Places to eat w/o ADR's

[Lisa06468]

Ok, Im new to this whole disney planning thing. We dont intend on doing any character lunches/dinners. Are there places to eat within the parks that do not require advance reservations? Nothing fancy just grab something to eat kind of place. Im having a hard enough time trying to figure out which park to do on which day never mind where we're going to eat. Does anyone play it by ear, go with the flow, wake up and say lets do this or that or is everything planned down to potty breaks?

Side note - kids are 12, 12 and 8 (almost 9 at that point) so no real youngsters.

 

[Wildflowerz]

There are TONS of counter service places. You can certainly eat at any of those, any time. As far as table service places, I'll leave that to someone else. But, it would depend on when you're going and what time you try and eat. When we went last (which, granted, was 8 years ago) we went in December (first week) and made ADRs the day OF or the day before and had no problem getting them. The one day we tried to go w/o one, we couldn't get in, though. This time, we plan on making them ASAP even though we're going during the same week.

I do have to say, that lunch at DtD was NO problem getting in anywhere. Of course, let me reiterate, this was 8 years ago. Good luck!

 

[eliza61]

This is how we travel all the time but I will say in the parks it's a little harder.
The only plan I have is to know the park hours.

What we do is when we wake up in the morning, we call disney dining. They are great giving you a rundown of the TS restuarants that have openings.

We've been travelling like this for the last 5 years and have never had a problem. I would not try to just walk up, that is a lot harder. Your tag says you are going in October which usually is a good time to go due to the lighter crowds.

I can barely decide what I want for dinner tomorrow so trying to pick a restuarant 6 months in advance just is not going to happen in my world

 

[Hmbldr]

For counter service restaurants, you should have no problem as most are geared to high volume and have larger seating capacities. We were there last week, very busy and got our food and sat right down for all our CS dining. There are lots of great options for CS and there are plenty of threads here listing favorites and menu variations.

For table service resaturants that is another story. For the best and most popular, ADRs are strongly recommended or an absolute neccesity. They are often fully booked and you won't have an option of waiting for a table at all. But there are exceptions and you can take your luck as it comes. I did see people outright turned away and I did see some places where names were taken and waits of 30 or more minutes given. You could always give your name in, shop or browse nearby or ride a short ride, then return for your table ready. I think October is fairly busy but not as bad as spring break vacations.

I know planning may seem like a chore to some, but you have time and the more planning you do - even loosely - will allow you to enjoy your vacation all the more.

Maybe a few ADRs and wing the rest. You won't go hungry and you're sure to have a great time.

 

[minnierocks]

As far as counter service goes...here are some of our favorites...my son is 15 and my daughter 12, so they are kid-pleasing picks...
AK...definitely Flame Tree BBQ (meals are big, so we always share)
DTD...Earl of Sandwich
DHS...Rosie's All-American Cafe, Flatbread Grill, Pizza Planet (Toy Story theme)
Epcot...Liberty Inn (America), Sunshine Seasons (The Land)
MK...Casey's had pretty good hot dogs (they were HUGE!)

As for sit down...we always plan one per day. We like (and need) the break...
In October, you may or may not be able to walk up...it's all going to depend on crowd levels.
Here are some of our favorites...
AK...we like Boma's (which is at Animal Kingdom Lodge)
DHS...50's Primetime Cafe, and Hollywood & Vine (Buffet...that is a can't miss for us)
Epcot...we always do counter service at Epcot. We did eat at the Rose and Crown once, and it was my kid's least favorite meal.
MK...Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's, and the Plaza (definite must do!)

Instead of planning far ahead...maybe you could pick up park schedules for the week when you get there and call dining from your room to see what's available. That way you'll have a better idea of what you want to do and still (possibly) be able to get in where you want to eat...

 

[Lisa06468]

I can barely decide what I want for dinner tomorrow so trying to pick a restuarant 6 months in advance just is not going to happen in my world

Well see, this is me too!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Silly me, I found the disney dining and menu section so Ive been looking at that. Its so cool to see things like this ahead of time. Keep the suggestions coming, Im keeping a list of recommended places to eat!!

 

[ForeverDance]

As the other's have said CS will not be a problem. The first year we went to Disney we went in July and we had no idea you could book ahead. We did that one day (to get Chip and Dale's for dd) but other than that we just walked up to all our table service meals. This was in July and we did sometimes have to wait 30 mins or so.

Last year we went during free dining and I booked only a couple adr's and that was it... until we got there. Our first day we walked up to San Angel Inn (never ever had a problem getting a walk up there). After that we had trouble so we called ahead and found an open place before going out to the park.

So it's definately doable, you just need to be patient and flexible.

 

[Luv4Disney]

Marrakkesh is generally always walk up friendly, I've also heard San Angel and Nine Dragons. Tony's at MK can sometimes happen depending on the time of year and sometimes, though rarely, LTT.

 

[embgrl]

If you don't mind leaving the park to go eat here are a couple of options that don't take ADR's and are walk-up only.

Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club
ESPN Club @ Boardwalk (one of our favorites)
Big River Grille @ Boardwalk

 

[Lisa06468]

If you don't mind leaving the park to go eat here are a couple of options that don't take ADR's and are walk-up only.

Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club
ESPN Club @ Boardwalk (one of our favorites)
Big River Grille @ Boardwalk

ESPN Club & Big River Grill at Boardwalk - help me out here - which park is this outside of and how far is it? thanks

 

[Hmbldr]

ESPN Club & Big River Grill at Boardwalk - help me out here - which park is this outside of and how far is it? thanks

Both on the Boardwalk just outside Epcot International Gateway. Just a few minutes walk.

 

[srwarden1928]

We were in Disney in March. We called the morning of to get dinner ADRs for Marakesh, Biergarten, and Hollywood & Vine. We walked up to 50s Prime Time and were immediately seated at the bar at lunch time (same food). Otherwise we ate CS, which always works. Most places will have SOME time open. We did eat at Biergarten at 430, but that was ok with us. My stomach does better eating early anyway. Character meals I would think would be more likely to sell out. BTW Flame Tree Barbeque may be CS, but it was outstanding food & alot of it. Four Seasons? in Epcot has so many choices its hard to pick. Cosmic Rays in MK was good too. So some CS meals are fine.