Which Disneyland restaurants require reservations to guarantee a table?

[oilergirl]

I know Blue Bayou does...and all the character meals...but do any other restaurants pretty much require reservations in order to get a table (or where reservations are strongly suggested)?

Thank you!

 

[Sherry E]

I know Blue Bayou does...and all the character meals...but do any other restaurants pretty much require reservations in order to get a table (or where reservations are strongly suggested)?

Thank you!

Okay, a couple of things, just to clarify.

First of all, there are no reservations at DLR in the standard sense we know them. No table "guarantees." No tables held for you. What they have are PS's - or Priority Seating arrangements - that you can make when you call Disneyland Dining. The PS does not hold a table for you nor will it guarantee you get seated right away. What it does do is put you ahead of people without a PS. So if you are standing around at Carnation Cafe, for example, waiting to be seated for your PS time, and other folks show up without a PS, you will get in before they do. But not always. Sometimes, even if you have a PS and people show up without one, if Carnation needs to fill a table for a certain number of people (like 2), and there is a group of 2 in the line without a PS, they will being them in ahead of other folks with PS's. So there is no guarantee of anything. It is just a way to help organize the people who dine there and put some sort of order to it, and sometimes you may be seated right away, and other times you may still have to wait a while.

The other thing is, the character meals do not require a PS be made. You can walk up to those as you could at almost any place in DLR, but you may be waiting a long time if you do so it is a good idea to make a PS for the character dining. Blue Bayou is the only place that actually requires a PS be made (and lately I have heard of some folks getting in without one), but again, it is no guarantee of anything. In fact, last October when we went to Blue Bayou, we had a PS and we still waited 45 minutes to an hour to be seated.

Other restaurants I would personally suggest getting PS's for (because they tend to get very busy and the wait can be hideous) are: Carnation Cafe (limited seating, so line of people builds up fast), Rainforest Cafe (we waited an hour once; never again) and ESPN Zone (very busy at time; we waited forever last year for a table without a PS). We usually make them for Storytellers Cafe (lunch or dinner), WIne Country Trattoria and Naples in DTD as well, just to be on the safe side, but those don't fill up the way the others I mentioned do.

 

[queenie82]

Great information Sherry E
I didn't realise this was such a different system to ADRs at WDW. It has been some years since we dined at DL. At WDW...they again aren't a reserved table but they are allocated and based on expected Turnover and Walk ins will generally be turned away at MOST restaurants because there will always be enough people with ADR's waiting already...

So it is 60 days in advance you can get PS right? and do you guys have the plus 10 for those staying on site?

 

[Vala]

Just to add to the confusion: when I booked my PS last week I got this little recorded online spiel what Disney Dining actually does.

I am 99 percent sure that when I called last year the recording said "booking priority seatings". Now it says "booking reservations."

 

[glendalais]

Great information Sherry E
I didn't realise this was such a different system to ADRs at WDW. It has been some years since we dined at DL. At WDW...they again aren't a reserved table but they are allocated and based on expected Turnover and Walk ins will generally be turned away at MOST restaurants because there will always be enough people with ADR's waiting already...

So it is 60 days in advance you can get PS right? and do you guys have the plus 10 for those staying on site?

Truth be told, the Priority Seating system used by the Disneyland Resort is actually the same one as the Advance Dining Reservation System used at the Walt Disney World Resort, just with a different name (indeed, WDW used to call them Priority Seatings as well until a few years ago).

The reason why it's harder to get a Walk Up table in Florida compared to California is due to demand. There's more demand for Full Service Dining at the Walt Disney World Resort, due in part to the multi-day nature of their Guests and things such as the various Magic Your Way Meal and Vacation Packages.

Guests visiting the Disneyland Resort may make Priority Seating arrangements up to 60 days in advance of the day they wish to dine by contacting (714) 781-DINE.

Unfortunately, there is no "Plus 10" benefit for Guests staying at the various Hotels of the Disneyland Resort, as is the case at the Walt Disney World Resort.

 

[Disneylvrforever]

Cafe Orleans will take walk-ins, but in some cases, they will close it for ppl who have PS's. It's really hard to know when it's PS only, so the best thing to do for this restaurant is to ask.

 

[kungaloosh22]

Unfortunately, there is no "Plus 10" benefit for Guests staying at the various Hotels of the Disneyland Resort, as is the case at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Personally, I say fortunately there is no Plus 10 at Disneyland. At WDW there are onsite hotels that fit all budgets, plus many, many dining options. At Disneyland there are only a few options, and the onsite options are too expensive for many guests. Even though I can sometimes stay onsite, I think it's good that you don't have to be wealthy to get desirable dining options.