wait time to be seated? several answers please

[ngvenice]

hi yall,

ok please help me. Im still debating on wether I should upgrade my QS plan to Dining plan and Im trying to weigh in all the options and make a decision that best fits us. so with that said can yall help me w/ the following questions.


is there wait time to be seated once you get to reservation? and how long approx?


i wanted to do a 1900 breakfast at grand floridian. we would be coming from the allstars. I was told catch bus to MK then monorail but other people said that it takes a really long time to get there. Is this true. is the travelling time that long to some of the resorts.

Mind you Im going in Nov, week before and week of Thanksgiving.

 

[ccgirl]

hi yall,

ok please help me. Im still debating on wether I should upgrade my QS plan to Dining plan and Im trying to weigh in all the options and make a decision that best fits us. so with that said can yall help me w/ the following questions.


is there wait time to be seated once you get to reservation? and how long approx?


i wanted to do a 1900 breakfast at grand floridian. we would be coming from the allstars. I was told catch bus to MK then monorail but other people said that it takes a really long time to get there. Is this true. is the travelling time that long to some of the resorts.

Mind you Im going in Nov, week before and week of Thanksgiving.

Would you eat a table service meal every day? If not, the QS would probably be better. Once you show up for your ressie; it is priority seating. Meaning if you had a 2pm ressie and someone had a 2:10 ressie but checked in before you they would get seated. In addition, I have waited up to 45 mintues after I checked in to be seated - that is with a ressie. Have you made your reservation yet? You may find there is nothing available for 1900 Park Fare if not. Reservations can be made 180 days in advance.

As for how long it takes; I am not a big fan. I would plan 1900 Park Fare on the same day you are doing MK and just take the monorail from there. Else, it could take up to an hour to get there.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ngvenice]

yes, i do have reservations already because I had planned on doing at least 2 character dinings anyways. We have Quick Serv already but costwise, my two character meals out of pocket would be almost the same as upgrading to the dining plan. So I figured let me upgrade since the cost is about the same and at the same time I get to enjoy a few more table meals also. The only prob is that I dont want to built my schedule around dinner reservations and I dont want to miss the "park time" for dining time. So that's why I need to make a decision that best works for us.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

With my dining reservations at Disney I have never waited a long time to be seated less than 15 minutes for every place except for Ohana's. I have even gone early/came late and was still seated within 5-15 minutes.

As for transportation, we had dinner reservations at 1900 Park Faire and left Pop Century approximately 45-60 minutes before. Some times we needed the time, most times we had extra time to walk around resorts etc.

I would personally price out how many T.S. meals you really want vs. upgrading from QS. My family really needs that one sit down meal per day to either get us going or keep us going. Have fun.

 

[RMulieri]

I have had waits as short as none and long as over an hour past adr time.Alot depends on how busy or backed up the restaurant is.During Free Dining the restaurants are operating at max capacity so delays in seating are not all that uncommon.Our last trip in dec 09 during free dining we were seated late at CP, Chefs de France,Biergarten and Cape May cafe.We were seated on time at Garden grill and early at Boma

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Anywhere from 5 to about 35/40 min. Usually 10-20 min.

 

[MrsLS]

It really depends but in my experience we went the past 2 Aprils during spring break and never had to wait more than 15 mins and that was rare, usually we were seated right away or within 5 mins except for 1 meal at Ohanas 2 years ago, we waited a long long time, don't remember how long but it was almost an hour but their system was down that day and it was mass confusion there.

 

[madalex]

We usually show up to our ADRs 10 - 15 minutes before the ADR time (that is just the way I am) and are almost always seated within a few minutes of checking in and, in any event, no later than the actual time of the ADR.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We usually show up to our ADRs 10 - 15 minutes before the ADR time (that is just the way I am) and are almost always seated within a few minutes of checking in and, in any event, no later than the actual time of the ADR.

This has been our experience as well except that we were seated very late for a Coral Reef ADR.

It doesn't sound like you really want to bother with TS meals & working around ADRs which is pretty much the only way you will get value out of the DP. If I were you, I'd stick with the QS plan and pay out of pocket for the character meals you have planned. Even though the cost to upgrade is the same, you still have to factor in the tips which could be significant depending on where you eat & what you order.

 

[Uncleromulus]

THis is a "it depends" question. Can't help with the restaurant you mentioned but at many others, we've been seated a few minutes earlier than our ADR, up to and over an hour AFTER our ADR. Most of the time it's "on time" or not much longer than a 10 minute wait.

Travel from Resort to Resort using Disney Transportation can take some time...for the Grand Floridian, I suppose taking the bus to the MK and then the monorail over to the GF is as quick as anything.

 

[danceintherain]

Wait time varies A LOT. I've been seated immediately, and waited 45 minutes. Usually it is less than 20 minutes...but like I said, it varies.

As far as 1900 Park Fare goes.... the Grand Floridian is the last stop on the resort monorail, so it can take a LONG time. If you wait 20 minutes for the MK bus, then 10 minutes for the monorail, then the 20 minutes to make it until the Grand Floridian, that's almost an hour.

Dining Plan...you're trading 2 counter service meals and 1 snack for that table service meal, so the value may not be as good as you think it is...

 

[pigletto]

Last free dining trip our wait times were all around the 10 minute mark with the exception of O'Hana which was about 20 minutes, and 50's prime time which was closer to an hour. It was a madhouse that night.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Dining Plan...you're trading 2 counter service meals and 1 snack for that table service meal, so the value may not be as good as you think it is...

???? On ddp you get a TS a QS and a snack each day. On QSDP you get 2 QS and 2 snacks plus the resort mug, so you are trading a snack and a QS for a TS and paying 10 bucks a day.
The longest I've had to wait after arriving with an ADR was 70 minutes at 50's PTC, or exactly the length of time it takes to fall in love with a beer(Yuenglings) that you'd never heard of before. 3 times. There are delays and there are delays.
As for getting to Park Faire, if it is a pre MK opening time ADR, the bus will likely drop you off at GF if you tell the driver that's where you're heading.

 

[ccgirl]

This has been our experience as well except that we were seated very late for a Coral Reef ADR.

It doesn't sound like you really want to bother with TS meals & working around ADRs which is pretty much the only way you will get value out of the DP. If I were you, I'd stick with the QS plan and pay out of pocket for the character meals you have planned. Even though the cost to upgrade is the same, you still have to factor in the tips which could be significant depending on where you eat & what you order.

Great point! If you are looking dollar to dollar don't forget to add up the tips that you need to pay OOP (they can really add up) along with the extra snack and refillable mug. I would keep the two table service meals you have and just stick with the QS plan. Good luck with your decision.