Wing It

[Jennasis]

On our May trip we were in Epcot. It was getting late in the afternoon 5/6 and we were starting to think maybe we wanted to eat an actual dinner instead of grazing the F&W kiosks. We also both kinda REALLY wanted pizza. I kept checking the app to see if a Via Napoli would pop open but nope. So we were walking past Italy at 8pm and we were HUNGRY, so what the heck...let's stop in and at least ask at via Napoli. Big line at the check in desk. DH walks up and they say "Sure, we can seat you in 20 minutes." Score! 4 minutes later they call us to a table (which was about 10 minutes faster than the restaurants we HAD adr's for lol). We order a pepperoni pizza and are told it would take 10-15 minutes, so we get comfy and resigned to miss at least part of Illuminations. NOPE. Food comes out, is awesome, we're done and paid and out the door by 8:50pm! Stroll out the pavilion and straigh ahead up to the water for a perfect view of Illuminations with only a few folks in front of us.

GREAT night.

Another great afternoon was our impromptu lunch at ESPN CLUB after an afternoon of swimming. Apparently ESPN doesn't even accept reservations. Score again! Food was great. Service was great...and we don't even LIKE sports LOL

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Go for it! We wing it all the time. We just went over Memorial Day weekend. Arrived Thursday and left Saturday night. The only reservation I had was a Tiffins JB package. When we arrived on Thursday (we stayed at the Swan), we walked into The Fountain for lunch and had room service for dinner. On Friday, we had QS lunch at Blizzard Beach and then decided, last minute, to eat at bluezoo for dinner. I literally made that reservation on opentable seconds before we walked into the restaurant. On Saturday, we had breakfast at Fresh, ate tacos by the pool and had drinks at Nomad and our ADR dinner at Tiffins. We also wing it when we stay at WDW resorts (which is far more often than Swan/Dolphin). I make the few ADR's we really want and wing the rest. I ususally go on my phone an hour or two before we want to eat and see what's available. We have never gone hungry.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

We will only make a couple ADR's for a week. Then we will eat CS all week, Disney Springs or leave property.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

If you are eating CS or if you don't care where you eat, it's doable. Last trip we only had one ADR (Via Nappoli - we never miss it). We decided when we were in EPCOT to try for Coral Reef and that apparently wasn't going to happen - they told us no walk ins and there were no open reservations on the app. So I hunted around and we actually found an open reservation at Le Cellier. Don't ask me how - usually I can't get in there if my life depended on it, but there it was on the app - an open table just 15 minutes later (which was perfect with walk time); must have been a last minute cancel and we got lucky.

On the other hand, I have been there at other times when there wasn't an open table anywhere and the only choice was counter service. That's more often the case in Magic Kingdom which was very few tables. There is usually SOMETHING open in Epcot if you are not picky - we found some good restaurants that way (I would never have booked Biergarten on my own - but I ended up there because it was the only open place, and now it's one of my favorites).

Enjoy yourself and go with the flow. Just remember if you decide to wing it, then you have to have a wing it attitude and not get disappointed if you don't get your favorite place or time.

 

[scrhsa]

I usually go for about 4/5 days when I go and only make 1/2 ADRs. I'm fine with seeing if I can get in or just eating CS. But then again food isn't my top priority when I go to Disney. Just feed me quickly so I can get back out there

 

[gorkt]

I hear you on not feeling like you are overscheduled. I made the mistake of making too many ADRs once and sticking to them, and I had this mild feeling of anxiety during the entire trip that I couldn't shake. I was constantly checking the clock, trying to figure out where to be when and I just ended up over stressed. So now I still make a lot of ADRs, especially for hard to get times and places, but then I gradually winnow down in the months before the trip, and if the family looks like they are dragging, I will cancel the day before. So I guess I take the dual strategy of planning a lot, but winging it once we get there, at least to some extent.

 

[AFwifelife]

Personally I like to wing it/choose CS because we eat at off times and it always works best with the kids. For our upcoming no-kids trip, I did schedule a little more than I usually do but only because we will be in the parks on the Fourth of July. It's going to be a long day for us and I wanted to have some sort of plan in advance so we aren't fighting too many crowds to get something to eat.

 

[maltdizzy]

Personally I like to wing it/choose CS because we eat at off times and it always works best with the kids. For our upcoming no-kids trip, I did schedule a little more than I usually do but only because we will be in the parks on the Fourth of July. It's going to be a long day for us and I wanted to have some sort of plan in advance so we aren't fighting too many crowds to get something to eat.

Certainly! Whole different ballgame altogether. Busy periods like that mean even CS can be a madhouse.

 

[Mikie]

Just checked at 4:45 on Weds June 1st for openings for dinner tonight for a party of 4. There are 51 restaurants in the parks and resorts with openings for dinner tonight. Most are available between 7 and 8 although a few are 9ish.

Availabilities include:
Yachtsman 7:55
Whispering Canyon 7:55
Via Napoli 8:15
Tusker House 7:20
Tiffins 6:55
Narcoosee's 7:55
Monsieur Paul 7:30
Le Cellier 8:45
Hollywood Brown Derby 7:00
Hollywood and Vine 7:10
Diamond Horseshoe 9:10
Citricos 7:45
Chef Mickey's 9:15
Boma 7:45
Artist Point 7:35
50s Prime Time 8:55

I don't think you need to worry about going hungry with no ADRs.

