How hard is it to get a table without ADR?

[Jen cook]

my husband does t care for ADR because it cuts with the “flow” of what we are doing. I’m a planner and say they’re necessary. So when you book your ADR do you book for each day knowing which park you’ll be in ahead of time? What if we don’t book ADR? Will it be a nightmare to eat in the parks?

We are not part of the dining plans.
Thanks

 

[hllb]

If you're picky about where you eat, you'll need an ADR. If you're not picky, you should be able to pick them up the day before or the day of in whatever park you're in. But, you usually cannot just walk up to a restaurant and get a table. You could open the app, pick a reservation that's imminent, and then walk up to the restaurant though. But, you can't be picky about which restaurant you'll be eating.

 

[Jen cook]

If you're picky about where you eat, you'll need an ADR. If you're not picky, you should be able to pick them up the day before or the day of in whatever park you're in. But, you usually cannot just walk up to a restaurant and get a table. You could open the app, pick a reservation that's imminent, and then walk up to the restaurant though. But, you can't be picky about which restaurant you'll be eating.

That’s what I thought. So I’ll continue reserving and planning. I’m driving myself crazy lol

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Dining plan or not, you should do ADR's. We try to plan out which park we will be in and do ADR's from there. For places like Magic Kingdom, it is possible to look at the nearby resorts as well. I have never had a problem going to a resort to eat if I wanted to try out a place. I found Olivia's that way. How big is your party? Do you have to eat at a certain time? What time of year will you be going?

 

[jon185]

When we were waiting to be seated at Ohana there was a couple that wanted to eat there without a ADR. They told them they would probably have to wait about 2 hours. So ya....def need ADR’s especially for the more popular places.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

When we were waiting to be seated at Ohana there was a couple that wanted to eat there without a ADR. They told them they would probably have to wait about 2 hours. So ya....def need ADR’s especially for the more popular places.

They were lucky they were told they could be seated in 2 hours. More often, the restaurants just say they aren't taking walk ups at all.

 

[AFwifelife]

If you prefer TS, you definitely want to make ADRs. If you are literally just going to go with the flow and are ok with eating CS if you can't find anything that you want to wait for, then ADRs aren't as important. But if you are wanting something for sure, make the reservation.

 

[kittyab]

If you don't mind quick serve's go with out ADR's. Probably cheaper too.

 

[JerseyJanice]

ADRs are a pain since you have to remember to cancel them the night before if you can’t show up.

They can be easy to find the day of though if you decide not to make them ahead of time.

 

[Hopefully]

If you want to ear IN Park then yes you need an ADR at almost every restaurant.
Non park restaurants are a bit easier but the popular restaurants book to capacity at usual meal times.
We decide which park which day and then make our ADRS

 

[Deb & Bill]

When are you going? That also can impact getting an ADR or dining completely without one.

 

[Jen cook]

When are you going? That also can impact getting an ADR or dining completely without one.

June 16-26

 

[Jen cook]

Is BOG worth it for Lunch?

 

[Jen cook]

Dining plan or not, you should do ADR's. We try to plan out which park we will be in and do ADR's from there. For places like Magic Kingdom, it is possible to look at the nearby resorts as well. I have never had a problem going to a resort to eat if I wanted to try out a place. I found Olivia's that way. How big is your party? Do you have to eat at a certain time? What time of year will you be going?

Party of 5, kids 18,14,7 my husband and me. We are going June 16-26. Kids aren’t adventurous eaters. We eat at off times. Usually bfast in room and then lunch around 1, and a late dinner.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We make, maybe, 1 ADR a day and wing the rest. We've gotten walk-ups (mostly in EP because there are so many restaurants) and same day ADR's. As PP noted, if you aren't picky, you can typically find something. MK is the hardest because there really aren't a ton of TS to begin with and it's such a busy park. DHS is slightly better. Your mileage can vary though depending on when you go. It will be fairly busy when you are there, so I wouldn't count on a lot of walk-ups. Are you adverse to QS? With your schedule, perhaps make 1 ADR a day and do QS for the other meal?

BOG is ok for lunch. If you reserve it, make sure you pre-order as the wait for the ordering kiosks can get REALLY long. In MK, we prefer QS at Columbia Harbour House and then TS at Skippers.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Is BOG worth it for Lunch?

I enjoyed my braised pork entree there quite a bit in 2016.

If you’ve never been before, it’s worth it just to see all the details in the castle. Enjoy!

 

[AngiTN]

If you're picky about where you eat, you'll need an ADR. If you're not picky, you should be able to pick them up the day before or the day of in whatever park you're in. But, you usually cannot just walk up to a restaurant and get a table. You could open the app, pick a reservation that's imminent, and then walk up to the restaurant though. But, you can't be picky about which restaurant you'll be eating.

By the way, that's still an ADR. There's no amount of time in advance that makes it advance. Any reservation is an ADR, technically.

At Disney, you need an ADR to eat TS except for the non Disney own restaurants over at DS or a couple at Epcot.
What you don't have to do is book them months or weeks in advance. Doing it when you are ready to eat is fine. That's what we do and we never eat QS at Disney. There's plenty to be had same day

 

[gharter]

Lots of variables. If you are going at at busier time of year, walk up reservations can be mor challenging. Are you trying to get into a popular restaurant or a not as popular one?
If your plan is to not have any ADR, then try and eat at off times. EArly when the restaurants open for lunch is often less busy or mid afternoon often works. If you want lunch at noon and the evening meal at 5:30 or 6, probably not going to happen.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Party of 5, kids 18,14,7 my husband and me. We are going June 16-26. Kids aren’t adventurous eaters. We eat at off times. Usually bfast in room and then lunch around 1, and a late dinner.

We went last summer at the end of July. In our previous trips, we were on the Dining Plan, but this last trip, we decided to do out of pocket. With the heat, we enjoyed going inside the AC to cool off during an evening meal, but we also only made 3 ADR's for our entire week and did counter service meals the rest of the time. We also "split up" at one dinner where my wife and daughter went to the Garden Grill and my son and I went to Cape May.

Do look at the menu's online for the places you are considering. If the options don't fit your family, then the ADR really is not going to be a positive for your trip. The all you can eat places will be pricey for your group as well since 2 kids are "disney adults" for pricing. In the end, it really comes up to what you want to do for types of meals, but having an ADR helps. You can always cancel and wont be charged if you follow the rules associated with the ADR for each restaurant.

Good Luck !

 

[jdisnut]

We rarely book reservations more than an hour or two in advance. We have at least one table-service meal every day of all of our trips. In our experience, it's not hard to find openings at desirable places. Of course, if there is a particularly popular restaurant you want to try -- 'Ohana and Be Our Guest come to mind -- you really should plan ahead. It's almost impossible to walk into those joints.

For many others, however, it's easy. On our trip last July, for instance, we booked a nice dinner at Coral Reef less than hour before showing up to the restaurant. This style works for us. I recognize it doesn't appeal to everybody.