Eating at the parks?

I%26#39;ve been reading some posts and been on the allearsnet site, and everyone talks about needing reservations??

When we are visiting the parks on a daily basis, will we not be able to be seated or served on a walk-in basis? I%26#39;m not talking about expensive restaurants, just somewhere to get something to eat before the next attraction.

Also, are we able to dine/visit the other resorts in the disney complex?

Thanks.

Eating at the parks?

You%26#39;ll do fine with the counter-service restaurants. They%26#39;re all walk-up establishments and don%26#39;t take reservations. And you may be able to get table service as a walk-in although it%26#39;ll be harder. You can always call 407-WDW-DINE from your cell phone while you%26#39;re in the park to see if there is a seating available at a table service restaurant.

Yes, you are able to eat at any of the resorts - we%26#39;ve done so many times. We love Boma (definately get reservations for this one) at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Beaches %26amp; Cream is a fun little soda shop style eatery at the Beach Club. Trails End Buffeteria is good at the Fort Wilderness Campground and there are many others. Just remember that the buses don%26#39;t go from resort to resort. Just take a bus to the closest theme park, then take that resort%26#39;s bus. www.disneylinks.com has a route calculator on the bottom right corner of the screen, marked ';Laughing Place'; or something like that. You can use it to figure out the best point-to-point transportation options.

Eating at the parks?

Hello grlfrmrio,

If your traveling during a busy season which is whenever the children are out of school you definitely need to make all your table Disney dining reservations in advance. If you don%26#39;t mind eating all your meals at the counter service restaurants they don%26#39;t take reservations anyway so you don%26#39;t have to worry. But I will tell you that during busy seasons the counter service lines can be at least a half hour wait.

Yes you may eat at any Disney resort restaurant.

We went over the 4th of July. We didn%26#39;t make any reservations except for the dinner show at the Polynesian. Our kids are teens and not interested in character dining so I don%26#39;t know about that kind of experience. We most of our lunches at the parks in sit down restaurants and didn%26#39;t have long waits for a table. We especially enjoyed Le Celler at Epcot. Also ate at Nine Dragons there and the Liberty Tree in MK, Rainforest Cafe at the Animal Kingdom. I think we only had 2 counter service meals in a week, MGM at the Pizza Planet and at Typhoon Lagoon. We ate at Downtown Disney for dinners. Portobellos was great. Skip Planet Hollywood. Reservations certainly don%26#39;t hurt but you won%26#39;t go hungery and will still have a great time even without reservations. Relax and have fun!

We%26#39;ve always gotten burned with not having reservations. Hungry, grumpy kids and husband has gotten ugly. With waits of 1 - 2 hours even when we tried to eat lunch at 1:45pm during a non-busy time. Me, I can just grab something an go, but my husband can get picky and doesn%26#39;t usually like counter service when we%26#39;re on vacation.

I think it depends on your family%26#39;s personality. I prefer not to make reservations until the day before, because I don%26#39;t always decide what park I%26#39;m going to until I%26#39;ve seen the weather forecast. I also try to do a busy day, then a laid back day, then a busy day . . .I have done the parks without making any reservations at all, and I can usually get in somewhere, but sometimes it%26#39;s my second, or even third, choice of restaurant. I%26#39;m OK with that, but not everyone is. I usually recommend that if you like a table service lunch, try the nearest resort to the park. Resort restaurants are typically not very busy at lunch time (unless there%26#39;s a convention in house) so it can be a great choice for a good lunch. Try the Concourse Steakhouse if you are in the MK or the Yacht Club Galley if you%26#39;re at Epcot.

You should ALWAYS make reservations for any character meals or meals at any of the high end restaurants, like the California Grill. I strongly recommend reservations, even if it%26#39;s just the day before, if you have a particular restaurant you really want to dine in, and would be disappointed to miss. I have also been known, especially at Epcot, to call and make reservations right from the park that morning. The hardest restaurant in my experience to get into at Epcot is Le Cellier. They are a smaller restaurant, with great food, so it%26#39;s very popular. I also recommend making a reservation for your first evening if you are staying at a Disney resort, and for your last breakfast. It just seems to make the whole vacation run more smoothly if you have fewer hassles as you arrive and depart.

If you don%26#39;t mind compromising, eating earlier or later than most diners, or going to counter service spots if things don%26#39;t work out for table service, you can get by without reservations. The counter service selections are much better than they used to be (it%26#39;s not all hot dogs and hamburgers any more).