A couple dining questions

[serendipityaey]

Heading to WDW on September 16th with family, Disneyland pro, but only been to WDW a handful of times and spread out over many years.

Two questions right now: We have ADR’s for Cinderella’s at MK on Friday the 19th at 9:10/9:15. How much time should I allow for that/what time should I make our first LL for? We are staying off site and doing all of the single LL’s as well.

Second question: Does anyone know if the booths in Oga’s at WDW are the same size as the booths in Oga’s at DL? (I know booths are never guaranteed)

TIA!

 

[sponica]

I've had the first seating at CRT and been stuck waiting for the kitchen.....so I would allow yourself around 90 minutes.

 

[zackiedawg]

Re: Ogas: To my eye, they are identical in size and design at both parks.

 

[kylenne]

We have ADR’s for Cinderella’s at MK on Friday the 19th at 9:10/9:15. How much time should I allow for that/what time should I make our first LL for? We are staying off site and doing all of the single LL’s as well.

9/19 is a Halloween party day, as I suspected. Unless you are planning on hopping out of MK to another park, LLMP is unnecessary on a party day because the crowds are very low. The overwhelming majority of guests avoid MK because the park closes early at 6pm for the special ticketed events, and people think they won't get their money's worth. The park is dead all day until 4pm when party guests can enter on just a party ticket. Personally I would move that ADR to another day if at all possible, to maximize touring MK during the low crowds. I've only ever had dinner at CRT, but it's a long meal, longer than TS generally is because you have to wait for all 4 princesses to come around. I've never gotten out of there under 1.5 hours, usually it's closer to 2.

That said, if you are planning on hopping out to another park (which is a solid strategy!), I would prebook the first LL for exactly park open. The others for whatever, because they don't make a difference. We did this very successfully last year on our pre-cruise trip that was almost to the day the same time (we came down on 9/18). We booked Mad Tea Party for 8a (MK park open on party days is usually 8am, with rare exceptions), tapped in at exactly 8 after getting lucky and being able to ride Tron during Early Entry, and immediately started booking rides at HS. With only a little refreshing I booked Slinky Dog and then was able to flip my prebooked Haunted Mansion and Pirates LLs to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. We spent the morning riding everything in MK standby that we wanted with very low waits before we had lunch at Casey's and hopped out around noon.

In general I'm not a fan of booking TS dining on days when I'm going to be utilizing LLMP. It makes prebooking harder because the system doesn't really allow you to book LLs too close to an ADR, and it's similarly restrictive when you're there the day of. So if you can't move your ADR, and you don't plan on hopping out to another park, I would skip LLMP altogether, ride everything standby and just do Tron and Mine Train as SPs.

 

[serendipityaey]

I've had the first seating at CRT and been stuck waiting for the kitchen.....so I would allow yourself around 90 minutes.

90 minutes makes sense! What’s the earliest we can check-in? I believe it’s 15 minutes for DL… So maybe 9. Does anyone have any insight on what time we should plan on parking in the parking lot to get to the castle at earliest check in time?

Re: Ogas: To my eye, they are identical in size and design at both parks.

That’s what I was thinking, thank you!

 

[serendipityaey]

Yes, I did know it was a party day before we booked and that crowds are low and yes we are park hopping. I did mention we are off site so we will not have early entry. With our large group needing two ADR’s at CRT at the same time, slightly limited time and managing everyone’s wants and crowd level across the times we are there, this day was our best option for this res and everyone wants LL’s every day anyway. Thanks!

 

[jimmymc]

I would allow for at least at hour after CRT. The meal might last a bit longer, but you'd still have 30 minutes to get to your first ride.

Oga's is almost identical at DL and Studios. The booths, standing tables, and bar are all similar.

 

[serendipityaey]

I would allow for at least at hour after CRT. The meal might last a bit longer, but you'd still have 30 minutes to get to your first ride.

Oga's is almost identical at DL and Studios. The booths, standing tables, and bar are all similar.

That’s what I was just thinking about the first LL.

I’ve only been in Oga’s in WDW once so I really appreciate the input, thank you!

 

[sponica]

90 minutes makes sense! What’s the earliest we can check-in? I believe it’s 15 minutes for DL… So maybe 9. Does anyone have any insight on what time we should plan on parking in the parking lot to get to the castle at earliest check in time?

You're still dealing with rope drop crowds. I'd want to be in the park by 830 to give time to get to CRT.

 

[serendipityaey]

You're still dealing with rope drop crowds. I'd want to be in the park by 830 to give time to get to CRT.

Yeah that makes sense. What’s a good estimate from parking to monorail to getting in the park? That’s the hardest part for me switching from DL to WDW when our hotel is always just a 5-10 minute walk to the gates!

 

[sponica]

Yeah that makes sense. What’s a good estimate from parking to monorail to getting in the park? That’s the hardest part for me switching from DL to WDW when our hotel is always just a 5-10 minute walk to the gates!

It's been an eternity since I drove to the TTC, but you go through security before entering the TTC so that might be a slow down...and then it's just a matter of waiting for the monorail. Maybe aim to be at the parking lot by 8? Worst case scenario you end up with extra time on main street before getting to CRT.

 

[leebee]

I would say parking lot by 8am. I would allow 90 minutes IN CRT, so I wouldn't book anything before 11am. As Kylenne said, it's a party day so crowds are going to be minimal. If you are going to pay for LL, maybe don't book until 12. This gives you time to finish up at CRT and then ride a couple of things standby so you don't miss a LL that you paid for.