Do you need a dining plan in September or can you get walk ins?

[CamiCan]

I was wondering if dining plans were really necessary in September. We are a couple without kids so couldn't we just get walk in with low wait times or would you recommend purchasing a dining plan for convenience and to save money in the long run. I would prefer to sit in a nice AC restaurants instead of a cheap food court for at least one meal a day.

 

[sxeensweet]

You don't need be dining plan so say but you do NEED RESERVATIONS if you want to dine at the more popular/nice restaurants! Also Free Dinning offer is going on a this time so places get really booked due to this. Regardless of having a dining plan or not Me and DH ALWAYS MAKE RESERVATIONS! Yes there is some you possibly could just walk up to but why take that chance. We always go at non busy times and a lot of places do not accept any walk ups. I have seen many turned away while we were waiting for our table. Just my opinion of course about making ressies. Lol.

Oh also there is a lot of really good QS locations that we enjoy as well. We usually do one QS and one TS each day.

 

[CamiCan]

You don't need be dining plan so say but you do NEED RESERVATIONS if you want to dine at the more popular/nice restaurants! Also Free Dinning offer is going on a this time so places get really booked due to this. Regardless of having a dining plan or not Me and DH ALWAYS MAKE RESERVATIONS! Yes there is some you possibly could just walk up to but why take that chance. We always go at non busy times and a lot of places do not accept any walk ups. I have seen many turned away while we were waiting for our table. Just my opinion of course about making ressies. Lol.

Oh also there is a lot of really good QS locations that we enjoy as well. We usually do one QS and one TS each day.

Thanks. We are making our reservations this weekend so we will get a dining plan.

 

[sxeensweet]

Thanks. We are making our reservations this weekend so we will get a dining plan.

Just so you know you do not need a dining plan to make reservations. I may have not really explained that right. Lol

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

the dining plan just helps you like prepay for your dining. i did A LOT of math and it's not worth it for dh and i; we're going to pay out of pocket for everything. we still make as many ADRs as we can. but because free dining is offered in september, it makes the restaurants busier than normal. you'll definitely want to get ADRs at the restaurants you really want to do and the more popular ones. you do not need to add a dining plan to get ADRs - just hop on the website or call in and make them. they will require a credit card to hold the reservations.

 

[Monty]

If you really want to relax in AC and eat TS at least once a day, ADRs are essential. The very popular restaurants book up before 180 days in advance regardless what time of year you go, but most restaurants are booked solid during the free dining promotions. You can usually find a restaurant somewhere that will let you wait a while, but walk-ups during free dining a really hard if not impossible to find.

Planning dining and "Dining Plans" have different meanings in WDW. Planning is worth doing, Dining Plans, free or not, are a value to some and not to others, you really need to do the math based on your circumstance.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

As other posters have explained, its best to make reservations for those restaurants you're looking forward to. The dining plan does help alot budget what they spend while on vacation, but its not necessarily the cheapest way to go, but, does help budget how much you spend once you arrive. If you can possibly take advantage of the free dining promotion during your stay, that would be a HUGE bonus!

 

[FrostyNaples]

Just to add - if your ADR is not available, keep checking! Like every 5 minutes on the mobile app or website if you need to. It took me a week or so, checking a few times a day, to grab an ADR that I wanted, and it finally came through.

I wish they would do a wait list for ADR's, Disney are you listening??!!

 

[lilclerk]

Just to add - if your ADR is not available, keep checking! Like every 5 minutes on the mobile app or website if you need to. It took me a week or so, checking a few times a day, to grab an ADR that I wanted, and it finally came through.

I wish they would do a wait list for ADR's, Disney are your listening??!!

Ha seriously, I was frantically trying to switch our Fantasmic package to a different day for next month, and it took days of multiple searches per day to find one. Luckily, I have a flexible job

 

[FitzherbertFreak]

Restaurant reservations will help, they always do help, but in my opinion they are not a necessity. I go in September every year, I have even gone in busier times of the year, and I have gotten a walk-up at a restaurant no problem. Another tip I have for that, is don't always believe what they tell you on the phone. Multiple times, I have called the day of asking if there were reservation or walk-ups available, and was declined. However, I go in person anyways, and I get a table in practically 20 minutes. September is not a very crowded time of yea, so if you do a walk-up every now and then, you should be able to get into a nice restaurant.

 

[kasey1988]

You don't need the dining plan to make reservations, but I would reccomend making reservations for what you want. With free dining available many people booked 180 days in advance, most likely not leaving to many options open. But if your not picky about time or location you should be able to get something.. I wouldn't say walk ups are out of the question, just again, not everywhere will have opening at the time you may want or at all that day...

