We've done 5:00 p.m. more than once. It is great. In our experience, the restaurant has not filled up yet most times, so the characters will spend more time at your table. We had Pluto come by to see us 3 times one visit because he was waiting for more tables to be filled. By the time we left, the place was packed. We've never had a problem with the characters not all being there that early.