How long do you wait for ADRs?

Jenny

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 13, 2000
Messages
711
I made one ADR for the Cape May Cafe character breakfast last sat. 11/5 & it was so frustrating to wait for our seating.

I had 2 starving kids, ages 1 & 3, 2 grandparents, my impatient DH & myself - a party of 6. I got in a long line to check in around 9:00 for our 9:10 ADR. I asked the hostess who checked us in at 9:07 if we'd be seated at or near our time & she said YES. well, 20 min. later around 9:30, we were seated. It was frustrating b/c our wait was 20 min. when the stand-by wait was 30 min. or less. There were plenty of open tables (although a lot of them were filled w/ dirty plates - maybe they were understaffed????) We inquired about our table 2 times during the 20 min. wait & were told it was being cleared & that we were next while others walked right in.

i was really surprised by this wait....is that normal? how long have you waited? i had some ADRs in jan. 05, arrived early & was seated either early, on time or 5-10 min. past (with the exception of the Coral Reef...they lost my slip & seated the wrong family - we waited at least 20 min. for that one.)
 
I have waited much longer then 20 minutes when I have had ADR, It wasnt a big deal to me, sorry it was for you :confused3
 
I've had 20 minutes waits in April (spring break) and didn't think that the wait was that bad. I've also had over 30 minute waits and those did bother me a bit. But I don't know, anything 20 minutes or less is ok with me; I'm pretty easy.
 
It really varies. The longest we have waited was 30 - 40 minutes at LeCellier in Epcot. Really annoying! Most times it works quite well with minimal wait.
 

When we make an ADR for a character breakfast, we always ask for the earliest time available. Yes, it's a pain to get up for a 7:30 or 7:45 a.m. reservation, but at least at Cape May we've never had to wait.

We've never really had a long wait for any ADR... maybe 10 or 15 minutes tops. But we usually go during value season and try to plan meals at off-peak times. If nothing else, ADRs are a good lesson in patience sometimes. ;)
 
I have waited 45 min. for Ohana before. Not a big deal unless you have hungry & cranky kids with you. Then I can imagine it would be more troublesome. We'll see how that goes when we do WDW next month with our 3 & 5 yo Grandsons for the first time!
 
Longest wait we ever had was @Le Cellier for dinner (more than 30 min.) It was annoying but didn't mind once we were seated and had that yummy bread. It's much harder when you have hungry little ones, though.
 
Leota, I think that's a good point...depends on who you're waiting with....small children & impatient adults can make every minute seem painful. actually for me, it was more the adults than the children. i had 3 hungry adults staring at me b/c it was my idea to eat there. at the beach club, they had a TV on w/ Disney cartoons for the kids, which really did help.

based on these posts, I guess a 20 min. wait isn't that bad then. I'll consider myself lucky.....
 
Had no wait at 8:15 for CP, 5PM for Contemporary, Chef Mickey, San Angel, LTT. Waited 5 minutes for 4:45 for CRT. Sorry for your inconvenience :o(
 
Jenny said:
so book at the earliest times or at the very last available?

YES! We never, ever wait for lunch or dinner b/c our ADRs are always for opening time. Dinner is another story, but we try not to be starving to bits, just in case we do get a little wait..... Nice benefit for 1st seating w/ character meals is that the characters are right there, right away, and still "fresh" -- eager to interact and not burned out by dealing with a big crowd....
 
The longest wait we ever had was this past Sept. At Le Cellier we waited about an hour past our ADR time. They had a CM standing outside with a clipboard checking to make sure that anyone who even walked toward that door had an ADR. All walkups were being turned away and she was telling everyone they were running about 45 minutes behind. At 'Ohannas we waited about 45 minutes past our ADR time. We had checked several times at both to see how much longer it would be and usually got the standard 'it shouldn't be much longer' answer.
 
Most times we are seated immediately--but then we usually eat dinner at 6:00, so it isn't too crowded then. Our longest waits have always been on our "first night" dinners, on Saturday nites at 8:00. We've waited an hour at California Grill, 40 minutes at Concourse, and about 20 minutes at Narcoossee's.
 
We are generally seated within 10 minutes of our time at the latest. Most of the time we are seated before or exactly at our reserved time.
 
Uncleromulus said:
Most times we are seated immediately--but then we usually eat dinner at 6:00, so it isn't too crowded then. Our longest waits have always been on our "first night" dinners, on Saturday nites at 8:00. We've waited an hour at California Grill, 40 minutes at Concourse, and about 20 minutes at Narcoossee's.


I was able to get an 8:10 adr at CG on Jan 7th, with Wishes at 10PM. With the marathon, do you think that the wait will be very long?
 
We always try to check in 30 - 15 min. prior to ADR's, especially if we're hungry.LOL

The longest we've ever waited was @ Chef Mickey's for dinner the Thurs before Pres. Day. Party of 3 had a 7:00 PS and didn't get seated until 8:30 p.m. We would have left, but were starving & too tired to find a meal elsewhere. Hope this isn't a trend, worried about a long wait in December.

At H&V w/Fant. pkg we always try to get an early slot (4:00 p.m.); but have waited up to 45 min (for table for 4).
 
40 minutes past our time for the Ohana character breakfast. We'd asked for last seating thinking we'd get something done that morning, and I had my "sleep in" mother in law with me. Never again! It was horrible. We, too, were a party of six. And we checked in 20 minutes early.

Thirty minutes past our time for a 6:00 reservation at Boma - also horrible because we were starving.

Didn't wait more than a few minutes this last trip, however.
 


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