Is this nuts? Anyone ever do this?

[LuvLuvLuv]

well if it were me... i'd have a panic attack, lol.

but somehow, that husband of yours has crazy luck.

if it were early may... i would say you're good.... but toward memorial day it might get crazy. i didn't have problems getting our ressies for may 7-14.

i at least like to have them, and if i have to change last minute i will.

 

[kermit116]

I think it depends on where you want to eat and how flexible you are on times & locations. During our recent trip we tried to move up our reservation to 50s Primetime from an 8:30pm to a 5pm by doing a walk-in on a weekday and the CM did everything but laugh in my face. This was during an off-peak time.

I totally understand the appeal of not having reservations & having the freedom to just wander to any restaurant you feel like at that moment, but I think if you do this in May you'll probably end up doing a lot of counter service meals.

If I was in your position, my strategy would be to pick 2-3 table service restaurants that you all definitely want to visit, make reservations, and then let the rest of the meals be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience. That way you'll at least have some stability in knowing you have a couple of reservations for your favorite places. Just my two cents. Have a great trip!

 

[newdeal]

you can easily do that if you want to eat quick service...if you want a sit down meal you will either be turned away and have to walk for an hour to find a place that will take you, or they will take you and you will quickly realise you are at the worst place to eat on Disney property lol

 

[bumbershoot]

I am going on free dining at the end of Sept and I am worried that I will get stuck with a place that I have no interest in, or is no where near where we want to be.

Well, you can always cancel if you realize you don't want to do that meal at that place...



OP, sounds like you've been there often enough and have the personalities to do this. And I read that your husband has good luck, so hopefully that'll hold.

IF this were me and my hubby...I'd make ADRs and just not tell him, then steer the family towards those choices, LOL.

 

[ickeynickey]

Maybe your husband intends on eating eggrolls all the time

 

[MickeyNicki]

but somehow, that husband of yours has crazy luck.

Or he is just plain crazy!

IF this were me and my hubby...I'd make ADRs and just not tell him, then steer the family towards those choices, LOL.

Ooh I could do that and make him think it was all his idea!

Maybe your husband intends on eating eggrolls all the time

OMG this is hysterical...and he probably will be!

 

[KungFoomF]

I haven't done it because since free dining was invented we've gotten that every year and therefore were compelled to make ADR's. You absolutely should make ADR's during a free dining period.

Now, prior to free dining the only ADR we'd make is for CRT. Today, if we didn't have free dining, I'd go without hesitation without ADR's. Worst case scenario is we eat at a counter, which I have no problem with.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

I say GO FOR IT!!! You could always call and see what's available in the morning before you leave your room when you know where you will be that day... or you could have a steady diet of carmel corn.....

 

[MickeyNicki]

I say GO FOR IT!!! You could always call and see what's available in the morning before you leave your room when you know where you will be that day... or you could have a steady diet of carmel corn.....

Ah...caramel corn

 

[TDC Nala]

I think it's absolutely fine to do this if you're not on the dining plan, because if you can't get into the restaurant you want and it has a lounge, you can probably just walk right into the lounge and order what you are after. If you're on DDP you don't have that option, they won't take credits in the lounges. You also can't easily decide if you have trouble finding a TS restaurant that you will just eat CS. And the Swan/Dolphin restaurants and most of DTD are not options on DDP.

Something someone said on here made me think the OP was on the dining plan.

 

[Sparkie]

YOU CRACK ME UP!!!!


You know Todd, rarely "feels" the ressies that you make.

And as long as you've got egg rolls, ceasar salad, taco salad and caramel corn, you've got the boy covered.

I love reading your dining reviews and I think a spontaneous review would be perfect.

 

[mullysisters]

I'm a planner, my sister is not. She never wants me to make ADR's (I still do)
I always book dinner and we take our chances at lunch. She's happy with CS I like to sit down, and possibly have a beer
We have had the most pleasant surprises just walking up to a new place. We are willing to wait to be seated and don't mind eating at the bar.
Last trip we walked up to Yak & Yeti, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tusker House, Biergarden, etc. and waited less than 30 mins to be seated at each.
I agree with the poster who said book the places you really want and then be free!

