traveling with non-planner -- where to eat?

[kymom79]

I am going to Disney the 2nd week of September with my planning-phobic husband and our 4 and 2 year old boys. Although we are going to mainly do counter service, are there any table service restaurants where we might have a shot at getting a seat without a reservation (If it makes a difference, we are planning on having our main meal of the day around 3:30-4 in the afternoon -- right after a nap break -- and we're not on a dining plan)? When I bring up ADRs to my wonderful but organizationally resistant spouse I get a steady refrain of "but planning ties you down! Just relax!". Any advice???

 

[IWannaBeAPrincess]

Ack! No planning??!!?

If I were you, and I wasn't on the dining plan, then I wouldn't try for ADRs, I would stick with CS. Otherwise, you can check with Guest Services in the morning at the park or with the Conceirge at your hotel. You may not be able to get desirable ADRs, though.

 

[Trophy Husband]

When I have an uncooperative spouse, I do something manipulative to assert control. I would suggest making a TS reservation for each day, without his knowledge, as a safety in case you are unable to get a walkup. Restaurant hopping with hungry children is annoying, and there will be others in front of you who are trying to do the same thing.

In my experience, it is difficult to get walkups during a free dining promotion. However, 3:30-4:00 is a good time to try especially if you are trying at one of the less popular restaurants.

In the MK, I would say that all of the TS restaurants are difficult to get at the last minute. We usually check with the Crystal palace and then head directly across to the the Plaza. If we have no luck then sometimes it is hotdogs for us.

In Epcot we will just start walking countries until we find a TS restaurant that has an opening. China is usually a pretty safe bet, I don't remember the name of the TS restaurant there. Based on your time frame, you probably won't be returning to the AK just for dinner so that leaves DHS.

AT DHS, Hollywood and Vine is a buffet dinner, and they seem to turn over their guests pretty quickly so I would suggest trying there. Fifties Prime Time is right next door and you can check with them at the same time to see if they had a cancellation. I don't know how the Sci-Fi is, but it could be worth a shot too.

 

[MHSweb79]

Thank goodness you're not on the DDP! It me when I see people proudly declare that they refuse to be tied down to ADR's, yet they've purchased the DxDP. (Then they come back here and complain.....)

To answer your question, yes- either check with the concierge at your resort or Guest Services at each park. They'll tell you any place with availability. We went during free dining last Sept. and I can tell you Biergarten (Germany/ Epcot) and Kona Cafe (Poly) were accepting same-day ADR's and also walkups. Biergarten has good food and great entertainment. I think some people stay away because you are seated with others if your party is less than 8. It's actually a lot of fun. Kona was a bit more upscale but it is open to the lobby at the Poly, and that might weird people out too.

I do think that without the DDP, the food at most table-service restaurants is exhorbitantly overpriced for what you get, so don't think that you're missing out just because you choose to do CS meals all week.

 

[Hmom03]

I agree with Trophy Husband. I would make an ADR just to be safe then cancel if we decided to do something else.

When I have an uncooperative spouse, I do something manipulative to assert control. I would suggest making a TS reservation for each day, without his knowledge, as a safety in case you are unable to get a walkup. Restaurant hopping with hungry children is annoying, and there will be others in front of you who are trying to do the same thing.

In my experience, it is difficult to get walkups during a free dining promotion. However, 3:30-4:00 is a good time to try especially if you are trying at one of the less popular restaurants.

 

[pdxJolene]

I believe I read that ESPN zone doesn't take reservations, so you could walk up there. Also maybe some places in DTD? I would try for places that don't take the dining plan, they may be less crowded.

 

[Pakey]

All of the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin are not on the dining plan and tend to not be as crowded. Il Mulino, Shula's and bluezoo are "signature" dining and are upscale but there are a few other options that are more casual.

There is ESPN, Big River Grille and Beaches and Cream, also in the Epcot resort area, that do not take ADR's.

You will have better luck outside of the parks. And the resorts further away from the parks may have more availability (I'm thinking Olivia's at OKW and Turf Club at SSR).

