How important are dining reservations?

[Tine731]

It is my 1st trip to DL (Feb 4-8)and am not sure where we sould eat. Do I need to be make PS for everyday of our trip. I know it is important in WDW but is it needed in DL? I am open to all suggestions and help for planning my trip. Thanks.

 

[Tine731]

bump

 

[honeymom]

I don't think so. Unlike WDW, there aren't really that many good restaurants anyway so you may find yourself doing more counter service and not worrying too much about table service ps's anyway. The one restaurant that seems to need a ps in advance is Blue Bayou, but I don't think it is crazy getting a reservation there like some of the WDW places.

 

[terryX]

RainForest Cafe can get busy. I have never had a problem getting into Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen! Love the food there!

 

[JRDisneyClan]

Agree with Honey on the Blue Bayou & Jazz Kitchen has always been good for us. DLR dining is definitely not like WDW dining, but there are some good places to eat. Where to eat depends on what you like to eat & style/speed of service.

Others you might want to consider for PS are ESPN Zone & House of Blues depending on what events might be taking place that night. ESPN Zone can get to 2 to 3 hours on a football night & House of Blues on concert days might be long also.

 

[hlbtimes2]

We rarely make ps for Disneyland. We might make one for a character meal, but that is about it. We are typically ok with walk up service for most meals. Sometimes we'll call Carnation cafe early in the morning, then go for a late breakfast.

If you want a character meal, especially the princess meal at Ariels, then yes make PS. But you really wont need them for every meal or even every day.

 

[Tine731]

Thanks for the help. I plan to make PS for Napa Rose but every other meal I think we will just wing it.

 

[jemilah]

ask when you make your reservations how busy they look. Disney Dining is great and they will e-mail menus if you are undecied .

 

[Tine731]

ask when you make your reservations how busy they look. Disney Dining is great and they will e-mail menus if you are undecied .

Thanks for the tip. I would love to see the menu's in advance.

 

[jemilah]

I used Chad.A.Adams@disney.com for my ressies , he was so helpful with where to eat and where not to. I did not listen to where not to and had terrible mexican food at DTD. He is the best!

 

[PoohPrincess76]

I am going to DL in a few weeks and made 1 PS ressie for each day. We are going for my DD's 10th birthday, so we wanted it to be special. We are doing lunch at BB on Friday, dinner at Wine Country Trat on Saturday, nothing for Sunday and a character breakfast on Monday just before we head out. I thought it was best for us. But, have gone several times before and never had a problem getting into any place we wanted to eat.

 

[DevilDuckie]

If you (or your kids) absolutely have to eat at a set time, I'd make them, but honestly, we seldom make them for anything except character meals.

 

[mystic_path]

Thanks for the help. I plan to make PS for Napa Rose but every other meal I think we will just wing it.

Honestly I wouldnt wing it if your looking to eat at the Blue Bayou, or charcter meals such as Goofy Kitchen, Ariels Grotto, Storytellers Cafe. The waits are impossible and if not doable. Especially if you arnt willing to wait a long while for a seat.

Granted, you can always go first thing in the morning to these places, put your name down and see if you can get a table. I just heard that at the Blue Bayou you can have resies at like 6:30, but they will still make you wait 45 minutes to get a table as they are soooo slow in seating people. So just a heads up there.

The Rainforest is a really fun place to eat, and I walked up at 7:30 in the evening and had to wait 20 minutes but It wasnt so bad that we needed to make resies WAY in advance.

 

[kandyk]

If there is some place that I have to eat at (BB, Napa Rose etc...), I make PS's, I hate to wait for a long time or to be turned away. It's better to be safe than sorry!!! If you make the reservations in advance and they don't work into your schedule once you get there you can always walk up and change them.

 

[boristhedog]

I saw 5 people turned away from Ariel's as we waited for our PS. Even with PS, we waited for almost 30 minutes. It was nice, but a zoo! So if you have a princess fan, do PS.

 

[disneyochem]

I strongly recommend making PS at certain restaurants. I have found that it is nice to have at least one place reserved a day (even during slow times). I like to 'go with the flow' but sometimes doing that means you don't get into some of the more popular places!

I always make reservations at Goofy's, Rainforest, Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, Storyteller's, Carnation Cafe and Ariel's Grotto. Then, if we decide not to use them, it is easy to cancel.

One tip about Rainforest Cafe I highly recommend is to become a Safari Club Member. For $15, you get priority seating, free appetizers and a discount on the food. In November, we were able to be seated after a 15 minute wait (other people were being told 45 minutes), had a free appetizer and got a 10% discount on food. In addition, RFC sends you a $5 gift card on your birthday so we got $5 off the tab as well!

And, have to tell you, the Silver Patron Margaritas are well worth eating at RFC!

 

[funnygarcia]

I;ll second that recommendation of the Rainforest Safari Club, well worth the intial $15 expense.
You get $10 certificate in the mail within a few weeks of signing up, $5 on your B day, $5 on your "anniversary" of becoming a member.
Sign up for email and they send you coupon deals every few months.
The 10% off meals or items in store PLUS free appetizer, plus priority seating without a reservation. The membership does not expire if you make sure to use it at least once a year.. the more often you go the more deals they send you.

The bummer is that you need to go to a Rainforest Cafe to sign up, can't do it thru the mail or online. No problem if you have one near you but not the greatest if you will only use it at DL.

The DL location is nice, poor service at times but I love the surroundings. The breakfast is reasonable and yummy with large portions. The breakfast pizza is huge , more than enough to share.