Have heard of incredibly long wait times dispite having an ADR. How long is too long?

[Tiggerlovinggrandma]

After reading some of the posts last night, some say they have waited 45 minutes or longer for a table even when they had an ADR.

Just wondering what everyone feels is an appropiate amount of time to wait for a table before heading somewhere else? I know ADR's are important but when is it time to just cut your loses? Is it 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 50 minutes, an hr. What do you consider too long at WDW? How about anywhere else?

Thanks for the insight!!

 

[Belle5]

We are somewhat used to it as we travel in a large party (usually eight or nine). Occasionally we are seated within a few minutes but we have waited over an hour for table service at locations like Le Cellier and Kona, . Thirty minutes wait is not a bit unusual for us. Smaller parties, obviously, are seated much more quickly. If I were at WDW for a very short period of time (2 days) I would be much more selfish about the time I am willing to wait. An hour wait can really cut into your park time.

 

[jctwizzer]

Normally, there's only two of us. And 20 minutes past the appt. time is about the most I'd wait for an ADR. After that, I'd go elsewhere; even off property if necessary. And we've done both. We have no problem with counter service food at WDW. But then, eating is not a recreation for us.

 

[Uncleromulus]

The extra long wait time has only happened to us at the California Grill--at least 4 times we've had to wait from 1/2 hour to an hour WITH ADR"s. We waited, but only because it was our first night dinner at WDW and we had nowhere else to go anyway.

 

[sherabby]

We were there last week and never had more than a 5 minute wait on all of our ADR's. We ate at Chef MIckey's, Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill, 1900 Park Fare, and the Whispering Canyon Cafe. All of our dinner reservations were for 5pm and some days when we arrived the restaurants were empty or not very full at all. By the time we left (1 hr or so) they were pretty full with people waiting.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

The earlier your ADR is in the meal period (ie before noon for lunch, before 6pm for dinner), the shorter your wait will be

If you have an ADR for later, you'll be waiting for the earlier diners to finish----------which can take quite a long time at a character meal if people are waiting for characters to come around!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Dec 04 we waited an hour past our ADR time at H&V, there wasnt anywhere else to go, all TS were booked and CS options are gross there so we waited, what a mistake the food and service was horrible.

April 08 we arrived 45 minutes early for our ADR at Ohana, no big deal as we chilled in the bar. The host knew we were early and he said he probably couldnt get us in until our ADR time. Well we waited 45 minutes past that time but man was the food and atmosphere worth it. Plus we had cocktails a the Tambu Lounge so we were feeling good.

Out of all our trips these are the only times we had to wait...usually we are taken in early or at least right on time.

 

[oybolshoi]

The longest wait time I think we ever had was actually one time when we didn't have an ADR and we waited 30 minutes for a table for two at Spoodles on a Thursday night in October.

Oooops, wait a minute ... coffee kicked in ... we did wait about 30 minutes past our ADR time at Narcoossee's last October but we hung out in the bar so it wasn't too annoying. Narcoossee's is a fairly small restaurant and there was a wedding party there so I assume that slowed things down for everyone else.

But like I said, no biggie. We usually wait because dinner is something we always plan and it's how we like to wind down the day. I'm normally a pretty impatient person, but my husband knows that all he has to do is find me a tasty drink and I can attain inner peace.

 

[Harambe]

The extra long wait time has only happened to us at the California Grill--at least 4 times we've had to wait from 1/2 hour to an hour WITH ADR"s. We waited, but only because it was our first night dinner at WDW and we had nowhere else to go anyway.

I think the wait time is proportionate to the restaurant (popular spots) and meal time (peak dinner times, say).

I make ADRs for early dinners and at spots that aren't on the top of everyone's lists (tho we love them!). So I'm cruising into my 5pm ADR at Cape May Buffet, but waiting a bit at my 6:30pm ADR at Sci Fi.

 

[lilyv]

I think the wait time is proportionate to the restaurant (popular spots) and meal time (peak dinner times, say).

I make ADRs for early dinners and at spots that aren't on the top of everyone's lists (tho we love them!). So I'm cruising into my 5pm ADR at Cape May Buffet, but waiting a bit at my 6:30pm ADR at Sci Fi.

Good tip! I was glad to hear you like Cape May Cafe! DD is really looking forward to our meal there, she's very fond of both seafood and ribs.

 

[all4disney98]

Our longest wait was over an hour for an ADR as Chef Mickey's. I don't like to push the CMs because I know they can't help the wait time but after an hour, I went up to the person at the desk and asked where we were in line for a table. She apologized and said that the CM who helped us earlier made a mistake and he "lost" us and plugged in the wrong number for our beeper thing.

We were seated immediately after that.

 

[Harambe]

Good tip! I was glad to hear you like Cape May Cafe! DD is really looking forward to our meal there, she's very fond of both seafood and ribs.

Oh, the Oreo Bon-bons are the best thing there!! So yummy!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I don't wait - anywhere - for more than 20 minutes after my time. IMHO, the food at Disney doesn't deserve the wait, and we'd rather be enjoying the parks.

