Hi Carrie! You must be so excited that your Walt Disney World vacation is about to begin! The parks and the resorts are filled with both counter-service and sit-down restaurants serving a wide variety of foods. I'm a planner and I love to eat, so I tend to make reservations for the table-service restaurants, but if you want to be more spur-of-the-moment, you'll still be able to have some great meals at Disney without reservations. Don't hesitate to walk up to the character buffet or sit-down restaurants to ask if a table is available. You'll have your best chance of being seated without a reservation if you dine at non-peak times.
Also, Disney has lots of Quick-Service restaurants that don't accept reservations, and many of them serve foods much more exotic than hamburgers and hot dogs. In the Animal Kingdom, consider the Yak & Yeti counter service location, where you can have Asian-inspired cuisine such as Honey Chicken and egg rolls. At Hollywood Studios, consider the ABC Commissary where you can order meals such as Chicken Curry or Fried Fish. At the Magic Kingdom, the Columbia Harbour House offers fried seafood, vegetarian options, and even a Lobster Roll. In Epcot, the countries in the World Showcase have a plethora of unique options that you can buy at counter-service locations, and the Sunshine Seasons in The Land serves creative, fresh options such as salads, sandwiches, stir-fries and roasted meat entrees. Also, you're visiting during the
International Food & Wine Festival during which food kiosks are set up throughout the World Showcase area offering tastes of dishes from each country! All of the resort hotels offer counter-service locations that have grab-and-go items like sushi, yogurt, muffins, and fruit as well as prepared items such as sandwiches, salads and hot entrees.
Come visit us again at the Moms Panel if you have more questions!