Disney Dining?

[Missviolet]

Sorry about the recent ammount of foodie questions from me.

So, I know that you can call Disney Dining ahead of time and make reservations for your favorite dining institutions.

but, do I REALLY need to do this? I can't just walk up to the Cafe Orleans or Ariel's Grotto and ask to be seated?


Any words of wisdom?

[The Mad Hatter]

Re: Disney Dining?

If the parks are crowded, then yes you should make reservations. People will often make reservations for later in the day and places can easily run out of spots.
Ariel's Grotto might not be a problem, but the Cafe Orleans can get very busy.

You can always call and cancel if you change your mind.

[mycroft16]

Re: Disney Dining?

Ariel's Grotto can get really busy to. We had the first lunch time while we were there and the line was already 20 or 30 people deep. You can always just show up and ask... but if it's a sit down kind of place, I highly recommend calling as much in advance as you can just to guarantee yourself a spot.

[Disneyland Daddy]

Re: Disney Dining?

Friday Night my wife and I went to Anne Geddes store to get a bunny outfit for the baby - for his Halloween costume. Anyway, we made our way down to Rainforest Cafe and they gave us 35 minute wait. This was at 7:15. So, I dialed up Disney Dining (I have it in my cell phone - of course) and tried to find out if there was any openings for seating at Storyteller in Grand Californian - but earliest they could seat us was 9pm - so we stayed........

But I would have to say that Disney Dining is a great idea for you to call ahead - because what if 9pm had been good? We'd have been happy. Oh, and by the way, RFC too us like 5 minutes later...so that was good. Pregnant wife doesn't like to be hungry!

HA

[lisaboo]

Re: Disney Dining?

I always make ADRs for any sit down restaurant at DL if I know ahead of time that we are going. Better to be safe than sorry.

However, I have been lucky a couple of times just walking up and getting in right away or with a later time (once at BB and once at the Trattoria), but these were both on slower days.

[Aristocat]

Re: Disney Dining?

I agree with lisaboo...I'd rather make the ressies and know I'm set, rather than take my chances. Who knows when the park will be over-run with cheerleaders or something.

[Melonballer]

Re: Disney Dining?

I have been making ressies for most of my dining. I figure the rest of the meals will be at places like Hungry Bear or whatever. I don't know if it will pay off, but it can't hurt. One thing a cm at the dining hotline told me is that it is smart to place a few extra seats if you are not sure if someone will be joining you rather than try to get the seats at the time that you arrive. You can always cancel the extra seats.

[Melonballer]

Re: Disney Dining?

Here's a quick question. Which restaurants do you likely need a rezzie for and which are you more likely to be able to get into without one? Lets assume it is a non-busy weekend in say November.

[Band_of_Gypsies]

Re: Disney Dining?

I would recommend ressies for any place you want to eat at the Resort. No worries that way and all you do is show up.
(... and how exciting your trip is coming up soon!!!)

[Melonballer]

Re: Disney Dining?

Thanks, I just booked a lunch at Blue Bayou on the 17th. I got first seating at 11:30 so hopefully I will get waterside seats without too much waiting. For anyone planning their trip the cm I spoke to said the Blue Bayou is pretty open for lunch on the 16th and 17th if you are interested.

[SusieP.]

Re: Disney Dining?

I would recommend reservations at Ariel's because it's automatically a 3 course meal. (Right? Even for lunch, I think.) So it takes longer for tables to "turn over". Everyone in there is signed up for the full lunch or dinner, unlike other places where you could just go in and have an appetizer or a quick bowl of soup or something. It makes it harder for them to fit in the non-reservation people that way.

[RobotMirror]

Re: Disney Dining?

Sorry about the recent ammount of foodie questions from me.

So, I know that you can call Disney Dining ahead of time and make reservations for your favorite dining institutions.

but, do I REALLY need to do this? I can't just walk up to the Cafe Orleans or Ariel's Grotto and ask to be seated?


Any words of wisdom?

The cast members always tell people that "Priority Seating" (they don't use the word reservations) is like a Fast Pass for dining. Even when we've been way past our PS time, they've seated us faster than usual.

An example - last week the wife made a reservation for Cafe Orleans at 5pm. We didn't show up until 7pm. They were telling people coming up to the hostess that there was a "30-45 minute wait" for a table, and I mentioned when I got up front that we had earlier priority seating for 5pm. She said that it would be "about 15 minutes" and we were seated in half that - seven minutes.

[Melonballer]

Re: Disney Dining?

One other thing I want to point out. Calling the reservation line at 714 781 dine (3463) is really easy. I always get through in a minute or 2 adn they are very helpful. The last CM I talked to asked if I had any special events to celebrate while I was there, like Birthdays or Anniversaries. So if you have one of these make sure you let them know. I don't know if they do anything really cool, but it can't hurt to mention it.