Kona Cafe

[Tortuga-J]

Hello all!

Are advance dining reservations needed or even possible for Kona Cafe at the Poly? We'll heading down during free dining in August.

Thanks so much!

 

[beroh2253]

Hello all!

Are advance dining reservations needed or even possible for Kona Cafe at the Poly? We'll heading down during free dining in August.

Thanks so much!

Yes they are needed and this is a popular place with great food. Better call now or asap

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Yes, it's quite popular, increasingly so (it seems). While you can get a walk-up reservation during the less busy times of the year, during free dining you'd be better off booking ahead of time...

 

[LBelle]

We love Kona!! Make a point of going there every visit. Especially during Free Dining, reservations are essential!!! For just about anywhere.

Have a great trip!

 

[aubriee]

Definitely make an ADR. I'll be at WDW in May and have called several times in the last couple of weeks trying to get an ADR at Konas without success. I also dined there last May and as I was checking in, saw several people turned away.

There was also a post on here not too long ago, where someone staying at the Poly threw a fit and demanded a manager when they couldn't get into Konas. The manager finally seated them, but the gist of the thread was, did people think that the restaurants should hold back tables for people staying at that resort and did people agree with what this man did. Apparently this family had been warned by a DISer to make ADRs and chose not to, then threw a fit once they got down there because they couldn't get into the places they wanted. They then came back and told the DISer what he had done. The wife felt he was fully justified in his fit throwing to get what they wanted.

During free dining you need to make ADRs for any restaurant you want to dine at. We've been down there the last three Septembers for free dining (this Sept will be the fourth time). We have seen people turned away from restaurants every trip. We knew we would be doing the DxDDP if free dining came out this year, so went ahead and booked our resort at 181 days out, just so we could use the 180+10 rule to make sure we got all of our ADRs. I know we aren't the only ones who did so. ADRs are scarce to come by in September due to all the free diners.