Are reservations 100% necessary for The Dining Plan?

[slappy magoo]

Are there any "sit down" restaurants where a person can just walk in and eat if they are on the dining plan, or are they all reservation only?

I probably can't add anything a bunch of people haven't already written. When were you thinking about going to WDW? As has been repeated, some restaurants are SLIGHTLY easier to get into during slower periods, and some restaurants almost always seem to be able to take walk-ups, and some are almost always impossible without reservations (though not COMPLETELY impossible)

My last trip was Sunday April 29 through Sunday May 5 this year (and we wound up arriving a day early on Sat 4/28). We had reservations for at least 2 meals for every night we were staying there, but with 2 kids, one a baby, we wound up having to call and cancel and reschedule meals depending on the family's energy level...

4/30, we were able to walk into lunch at the Wave (we were staying at BLT).

5/3, we called the night before and got breakfast reservations at 'Ohana.

5/4, we were able to walk into a lunch at Kona Cafe. We had earlier dinner reservations that night for 1900 Park Fare but because lunch was later than usual we were able to reschedule the dinner reservations for around 6:30 as opposed to the original 5-ish time.

5/6 check out day, we still had one meal left over o our Deluxe Dining Plan, so we arranged reservations that night for an early dinner at, again, The Wave. And truth be told, we probably could've been walk-ups and been served, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to make the reservations.

This was a time of year that was just after Easter/Spring Breaks and before schools and colleges let out for the summer. The parks generally weren't crowded at all, with the only serious lines occurring on the most popular rides, and even then, not like what you'd find during more-popular times. For example, we got fastpasses for Toy Story Mania and there was a 75-minute wait for standby (3 hour wait times are not uncommon during peak periods) and when we got back for our fastpasses, it pushed up to over 2 hours.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Make reservations. On most days, there are few, if any, walkups, especially at the more popular restaurants. You can also make reservations that are "leftover" day of visit on your smartphone through disney dining reservations -- but you will find that times are horrible -- late afternoon for lunch, late evening for dinner.
It is always better to make your reservations and cancel if you don't use them, than to think you can just walk up.

 

[disneygirl76]

Are there any "sit down" restaurants where a person can just walk in and eat if they are on the dining plan, or are they all reservation only?

They really aren't "technically" reservation ONLY. However, if you want to get in - you need to make a reservation. To answer your question - there are some that you can just walk up to b/c they are not that popular. For example, in Morocco, that is usually one that you can just walk up to. I should note, that its always worth a shot to walk up and get that table at the place you want to try. I've gotten a walk up at le cellier (before turning signature) as well as Cinderella's Royal Table.

 

[kate'nkaren]

Being our first trip, I was too worried about missing out, so we booked them all about 3 months ahead with no problems. We read all the menus so we knew which things we would actually eat. Being a bit fussy limited the number of restaurants, and I also eliminated any that needed 2 points. Left me with not as many to choose from and I wanted all our meals for about 7.00, so I tried each one and found which night had the right time available. Ended up with Planet Hollywood at DTD, Rainforest Cafe at AK, 50's Prime Time at HS, Tony's Town Square at MK, Chef Mickeys at Contemporary and Breakfast with princesses at Akerhaus at Epcot. All of them were excellent!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Our upcoming trip will be our first trip where we will be trying sit down dining. Although it has been fun to pick out my restaurants online and I enjoy the thrill of planning, I'm not looking forward to such a rigid itinerary when my vacation actually starts. I'm getting uncomfortable, feeling that my entire trip will be structured around food and specific reservations. On the flip side of that, when I'm hungry, I know I'm not going to want to wander around aimlessly trying to find a place that has a table with a reasonable wait time, so I will suck it up and use the ADR system. I suppose if I wanted the ultimate flexible, non structured vacation, I could just continue to use quick service for all dining, but I want to try a different approach this time. I think after trying it both ways, I'll decide how best to plan my next trip, with either quick service, table service, or a mixture of the two.