Reservations vs. Winging It

[EJS-Houston]

I'm a little over 9 days away from my WDW vacation; I'm going this year with 3 of my closest friends, one of whom I went with 2 years ago. At that time, we made no dinner reservations and just dined when and where the mood struck us and had a great time and some terrific meals. This time we've made reservations on 2 of the 7 nights we're there, intending to wing it again the other 5 nights to enjoy the spontaneity and freedom (of not always being locked into a schedule) we enjoyed on our previous visit. However, the 2 friends going with us this time seem like they want to make more reservations, while I'm inclined to leave things as they are. Any opinions out there? Your personal experience?

[offwego]

One factor you don't mention is if your on the dining plan.

If I'm on the plan (and thus will have meals I've paid for that I can't use or will have used in way's I'd rather not if I don't plan ahead) I think you need them more (you can still cancel/change them there of course).

However if your just paying as you go and not going at peak times and don't have a need to see something in particular (for instance you have to see Stitch at Ohana's or something like that) I think it's fine to just have one or two.

[mudpuppysmom]

I'm going to assume you do not have the dining plan.

We've done both -- structured ADR's and also flown by the seat of our pants. Keeping in mind we have a 5 year old now......I personally like not being a prisoner to ADR's, plus you have to make them so far in advance, who knows if you want to eat what you planned on the specific day and time! While ADR's are nice to have, I don't like making them months in advance.

Now, winging it has it's pluses too......you can (try) to eat where you want and when you want (and hope for the best!). If you want to eat Mexican on Tuesday, but you don't want to eat right at dinner time (or lunch) you can pop in when you are hungry (better do it a little before then, b/c you are more than likely to have to wait a little bit).

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that while winging it is nice to do, you might not always get to eat what you want and when you want to eat, while ADR's provide you with a "guaranteed" meal place and time; you just need to decide it months in advance for popular places.

[mickeymousedabomb]

For our family, ADR's are a must:eat: I don't like the fact of heading down there not knowing where we're going to have dinner each night:( We plan our days in the park we want and then pick where we want to eat and make it convient to not have to go to far. All I can think of is having my heart set on eating somewhere different or special to us and they have nothing open that will accomidate our eating ranges. So I get right on the phone and made ALL ADR's ASAP!!!!!

[Tygger7]

I personally would have a nervous breakdown if I didn't make all my ADR's at the 180 day mark, dining plan or not. We try to plan our meals based on what park we want to do that day. I like to know that I can eat at my favorite places and that my wait will be minimal. If you don't have your heart set on any particular restaurant, and won't mind if you can't get into a table-service restaurant, then by all means wing it. Just be prepared that you may have to eat at more counter service restaurants than you intended. Personally, more than one CS meal per day would make me :ack:

Good luck!! :mickey:

[LandFan]

I personally would have a nervous breakdown if I didn't make all my ADR's at the 180 day mark, dining plan or not. We try to plan our meals based on what park we want to do that day. I like to know that I can eat at my favorite places and that my wait will be minimal. If you don't have your heart set on any particular restaurant, and won't mind if you can't get into a table-service restaurant, then by all means wing it. Just be prepared that you may have to eat at more counter service restaurants than you intended. Personally, more than one CS meal per day would make me :ack:

Good luck!! :mickey:

I agree totally!!:D

[pox24]

Make more reservations. Was at the Poly last week end. If we didn't have them we probably would look like those guys stearing the ship at the Pirates ride by the time we got a table.

[EJS-Houston]

What interesting and provocative responses. I LOVE this website!!! :rocks:

First of all, you're both correct mudpuppy and offwego...none of us are on dining plans.

And I think those of you who have pointed out that if you want to eat at a specific place you absolutely HAVE to have reservations made months in advance make an excellent point.

I think the two restaurants we have made reservations for cover the places I really wanted to be sure we hit on this trip. And when winging it, I don't have any problem with being flexible about where we get in. Two years ago we came to WDW at the exact same time of year, and got into Wolfgang Puck's in Downtown Disney, the tempura place in the Japanese Pavilion in Epcot, and a charming little Italian restaurant whose name escapes me in Disney Studios...all on the spur of the moment without reservations. We had a short wait to get into the tempura restaurant, but otherwise were seated immediately and were very happy with the food and service. I also think we probably were going at what may prove to be non-peak hours (e.g. between 5 and 6 p.m.).

