Dining without making ADRs

[free_money]

We just booked a trip for October today and I was looking into setting up some ADRs. Well unfortunately, every single ADR I attempted to make was not available. The last trip I made to disney was prior to ADRs even existing. If I attempt to go to restaurants such as 'Ohana, T-Rex, Boma, Whispering Canyon, and Chef Mickey's, will it even be worth trying without an ADR??? Thanks for your help

[Capt_redshirt]

You can try to show up and get in but some of those might be hard. But heres what we did on our last trip we would go early and see if there was an opening or asking the front desk if they can set up a reservation

[Kenny1113]

I have been able to get in with walk up at Boma. Or even try reservations day of...maybe someone cancels.

[MargaretMessler]

Try calling every day leading up to your trip, people do make cancellations. Or call morning of. If you're going to try walk up, get there at the beginning of the meal period in question.

[faline]

While it may not be possible to get into all the restaurants you want, there are a couple of things you can do.

1. Keep trying. There are cancellations all the time. On a trip a few years ago, I was able to get an excellent breakfast time reservation for Chef Mickey's just two days before our arrival but trying daily - sometimes several times per day (Of course, this also depends on the Disney dining site cooperating with you which, lately, it often does not.)

2. Try checking on availability while you are there. We've had great success using the Disney app to make reservations while we are in Disney World.

3. Try walking up just as the restaurant is opening. I find restaurants are often able to take walk-ups particularly at opening time. We've been successful with this even if they begin to turn away walk-ups 15-20 minutes later which I've also seen happen.

[Mickey'sGirl]

I think walk ups and day of reservations have become much more attainable now that credit cards are required for many advanced reservations. I think you might have a problem walking up to Chef Mickey's, but otherwise, I'll bet you'll be good to go!

[Scar]

October you should have no problem finding a restaurant to walk up to... it just won't be the real popular ones. Also, you should take full advantage of the Food and Wine kiosks and make a few meals out of those.

[DonaldDuckUSA]

If you're not able to get the reservations (hopefully you'll get some), don't panic too much.

We've had trips with ADRs and no ADRs. In most cases, we've been better off without ADRs. It was significantly less stressful and our day flowed better. We had to get a little creative, but here is what we have learned:

Dine during less popular times. Maybe try to get an early lunch and early dinner. That way, you will be more likely to have an open table. This probably won't work for places like Ohana, but you will have better luck with other lesser discussed restaurants.

Research your counter service options ahead of time to see which places have the better food and the nicer experiences. We like Columbia Harbor House and Flame Tree is also popular. It's not as nice or relaxing of an experience, but if one person grabs the table, condiments, and forks while the other brings the food, it won't be so bad. Teamwork!

Plan on snacking. Find well themed and unique kiosk locations. This is probably our best plan of attack for non-ressie EPCOT days. Eggroll, spicy tuna roll, crepe, mmmmm.

If you have a car, travel off site. There are some great places just around the bend. You probably won't want to do this for all meals. I mean, you go to Disney for a reason, but one dinner might be worth it.

Also, how many are traveling in your party? Generally, we only have 2-4 people, so we're a small group. We try to find restaurants with full menus at the bar. Prime Time and Yak and Yeti are our favorites. You won't be sitting at a traditional table where you can all look at each other, and you won't be smack dab in the middle of the restaurant theme, but you'll have the benefit of table service without the stress of a reservation.

[1DisneyNut]

We never make dining reservations. We hate having them hanging over our heads all day long while we are trying to enjoy the parks. You have to worry about do I have time to see this or ride that and still make it to my ADR.

We just check to see what is available a couple of hours before we want to eat or we just walk up to a couple of places and see if we can get in.

We have also simply gotten in the car and driven over to International Drive to eat several times. You can drive over there faster than you can wait on a bus and get to a resort inside WDW. We sometimes jump in the car and drive over to the beach and eat at a seafood restaurant. It takes about 50 minutes to an hour but heck we have had bus trips to resorts that required bus changes that took that long.

[debbymc4]

You should be able to get into T-Rex. They only do a limited number of ADRs via the disney website. You can also try calling them directly.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Of the places you have listed Chef Mickeys and Ohanas will be the hardest to get. I know its not impossible, but I wouldn't even waste my time trying to get either of these as a "walk up".

Last July/August we only booked 2 meals ahead of time. We were able to be seated within minutes at 4 other restaurants without an ADR. Those locations were Shutters at CBR (we were there for 3 nights otherwise it's not a place we would go out of our way for), Captain's Grill at YC, Big River Grill at the boardwalk, and The Wave at CR.

If you don't mind eating at the less popular places you should be fine. Grand Floridian Cafe is an amazing place that is usually available last minute. If you can't get Ohana, Kona Cafe is a good alternative and much easier to get. Good luck!

[GoBlueLacheta]

Just keep trying..Just keep trying.

Any who, with the cancellation fees now in place for a lot of the more high traffic restaurants, it is worth it to keep attempting for the places you want.

There are a lot of quality places in the World that are usually not completely booked, especially for lunch.

Have a great time.

[disneylovinmom]

Absolutely keep trying. Also, I give my vote for downloading the Disney Parks app for your smartphone. We got some good ADR's last October by using that while we were there. People cancel all the time. We have also walked up to the Plaza at MK and Sci Fi at DHS and been seated without a reservation. It's always worth a try.

[MouseHouser]

Ohanas has a set routine to accept a limited number of walk ups, but you typically need to get there early and wait in a special line off to the side.

[etibbetts]

As someone else mentioned - call TRex directly. We did that and had our choice of tons of times.

I got Boma with one days notice last month so definetly keep trying! I would check mutliple times a day if you can. I know my family has cancelled Chef Mickey's before on a trip because we were charactered out - so others may as well.

And don't be afraid of some of the less popular. I love Biergarten, Captain's Grille, Chefs De France - I got into all of those last minute last month.