Do I need to make PS reservations?

[~ButterflyKisses~]

We are coming to DLR from 21st-28th September. Do we need to make PS reservations or can we just show up/book on the day? We just like to go with the flow and are not fans of booking days and days ahead. We won't know exactly what we are doing on any given day and prefer to just decide on whim.

If I don't book PS's will we not be able to get in anywhere or waiting hours and hours to get a table?

How busy do the restaurants get?

 

[funatdisney]

Are you staying on site? If you are and you find it is very busy, you can call the dining line and make a PS for the day. Make sure you call in the morning.

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Yes, we're staying at the Disneyland hotel. Can you only call the dining line from onsite hotels?

I'm thinking the only PS we might make is one at Goofy's Kitchen. What time is best for a breakfast reservation? What hours do they serve breakfast?

 

[Sherry E]

Priority Seatings are not the same thing as Reservations. Therefore, no tables are being held for you and the restaurants will not lose money if you don't show up. The PS is used just as a way to sort of organize the guests who arrive to eat, and if there happen to be tons of people waiting to eat, having a PS will get you in before the folks who do not have a PS.

Technically, none of the restaurants in DLR (and that includes both parks, all 3 hotels and DTD) actually require a PS be made, except for the Blue Bayou (though there have been some reports that folks have occasionally walked up to BB and gotten seated on the spot, early in the day), and for that you should probably make a PS well in advance if possible because it is extremely popular. You can generally just walk up without a PS and give your name at any restaurant, but you may have to wait a long time to be seated. We used to always go to DLR without a PS because we wanted to go with the flow, but after waiting and wasting too much time at too many different restaurants, we switched to making PSs and have never looked back! It is such a time saver.

The restaurants to watch out for in terms of big crowds and long lines are: Rainforest Cafe in DTD (especially for dinner, it can get crazy busy and you could wait as long as an hour for a table); Carnation Cafe in DL (great little restaurant with very limited seating - I have never been there when there has not been a long line formed with people waiting for tables); ESPN Zone in DTD (just like RFC, very popular and the wait to be seated can be ages on a busy night), and of course, any character meals throughout DLR are usually quite busy and the wait could be long. Those are the restaurants that I have encountered very long waits at, so I would always make a PS for those from here on out. Other places we have eaten in DLR did not seem to be too bad as far as wait time.

 

[Sherry E]

Yes, we're staying at the Disneyland hotel. Can you only call the dining line from onsite hotels?

I'm thinking the only PS we might make is one at Goofy's Kitchen. What time is best for a breakfast reservation? What hours do they serve breakfast?

You can call the Dining line from your own phone or from the hotel.

Goofy's Kitchen opens at 7:00 a.m. for breakfast, and depending on the day/season, sometimes it appears to be open until 2:00 p.m. (during really busy periods, I assume) and other times it appears to be open until noon (one person said they stay open until 1:00 p.m., but I have not seen that - I have only heard of noon or 2:00 p.m., depending on the season and day). I wouldn't want to set a PS time for too near to when they close, because even though they may let you come in and eat, the characters may begin to leave. So for breakfast, I wouldn't get there any later than 11:00 a.m., but I think the ideal time for characters is probably right in the 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. window. And, of course, Goofy's opens up for dinner again at 5:00 p.m.

 

[funatdisney]

We used to always go to DLR without a PS because we wanted to go with the flow, but after waiting and wasting too much time at too many different restaurants, we switched to making PSs and have never looked back! It is such a time saver.

I have found this to be true myself. In fact, I will make a PS even if I go for a day trip to DLR. I found it much easier than waiting for a table when I walk up and ask for one.

I do love that fact that when staying at one of the Disneyland Hotels, I can make a PS form my room. Now be careful. If you wait too long to make the PS, you will not be able to get one. It would be wiser to call ahead and make your PS before you arrive. Especially if you are traveling during a busy time of the year.

 

[Sherry E]

I have found this to be true myself. In fact, I will make a PS even if I go for a day trip to DLR. I found it much easier than waiting for a table when I walk up and ask for one.

I do love that fact that when staying at one of the Disneyland Hotels, I can make a PS form my room. Now be careful. If you wait too long to make the PS, you will not be able to get one. It would be wiser to call ahead and make your PS before you arrive. Especially if you are traveling during a busy time of the year.

You are right! IF a person is going to make a PS (as opposed to the ones who just go with the flow), it is better to not wait too long to do it. In fact, several people on the DIS recently have been saying that they could not get the PS times they wanted when they called. Of course, you can still walk up, but then you may have a long wait ahead of you.

