No reservation--has anyone had luck with off times?

[westjones]

I don't want to make reservations, because I don't know what day or where we want to eat. We are fine with eating around 3:00/4:00 pm. Do you think it might be possible to just walk in if we go at an odd time like this?
Thanks,
DJ

 

[danielle.st]

From all I've read online, it depends. It depends on the time of year you are going and it depends on how flexible you are as to the restaurants you'll eat at.

 

[faindrops27]

Some people swear by just "winging it". I just do not know how. I look at places I would like to dine. Then, I make reservations. According to the disney calendar. My outlined touring for the day. In July. I hear it is very busy. But, you may get lucky. Depending on where you wish to eat. Good luck!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

You may have mixed experience, just don't get frustrated and take it out on others if you cannot be seated. If you yourself stay very flexible and stay to off times, you'll probably get a few table services, espicially in restaurants that are not as popular. But this also depends on the time of year your are going.

 

[mcr5298]

As mentioned, just be prepared to wait. And be flexible with the times. Also call Disney Dining in the morning to check for open ADR's. We went down to Disney World two Easter's ago when it was very busy. There were 6 of us, and we walked up to Le Cellier just as it opened with no ADR's. They took us right in! We also went to 'Ohana for dinner without ADR's two years ago in May. They said that it would be an hour an a half wait. This was at 5 pm, so we put our name on the list. We hopped on the monorail and checked out all the resort shops on the line. Then we went back and sat down. And we were able to see the fireworks right from our table. It was perfect!

Good luck, I hope that you have a great time!

 

[Lynne M]

You'll find someplace to eat; it probably won't be in a theme park. Your best chance will be at resort restaurants, and even those can be tough.

As others have said, it depends on the time of year. If you're going during free dining, or during a holiday period, you'll be eating a LOT of counter service.

Walking up can be a problem. Many restaurants will turn you away if they're fully booked; they won't let you wait for a table. I'd strongly recommend ADRs, even if you call at lunchtime for a dinner reservation. Otherwise, you'll waste a lot of time going from restaurant to restaurant, trying to find one that will seat you without an ADR.

 

[bicker]

You'll find someplace to eat; it probably won't be in a theme park. Your best chance will be at resort restaurants, and even those can be tough.

Yes, that's basically it in a nutshell. I believe that you'll encounter the least problems with 3PM-4PM (which is basically the full extent of "off times" for meals) at Epcot. At MK and especially D-HS, you'll often encounter a lack of accommodation, even during the off-season. (We typically visit in late January.) AK, I'm not sure about, because the last time I was there, there weren't any TS; now there are two.

 

[suzimar57]

when you arrive at your park of choice for the day, go to guest relations and have them see what's available in that park's restaurants for that day - they'd be able to see more easily what times are open that way

 

[ChrisKsAngel]

As long as you are flexible you should be okay. Just remember that there will be a wait time and you may not get into the popular restaurants. That being said, we have walked up to Chef Mickey's twice (in July) without a problem. We didn't eat early either... it was around 6-7ish. Our name was put on the list and we have a wait time of 30-45 minutes. It gives you time to check out the resort and do a little shopping in the gift shop. There are always no shows so it never hurts to go right to the restaurant and try. Good luck!

Edited to add: I have walked up to Kona for lunch as well around 2. No wait at all to be seated.

 

[Tam1067]

I saw people walk up at Chef Mickey's last July. This was for dinner. I saw people turned away from Crystal Palace on that same trip, also for dinner.

We were able to walk up for lunch (regular time, about 12:00 or so) and breakfast (right at opening) at Kona.

Also, some of the TS places in World Showcase have openings at lunchtime and in the afternoons.

 

[dmslush]

As long as you are flexible you should be fine. We have pretty good luck calling disney dining from our room and asking "What do you have in Magic Kingdom for dinner tonight" We just tell them what park we will be in and they usually find us something. At times we called in the afternoon and would ask what character breakfast they had openings for the next morning. As long as we weren't picky, we usually got in someplace with very little trouble.

 

[crisi]

The real issue I've had is that it often takes a few stops to find something - when you are hungry and the restaurants are spaced out - that can be a problem. I'd recommend:

Calling Disney Dining on your cell phone about an hour before you want to eat - there are often last minute reservations available - and an hour will give you travel time. You can easily spend an hour in the park walking from place to place looking for a walkin.

Knowing where good counter service is - there is lots of good counter service options. If you can't sit down, you can at least avoid the all chicken fingers.

Be willing to sit at the bar (where applicable).

Make ADRs for large parties and any important meals - it isn't hard for one person to walk into Flying Fish and eat at the bar - its hard for a party of six to do the same.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We had OK luck with a similar tactic on our trip the first week in May. It was not crowded at all while we were there, but the restaurants were still pretty booked. I would call or go down to guest services in the morning and just took what was available. We also walked up to Whispering Canyon Cafe for lunch around 11:30 one day and plenty of tables were available (we were surprised by that).

If I was going to totally wing it, I would call Disney Dining from my cell to see what was available in the next 30 minutes or so instead of walking from one place to the next.