Is it necessary to make restaurant reservantions on advance?

[PrincessHi]

I'm going on my first ever trip to DLP this September (squeeeee) and have been lurking around here picking up tips before I go - so thanks everyone

I've noticed a lot of people talking about making restaurant reservations in advance of their holiday. Because I've never been and don't really know what to expect of everything I thought I would just decide where and when to eat at the time but now I'm worrying that this is a bad idea.. Would I not be able to get a table if I don't book ahead?

 

[aliscrapper]

It really depends on where you want to eat - Cafe Mickey is a definite one that you need to book for as it is so popular - we're going in September and plan to book this one and Inventions Sunday Brunch with the characters in the Disneyland Hotel as this is popular too.

Those are the two I know of that are imperative to book for but hopefully someone will be along soon that can advise of any other restaurants that booking is definitely an advantage.

You are able to make table reservations 60 days in advance.

You can change your bookings once you get there via hotel concierge or go into Town Hall in the Park.

HTH

 

[FiggieFan]

I would definitely try to make reservations before going on your trip. We usually go at a slow time of year and always have reservations. On our last trip, there were a lot of walk ups that were getting turned away. We love the Biergarten in Epcot and they were not even accepting walk-ins.
Some of our favorites are:
Biergarten in EPCOT
50's Prime Time and Sci-Fi is Hollywood Studios
Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom

For our next trip, we are planning on trying new places such as Ohana, Sanaa, Morocco, and Be Our Guest.

I know it can get a bit overwhelming! Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[MissSkellington]

Yes! Unless you are open to chance and having to eat counter sevice your whole stay...

It's hard to plan dining sometimes, as who knows what you'll be in the mood to eat weeks/months from now. But review the menus of the various table service/buffets and try to sort out what you like/don't. Eliminating some of the options will help.

Best to go knowing you have a reservation for a meal you may not want/need...than to wish you had one and then can't get in.

 

[DLPdaft]

I would definitely try to make reservations before going on your trip. We usually go at a slow time of year and always have reservations. On our last trip, there were a lot of walk ups that were getting turned away. We love the Biergarten in Epcot and they were not even accepting walk-ins.
Some of our favorites are:
Biergarten in EPCOT
50's Prime Time and Sci-Fi is Hollywood Studios
Raglan Road in Downtown Disney
Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom

For our next trip, we are planning on trying new places such as Ohana, Sanaa, Morocco, and Be Our Guest.

I know it can get a bit overwhelming! Good luck and have a great trip!

The OP is going to Disneyland Paris I believe.

 

[Lisa_C]

Cafe Mickey is definitely one to book, its in the Village and anyone can eat there as you don't need a valid park ticket.

 

[PrincessHi]

Thank you everyone! I will start studying the menus and make some reservations!

 

[WDWMaggie]

Can you book the reservations online?

 

[AngelDisney]

For DLP, you can only make dining reservations by phone 2 months in advance. For Cafe Mickey character breakfast, you can only book 3 days in advance unless you pay in advance online when purchasing your onsite hotel packages.

Have fun planning!

 

[Iceman93]

Yes! Unless you are open to chance and having to eat counter sevice your whole stay...

I know you put the rolling eyes in there, but this is exactly what happened on my DLP trip and honestly, it was fine. Even though it was a slow time of year, we were never able to get into any of the sit-down restaurants as walk-ups. Granted I'd never plan a DLR or WDW vacation that way, because the meals are such a huge part of the experience, but it turns out there's enough variety and unique counter service items at DLP that we didn't get bored with the choices or feel that we really missed out.

 

[Aussiesonholidays]

We went in may and didn't book Huge mistake we quickly booked once there as we walked around on our first night thinking we be ok 3 hours later and trying every restaurant for a place we got a seat in a restaurant the village
We quickly booked for the next few nights

 

[PrincessHi]

For DLP, you can only make dining reservations by phone 2 months in advance. For Cafe Mickey character breakfast, you can only book 3 days in advance unless you pay in advance online when purchasing your onsite hotel packages.

Have fun planning!

Thanks for the information - plenty of time still to plan then

 

[tracy021083]

We got back yesterday and made 3 reservations before we went - auberge princess lunch, inventions evening meal and cafe mickey evening meal.

I only booked them a few days before we went and so glad we did as people got turned away when we were there. I believe these are the most popular restaurants so def book if you want to eat there.

Just a tip - the parade is on every evening at 7pm until about 7:25 so make any reservations for evening meal after this if you want to see the parade (its amazing!) we booked for 7:45 and it was a perfect time

 

[aliscrapper]

Just a tip - the parade is on every evening at 7pm until about 7:25 so make any reservations for evening meal after this if you want to see the parade (its amazing!) we booked for 7:45 and it was a perfect time

Does anyone know whether this time for the parade is likely to change in September??? Thanks

 

[Lisa_C]

Does anyone know whether this time for the parade is likely to change in September??? Thanks

Last September it went back at 5pm after the summer 7pm time. Park was still open till 11 for Dreams so we managed to eat

 

[aliscrapper]

Last September it went back at 5pm after the summer 7pm time. Park was still open till 11 for Dreams so we managed to eat

Thanks. We usually eat at about 6 pm at home - so that sounds a perfect time to book Cafe Mickey and Cape Cod!

 

[nobby]

If you know where you want to go, then it is worth booking.

We had an experience worth sharing and perhaps a tip. Last time we went we wanted to eat at Restaurant des Stars at lunchtime in WD studios at 1pm. They have two queues - one for bookings, which was empty, and one for those who have not booked, which was massive.

A fairly snotty waitress asked if we had booked, and as we had not, we were asked to join the non-booked queue. The wait time? Around an hour to get to a table. Yet we could see that the place was half empty.

So a quick call to the central booking number for an immediate reservation, and hey presto, a booking was made.

Back to the snotty waitress with a smug "we now have a reservation"...and in we went. No wait.

So, if you are stuck, you can try the booking number from your mobile +33 (0) 1 60 30 40 50.

 

[sky13]

Depends on where you want to eat. If it's somewhere popular like Walt's or Blue Lagoon, then definitely make reservations - while I was there at the end of May, Walt's was fully booked two days in advance and you needed a reservation for the Blue Lagoon as well.

Otherwise - there are a lot of other options, such as the hotel restaurants (we didn't have any problems getting a last minute reservation for Parkside Diner or Hunter's Grill), or counter service...