Do you PS

[Tea Please]

all of your meals? We are leaving on Sunday, and I finally made some PS's yesterday. It actually was at the urging of the concierge staff at BWI. I really did not want to be tied to any sort of schedule this time and thought we would just wing it. But I finally cracked and made 4 PS's and thats it! So tell me, do you or don't you..PS that is?

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

We tend to PS for a few meals each trip. Especially if it is a busy time of year, or there is a particular event or timeframe I specifically want.

For example:

We usually like to do CG once each trip, and like to time it for fireworks viewing. For this I ALWAYS do a PS.

With a party of 5 for specific meals we really wanted to have together last summer, we did a PS.

This coming summer we will be at VWL for 7/3 & 7/4, and we have a PS for Ohana for Thursday, and one at AP on Friday.

They may not always be necessary, but better to have it and not need it than the other way around. You can always change your mind. If you simply don't show, someone else will be seated faster. The whole point of the PS is to have the next available table. These are not "reservations" in the true sense of the word, so nobody is holding a table for you. It certainly is more courteous to call and cancel if you can.

OTOH, for our 7/4 ressie, I had to give a CC that would be billed $10 per person if I don't show and don't cancel 48 hours prior. So for a holiday, you definitely should obtain them.

 

[Minniespal]

Once we have decided the restaurants that we want to eat in I then use the ps calculator to work out when I need to make them. This is due to the fact that on our first trip to WDW we wanted to eat in a restaurant, we did not have a ps and we were turned away. Ever since then I have made ps reservations. There is nothing worse than wanting to eat in a restaurant and you can't.

 

[erikthewise]

I PS about one sitdown meal per day in advance, sometimes a day without a PS.
If I know in advance where we're going to be for a sitdown meal, I try to PS it even on the same day.

Even though you can usually get in without a PS for non-character meals, in my experience you seem to get better treatment if you have a PS. There have been cases when we have been seated very quickly after checkin, ahead of others who were already waiting, and it can only be because we had a PS and they didn't. (Sometimes we barely had a chance to get our bottoms on the bench before we were called!)

Specific Examples:
LTT - When dining alone I had a PS for 5:30 when dinner starts during MNSSHP. I was the first person called to be seated! (I watched a lot of walkups give their names while I was waiting.)
CRT - We had an 11:35 PS for lunch (begins at 11:30) made 60 days out. The waiting room was crowded and I thought it would take a while to get seated. We were the third party called and got a very nice window table!

 

[Pammy_from_WI]

I make out a general meal plan. Then I make the PS ressies prior to the trip, I've seen a lot of folks turned away, so I'd rather have them. I tend to do one PS per day and then that morning if we change our minds and decide to do something else I just call from the resort and cancel/change them around. Never had a problem to date with changing them. Keeping in mind for really popular places, like Cindy's breakfast, this plan wouldn't work.

I don't like saying to myself 60 days out I'll feel like eating steak on Tues night at 5pm, but I know that the sitdown places book up and I can usually find something on the menu that I'm hungry for.

So basically we wing it for breakfast and lunch and then pick on nice place for dinner, character meal, fancy place or something we'd like to try and make the PS before leaving. It usually works out fine.

Pammy

 

[cinmell]

I make PS for CRT, Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare and Princess Storybook in advance. Anything else I will make a PS that day or the day before for where we may want to eat.

 

[BCV23]

For most trips I make PSs for all lunches and dinners as well as a few breakfast PSs. I figure out which park for which day then plan our meals from there. We love the break a PS forces you to take for lunch and the anticipation of a good dinner after an afternoon out of the parks. I love to plan and the PSs are half the fun. If we change our minds, we can always cancel.

 

[LAWalz23]

We usually PS all dinners and a few breakfasts. We just like knowing that we have a particular place set and if we have to cancel then we do.

 

[Scottwdw]

Yes!

Now, remember a PS is NOT a reservation (unless you give them a credit card to hold it). If you don't show up for your PS, the table will go to the next available party. No harm and no foul.

People have been known to call an hour ahead to make a PS so they wouldn't have to wait as a walk up. Or, people call as far in advance as possible. Many a PS is changed or cancelled along the way. In a word, the PS system is very flexible and you shouldn't feel like you have to be there.

Here's what happend to us at the same restaurant on two different trips. On the first trip, we walked into the Liberty Tree Tavern (LTT) for a late dinner and was seated in 45 minutes. No problem, we figured we'd have to wait. The next trip, we made a PS at the LTT (for Thanksgiving Day no less) and was seated within 5 minutes of check in.

So, in my book (make that website), a PS is worth it in the time saved alone. Not to mention having to wait a long time with young children.

 

[KarenMick]

We were in Disney from 5/8 to 5/14. On Saturday, 5/10 we were in MGM, it was soooo hot so we went back to AKL to swim around 4:00. We decided we wanted to head over to MK to catch Spectromagic and Fireworks. At 6:10 when we were practicly ready to walk out our hotel door, I called the front desk to see where I could get a PS at 6:30 that was in between AKL and MK. The CM said Spoodles at the BWI had a 6:30 available. I took that,we jumped in our rental car, got to Spoodles at 6:25. Seated right away (restaurant was full). We were done by 7:30. We got into MK in front of the Castle by 8:15. Spoodles was great too, if you go try the Salmon with the Risotto. Delish!!!

 

[dmonroe]

I try to make a few ps's for each trip. Last year I think we went overboard! I felt like we were always stopping whatever we were doing and going for our ps! Such is life when you're traveling with a party of 9. This year we'll be there for 8 days (with only a party of 4) and I'll probably make 4-5 ps. So far I've got Cape May for a breakfast and 'Ohana for a dinner!