We may yet make one more reservation based on your recommendations...but otherwise I think we're in pretty good shape. Thanks so much for your input! :high5:

[Jared]

I would never take a trip without making reservations for every night. Dining is one of my favorite parts of Walt Disney World, and there are several popular restaurants my family really loves. Without making arrangements in advance, I'd never have the opportunity to eat at 'Ohana or Boma.

But I realize scheduling meals so far in advance is a ridiculous idea for many people. Unless you have a particular restaurant you want to try, don't make any reservations and eat when you're hungry. Realize you will not be able to try most of the crowded and popular restaurants.

:tasty:

[Madame Leona]

We usually only make ADRs for character meals. After that, we wing it. We may not always get to eat at a ts but I think the cs has improved quite a bit over the years. Another option is to check with guest services in the morning to see if you can get an adr later in the day for the park you are visiting. If you are flexible, this can really work to your advantage.

[mttafire]

We usually dont make reservations. We DO go to Disney during "the slower times". We seem to always get a table when we want it at our favorite restaurant. Again though we go during slower times. :mickey: Folks are ALWAYS cancelling ressies and ive learned that a nice tip can get you a table too...LOL

[#1donaldfan]

That's exactly how we like to do it......fly by night, and whatever mood hits us....but, it seems to be getting harder and harder, and unfortuantley it's the wave of the future to have everything planned out....if not, you stand a chance on waiting in line longer than you really want to......this past year we did a lot of dinner and lunch ressies....it wasn't too bad, at least not as bad as I thought it would be.....good luck to you....:mickey:

[EJS-Houston]

Like mttafire (Ohio rocks!...my home state) we go during very low attendance times and I'm sure that has a lot to do with our ability to get in without reservations...although, truth be told, I do remember going to the Brown Derby on impulse once last time and finding that they were booked solid up 'til about 9 or 10 p.m. We just kind'a shrugged it off and found the charming little Italian restaurant in Disney Studios and were very happy we did. I'll let y'all know how we fare this time.

[tennantsrwe]

Well I'm a planner by nature I guess you'd say. So I always plan with ADR...but we're also on the DDP so it makes sense to make ressies. Maybe there are some other specific places your friends would like to eat? If that's the case I'd try to make a few more ADR...just to keep eveyone happy. Hope you have a great trip!

[jillluvsdisney]

We are a little of both this trip. We made ADRs for the birthdays and will wing it otherwise. I'm actaully looking forward to more spontenaity by doing this.

[EJS-Houston]

Well I'm a planner by nature I guess you'd say. So I always plan with ADR...but we're also on the DDP so it makes sense to make ressies. Maybe there are some other specific places your friends would like to eat? If that's the case I'd try to make a few more ADR...just to keep eveyone happy. Hope you have a great trip!

Like you, tennant, I'm very much a planner by nature and can tend to go overboard with it at times (typically I have to plan nights at home to relax during the week). I think that's why I enjoy keeping things loose and relaxed when I do WDW. I get to enjoy the luxury of being spontaneous which I don't enjoy in my day-to-day life. I'm not complaining...I like being planned and knowing what I'm doing on weekends months in advance...it's just that by allowing myself to be spontaneous at WDW, the complete fantasy remove from my day-to-day life (few schedules, no have-to's, no responsibilities, no worries) is that much more complete. Does that make any sense?
:laughing:
I did, in fact, tell my friends who are coming with us for the first time that if they want to make more dining plans on their own they should feel perfectly free to do so. We'll all be carrying cell-phones so we can reconnoiter afterward.

[AbeeNormal]

WELL look who's a Cast Member.....!!!!!!

Congrat's my friend, I just knew you'd love this place. :thumbsup:

Just remember not matter what you'll be at WDW and you're gonna have a great time ressies or not. :mickey3:

Please let me know all about your trip when you get home. :cloud9:

Have a super fantastic wonderful magic time.
:joy:

[HndrdPrcnt]

I would never take a trip without making reservations for every night. Dining is one of my favorite parts of Walt Disney World, and there are several popular restaurants my family really loves. Without making arrangements in advance, I'd never have the opportunity to eat at 'Ohana or Boma.

