Dining reservations

[viaggiamo]

Hi we are coming in October, 7th-14th, and as we have two small children we like to play our days by ear to a certain extent.

I will be booking Minnie's Breakfast, but will I really have to book at places like Carnation Cafe, Cafe orleans, Ralph Brennans, Catal etc?

Just curious as I am a newbie to all this. When we visited DL 15 years ago I cannot remember planning much at all. Maybe because it was all pre-internet...

C

 

[ArchOwl]

I think it is best if you have a reservations for most of those restaurants, but you for sure need a ressie for Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, and Carthay Circle Theater.

Why?

Because you won't have to wait and that is a blessing with two small children.

I would suggest you make the reservations for the three places mentioned above and Minnie's at least a week or two in advance. The others you could do the day before or day of. This actually gives you more flexibility because it is very easy to call and change the reservation around as needed. Then your name is on the list. Otherwise you are looking at waiting around with two small hungry children. Not fun. Disney doesn't have those pager things, so you have to stay close.

I can't tell you how many times I have called an hour or two before my ressie at Carnation or Cafe Orleans to change things around. No problem. And I am not one of those hungry people waiting 30 minutes or more as standbys.

 

[KateDrake]

I agree with ArchOwl. Book character dining early, and Blue Bayou or Carthay if you want to do one of those, but otherwise you can probably book up to the day of! I've been able to get Cafe Orleans or Big Thunder Ranch at that time of year by calling an hour ahead. Sometimes you have to be a little flexible on times, but the earlier in the day you call, the more options you'll have. That is such a slow time of year (and we'll overlap with you a bit!) that it's pretty easy to get in.

 

[Malcon10t]

I call in the morning when we get up to see the next available time at Carnation Cafe. Or in the afternoon when I think I want Cafe Orleans, I will call a couple hours before. Unless its a holiday period, you can usually get in fairly easily.

 

[viaggiamo]

Cool,
thankyou so much I was becoming really stressed that we would have to live on churros and corn dogs...LOL
I will definately book the character dining 60 days out and I am happy to do that. I do have a list of where we want to eat and, as you say, we can always cancel...
My head was spinning. I am trying to organise everything from Australia and I also do not want to overplan, iykwim?
C

 

[ExcitedSam]

Seems to be the theme for the day Viaggiamo! I have been stressing about planning too. I am booking character dining as soon as we can, but I really have no idea where else we'd like to eat! I've look at a few menus etc. But still not sure. I don't think we'll want to do fine dining with two kids, so what are the places we should visit that have good food plus a great atmosphere?

I also have no idea about what time we should be doing our meals I know what time we normally eat! But does that fit in with Disney days? We are normally early eaters. We will do Minnies and AG probably.

 

[sechelt]

You may want to think about doing lunches instead of dinners. Unless it's changed, the lunch menu is considerably less pricey and in effect until around 2 or 3. We usually make our ressies for very early or close to the lunch menu cut-off time, to avoid the crowds.

Blue Bayou is a wonderful place to eat. If you can, check in a bit early and ask the CM for a table beside the water. It's so charming to watch the boats from Pirates go by and it gives the kids something to watch. The bonus is that BB uses the same kitchen as Club 33. You know the food will be awesome!

 

[kayleigh83]

I think in the interest of time you should get ressies! I mean yeah, you might be able to show up and get a table, but having a reservation can make the difference between waiting 20 minutes or not waiting - more time for rides!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

October has turned out to be a bit of a busy month, especially on the weekends. I do recommend making reservations, but you do not need to make them far in advance, except for the very popular restaurants like Carthay Circle or Blue Bayou.

I have often called the dining number that day (I try to call before 3pm) to make reservations if I haven't planned ahead of time and see that the park is busy. You might want to put this number in your cell phone: 1-714-781-3463 (option 4)

You can walk up to the restaurants, but there have been times at dinnertime when I have gone with other people and we've waited a long time for dinner (2 hours) because everyone was full. Usually when I call on that day, if the restaurant I want is full I will ask what is available, and the CMs have really helped me out.