We had so many long, time-wasting waits for tables at RFC, Carnation, ESPN and Goofy's in the past, and we always thought we would kill the spontaneity if we made PSs. One day I just decided, Well, let's try making some PSs for all of our meals on this trip - and I picked places we already liked or knew we wanted to try - and we will see how it works for us. When we saw that these PSs allowed us to have little to NO wait at all, and we were able to be seated right away, we realized we should have been doing this all along! Then again, we tend to go during very busy times of year, so crowds are heavier anyway. Perhaps if we went at a really slow time, there would be no lines at all. But I feel safer with a PS.

 

[teatime]

We are coming to DLR from 21st-28th September. Do we need to make PS reservations or can we just show up/book on the day? We just like to go with the flow and are not fans of booking days and days ahead. We won't know exactly what we are doing on any given day and prefer to just decide on whim.

If I don't book PS's will we not be able to get in anywhere or waiting hours and hours to get a table?

How busy do the restaurants get?

Going with the flow may cause you to wait for seating, and or not get in. its just good sewnce to make some Ps's and if you choose not to use them then your not out anything. but if you do not.... you may be out a good meal standing in line with the other ....... go with the flow folks

 

[LavenderPeach]

If you really, really don't want to make PS ahead of time I would suggest eating slightly earlier than the crowds. So for lunch go right at 11 and for dinner go at 4:30 or 5. You're also going during a time that should be a little less crowded (i think) which will help you. We went to Cafe Orleans last november without a PS and there was no wait at all. We just showed up at 11am and the place was practically empty. More recently we've gone to Carnation Cafe a couple of times and since we knew it's a small place we called ahead but only a couple of days ahead and we got the pick of any time we wanted (this was in May and July). Over spring break we had a group of 10 and made PS only about a week ahead and got the times we wanted for RFC and Wine Country Trattoria. I think one time had to be slightly different than our original plan but it wasn't like we were eating dinner at 3pm or anything so it was fine.

You can call the disney dining line even if you aren't staying onsite and request a PS if you would rather wait until you're there to see what you feel like doing. If there is a place you really want to go and you have a specific time and date you want to go there then you might as well call now just to be sure but we've never had a problem doing it last minute.

 

[funatdisney]

May I add something to LavenderPeach's comment? I would add a bit of caution to arriving a little bit earlier than normal busy dinner times. It is really a minor thing, but can be useful nevertheless. I would be sure that when you show up for dinner a little early that make sure the type of dinner is being offered at that time. For instance, the buffet at Storytellers Cafe is not offered before 5pm or, if you wanted a character experience, that the Disney characters are there at the time you show up.

 

[LavenderPeach]

May I add something to LavenderPeach's comment? I would add a bit of caution to arriving a little bit earlier than normal busy dinner times. It is really a minor thing, but can be useful nevertheless. I would be sure that when you show up for dinner a little early that make sure the type of dinner is being offered at that time. For instance, the buffet at Storytellers Cafe is not offered before 5pm or, if you wanted a character experience, that the Disney characters are there at the time you show up.

That's a good point. I didn't think of that because we don't do the buffet or character meals (we're too cheap! ).

 

[Sherry E]

That's a good point. I didn't think of that because we don't do the buffet or character meals (we're too cheap! ).

And as I said in my earlier post, since the OP is interested in Goofy's for breakfast, I wouldn't try to get there any later than 11:00 a.m. (if they close at noon on that day) - and preferably even before 11:00 - because they are winding up for the morning shift in that hour and while the guests can stay and eat, the characters may be slowly leaving. Conversely, getting there right when they open at 7:00 a.m. (which we have done) means the characters slowly trickle IN to the restaurant over time. So I think arriving between 8:00 - 10:30 a.m. on a day when GK closes at noon is probably a perfect character window of opportunity. If it is on a day when they close the first shift down at 2:00 p.m., then obviously you can arrive a bit later.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Plus you can call Disney Dining to cancel or change your PS up to 45 minutes before your PS time. I keep the Disney Dining phone number in my cell phone and if the time is getting close to our PS and we're busy or just not hungry yet, I call and cancel or reschedule.

 

[funatdisney]

Plus you can call Disney Dining to cancel or change your PS up to 45 minutes before your PS time. I keep the Disney Dining phone number in my cell phone and if the time is getting close to our PS and we're busy or just not hungry yet, I call and cancel or reschedule.

I didn't know about changing or canceling a PS 45 minute before the scheduled PS. That can be very handy, although that might not work out for the Blue Bayou or at other restaurants on very busy days. I do have the Disney Dining phone number in my cell phone. My friends always laugh when they find out. What can I say, they are the first to ask for advice when they go to DLR.

