Is it impossible without ADR ?

[nickoftime]

We didn't book our vacation until last month and we leave in 3 weeks and when I tried to get ADR for ANY character meals at ANY times I was out of luck.

But I seem to see people making ADRs months and months in advance here for all the table service restaurants.

Is that something we really have to do to get a table ?


We haven't been to WDW since our honeymoon in 2001 and we had no ADRs then and ate out everynight.

We have 3 kids and we have a loose touring plan and can park hop(we added the option last week) but we honestly have no idea on any given day where we might want to eat/how the kids will be. So I just couldn't picture us saying "oh on Tueday we will eat at 7pm at____ and on Thursday we'll go to ___ at 6:15" We just aren't rigid planners for meals like that.


Advice ? Am I never going to get seated somewhere without an ADR ?

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

The Dining Plan has changed the whole landscape of ADRs. Your trip in 2001 might as well have been 50 years ago!

It will be very hard to get a walk-in spot at the sit-down restaurants unless you are willing to eat very early or very late...and even then there is no guarantee.

Keep calling Disney Dining, and/or try some of the resort restaurants (except places like Chef Mickey's) which are sometimes a little easier to get into than the theme park restaurants.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Times have changed at Disney. You need to make ARD's. No matter when you go to Disney .

 

[wellesleyprincess]

Your best chance may be to check with the lobby concierge once you get there. A lot of times there will be day of cancellations and if your willing to go off times (like lunch at 2 pm or dinner at 4:30) they may be able to work you in. The best chance will be if you check everyday before you leave and are flexible as to which day and when then you can probably get worked in somewhere, some day for a character meal. The other option would be to be willing to wait for 2 hours to be seated at the restaurant.

About the only ones I'd say were out for certain are Cinderella's Royal Table, Princess Storybook at Norway, and in my experience 1900 Park Fare.

I would suggest if you know the order your going to the parks in you make whatever ADRs you can even if you need to change them. Otherwise while you may get in walk up, you'll probably have to wait.

 

[crisi]

There are restaurants where you might get seated - depending on time of year and when you eat. Marrakesh is still a pretty good bet for a walk up. Lunch is easier than dinner. Signature places are usually pretty good for last minute.

Character meals are tough. Those pretty much need an ADR unless you get lucky. There are always those that simply seem to luck into walking into Chef Mickey's Christmas week. But its a little like buying a lottery ticket to expect that sort of luck.

If you have the dining plan and no ADRs, drop the dining plan or get ADRs, you don't want to be paying for meals you don't get.

 

[nickoftime]

Thanks for your input. I just called and made ADRs for 3 of the nights we are there.

The day we are planning on DHS we will eat at Hollywood and Vine
Epcot day we'll dine at Marakesh and AK day we'll eat at yak and Yeti

I'm so glad I asked.

 

[kda]

I understand that your family wants to 'go with the flow' and not be tied down by ADRs. DH and I operate like that, too, (especially him), and there's pros and cons. If you really want to be able to do at least a couple of character meals, it's much better to keep trying to get ADRs. Things change all the time, so keep trying, especially the last week before your trip, and continue to try once you get there.

You can always check at the restaurant when you first get to the park. Last year we got an ADR for Le Cellier for 7 PM when we were at the park around 2 PM. That isn't common, but it can happen.

If you don't care about table service meals, it's really not a problem, but if you'd like the option, it's better to try to make some and you can always cancel. Good luck!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

While it's always good to get ADR's depending on the location you might able to eat without them and here are two examples from my trip this past December.

One day I went to the Magic Kingdom with 3 of my friends from Orlando and we decided to have lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, however we did not have any ADR's. When we went to see if there was room we were told yes and only waited 5 minutes to be seated, when the waiting area was very busy.

Later that day we decided to then all go to Hollywood Studios and for dinner we tried going to 50's Prime Time Cafe and once again we did not have an ADR's. Well when we asked if their was room we were told yes and once again waited about 5 minutes to be seated. Plus this was around 6:00 PM which is not considered to be a late time to be eating.

So eating with ADR's can be done and if you never ask at the restaurants if they have room, you will never know.

 

[cn123]

I'm hoping that eventually the QSDP relieves a bit of pressure to get all ADR's for all 7 days of vacation. I know there will always be a need for ADR's at CRT, 1900 Park Fare, Breakfast in Norway etc. But wouldn't it be nice if one day you can walk up to say Crystal Palace and maybe with a small wait still get seated.

 

[Ava]

Ditto what others said about character meals - if you want to do one, keep trying. Call every day and see if anything has opened up. You also might get in if you are open to eating at off times. I'd also try at the concierge desk of your hotel in the morning before you leave for the parks. They may have gotten cancellations for that evening & be able to fit you in. My DP and I were able to do that last trip in 2006 for a night when we didn't know what we'd be doing that day so didn't make an ADR. Good luck and have fun on your trip!