Question about ADRs

We will be back at WDW in about a month (January 3-9). I'm getting a little freaked out regarding all the comments about Dining Reservations. When we were at WDW in 2000 and 2006 (January both years), we had a couple ADRs, but found out we could pretty much get in anywhere at any time. Will I have to make resevations for every restaurant before I go? We are a family of four and usually do one or two sit-down dinnres a day. We are not doing a Dining Plan- we like to be more flexible in our spending and scheduling. Will I need reservations on those dates in January? :confused:
All advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Definitely. The Disney Dining Plan has changed everything. If you have specific restaurants you want, especially the more popular ones, you'd better try for an ADR now, and even this closer it might be too late since most booked up at the 90 day (now back to 180 day) mark. That's not to say every restaurant will be full, just the most popular ones (like CRT, Le Cellier, or any of the character dining options). You could probably get a day of ADR for places like Merekkesh which don't tend to be as popular (which is good for me since I think that's a great choice). Like it or not, that's just the reality of a WDW vacation now since the vast majority of folks do the DDP.

Also, I was there last year that week and found the crowds to be higher than have been reported in previous years. With the 4/3 deal it seems folks are staying longer after New Years.

You can still get by without dining reservations during slower periods. However, you may need to be more flexible around dining locations as well as the time you are dining. Going on a Disney vacation is definitely getting more rigid than it ever was in years past.