But I realize scheduling meals so far in advance is a ridiculous idea for many people. Unless you have a particular restaurant you want to try, don't make any reservations and eat when you're hungry. Realize you will not be able to try most of the crowded and popular restaurants.

:tasty:

Jared, thank you!! I thought I was the only one who was so A Type that I must have reservations for every day I am at WDW. Winging it is just not my thing. Call me crazy, but I love knowing where I am going and when I need to be there. I also love having reservations for some of my favorite restaurants and not being stressed out as to if I am going to, by some slight chance, be able to eat where I really want to eat!!:thumbsup:

[EJS-Houston]

WELL look who's a Cast Member.....!!!!!!

Congrat's my friend, I just knew you'd love this place. :thumbsup:

Just remember not matter what you'll be at WDW and you're gonna have a great time ressies or not. :mickey3:

Please let me know all about your trip when you get home. :cloud9:

Have a super fantastic wonderful magic time.
:joy:

:rocks: Thanks, Abee! I do love this site, and of course you were absolutely right...I made Cast Member before I knew it! :D :joy:

The responses to this thread have been well-considered and confirmed to me that we've got just the right mix of planning and freedom in our trip. And 4 days and 23 hours from right now I'll be heading to the airport for 8 days and 7 blissful nights of WDW. I feel like that little kid in the WDW TV ad a few years back: "I'm too excited to sleep!" I think about that ad a lot as I head into the home stretch: the kid was adorable, and the ad perfectly communicated how it feels to anticipate a WDW vacation, regardless of whether or young, or, um, less young, shall we say? :laughing:

Of course I'll tell you all about it when I get back. Thanks for the great send-off!

Cheers,

Eric

[AbeeNormal]

Cheers my friend:tiphat:

I'll be waiting right here until you get back....:wait:

Eat everything ...:popcorn::eat: drink like a fish ....:beer: laugh often ...:funny: and win some magic:pixie:

Most of all make it last .....:cloud9:

[purplestarlisa]

If you are on the DDP, do you HAVE to use a reservation for every meal? I made many ADR's, but left a couple of days open... I hate to overplan, and we are not picky when it comes to food...

[Septbride2002]

I just got back from winging it - and truth be told - I wasn't a huge fan. It was great for the budget though because 80% of the time we settled for counter service rather then Table Service. The only downfall was I got sick of counter service fast.

PLUS - trying to remember what was on the menus and what I wanted. Some are obvious - San Angel Inn - Mexican, Chefs de Paris - French. But other's not so much like the Kona Cafe, Spoodles, etc. Plus - I didn't like that if I decided to do Libert Tree Tavern for dinner that there was a great chance I 1)wouldn't get in or 2) would have a long long wait.

Our next trip is a short one - only 5 days. My plan is to make semi reservations for every night at dinner. If we cancel them - then no harm. But if we want to keep them it helps to know we have reservations, at a great resturant, with food we will love.

~Amanda

[suedenim]

We're heading out on Friday, and I'm still a little confused and daunted by the reservations and how necessary they are. If you're not reserved months in advance, are *all* the sit-down restaurants really hard to get into? If you try to make a reservation on, say, Friday morning for a Saturday or Sunday night dinner, do people just point at you and laugh, or is that actually possible?

[irish1967]

We're heading out on Friday, and I'm still a little confused and daunted by the reservations and how necessary they are. If you're not reserved months in advance, are *all* the sit-down restaurants really hard to get into? If you try to make a reservation on, say, Friday morning for a Saturday or Sunday night dinner, do people just point at you and laugh, or is that actually possible?

I really doubt that you will be pointed at and laughed at :mickey:

But, yes, depending on a lot of factors it is possible that you might not be able to get into eat at a TS restaurant.

Is Free Dining going on right now? If so, the restaurants will be really crowded. If not, it will probably be better.

Is your party big? You'll have less options for TS dining, then.

Are you willing to eat at off times? If you are willing to eat very early or very late, you'll have a better chance of getting in.

Good luck but most of all - HAVE A GREAT TRIP!

