List of restaraunts you don't need ADR

[jessiesue]

Is there a list somewhere for Disney restaraunts you don't need ADR? I don't like having to be on a schedule at a certain park on a certain day. TIA

 

[Pumbaa_]

CS
B&C (They don't take ressies)
Boardwalk Brewery (same)

Everywhere else -
Depends on lots of factors
when are you going? How many in your party? Where are you looking to eat?

If you have hopes of a character meal, strongly suggest ADR

If you are not going at a very busy time, call Disney Dining that day and see what is available.

Disney Dining is a very uniques breed. During many times of year, there i sno walking up at most places

I totally understand the wanting to wing it. We do it often. But I am also willing to eat CS, or at out of the way places or even offsite. So it is doable, but just want to be clear about how it works

I have had luck with Garden Grill
Bome (when they opened and we were literally 10 minutes away)

Good luck!

 

[stepdisney]

Interesting topic. I have had ADR's booked and then changed when I got there. There are some places that are easier to switch too which is just like saying you don't have an ADR just like there are some places that are impossible to switch to. Le Cellier and Ohana are two place that are virtually impossible to walk up to, or at least last year and the year before they were. I have always had an easy time switching to Boma. I think the turn-around time is quick and it is rather large. Also, I know that Maya Grill at CSR is a walk-up Table service. I also heard that they got a few really good reviews lately, they must have made some improvements.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Exactly!

This past week MK was closed due to capacity - even CS must have been a madhouse and forget TS

So lots of factors go into availability

Just hate when folks thinking that it is like a local place and you will just wait for a table.

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

Technically?


ABC Commissary - Hollywood Studios
Avalunch - Blizzard Beach
Backlot Express - Hollywood Studios
Cabana Bar and Grill - Dolphin
Cantina de San Angel - EPCOT World Showcase
Casey's Corner - Magic Kingdom
Catalina Eddie's - Hollywood Studios
Columbia Harbour - House Magic Kingdom
Contempo Cafe - Contemporary
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe - Magic Kingdom
Earl of Sandwich - Downtown Disney
Electric Umbrella Restaurant - EPCOT Future World
End Zone Food Court - All Star Sports Resort
Everything Pop Dining - Pop Century
Flame Tree Barbecue - Animal Kingdom
Frontierland Fries - Magic Kingdom
Hurricane Hanna's Grille - Yacht & Beach Club
Intermission Food Court - All Star Music Resort
Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe - EPCOT World Showcase
Leaning Palms - Typhoon Lagoon
Liberty Inn - EPCOT World Showcase
Lottawatta Lodge - Blizzard Beach
Lotus Blossom Cafe - EPCOT World Showcase
Mardi Grogs - Port Orleans French Quarter
McDonalds - Downtown Disney
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe - Magic Kingdom
Pinocchio Village Haus - Magic Kingdom
Restaurantosaurus - Animal Kingdom
Rosie's All American Cafe - Hollywood Studios
Seasons Food Court - EPCOT Future World
Sommerfest - EPCOT World Showcase
Surf Doggies - Typhoon Lagoon
Tangierine Café - EPCOT World Showcase
The Artist's Palette - Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
Toluca Legs Turkey Co. - Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Pizza Planet - Hollywood Studios
Typhoon Tilly's - Typhoon Lagoon
Warming Hut - Blizzard Beach
Wolfgang Puck Express - Downtown Disney
World Premiere Food Court - All Star Movies Resort
Yak and Yeti Counter Service - Animal Kingdom
Yakitori House - EPCOT World Showcase
Yorkshire County Fish Shop featuring Harry Ramsden's - EPCOT World Showcase

While I'd never ever go without ADRs, the fact is, there is such an insane variety of counter service restaurants, with menus much more varied than just "burgers and fries" that it would be perfectly possible to eat very well without making ADRs - as long as you don't want to be waited on! Plus, even though I got this list by searching for "quick service" on the DIS restaurant search, I don't think it's exhaustive, because I'm seeing missing places - Pepper Market jumps immediately to mind, but I'm sure there are others as well.

I would make at least one table service ADR, though. Plan it for a night you know for sure you will be in a certain park - for example, we always go to MK on our first full day. There's something so much more "vacation" about sitting down and relaxing over a meal in an airconditioned restaurant!

 

[disnut8]

All counter service places (MouseEarsJenny gave you quite an extensive list)

ESPN Club and Big River Grille on the Boardwalk
Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club

We don't like to make reservations before we leave either. But we enjoy a variety of counter service places so we aren't just eating hot dogs and fries the entire time. You can easily have Mexican for lunch and Chinese for dinner at Epcot's World Showcase. Cantina San Angel and Lotus Blossom Cafe. Or, take a short walk out to the Beach Club for Beaches and Cream and the ESPN Club for those meals. If you use your imagination and don't think of the typical fast food places inside a park, you'll find lots of good food without making advanced plans.