 

[kymom79]

Thanks for those suggestions! As for going ahead and making a TS reservation just in case -- don't they penalize you in some way if you cancel at the last minute??? I would go ahead and make a couple if the high potentiality of a cancellation wasn't going to have adverse consequences (plus I don't want to be inconsiderate). We will be staying at the Swan, so I'm hoping that will give us at least a little dining flexibility.....

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

You will definitely have an easier time getting walk up 'reservations' at the Swan / Dolphin. And there is no penalty to cancel an ADR or even not show up (but you should call as soon as you know) for MOST ADRs but each restaurant is different so check first. Usually you are penalized only for the restaurants that take a credit card number or a down payment/pre payment.

While I actually could eat CS the whole time, my husband was so annoyed by the third day of our vacation a couple years back he HAD to eat something other than a burger. We did manage to eat somewhere on the fly but I now know to book at least a few ADRs JUST IN CASE. Especially after a couple of days, you might look forward to just getting ready for dinner and having someone serve you and your family.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[MHSweb79]

Unless they take your credit card number to hold your ADR (like Cinderella's Royal Table), then no, there is no penalty for "no shows."

Very few meals require a credit card (Princess dinners, Fantasmic dining package, etc.) so go ahead and make some ADR's! Just be aware that you can't make four dinner ADR's - one in each park, say - for flexibility. The system will cancel them all.

 

[Pugmalion1]

Not setting up an ADR for a popular place during peak season and a free dining plan offer is foolish. If you're eating all counter service, you'll be fine, but any sit-down restaurant on the plan is likely to be booked solid.

I completely understand your husband's sentiment. If I was going anywhere else in the world, I probably wouldn't make any plans (outside of maybe making sure to hit up one restaurant and/or location/attraction that we really wanted to check out), but at WDW you have to make ADRs for many of the restaurants, lest you want to wait around for an hour or more in the best of situations, or get turned away in the worst case.

Just do it. He doesn't want to understand the situation, so I think you need to take it upon yourself to make sure you don't get shut out. You can always cancel later on, if necessary.

 

[PrincessNP]

I am Trophy Husband's uncooperative spouse.....so I just wanted to throw my 2 cents worth in......

Manipulation does seem to work in our planning strategy but he learned it from me. having said that I think that the ESPN club is a good suggestion. unless there is a big game or event going on we have never had trouble getting a table there during the 4ish hour. And they have a decent selection and good food.

I would be careful about not having AVR and having high expectations. Be prepared to just get a hot dog....and know what your time tolerance is for not getting a table at the last minute.

 

[LSUmom4kids]

I am going to Disney the 2nd week of September with my planning-phobic husband and our 4 and 2 year old boys. Although we are going to mainly do counter service, are there any table service restaurants where we might have a shot at getting a seat without a reservation (If it makes a difference, we are planning on having our main meal of the day around 3:30-4 in the afternoon -- right after a nap break -- and we're not on a dining plan)? When I bring up ADRs to my wonderful but organizationally resistant spouse I get a steady refrain of "but planning ties you down! Just relax!". Any advice???

I could have written your post! My husband is a "Planner" in his job and wants to do the total opposite on his vacation! So I don't get to make any reservations either

We had 3 reservations on our last trip and he didn't like being tied down, so we just "go with the flow" and we'll just find the best counter service wherever we are at the time we are hungry.

I know how you feel and I feel your pain....

 

[Quin]

I am attempting to work out a compromise with my similarly plan-resistant DH: one trip on the DDP with one TS ADR every evening. Then the next trip completely plan free - no DDP at all, not even just the QS version, and no ressies for OOP meals. But that includes an expectation of no TS meals at all; basically just snacking our way through the vacation.

BUT - we don't have little children who will be tired, and hungry, and cranky. My DH may well be tired, and hungry, and cranky halfway through his plan-free dream trip, but if he is I can just give him the "I told you so" look.