[EJS-Houston]

Just got back from WDW late Saturday night...and thought I'd report back. We made only 3 dining reservations over the 7 nights we were there (Artist Point, Bistro de Paris and Nine Dragons)...and were delighted by all the restaurants we made reservations for. The rest of the nights we ate early in order to get in at places like Mama Melrose's in Disney Studios and at the Morroccan counter service place in EPCOT and had wonderful food without reservations. I live in a town where dining out options are fantastic no matter what kind of cuisine you may want on any given night...so we've got lots of great Mediterranean restaurants to choose from and the counter service restauranat at the Morroccan Pavilion in EPCOT compares favorably with the best of them. One thing I'll definitely avoid in future, though, is the Super Soap Weekend. The crowds were substantially larger than they were when we went two years ago at around the same time. The only difference was that two years ago we were there the week/weekend before Super Soap, and this year we were there the week/weekend OF Super Soap. It was suggested to me that if you weren't there for Super Soap events there'd be no problem getting right onto rides with little wait; that didn't prove to be true at all. The most popular rides had 60-90 minute waits during peak afternoon hours.

[Marilyn Michetti]

Maybe this is our age showing, but when we go to WDW, I REFUSE to be a slave to a schedule. We get two or three ADR's. The rest of the time, we stop when we're hungry, wherever we are. Not running for a dinner we planned six months ago is "freedom"

We eat out every Sat. night, so it's not about the food on vacation. Has nothing to do with $$ - we just don't want to be bound by all the rules.:thumbsup:

[steveknj]

One point that keeps coming up is that it's more important if you have a DDP. Why is that? Will you be locked out of resturants without a reservation? Is a reservation REQUIRED for DDP? Or is this simply a case of being on the DDP, you might be more inclined to want to go to specific TS resturaunts than if you aren't.

[BeccaO]

Marilyn, I totally agree with what you stated, we dont' like to be tied down to a schedule either. We make ADR's for our favorites and the rest of the time we fly by the seat of our pants!!!! What if one day we decide we don't want to be in a certain park or something and we have to "run" to make our reservation some where else??? We go in Jan. to avoid the crowds and pretty much decide meal to meal where we will eat.

[Tygger7]

One point that keeps coming up is that it's more important if you have a DDP. Why is that? Will you be locked out of resturants without a reservation? Is a reservation REQUIRED for DDP? Or is this simply a case of being on the DDP, you might be more inclined to want to go to specific TS resturaunts than if you aren't.

The reason DDP comes up, is that if you're on the dining plan you're pre-paying for your meals. So, let's say for a 7-day vacation you buy the dining plan. That means each person in your party (assuming the basic dining plan)has 1 counter service meal, 1 table service meal, and 1 snack to use each day. If you don't have ADR's, you could end up not being able to get into a TS restaurant and may have unused meal credits at the end of your vacation...which would be a waste of money. ADR's if you're using the dining plan basically guarantee that you'll be able to use all your TS credits.

Hope that helps!! :mickey:

[lightyearfan]

well if you plan to eat at downtown disney, i think that you'll be ok. just to let you know that it might be difficult to just wing it in the parks for a TS meal without an ADR. me and dw will be heading to WDW in Dec, and although i was able to secure 4 TS resturants, it was extremely difficult and we had to basically eat at what was available, but never the less you'll be in the world, and that's the most important thing, enjoy your upcoming trip.

Here is what we were able to ADR:
1. Tutto Italia (Epcot)
2. Plaza Resturant (MK)
3. Boatwrights (POFQ)
4. Tony's Town Square (MK)

Mgm will be pot luck CS

Victor

[EJS-Houston]

Maybe this is our age showing, but when we go to WDW, I REFUSE to be a slave to a schedule. We get two or three ADR's. The rest of the time, we stop when we're hungry, wherever we are. Not running for a dinner we planned six months ago is "freedom"

We eat out every Sat. night, so it's not about the food on vacation. Has nothing to do with $$ - we just don't want to be bound by all the rules.:thumbsup:

Thanks, Marilyn! I feel exactly the same way. This vacation just confirmed it for me. I was glad for the 3 reservations we made...but as Becca very succinctly put it, I don't want to wind up in one park, having to suddenly break off in order to scurry for the busses to get to another park just because I've got a dining reservation there that I made 4 months ago. Winging it is absolutely blissful.