Downtown Disney options

[CyndiLouWho]

We have friends in Southern California who were originally going to join us for a day in the parks but opted not to get MK at this time. They want to meet for dinner in DD but right now there is zero available on our date.
I have put some dining alerts on mouse dining.
What options are walk up friendly? I don't want to waste hours waiting for dinner. Black Tap looks good but I don't see that they take reservations. What kind of wait do they usually have?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Black Tap does not take reservations. You wait in line mostly outside, order at a counter inside, then find your own table. The line can be very long and look intimidating but actually moves fairly well. I didn't pay much attention unfortunately last Sunday night when we got in line because we were talking and had just resigned ourselves to the wait. I want to say it was maybe 20 minutes. We were only 2 and were getting takeout. When we got in line, the place was almost entirely full but by the time we made our order a number of tables of all sizes had cleared. When we were walking away with our takeout, we noticed a lot of empty seats. We have eaten at Black Tap before and the experience was similar. Long line that moves faster than you expect with a lot of turnover of seating.

Day of week and time of day also matter when visiting downtown Disney. We had reservations for 6 for Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen last Tuesday afternoon for 2 PM, but we wouldn't have needed them. The place was not busy, so I'm guessing we would have been able to walk up pretty close to the time we had reserved. That probably wouldn't have worked at the 6:30-7:00 timeframe on the Sunday night we went to Black Tap.

 

[longboard55]

You can always get a table at splitsville, Black Tap is usually no more than 30 minutes

 

[midnight star]

Ballast point uses open table for their reservations. I think they also take walk ups

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Black Tap does not take reservations. You wait in line mostly outside, order at a counter inside, then find your own table. The line can be very long and look intimidating but actually moves fairly well. I didn't pay much attention unfortunately last Sunday night when we got in line because we were talking and had just resigned ourselves to the wait. I want to say it was maybe 20 minutes. We were only 2 and were getting takeout. When we got in line, the place was almost entirely full but by the time we made our order a number of tables of all sizes had cleared. When we were walking away with our takeout, we noticed a lot of empty seats. We have eaten at Black Tap before and the experience was similar. Long line that moves faster than you expect with a lot of turnover of seating.

Day of week and time of day also matter when visiting downtown Disney. We had reservations for 6 for Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen last Tuesday afternoon for 2 PM, but we wouldn't have needed them. The place was not busy, so I'm guessing we would have been able to walk up pretty close to the time we had reserved. That probably wouldn't have worked at the 6:30-7:00 timeframe on the Sunday night we went to Black Tap.

We're looking for a Wednesday at 6 for 6 people so I figured better than a Saturday but there are literally zero reservations. I'm ok with 20-30 minute wait. I don't want to wait 45 or an hour, I have no patience for that IRL let alone when I could be spending time visiting Mickey.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ballast point uses open table for their reservations. I think they also take walk ups

Unfortunately I checked there too. Zip.

 

[Iceman93]

I second the recommendation for Splitsville. You don't have to bowl, and they've got a surprisingly diverse and delicious menu. And if you do want to bowl, servers will come right to your alley to take food and drink orders with the full menu available there too.

 

[Epicnemesis]

We ate at UVA yesterday, no reservations but it was only a 10 minute wait (at 5:30 so your mileage may vary)

 

[DLgal]

Every single table service restaurant takes walk ups.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Every single table service restaurant takes walk ups.

This is good to know. Our friends want Naples, so maybe we could try around 5:30 and put our names down and do a little shopping?

 

[DLgal]

This is good to know. Our friends want Naples, so maybe we could try around 5:30 and put our names down and do a little shopping?

That is a good time to do it. Naples us popular and can have a pretty long wait later in the evening.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Check the day before as people cancel their reservations to avoid a getting charged for no show.

 

[Whistlebee]

We love Naples, great atmosphere there! If you have a group of 6, try getting a reservation for four or 5, and then adding on to the reservation at check-in. Sometimes it’s easier to get a reservation for less people. Also, try calling the restaurant directly. When you call Naples, the recording will tell you that they do not take reservations by phone. But, if you have a reservation, you can probably modify it by phone. We had 3 separate reservations for a total party of 13. I think we had 2 reservations for 5 people and 1 reservation for 4. On the day of our reservation, I called the restaurant and let them know that all 3 reservations were for one party of 13. We were ok being sat at different tables, but being near each other would be a plus. I also asked to move the reservation into the evening (we originally had a late afternoon time). They were so helpful! She moved our arrival time and combined our group into 2 tables. We were sat at 2 tables next to each other, and had amazing service.

Splitsville is a great option too. It’s a hidden gem, for sure! The menu is huge and diverse, the food is delicious, the service is outstanding. And, I think they are one of the easier restaurants to get a walk up table at.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We love Naples, great atmosphere there! If you have a group of 6, try getting a reservation for four or 5, and then adding on to the reservation at check-in. Sometimes it’s easier to get a reservation for less people. Also, try calling the restaurant directly. When you call Naples, the recording will tell you that they do not take reservations by phone. But, if you have a reservation, you can probably modify it by phone. We had 3 separate reservations for a total party of 13. I think we had 2 reservations for 5 people and 1 reservation for 4. On the day of our reservation, I called the restaurant and let them know that all 3 reservations were for one party of 13. We were ok being sat at different tables, but being near each other would be a plus. I also asked to move the reservation into the evening (we originally had a late afternoon time). They were so helpful! She moved our arrival time and combined our group into 2 tables. We were sat at 2 tables next to each other, and had amazing service.

Splitsville is a great option too. It’s a hidden gem, for sure! The menu is huge and diverse, the food is delicious, the service is outstanding. And, I think they are one of the easier restaurants to get a walk up table at.

Yesterday when I checked Open Table, there was nothing. Today it showed a few DD restaurants although no availablity and a comment that Naples doesn't allow res for more than 4 online. I was able to make a res for 4 on my Open Table account and for 2 on DHs account. I was planning to call to ask them to ask them to combine so I'm glad you've confirmed this is possible.
Thanks for all the input!