Goofy's Kitchen without a reservation?

[bcwife76]

Has anyone gotten a table at Goofy's kitchen without a reservation for dinner - how busy is dinner there?

A little background: we are meeting up with some friends for our Disney trip. The day they get in we are at Universal Studios but I think we'll be leaving there by early evening (it's a Tuesday at the end of August). Our friends have a ressie for dinner at Goofy's for 7pm. I'd like to join them with my family but since we can't guarantee what time we'll be back I didn't want to make a ressie. So I'm wondering how likely it will be for us to get a table for 4 if we do end up making it for 7pm?

 

[mom2rtk]

Your friends should look for a larger reservation that includes the 4 of you. They will not be penalized if they show up with a smaller party size, as long as part of the group shows up. But if you have a separate reservation for 4 and can't make it, you would be charged the no show fee.

 

[bcwife76]

Your friends should look for a larger reservation that includes the 4 of you. They will not be penalized if they show up with a smaller party size, as long as part of the group shows up. But if you have a separate reservation for 4 and can't make it, you would be charged the no show fee.

I hadn't thought of that (making a reservation for the entire group). We would be a party of 9 then altogether - wouldn't the restaurant be a bit irked if 4 people from such a large group didn't show up?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Can your friends make the new reservation for a later time? That way you'll have a safe margin in case you hit traffic. And if you arrive earlier, you'll still be fine.

 

[bcwife76]

Can your friends make the new reservation for a later time? That way you'll have a safe margin in case you hit traffic. And if you arrive earlier, you'll still be fine.

Unfortunately my friend doesn't want to do a ressie any later than 7pm (their current one is actually 6:50). They are driving down from Monterey that day and she thinks the day will already be long enough (they have 3 kids under the age of 9).

 

[Malcon10t]

Generally, if you do a walk up at 7pm, you may have a difficult time getting in before 830. It would be the luck of the draw. Currently, they do have a reservation available the last 2 Tuesdays for a party of 9 at 7pm. If by asking for a reservation of 4, you stand a good chance of not being seated near them. Tonight, the next available seating wouldn't be til 7:55.

 

[bcwife76]

Yeah, good point. Even if we got in without a ressie, doesn't mean we'd be near them So either I get her to change the reservation to 9 people and just try our hardest to get there (means rushing through Universal perhaps, not sure I want to do that) or just forget about it altogether. I mean, it's not imperative that we have dinner with them that night, we are spending the next two days all together in the parks, including other meals My friend and I did talk about meeting up for drinks later that night (as long as our spouses agree to take the kids back to the hotels lol) so might just end up doing that.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

That sounds like a much more relaxed way to spend the evening. And you won't have to worry about Murphy's Law striking on the freeway.

 

[jammyjam25]

I would make the reservation for your entire group and then if your party ends up not being able to make it, so be it. I don't think the restaurant is going to be irked if a smaller party than planned shows up, it just means they have more room for other parties that way. Now, if you made the reservation in the opposite direction (for 5 and then 9 show up unexpectedly), then I think that would irk them a bit as they'd have to figure out where to put a larger party than anticipated.