Getting to ADR early/on time

[John L Reed III]

Does anyone have any insight into getting to your reservation early? I have a 7:55 at Cape May Cafe and wanted to make Illuminations at 9. I have a scout for an earlier time, but that might not work out.

I'm wondering about getting to any of my reservations early. If I get there early will I be seated sooner? How early do you think I could be to get seated right away?

 

[Alesia]

Does anyone have any insight into getting to your reservation early? I have a 7:55 at Cape May Cafe and wanted to make Illuminations at 9. I have a scout for an earlier time, but that might not work out.

I'm wondering about getting to any of my reservations early.
1. If I get there early will I be seated sooner?
2. How early do you think I could be to get seated right away?

1. Maybe, maybe not. Many times you can't even check in until 15 minutes before your ADR. You should always plan on being seated 15 to 30 minutes after your ADR time.
2. That's extremely unlikely at any time.

The chances of being on time for IllumiNations are very slim. It would be tight (but probably doable) if your ADR was an hour earlier.

 

[fla4fun]

It will totally depend on how busy the restaurant is. I have occasionally tried to check in early for an ADR. Sometimes I was able to get in early, sometimes not. One thing I have observed is that they take into account the time of your ADR over the time you check in, so that people with earlier ADR times will be seated before you even if you check in before they do, especially if the restaurant is busy. It never hurts to try, but I would go with the mind set that it probably won't happen so you won't be disappointed. I hope you are able to get an earlier reservation time so it won't be an issue.

 

[John L Reed III]

So it seems like it is best to be late... if you get there late you'll jump in front of the people who are on time provided your ADR is before them.

 

[Alesia]

So it seems like it is best to be late... if you get there late you'll jump in front of the people who are on time provided your ADR is before them.

No, it's best to be on time.

If you're late, you lose your spot and they squeeze you in when they can. Or if you're too late, you get counted as a no-show and you don't get seated at all.

 

[Alesia]

.

 

[figment_jii]

So it seems like it is best to be late... if you get there late you'll jump in front of the people who are on time provided your ADR is before them.

An ADR is not really a traditional reservation where the restaurant will try to have a table ready for you at the time of your ADR. It just means you have priority over the guests that are walk-ups. You'll get the next available table for your party size after the other guests with ADRs that checked-in ahead of you have been seated. They ask that you check-in early (it used to be 15 minutes) so that there is a good chance you'd be seated around your ADR time, but it's possible that you'll be seated early, on time, or after your ADR. There is really no way to know which one it will be until you get there.

 

[Lucius Best]

I'm wondering about getting to any of my reservations early. If I get there early will I be seated sooner? How early do you think I could be to get seated right away?

We have had great success getting to ADRs early (30 minutes or more) and being seated early. But I imagine it depends totally on the restaurant and how crowded it is. We usually go during lower crowd periods, and often eat on the early side, when restaurants are less busy.

 

[angierae]

We arrived about 45 minutes early for our reservation at Chefs de France the week before easter in 2012. We just happened to make our way over there, and we were hungry, so we figured it was worth asking if they could get us in. After about a ten minute wait, they seated us.

 

[Hopefully]

It is not likely. Cape May is usually very busy and there is often a wait to be seated past your ADR time. If they had availablity earlier to seat you, you could book it

 

[John L Reed III]

The advice is all over the place for this one. We'll try getting there 15 minutes early to at least try to get our ADR time, and since its buffet we wouldn't need a whole hour. FWIW, it would be midweek, mid November.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't think the advice is really been all over the place. People have been telling you their experience, which have ranged from having success at checking in early to being seated after their ADR times. If you dine enough at WDW, you'll experience all of the possible outcomes. I've tried to check in early (1 hour to 30 minutes) and been told to come back 15 minutes before my ADR time. I've also successfully checked in early and been seated right away, been seated at my ADR time, and been seated after my ADR time. It varies by restaurant, by day, etc. You can try checking in early and it might work out great and it might not, you just have to be prepared for the worse case scenario (which would be being seated after your ADR time).

 

[Lucius Best]

It varies by restaurant, by day, etc. You can try checking in early and it might work out great and it might not, you just have to be prepared for the worse case scenario (which would be being seated after your ADR time).

Agreed. Like many things, "it depends". Personally, I would not count on making it to Illuminations from a 7:55pm ADR outside the park. When we have dined at Epcot, we would not book an ADR after 7:30pm. We would usually shoot for 7 or 7:15pm, never had a problem making it to Illuminations although had some close calls.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I wouldn't count on them letting you in early, but I will say that we have shown up to reservations as much as 30 minutes early, and have been seated every time. Perhaps we have just gotten lucky.

 

[TexasTSL]

We just got back. We got to our Beaches and Cream reservation about 25 minutes early, and we were advised that we would not be seated until our reservation time. We ended up seated five minutes after that time, so we waited about 30 minutes. All of the other restaurants we went to, we were there a few minutes early or at the exact time of our ADR, and we were seated right at our ADR time. Of course, this is slower season so maybe that was why.

 

[purple figment]

The advice is all over the place for this one.

What you are getting is everyone's experiences with restaurants at Disney which is different from advice. There is no actual advice because there is no single answer. We've been to many restaurants in DW and it has been the entire range of being seated early to on time to late to extremely late.

We'll try getting there 15 minutes early to at least try to get our ADR time, and since its buffet we wouldn't need a whole hour. FWIW, it would be midweek, mid November.

Disney does recommend that you arrive 10-15 minutes before your reservation time.

Be sure to allow time to find a good spot around Showcase Lagoon to see IllumiNations. Look for a spot where you can see the center of the lagoon without any islands or trees obstructing your view and avoid any place where the wind is blowing into your face.

 

[jimmytammy]

If Illuminations is more important than where or what you eat, I would go for a WS restaurant located near a spot you want to see the show from. Cape May can be really busy and I feel like you would be rushing a pricey meal.

 

[richmo]

Ignoring the issue of whether getting to Cape May early will get you seated early, you're really pushing it time-wise. If your priority is getting to Illuminations, even if you get seated at Cape May a little early, it is going to be a rushed meal, then a rush-walk to Epcot. To me it just doesn't seem worth it. I'd hate to rush what should be a nice meal.

 

[John L Reed III]

If Illuminations is more important than where or what you eat, I would go for a WS restaurant located near a spot you want to see the show from. Cape May can be really busy and I feel like you would be rushing a pricey meal.

The meal is more important. We're on a dining plan. This was the only time available our whole trip so I'd like to keep it. Hopefully something will open up earlier.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

In our experience, Cape May is one of the places that is not usually overly crowded and is usually someplace we can get seated early...usually.

I would not attempt to eat there, however, so close to the Illuminations time if Illuminations was important to me...by the time you got out of the restaurant, out of the Beach Club and walked thru the International Gateway into Epcot and found someplace to view Illuminations, it would likely be over.

Keep trying for that earlier ADR and if not possible, show up early and ask if you can be seated early...can't hurt to ask. But I would not count on being able to enjoy my food and make it to Illuminations with that time frame.