Are dinner reservations necessary in mid November?

[Kimf]

We will be at Disney World November 9-14 and am wondering if making advance dinner reservations is really necessary? We have only been there during the March/April timeframe in the past when I know it is packed and reservations needed. I did not upgrade to park hopper passes (we have never used them in the past when I paid for them!) and have no idea which parks we will visit which days, so it is hard to figure out reservations without knowing our schedule! Any thoughts would be appreciated!

The two restaurants I want to visit for sure are the Steak Place at Canada/Epcot and the restaurant at the Polynesian where they serve food to you on skewers... am forgetting the name of both right now!

Kim

 

[ladcraig]

I'm not sure how the crowds will be at that particular time but those two restaurants (Le Cellier & Ohana) are very popular. So to be on the safe side, I'd definitely make reservations.

 

[wdwpirates]

Unfortunately you will not be able to walk up to the restaurants you mentioned and be seated. You'll need to male ressies @ both. Good luck!

 

[Cafeen]

Meal reservations are recommended all year round. This holds especially true for the more popular meals (e.g. Dinner) and locations (Le Cellier, 'Ohana, CRT, etc). While walk-ups to the less popular locations (either due to location, quality, or whatnot) are usually available (but not all the time!), you just happened to pick the two most popular reservations to go after.

I'd start trying today to score a reservation at these places. I know that without hoppers and a plan of which park to be it it'll be tough to figure out, but you may have to let whatever you end up getting decide for those two days. Chances are they're pretty booked up already, especially for Dinenr.

 

[CityGirlLost]

I usually see when I can get my rezzies for the places I want and plan my park for the day around that!

 

[jojomoore]

I am not sure how many people are in your family, but I just checked the disney website to see which ADRs are available for each of the days that you will be their. For 4 people, their are no openings for dinner for LeCellier left during your dates and all of Ohana openings were betwwen 8:30 and 9:30 at night. However, at this point in time, their is availability at most other places for dinner. I wasn't sure if you wanted to eat breakfast or lunch at any restaurants. WDW is busy year around now ,so ADRs are very important to make if you want to eat at specific places. You can always see what is available at your resort concierge desk each morning or at the park guest services while you are in the parks each day. But its just easier for me to plan ahead and then I can always change my adrs as things change.

 

[LilyWDW]

We will be at Disney World November 9-14 and am wondering if making advance dinner reservations is really necessary? We have only been there during the March/April timeframe in the past when I know it is packed and reservations needed. I did not upgrade to park hopper passes (we have never used them in the past when I paid for them!) and have no idea which parks we will visit which days, so it is hard to figure out reservations without knowing our schedule! Any thoughts would be appreciated!

The two restaurants I want to visit for sure are the Steak Place at Canada/Epcot (Le Cellier)and the restaurant at the Polynesian where they serve food to you on skewers(Ohana)... am forgetting the name of both right now!

Kim

The two restaurants you posted are places that fill up at the 180 day mark and it can be hard to find a cancellation. These days, it is recommended to make reservations no matter the time of the year you are going. However, in your case, you will be there during free dining which means the restaurants will be fuller then normal since people who don't normally eat table service will be doing so (one section ends 10/28 but anyone who books with a check in before the 28th will have it for the whole stay... the next section begins 11/12).

I would get online today and see what you are able to get.

 

[danceintherain]

I was going to say "it depends on which restaurants"

As others have indicated, the two restaurants you've mentioned are VERY popular.

Your best bet is to take an available ADR for Ohana ASAP. This one isn't park specific, so it won't really make a difference if you don't know which park you'll be in that day. Getting there is a little easier from the Magic Kingdom, but if what the previous poster says is true all the parks will be pretty much closed by the time your ADR came around anyways.

As for Le Cellier...if you really want it, you'll need to check every day between now and your trip.

Unless this trip is being planned for next year (2011), in which case, you should make ADRs at 180 days out.

 

[RMulieri]

Also if Free Dining is going on..All best are off.The dining plan( free or paid for) has made dining reservations almost a neccessity.Sure a walk up may be possible..But it depends on the popularity of the restaurant, the time of day, time of week, number of people in the party etc.The restaurants you mentioned are POPULAR and book up 180 days in advacnce.The week you are going is also Veterans day weekend, and alot of schools are off most of the week for teacher conferences and/or fall breaks.

 

[Bradsdadg]

I would just make ressies at all of your sit down places. No matter the time of year.

 

[Cat0727]

Dinner ressies are always necessary, imo.

 

[TDC Nala]

You've chosen the two currently most popular restaurants at WDW. If you don't already have reservations for them, the odds of getting them are decreased, but start looking now - people do cancel reservations.

 

[KingRat]

It never hurts to make the reservation. You don't want to be the person who has to wait 90 minutes to eat while the kids whine and you lose park time...or nap time.