Le Cellier- how bad is it?

[PlutoLuvr]

Out of curiosity, do the people who get the really long waits even with ADRs go in peak season? We hav never had to wait long and we go in off season.

We've never gone in peak season and never waited until last September.

 

[antmaril]

We had an ADR at Le Cellier for lunch in January. Since it is a slow time of the year, we waited about five minutes.

However, our lunch was just okay, nothing special. The cheese soup is good, but nothing to write home about. The bread was fine, but, again, not special.

I keep reading these rave reviews about Le Cellier and I just don't get it. It was fine, not great.

I also didn't care too much for the ambiance. Our son is 19, so it didn't matter, but I certainly don't think it's something that would appeal to younger kids or toddlers.

To be honest, in all the years we've been going to WDW, I can't say we've ever had a really great meal. Fortunately, we don't have high expectations. You are paying for the fact that you are at Disney. On the other hand, we've never had a bad meal either. We find most of our meals to be mediocre (some are better than others) and that's okay.

Just my two cents, of course.

 

[LizinSTL]

We haven't been yet but will be there in one month. Our first free dining meal on the day we arrive is dinner at LeCellier. Our ADR is for 4:30 so I'm hoping the early time will be helpful with the wait. We will also be there about 15-20 mins early. We have pretty simple tastes and are easily impressed, so as long as the steaks are as good as Applebee's we'll be happy.

Oh this place is MUCH better than applebees! No worries there. Enjoy your meal! And I think you are right, you have an early ADR...less time for the restaurant to get behind.

In our experience, our 6pm-7pm ADRS seemed to feel more rushed than our early or late ADRs. I think that the restaurants fell behind and the servers were rushing to turn tables to catch up.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

We were there over Memorial Day weekend and we did have to wait about 15-20 minutes past our ADR time, but as I said it was a holiday weekend and we had 9 in our party, so that was probably why. On the other hand our food and service were excellent. I highly reccommend LeCellier, but with small kids, I might skip it and go to Biergarten or Garden Grill instead so they will be more entertained and the meal won't take so long.

 

[LizinSTL]

We love the food at Le Cellier (cheese soup!), but the last time we went (Nov 2005), the service was horrible! IT was her last night as a waitress before she went back, so she was all over the place.

I really think that was our problem with service too. The server was finishing up her "tour" at Disney in the next couple days and she was bouncing all over. It was little stuff.... We asked for more water and she'd say "Oh I'll bring that right over" and we'd have to ask again in 15 minutes. We asked for salad dressing on the side on our children's salads...they came drenched in ranch dressing. We rarely send stuff like that back, our kids know that they need to just deal with it but if they were really picky, that would be a problem. Between that and the guy bussing tables who was flirting with another guest, it was hard to call the service adequate.

 

[aubriee]

I went to Le Cellier May '05 and had the very first seating and got in within five minutes, However last Sept during the free dining time we arrived about 20 minutes before our ADR time and had to wait about 50 minutes past our ADR times (yes, over an hour total wait). There were people everywhere outside waiting and a CM with a clipboard outside checking ADRs and telling everyone that no walk ups were being accepted. Our ADR was for around 6:30pm, I think. Anyway it was about time for Illuminations to start when we finished our entrees. My son and D-I-L went outside to watch Illuminations while my ex and I ate our desserts and got theirs to go. When I made the ADR I had assumed we would have gotten out in plenty of time to see Illuminations and would have, if we hadn't had to wait for over an hour to be seated. In May '06 I took my mom back, arrived early again, and was seated within about 10 minutes of our ADR, so I assume the problem in Sept had to be the free dining masses.

 

[Tiffany]

I have read a few posts about the wait at Le Cellier being very long... I am not sure if it is just a select few who have had this experience or everybody. We are going on a Sunday night Sept. 24th. our ADR is at 5:30 with a party of 6. While I would really enjoy eating here I cannot expect my kids to wait an hour to be seated and then sit through an 1.5 hour dinner. Just curious about other peoples experiences... maybe this isn't the place to go with kids. I also don't want to spend 3 hours in a restaurant and miss all of the fun to be had in Epcot. I would rather find this out now and change my ADR rather than getting there and having to leave before we are even seated!!

We have dinner at LeCellier once on each trip and have never had to wait more than five minutes if that past our ADR time.

