How long of a wait usually before you get seated?

[Albertan mom]

I am sure this varies with each restaurant.
But generally, how long of wait do you have from the time you check in until you get seated?

Any places you can name that are usually very quick, or usually very slow?

Just trying to finish my ADRs! thanks!

 

[bicker]

Sorry, but it really does vary -- greatly -- by restaurant. There are some restaurants, like the Grand Floridian Cafe, where we sometimes are seated immediately and never wait more than five or ten minutes, and some restaurants like Le Cellier, where we've waited 45 minutes past our reservation time.

Since there are so many restaurants, why don't you post your intentions, and we can let you know what our experiences with seating time has been at those restaurants?

 

[DaddyBeast]

Times, Dates, Food Preferences, all will factor in. However, bicker is right about the GF Cafe, especially at odd times. Be prepared though, because getting seated does not mean getting your food at GFC, and it can be a long wait.

I think you original question was about having and ADR and then needing to wait a long time after going to the podium. Again, Times and Dates will matter, but I'll try to help a little. Always check in before your time, otherwise, you may get shuffled back.

Teppanyaki comes to mind first. They are very efficient and have always seated us before our ADR time. V&A's seats you immediately upon arrival.

At CRT, you wait in line for a pic with Cindy, so the wait isn't as bad. Plus, they ring the bells and announce to the lords and ladies of the castle that they are seating your "Royal" family!

California Grill will NOT let you check in early for a later time. They actually told us to wait and come back close to our ADR to check in!

Whispering Canyon can get overbooked and take a while, as can 50's Prime Time Cafe. Mama Melrose is really long when the park is full. Chef Mickey's is pretty bad unless you have an early time (you need to wait in line just to check in - "excuse me, I have an ADR and I just want to check in" --- "so do all of these other people").

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I would also say that as a general rule, if you are eating at a popular place (any character meal), if your ADR is early you're more likely to be seated closer to your scheduled time. If you have a late meal time, you are more likely to wait longer....but the opposite can be true if the place isn't crowded (Whispering Canyon for a late lunch). It can be pretty annoying to have to wait significantly past your ADR time. I think this is an area where Disney quality has gone downhill recently, and they need to do better. It's no fun waiting that long with hungry, tired kids. It's a major aggravation.

 

[danny1649]

We ever have had trouble getting seated near our ADR time is RFC AK and DTD.Two times after a hour wait past are ADR time we gave up and did CS.Yes we did arrive 15 mintes before our ADR to check in and this 15 minutes is not part of the hour wait.

 

[Albertan mom]

Thanks
Our places are:

Crystal Palace 8:05
Donalds Breakfast 8:00
I think these ones should seat us right away, since they are early, or right at rest. opening right?

WCC 12:30
Sci-Fi 12:30
50s Prime Time 12:15
Le Cellier 1:10
I am concerned about Le Cellier. It is already later then we would like, and if we have to wait another 1/2 hour, we could have very hungry cranky people!)

Hollywood and Vine F!Dpkg 5:50
Cinderellas 5:45
The Plaza Restaurant 5:40
Biergarten 6:30
Chef Mickeys 5:30
Planet Hollywood 5:15
Sci-Fi 8:20 (still debating this one!)

thanks for any input on these!

 

[Angel16]

I agree with everything that has been said here so far. It also depends on what is going on in WDW during your visit. Last year we were there for two weeks. It was during Food and Wine Fest., however that was not the problem for dining. The problem was it was during "Free Dining". The parks were great, hardly any waits for lines. Everyone was eating. When we did go to eat we ALWAY had a wait. The longest was a Thursday evening at 5:30 PM at Boma (which was our home resort). The ADR had been book by concierge earlier in the week. We waited 1 1/2 hour to be seated, just as we were about to give up they called our names. Free Dinning really changes the way the restaurants are booked and how crowded they are. One really sad thing was the amount of people who are not on these boards and go to WDW for a family trip thinking they can get into a table service restaurant as a walk-in. So many people were being turned away. It was hard to watch the disappoitment on people's faces.