PS in EARLY Dec? Needed or No?

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi all,

I will be in WDW from Dec 2-5th (late...probably not flying home till 8- 8:30).

I will be in Orlando on Dec 1st so the whole day on the 2cnd will be spent at a park as well

I am considering not making any PS, as my boyfriend hates having things planned out. I , on the other hand, am a planning freak. But since I had all our meals planned last time, I want to try going with no PS this time. Seems only fair , as he dealt with my having every meal planned out last time...

but now I'm a little worried....

I have never been to WDW at any time with out PS and I think it sounds a little scary...

Right now, I know that on Thursday Dec 2, we want to go to MK and try to do MVMCP that night. I think I read that MVMCP only takes place on Thurs/Fri & Sun nights. Thus , Thursday and Friday are our only choices, since we'll be leaving Sunday night. Is this true, does anyone know? It seems weird that they would not have it on Sat. nights but who knows...

Anyway, the only PS I plan on making is for Thursday night, dinner at CRT, since I know people are often turned away.

But aside from that, no PS.

Is this a really big mistake? We kind of know we want to do a character meal or two during our stay (we can eat at odd times) and we want to eat at Marrakesh and Biergarten again. We'd like to try LTT for lunch the day we do MVMCP if characters are at it. Otherwise, we'll find a different character meal to go to.

How hard will it be to get into these places without a PS during odd dining times during the first weekend of Dec?

The other option, I guess is making the PS and canceling them if we decide not to go. I don't like the idea of this however, if I can help it. It's not fair to make a PS and cancel last minute as someone else may have really wanted it.

I'm sure we'll make the one PS for the dinner at the castle but thats it.

Also...one more question...is LTT's only character meal the dinner? I seem to recall lunch there having characters too, but it's been a while since I have been.

Anyone know when MVMCP tickets go on sale? Will that first weekend sell out in about 10 minutes after they do?

Thanks!
Sheri

 

[Grumpy92]

I agree on Cindy's. As for the others you have listed you can easily walk up to them and get in. When you get there take a look at the crowds in the park and you can use that as a gage as to whether you want to make a PS then. But since these are not among the most popular I think you will be ok. LTT does get busy for lunch but if you go early when they open you wont have a problem. They do not have the characaters at lunch though.

 

[crisi]

Keep in mind that at "slow" times of years Disney may not completely staff the restaurant. We waited in October for a table at the Biergarten at 2:30 in the afternoon - to be ushered into a nearly empty restaurant....they simply didn't have it staffed.

(But both Biergarten and Marrakesh are pretty easy to walk into).

Lunch character meals aren't overly common - and all character meals do tend to fill and can be difficult to walk into. I'd make PSs for those.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

How far in advance should I make the PS?

Which ones can not be canceled at a moments notice without losing a deposit?

 

[disney queen]

there are no characters at LTT at lunch. and you can make PS 90 days out. http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php look at this to determine when to call. happy eating!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We were there this past year, early December and were so glad we had PS's. Several places they were taking no walk-ups or having two hour waits. MVMCP and the CP add crowds. We did MVMCP on a Tuesday this year. We also planned dinner at LTT in conjunction with this. A 5:30- 6:00 Ps is perfect. It puts you finishing up just as the party starts. These PS's open up much earlier than 90 days out, but you have to have tickets to MVMCP to get them. Both opened early Summer I think. Character are only at dinner at LTT.


Jordan's mom

 

[Mary Ellen]

With the CP packages taking up a LOT of Epcot dinner PS, you may want to consider having PS for the dinners there.

It didn't used to be a problem that time of year, but we learned the HARD way in early Dec '99. Since then we do make PS for Epcot dinners.

 

[chamonix]

I also hate making ps too much in advance. We have been two years that same week, and here's what we did:
we made one or two ps, but no more. We just tried to make ps in the morning for the evening, or perhaps a day or two ahead once we were there. For example, if we wanted to eat at Crystal Palace for dinner, we booked it at their podium in the morning when the park first opened. We are like you though, and don't mind eating at odd times. I would suggest you make PS for the MVMCP night for sure before you arrive though, since the MK and the monorail restaurants are in high demand on those days. One thing we always have success with is trying for a seating time just when the restaurant opens, or for the last seating. (booking just a day ahead, or in the morning for a dinner PS) Will you be in concierge? They can really be helpful for these last minute PS's.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi. No, we'll be at Pop Century.

