Is an ADR at Chefs de France necessary?

[Rebecca Pocahontas]

I am going to Epcot and I'm thinking about going to Chefs de France. We would make a reservation, but whenever we go to Epcot we are kind of wishy-washy with our food choices, so I wouldn't want to make a reservation and then wake up that morning and realize that I really want to eat at Mexico and then get charged for not cancelling in time.

So I am wondering if Chefs de France is easy enough to get into? This would be for lunch only.

 

[dachsie]

If you want to eat there then you need the ADR. If you are ok if you don’t then you could try to walk up

 

[gharter]

Whenever we walk by it in the evening, it is full with people waiting. If you want to eat there, get an ADR. You can always cancel the day before.
If you don't care, see what you can get the day of or try walk up. It works sometimes.

 

[CERS]

Nowadays, if you really want to eat anywhere in Disney property, you'll need an ADR. If you don't, you risk not finding a spot or waiting long lines to be seated (you'll still wait a bit even with an ADR most of the time).

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that if you are wishy washy then you can take a chance and see if one is open the day of or you can try to walk up. I you REALLY want to dine there, make the ADR> you know all about woulda coulda shoulda. LOL!

 

[LovesTimone]

Depending on the time of year, maybe you could get a walk up... more recently you really can't get a table anywhere without a ADR.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As others have said, the chances of walking up to Chefs is slim to none. I would make the ADR and, then, re-assess the day before. At that point, if you think you want to eat somewhere else, cancel the ADR. Or simply play ADR roulette day-of (or night before) and see what you get. We HAVE gotten day-of reservations at Chefs, but it was complete luck and we would have been happy eating elsewhere if Chefs hadn't popped up.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I'd just wait and see if you can get a reservation that morning. We've had pretty good luck getting same day reservations at Chefs de France and San Angel Inn.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Agree with above posters, a walk-up there would be tough.

We ate there for the 1st time and it was amazing! It was very, very crowded. There were tons of people waiting and the tables are pretty close together.

Even though it was crowded, it was one of our favorite meals all trip. Worth the ADR!

 

[goofy4prez]

Walk ups are almost impossible anywhere, anytime at WDW regardless of the time of the year. Sure there are exceptions and some people get lucky, but that is about as likely as hitting the Power Ball... Ok, maybe not that hard. LOL. I'd say that Nine Dragons and Marrakesh are the easiest to walk up to, but even they can be hard to get into as a walk up. Unfortunately, as much as I love WDW, having to plan ADR's 6 months out and FP's 60 days out, it's not exactly a destination where spontaneity is easy to do.

 

[freshmanjs]

Walk ups are almost impossible anywhere, anytime at WDW regardless of the time of the year. Sure there are exceptions and some people get lucky, but that is about as likely as hitting the Power Ball... Ok, maybe not that hard. LOL. I'd say that Nine Dragons and Marrakesh are the easiest to walk up to, but even they can be hard to get into as a walk up. Unfortunately, as much as I love WDW, having to plan ADR's 6 months out and FP's 60 days out, it's not exactly a destination where spontaneity is easy to do.

I don't think this is right. It's very easy to get a walk-up table at Spice Road. Via Napoli at lunch is easy too.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Chefs de France has availability today at 12:05 for a party of three and this is one of the busier times of the year. Same day reservations are possible but walk ups are tougher

 

[goofy4prez]

I don't think this is right. It's very easy to get a walk-up table at Spice Road. Via Napoli at lunch is easy too.

I'll agree Spice Road is usually pretty easy as well. I will say I have not found it to be true at Via Napoli. But in truth, I think we are splitting hairs here. I still stand on my opinion that walk ups are very difficult to land and is not something I'm willing to do.

 

[B-Ride]

I am going to Epcot and I'm thinking about going to Chefs de France. We would make a reservation, but whenever we go to Epcot we are kind of wishy-washy with our food choices, so I wouldn't want to make a reservation and then wake up that morning and realize that I really want to eat at Mexico and then get charged for not cancelling in time.

My personal opinion is why would you want to eat in Mexico when you have a reservation at Chefs. Full disclosure, it is my favourite restaurant at all the parks.

 

[Haley R]

We just ate there for the first time and it was delicious!! Probably one of the best, if not the best, meal on our trip. Might as well book the adr since you can cancel the day before anyway. Usually when we see people walk up they are either told there aren’t any tables or they’ll have to wait 45+ minutes for a table.

 

[RealBlast3]

Well, I will echo what some have said. Walk-ups are hard to get for most of the theme-park restaurants, and at times impossible. There are always some exceptions to this, of course, but it's akin to rolling the dice at a casino game.

I will also echo that Chefs de France has always been an eatery I have seen available for same-day reservations during my Disney vacations, granted I never pick terrible times of the year to go, my weeks are always ranked somewhere in the top quarter or so for most desirable weeks, but anyway, I have actually made same day ressies there, so you can wait to the day of, and see how you feel.

I know it's hard when you and your family prefer the spontaneity of making the decision on where to eat more on a whim, because I get that that is fun to do, but if you can at least commit same day to it, I think you are likely to get it if you make it that morning. There are always a number of Epcot eateries available same day for either lunch or dinner when I have checked on the morning and as I said, usually, Chefs is one of them.

 

[nkereina]

What time of year? If its during a free dining promotion, that will impact availability. Restaurants, especially in park ones, get booked pretty solid when free dining happens.

I agree with PPs that if you are on the fence for lunch, cancel the ADR and try your luck day of. You can check the app periodically until lunch and if there's no availability, try as a walk up. Same goes for any restaurant in the World Showcase, really. No guarantees though, so you'd have to be prepared to eat QS in the worst case scenario.

 

[bucky1023]

I have been lucky getting same day ADRs (Rose & Crown, Via Napoli, Nine Dragons... only two of us so don't know if that helped us). I found that if I'm willing to eat at off times like as soon as the restaurant opens or after the lunch rush and before dinner time it was easier. It will really depend on the time of year you are going and how flexible you are. Good luck