ADR's finalised

[wayneg]

by the way, of your list, Wayne, which ones require credit card guarantees?

No idea, not tried booking any yet, can't do them until Monday onwards.

 

[Cyrano]

by the way, of your list, Wayne, which ones require credit card guarantees?

Beth I pulled the following info from Mousesavers as I kept timing out with my search on WDWinfo.

Restaurants That Require a Credit Card Guarantee or Prepayment

These locations require full prepayment in advance, using a credit card:

Cinderella’s Royal Table
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Spirit of Aloha Luau
Mickey’s Backyard BBQ
Beginning 10/26/11, additional table service dining locations began requiring a credit card to hold a reservation. You will be charged $10 per person if a cancellation to this reservation isn’t made at least one day in advance. This policy will not apply to dining reservations made before 10/26/11. However, any modifications made to dining reservations after 10/26/11 will then be required to provide a credit card to hold the reservation, regardless of what date the reservation was originally booked.

Dining locations participating in the credit card guarantee policy include:

1900 Park Fare
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Artist Point
California Grill
Cape May Café
Chef Mickey’s
Cítricos
Crystal Palace
Flying Fish Café
Garden Grill
Hollywood & Vine
Hollywood Brown Derby
Jiko
Le Cellier
Narcoossee’s
‘Ohana
Tusker House
Victoria & Albert’s (cancellation policy is $25/per person)
Yachtsman Steakhouse

 

[willieboy]

You can be seated overlooking the water on the lower deck if you are in the restaurant during the fireworks. Or if you have dined earlier in the evening and mention to your server you can return to the special viewing area for the fireworks. We have done both. I particularly enjoyed dining during Illuminations and managed to get some of the best photos I have of the show.

(Never thought that I might be able to offer Wayneg any Disney advice)

i hear you TT the guy has sooooo much info

 

[disneyholic family]

Beth I pulled the following info from Mousesavers as I kept timing out with my search on WDWinfo.

Restaurants That Require a Credit Card Guarantee or Prepayment

These locations require full prepayment in advance, using a credit card:

Cinderella’s Royal Table
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Spirit of Aloha Luau
Mickey’s Backyard BBQ
Beginning 10/26/11, additional table service dining locations began requiring a credit card to hold a reservation. You will be charged $10 per person if a cancellation to this reservation isn’t made at least one day in advance. This policy will not apply to dining reservations made before 10/26/11. However, any modifications made to dining reservations after 10/26/11 will then be required to provide a credit card to hold the reservation, regardless of what date the reservation was originally booked.

Dining locations participating in the credit card guarantee policy include:

1900 Park Fare
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Artist Point
California Grill
Cape May Café
Chef Mickey’s
Cítricos
Crystal Palace
Flying Fish Café
Garden Grill
Hollywood & Vine
Hollywood Brown Derby
Jiko
Le Cellier
Narcoossee’s
‘Ohana
Tusker House
Victoria & Albert’s (cancellation policy is $25/per person)
Yachtsman Steakhouse

Thanks Reid!!!
i had tried a search, but couldn't find the list.
so let's see, from that list which restaurants might DD want to eat at this summer (she and DSIL will be there for 2 weeks in august)..
they might want to eat at 1900 park fare (but only if Chef TJ is there), Citricos and i'm trying to talk them into Victoria and Albert's....though the V&A dress code might be a problem for them...they won't have dressy clothing..

although i really think they should do the chef's table at V&A...i don't understand why you have to be dressed up at the chef's table...you're sitting in the kitchen...the chef isn't in a dinner jacket!

 

[irenep]

I like the look of your list - there's a lot of restaurants there that I would like to try but my kids are reluctant.

Of the ones you mention we have only been to:
Rainforest Cafe -good, enjoyed this
Rose and Crown - this was always a must do for us for many years (manily for illuminations) but I must admit I have yet to have a good meal there and the kids now refuse to go back!
CRT - good, nice atmosphere and great interaction
Portobello - bad (very bland)
TH - great breakfast
HoB - not my thing but kids liked it
CM- always go here, usually good, just one bad experience (Minnie!)
Trex- been twice, son fell asleep at table first time waiting for food so long! 2nd time no better - would go back and just have some cake at the bar though - the decor is amazing!
San Angel - one of DS's favourites and lovely experience all round
Sanaa- I enjoyed this- lovely food and nice location
GFC - loved the breakfast, wasn't keen on dinner (had a really tough steak)
HDDR - not my thing at all- way too much cheese!
B&C - the beef burgers and desserts are very good but whatever you do-don't have a veggie burger!

We will be making our ADRs soon for August (only 9 days on DDP for us) and have to admit I haven't even thought it through yet. Need to get onto that ASAP!

 

[wayneg]

Looks like I will have to phone up to make ressies, can log into my hotel/dining/ticket res but try make a dining res and it won't have it, fine linking the one I have made for 180 days out (our first night) but can't go beyond that.

 

[Karenpowley]

I rang Disney Uk first with my booking confirmation number - she gave me a 3 letter ref followed by 5 digits- which worked straight away! don't know what happened to the 12 digit ref I thought we were supposed to be given!

