Help with Chef Mickey Reservation Decision

[DisneyFamily!]

So I've been waiting for over a month to get a reservation for 8 people on a Saturday night (May 11th) to Chef Mickey's. Tonight a 6:45 p.m. opened up, and I got it. Then a 7:40 opened up and I THOUGHT I switched to that time. But when I checked My Disney Experience, it turns out I have both reservations! (Which is weird, because they are less than an hour apart.) Anyway, I need to drop one very soon, so that someone else can get it.

So I need to choose one and here is my situation..... My family of 7 is flying from PA and our plane is scheduled to land at 4:10 p.m. in Orlando. We will take the Magical Express to the Pop Century resort. My father (the 8th person on the dining reservation) will already be checked in at Pop Century because he is driving instead of flying and will arrive before us. (He will drive our luggage for us to save baggage fees, and will already have that in the room.) When we arrive at the hotel, we can leave right away, if necessary, for Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (a 15 minute drive).

I am nervous that the 6:45 p.m. reservation is cutting it too close. The 7:40 pm reservation gives us more time to get us to Chef Mickey's... but would we be able to enjoy Chef Mickey's in time to get to the 4th floor observation deck to see the fireworks that are scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm? I'm not sure if Chef Mickey's is usually running on time, and how long it usually takes.

So what would you guys do?

 

[SG131]

6:45 would be cutting it too close for me. I’d do the 7:40, but I like to always give myself extra time to get places in WDW, just in case. I know some people cut it a little closer, but i’d be stressed from plane boarding until I got to the contemporary worried I wouldn’t make it. For me it’s not worth worrying.

 

[Nancyg56]

6:45 would be a hard no for my family. I cannot imagine the stress of deplaning, and then worrying that we woudl be caught in traffic etc.

I would keep the later ADR. If you find you have enough time you could always head over early and see if they can seat you sooner, but if you run into delays, you still have that cushion.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I agree- 6:45 is too early for my comfort. It can take time to get off of the plane once it lands (and this also assumes the plane lands on time). DME could take 90 minutes after that. I wouldn’t want to start my vacation stressing about making it to dinner on time. I would take the 7:40 time regardless of fireworks.

 

[buzzrelly]

I think you'd have plenty of time, especially if you will have your own car. If you have to rely on Disney's transportation from Pop to The CR, you might not make it and may want to consider a Minnie Van for all those people.

Also, there is about a 15 minute grace period for ADRs, so as long as you check-in by 7, you should be good.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

In my experience, Chef Mickey’s is usually running a little behind schedule, but not too badly. I’m not sure what it would be like in May, but for our trip in the beginning of December we had to wait maybe 20 minutes past our reservation time to be seated.

It’s a buffet, so depending on how fast the eaters are in your group, you could probably get through all of the character interactions in about 90 minutes. I would hang on to the 7:40 reservation but set up a reservation finder to look for 7:15 PM availability.

It’s a tough call because I’ve definitely had randomly delayed flights before that put us at risk of missing our dinner reservation. So I always try to err on the side of caution and make dinner reservations as late as possible. But if you’re planning on seeing the fireworks, you’ll want to get to your viewing spot early to make sure there’s room for eight people.

I’ve had a lot of luck finding reservations the day before, like I said earlier I would just set up a reservation finder and see what pops up. Good luck!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Both would be a hard no. I book nothing non-refundable on arrival day. Stuff happens. You may arrive hours later than scheduled. It happens. Happened last week to hundreds of flights die to severe rain/thunderstorms.

 

[DisneyFamily!]

Both would be a hard no. I book nothing non-refundable on arrival day. Stuff happens. You may arrive hours later than scheduled. It happens. Happened last week to hundreds of flights die to severe rain/thunderstorms.

Yes, I get what you mean... but I'm definitely willing to risk losing some money (it would be $80, but I wouldn't lose my dining credits, of course) in order to be able to do Chef Mickey's and the fireworks. This is the only night we'd be able to do either, so I'm wiling to take the gamble and possibly lose $80. I just want to chose the one that has the best possibility of us being able to do the restaurant and fireworks, without missing either.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Best case scenario

Plane lands at 4:10
Get to the gate and off the plane 4:30
Arrive resort 5:30-6. You are hitting rush hour here, may be longer
If you are taking a bus to mk, allow one hour. 7ish

Your best bet would be to hire a towncar to pick everyone up. Then get dropped at CR vs your resort

 

[DisneyFamily!]

Best case scenario

Plane lands at 4:10
Get to the gate and off the plane 4:30
Arrive resort 5:30-6. You are hitting rush hour here, may be longer
If you are taking a bus to mk, allow one hour. 7ish

Your best bet would be to hire a towncar to pick everyone up. Then get dropped at CR vs your resort

Perhaps I'll just have my dad meet us at the airport at 4:30. (He drove down separately and will already have our luggage in the hotel.) He can drive us from there to our hotel or directly to Chef Mickey's. Even if the plane was an hour or 90 minutes late, that way we would make the reservation.

Does anyone know... if our plane would be very late and only my dad can make Chef Mickey's....would they seat just him and only charge us $70? Or would they charge $80 since our whole party didn't make it? (My dad would totally be someone who would sit and eat by himself! lol)

 

[Pumbaa_]

As long as one person shows the reservation is fulfilled.

Let us know what you decide and how it plays out.