EPCOT CP Dinner Reservations?

[tss2]

My family is going to WDW in December and we want to do all the holiday activities. In EPCOT we want to see the CP and do the dinner package with it. We are going the second week in December and are 2 adults and 8 and 10 year old. Here's my questions:

1. How soon can I make my dinner reservations?

2. We checked out the menus and we think France sounds like the best place for us to eat. Do you order off the regular menu and what do you get to choose from? appetizer + Main + dessert and drink? Kids main + dessert + drink?

3. I was thinking of doing the 5pm show and a 6:30 dinner reservation. Since france isn't that far from the show I thought that was ok? Is it better to go to a later show instead and have early dinner?

Any other helpful advice on the CP in EPCOT would be great! Thanks!

 

[CarolA]

1. Dates have not been released yet. I made mine in Oct/Nov last year, no problem.
2. Yes, last year you could order anything. I don't think beverages are included.
3. When you tell the CM the show you want they will give you dining times. However, they won't book a 5 pm dinner and a 6:30 show. You need to be there at LEAST 30 minutes in advance and dinner at France can easily take more than an hour.

 

[CarolA]

1. Dates have not been released yet. I made mine in Oct/Nov last year, no problem.
2. Yes, last year you could order anything. I don't think beverages are included.
3. When you tell the CM the show you want they will give you dining times. However, they won't book a 5 pm dinner and a 6:30 show. You need to be there at LEAST 30 minutes in advance and dinner at France can easily take more than an hour.

 

[Simba's Mom]

What about dinner after the show? Say, 5:00 show, then 6:45 dinner? Also, you mentioned dates. Is that just starting and ending dates? I thought the CP was every night and that the CP package was also offered every night. Is this correct?

 

[aurora19]

When are you going?

The CP dinner was offered every night last season except the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving (I believe one night was a press night)

Yes, you can do dinner after the early show BUT you do lose some of the Candlelight effect. The 5 pm show isstill during daylight - and IMHO the show really shines at night. Also - early in the season (before 12/20) the 5 pm show only occured on Saturday nights (when there were 3 shows a night) - the rest of the time there were only 2.

The dinner packages were available in October about a month earlier than the narrators were released.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks for that info about the 5:00 show only being on Saturday early in the season. Since I'm going 12/6-12/12 (and getting in too late on 12/6), I'll have to change my plans. I was already hoping to do the 5:00 show on 12/8. That's what I get for planning so early! But (hopefully) I'm not the only one who makes plans months ahead.

 

[tss2]

Thanks for all the info! It sure helps to hear from someone who has done this before. I never thought about the 5pm show still being light outside and losing some of the effect. Not sure which day of the week we will go, but looks like I have several months to decide. Already have our MVMCP tickets and dinner reservations was hoping to get these ones done, too.

Happy Holidays!

 

[DebbieB]

Last year I believe they had the 5:00pm show everynight. The year before they cancelled some of the 5:00 shows because of low attendance after 9/11.

We like to take our dinner leftovers back to our room at BWV, so we see the 6:45 show and have dinner at 8:00 at LeCellier.