Okay Thomas and I are going to be in WDW from May 12-May 21. We don't really want to make a bunch of ADR's if we don't HAVE to. I know I know I'm surrounded by a bunch of planners...we just aren't! It's a terrible shame. (and no i'm not procrastinating, true to form we spontaneously decided to go to WDW and just paid our deposit on the 6th.)

There are a couple places we KNOW we want to go...Crystal Palace, Boma...So we can plan at least enough to pick a night/morning for those, but we really would rather pick dinner each night based on what we feel like. We fly by the seat of our pants crazy like!

Are we going to be able to walk up to most restaurants and wait if we want? We don't mind waiting as long as it's 30-45min. If it were summer I'd figure we HAD to do ADR's, but i'm hoping we can be spontaneous in May....

WE've never been to WDW (well at least not since we were about 10) and I have no idea where we want to eat! I've even looked at menus...but it's just hard to choose from menus alone. We aren't doing the dining plan, if that matters. Oh and it's just the two of us. Is it possible to make ressie's the day of, or maybe a day before? That way we can sorta choose as we see them?

You CAN make reservations day of/day before, IF there is availability. I'm going for a couple days in May (8-10, basically) and had to go with my second choice of days to try Yak and Yeti because it was already "sold out" when I called a couple of weeks ago (I'm traveling solo this trip) . You're likely not to get into the 'popular' restaurants, but you should have some choices still, particularly if you venture out into the resorts and not just in the parks.

Oh, and on Mother's day, you're going to want ADRs - I went 2 years ago that weekend and I was shocked at how crowded the restaurants were that day. Never mind, I can't read a calendar

We were there May 5-13 last year. I'm one of those planner you were talking about. Made my adr's on day 180 and kept changing them around right up until we left.

The 12th is that Monday after Mother's Day right? And the 21st is before Memorial Day so...you MAY be able to make your ADR's that day or the day before using the dine line or going to guest services of the park you are in that morning.

I personally wouldn't walk up without one. Each and every time I heard people doing this last year, they were turned away. This was in the parks for the most part-the resorts MIGHT be easier. But it would completely stink if you walked or rode over to a desired resort ts only to be turned away.

And are you using a dining plan? I wouldn't risk not being able to "use up" my ts credits that I'm paying for, by not making an adr.

But...to each his/her own....

I suggest you make one or two AR's for nights toward the end of your trip. Then go ahead and try to be more spontaneous, for the rest of the time. If you get into Boma on an earlier night that suits you, fine, you can cancel the AR if you want. If not, well, then you still get to eat there. You may also have good luck getting into some popular restaurants at "off" times. Try, for example, Le Cellier (Canada Pavillion at Epcot), for lunch, at say 2 or 2:30. Or be willing to eat dinner after 8.

As others have said, if you don't really mind where you eat, or when, go with your plan. You'll find almost all of the Epcot restaurants totally sold out, even to walkups, weeks in advance. You might score an off prime time 4pm dinner, or a 2pm lunch, but that's about it. Restaurants like the Coral Reef and the California Grill sell out almost totally as soon as they're opened for booking 180 days out. The popularity of the Disney Dining Plan over the past couple of years has greatly increased the number of people who are enjoying sitdown dining instead of a burger & fries. You might get a taste of this when you try booking the Crystal Palace and Boma. My guess is you won't be able to get times that you really want at either of these places.

Sorry to give you a downer, and I seriously hope your experience is better than that. But based on many peoples' experience, you're taking a big chance if you try to book same day, and may have to settle for that burger & fries.

We already got the Boma and Crystal ressie. No problems getting in at all...so that's a good sign :) I think we're gonna be crazy and just walk up. We really DON'T care where we eat. We like corndogs anyway ;) and, again, we're not doing the dining plan, so it's really not a huge deal if we can't do sit downs. Actually Thomas and I prefer to eat late (2:30's and 8pm's) so hopefully we'll be fine.

I'll let you know after the trip :) Thanks so much for your help, and don't worry about being a downer Dan, it's a good warning. I think Boma and Crystal are the only places we REALLY wanna eat. I love winnie the pooh! I also wanna get the drink at Jiko...someone else mentioned it...the chocolate covered cherry or something?

You guys are so great! Thanks again!

We're going from 5/10-5/17 and some of places we wanted to go at certain times were booked i.e. Chef Mikey's. I would suggest making reservations if your doing the meal plan. You can always cancel a reservation if you want to go somewhere else.

It kind of forces you to plan where your going to be everyday though, which I'm not thrilled about. But I'd hate to waste a table service because we couldn't get in anywhere.

We're going from 5/10-5/17 and some of places we wanted to go at certain times were booked i.e. Chef Mikey's. I would suggest making reservations if your doing the meal plan. You can always cancel a reservation if you want to go somewhere else.

It kind of forces you to plan where your going to be everyday though, which I'm not thrilled about. But I'd hate to waste a table service because we couldn't get in anywhere.

WooooHoooooo....we are going the same week!

We're going from 5/10-5/17 and some of places we wanted to go at certain times were booked i.e. Chef Mikey's. I would suggest making reservations if your doing the meal plan. You can always cancel a reservation if you want to go somewhere else.

It kind of forces you to plan where your going to be everyday though, which I'm not thrilled about. But I'd hate to waste a table service because we couldn't get in anywhere.

WooooHoooooo....we are going the same week!