Okay...now I am a little worried. I'm not even sure we will be able to get tickets for MVMCP. Does anyone know how they annouce that they are on sale? Will it be on the web site?

Do they require a deposit for the PS because of the CP and MVMCP?

Thanks all for your great responses...

It sounds like we might need PS and I think I might go against my ethics and make them, and cancel last minute if we decide to opt out, but I'm still worried about losing deposits. But since we have such a short time I am worried that we'll waste 6 hours a day waiting for our meals ....

 

[HookdonWDW]

Although the first two weeks of December are not a traditional "busy" period, it is for the DVC resorts. Usually all of the DVC resorts are full during this time period. If you have someplace you know you want to eat, I would make PS reservations.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Does anyone know how hard it is to get the actual Tickets for MVMCP?

Do you need to get them, about 10 minutes after they go on sale (like when PS for Cindys table opens up) otherwise they sell out?

 

[HookdonWDW]

You should be fine waiting to get you tickets. I'm a worrywart though, so I usually get my tickets fairly early. It helps keep me in an even state of mind!

 

[WDWLVR]

MVMCP won't sell out the first day if that is what you are worried about. Try to do weekday instead of weekend - less locals.

If you are doing the dinner package for Candlelight Processional then they will charge for the meal on your credit card when you make the reservation (this is set up in a tier system of 3 levels I believe).

If there is something you really want to do make the PS. If there is something you might like to try then wing it.

LTT only has characters at dinner. For LTT or CP on nights of MVMCP definately make reservations - they were turning people away last year when we were there.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Is MVMCP held every night? What about CP?

Thanks!
Sheri

 

[chamonix]

I know this information is around here somewhere, but as I recall, CP is every night--actually even two or three times a night. MVMCP is not every night, but it is about 4 nights of the week--I think we went Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday when we were there last December. Definitely try to go on a weekday or on a Sunday night because it was SO much more crowded on Friday!! Unbelieveably so!! The only reason IMO to go on a Friday or Saturday is if you don't want to be "shut out" of the park during that time--remember, the park closes early on those MVMCP days, and then is only open to those with MVMCP tickets in the evening. That's why we always buy tickets, so we can still go over to the park during those hours, even though we don't want to watch the christmas parade for the 10th time or whatever (and we never bother with the free photo or cookies, cocoa, etc).
Don't worry about buying your tickets the day they go on sale. Friday or Saturday will sell out faster, but neither should sell out the first day or two. Once you decide what night you are doing MVMCP go ahead and make a PS for that night IF you want to stay in the park all day, or IF you want to stay in the monorail area. The CM on the phone will tell you which reservations require deposits--not all PS's do--but some do on those MVMCP and CP nights.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by chamonix
I know this information is around here somewhere, but as I recall, CP is every night--actually even two or three times a night. MVMCP is not every night, but it is about 4 nights of the week--I think we went Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday when we were there last December. Definitely try to go on a weekday or on a Sunday night because it was SO much more crowded on Friday!! Unbelieveably so!! The only reason IMO to go on a Friday or Saturday is if you don't want to be "shut out" of the park during that time--remember, the park closes early on those MVMCP days, and then is only open to those with MVMCP tickets in the evening. That's why we always buy tickets, so we can still go over to the park during those hours, even though we don't want to watch the christmas parade for the 10th time or whatever (and we never bother with the free photo or cookies, cocoa, etc).
Don't worry about buying your tickets the day they go on sale. Friday or Saturday will sell out faster, but neither should sell out the first day or two. Once you decide what night you are doing MVMCP go ahead and make a PS for that night IF you want to stay in the park all day, or IF you want to stay in the monorail area. The CM on the phone will tell you which reservations require deposits--not all PS's do--but some do on those MVMCP and CP nights.

We were planning on going during a thursday...will it not be happening then? If not, our only other options are Friday and Saturday