Can I make it to Chef Mickeys?

[HuskerFaninIL]

Also, keep trying to change it up until the last possible day. I needed to bump our CM reservation to about a 1/2 later and I had made my ressie on my 180 day. I checked and checked and checked some more and finally the slot opened up and I got the time I needed.

I needed to bump it for the exact same reason you did, my IL's were taking the ME and I was worried they'd miss our ADR.

Good luck!

 

[Hannathy]

OP may not be taking the bus. There is no reason to check in (or go to a park!) before heading to the Contemporary.

Instead of just telling the OP to give up, why don't we try to help them make their dinner???

Because she should not base her decision on "best case" scenarios, she should have honest facts to deal with.

I think it is way to close. She only lands at 545. She has a small child, it could take her a full 10 minutes to get off the plane depending on where she is seated and the speed of others getting off. A 5 yr old will probably have to go to the bathroom add another 5-10 minutes, if the child isn't a regular traveler they may not know how to "book it" thru the airport so just walking to the tram and to luggage will take longer. Then add all the other things already mentioned.

And if the family in general aren't experienced travelers everything will take longer than people who fly a lot and go to Disney a lot. You easily have to add 30 minutes onto an inexperienced person time frame and that is the minimum extra. Not everyone knows exactly which way to go or which line to get into or where to get the bus, etc without stopping and asking or looking for signs. Or if renting a car, finding their way out of the airport and to Disney the first time.

 

[bball15fan]

I hope you make it! Chef Mickey is my favorite!

 

[luvmy2babies]

I see the OP did not update on how her family is getting around on the trip (DME or car, Dining plan or not) and those things will make or break getting to this dinner. Travel day is stressful enough when everything goes well and you don’t have worries ahead.

If you are not able to move the reservation, and your heart is that set on it, in your position I might be inclined (even if I was scheduled for DME) to keep the DME tags, get the bags at the airport and take a cab from the airport to POP to drop off the bags, although I have done the walk down to ground transportation and it is not short either (from the South west baggage carousel), especially with little people. But I can say that once we got there we were in a cab instantly and on our way. Then I'd do a cab from POP to the Contemporary.

If you don’t need your KTTW cards to go eat dinner, then you can bypass check-in and leave the bags at guest services I guess and go to the Contemporary without checking in. Not sure if that works or not. Even if you are on the dining plan, if you are so inclined, there’s always the option of paying OOP for the meal and trying to get an extra TS for later in the trip. It's a whopper of a bill though and may not be worth it if you have alredy paid for it. We were on the dining plan when we ate there and will be this time, but I did look at the bill.

Really I hope you are able to get another reservation. On our first trip, it also took us 3 hours from the plane landing to getting off the bus at MK. We took DME to All-Star Movies, check in, dropped some things in our room, then went to the bus stop. Granted something was going on with the bus that evening. We waited 25 minutes for a bus to MK. Not sure what was going on because there were people in front of us who had been there 15 minutes already. In fact, 2 buses came for each of the other parks and DTD while we were waiting. After landing at 3:25, it was 6:30 before we got to MK.

I wish you the best.

 

[disgram]

If you don't think you can get there in time, why not call Chef Mickey's from the airport? If you get to your resort, have the concairge call and tell them that you are on your way. I have done this a couple times, from the airport and also from the resort, and they have been very helpful.

Good Luck!

 

[kaligal]

Because she should not base her decision on "best case" scenarios, she should have honest facts to deal with.

I think it is way to close. She only lands at 545. She has a small child, it could take her a full 10 minutes to get off the plane depending on where she is seated and the speed of others getting off. A 5 yr old will probably have to go to the bathroom add another 5-10 minutes, if the child isn't a regular traveler they may not know how to "book it" thru the airport so just walking to the tram and to luggage will take longer. Then add all the other things already mentioned.

And if the family in general aren't experienced travelers everything will take longer than people who fly a lot and go to Disney a lot. You easily have to add 30 minutes onto an inexperienced person time frame and that is the minimum extra. Not everyone knows exactly which way to go or which line to get into or where to get the bus, etc without stopping and asking or looking for signs. Or if renting a car, finding their way out of the airport and to Disney the first time.

She wants to go to Chef Mickey. She has a reservation.

She mostly gets, "No, no, you can't make it. Give up."

I hate defeatist attitudes, especially when there is a chance the thing could be done.

But we all have the right to our opinions.

It really would help to know if she is using Disney stuff that might make it harder, like the bus or a dining plan.

If the OP is driving and there are no delays and they don't get too lost, they could easily make this reservation. As I said, I'm usually in my room (including check-in) in 60-90 minutes.

OP, I don't know if Chef Mickey will charge you to be late or missing the dinner. I don't know if you want to gamble the money they would take. But if you aren't taking public transportation or using dining plans, I think you could make this, possibly with time to spare. You have two hours to get off the plane, find the luggage (assuming you checked it), get the car and make the 30-40 minute drive.