This trip we'll be a little more tolerant of waits for our character meals, but only because it would be a disaster to let the kids know we're dining with Pooh or Mickey or whoever, and then leave.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Our longest wait was over an hour for an ADR as Chef Mickey's. I don't like to push the CMs because I know they can't help the wait time but after an hour, I went up to the person at the desk and asked where we were in line for a table. She apologized and said that the CM who helped us earlier made a mistake and he "lost" us and plugged in the wrong number for our beeper thing.

We were seated immediately after that.

I'll wait for awhile but always check after 30 minutes just for this reason. My wait time limit depends on the restaurant. I always try to book early ADR's so we can be seated and eating before the crowds hit.
We are fine with CS if that's what we end up having to do.

 

[Herasmus B. Dragon]

We made the mistake our first night in WDW ever to go to our ADR @ Chef Mickey's 1 hour early. We didn't know how much time to alot for travel from our resort, to downtown disney via boat, and then to the Contempary via bus.

We just got there quicker than we expected. Anyway, we waited for about 45 minutes before they sat us, and 15 minutes earlier than our original ADR! So, it was our fault, but it wasn't too bad.

The only other problem we had was O'Hana's, and again it was our fault! We left the Magic Kingdom, and chose to go to the Poly via ferry. Not the big one, but the little 15 person one. Anyway, we felt it would be fun and quick. Not so much. It made another stop first, and took almost 25 mintues! Then we had to find our way through the Poly to O'Hanas. We were 15 minutes late for our ADR and then it took O'Hana's another hour to seat us. The kids were starving and acting very much like the 3 and 4 year olds they were (lot's of whining and restlessness).

Regardless, the wait was worth it as we got a table by the window and saw a magical view of Wishes. It just so happpened to be better than if we were to have been seated at our regular time.

Every other ADR was no more than a 10 minute wait...and a few just walk right in.

Oh, I did forget Tusker House! That was a fiasco. We were there for breakfast and had ADR's for 10:15. We checked in at 9:50 and around 11:00 we noticed the lunch crowd was arriving. After finally asking what the deal was we discovered that our beeper was never activated and that we were not properly checked in. We had been considered a No Show. The lady who checked us in was there on her first day after training or something and was very embarrassed.

Anyway they made it right by not billing the meal to our dining plan, and kept the characters around my children constantly. We only had 30 minutes before the breakfast buffett was up, but they said anything we wanted after it was up would be prepared for us. That wasn't necessary as we were fine with 30 minutes! We also received a complimentary photo package. Again, we are a pretty easy going family, so it wasn't that big of deal. The funniest part was the grouchy faces in the home pictures we took of each other. You could tell which ones were taken when we first arrived and which ones were after waiting an hour and seeing people check in after us and then get seated!

 

[Missin'Disney]

Our longest waits have been:

1st place: Coral Reef: 1+ hrs (lost track after about an hour), eventually were seated, and boy was that meal a let-down....wouldn't have waited 5 minutes if I knew how crummy the meal would be.
2nd place: Askerhus Princess breakfast: about an hour/ meal worth it!
3rd place: CRT: about a half-hour for b'fast / meal worth it!
4th place: Chef Mickey's b'fast: almost half-hour / kinda worth it !

I should mention that all but CM's were during FD 2 yrs. ago, so restaurant capacity was probably at a peak!

 

[acourtwdw]

We try for the first time slot of the day or the last to help lessen our wait times. I know that doesn't work for everyone, esp. those with small kids. The longest wait in recent memory was Feb 08 at Tutto, It was about 30 min. after we had checked in.

 

[shyjade]

One thing to keep in mind is that an ADR is not the same thing as a dining reservation in other restaurants. As I was reminded again this morning when I made one, they will seat us "when a table our size becomes available" or something along to that effect. In other words, there may be several open tables for a party of 2 or 8, but we will be sat when a table for 4 opens up.

The ADR's do not guarantee being sat at a certain time, but give us the opportunity to be seated when an appropriate table becomes available. I know it sucks for those of us who are tired, hot, hungry or traveling with kids. But that's Disney's (not so great) system.

 

[divawife]

April 2008-part of spring break time

Chef Mickey ADR 8:30 pm- seated within 10 minutes
Crystal Palace ADR 9:20 am- wait around 20 minutes
CRT lunch ADR 2:45 pm - wait around 25 minutes -we were seated in the upper area as they got the lower area ready for dinner. Lots of character interaction though.
Poly Lilo & Stitch Breakfast ADR 9:20 am- By far the longest by around 40 -45 minutes
Norway Princess Lunch ADR 11:20 am- the earliest lunch they had- people were still eating breakfast in the main hall- we were in the side area. Had to wait about 20 minutes
Tusker House lunch-No ADR ever made, walked up at around 10 :00 am and asked if they had anything open for lunch. They gave us a 2:00 time, we went back and didn't wait not one minute! LOL

 

[Deb & Bill]

On our first trip to WDW, we took our two neices with us, so we were a party of five. We had breakfast reservations for Crystal Palace at about 10:00. I don't think we were seated until about 11:30 because it was raining so hard outside, no one wanted to leave the restaurant. The porch was jammed full of people waiting on the Priority Seating time.