What time for dinner to still see Wishes or Illuminations?

[OurLittleFamily]

It's almost time to make my ADR's for our January trip. What time should I make reservations to still be able to see Wishes and Illuminations afterwards?

Would 7pm dinner get us out in time for 9pm Illuminations? (we're hoping for Via Napoli, Coral Reef, and Tutto Italia)
Would 6pm get us out for 8pm Wishes? (Liberty Tree Tavern)

Also, how about for Chef Mickey's. What is a decent time to try for in order to make it back to see Wishes at 9pm?

 

[figment_jii]

I tend to allow about 60-75 minutes for a TS meal inside the parks. It can be faster or slower depending on how quickly you are seated, how fast the food comes, and how fast you eat.

For a 9:00 pm IllumiNations, a 7:00 pm ADR is probably okay. I wouldn't go much later than that just in case the restaurant is running late and you need to leave some time to find a spot to watch from.

LTT tends to be fairly fast, so I think 2 hours is enough time to eat and find a spot to watch Wishes.

For CM, I'd allow 90 minutes to eat and then 30 minutes for travel. So I'd make the ADR for at least 7:00 pm or earlier. Personally, I'd rather be early than miss part of the show.

 

[purple figment]

If everything works out perfectly, 2 hours would be enough time, but I would allow an additional 30 minutes just in case there is a glitch, such as the restaurant is running behind schedule (common at many DW restaurants), it's a busy time (New Year's week crowds, marathon week end, MLK), hard to find a good view at the last minute (esp for IllumiNations since much of that takes place at water level).

I would rather have extra time between the end of dinner and the fireworks than have to rush through dinner or worry about finding a good spot.