How long do you allow for TS restaurants?

[Keyser]

It's been long enough since we've been to WDW, that I've lost perspective on how long it takes to eat at most TS restaurants. We're probably average in the length of time it takes us to eat - we're not leisurely eaters, but we (well, at least everyone except me) don't scarf down our food as fast as possible. We're more often than not wishing servers would move faster rather than slower, though. When we eat out here in town, we're commonly around 1 hour, though sometimes up to 1.5 hours.

So, how long do you typically expect to spend at a table service restaurant at WDW? To give an idea, the places we're considering (not all of these) are:
'Ohana, Marrakesh, Biergarten, Coral Reef, Le Cellier, Chefs de France, Cape May Buffet, Boma, Sanaa, Mama Melrose, Tiffins.
Is 1.5 hours a good amount of time to plan for?

Part of the reason I ask is to try to plan out ADRs relative to other activities.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Minimum of 1.5 hours for most TS restaurants...and that's not counting the wait before you're called for your table.

In the past couple of years, we've really cut back on the number of TS reservations we make, mainly due to the waste of valuable park time.

 

[pork]

A lot depends on the restaurant and what you order. Buffets I give about a hour to. Sit downs I go about 1.5 if you order a app meal and dessert and signatures I would guess about 2 hours.

 

[pa. dad]

If you don't order drinks then 10 minutes later order your meal and then have coffee and desert after, I think an hour is plenty of time. If you don't stare at the menu for 15 minutes also and know what you want beforehand, that helps too.
I'm not a leisurely diner. I was a little slower at Coral reef as I liked looking at the fish. I'll eat slowly but everything else I do fast. There is usually a little wait before they seat you and thats plenty of time to know what you want. I'm just used to the pace of a business lunch and I have other things to do besides sitting in a restaurant all day.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with the PP. A buffet you control completely. You pace it yourself and if you are in a hurry you can ask for and settle your check when you sit down.
We plan 1.5 hours for most TS and 2 hours for Signatures.
Enjoy

 

[MichiganScott]

You don't always control the lines at a buffet. One time at Biergarten, the line to get to the food was 10+ minutes each trip up, ugh.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

You don't always control the lines at a buffet. One time at Biergarten, the line to get to the food was 10+ minutes each trip up, ugh.

Experienced this at the BOMA carving table. The chintzy old man carving was going about an ounce at a time.

 

[Anal Annie]

I would say to allow 90 minutes on average for a TS meal. You never know if the seating is running on time or behind and we often take a long time deciding what to order (plus we usually order drinks) and you never know how on the ball your server may be. If we're in a hurry for some reason when we're finally seated we will generally let the server know on their first call to the table.

Don't forget to allow for travel time to resort restaurants like Boma or Sanaa - unless that's where you're staying.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Wow!! Surprised at how long most take! We don't rush through our meals, but don't linger either. We're generally 1 to 1.5hrs max from the time we sit down. That's for everything from CRT to Jiko, and CP to Calif Grill.

I will say we generally do either appetizer or dessert but rarely both. When we do both, and if service is slower at one of the signatures, me MIGHT go as late as 2hrs. But I could count those times on one hand after about 11 yrs of 1-4 trips to WDW per year.

So I would say that 90min should do it.