WDW without reservations?

[atripos]

Hey all,

I haven't been to WDW since the 1990s, and from what I have been reading it sounds like alot has changed since then. We are going to be in WDW at the end of June for about a week. Do people think I should make dinner reservations for the time we will be there? And if so, for every night or just some nights? Probably most nights we will all be eating together (6 of us total), but there may be nights that DH and I or MIL and FIL will be out on our own while the others eat together.

From what I have read online, I am worried if we don't have reservations we will end up eating hotdogs from a stand every night or something.

Thanks much!

[Cam&Clay]

I would go ahead and see what's available for the time that you are there. There won't be much left, but it won't hurt to check. Maybe you can get a few reservations.

Otherwise, you definitely won't be eating hot dogs. Many of the counter service restaurants have really good food, and a good variety of it. There are also some less popular table service restaurants that you might be able to do a walk up for.

You never know when someone is going to cancel, so check often. I've had some awesome places pop up just a week or two before we left.

[egoldber]

If you plan to do a sit down dinner every night for all 6 of you, and you want to eat in the parks, then yes you will need reservations.

As the PP said, there are many counter service locations with good food options. It isn't just hot dogs. :)

Almost more importantly, you should see about getting FastPass+ reservations for rides. It seems crazy, but you can now book ride reservations early.

[123LuckyMom]

You absolutely cannot any longer walk up to a sit down restaurant without a reservation and expect to be seated at all, let alone with a wait. It is very different from the 80's, and I don't like it, but Disney won't change the whole system for me ;)

We usually make a sit down reservation for dinner on our day of arrival and for one or two additional meals. Otherwise we eat counter service. The food is not terrible. I was very pleasantly surprised on our last trip that I had no trouble finding something healthful and tasty at every meal. You just need to choose your counter service restaurants well.

[pharmjenn]

Many people never do a sit down restaurant during their visits to the parks. Don't feel like you have to. The counter service menus can be very varied, not just burgers and hotdogs. Epcot has lots of different types of foods, but the other parks do as well.
If you want a character meal though, I would definitely choose which restaurant and get a ressie for that.

[klwa]

As PP have said, if there's somewhere you really want to go, try now to get a ressie (especially for the nights you & DH or your ILs want to have a night alone.) Otherwise, you'll be fine with counter service. There are some fun ones! At MK, Columbia Harbour House has fish, shrimp, lobster rolls, etc. At Epcot, anything in one of the countries (other than the US) and Sunshine Seasons in the Land building will give you good variety. DHS will be a little more problematic, but I'm sure someone can tell you places that are more interesting. AK has Flame Tree Barbecue. And DTD and the food courts at the different resorts have lots of options. (Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD!)