Trip with No Dining Reservations

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm planning a trip after Labor Day weekend and can't decide where I want to eat, there are just too many options!

I'm considering making no dining reservations and just winging it and seeing what's available day of.

I know worst case scenario that would mean eating a lot of quick service this trip.

Have any of you ever purposely chosen to travel like this and if so how did it go?

 

[CarolynFH]

Given that you’re flexible, I think that you’ll find a lot of options available the evening before or the morning of each day. Just search MDE for dining availability. We haven’t done an entire trip without ADRs but have booked several days the morning of or canceled an ADR and booked something else the night before. Lots of things pop up!

It sounds like you’re visiting solo, so don’t be afraid to look for tables for 2 or 4 if nothing appealing pops up for a party of 1 - Disney’s ADR system doesn’t like odd numbers.

 

[Disneylover99]

We stay for 2+ weeks and generally don’t make any ADR’s. It’s very freeing. I hate being tied down to a restaurant. And there’s nothing wrong with quick service. Lots of great choices. Plus you’ll save money.

 

[gregskellington]

My family is hit or miss with getting on board with dining reservations made 60+ days out, so we've traveled like this in the past. In my experience, if you're flexible (and comfortable refreshing the app/checking throughout the day), it can be great. I've gotten popular places doing this, even, same day.

 

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

The overwhelming majority of restaurants will have some sort of last minute option the day before, morning of, or even a couple of hours before. There’s also always sitting at the bar.

I wouldn’t worry.

 

[gharter]

Personally, we couldn't do it as there are a few places we REALLY want to dine. However, if that doesn't matter, you can keep checking in the app and people keep coming up with incredible options. You must be flexible for that to work . However, many WDW restaurants suddenly have opening at the 24-48 hour mark.
Good luck!

 

[cpep42]

Hardly ever make dining reservations before we arrive unless it's a special place we want to make sure we get in. Depending on the size of your party most places keep a certain amount of space available for walk ups.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

We have done a couple of trips with no dining and have to see it was actually very nice for the most part. Plus many restaurants end up having openings due to cancellations. It is nice to not be "tied to any reservations".

 

[LuvMyEAR]

We did a fairly last-minute trip during the spring break period and managed to have dinner at Ohana, discovered the amazing Sebastion’s Bistro, breakfast at Boma and Kona Cafe. We made and cancelled reservations at Wine Bar George and another spot because they were in the flow of our plans. Loved the freedom!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I'm planning a trip after Labor Day weekend and can't decide where I want to eat, there are just too many options!

I'm considering making no dining reservations and just winging it and seeing what's available day of.

I know worst case scenario that would mean eating a lot of quick service this trip.

Have any of you ever purposely chosen to travel like this and if so how did it go?

We didn't do a single ADR on our last trip and never booked one while there. We were at WDW 5 days, in the parks 3 and it was great. We did MK, EP, DHS and loved our meals. I will say, I'm less keen on the no ADR idea in summer since we like to have a dedicated meal booked in AC since you're never guaranteed an indoor seat with QS. Overall though for our trip it went fine but the weather was not as hot as it is now.

We of course did all the Epcot food booths so no ADRs needed in Epcot. MK has some nice TS options but having G+ to contend with, I knew we'd rather ride rides and maximize G+ than sit and wait for a table. And for DHS, it was the same strategy and tbh there's not too many TS dining that's even worth an ADR at DHS. I could see us throwing in a midday/heat of the day ADR to get us out of the sun/rain but maybe one a day.

We've gone light on ADRs even before Genie was introduced just because we like to have more spontaneous plans.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm planning a trip after Labor Day weekend and can't decide where I want to eat, there are just too many options!

I'm considering making no dining reservations and just winging it and seeing what's available day of.

I know worst case scenario that would mean eating a lot of quick service this trip.

Have any of you ever purposely chosen to travel like this and if so how did it go?

I did that once on a solo trip, ended up doing all quick serve, and a couple mobile orders fromTS restaurants. Could I have gotten reservations at any sit downs day of? I don't know-I didn't try! I really enjoyed the spontaneity of it. I don't ever make reservations on arrival day-I don't trust the reliability of airline times, but on one trip, I checked when I got on Magical Express, and was happy to see that Narcoose's was available. And on one trip I realized the night before departure that since airlines don't feed me, I should eat a big breakfast before I go to the airport. I was at BCV and fortunately Cape May Cafe had an opening. No characters, but AYCE.
Do it. It might be fun for a change.

 

[Lilsia]

I do that pretty much every trip. I will look up who has availability either the day before or on their walk up list. Never had any issues finding someplace to eat. Now if it is somewhere that you absolutely have to eat, then make a reservation.

 

[mdredneck]

My wife and I always have park hopper passes and spend nearly every dinner at a different country in Epcot. We never make reservations, but do travel during the lightest times of the year.

 

[Genie+]

How many people and how long are you staying?

My family would be fine doing only QS and the occasionally lounge for a trip. The bonus is eating however our mood strikes.

 

[meremac]

This is definitely possible, especially with smaller parties (4 or less) who are flexible! Now that our kids are older, we usually book maybe 2-3 reservations for the entire week, only for the places we know we definitely want to eat at...then we wing the rest! We'll typically do If we're hot and tired and we want to sit down somewhere, we'll take whatever is available last-minute wherever we happen to be. It allows for a lot more freedom, and it gives us that nudge to try new places instead of always defaulting to our favorite familiars.

 

[Arthur92]

I've done it and got the reservations I wanted. But that was Pre-Covid who knows now. But it can be done if like everyone has said YOU ARE OPEN MINDED

 

[leebee]

We have park hopper passes for our trip near the end of August. We aren't making ADRs, we're just going to hop to Epcot to graze at Food&Wine each evening. If we need a TS meal, we'll see what's available. There's always Disney Springs or resort hotel restaurants. Some of these are rarely booked completely all evening.

 

[jf256]

You can always eat in the lounges?

I think that is what we are going to do - make some key reservations throughout the week but eat in the lounges when we can.

 

[ak517]

I have a solo 2-nighter coming up next month and it will be the first time I don't have any ADRs, by choice! There are a few lounges I want to try, so I'm planning on hitting those up for a light bite and cocktail. I still scroll through the reservations though, just to see what's available should I change my mind. Closer to your trip, like the day before, you will probably see new availability pop up. I wouldn't advise waiting until day-of, but I've had good luck making reservations for groups at Chef Mickey's, for example, the day before we wanted to eat there.

 

[loves to dive]

We only book 2 things in advance, tea at the GF (please come back) and V&A's. Otherwise, it's all day of while walking around. Usually it's either just me or me and my son, every once in a while there might be a friend of his with us. We always have hoppers and love trying new places and don't really care if it's early or late so we have never had an issue finding anything. Push comes to shove, since we always have hoppers, we just go to Epcot and snack around the booths since we are always there during a festival. We also like lounges, which is pretty much where I eat when I'm there solo.