how hard is it to get in spur of the moment?

[tkme4ard]

I've only made 2 ADR's for our trip. One for Cindy's and one for the japanese steakhouse. We're staying at the SOG and i was wanting to do part meals there, part on the fly KWIM? I'm not sure we can splurge on a full sit down meal/character meal every day for a family of 5 (gabby eats free) Plus Im not sure i want to be tied to ressies every day. I'm trying to go about this trip with a much more care free/less regimented schedule than our last trip. In doing so though, am I shooting myself in the foot with regrets later?

 

[goofy4tink]

It looks like you'll be there for the end of January. That's a pretty good time to go crowd-wise...at least I think so. MLK weekend is over, the marathon is over.
But, if you want to do any of the really popular restaurants, you may still find it difficult to get in. If you stick with lesser spots, you may have good luck. Or, if you eat at off-times..maybe late lunches instead of dinnertime meals.

 

[Cee]

When we arrive I call WDW-Dining and see what's available. I make the ADR's
then. Sometimes I call the morning of. It works like a charm. Just be flexible
and all will be well!

 

[Luv4Disney]

When we were there in May, we were able to get Prime Time (don't know how, I think we just got lucky), Artist Point, and Biergarten (You can generally get this one spur of the moment) with no problems.

 

[Michelle_R]

I agree with the other posters. If you're willing to dine at off times, you'll have better luck. Also we were walking by a place and were able to walk in and get ressies for an hour later. We also kept the ADR phone # in our backpack.

Michelle

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Not going to lie, the majority of TS meals I have eaten have been spur of the moment. I haven't attempted the hard to get restaurants, but have had success at Mama Melrose, Sci Fi, 50s Prime Time. And even if you don't get that many TS, there are a lot of great CS.

 

[alyssa810]

we too make most of our dining arrangements day of- we don't always know which park we're going to hit on which day, so unless we have a super special occasion (like when we went to Blue bayou on my birthday in DL in August) we won't book in advance...we did make an ADR yesterday for next Sunday at CP, just 10 days out but that's the only ADR we made for the whole week trip.

 

[miksilver]

When I was in WDW 2-weeks ago I had a few ADR's planned but it wasn't enough for my family. While at EP I called WDW-DINE and got a Garden Grill ressie 45 min. later, my DH and I had luck walking up and getting a seat at Flying Fish Cafe and we visited the Whipering Canyon Cafe for lunch after calling the dining number. I tried to call to make an additional ressie while at DHS but the system was down when I called and I wasn't in a position to go around the park asking for what was availiable -- we left and ate at our resort (again with no ADR).

Next time I go to WDW I might be more flexible as well and not so uptight with making ADR's. I figure as long as I make the ADR's ahead of time that I know we would not be able to get into -- Chef Mickey's for example.

One thing is sure when you're in Disney -- you won't go hungry!

 

[ZoZo]

If you'd rather not do TS meals, there are lots of good CS restaurants at WDW. My favorites are Columbia Harbor House, Cosmic Ray's, Sunshine Seasons, and the Fish and Chips window at Epcot. That way, it's less expensive and you aren't tied to reservation times.

As for SOG restaurants, I found them okay, but not great. The breakfast buffet is really inexpensive (around $8 per person last time I was there) and it quite good; there's even a make-your-own belgian waffle machine! That's a great way to go if you want a hearty, inexpensive breakfast. We usually just got cereal and milk to eat for breakfast in our room (each room has a small fridge). Even less expensive and quick. But I wasn't really impressed with the other meals we tried at SOG (the time we ate at the restaurant by the pool, it wasn't good at all!), so we just stuck to them for breakfast.