Lunch ADR's Neccesairy?

Semantje

Active Member
Original Poster
Do i need to make ADR's for Lunch or are the waiting lines to be seated ok? We are going to WDW for the first time and we are affraid that we are planning to much. We are on the Deluxe Dining Plan.

Thanks in advance!
 

jpittore1

Well-Known Member
It depends on the time of the year, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I would 100% recommend ADRs for ALL meals especially if you are doing the Deluxe with 3 credits/day...don't want to use them at Quick Service because you couldn't get in a restaurant. Defeats the purpose of paying for the deluxe plan.

Remember 180 days out you can call and make the ADRs.

Always remember, you can cancel usually 24-48 hours with no charge. The restaurants are can now charge a $10 no show fee charge for ADRs. Each Walt Disney World Resort restaurant maintains its own cancellation policy. When making your arrangements online or by phone, be sure to check the restaurant's cancellation policy.

Enjoy!
 

Sweet Melissa

Well-Known Member
I agree with Crush. That's during a free dining promotion and the Food & Wine Festival. I would definitely advise making reservations if you know where you'll be. There are some places where you'll be able to get in without much of a wait, but your selection might not be great.
 

sgtmgd

Well-Known Member
Do i need to make ADR's for Lunch or are the waiting lines to be seated ok? We are going to WDW for the first time and we are affraid that we are planning to much. We are on the Deluxe Dining Plan.

Thanks in advance!


Highly reccomend making th ereservations...also on the Deluxe plan you can combine 2 table service meals for 1 signature dining...
 

s&k'smom

Well-Known Member
Count me in as supporting making as many ADR's as you can. We go in the fall usually at the very tail end of the F&W festival and though we usually get seated honestly within 5-10 minutes I always hear people asking how long the wait is as they don't have a ADR. Plus you can never over plan that's half the fun!
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
General rule of thumb at WDW is if they take reservations make one. It does not matter if it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, a haircut, a facial, etc. If you do not, the chances of you having to either wait a considerable amount of time or simply not being able to do what you desire is pretty high.
 

71dsp

Well-Known Member
^^ +1 We usually go in the slow times of the year (late January) and we've seen plenty of walk-ins get turned away because the restaurant is completely full. I remember this happening at Le Cellier and Mama Melrose's earlier this year.
 

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
With the 3 meals to use in a day, I'd book the ADRs, no question. You should be able to find something, at say a resort, but you really don't want to be traipsing all over the property trying to find an open table.
 

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Depending on the season and the restaurant, you might get by without reservations, but if you're going to do it, do so with a "hope for the best, expect the worst" mentality.

Our last trip was April 29-May 6 this year (and we actually arrived a day early, April 28). For the duration of our scheduled vacation, we were also on the DDP. Because we had a little girl (3) and an infant, there were certain reservations we had to cancel (always within 24 hours) because we realized we would need more down time that day, and there were also times when we were planning a counter service meal but were so exhausted that we wanted to sit a while and cool off without fighting for a table or feeling rushed once we had it. We did walkups twice at The Wave, once for lunch, and on checkout day for dinner before heading home (to be honest, we wound up making reservations for dinner at the Wave that day, a few hours beforehand, but had we walked up, we would not have had a problem getting seated, the place had plenty of free tables). We did lunch once at Kona Cafe. And surprisingly, we were seated once for lunch in Liberty Tree Tavern with only a 10 minute wait.

Now bear in mind, we were not there during a busy period - it was after Spring Break and Easter but before schools let out for the summer. Your mileage can and probably will vary. There are safer restaurants to try to dine without reservations, but they're usually in the hotels and they might not be your choice. It would also be easier to make it a late lunch, as most people want to eat between 11-1:30, but most restaurants keep serving lunch until almost dinnertime.
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Count me in as someone who would say to definitely make all your ADR's. If you decide to change your mind while your down there, you can cancel (find out the restaurants cancellation policy first so you know how far in advance you need to cancel) it's better to be saf ethan sorry, in my opinion!! Disney has so many fantastic dining options that you will definitely get to try a bit of everything, especially with the deluxe dining plan!! :)
 

Fraisie

Active Member
We will be in WDW for the last week of september, and we will be on the Deluxe plan as well. We have made ADR's for most of our meals, and we saw how quicky the time slots were filled. Make the ADR's if you don't want to lose the value of your dining plan on being stuck eating in counter service restaurants.
 

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