 

[Virtucomp]

I'm not sure why asking for advice would turn the discussion into an argument. OP can read the posts and make an informed decision.


Personally I would not enjoy the stress of relying on the transportation system to get me to the ADR on time. If you want your child to have a special dinner thats great. If your family is rushing from plane to bus to bus to get through the checkin just to have this dinner it may not be as fun as you would think.

Is this the 5 yr olds first trip to Disney? If so there may be a lot of exploring on the first day to see what is at Pop Century. Rushing to Chef Mickeys may not be the best.

My own opinion is that Chef Mickey's is better for breakfast than for dinner. We found the food to be better and a fun start to a day at MK. If you find that you would be better putting off the ADR you could look at breakfast another day instead.

The important thing is that you have a fun fill family vacation regardless of your decision.

 

[maxiesmom]

Because she should not base her decision on "best case" scenarios, she should have honest facts to deal with.

I think it is way to close. She only lands at 545. She has a small child, it could take her a full 10 minutes to get off the plane depending on where she is seated and the speed of others getting off. A 5 yr old will probably have to go to the bathroom add another 5-10 minutes, if the child isn't a regular traveler they may not know how to "book it" thru the airport so just walking to the tram and to luggage will take longer. Then add all the other things already mentioned.

I agree with you. But I think your 10 minutes to deplane is a pretty optimistic guess. They would have to be close to the front of the plane to get off in 10 minutes. When I have been on larger planes it has sometimes taken over half an hour just to get off.

OP--I hate to say it, but you are cutting your time way too close. Disney will hold your reservation for a little while, but not indefinitely. Keep in mind too they actually ask that you show up for your reservation 20 minutes before your scheduled time.

I think it would be horrible to show up late with a 5yr old in tow and be told "Sorry, but you are too late." And that is a possibility. Either change the day you have Chef Mickey's or keep checking and see if you can get an earlier time. You really are cutting it way too close and have almost no wiggle room for anything that could delay you.

 

[chartle]

I think it would be horrible to show up late with a 5yr old in tow and be told "Sorry, but you are too late." And that is a possibility. Either change the day you have Chef Mickey's or keep checking and see if you can get an earlier time. You really are cutting it way too close and have almost no wiggle room for anything that could delay you.

This

CM is very open and kids can see into the area and see mickey and the gang walking around and greeting guests. How are you going to explain this to your 5 year old if you can't get in.

And no I'm not telling them not to try, like others we are just giving the OP the best/realistic info we can with the limited info that was posted. But as others have posted it will be very tight even if everything goes perfectly.

 

[Hannathy]

I agree with you. But I think your 10 minutes to deplane is a pretty optimistic guess. They would have to be close to the front of the plane to get off in 10 minutes. When I have been on larger planes it has sometimes taken over half an hour just to get off.

Oh I agree!!! I was being told I was to pessimistic so I shaved what originally had typed, lol

 

[MSUmom]

I noticed when we were there in March that the restaurants were not very firm with the times. We got to several of our ADRs early. I mentioned that we were early and they just looked to see if we actually had a reservation and then seated us with little or no wait. We were late to one and the same thing happened. This happened at 2 different parks.

 

[maxiesmom]

I noticed when we were there in March that the restaurants were not very firm with the times. We got to several of our ADRs early. I mentioned that we were early and they just looked to see if we actually had a reservation and then seated us with little or no wait. We were late to one and the same thing happened. This happened at 2 different parks.

The one time I have been late to an ADR (stupid taxi didn't show up) the CM told me they were just about to give our spot away. And that the only reason they had held it so long was because the monorail was having issues, so they were giving people an extra bit of time to show up. So they don't hold your ADR indefinitely.

 

[MrRob]

Do you think I can make it?

All information considered, no, I don't think that'll be the case. It's super tight. Even under optimal conditions it's only a possibility and not a certainty.

(By the way that's not a defeatist attitude, that's a realist attitude.)

Will they hold a reservation for awhile?

That however is a different story. Unfortunately I don't have much experience when it comes to that subject so I can't say.

I do want to mirror what some others have said though, do you really want to start off a vacation with the stress involved with trying to make it?

What I would do is try to think about why you think this particular restaurant would make it a highlight for your daughter and then see if there are other places you can go that will emulate that. Perhaps another character meal later on in the trip?

You can also take your chances and periodically check with reservations to see if a table opens up while you're on the trip.

 

[acebatonfan]

First off, is the reservation at 7:45 AM or PM? Traffic might not be complete madness if your flight is arriving at 5:45 AM.

Though, two hours to get to your reservation does not give you much wiggle room to play with. The following list is what I have experienced from a combination of my trip at the end of this March and from late August of '11.

