How important are PS's

[lucyem]

We are going in January. Me, Hubby, 2 1/2 yr old who sometimes eats and sometimes does not, & 19yr old who eats very little. We are driving down so have a car. We also have a fridge and will be making own breakfast & lunch many times. Other then one night we plan to make a PS for dinner we were wondering if it is crazy to just go and see what happens. If we find a long wait then we plan to just move on. Is this crazy? I read posts on this board and so many people seem to be making so many plans for meals, is this really necessary?
Thanks!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Well, in January you might get shut out of something, but not likely. Unless you're looking for one of the Princess breakfasts (and with your party, I'd say probably not), you should be OK without any PSs. However, if there is somplace special that you really want to dine, and you have a pretty good idea of when you want to go there, I'd suggest a PS. Otherwise, in January, you should be fine shooting from the hip.

Enjoy!

 

[danny1649]

When I have PS arrangements than when I don't.I just feel better picking dining venue that we like and being able to eat at time we like.That said in off peak times PS arrangements are not a must do.Have a magical trip.

 

[blanq]

Some WDW restaurants are busy, no matter the season, and walking up at popular dining hours may result in a long wait. We were at WDW this past January (3rd week), and there were long waits, with out a PS, at Boma and Le Cellier. We have been in early December before and witnessed people being told that they could not get a seat at Sci-Fi until after 2:00 (and it was before noon!).

If you have your heart set on a particular restaurant, I would suggest making a PS. An option is to make a PS the day you want one. We have had success with doing that. Eating at off-peak hours also is a strategy. Or just go with the flow and if you learn a restaurant has a long wait, move on to another venue; there are plenty of dining options available!

 

[Taratink]

We went the first week of Feb. last year and we had no ps and we waited a good 45 minutes to an hour. I think that if you are flexible with your times you can book the day ahead or day of with some sucess. We booked a couple of ps for this Feb trip. I was a little disapointed that we didn't book anything ahead of time last visit. I would book a couple of things in advance and you can always cancel. It is not fun to wait with little hungry children like we did last year. Good Luck
Tara

 

[cruise-o-matic]

I would always recommend having a PS for dinner.

Case and point:

A few weeks ago, we were on the bus from CSR to MK around 5:30. I called while on the bus (I have the Disney 800 # programmed into my cell ) and made a PS for the Plaza at 7. When we showed up for our PS, walk ups were being turned away.

 

[alyssa810]

We've never made a PS any earlier than the same day. The only time we ever had to wait a really, really long time was when we went to Ohana on a Saturday night for dinner...I think we waited close to an hour. Other than that, we book any PS's on the same day, and that's always been plenty of time. Of course if you're trying to book a princess breakfast at Cinderella's castle, that's a whole other story!

 

[crisi]

We went once in early Feburary and had really bad luck. It is now referred to as "The Chicken Finger Trip" because everytime we wanted to eat something, we couldn't find someplace that could seat us quickly and ended up eating counter service.

A few things to keep in mind if you are going to try it.

1. Small parties are easier to seat than large parties.
2. Its easier to get seated at 4pm than at 6pm
3. In some places, sit down restaurants are few and far between. Even the World Showcase, restaurant central, it can be quite a walk from one restaurant to the next, which can be overwhelming if you are hungry.
4. If you really want to eat somewhere, make a PS.
5. Popular restaurants should have PSs year round. Some people have gotten incredibly lucky, but don't count on it. This includes all character meals, Boma, Le Cellier, Teppenyaki, several other restaurants in the World Showcase......
6. Know where good counter service is. Nothing worse than being starving at MGM to find all the sit down places booked solid and having no idea where to go for anything other than chicken fingers (WDW does have good chicken fingers, they just get old fast).
7. Start looking for food when you start to get hungry. You may have an hour wait or be turned away from your first several stops.