 

[LoveWDW]

In December, 2005, we got there about a half hour early for our ADR and were told to come back about 10 minutes before. So we did. Then we waited almost an hour before being seated. Our server was "too busy" to be attentive and kept apologizing because he had "paper work" for one thing. So it took a long time to get any attention, a long time before our orders were taken, no refills on even water until we flagged a server down finally and asked, and a long long wait after we were done eating before we could place a dessert order. The long waits and lack of service made me decide to never go there again. I've heard some people complain about the tables being too close, we really didn't mind this too much, since we had such long waits that we got to observe the people sitting around us quite well. Most of the food was superb. My husband ordered pork roast and said it was tough. I had the salmon and it was cooked just the way I like it, and the chef actually came out to make sure I was happy with it, and I was indeed. Nevertheless, there are things I'd rather be doing in WDW than sitting around waiting to eat.

 

[dalt01]

the free dining will indeed put a lot of stress on the upper end cost restaurants. i just dont think you will hear "ok guys we got free food all week lets make sure we dont miss any food courts or turkey leg carts" we avoid such crowd increasing promotions so that is probobly why we have never experienced the waits

 

[LilyWDW]

An ADR only means that you will get seated ahead of any walk ups and as soon as a table tha can fit your group is open. If there are people ahead of you who can fir that table, then they will be seated first. It is not a reservation and does not promise you a seat at that specific time. If they are booked, then you may have a wait while they seat anyone with an earlier time before you.

Larger groups will be harder to sit then others, especially if they would require more then one table.

I would go expecting a wait of some sort.. then if you have no wait it will be a nice surprise!

 

[ardig123]

So it sounds like the wait for LC is longest during "Free Dining"... what is the wait like? Do they give you a buzzer like the Olive garden and you can walk around World showcase till you are buzzed... or can 1 person maybe wait and call the others (by cellphone) when the table is ready OR do we all have to sit and wait in the restaurant the whole time?

 

[deany]

We have a lunch ADR for Oct 2. What do people do while they are waiting? Can you go and browse in the store? Do they give you a pager at all? I suppose I could just sit and relax but that isn't really like me.

 

[notnothin]

I have waited quite a while before with ADRs, once even for the first seating of the day at lunch. It does tend to get a bit ridiculous at times.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I went to Le Cellier May '05 and had the very first seating and got in within five minutes, However last Sept during the free dining time we arrived about 20 minutes before our ADR time and had to wait about 50 minutes past our ADR times (yes, over an hour total wait). There were people everywhere outside waiting and a CM with a clipboard outside checking ADRs and telling everyone that no walk ups were being accepted. Our ADR was for around 6:30pm, I think. Anyway it was about time for Illuminations to start when we finished our entrees. My son and D-I-L went outside to watch Illuminations while my ex and I ate our desserts and got theirs to go. When I made the ADR I had assumed we would have gotten out in plenty of time to see Illuminations and would have, if we hadn't had to wait for over an hour to be seated. In May '06 I took my mom back, arrived early again, and was seated within about 10 minutes of our ADR, so I assume the problem in Sept had to be the free dining masses.

This is why I made our ADR at 4:00pm. We are going during free dining, so between that and really only eating two meals a day, I think we will be fine with eating at 4pm.

Which leads me to a question. The menu says lunch is until 3pm and dinner starts at 4pm. So do they take any ADR's from 3 to 4? I would think they wouldn't . But I would also think that if lunch is running late, and people show up for dinner 10-15 minutes early, than the two kind of run together.......is that how you guys take it?

I'm sure hoping we don't have to wait long.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Oh, and forgot to add.........

we have dined at LC twice before, neither time during free dining. But the one time was Christmas time and it was the CP package so it was VERY busy. I think we waited 20 min. that time, but the first time we ate there we only waited about 5 min.. I can't remember what time that ADR was for, but I'm thinking it was early, it was definately dinner.

Both times our meals were excellent and service was exactly as it should be. Hope my luck isn't running out cause it sounds like the odds are against us.

 

[LeesyUD]

I went there with free dining last year...had an ADR around 5pm and waited 5 minutes

 

[BigDogMom7]

We (a party of 3) were at Le Cellier on July 10, a Monday, with ADRs at 5:50 p.m. We arrived 10 minutes early and were seated within 5 minutes. It was the best meal of our one-week trip. Both the service and the food were excellent.

 

[ardig123]

any ideas of what the wait is like?? Can you walk around the World Showcase or are you stuck waiting in the restaurant? Thanks!

 

[Tiffany]

any ideas of what the wait is like?? Can you walk around the World Showcase or are you stuck waiting in the restaurant? Thanks!

They give you a beeper that they tell you will work within the Canadian pavillion.