Do we need to book restaurants?

[wdwfan4ver]

Booking is a must unlike when I first went to WDW in 1991. I agree it depends on the restaurant, but also the time you want to eat.

The fact is I had a rude awakening at WDW in 2006 after being gone for 5 years. There was some places I was able to go to such as Cape May Cafe, but some I wasn't able to due to me not doing ADRS before I arrive at the Port Orleans French Quarter in 2006.

 

[PrincessMia]

I'm in total agreement. Even if you don't generally like to plan ahead, I think it will save a lot of frustration to make reservations. I know our family would end up bickering if we wasted an hour or more wandering around looking for someplace to eat.

 

[shmmrname]

It always depends on the crowd levels. But, It'd be a good idea to at least getting a couple reservations in advance.
If you don't like the idea of pre-planning, then at the bare minimum I would suggest calling (407) WDW-DINE in the morning and see what's available in-park (or adjacent to the park). You won't have a huge amount of choices, but you can still get some good options. Even if that's all you do, you should still have a much better time than settling solely for walk-up luck.

 

[s&k'smom]

It is possible but to be safe if you have some favorites I would book as soon as possible, we have a few favorites that are must do's for us and I always have at least them. We do go with the flow a few nights but for our fave's I would never leave to chance. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Tom 55]

Im going to Disneyworld Sept 21st-Oct 2nd and I don't know whether I should book meals? Is it possible to get a space in a decent restaurant by just turning up? I'm hesitant to make reservations as I dont want to be tied down but it would be nice to try somewhere nice!

During time that Disney is offering "free disney dining" all of the sit down restaurants get booked solid. A few years ago I was having a conversation with someone who did not book any reservation and he said he could not get into any of the sit down restaurants. We will be there Sept 17th to 27th and we are getting free disney dining.

 

[jkl2000]

When people are at Epcot during F&W, do you usually make dinner or lunch ADRs, or do you just graze? Is just grazing a good option, rather than sweat over ADRs? How easy/difficult is it to deal with lines at F&W carts, etc?

 

[jmorri26]

Like others said, the short answer is yes, you need reservations. Free dining is killer on the restaurant availability. Especially any park but EPCOT- the other 3 have just a handful of table services and a lot of people who want to sit and eat. I checked a few of those days and Hollywood Studios and MK it's slim pickins if anything is available at all for most restaurants. So I'd look now. You can always cancel for free if you change your mind. With WS at EPCOT and a good number of resort restaurants you'll usually be able to find something even pretty last minute. Usually.

 

[Caromac]

Thanks everyone. I have been frantically trying to book now! Recommendations? ...of places we are likely to get into i.e. not 'Be our Guest' or 'Le Cellier'! We are not on a dining plan.

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks everyone. I have been frantically trying to book now! Recommendations? ...of places we are likely to get into i.e. not 'Be our Guest' or 'Le Cellier'! We are not on a dining plan.

If you know where you are going to be on a particular day, the best thing to do is search by park for a particular day and see what tickles your fancy.

 

[boilerpicc]

It is not as bad as everyone is saying it is. If you are flexible with locations and times, there will be places to eat. You won't get into Be Our Guest, Le Cellier, or Cinderella's Royal Table. It will be very hard to get into Chef Mickey's and Ohana. Every place else, you will probably find something. I am leaving next Saturday for a week, and I only have 3 ADRs made. I made 1 for Be our Guest at 6am on the 180 day mark and had a hard time getting that. I made one for Yak and Yeti and the Crystal Palace yesterday and had no problems. We generally do our reservations morning of. We wake up, decide which park we are going to that day, and use the My Disney Experience app to see what restaurants are open. Most of the table service restaurants have openings at lunch. Dinner tends to fill up, so we do most of our table service meals for lunch and then do a quick service dinner.

 

[jmorri26]

Thanks everyone. I have been frantically trying to book now! Recommendations? ...of places we are likely to get into i.e. not 'Be our Guest' or 'Le Cellier'! We are not on a dining plan.

I'm going many same days and know its gotten pretty packed I'd look to resort restaurants as solid backups if places you want are full. There was still a lot at resorts, even character meals at places like Cape May or 1900 Park Fare. EPCOT. Seriously- most restaurants in EPCOT you can still get a table most nights if you're a little flexible on times. MK and HS some days we're there are booked completely- no table service at all left for lunch or dinner at all. MK resorts and the EPCOT deluxes have awesome spots and its very convenient from those 2 parks. AK you might be ok, just depend on when and where you want. I'd be flexible with dates too. If you really want a spot, check all days of your trip and see if you can shuffle around a bit which parks what days. Also, try calling. Some times there's availability in the system that doesn't make it to the dining site. Good luck! Either way, you'll be at Disney World, so it wont be that bad

 

[Rogue21]

When people are at Epcot during F&W, do you usually make dinner or lunch ADRs, or do you just graze? Is just grazing a good option, rather than sweat over ADRs? How easy/difficult is it to deal with lines at F&W carts, etc?

I/we have been to the last 3 F&W Festivals and have done a little of both: grazing and grazing/ADRs. It really depends on what else we had planned. On the day we had a Mixology Seminar, we grazed a bit for lunch, went to the seminar then had a TS dinner. On another day, with no seminars or demos, we just grazed to our hearts -- or stomachs -- content. (You'll have no problems filling up at the Festival carts.)

Keep in mind this is from a family that never uses any kind of dining plan. For a 7 night trip , we make ADRs for "nicer" TS places on 4 nights. The rest we eat at QS/CS, or may try for a last minute ADR.