The only problem I did have was with the res that required a guarantee card - it would only accept when I put in the resort address and not my home address - so I hope it's ok when I get there!

 

[Bastia]

I like your list , i don't know all your choice but after my travel in March i can help you

Tokyo Dining
Narcoossee very well
Rainforest Cafe i like the 2 restaurant i prefer DTD area
Rose & Crown if you can take place near water
Cinders Royal Table
Portobello
Tusker House - Breakfast good

2nd visit
House of Blues
Chef Mickey's i don't like
T-Rex l like it
San Angel Inn march 2012
Sanaa good ambiance
Akershus
Yak & Yeti good food and very good cm

3rd visit
Mama Melrose good

4th visit
Grand Floridian Cafe - Matts 18th birthday march 2012

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

Looks like I will have to phone up to make ressies, can log into my hotel/dining/ticket res but try make a dining res and it won't have it, fine linking the one I have made for 180 days out (our first night) but can't go beyond that.

Exactly the same happened to us. The reservation team told me to call their technical team, they couldnt fix it or understand why it wouldnt work Then i phoned reservations again and a very helpful lady told me that the computer does not recognize international telephone numbers
I am now even more confused because we made our final ADR last week at Ohanas and that is on our booking

I have given up now trying to fathom it out. Anyway i like it at the end of the call when they say, "Have a magical day"

BTW so glad to see your going to Narcoosees, it gets mixed reviews for a signature, but this has turned out to be our favorite 2ts so far(the lobster was a beast). Watching Wishes from the veranda was very special

 

[wayneg]

I have given up now trying to fathom it out. Anyway i like it at the end of the call when they say, "Have a magical day"

BTW so glad to see your going to Narcoosees, it gets mixed reviews for a signature, but this has turned out to be our favorite 2ts so far(the lobster was a beast). Watching Wishes from the veranda was very special

We will never understand the Disney res system, as soon as you think you have it sussed they change it

We don't have a great record with Signatures, Cali Grill was one of worse meals we have ever had onsite, really poor service and still hungry after it. Yachtman good first time, OK second time but only for the steak, desserts are really poor. Narcoossees will be last chance for a Signature, if this is not good we won't do another.

 

[disneyholic family]

We will never understand the Disney res system, as soon as you think you have it sussed they change it

We don't have a great record with Signatures, Cali Grill was one of worse meals we have ever had onsite, really poor service and still hungry after it. Yachtman good first time, OK second time but only for the steak, desserts are really poor. Narcoossees will be last chance for a Signature, if this is not good we won't do another.

we were also terribly disappointed in the cali grill - the service was beyond pretentious, the restaurant was incredibly noisy and the food was less than impressive....we were very sorry we ate there (and would never eat there again, even for free)...

on the other hand, we LOVED citricos (at the grand floridian)..

those are the only signature restaurants we've eaten at...
oh wait, i forgot that the Brown Derby is also a signature restaurant....
it's not bad, but definitely not a 2 credit restaurant. The food is good, but it's way too noisy and rushed to be a signature restaurant.

 

[Elise79]

We will never understand the Disney res system, as soon as you think you have it sussed they change it

We don't have a great record with Signatures, Cali Grill was one of worse meals we have ever had onsite, really poor service and still hungry after it. Yachtman good first time, OK second time but only for the steak, desserts are really poor. Narcoossees will be last chance for a Signature, if this is not good we won't do another.

We liked Narcossess last time we went but that was 2008 and I fear that it may well have gone the way of the rest of the Signature retaurants We will try it again at some point but our last vist to CG and YS were both disappointing when we have had excellent meals in the past.

A week of free dining credits were difficult enough for us to use I have no idea how you did 21 nights!!

 

[wayneg]

A week of free dining credits were difficult enough for us to use I have no idea how you did 21 nights!!

Could do with another week or 2 to do all we wanted, had to cut out places like Raglan road which I really enjoyed and wanted to do again, Planet Hollywood Karen wanted to go back to, Captains grill, plus others we have never been to and want to try.

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

Exactly the same happened to us. The reservation team told me to call their technical team, they couldnt fix it or understand why it wouldnt work Then i phoned reservations again and a very helpful lady told me that the computer does not recognize international telephone numbers
I am now even more confused because we made our final ADR last week at Ohanas and that is on our booking

I have given up now trying to fathom it out. Anyway i like it at the end of the call when they say, "Have a magical day"

BTW so glad to see your going to Narcoosees, it gets mixed reviews for a signature, but this has turned out to be our favorite 2ts so far(the lobster was a beast). Watching Wishes from the veranda was very special

Snap! Same problems here. I can find my reservation fine but can't link it online. It worked fine over the phone but what a nuisance to have to ring US several times!! Got tech support who were worse than useless. Shame as I really love making them online. Even more of a nuisance because this is a secret trip so can't let DD hear me. Grrr

 

[Cyrano]

Our ADRs are linked to Hutchinson rather than the WDW holiday booking for Hutchison. But at least I have all the reservation numbers.
Given how you seasoned pros deal with the reservation system and ADRs I was pleased that it was fairly painless if a little stressful

 

[UKDEB]

Portobello - bad (very bland)

Was this before or after the refurbishment and menu change? I've heard very good things about the new set-up and we did step inside to have a look last March, but didn't have an opportunity to eat there. If since the overhaul, did you eat in the main area, or at the slider bar?