For you? Yeah, I'd make some 'provisional' ADRs at non-signature events that don't take credit cards at booking. Keep your cell phone handy and sneak off to call & cancel if it becomes clear that you won't use it that night, but otherwise hold onto the ressies (make them for a little later than your normal dinner hour) as your ace in the hole.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I am going to Disney the 2nd week of September with my planning-phobic husband and our 4 and 2 year old boys. Although we are going to mainly do counter service, are there any table service restaurants where we might have a shot at getting a seat without a reservation (If it makes a difference, we are planning on having our main meal of the day around 3:30-4 in the afternoon -- right after a nap break -- and we're not on a dining plan)? When I bring up ADRs to my wonderful but organizationally resistant spouse I get a steady refrain of "but planning ties you down! Just relax!". Any advice???

Most Disney restaurants (that serve lunch) take their last lunch ADR between 3:00 and 3:30 PM, and may not take walk-ups as late as 3:30. Then they close until 5:00 PM when they begin serving dinner. Walk-ups at 5:00 sometimes are lucky, but with the character meals still being a challenge because parents of little ones want early dinners.

Resort restaurants are always better bets for walk-ups compared to in the parks.

 

[kymom79]

Really? Since I couldn't find a listing of restaurant hours, I assumed that most places would be open during hours for the respective park. If anyone knows of a listing of WDW restaurant hours, it would be much appreciated! Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Silver Queen]

During our last visit in may we thought we'd head over to the Grand Floridian Cafe for a lat lunch (it's one of our favorite restaurants for walk-ins). We were very disappointed to find that they were closed between 2:00 and 5:00. I agree with the poster who suggested that it will be easier to get into a resort restaurant without a ressie. Th only problem is that you may spend more time and energy getting back and forth. We really enjoy the resort restaurants and feel that, with the exception of the World Showcase at Epcot, the food is better there than in the park restaurants. The Turf Club and Olivia's are good possibilities for a walk-in, but you'd need to get to Saratoga Springs or Old Key West. Since you'll be at the Swolphin Il Mulino and Shula's are also possibilities. They're a bit pricey but have had great reviews. Now that they're on TiW we're looking forward to trying them on our next trip. Good luck, and as a last resort you always have places like Cosmic Ray's and Sunshine Season that have more substantial CS meals.

 

[MHSweb79]

We assumed that the CS restaurants would be open during listed park hours on our last (Aug '08) trip during free dining. Wrong! Columbia Harbor House in MK closed at 6pm the night we were planning to eat there (arrived 6:15) and I think the park was open until at least 10pm.

Most TS restaurants will close for an hour or two between lunch and dinner, so eating at 4pm will likely not be an option. For actual hours while you are there, you will have to check the Times Guide or go online to make ADR's. If you get an ADR, then you can assume the restuarant is serving meals at that time!

 

[dixonsontour]

Has your husband been to WDW recently?

Unless he has experienced it he will have no idea how hard it is to get a table at a decent time, particularly during free dining. The usual tricks like dining early etc don't work.

We did our first trip with a 3 year old last year. My DH thought I was mad planning all our adr's so far in advance.

As soon as we got there he realised. We overheard people begging the concierge to find them anything and being offered 9pm at some other resort. A woman coming out of sci fi ecstatic because she had got an adr for 8 hours later! Whispering canyon was an hour wait for walk up guests - they were seated as we left.

We went first 2 weeks of December - a supposedly quiet time of year.

If you are doing all CS fine but if you are doing some TS make adr's. There is no penalty for cancelling most of them.

Some days I would make a breakfast and dinner adr. Night before as DH what he wanted to do - if tired cancel the breakfast and aim for the dinner.

Going into the restaurants, most of the podiums have lines of people waiting to check in. You will waste 10 mins or so finding out if there is a table for you. Also you would waste time travelling time to restaurants on the off chance they could seat you.

 

[JerseyDisneyGirl]

Good for your husband! I am a planner, but people on this message board put me to shame. Spreadsheets? OMG that sounds horrible! We were able to walk up to Holllywood and Vine for lunch one day. The meal wasn't outstanding, but most buffets aren't that great. It ended up being one of our favorite meals. It isn't very popular so, no crowds. The kids had TONS of character interaction. They got to get up and dance, Leo spent a few dances with just my DD. We had a blast!