 

[dreamfinder]

As already said, having the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) is not the same has having Advance Dining Reservations (ADR). You can be on the DDP and still end up not being able to get into restaurants. You can see more info on the DDP here -> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/disney-dining-plan/ But you are basically pre-paying for a set number of snacks/CS/TS meals per day. Whether or not it is cost effective depends on your dining habits, and what your food selections would be. Having ADRs are strongly recommended if you want to eat at a certain location at a certain time, especially if you want one of the more popular locations. Otherwise you may end up waiting 1+ hours for a table, or be told that no tables are even available. Since you are well within the 180 days, I would suggest making (or trying to make) any desired ADRs as soon as possible. At Epcot it is usually not a problem to find "something" due to the plethora of options, Restaurant Marrakesh almost always has tables, and Biergarten is normally somewhat accommodating as well. But at MK that only has 5 TS locations, of which 3 are highly in demand, it can be a different story.

 

[Mawg]

Unfortunately I don't think the OP understood what people were taking about. I hope they come back and read the post a little closer. As you don't need a Dining Plan to make reservations, you can pay out of pocket which it more often than not cheaper.

 

[CamiCan]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm leaning towards no dining plan but making reservations instead. Since we'll be staying on property at a value resort, we can also head back to the hotel for a meal and then go back to the park? What's the restaurant food quality and price inside the hotels compared to inside the parks?

 

[kasey1988]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm leaning towards no dining plan but making reservations instead. Since we'll be staying on property at a value resort, we can also head back to the hotel for a meal and then go back to the park? What's the restaurant food quality and price inside the hotels compared to inside the parks?

Value resorts don't have a sit down resturant, just quick service dining . Pricing is very similar to quick service locations in park..often times you will find much more quick service options in park rather then at the resort. Epcot for example had great qs location with a ton of variety!

 

[dreamfinder]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm leaning towards no dining plan but making reservations instead. Since we'll be staying on property at a value resort, we can also head back to the hotel for a meal and then go back to the park? What's the restaurant food quality and price inside the hotels compared to inside the parks?

You can eat any place on property you want to, as long as you have theme park admission for that park (if required) and find a way to get there (either WDW bus, taxi, or rental car) If you check out the dining info on the official site, in the various guidebooks, or here -> http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining.htm you should be able to get an idea of food selection and prices. As mentioned however, value resorts don't have full service restaurants. You would need to go to a moderate or deluxe resort to find a sit down restaurant. The food prices are fairly consistent across the entire property, with the exceptions being the signature dining locations, those tend to be a good 50%+ more.

 

[BrerJon]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm leaning towards no dining plan but making reservations instead. Since we'll be staying on property at a value resort, we can also head back to the hotel for a meal and then go back to the park? What's the restaurant food quality and price inside the hotels compared to inside the parks?

The quick service at the Value resorts is comparable to the parks (a bit nicer probably), but you'll want to go to the parks or another resort if you want a waiter table service meal (nothing to stop you eating at a resort you're not staying at - you can go anywhere on the Disney buses and they won't check), and other than the higher class places like California Grill, you often don't need reservations for table restaurants in the resorts like Boatwrights at Port Orleans, or even Ohana at Polynesian can have walk-ins sometimes.

In the parks, as others have said if there are specific places you have in mind, make a reservation, but if you're not too fussy then aside from the headliners like Be Our Guest or Le Cellier, it's not always essential, so if you won't be heartbroken to be told no it's worth trying for a walk-in.

The trick is to try to go early in dinner service, and tell them you don't mind how long you wait or where you sit - if there's any chance of space they'll often do their best to seat a friendly, smiling and understanding guest if they can - it's worth a try anyway.

You're sensible to avoid the Dining Plan, if it's included free it's great but paying for it it's quite hard to get economic benefit except by massively overeating more than you normally would, and without it you're free to eat whenever and wherever you like, on or off property.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I would make ressies if I was you!

 

[CamiCan]

What are the BEST restaurants at Epcot? We want to splurge on one fancy meal at the world showcase. We both love Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisine so one of those three is good.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

If you want to go to any of the above....Mexico, China or Italy, I strongly recommend a reservation. Just walking in and expecting to be seated is not a good idea and you will be disappointed. You will waste precious time waiting for a table.
I would also make reservations at any of the hotel restaurants that you want to go to especially those at the deluxe hotels. They are impossible to get into without a reservation.
If you are staying at a value resort, I would not waste my time going back to the hotel for a counter service meal...and that's what you will get. Values do not have table service restaurants. You can get the same food at a counter service in the park.
Do be sure, since it is just you and your husband, to explore the restaurants at the monorail hotels. The Kona Cafe in the Polynesian is wonderful for breakfast. You will have to take a bus to TTC and then the monorail to the Poly but it is worth the trip.
The Grand Floridian Cafe is also wonderful for breakfast.....I would make reservations at both. You can chance a walk in but why. Just give yourself an hour for transportation.

Now....on to the subject of The Disney Dining Plan (DDP)....... if it is free with your vacation package, it is a no brainer to take it. However, if you need to pay for it, there are those on this board who have done the math and feel that it is not with the money. You would have to figure that our for yourself depending on your dietary needs and habit.

So.....Disney Dining Plan.......... Disney Dining Reservations...... 2 different things.
Reservations are a must at almost table service restaurants especially those at Epcot or deluxe hotels......
Disney Dining Plan an option.....if it is free....take it.....
If you have to pay for it....you do the math.

Have a Magical Trip!