Newbie Question

[verrecchia]

Is a pass or ticket needed to enter a theme park restaurant? My family will be in WDW for 4 days but I will be at a conference for 2 of the days. We will be having dinner together so will I need a ticket to get in? Should we just eat at one of the hotels? Thanks

 

[traceym]

yes, you will need a ticket to get into the park to access the restaurant.

 

[2Tiggies]

You do need a valid ticket to enter a park, even if only to eat. If you won't be visiting any of the parks (buying a park ticket for yourself) then rather go for one of the resort restaurants. A lot of them are better than the park ones anyway. What kind of meal did you have in mind?

 

[chalee94]

Should we just eat at one of the hotels?

this would be a better plan, IMO...

 

[verrecchia]

We are interested in a variety of restaurants. I don't want to have to but a pass just to eat dinner. Could we just go to a restaurant at one of the hotels e.g. Contemporary, Yacht Club etc.? Thanks

 

[richmo]

The previous posters pretty well summed it up: if the restaurant is inside the park, you need a ticket. Unless there's some compelling reason to do so, it is not worth buying a ticket just to eat. (However, adding a day to a multi-day ticket is quite inexpensive...this doesn't seem to be your case, though)

So, the hotels are a good option and also keep in mind that Downtown Disney does not require a ticket, so those restaurants would be good as well.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

There are plenty of great restaurants inside the resorts to eat at. What kind of meal did you have in mind?

 

[leeholmes1]

we LOVE O'Hana. It is in the Polynesian. You will find mixed reviews in here but we made reservations when they opened at 5:15 and had a wonderful meal with a great view of MK. AFTER DINNER YOU CAN WATCH wISHES

 

[Pugmalion1]

We are interested in a variety of restaurants. I don't want to have to but a pass just to eat dinner. Could we just go to a restaurant at one of the hotels e.g. Contemporary, Yacht Club etc.? Thanks

You could, and you should. With maybe a couple notable exceptions, the quality of the food to be had at the resort hotels is usually better than the equivalent price point inside of the park.

I suggest you go to the Epcot area hotels, spend some time at the Boardwalk, and decide which of the many restaurants in the five hotels around the lagoon at which you'd like to dine. Don't forget about the Swan and Dolphin. There are good restaurants in both of them, as well, and they are within walking distance of Boardwalk and the Yacht and Beach Clubs.

Oh, also, if you have a smart phone, you can use Disney's mobile dining site to find open reservations at any restaurant the day of. You could actually just search for all open resort dinner reservations and just decide which one you like best before going. That will choose which hotel you visit before your feet even touch the ground.

 

[Hopefully]

We are interested in a variety of restaurants. I don't want to have to but a pass just to eat dinner. Could we just go to a restaurant at one of the hotels e.g. Contemporary, Yacht Club etc.? Thanks

Yes you can. Anyone can make an ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) at a non park restaurant. ADR's can be made 180 days in advance, so even popular resort restaurants can book up completely in advance.
Choose where you would like to go and go to Disney's website to book your reservation.
Have Fun

 

[WEDWDW]

The only exception is Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom which is "technically"(appears in the DAK Times Guide) part of Animal Kingdom.

It is right outside the DAK turnstiles and even has its own set of turnstiles for entry directly into the Park.