Reservations vs No Reservations

[Kat016]

What's everyone's thoughts on making or not making reservations for the table service part of the dining plan? We're going down in October. The only reason I don't want to make reservations before we go down is because I don't want to plan anything. I want to wing our entire trip. I want to wake up in the morning and see where we want to go. And when we get to whatever park we decide on for the day, ill make reservations than. I realize the character dining & some of the "bigger" restaurants we're going to have to make reservations.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We used to do that in the old days. We ended up with a lot of counter service dinners or a lot of long waits for a table service. We could often get a reservation that morning, but it wasn't always for a good time. But there have been times were were seated within an hour of showing up at a restaurant.

But that was mostly before the dining plan was invented. Now I think there are less open spots in restaurants. If it is a slow period, I think you could still be alright in some restaurants. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge last month and it seemed like Whispering Canyon Cafe was never crowded for breakfast or lunch.

Once we finally started making dinner reservations for at least a few nights of our trip, it turned out to be nice. We liked having something to anchor our day. And it was nice not to be scrambling to find someplace to eat at night. We started off easy, with just one or two table services booked per trip. And that was nice.

 

[rquebral]

I think making reservations is a must! The first time I went to wdw and stayed on property, I had no clue about reservations. We had a difficult time getting in anywhere. We had the ddp and I found it to be very frustrating. Even now, I have a trip planned in June and most of the restaurants that I like to eat at, do not have reservations before 8pm. Which is not ideal for kids.

 

[Kat016]

What about, if we show up at a restaurant and there's a 2 hr wait...can we give our name & come back in 2 hrs? Or do you have to wait there for 2 hrs?

 

[LindyN]

If you purchase a dining plan, you're likely to lose money.

You won't starve but instead of eating steak you might be eating sandwiches in a resort TS location and what your end result might be are dining receipts which will be less than the cost of a dining plan.

 

[purple figment]

If you're paying for the dining plan it would be much better to make reservations or you'll be wasting money. Without reservations you run the risk of eating at less popular places, restaurants you're really not interested in, spending a lot of time waiting to be seated, traveling to out of the way places (outlying resorts) or settling for counter service.

You can try walking up, but if it's busy the restaurant may not be seating walk ups. If you are allowed to wait, you'll all have to remain there - you cannot leave your name and go beyond the range of the pager.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

No way would I spend the money on the Dining Plan and then try to *wing* it for meals.
October is a busy month with Halloween and Food and Wine - you may end up wasting a lot of your TS credits.
If you are truly committed to "no planning", perhaps the QS plan might be a better fit for you.

 

[bigbabyblues]

What about, if we show up at a restaurant and there's a 2 hr wait...can we give our name & come back in 2 hrs? Or do you have to wait there for 2 hrs?

You couldn't put your name in and come back, you would have to wait for the table.

Disney retaurants don't hold tables back for walk ups, whether those asking for a table are on a dining plan or not. If the wait was going to be 2 hours, it is likely you would simply be turned away.

No way would I purchase the dining plan and not make reservations ahead of time, you could lose money by being unable to use table service credits.

 

[rquebral]

agreed!!! I can't see paying 55/ day for a Rueben sandwich, when I can have Filet Mignon.

 

[Kat016]

I just changed our reservation to MYW + QS. That was a great idea....that works much better for our plans or lack there of! Lol

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I just changed our reservation to MYW + QS. That was a great idea....that works much better for our plans or lack there of! Lol

Wonderful. I hope you have a great time. And the extra money you saved can buy a couple extra items at the food booths at F&W. Enjoy.

 

[Kat016]

Wonderful. I hope you have a great time. And the extra money you saved can buy a couple extra items at the food booths at F&W. Enjoy.

Thank you!! I'm so glad I put it out there because I never thought to change to quick service...ill probably make 1 character meal reservation and the rest will be QS.