Holy makeral! I have just started reading and researching about WDW for an October 08 trip, and there is a myriad of information to process. Right now, I'm confused about dining options. I did do some searching, which answered a few questions, but here is what I'm still wondering about. (We're staying offsite at a time-share).

1. Can you only buy a dining plan if you are staying at a resort hotel?
2. Can you make reservations at any restaraunt if you DON'T have a dining plan?
3. Is the time line for ADR (that's the term for WDW, right? It is priority seating in DL) 6 months out?
4. do you need ADR's for every type of restaraunt, or just table service spots?

Really apprecaite any advice and help about meals in WDW! Thank you!

Jennie

1. Can you only buy a dining plan if you are staying at a resort hotel?

Yes. You can only purchase a dining plan if you are staying at a Disney Resort.

2. Can you make reservations at any restaraunt if you DON'T have a dining plan?

Yes. Restaurant reservations are not dependent upon where you are staying or on a dining plan. You can use a phone number rather than a room reservation number when making your ADR's.

3. Is the time line for ADR (that's the term for WDW, right? It is priority seating in DL) 6 months out?

Yes. You can make ADR's 180 days before you check in. You can, however make them for your entire stay (even though it will be longer than 180 days before some of your ADR's) at that time if you're staying on site.

4. do you need ADR's for every type of restaraunt, or just table service spots?

ADR's are only accepted for Table Service. The term Table Service, however, is understood to include character dining experiences as well, many of which are actually buffets or "family style" service.

Have a great time and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :D

Also, check out www.allearsnet.com and click on the Dining section. You will find copies of the menus, for all parks, resort hotels, and Downtown Disney, with prices, which is a big help in planning. There are also charts which show which places are considered Table Service, counter service, etc., and where to find the characters. Don't limit yourself to the parks, some of the best dining options are at the Deluxe hotels. If you are in Epcot, for example, you can walk though the International Gateway (between England and France), and access a lot of dining options at the Boardwalk and its hotels. If you are at the Magic Kingdom, you can take the Monorail to the Contemporary, Polyneisian, and Grand Floridian. This site also has restaurant information.

I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but I do know that reservations can be made up to 6 months in advance.
Notable exceptions to this rule include:

Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness, which can be reserved a year in advance
Bistro de Paris at EPCOT, which can only be reserved 30 days in advance
And I'm not sure about Cinderella's Royal Table, but if that's an option for you, check it out soon.


A friendly tip: Sit down now and begin to figure out what restaurants you would like to go to. I recommend reserving everything 6 months ahead. Of course, if you want to grab a quick bite for lunch at a counter service, figure that out too. But for every table service restaurant that you want to go to, book it now. Last President's Day my family went to Disney for 3 days without any reservations. We ended up waiting an hour (or more) every night for dinner!

And I'm not sure about Cinderella's Royal Table, but if that's an option for you, check it out soon.

CRT still follows the 180 day rule as far as I know.

Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness, which can be reserved a year in advance

I just read on another thread that the BBQ is now at 180 days out, like everything else.