restaurants at disney and universal

[welshlady]

Hi All

I have 2 fickle teens regarding food choices, is it possible to book a table at restaurants on the day or do we have to book well in advance.

We are staying in a villa in Kissimee not on disney so no disney dining.

We took a picnic & sarnies with us to the parks 8 years ago when kids were small but not sure I want to do this for every park this time.

We are planning to visit all disney, universal, IOA and seaworld and really don't want to have to book loads of tables in advance.

 

[kevin harrison]

That's the big problem with the DDP and pre-booked reservations. Who wants to book where they are eating every night for 6 months in advance?

 

[LauraDaveCharlie]

Hi, what time of year are you going? This would make a difference. If it is major tourist time then you will struggle in the main parks for table service restaurants without reservations. If it's low season then you may be able to pick some things up a few days out or even on the morning of the day you want to eat there.

But you do have a couple of other options. Firstly, if you leave the parks to go to the nearby resorts you should be able to find a good meal eg: visit Kona Cafe at the Poly from the Magic Kingdom, visit Captain's Grille at the Yacht club from Epcot or ESPN Club at Boardwalk from DHS etc. Yes it involves leaving the park for an hour of so but this can be really refreshing and give you a second wind. Plus it's always nice to look around the resorts - these restaurants are usually much more relaxing than in the parks too. It helps if you can go outside the usual meal times as you are almost guaranteed a table with no problems.

The other option is to do some counter service restaurants. With research, you will find there are loads of great options beyond the typical fast food fare. Try Flame Tree Barbecue or Yak and Yeti Cafe at AK, Pecos Bills with great toppings bar at MK, Boulangerie in EP...there are many more.

Hope all this helps!

 

[luke]

Just had a quick play on the Mobile Magic app and there are 53 restaurants available to make reservations at for this evening at varying times, so it's not like you wouldn't be able to get to eat somewhere even if it wasn't necessarily your very first choice

 

[cliveywolves]

You will really struggle to eat @ Disney restaurant in the parks or at downtown disney without advanced reservations, they really do book up quickly most of the time.. you can sometimes just walk up but expect a wait of over 1 hour if they even have any slots free.. Its just the way it goes at Disney

I just did on online search via disney dinning for tomorrow night and in MK & Epcot 10 restaurants came up with two times slots free ..
But does also depend when you are going to be at Disney...

 

[darthtatty]

obviously it would depend on what time of year youre going.

They have counter service restaurants (like fast food places) however there are lots of choices and not just burgers/chicken nuggets.
I assume youre driving as youre staying off site? so there will be many restaurants you can eat at when youre not in the parks.

For table service restaurants, during busy times it is advised that you book.
you may be lucky and get a table, or have a short wait.
you are more likely to have luck with this, if you go during quiet times or when restaurants open.

look at allears to see restaurant menus at WDW.
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

 

[luke]

I could get pretty much all Epcot restaurants for tonight if I wanted to. As well as most of the resort restaurants, DTD ones too and a selection of other options too

 

[queendisney]

we have never had a problem with walk up at any of the restaurants we have gone to BUT...we tend to go low season and also we are not fussy with what time we eat. So as long as you are flexible you should be ok if its not high season. If there is somewhere that you really want to eat at for lunch or dinner then I would book.
This is the main reason we never do the DDP where you have to book your meals 6 month in advance as I could never plan my holiday around where I eat, I plan my eating around where I am when I am hungry.

 

[Cyrano]

We were at WDW in June and July this year. Changed a few of our ADRs and could have even got Cinderella's Royal Table booking 1 day in advance

I think the $10 no show fee per person has had the desired affect.. namely guests no longer book restaurants in all the parks to give them options. This means there is more likely availability on the day

 

[welshlady]

Many thanks for your replies... we are flying October 26th, which is probably classed as low season except for halloween events. So I am hopeful that we will be able to find a decent restaurant now and again in one of the parks.

