Crowds at Olivia's?

[AnnetteF]

Over on the restaurant board, there is a lot of talk about the necessity of PS's (or Advanced Reservations) now that the MYW dining packages have made table service restaurants such a good deal. I was wondering if anyone had been to Olivia's recently and noticed any change in the crowds there. I wouldn't think that Olivia's would be impacted by this due to it's location but I just thought I would ask.

We will be going again in September with DD 18 mos. and in the past have always enjoyed the flexibility of being able to get a table at Olivia's pretty much whenever we wanted. I am relying on it for this upcoming trip as I did last October when she was only 7 mos since it makes it so easy to work around her schedule.

It probably sounds boring to be eating most of our meals there when there are so many wonderful places to eat but we will make a few PS's and then if we are unable to keep them we like to know that Olivia's is there for us when we are ready for dinner. Has anyone noticed any change?

 

[DebbieB]

I had lunch there last Tuesday around 4:00, we were the only ones in the main dining room most of the time.

 

[dogcloud]

I can't imagin it would be difficult to get in to, the food there is awful, yuck! Sorry just my opinion.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Interesting reaction, Dogcloud. Is that a recent evaluation or one from the past? We have had some great meals at Olivias the past year or two. It also has been quite crowded on our last couple of trips too.

 

[RAD]

We've eaten at Olivia's a number of times and have never had a problem with just a walk up. I agree that the food has much improved from a few years ago. The only knock I have against the place is that when it does get a bit crowded it can get VERY noisy in there.

 

[Doctor P]

For breakfast, in fact, Olivia's is one of the better restaurants at WDW.

 

[helenabear]

We were just there last week and it was about a 15 minute wait when we tried to eat around 7 PM. The other time we went no wait at all and not terribly busy. I happened to think the food was good, but not much selection so I am not rushing to go back there. Seemed just as crowded to me as I have seen it in the past.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Noisy and a bit slow too, but we kind of like it.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Olivia's is definitely one of our all-time favorite Disney restaurants...one of the best on property.

We've never had a problem with simply walking up and getting seated.

 

[lllovell]

I am with Doctor P. We had the most relaxing breakfast EVER at Disney at Olivia's on our trip back in April and it also happened to be one of the most economical. Just a reminder, the DVC discount is no longer good on breakfast, but the DDE card IS good for breakfast.

 

[AnnetteF]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. It sounds like we won't have to worry. Olivia's is a favorite of ours, too, but I just wanted to make sure word wasn't getting around about that. We've had some wonderful meals there and also just find the place very pleasant and comfortable.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I was there in Feb (no PS) for breakfast and they actually handed me a pager. This happened in Nov '04 as well. The wait wasn't long---maybe 15-20 min tops both times.
We love Olivia's ! My kids always order the smoothies and we feel the menu has improved over the years. We'll be there again this August

 

[dogcloud]

We were at Olivias just 2weeks ago, went for dinner, again it was just not good maybe they were having a off night, I would try it again for breakfast though. Our favorites are "Flying Fish", Boma and O'Hana

 

[beccasmom]

Breakfast there is fantastic and there was quite a crowd when we were there in February, but we got seated right away.

Lunch is a better bet and is available until 5:00 p.m. Prices are cheaper and more variety on the menu, IMHO. And eating then you are almost assured of being seated pretty fast.

 

[drakethib]

We have only had one bad meal there and it becuase I am somewhat of a picky eater and I tried something new.

I should have listened to my belly.