I appreciate that you checked for parties of 4. We are always a party of 6+ and prefer to eat (actually eating, not just getting seated) by 7, AND usually don't get hoppers, so when people say they can easily get their party of 2 seated for 8:30 dinners on short notice, it's not often relevant to our needs.
One thing to be cautious about in Sept, though, is that free dining really does a number on choices. Even though it's slower than June crowd wise, dining is a whole different experience. Again, I'm always 6+, so maybe 2-4 would have much different luck, but I've never been able to get an ADR earlier than 8:30 (sometimes not at all) within a week when traveling during free dining as the OP will be.

 

[neastguy]

Ive decided on no ADR's... we are not big eaters and I don't want to be tied down our first visit... my kids won't know the difference with CS meals.. hope it all works out...

 

[Mikie]

Ive decided on no ADR's... we are not big eaters and I don't want to be tied down our first visit... my kids won't know the difference with CS meals.. hope it all works out...

Have fun! When you're ready to eat, use the MDE app to look at your choices and their menus - as others have said, it's not all hot dogs and chicken nuggets. There is a lot of variety at the CS places and you won't find the same food from one to the next.

 

[joannamet]

I appreciate that you checked for parties of 4. We are always a party of 6+ and prefer to eat (actually eating, not just getting seated) by 7, AND usually don't get hoppers, so when people say they can easily get their party of 2 seated for 8:30 dinners on short notice, it's not often relevant to our needs.
One thing to be cautious about in Sept, though, is that free dining really does a number on choices. Even though it's slower than June crowd wise, dining is a whole different experience. Again, I'm always 6+, so maybe 2-4 would have much different luck, but I've never been able to get an ADR earlier than 8:30 (sometimes not at all) within a week when traveling during free dining as the OP will be.

Excellent points!!!

 

[Jennasis]

It's 12:45 on a very busy park day (crowds at a 7) and I checked for what is available at 1pm for lunch for a party of 4...Just IN the parks we have:

Biergarten
Le Cellier
Chefs de France
Coral Reef
Crystal Palace
Garden Grill
Brown Derby
Skipper Canteen
Liberty Tree
Nine Dragons
Marakesh
Rose & Crown
San Anghel Inn
Spice Road Table
Teppan Edo
Tiffins
Tokyo Dining
Tony's
Tusker House
Via Napoli
Yak & Yeti
Tutto Italia

All between 1 and 2pm. Winging it can be done. Dinner you say? Plenty available in park (even a 4:20 at Le Cellier) from 6pm to park close.

Have a larger party? Party of 6 lunch can be had TODAY in park at:
Biergarten
Chefs de France
Coral Reef
Garden Grill
Brown Derby
Skipper Canteen
LE CELLIER
Liberty Tree
Nine Dragons
Marakesh
Rose & Crown
San Angel
Spice Road Table
Teppan Edo
Tiffins
Tokyo Dining
Tusker House
Tutto Italia
Via Napoli

But Jennasis! We have 8! Lunch today in park available at...
Biergarten
Chefs de France
Garden Grill
LE CELLIER
Nine Dragons
Marakesh
Rose & Crown
San Angel
Spice Road
Teppan Edo
Tokyo Dining
Tutto Italia

While, aside from Skipper Canteen, an in park meal at the very last minute at MK is harder to wrangle, there are ADRs at every hotel on the monorail line at every meal. Truly, the definition of "WINGING IT" is taking what you can get when the mood strikes to eat. If you get hungry at 5pm in the middle of Epcot, winging it is checking the app to see what's available and choosing from what is, or trying to walk up and see if you can get in with no expectation of success. If you are expecting to eat at Be Our Guest at 5pm with no ADR and that's the plan you're sticking to...that's not winging it. That's crazy.

 

[Bellhop97]

Go for it, OP. My hubby and I tried this last year and it worked out great! We will never go back to the dining plan; too structured and too much food for us. I was admittedly a little nervous to try without dp, but it was so freeing-we loved it! I only made 3 adr's for our favorite must do ts's in 10 days
This year, I have booked 4 ts's adr's for 10 days. I might cancel one because I don't want to be too structured.
We don't have a smart phone so must go to GS if we want a res, but so far that has not been a problem. It is so freeing to just go and eat when you want to and what you want to. Go for it!

Thanks... will do!

 

[PeasandCarrots]

It's totally doable except for a few really "hard to get" places. I personally don't care about those places b/c I don't like character dining. So I might make 1 or 2 ADRs or none and then just check the day before - a lot of people cancel in that 24 hour window. Just have to be flexible and not have your heart set on any one place.

 

[warrenz1963]

OP, I'm an obsessive planner and I rarely make ADRs, but we're not really foodies either. When we go to WDW we go to play, not for the food. Don't stress it, you won;t go hungry!

 

[jaceraden]

I love winging it! This method is how we "discovered" Biergarten last time. I would never in a million years have picked it on purpose but my group was ready for dinner so I brought up MDE and it gave me available options. Easy peasy!

 

[need2travel]

DH & I are going to wing for the first time on our next trip (27 days away), we made a couple of ADR's but are planning to do a lot of lounge crawls for apps/drinks at dinner & just see where we wind up for lunch. It's also our first time not doing the DP, big changes for us!

 

[Anthony1971]

we never make ADR's and that is in the 26 years we have been going yearly and sometimes twice a year... Never had an issue we have been every month including 4th of July week. always been offered a wait time.. a handful --under 5 times longer than we wanted to wait but never turned away. it is 100% doable and enjoyable.... However If you know what you want to eat, what time you want to eat and where you will be 6 months from now have at it....