Without Reservations

Liberty Tree is one of our favorites.  The resort restaurants are always a good choice.  We did Jiko, Kona Cafe, 1900 Park Fare, Grand Floridian Cafe and The Wave without reservations.  It was great! 

It all depends on the time of year and time of day. We always enjoyed just being spur of the moment which really does not work well today, but it does at times. My suggestion is to give it a try if hungry and a table service is close by. So much better than a quick serve.

I agree.  If you can't get a reservation at the 180-day mark, don't completely give up on getting that specific reservation.  You may just have to recheck several times.  Here are the days that I have heard and recommend rechecking for reservations if you can't get them at the 180-day mark:

90-day mark:  This is the day that Disney allows people to purchase 3 additional FP+ called "Theme Park Extra"... (disneyquestionsfans.freeforums.net/thread/385/purchasing-fastpass) ...when guests start scheduling these FP+, their dining plans might change too.  So, it doesn't hurt to recheck the restaurants you want/wanted and see if things have opened up. 

60-day mark:  This is the day that guests starting on property (included "Good Neighbor" hotels) can make their FP+ reservations.  Just like above: when guests start scheduling their FP+, their dining plans might change too.

45-day mark:  This is the day that final payments for Disney Vacation Plans are due.  This is the last day guests can cancel their reservations without any financial penalties.  So, as plans change and vacations get cancelled, restaurant reservations might open up and it is worth checking.

From here on, it is hit or miss but I typically check again at the 14 and 7-day mark because people that are either already there or others that are finalizing their plans might change some dining reservations so they don't have to pay the $10 a person no-show fee.  I will also check again the day before and the morning of to see if anyone has cancelled their dining reservations since they have to cancel 24 hours in advanced so they aren't changed the $10 a person no-show fee.