We don't have a great record with Signatures, Cali Grill was one of worse meals we have ever had onsite, really poor service and still hungry after it. Yachtman good first time, OK second time but only for the steak, desserts are really poor. Narcoossees will be last chance for a Signature, if this is not good we won't do another.

We've never had a bad meal at CG, but we did have poor service one time. Yachtsmen is OK, but too cavernous for me (in the way lots of WDW restaurants are) and not a patch on most of the area's high-end steakhouses. We have ordered from the Yachtsmen menu in Crew's Cup Lounge a couple of times. Narcoossee's is nice enough, but the food isn't up to CG standards in my view. The atmosphere is very different - none of that manic buzz. It's subdued in a casually relaxed rather than stuffy way and watching the fireworks is a much more laid-back affair than at CG, too. Both are on our consideration list for next time.

 

[Tony Toon]

We are at the stage we need to be making our ADRs too so we are finding this thread interesting.

We too have never had a bad meal at CG. The service has always been good but I could understand if some found it slow. I prefer to think of it as unhurried .

We have only eaten once - on our last trip - at Yachtsman's and had a superb meal. The food was so good, Liz and I are definitely going back this year.

One restaurant we won't ever return to is Le Cellier. We finally managed, after literally years trying, to get a reservation for my wife's birthday meal a few years ago and found it vastly overpriced, overcrowded and noisy rather like a school refectory. To top it all our (male) server had obviously missed the class where they are taught the "Disney way". Our entrees were plonked on the table even though we were clearly still "enjoying" the starters and there was no doubt they wanted us out of there as quickly as possible. We had dressed up for our special celebration and found the whole experience a total waste of time and money. Although the food was admittedly good it was undoubtedly our worst Disney dining experience by some distance.

On the other hand we have had so many lovely meals with "pixie dust" moments we know that the "Le Cellier" experience is rare and is unlikely to be repeated - to that degree anyway.

 

[wayneg]

We too have never had a bad meal at CG. The service has always been good but I could understand if some found it slow. I prefer to think of it as unhurried .

Our entrees were plonked on the table even though we were clearly still "enjoying" the starters and there was no doubt they wanted us out of there as quickly as possible.

There is unhurried and ridiculously slow, Our server asked if we were going out to watch the fireworks between entree & dessert, we said no we wanted the dessert as soon as poss as it was so late (we usually eat at 7ish, so it was a very late meal for us) plus we were hungry due to the tiny portion of entree. Pic below(these are not supersized green beans or new potatoes), I have seriously left more in some restaurants than this.
From asking for our dessert ASAP to getting it was just 1 hour.
It was everything about the place, late getting seated, people around me in shorts(I am not one for dressing but men in shorts in a Singnature restaurant?) far too cold(under the aircon) to be sat for over 2 hours for 2 courses, uninterested server, just didn't enjoy anything about it.

Last year we had a couple of rushed meals, this year they will go at the pace I want.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

There is unhurried and ridiculously slow, Our server asked if we were going out to watch the fireworks between entree & dessert, we said no we wanted the dessert as soon as poss as it was so late (we usually eat at 7ish, so it was a very late meal for us) plus we were hungry due to the tiny portion of entree. Pic below(these are not supersized green beans or new potatoes), I have seriously left more in some restaurants than this.
From asking for our dessert ASAP to getting it was just 1 hour.
It was everything about the place, late getting seated, people around me in shorts(I am not one for dressing but men in shorts in a Singnature restaurant?) far too cold(under the aircon) to be sat for over 2 hours for 2 courses, uninterested server, just didn't enjoy anything about it.

Last year we had a couple of rushed meals, this year they will go at the pace I want.

I presume that's your starter, or did you order off the kids menu by mistake

 

[Tony Toon]

Last year we had a couple of rushed meals, this year they will go at the pace I want.

There is rushed and ridiculously rushed (see what I did there?)

Although I have frequently sensed the "in and out" directive the serving staff have been given, particularly in park restaurants (this is fact by the way with some restaurants aiming for 45-60 min turnaround!) I have never experienced the "here's your hat, what's your hurry" mode more than Le Cellier. Liz is a very slow eater but this obvious fact didn't deter our determined server one bit. The 20% tip at those prices every hour must really add up, a source of envy incidentally among the Brits 200 yards away at R&C (working on a 90/120 min directive).

It is interesting to hear your views on the signature restaurants Wayne as we are undecided about using the dining plan to go for mega "sig' dining or not. Although we have visited a great number of Disney restaurants over a number of years, I find it incredible that there are so many we haven't done. One of the great pleasures though is discovering them of course.