Table service with no reservation

[chirodoc78]

so....I have dining reservations made for my entire trip already (sept 25-Oct 4). However, I'm wanting to swap my Hollywood studios park day with my Epcot park day so I can see Wilson Phillips at Epcot. There are no available times for reservations on the days I want to swap at the restaurants I want. Taking into account food & wine festival at Epcot starts during our trip, what are my wait times going to look like at Teppan Edo and Hollywood & Vine if I don't find available reservations before we go and just choose to do a walk up at those restaurants?

 

[IndyRnRfan]

This will be hit or miss. We are here right now and the crowds don't seem to be bad. We ate at via Napoli last night and they refused walk ups and this was at 5pm.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We had a similar experience as @IndyRnRfan during F&W last year. We were also turned away from Via Napoli - around 2:30pm. We had all of our ADRs, but I had dropped our lunch at Via Napoli because it was the one thing I wasn't sure we'd definitely do. We had walked around and considered trying a walk up to R&C instead, but overheard some people walking away talking about being turned away...so we gave up and did QS that afternoon. Ultimately, I'd just keep checking the website...especially closer to trip time. Things pop up all the time.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

As the above post says, it is hit or miss. We got a walk up reservation at Rose & Crown, and at one of the Japanese places. We also got guest services to book us at Via Napoli for a late afternoon reservation that same day.. We were also turned down at a number of places.

 

[HopperFan]

I agree with hit or miss given it's Free Dining and Food & Wine - be prepared for a backup QS plan if no one will take walk ups. That is my exact time of year to go for last 10 years and most the time I see walk ups turned away.

 

[minnie mum]

I agree with the need for a backup CS choice. But since you can check on MDE right up until dinner time for availability, and if you can be flexible as to location and time, you should hopefully be able to avoid trying a walkup.

 

[Limes96]

Don't give up! Keep checking. I bet you can snag something good between now and then unless you have a large group.

 

[TwoCortWort]

Keep checking! I haven't heard of many stories of walk up success, but have seen it a few times at Be Our Guest. But also keep checking the website, especially 24 hours before hand, things pop up!

 

[chirodoc78]

We are a group of 10

 

[SouthJersey]

so....I have dining reservations made for my entire trip already (sept 25-Oct 4). However, I'm wanting to swap my Hollywood studios park day with my Epcot park day so I can see Wilson Phillips at Epcot. There are no available times for reservations on the days I want to swap at the restaurants I want. Taking into account food & wine festival at Epcot starts during our trip, what are my wait times going to look like at Teppan Edo and Hollywood & Vine if I don't find available reservations before we go and just choose to do a walk up at those restaurants?

Those are two of your best odds in hoping for walk ups without a terrible wait time.
The others (Rose and Crown, San Angel, Via Napoli, Chef's, etc., will be excessive if not refused)

 

[MoCanada]

We've yet to try doing a walk up to a TS....this will be our 4th trip. Chances of getting a walk up to Hollywood & Vine in Early November for 6? Been trying to book since ADR date, but no luck yet...

 

[lizard1]

We are a group of 10

It will be harder to find a ressie for that size group! Try looking for smaller tables around the same time, 4, 4, 2, or 4, 6. You may have more luck that way, and if you don't have a ressie at all, you don't have anything to lose! If you do book multiple ressies, you will either have to have another MDE account to link them to (another person in your party) or you will need to call because their system won't let you hold multiple ressies within a certain time frame of each other, even if your entire party is not booked on one ressie.

 

[chirodoc78]

There is one available for 8:55...but that pretty much guarantees we won't get to see illuminations. Can we show up early if we reserve the 8:55?

 

[Dean Marino]

Seriously .... and just an opinion. I would get ADR's for EVERYTHING. Sandy and I have gone to WDW twice per year, 12 years running at this point. We've seen too many "Walk-ups" tagged with a 45 minute wait to "no table available" sentence - even at breakfast. And these poor folks often have crying hungry children in tow .

PLEASE get ADR's, if you are responsible for others that can not MAKE those reservations . Long ago, while ignorant (late '90's) - I made no ADR's... and MY four children got a lot of "room service" .

 

[Nohal]

Keep trying. I was looking for something on Sept 25 which is the start of F&W and finally found what I was looking for at a good time. You will also have a tougher time with a party of 10 so maybe as someone suggested try for groups of maybe 6/4 or 5/5.

 

[Allison]

I think the chance for a walk up for 10 people at Teppan Edo is pretty slim. That's an entire seating station and then some.

 

[DisBuckMan]

There is one available for 8:55...but that pretty much guarantees we won't get to see illuminations. Can we show up early if we reserve the 8:55?

You can show up early, but that just means you'll wait even that much longer. I've never been seated early at a Disney restaurant....always 5 minutes to 45 minutes late.

 

[PollyannaMom]

This is when I would call a cast member instead of trying on the website. Explain that you are looking to swap the days on the reservations you have, and that you are willing to split into smaller tables if that helps. I think they can see a lot more at once on their side of the system.

 

[Allison]

There is one available for 8:55...but that pretty much guarantees we won't get to see illuminations. Can we show up early if we reserve the 8:55?

I have been asked to come back 15 minutes before my adr time when I asked about checking in early.

 

[Dean Marino]

I have been asked to come back 15 minutes before my adr time when I asked about checking in early.

Yup - that happened to Sandy and I, ONCE, at the Brown Derby. "Once" means once in a good 24 vacations .
A conversation with the Manager resulted in someone being placed at another, more appropriate, restaurant .

Now - that was at a SIGNATURE.... we treat these as we would fine restaurants in, say, San Francisco. To us - arriving a GOOD 15 minutes early, then being willing to WAIT FOR A GOOD 45 MINUTES, is not a "pushy" thing.... it's an understanding that table scheduling is a very hard thing to do in a fine restaurant. So, we try to be flexible, arrive early to check in, then be PATIENT. My father was the Maitre d' at several Restaurants in San Francisco, circa 1958 - 1978.... he taught me well .