 

[Lynne M]

Well, it kind of depends on the meaning of "don't need ADR".

If you mean, does the restaurant have a rule that says they won't seat you, ever, if you don't have a reservation, even if they have empty tables.....I don't think that applies to any WDW restaurant. Maybe V&A.

If you're looking for a restaurant that you can be pretty much guaranteed of getting in as a walk-up whenever you feel like eating...that's a very short list, probably consisting mostly of restaurants that don't take ADRs at all, like ESPN, Big River Grille, and B&C.

It's especially hard to get into theme park restaurants as a walk-up, since most of them are booked up months in advance, and if they're booked up, they won't let you wait for a table. You'll be turned away. This can happen at resort restaurants as well. I remember one Saturday night around 5 PM that I tried to get a dinner reservation at MK or anywhere on the monorail loop, and every single restaurant was booked for the night and not taking walk-ups.

It's an unfortunate fact of life at WDW that it can be tough to get into TS restaurants without ADRs. The best thing I can recommend is to call in the morning and see what's available that suits your plans for the day. You're going to have a limited selection of places and times, but at least you'll get in somewhere.

 

[peyjax]

I don't like having to be on a schedule at a certain park on a certain day. TIA

You, me, and a bunch of other folks! However it is what it is and reservations are the necessary evil at Disney. You can try for walk ups and last minute ressies. They are far and few between depending on when and where you are going.

 

[ntsammy5]

You'll have more luck walking into some of the resort TS and probably Marrakesh and maybe Biergarden, but other than that ---- We've noticed that usually Signature restaurants sometimes seem to be less crowded too - but that's just an observation, not a fact.

 

[LaurenMic]

Last I knew the TRex Restaurant at DTD didn't take ADRs. Has that since changed? Also, even at the places that don't take ADRs, prepare yourself for the fact that even though you can just "walk up" they still could have a very long wait and not be worth your time. For example, in January we tried to walk up to ESPN Club and there was over an hour wait. We would have been better off making an ADR for an Epcot Restaurant because it would have allowed us more time for touring instead of waiting to eat.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I know that I've never needed an ADR for GFC or Olivia's (lunch), or Captain's Grill (lunch or dinner).

 

[Lady V]

Last I knew the TRex Restaurant at DTD didn't take ADRs. Has that since changed? Also, even at the places that don't take ADRs, prepare yourself for the fact that even though you can just "walk up" they still could have a very long wait and not be worth your time. For example, in January we tried to walk up to ESPN Club and there was over an hour wait. We would have been better off making an ADR for an Epcot Restaurant because it would have allowed us more time for touring instead of waiting to eat.

they take them...we used it in Feb...was so glad we did because we walked up and were sent to ne xtline to be seated right away while the walk ups were being told over an hour

 

[Dallas_Lady]

A restaurant where you don't need an ADR? Counter Service.

You could probably eat at the moderate resort sit-downs, but unless you're staying at one of those resorts, they are very out of the way.

 

[Bethpremier]

So, Im guessing that Downtown Disney places such as Fulton's and Raglan Road is a yes on the ADR?

 

[MyMuse]

So, Im guessing that Downtown Disney places such as Fulton's and Raglan Road is a yes on the ADR?

I made an ADR for Raglan Road yesterday.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

We're not big fans of making ADRs, either. In fact, we're going in October for free dining and it's slightly paining us to have to make ADRs because we like to go with the flow. Anyways, off the top of my head, we have had success with walk ups at places such as Sci-Fi, Mama Melrose, 50s Prime Time. Just try to go to the restaurants that are not the hot spots so to say, like CRT, Le Cellier, etc. Try Biergarten, Plaza, etc. Also, you can try calling when you're down there. Sometimes when people cancel ADRs, they're canceling them at last minute.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Not that I'd recommend going without ADRs, but we managed to walk up with a short wait to lots of places during a busy time (when we changed our plans at the last minute and couldn't get ADRs.) The list of places included Crystal Palace for breakfast, Tony's for lunch, and Ohana for dinner (OK, I walked up to Ohana right when they opened, and there was about an hour wait for that one, but we were staying at the Poly, and I gambled that the buzzers would work in our room, so we just relaxed back in the room while we waited.) Basically, any time we wanted to eat somewhere that we didn't have an ADR, we were able to. However, we generally tend to eat at non-peak times (later lunch, etc) so maybe that's why things worked out. Maybe we were just lucky....

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just remembered that during free dining a couple years ago, I got in to Rose and Crown with no ADR (well, technically, I made an ADR-45 minutes beforehand. I wanted to eat there after a showing of the WS Players). Also, I heard the family of 4 behind me at Chefs de France be told to wait about 30 minutes as walk ups, also during free dining. In both cases, this was at lunch-time.