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Thanks for your replies. We have decided to make PS reservations before we go. I like that if we decide to cancel them at the last minute, then that's ok.

I am thinking we'll just make breakfasr & dinner PS's and just go with the flow for lunch, maybe grab something from a counter meal place or snack bar.

What are the best places to eat at? We'll have four days at DLR. So far on my list are;

Blue Bayou - dinner
Goofy's Kitchen - breakfast
Rainforest Cafe - dinner
EPSN Zone - dinner
Hook's Pointe - dinner

Any comments on these places? I need some more breakfast places. What's the best time to book for dinner? Is around 7pm a good time? On one of the days we plan to see the fireworks show at 9.25pm. What's the best time to book dinner on this day and still get time to get a good seat for the fireworks?

 

[LavenderPeach]

I vote for Carnation Cafe for another breakfast.

 

[wvnative]

I vote for Carnation Cafe for another breakfast.

I'll second that. It's our only guaranteed table service on each trip.

And I'm really glad someone answered the "what time to eat at GK" question. Not to hijack this thread, but about how long does it take to walk there from the esplanade? We'll be staying off site (on Harbor - haven't decided which one yet) and we've never been to GK or the DL hotels before.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I didn't know about changing or canceling a PS 45 minute before the scheduled PS. That can be very handy, although that might not work out for the Blue Bayou or at other restaurants on very busy days. I do have the Disney Dining phone number in my cell phone. My friends always laugh when they find out. What can I say, they are the first to ask for advice when they go to DLR.

Yep! I’ve been told this several times by CMs when I call to make a PS. But, our last trip, we had a PS for Minnie’s at the Plaza Inn at 9:10am. I had called to reschedule around 8:00am and rescheduled it to 10:00am. When we arrived at 10:00, the CMs in the front at the Plaza Inn still had us down for our PS at 9:10am and they put us down as a missed PS. They let us in at 10:00am with no wait and no problem, but they didn’t get the memo that we rescheduled.

 

[Sherry E]

I'll second that. It's our only guaranteed table service on each trip.

And I'm really glad someone answered the "what time to eat at GK" question. Not to hijack this thread, but about how long does it take to walk there from the esplanade? We'll be staying off site (on Harbor - haven't decided which one yet) and we've never been to GK or the DL hotels before.

From the Esplanade - like snack dab in the center of it - through DTD and onto the DLH/Goofy's, I would say, takes about 10 minutes at a medium clip. Of course, if you are with people who want to walk slowly to take in the DTD atmosphere, or if there are tons of people clogging up DTD, then it will take longer. But if you just walk straight from the Esplanade to the DLH/GK without stopping, it should be about 10 minutes. Possibly 15 if you are lost in the DLH and trying to get your bearings. But 10 is probably a safe bet.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for your replies. We have decided to make PS reservations before we go. I like that if we decide to cancel them at the last minute, then that's ok.

I am thinking we'll just make breakfasr & dinner PS's and just go with the flow for lunch, maybe grab something from a counter meal place or snack bar.

What are the best places to eat at? We'll have four days at DLR. So far on my list are;

Blue Bayou - dinner
Goofy's Kitchen - breakfast
Rainforest Cafe - dinner
EPSN Zone - dinner
Hook's Pointe - dinner

Any comments on these places? I need some more breakfast places. What's the best time to book for dinner? Is around 7pm a good time? On one of the days we plan to see the fireworks show at 9.25pm. What's the best time to book dinner on this day and still get time to get a good seat for the fireworks?

Well, I totally agree with Goofy's buffet for breakfast (remember, try to get there between 8:00 and 10:30 a.m., if possible, for best chance at lots of characters, but if not, it will still be fun).

I also agree with the previous posters who suggested Carnation Cafe for another breakfast (and that definitely should have a PS).

I love Rain Forest Cafe for lunch or dinner, but a really great time to eat there to get a sense of the restaurant and soak in the atmosphere is for breakfast - hardly anyone goes there in the morning, so that is something to consider. If you eat at RFC for dinner, definitely make a PS!

I love ESPN Zone too, so that's a good choice. Blue Bayou will be a great experience for you (great atmosphere).

You might want to try River Belle Terrace (counter service) for Mickey pancakes.

Storytellers Cafe in GCH is a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner. Wine Country Trattoria in DCA is great.

Minnie & Friends at the Plaza Inn in DL has lots of characters.

I have never done Hook's Pointe.