Dining at Disney World sounds like bliss — wonderful signature restaurants, plentiful quick service options, eating and drinking around the world.
The truth is, eating around Walt Disney World isn’t what it used to be. There’s no dining plan (for now). Reservations aren’t available until 60 days before your visit. And there are some places where it’s virtually impossible to get a reservation — unless you’re staying at a Disney resort for more than a week. (We’re looking at you, Space 220.) And it is so crowded, eating around the world can be a frustrating mix of long lines and eating on top of trash cans.
We have found all of this intensely frustrating, especially as the crowds keep swelling back to pre-Covid levels—and beyond. But we have found a number of tips and tricks to help us eat well here, without reservations:
Basic tools
If you haven’t been to Disney World since before the pandemic, there are a couple of things you need to get familiar with before you get here:
Mobile ordering: Quick service restaurants now require guests to use mobile ordering. This involves using your My Disney Experience app to choose a timeframe when you want to eat, place your order and pay for it, and then pick it up at the ordering window. (There is a workaround for those who don’t have the app, but it’s far easier to use it.) It’s important to get familiar with the process before your visit.
- Pro tip: Try to think ahead about when you want to eat and place your order early. If you’re getting in line for a ride, decide where you want to eat, pick a time frame, and place your order before you ride. Then, as soon as you get off, hit “I’m here, prepare my order” and it will be ready in a jiffy.
Walk-up lists: You used to be able to go up to a restaurant’s check-in stand and ask if you could get on a walk-up list. Now you can join via the app. If, say, you’re wandering around Epcot, you can tap “Make a dining reservation” and choose “now” and see what restaurants have capacity and how long the wait will be. We have found this to be hit-and-miss. We’ve gotten last-minute reservations at Le Cellier, but we’ve also found everything to be booked solid for dinner before 4 in the afternoon.
- Pro tip: The wait times can be unreliable; twice we’ve signed up for a 40-minute wait only to be called within 5 minutes. (Not that this is a bad thing, but don’t plan to get in line for a ride if you’re waiting on a table.) Another time, we saw that the approximate wait time was 5 minutes, but when we clicked “join the line,” the wait had ballooned to 50 minutes. So be flexible!
More pro tips
Don’t wait until you’re starving: I often find that I’m not hungry until I’m starving. The key for me is realizing that I’m an hour or so from being really hungry. That gives me enough time to check walk-up lists or the availability window for quick-service, or get in line for a snack. Inevitably, if I want until I’m starving, it’s suddenly impossible to find anything I actually want to eat. So don’t wait!
Try something new: You may not be able to get a last-minute reservation at the California Grill, but you can get an equally great filet at Tiffins at Animal Kingdom. Jaleo at Disney Springs is a fantastic tapas restaurant and almost always has tables available. See what’s available and try something new!
Eat at the bar: If you want to try one of the signature dining restaurants without a reservation, most have bars where you can order from the complete menu. And kids are welcome, too. Nomad Lounge at Tiffins, situated over the the river near the entrance to Pandora, is one of my favorite places in all of Disney World. At the Yachtsman Steakhouse, the Crew’s Cup Lounge offers an excellent slice of the restaurant’s menu. And if you want to get into Space 220, waiting for the lounge before the restaurant opens for the dinner service (3:30 or earlier) might be the only way to get in. Bonus: you can order a la carte, rather than from the prix fixe menu. California Grill also has a small lounge, and now that it is a prix fixe restaurant, the lounge is the only option if you don’t want a three-course meal.
Eat at the resorts: Most of the resorts have restaurants that aren’t impossible to get into. Kona is a great alternative to Ohana at the Polynesian. And consider making a trip to the Coronado Resort, which now has three excellent places to eat: Toledo, a rooftop table-service restaurant for tapas, steaks and seafood; the Dahlia Lounge, next door to Toledo, for small plates; and the wonderful Three Bridges Bar & Grill, a lakefront restaurant serving small meals and excellent sangria (it has a walk-up list you can join via the app).
Try for reservations the day before: Nearly all the signature dining restaurants require 24-hour notice of cancellation. So hit the My Disney Experience app or the website a little more than 24 hours before you want to snag a reservation and keep hitting “refresh.” We’ve gotten lucky before, though it may not be exactly where (or when) you’d prefer to eat.
Check out OpenTable: Yep, the restaurants at Disney Springs are on OpenTable, and they often have reservations available even when the Disney app says they’re booked.
Park-by-park suggestions
Where do we eat without reservations? We have some favorite quick-service options, as well as some nearby
Magic Kingdom: We love Pecos Bill’s almost anytime, and the hotdogs at Casey’s are worlds better than they used to be (if you can find a place to sit). If you’d like to try a sit-down restaurant, try getting on the walk-up list for the Skipper Canteen. A little further afield, consider Geyser Point at the Wilderness Lodge (a short boat ride away).
Hollywood Studios: This park is tough, because it’s very hard to get last-minute reservations at any of the restaurants here. For quick-service, we love both Ronto Roasters and Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge, and the Commissary is getting rave reviews since the park reopened. Woody’s Lunchbox is another good choice, but it’s even harder to find a table here than it is at Casey’s. If quick-service isn’t your jam, the outside lounge at the Hollywood Brown Derby is open again and offers a limited menu. And if you don’t mind a Skyliner ride, we enjoy Bar Riva near the pool at the Riviera Resort, which has a small but excellent menu.
EPCOT: No one should ever go hungry at Epcot, especially during festival season (and when isn’t it festival season anymore?). But lines for the kiosks can get out of control, especially on weekend nights. We rely on either the walk-up list or mobile ordering (usually Regal Eagle for barbecue, but the fish-and-chip shop in the UK pavilion is another great choice). The often-overlooked refreshment port near the Canada pavilion has great poutine. Looking for a last-minute reservation? The Biergarten almost always has availability early in the evening, but don’t be surprised if you see Le Cellier too. Just try to eat early!
Animal Kingdom: Hakuna matata! You’ll have no worries finding great quick-service here. Satu’li Canteen is my favorite lunch spot at any of the parks. Yak and Yeti and Flame Tree Barbecue also have big fan bases. Animal Kingdom also has a couple of snack kiosks that can tide you over quite nicely: Mr. Kamal’s for seasoned fries or chicken dumplings, or Eight Spoon Cafe for a variety of mac and cheese offerings. We’ve already mentioned the great Nomad Lounge attached to Tiffin’s. Not only can you join the walk-up list for Nomad Lounge, but Tiffin’s often has reservations available if you find yourself craving a steak after seeing the lions on safari. Finally, if you’re a Landry’s club member, you can go to the front of the line for table service at Yak and Yeti.
If you have any favorites we’ve missed, we’d love to hear about them!
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