Are Dining Reservations Needed?

[smashndash]

We will be at DLR for a week starting July 15th.

We are interested in trying Naples and ESPN Club at DTD. Would reservations be needed and if so, how far in advance would we need to get them?

We are WDW vets, but first visit to DLR so wasn't sure. We did book Blue Bayou already but thought about waiting until day of for those mentioned above if that is feasible. Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

Dining reservations aren't as critical at DLR as they are at WDW and they don't "run out" as quickly, but it is still recommended that you make reservations for places you know you want to eat. I'm not as familiar with ESPN, but I know that Naples is very popular and the standby wait times can be pretty lengthy (30-90 minutes is not uncommon). My guess is that you can probably wait until pretty close to your trip, but if you have a fairly specific time you wanted to eat, I would make the reservations as soon as possible because you're going during the peak summer season and D23 Convention/Expo happens that weekend.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Doesn't hurt to book the reservations now IMO. A couple days before, you can look at the reservations that are still available. If it's wide open, then you know that it's safe to cancel if you're not sure. If it's all booked up, you know you probably will need to hang on to the reservation if you still want to eat there.

 

[SMD]

I was there earlier this week and was surprised to see a line outside Naples that stretched across the DTD walkway and was around the planter/seating that's in the middle right there. It was between 4pm and 5pm, which isn't even really prime dinner. They may have happy hour there, I'm not sure. I'd say if you want to eat somewhere specific, make a reservation, if you're open and ok with possible having to walk to a few places before finding a table or waiting for a table, it's not critical.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you need a specific time slot, have a large party, have dietary needs, or are noting a celebration, then make a PS (Priority Seating) reservation ahead of time. It just saves you stress and worry. You will be able to modify your reservation if you need to and to cancel it up to 24 hours ahead of time without any penalty.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Idk DtD but if you want ANY other TS inside the parks for mid-July make sure to get your reservations in or you could be waiting an hour & half for a table that time of year.

 

[boggerbret]

We book ahead. Just knowing when your kids will eat helps me time our lunch and what we have, Plus the waits can get longer than 45 mins and book is really easy. Even booking that day is better than waiting IMO.

 

[StormyCA]

We always book ahead for Blue Bayou and any DTD restaurant, simply because we don't want to waste park time waiting for a table.

 

[VandVsmama]

I second the advice that everybody else has said above. If you know that you'll want to eat at a certain time and at a certain TS restaurant, go ahead and make a reservation. Then you won't have to wait an hour or more for a table.

 

[Rabb it]

Those two places you can typically get seated pretty quick around LUNCH time, probably be a 45+ minute wait for dinner. So if you don't want to wait AT ALL, then make a reservation for sure.

At ESPN Zone it also depends on what day you go too, if it's football Sunday for instance, you wont be able to get a table all day practically and people camp out early in the morning for a table that they sit at for the entirety of the football day.

 

[Frozen2014]

What's the cancellation policy? Is it like WDW where (from what I remember( you have 24hrs or they charge your credit card?

 

[figment_jii]

What's the cancellation policy? Is it like WDW where (from what I remember( you have 24hrs or they charge your credit card?

It's essentially the same policy as WDW. They don't specifically state whether "one-day" means 24-hours from the time of the reservation, anytime on the day before the reservation, or something else. I've asked Disneyland Guest Services and gotten both as the answer, so to be safe, I would plan on cancelling at least 24-hours before the reservation time (although, I think it probably just means anytime on the day before, but better to be safe than be out $10 per person on the reservation).

Payment and Cancellation Policy
You must cancel at least one day prior to your reservation to avoid a per person cancellation fee. If you fail to cancel or are a no show, the credit card provided at the time of reservation will be charged $10.00 per person

 

[Winnowill]

Also, if you do have to cancel within the 24-hour period, go to the restaurant in person if you can. If you explain the situation, they will almost always go ahead and cancel it without charging you. We had that happen at WCT last month - my husband wasn't feeling well, so we went by the check-in to cancel our ADR and they would have done it without hesitation (as it turned out, there was a couple trying to eat there as a walk-in, but there wasn't any availability, so we transferred our reservation to them).

 

[GeneralTso]

I never used to bother, but the past few years, I do it when the window opens. More and more, sit down restaurants are booked solid and don't take walk ups. I have seen so many people turned away. It used to be just Blue Bayou, but now it's the others that never seemed to be full.

 

[smashndash]

Great info everyone, really appreciate the comments. We are taking the advice here and going ahead with booking to be safe.

Thanks!

 

[MerMazing]

We made a dinner reservation at ESPN Zone in November (was Dapper weekend as well) and still waited 30 minutes to sit down to eat.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We made a dinner reservation at ESPN Zone in November (was Dapper weekend as well) and still waited 30 minutes to sit down to eat.

Yes, Priority Seating at DLR works more like a Fast Pass than like a regular restaurant reservation. You may get seated at your actual reservation time or you may be in the 'dining FP queue.' It is best to take that into account if you have something planned after your meal, like a show or parade. Always give yourself a time buffer, just to be safe.

 

[smashndash]

Yes, Priority Seating at DLR works more like a Fast Pass than like a regular restaurant reservation. You may get seated at your actual reservation time or you may be in the 'dining FP queue.' It is best to take that into account if you have something planned after your meal, like a show or parade. Always give yourself a time buffer, just to be safe.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[emmybee]

Huh. So is Priority Seating a term DL uses in place of Reservation to give them a little more wiggle room with seating times?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Huh. So is Priority Seating a term DL uses in place of Reservation to give them a little more wiggle room with seating times?

It is the term DLR uses instead of ADR (which is used at WDW). Most of the time you will be seated at or close to your reservation time, but DLR can't do anything about the party ahead of you vacating their table. We've were left waiting one time for over half an hour at NR because the party at "our" table had the bill on the table, had finished all their food, and wouldn't leave. The server couldn't force them out, and they wouldn't take the hint. Lucky for us, the hostess made some magic and seated us at the Chef's Counter instead.