It cannot hurt to have a reservation. Often it is a walk-in, but I have seen times when there have been groups there or it has been very crowded.
I had one time a few years ago when we made a spur of the moment reservation about two hours before we went. When we arrived we were told they were fully booked and did not want to seat us. They do not have a computer teminal at the podium and had printed out the list of reservations and our name was not on it. I asked for the manager, gave our reservation number, and asked that they recheck the computer and maybe print a current list. Then we were able to be seated.
Two years ago we waited until we got to WDW to call for a reservation for the afternoon tea, and by then they were booked for our entire visit. Since then we always make a res about a month in advance.
Gosh ... who would think that many people would want to do the tea?! Myself, DH and daughter want to try it ... haven't told 16-year old DS about it yet, probably won't until we get there.
When we were there in December there were a couple of large groups, including the local chapter of the Red Hat Ladies. You might luck out and be able to walk in, but if you have your heart set on it you should probably make ADR's -- you can always cancel if you change your mind. Good luck!
It fills both of us enough that we don't want dinner, and DH has a pretty good appetite. We usually go to tea about 4 pm, then to the MK and we might have a light snack over there later in the evening.
Due to the fickle nature of my partner's whims, I have been trying to book the Tea during our December stay on Sunday the 11th for the last 2 weeks for the three of us. It's a no go, they only have a table for 2, which I snagged for my partner and her mom. I encourage you to book at 90 days, especially if your plans are to try to do this on a weekend. Maggie
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