 

[MickeyNicki]

YOU CRACK ME UP!!!!


You know Todd, rarely "feels" the ressies that you make.

And as long as you've got egg rolls, ceasar salad, taco salad and caramel corn, you've got the boy covered.

I love reading your dining reviews and I think a spontaneous review would be perfect.

Oh hon, you know us toooooo well! And you are right, he is never happy with what I pick for us even though he is usually the one that tells me what to book!

It is settled, we are going to do 5 days in WDW without one single reservation at all....someone help me LOL. Thats not to say we will eat just CS, oh no. I have been informed that we will still do a TS for every dinner, def a TS lunch for our departure day and maybe a TS breakfast or 2.

What did I get myself into?

 

[luvmarypoppins]

After reading all your previous reports, you will be just fine!!

Todd, can, well you know, always just pull a Todd and it will work out. Remember the Cape May breakfast you had with no adr?

Can it be that you will be there when my dh and I will be there? We will be there the 20th-26th.

Since its our anniv. and b day and I dont live 300 miles away like you and we have a TIW burning a hole in dh wallet, I have so far made 7 adrs and I still have some slots left.

I will look for you and your camera!

Where are you staying? we are doing a split with the GF and the BC, all for free. Love my dh and his ff miles.

 

[princess aleya]

I just don't think I could do it. I'm way too much of a planner especially when it comes to food .

 

[JJ&JHsmom]

oooooo, I can't wait to read the dining report for your trip! This one promises to be fun, have a great time! I hope you don't have too much anxiety over the dining, I know that I would have reservation withdrawl, half the fun of planning a trip is playing with the dining.

Cassey

 

[JimmyV]

It can be done, as long as one has tempered expectations. For many people, a trip to WDW just isn't complete without a meal at... (fill in the blank that best suits your family.) If that is the case, no ADRs increases the chances of disappointment. If, on the other hand, you have a relaxed attitude that any TS is fine, then yes, you will almost always be able to get in "somewhere". For me? I do a lot of cooking, both at home and professionally. For me, a vacation is one where I am out of the kitchen and eating at what I expect (or hope) to be a memorable restaurant, checking out the culinary scene and trying new things. So I like to plan ahead to maximize my joy. Eating at "any-old-restaurant" is not my idea of vacation whether it is in WDW, Napa, Paris, or otherwise. I research, plan and cross my fingers that I have chosen well. But I get that most other people are not like me. If you really don't care on any given night whether you are going to eat Cheese Soup or sushi, and don't care wether your dinner will be at 4:15 or 8:45, then I don't think doing the walk-in thing is a terrible idea. But if dining pleasure is a big part of what you travel for, then making ADRs is a safer route to culinary Nirvana.

 

[catra121]

I would go without reservations if I planned on NOT eating any table service meals...but that's almost never the case. The way things are now...it's just too much of a headache to do walk-up at TS restaurants at Disney.

Guess it just depends on where you want to eat. Winging it can be fun...just know what you're in for if that's what you do. And I would do that for a short last minute sort of trip...but not for a regular trip to Disney...not a chance.

 

[cegreenf]

I've never made dining reservations anywhere (except when I was very small and my parents took me to a character breakfast)

That being said, the majority times I have been there, its been only teenagers and adults. We just make sure we know what kind of places there are to eat in the parks, and then once we get hungry, pick one of those (usually fast, cheap, and nearby!) to grab a quick bite.

I'll also point out that you could feed be just about anything, but in Disney, it just always seems to taste good no matter what!

 

[Pugmalion1]

With Disney's Mobile Dining Reservations site, I don't think it would be too tough to wing it, at all. You can see what's open for any meal in any area of WDW pretty easily on your phone.

And, like TDC Nala said, if eating in lounges isn't a problem for you, you can find a seat pretty much anywhere.