Help for Aussie re. PS at restaraunts

[aussiedaisy]

hi, we are visiting DL in late Oct from Australia. Just wondering if I definately need to call and make priority seating reservations for Goofys Kitchen? I'd rather not call as it means I have to wake up in the middle of the night due to time differences so do you think we would be able to do a walk up or is it safer just too book it to be sure? Also, which restaraunts do you need to make PS's for in DL and DCA? Hope someone can help, thanks

 

[Sherry E]

hi, we are visiting DL in late Oct from Australia. Just wondering if I definately need to call and make priority seating reservations for Goofys Kitchen? I'd rather not call as it means I have to wake up in the middle of the night due to time differences so do you think we would be able to do a walk up or is it safer just too book it to be sure? Also, which restaraunts do you need to make PS's for in DL and DCA? Hope someone can help, thanks

As for Goofy's, no, you don't have to make a PS. What days of the week are you going? October is generally a slower month than mid-summer out here, so the crowds at Goofy's will be less, and if you happen to go on a weekday, it will be fine. If you go on a weekend, I would suggest getting to Goofy's early in the morning, like if you can handle the 7:00 a.m. hour, that would be great because not everyone is awake yet! Worst case scenario is, if you go on a weekend and the crowds waiting to be seated are heavy, you will likely get seated within ten minutes. The wait is not too bad early in the morning. Dinner is a different story and I would avoid that if possible! One restaurant you should DEFINITELY make PS's for is the Carnation Cafe. The line to be seated is always very long, so a PS would be perfect there. And the food is great. Also, make a PS for the Blue Bayou - which is the restaurant that overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It is on the expensive side, but you can always go and just eat appetizers or dessert and the bill will be much cheaper, and you will still get to enjoy the atmosphere. But Blue Bayou is very popular, so get a PS for that. Those two are the ones that jump out at me right away in Disneyland. I hear that Wine Country Trattoria in DCA can get crazy but when I was there, we were seated right away. great food. OH, here is another one - I don't know if you have Rainforest Cafe in Australia, but if not, you should try it once. Great ambience, great setting, hearty portions of food, aquariums and plants all around. It is fun and the food is good. Rainforest Cafe is exteremely popular (it is located in Downtown Disney shopping area) and the wait can be outrageous - like up to an hour sometimes. DEFINITELY make a PS for RFC, no matter what! I think they might have their own special number for that, but Disneyland Dining can give it to you.

I hope I was of some help, and have a great time at DLR and in my great state of California! Welcome welcome welcome! I hope to visit Down Under one day myself!

 

[farmfresh]

Not sure what part of Australia you are from, but you shouldn't have to get up too early! PS calls run till 5pm West coast time - so that's reasonably straightforward for you...say 6 or 7 am will be fine to catch them.

It's a different story if you want reserved seats for fantasmic at a busy time...then you do have to get up early ot make the 8am call.

You can always make the reservations while you arethere too - you just may not get the time you want. So do it first thing and be fliexible on days/times. Bear in mind it might be busy though due to Halloween.

 

[KCSunshine60]

Hi -

We just got back from DL and on our last night there, my son decided he wanted to do Goofy's for breakfast the morning we were leaving. I called to see about getting a PS but they didn't have anything. We ended up just walking up and we were seated within 15 minutes. So, you shouldn't have a problem in October. Call when you first get there and try to make a PS and if not, just walk up and see what they can do.

We made our Blue Bayou PS about a week out and we made a WCT the night before we went for lunch.

Have fun!
KC

 

[Disney_Villain]

We've always had reservations for Goofy's Kitchen - and we do not travel in peak seasons. Upon arrival at 5PM, we've always heard one of 2 responses from cast to non-reservation people:

1. That they weren't seating again until another 1-3 hours later.
2. That they could make reservations for another day.

Please don't lose out on this gem - make the effort to reserve it.

 

[kylieh]

I got up in the middle of the night, twice. I set my alarm for 12.55am and begged DH to do it, but it ended up me

If you decide to I suggest that you jot down all of your info before bed, particularly your mobile number which you probably aren't used to giving it out as an international number. They asked me for...

Name
No of people
Where staying
Contact number - I gave them my mobile number as +61 411 xxx xxx (dropping the 0 from the mobile number)
Any celebration

I had my note pad and pen handy to write down the time. When I rang again 2 days later I'm assuming they picked up all my info from my first booking as they didn't ask for the mobile again.

 

[Sherry E]

You can always make a PS plan to be safe, but in my experiences with Goofy's Kitchen over the last 16 years, there have been times when it is extremely crowded and the wait to eat was long, but if you go early in the morning for breakfast, that seems to be a better time because many hotel guests are either not awake yet OR they are getting ready to use their Magic Morning/Early Entry option, and are headed over to the park. At most, you will wait 10 - 15 minutes to be seated without a PS, and probably not even that. I had never made a PS arrangement for Goofy's at all until last September, and when we got there, there was nobody there! We went back in December - the peak busy season - and did not make a PS at all, and were seated right away. If you wait until 9:00 a.m. or so to eat, there will be much more of a crowd. If you go for dinner, that crowd is entirely different because everyone is up and awake. Also, again, if you go on a weekday, there will be fewer people than on a weekend morning.

To me, there are three reasons to eat at Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast and not dinner:

1. Breakfast/brunch is cheaper than dinner.
2. The breakfast buffet selections are better than the dinner buffet food.
3. The crowds are not as bad.

There are other character meals too, so you may prefer one of those instead. Goofy's is my personal favorite. All this talk about Goofy's by me and you may decide you do not even want to eat there once you arrive! So, back to my original suggestions. IF you choose to eat at Carnation Cafe, Blue Bayou or Rainforest Cafe, DEFINITELY make Priority Seating arrangements. Those are necessary or you could be waiting a long time. You MAY want to make PS for Wine Country Trattoria but it is not always too bad. Those are the ones I am most familiar with and have experiences with. Naples in Downtown Disney is a good Italian restaurant, but when I ate there, it was empty. I don't know what crowds are like at Naples most of the time.