Is booking a must?

[kittykitty87]

We are staying off site (on International Drive) and I keep reading how busy the restaurants at the parks and Downtown Disney are and I am a little worried.
Is it a must that we book the restaurants before we go? Would we absolutely not get a table anywhere if we didn't book? Can we book tables at the parks when we get there are do we have to book everything before we even get to Orlando?

 

[rndmr2]

If you have your heart set on any specific restaurants I recommend you book reservations (ADR's) before you go. If you go without ADR's you won't necessarily go hungry, you can usually get same day or walk ins at quite a few places but you probably won't get your first (or maybe not even second) choice. Keep in mind there are quite a few very good Couter service places that don't need any ADR's too.

 

[kittykitty87]

Thank you. I know there are endless lists of all the restaurants everywhere but is there anywhere that tells me which ones I need to book and which ones I don't?

 

[opraghst]

Ahhh, the days when you could walk up to a TS restaurant and get in. 10 years ago, my family of 5 actually managed to do a walk-up breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. If there is anywhere you really want to go, make those ADR's.

 

[baler31]

There is not really an official list. I would book anything that you know you want to do. If you are going during free dining table service will be even more difficult to get last minute. If you want ANY character dining I would book that ASAP as that is usually unavailable the day of unless you happen into a cancellation.

 

[Hopefully]

If you have a restaurant you really want to eat at, book an ADR
When are you going, is it a busy time of year? There will always be somewhere to eat at WDW, it just may not be where YOU WANT to eat.
If there are popular IN Park and Resort restaurants you want to eat at, you usually need to book in advance. They do not hold tables for walk ups. ADRs open 180 days in advance the popular restaurants really do book to capacity, especially during busy times.
Good Luck

ETA I am posting this from Bristol tonight. I am visiting here for my job. It is a lovely city

 

[ccgirl]

We are staying off site (on International Drive) and I keep reading how busy the restaurants at the parks and Downtown Disney are and I am a little worried.
Is it a must that we book the restaurants before we go? Would we absolutely not get a table anywhere if we didn't book? Can we book tables at the parks when we get there are do we have to book everything before we even get to Orlando?

What restaurants did you have in mind?

 

[kittykitty87]

Hopefully - Glad you like it here! It is a very lovely place to live

Not really sure where we want to go yet. I dont think we will be wanting to do any character dining so I wont need to worry about that. I know we want to go to the sci-fi one where you sit in the cars (I cant remember what its called though )

 

[CupcakeLisa]

Hopefully - Glad you like it here! It is a very lovely place to live

Not really sure where we want to go yet. I dont think we will be wanting to do any character dining so I wont need to worry about that. I know we want to go to the sci-fi one where you sit in the cars (I cant remember what its called though )

sci-fi dine in - we got a walk up no problem last september at lunch time

 

[ZoZo]

There are two types of restaurants at WDW - table service (which usually require advance reservations) and "counter service," which are fast-food places that don't take reservations.

I would suggest making at least a few table service reservations (called "ADRs" or advance diniung reservations) before you go. You can read through the posts on the DIS to find out what people's favorites are. Personally, though, I think you can get some pretty good counter-service meals at most parks (except DHS). Counter service meals do save both time and money, and although you do need to wait in line for your food, they're a great way to go in lots of cases. After six or seven trips to WDW, I eat mostly CS meals, with a few TS meals throughout the week. For the most part, I'd rather spend my time and money doing things other than eating an expensive sit-down meal.

 

[kittykitty87]

Thats great! Thanks everyone. We are going 23 September till 5 October so we have a while to think about it! The Sci-fi diner I think is a MUST so I will look into that one. I have seen restaurants in Downtown Disney too, do you need to book those?

 

[quandrea]

We just got back. I had made all kinds of ADRs that I had to cancel when my 2yo twins responded differently to the trip than I had anticipated. Having said that, we were able to book Boma three times without an ADR. When I called about restaurants on the same day, there was lots of avail. I've been to WDW 20 times or more and have always planned. The twins dictated otherwise this time and we actually enjoyed our meals more b/c we were eating when and where we felt like at the time. I know character meals get booked, but honestly, they are overrated after a while. One is enough on a trip. Pick one and book it if you are so inclined. But I say, go for spontanaeity. That's how I'm going to be from now on!

 

[sleeperclan]

Keep in mind you are going at a time free dining is offered, so walk-ups may not happen. As PP said, if there are some TS you really want, make your ADRs as soon as your window opens. Those booking with free dining will be jumping in to make their ADRs, too!

 

[River Country]

Well the good news is you are going at a very low crowd level time of year.

As Far as a list goes here is what i can tell you that are pretty tough to get

LeCellier
Cinderella's Royal Table (CRT)
Garden Grill
Coral Reef
.....and depending on construction delays whether the new Be our guest rest. is open

As far as Downtown Disney i would imagine that Raglan Road and Wolfgang Puck are usually pretty crowded only because you dont need park admission to get in to DTD

Good Luck but make the ADR's for your MUSTS

 

[kittykitty87]

We didnt even realise we were going at low crowd level time until I started doing a little research. Im so relived!!

I will look at booking the restaurants we want then

 

[Sparkie]

My posts has been "solar flared" twice now...

So....

Look at Ohanna's for dinner its yummy but I would suggest a reservation

Others you may need reservations

LeCellier
Any character meal, especially "the castle"
California Grill

Good counter service places

Cosmic Ray's= in Magic Kingdom
Flame Tree= in Animal Kingdom
Sunshine Seasons= in Epcot
Wolfgang Puck Express= in Downtown Disney

Menus can be found on wdwinfo.com or allears.net


Go with a plan. Plan what parks what day, look at the park maps to get an idea of what is where, make a list of you "must do's", and then try and decide what you might be hungry for 6 months from now....LOL!

No really, you will have a better time if you go with a plan. Most people who come back disappointed didnt have a plan and became overwhelmed. Disney is BIG!

And No Sleeping In.... you are not on vacation.... you are in DISNEY! LOL!

 

[kittykitty87]

And No Sleeping In.... you are not on vacation.... you are in DISNEY! LOL!

This made me laugh!! Our body clock will be all out when we get there (coming from UK) so I am hoping we can take advantage of being awake so early and get to the parks

I will have a good look at the restaurants now and try and pick some we want to go to!

 

[amym2]

Just wanted to reiterate what someone else said- there is a free dining promotion out now that goes through Sept. 29 (and as long as you check in by that date it is good your whole trip), so while there will be low crowds, the restaurants will be packed. We were there the end of last Sept. and if we hadn't had ADRs, we would have been waiting a long time. I'd definitely recommend getting an ADR for dinner at 'Ohana!

 

[kittykitty87]

Thanks everyone, I will take on board what you have said

 

[HANDYMOM]

Disney has been cutting back on waitstaff at the "slower" times of the year. This means that even with lower crowds, if Disney has only staffed the table service restaurants to meet the needs of the ADR's booked, then many restaurants won't take walk ups.

That's not to say that you don't have PLENTY of time to book them, I just wouldn't rely on booking them when you get there or walking up for a lot of table service meals.