Does "No tables available" mean no availability at all?

[mickeyandelsa]

So, I'm a newbie, I didn't know people could and do make dining reservations decades in advance.

I've tried to make reservations for my Nov. 29 - Dec 7 trip to no avail. If I want to go to, say, Be Our Guest, can I still wait in line to dine there? If so, how long are the lines?

This is crazy :-)

[NewDVCowner]

Unfortunately you won't be able to get into Be Our Guest without a reservation - but keep checking. Sometimes things come up. For my last trip nothing was available for Be Our Guest at 180 days out but I checked back on a daily basis and eventually was able to get reservations for 5 people at 6:00.

Other restaurants may or may not take walk ups - but generally only at the beginning of the meal service time. You won't be able to do any sort of walk up at 6:00 for dinner, unfortunately.

You might have better luck looking for reservations outside of the park. In fact, I find that the food is better at resort locations than in the park itself. Again, though, if there's any place that you really want to eat keep checking back to see if anything has become available. People do cancel their reservations.

[savafan]

Definitely keep checking. At 2 weeks out, I was able to get reservations for Be Our Guest, Chef Mickeys, Sci Fi Dine In, and Cinderella's Royal Table all within the last week.

[SBETigg]

There are exceptions like Be Our Guest and 'Ohana in which no tables available does tend to mean absolutely no luck. But for many venues, you can try your luck at the podium and it might work out.

There are several times for me that No Tables Available showed up online or on the app but we were seated after showing up at the restaurant. I wouldn't count on it or make a special trip hoping to get lucky but if you happen to be in the area and you are interested, it never hurts to ask in person.

[mechanic]

If you are on a dining plan you may want to consider dropping it. Your availability may be limited. Fortunately there are many great counter service spots to eat.

[Strmchsr]

While this does not apply to Be Our Guest, you'll also find during the time frame of your vacation that the Epcot restaurants hold a LOT of seats for the Candlelight processional diner packages so those restaurants become extremely hard to get during December, even the ones that aren't that hard the rest of the year.

[DisneyDadfromPittsburgh]

Keep checking. People may cancel and times will open up. That is what happened to me. We made a last minute trip plan in September to come down October 29-Nov 2 and we go to the Crystal Palace for breakfast EVERY single trip we make. Tradition. When I tried in September, of course it was sold out.I was terrified to tell the family
Kept trying until I got lucky and caught a 9 AM open time for 7 people on our first full day there. Phew!

[natedog24]

Also might want to check some of the less popular restaurants. In World Showcase, check out Germany or Morocco. Both are good, but both seem to not be in high demand because their cuisine isn't as "Americanized" as some of the others.
As far as MK, I wouldn't hold your breath for Be Our Guest, but maybe Crystal Palace or Tony's? You could also try one of the restaurants at the Contemporary or Grand Floridian, and be right next door to MK...
As someone else said, you may have better luck at the resorts. Just try to pick a resort close to whatever park you'll be at. A lot of my favorites are the resort restaurants. Good luck!!

[angel2931]

Just keep checking!! We booked late for our trip in Nov and when I first looked almost all the dining we wanted was unavailable! But by checking each day, I was slowly able to get ressies and now have everything we want. Just today I would have been able to get ressies for 2 different days at BOG for our trip in 13 days!! Keep checking and don't give up!