to do that, I would actually wait until day-of and call Disney Dining once they know if they are going into EP or not. If they aren't picky about where they eat, something will most likely be available (Spice Road, Nine Dragons, Marrakesh usually have availability).

 

[cleophus12]

Since they are staying at the Dolphin, they have the luxury of spending a few hours in the park earlier in the day and then going back for dinner in the evening. That would give them some flexibility and make good use of their ticket purchase while allowing them to have dinner inside the park. To be honest, that is why we generally get Park Hoppers--just so we can go into Epcot for dinner, especially when we are staying at an Epcot area resort.