Tell me about reservations...are they really needed?

[rmgerace]

We are not really going to eat so, I have not really given advanced reservations a thought.

We are hoping to eat at a sit down place only a few times during the week. Without reservations, is this going to be a huge issue? I don't mind waiting for a bit for a table...and there will be only 4 of us.

 

[ccgirl]

You didn't say where you were going or what table service restaurants you plan to eat at but, yes, usually it is a problem at most restaurants if you don't have reservations. At certain restaurants, people can't even get reservations once they pass thte 180 day mark never mind walk ups. I would make reservations if you can. Sometimes, even with reservations you still have a 30 minute wait.

 

[MarilIncredible]

Are you fussy about when and where you eat? If not, don't worry about reservations.

Also, a lot depends on when you will be there. We went in January 2009 and had no problem getting a table as walk-ups for early or late dinner spots (before 5 and after 8:30). I know on one crowded day at Epcot, I overheard a CM sayign there was seating available at all but 3 or 4 of the WS restaurants at 8:30 in the evening.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

During Spring/Easter break, Christmas, Food & Wine and Free dinign period you will definitively have trouble getting in anywhere decent to eat without reservations. if you travel at not peak times and like us in February where it was 40 degrees you'll be able to get into some restaurants, but will still experience difficulties with the most popular. Good Luck!

 

[PoohsFan1]

We were just in Disney 2 weeks ago and one day at DHS we decided that we wanted to have a nice sit down lunch. This was about 1pm so we headed over to Mama Melrose....I reluctantly asked if they had room for a party of 6 and surprisingly they did. They did say it will be a 10 minute wait, but in reality it was more like 5. So with my observation, the only time you will have a problem with walk-ups is if you are trying to get into a popular restaurant at peak eating times, but if you are going to a not too popular restaurant at odd times, you shouldn't have a problem.

Oh yeah, that same day we had ADRs for 50's Prime Time for dinner and they were seating people just walking up within 10-15 minutes at around 6pm.

 

[Planogirl]

You might want to consider lunches at the resort restaurants too. I think that you should be able to get into most of them.

 

[Luv4Disney]

It really depends. We seem to always go in May. Sometimes we've seen them turn people away, other times they can accommodate them. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

[happymomof1]

DEFINATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's nice to have some so you can really sit down and relax.

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

After having had an experience where we couldn't get into any restaurant (even at the resorts) for dinner, we always make reservations. It's nice to know that you do have a reservation and that you will definitely be able to sit down and eat. However, we have small children. Mealtimes are not only important to us because they need to eat, but the kids really need scheduled breaks. A sit-down reservation provides some much needed down time for them.

If we decide that we don't want/can't make a reservation, we cancel it. We find that it's easier to do that then to try to find somewhere to eat at the last minute.

 

[budbeerlady]

IF you choose not to make reservations. (I would recommend it but anyway...) You can go to guest services at each park to see the board showing what is open for dining that day. In Epcot it showed who had opening for lunch and dinner. They also can make a reservation for you so you can just show up later that day and eat.

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

Its so easy to make a reservation (esp. on the Disney website)! And just having a few during the week won't tie you down but it'll be better than getting stuck with a place you're not interested in eating. I'm type A and can't imagine not having ADRs, but stepping out of my OCD body for a minute ...I think I'd still try to make a few. If you decide you don't want to keep them, its super easy to cancel them by giving your ADR number to guest services or the retaurant. There is rarely a deposit (just for some signature meals or dinner shows) so you don't have anything to lose with a regular reservation.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Yes Yes Yes!!!
They are always needed in disney world. You must make ADRs and if possible make them 180 days in advance.

 

[Nadjalu]

I agree that yes they are needed.

Consider this situation, didn't happen to me (thank goodness) but still....

You are in MK all day and it is now 6pm and your group is getting hungry and want a sit down meal. You try a place or 2 and are turned away or have a 2-3 hour wait (yes it happens alot). So now what do you do? Go to guest relations and see what is available? What happens if you don't have park hoppers? What happens if the only place available is food you don't like (yep this happens alot to).

Once I heard of this situation happening I say, make ressies, at least know you have a place you would like to eat at. Then if you change your mind and something opens up....go for it, cancel the one and go to the other.

But no way would you catch me just "chancing" it.

 

[rmgerace]

We will be there Aprill 16-25. I decided today to make some reservations just in case. I think I may make more now in light of the responses here.

If all else fails, we can always get into a counter service place, right?

I am also thinking we may try to do a sit down place for late lunches rather than dinners, that seems to work better for my family.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[trickiwoo]

I went in September. It wasn't very busy, but it was during Free Dining. So most of the parks had notices posted saying there was no availability in any of the sit down restaurants so your only options for food were Counter Service unless you had a reservation.

 

[jlcd]

We will be there Aprill 16-25. I decided today to make some reservations just in case. I think I may make more now in light of the responses here.

If all else fails, we can always get into a counter service place, right?

I am also thinking we may try to do a sit down place for late lunches rather than dinners, that seems to work better for my family.

Thanks for all the input!

Just curious as to how you did making reservations this close to your trip. What were you able to get?

 

[mickeysgirl17]

We will be there Aprill 16-25. I decided today to make some reservations just in case. I think I may make more now in light of the responses here.

If all else fails, we can always get into a counter service place, right?

I am also thinking we may try to do a sit down place for late lunches rather than dinners, that seems to work better for my family.

Thanks for all the input!

Of course, you can always do counter service....thats up to you. But many disers (like me) love Table service in disney. There are some wonderful restaurants and if you have kids (or not) character meals are great. Unfortunately, due to disney being a very popular family destination, you cannot just show up anymore. Reservations (ADR's) are necessary.
If you plan to eat at sit down meals, or buffets, you need to make your ADR's asap! Good luck in getting what you want. I know it may be very hard this late.
Have fun on your trip!

 

[CanadianPaco]

If there are restaurants you really want to go to then I would make an ADR so as not to be disappointed.

 

[SignMeUp]

During our trip last April we encountered a nice older couple on the boat between CR and WL. We were on our way to Artist Point for dinner... I'm an uber-planner so had all our ADRs made. This couple was looking for a place to have dinner. They were hoping to have a nice sitdown meal somewhere but could not find a place since they didn't have ADRs. The lady asked me if I knew of anywhere they might be able to have dinner without reservations. I suggested the Wave at the CR... I hope they were able to get in there. I felt bad for them. But it proved a point to my dh that I wasn't crazy for planning and making all of our ADRs so far in advance . Knowing when/where we'll have a break and a nice meal makes vacations much less stressful for me.

 

[arielmomma]

It really depends on when you are going. We have gone in January w/o and ADR's and didn't have any trouble eating at the character meals or anything that we really wanted, but I would say that unless you are going in the winter and you really want to sit down and have a table service meal, you might want to make reservations. If having a TS meal isn't all that important and you can be flexible, there are plenty of places to eat.