• 10-30+ minutes to get off the plane: This really depends on where you're seated, who's on the plane, and how quickly people can get off. If you're sitting in the back few rows of the airplane and almost everyone is unboarding slowly and grabbing carry-ons in the overhead compartments, then expect it to be much longer than if you were in the front of the plane and the people in front of you are unloading quickly.
• 20-45 minutes navigating the airport: Face it, we all have the probability of getting lost, the tram leading to the baggage claim being temporarily broken or running late, bathroom breaks, and separating from your group. A five year old also slows you down a bit, so you probably cannot sprint to the taxis/ME.
• If using baggage claim: Probably around 10-30 minutes. Personally, I have not used Orlando's baggage claim, but the one I use coming home is pretty slow.
• If using ME: 5-30 minute wait (Not including boarding): Unless you are lucky and catch the POP bus while it's boarding, you will have to wait.
  
  10-30 minutes boarding: You might be lucky and be able to board in a quick amount of time, especially if nobody is using the bottom of the bus to store stuff. If there is a lot of stuff to store and the bus needs more people before it departs, you might be waiting a bit longer.​
• If using a cab:5-15 minutes: This also is like the ME. If you happen to catch an open cab, you won't be waiting that long. If you booked a private vehicle or cab ahead of time, prepare that the cab won't show up. Coming home from Disney in August, the bus my family requested never showed up, and we waited over a half hour for DF and DM to complain to the bus company and get a cab for us that fits everyone and can hold all our luggage.
• 30-60+ minutes driving:This really can change on the turn of a dime. Since you did not say if you are going to the POP or CM first, driving times can vary. What if there was an accident and traffic is stopped? That can easily increase your time in both the cab and ME.
• If checking in at the POP:5-30 minutes: This also is a timing thing. You might be able to just walk right in,or you could be stuck in a long line.
• 15-45+ minutes using Disney Transportation to MK if you are at the POP: Disney transportation also isn't extremely reliant on times. You can easily walk onto a bus going to the MK or you might have to wait a bit. The roads can also play a factor in how long it takes to get there.
• If at MK:5-15 minute walk or monorail to CR: Like the buses, you could easily walk onto a boarding resort monorail or you could use the walkway.
• 5-15 minutes finding CM: Like at the airport, there is a chance you could get lost, especially if it's your first time. By this time, your child might also need another potty break.

Minimum time (If everything goes perfectly): 1 hour: 40 minutes.
Maximum time (If everything goes absolutely wrong): 5 hours

From this, you will be cutting it pretty close. If everything does work out perfectly, though it rarely does, you only have 20 minutes of "wiggle room" for something going wrong. What if your flight departs or arrives late? What if you get lost at the airport? What if the airline lost your baggage and you need to do lost baggage paperwork at the airport? What if your child or a family member gets sick? What if there is a major accident and the taxi and ME are stopped?

If you can, I suggest cancelling the ADR now and trying to find a time for CM at a much later time or for another day.

 

[aripantaloon]

I think that is cutting it very close.

 

[pineview01]

Must have scared the OP off!

 

[kaligal]

OP, in the words of Walt Disney, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

Let us know how it goes.

Good luck!

 

[MrsDuck]

None of us really can know. There are so many variables that play into this that are out of your control-- your plane, traffic, luggage, etc.

Honestly, you're probably cutting it too close.

 

[dakota5176]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Sorry for not providing enough information. I am getting in at 5:45p.m. and we are taking the Express and using the dining plan. I do have the reservations guaranteed with a credit card. We'll be staying at the Pop Century. It's my daughter's first time and she's very excited so I want to make it special for her.

There were a lot of good points made about the stress. It does sound like I'd be a nervous a wreck and my five year old would have a break down if we got there and she wasn't allowed in. The posters are probably right that it's not a good way to start a vacation stressed out and running around like crazy.

I think I'll try to change the reservation if possible, maybe if I keep trying everyday something will open up last minute! If I try everyday maybe something will open up!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Sorry for not providing enough information. I am getting in at 5:45p.m. and we are taking the Express and using the dining plan. I do have the reservations guaranteed with a credit card. We'll be staying at the Pop Century. It's my daughter's first time and she's very excited so I want to make it special for her.

There were a lot of good points made about the stress. It does sound like I'd be a nervous a wreck and my five year old would have a break down if we got there and she wasn't allowed in. The posters are probably right that it's not a good way to start a vacation stressed out and running around like crazy.

I think I'll try to change the reservation if possible, maybe if I keep trying everyday something will open up last minute! If I try everyday maybe something will open up!

I think you are wise to reconsider. If you are unable to get a different time or secure another dinner night for Chef Mickey you could try for a bfast the morning after arrival day.

If nothing at all is available, may I suggest perhaps a bfast or lunch at Tusker House? It's located in the Animal Kingdom and I'm pretty sure it is Donald and friends (Donald, Daisy, Micky & Goofy) as opposed to Chef Mickey with Mickey and friends (Minnie, Donald & Goofy).

I do think you'd enjoy yourselves much more going the day after your arrival day - no worries about any travel delays, losing your ADR or being chgd $10/person as a no show (why they take the cc now)

BTW welcome to the DISboards. You will find a lot of helpful info here, hope you have a wonderful trip