We will be totally flexible about what time we eat as thats part of the problem, teens who don't eat breakfast can suddenly middle of the afternoon become monsters if not fed substantial meals (and if I'm lucky healthy meals) and then won't want anything later except ice cream.

I will make a note of all your suggestions and check them out either online before we go or whilst there.

Thanks

 

[zippy99]

We booked in April for our trip this month and were able to get all reservations we wanted. In fact just last night we were shuffling reservations around, cancelling a couple and changing a Sunday 26th aug SciFi reservation to the next evening so it could coincide with late EMH the following day!

Also now booked a last minute whispering Canyon dinner - 29 days in advance!

Certain restaurants may be more popular - but as Luke has mentioned there often seems to be plenty available - there may be a 180 day booking window - but with the US offering free dining 3 months out (rather than our 12+ months) there always seems to be plenty available.

 

[tinkerpea]

I dont think you should have any problems getting a TS meal on the day in October or November!
Before DIS boards i never really did many ADRs because i didnt know about them so around 3 yrs ago i was booking all my TS meals on the day! Now i know if you want a special time place restaurent etc then it may be slightly more difficult (NOT IMPOSSIBLE) I went to the guest services at Epcot most mornings with 7 of my family back in 2008 and we would join the que for the restaurent we wanted and always got the 1 we wanted for the time we wanted,same with Magic kingdom so i know lots of people say its impossible and you wont getthem but even with free DDP people now cant over book due to the $10 no show fee which i have noticed made a HUGE difference to booking all the TS places i wanted this yr

 

[ben1993]

I don't think you'll have too much trouble with most TS restaurants. The obvious ones will be out of the question, but I'm browsing the available reservations for tomorrow evening on the new "My Disney Experience" app right now, and apart from the major character meals and some signatures, most places have availability held back, and this is at the absolute peak of summer!

 

[chmurf]

If you have special places you want to go to, then you'll need to reserve to make sure you get that restaurant (some sell out more rapidly than others, some just don't sell out)
The same goes if you have a scheduled activity and you want to make sure the dining part is done before a certain time.
Same thing if you have a routine and need to eat by a certain time. Not making ADRs might still allow you to find a restaurant on the day, but you might end up eating quite late (or excessively early)

Have a look at menus, and if you're flexible enough with food/time you'll be fine booking on the day. But I would suggest you booked (even a few hours in advance) rather than walking up to the podium.
Having a reservation might require you to wait, but just walking up to the restaurant might get you even greater wait times before getting seated.

I'm also not sure what effect the free DDP will have on ADRs, as you're going in October/november and it's free DDP season

Staying in Kissimee I would assume that you will have a car, if you do, then you'll always have a fall back plan with many offsite restaurants.

 

[Shazzie B]

Teens who don't eat breakfast can suddenly middle of the afternoon become monsters if not fed substantial meals (and if I'm lucky healthy meals) and then won't want anything later except ice cream.

I'm living that dream too I don't attempt any 'sensible' conversation when I get home from work -learnt to postpone them until they've been fed

 

[chmurf]

I'm living that dream too I don't attempt any 'sensible' conversation when I get home from work -learnt to postpone them until they've been fed

as long as you don't feed them after midnight, you should be ok

 

[welshlady]

I'm also not sure what effect the free DDP will have on ADRs, as you're going in October/november and it's free DDP season

LOL I see some have same issues with teens as me.

Sorry my newness showing what does 'free DDP' mean.

 

[luke]

LOL I see some have same issues with teens as me.

Sorry my newness showing what does 'free DDP' mean.

Free Disney dining plan. I assume more people eat table service when this is in play

 

[madmumof2]

That's the big problem with the DDP and pre-booked reservations. Who wants to book where they are eating every night for 6 months in advance?

A lot of people want (and need) to book in advance, and do so, that's why the system is there.

Some restaurants you will just not get in to without an ADR. Lots you can, and it depends on the time of year, EMH's, time of day etc. Places like 'Ohana's, Le Cellier, you're unlikely to get in without an ADR.