getting in without a reservation?

nawmom

Disney is addicting!
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
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we have this last minute trip planned and am wondering how the restaurants for character dining really work. what are the chances if we show up to a place, say Chef Mickey's, without a reservation that we can be seated? Do most people really keep their reservation or are there some no-shows?

I am hoping we can get in but just want to be prepared either way. Info from you experienced Disney-ers is greatly appreciated! :thumbsup2
 
Hi,

There are always some last minute cancellations due to illness or some other reason.

But if you don't have an ADR for a place like Chef Mickey's at a busy time of year, do yourself a favor and don't get your heart set on eating there. Sure, you could get a walk-up, and sure, someone may cancel at the last minute. But don't count on it unless you want to be disappointed.

Meanwhile, keep calling Disney Dining every day (even after you arrive) and see if anything has opened up. Good luck!
 
your best chance I think is to get there right when the restaurant is opening.
 
your best chance I think is to get there right when the restaurant is opening.

I second that suggestion. We have had that work for us at Chef Mickey's and other table service locations throughout WDW.

If you don't mind being seated later, say after 8:30 pm, you can also usually get in.
 

we have this last minute trip planned and am wondering how the restaurants for character dining really work. what are the chances if we show up to a place, say Chef Mickey's, without a reservation that we can be seated? Do most people really keep their reservation or are there some no-shows?

I am hoping we can get in but just want to be prepared either way. Info from you experienced Disney-ers is greatly appreciated! :thumbsup2

Without eating at all the Character Meals, I'd say your best bet would be whatever replaced Donald's Breakfastosaurus. We were there last Nov, and the turnover (people in to out) time was pretty short. That being said, I'd say call now to see what ADRs you can get and then take it from there.
 
We were there last week on a last minute trip (we decided 5 days prior go to Orlando). Our first day was at the Magic Kingdom and at 5:40, we decided to try and get in at a Table Service... I really did not think we could get anything, but when I went to Guest Services so she said that she had availability at all restaurants. She asked what time I wanted to eat and our response was "As soon as possible"... She asked if we wanted to eat in 10 minutes, PERFECT! We left with an ADR to Crystal Palace for a character meal! So we scored a party of 3 at 5:50pm at Crystal Palace on a Friday night.

On Saturday night, we had an ADR for 8:15 at O'hana... around 6:10, we realized that our little girl will not make it that late so I called Disney Dining on cellphone why we were driving back to the hotel. The reservationist said she could get us a 6:45. PERFECT! Did a U-turn at Downtown Disney and pulled into the Poly lot at 6:35.

So, last week, we scored two ADR's at Disney at good times! Even if you get a late reservation, just give Disney a call to see if anything opened up earlier!

Good luck!

Courtney

So, I would
 
We were there last week on a last minute trip (we decided 5 days prior go to Orlando). Our first day was at the Magic Kingdom and at 5:40, we decided to try and get in at a Table Service... I really did not think we could get anything, but when I went to Guest Services so she said that she had availability at all restaurants. She asked what time I wanted to eat and our response was "As soon as possible"... She asked if we wanted to eat in 10 minutes, PERFECT! We left with an ADR to Crystal Palace for a character meal! So we scored a party of 3 at 5:50pm at Crystal Palace on a Friday night.

On Saturday night, we had an ADR for 8:15 at O'hana... around 6:10, we realized that our little girl will not make it that late so I called Disney Dining on cellphone why we were driving back to the hotel. The reservationist said she could get us a 6:45. PERFECT! Did a U-turn at Downtown Disney and pulled into the Poly lot at 6:35.

So, last week, we scored two ADR's at Disney at good times! Even if you get a late reservation, just give Disney a call to see if anything opened up earlier!

Good luck!

Courtney

So, I would

Thanks for that great info. I am currently working on planning and booking ADRs for a trip just a month away. We'll work hard and take what we can get that works close to our plans, but it is encouraging that we might to be able to make adjustments along the way, right up to the actual dates there.
 
thanks! i guess there is hope! :) i will call once we get to the resort to see if anything's opened up. does anyone know what time the character dining places open, like chef mickey's? ideally, we'd like to go for breakfast. :)
 
thanks! i guess there is hope! :) i will call once we get to the resort to see if anything's opened up. does anyone know what time the character dining places open, like chef mickey's? ideally, we'd like to go for breakfast. :)

Why aren't you calling now?
 
Why aren't you calling now?

SO true! If you know that you want to go, start calling now.

Please also be aware, that while it may be POSSIBLE to get into character meals as a walk-up, it is absolutely not the norm, and requires a great deal of luck. Just because a few people have gotten lucky, does not mean that you will have the same experience.
 
we do have reservations already but they are at a later time than we would like. that's why i was saying i would just call when we get there to see if they can bump us up.
 


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