I find it wacky that you can book Candlelight packages but Food and Wine events aren't up yet . . .. . . .
I got my reservation early this morning for Dec. 24th at Chefs De France. Never eaten there before so don't know what to expect. Was thinking about Via Napoli or Rose and Crown but something in my mind told me I needed to eat in France. LoL.
Super excited!!
seriously my sense of time is so screwed up. I have been seeing posts about f&w and wondering why the heck people are already posting about that... and it's before my trip, lol. I think all of the dining reviews I'm reading including f&w and the f&g booths are making me feel like on just endedI find it wacky that you can book Candlelight packages but Food and Wine events aren't up yet . . .. . . .

If you do the dining package at a place that is normally a character meal, such as Akershus or Garden Grill, is it still the same? In other words, nothing changes with the characters as part of the package, does it?
What the heck is it with the wonky show times though? It seems completely random and unrelated to when you book - almost like luck of the draw. I had to refresh several times to get the time I expected/wanted with the package (when dining 2.5 hours before). For one I was booking an 11:35 lunch and had to refresh like 12 times til it gave me the 5pm show! it kept giving me 6:45 and 8:15!
My first time at CdF was last year on the CP Package, and I loved it! One of the better values if you are using dining plan credits. If you are eating around your show time, it is also a convenient location since that is the side of the lagoon where the line forms.
I had no idea bout any of that, lol. Thank you! I thought I was going crazy. I just refreshed because it came up for 8:15 for 11:35 lunch the first time and I thought it couldn't be right. I got my 5 though. Will it check for a conflict with your dinner time?For the most part, if booking online, it is completely random. Beginning last year, Disney decided to remove the restrictions on show times. Earlier in the thread another poster quoted data from one of the websites that was two years old, but showed the time ranges that one would have to eat for each of the three shows. The earlier lunches would get you into the 5:00 show and the dinners would get you into the later shows. After positive feedback from last year, they decided to continue this year with allowing people to choose their show time, regardless of what time they chose to eat and have even added more breakfast options. I'm definitely a fan of this new format as we can reserve a cheaper meal option yet still attend the later show time that we desire.
If you call in to book a reservation, the CM can just put you in for your show time of choice, if available. However, nothing has been added online to allow you to choose your show time. Since it appears they going to continue with this format, they really need to just add a drop down for the online system that allows us to choose our time so it isn't random and we don't have to keep refreshing to get the time we want. I'm sure many don't even realize they can "refresh" to find a better time and are compromising on their show time because they don't realize there are other options.
Thanks! I was a bit concerned that we had the late show on a day we plan to start at rope drop. Just called in and got my reservation adjusted just a bit earlier for the 6:45 show. Hooray!For the most part, if booking online, it is completely random. Beginning last year, Disney decided to remove the restrictions on show times. Earlier in the thread another poster quoted data from one of the websites that was two years old, but showed the time ranges that one would have to eat for each of the three shows. The earlier lunches would get you into the 5:00 show and the dinners would get you into the later shows. After positive feedback from last year, they decided to continue this year with allowing people to choose their show time, regardless of what time they chose to eat and have even added more breakfast options. I'm definitely a fan of this new format as we can reserve a cheaper meal option yet still attend the later show time that we desire.
If you call in to book a reservation, the CM can just put you in for your show time of choice, if available. However, nothing has been added online to allow you to choose your show time. Since it appears they going to continue with this format, they really need to just add a drop down for the online system that allows us to choose our time so it isn't random and we don't have to keep refreshing to get the time we want. I'm sure many don't even realize they can "refresh" to find a better time and are compromising on their show time because they don't realize there are other options.
Look under CP, not the restaurant itself. Then you will get the option to pick which place you want to go. Just like the Fantasmic dining package works.I can't get the CP option to show up on the website or on MDE for Chefs de France, it's just giving me normal dining times. What the heck am I doing wrong?!
I can't get the CP option to show up on the website or on MDE for Chefs de France, it's just giving me normal dining times. What the heck am I doing wrong?!