Which restaurants are notorious for falling behind on seating ADRs?

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When my family and I have had ADR's for dinner Ohana they were always running about 20-30 minutes behind.

For dinner at Boma I noticed we had an ADR around 6:00 PM we would be seated 5 -10 minutes after checking-in, however when they were after 7:00 PM they started to run about 30-40 minutes behind. One time on New Years Eve we had an ADR for 7:00 PM and finally got seated around 8:30 PM. I know that night is a special night for many reasons, however we thought that way past an ok time for being seated past our scheduled ADR time.

For dinner at Chef Mickey's I say the most we waited past our ADR time was 15 minutes, which is not that bad so we have no reason to complain about that.

Finally when we had lunch at Prime Time Cafe and the Plaza they have always taken us right away, although our ADR times were after 11:00 AM when they were not that busy.

 

[helloirishkitty]

My past two trips to the World I have made ADR's for California Grill about a half hour before *wishes*. Both times, we ended up watching *wishes* on the overlook and being seated about 20 minutes later.

The food is amazing, but waiting about 50 minutes for my ADR's both times was a bit stressful.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Hi, I was just wondering if you could help me out w/something...Most of my ADR's are early evening 4-5pm because of DS2-DD7 but we got a lecellier @ 6:20pm (which I will have to cancel Mama Melrose Fantas.pkg for same day @ 5:10pm) which should I keep?????

I personally would prefer Le Cellier over Mama Melrose's...but the Fantasmic seating could be a real plus with the ages of your kids. Maybe you should just keep checking for the Fantasmic Pkg. for another night so you can try to do both.

 

[audisight]

The longest wait I have ever was an hour at Ohana's for dinner. By the time they sat us the place was almost closed. We had a great table but I was a little to upset to enjoy it. I'm not one to complain but when I was asked how we were doing I let the CM know how I felt. She then told me I had shown up an hour early for my ADR and they had seated me on time . Thank goodness I had a confirmation print out of my ADR that I got during check in with me. I pulled it out and informed the CM she was very much wrong and I wanted a manager right away. I let the manager know that I understood that things happen, but to use the excuse I was to early was more then disappointing. I felt as if they were trying to place the blame on me. The manager apologized and offered to comp us by only chraging for only one meal. I told him we intended to pay the full price of our dinner, and no comps were needed. After that I did start to enjoy the meal and the food was great!. When we got the receipt there were 6 "No Strings Attached" passes. 2 for a Fastpass 2 for Mickey Icecream Bars and 2 for popcorn. I did not want to take them but DF begged me to give in, so I did.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Recently I waited for a while at Cape May.. there was quite a crowd the night we went, they do accommodate a large number of people each night in this all you can eat buffet... not sure if that is the norm for them or not.. just my experience.

 

[DisneyIsTerrific]

The longest we've waited is at Liberty Tree Tavern. It was about a 30-40 minute wait.

The best wait we've had is at Chef Mickeys. The wait always seems to be about 5-10 minutes.

 

[fonsy]

I'm confused about ADR. At WDW-DINE they told me that ADR are not actual reservations, that it only means that they'll give you the next available table for the time that you requested, and if the people that are currently eating take all the time in the world to finish their meals, then I'll have to wait. But for some Restaurants (Like Cinderella's Royal Table, and Victoria & Albert's) then is a Real Reservation, and then I can complain if they take forever to get me a table. That's what the lady explained to me when I asked why thay charged me for CRT, and not for the other places. So, does this means is OK for them to keep me waiting?

 

[DISNEYNY]

I went last year in August during Free dining. I think my longest wait was Prime Time...about half an hour. Being free dining time I did expect big crowds, so I did not complain. We got a seat on one of the living room couches in the waiting area and it felt good to relax in the AC anyway. If I had to wait 2 hours as the above poster noted...that would be a different story...that is ridiculas.

 

[PatriciaH]

Our longest wait was over an hour at Jiko. Boma is usually 20 minutes-1/2 an hour wait too. Our friends waited over an hour for Artist Point the other night.

 

[crisi]

I'm confused about ADR. At WDW-DINE they told me that ADR are not actual reservations, that it only means that they'll give you the next available table for the time that you requested, and if the people that are currently eating take all the time in the world to finish their meals, then I'll have to wait. But for some Restaurants (Like Cinderella's Royal Table, and Victoria & Albert's) then is a Real Reservation, and then I can complain if they take forever to get me a table. That's what the lady explained to me when I asked why thay charged me for CRT, and not for the other places. So, does this means is OK for them to keep me waiting?

I don't think either of them is an actual "reservation" - few restaurants do those anymore (V&As might) - it basically involves setting aside a table for you - restaurants that do that can only get in about two seatings per table over dinner.

You can always complain, but I always ask myself "what result do I want." In this case, they can't rush existing diners, so complaining won't open up a table. They can't give you the next table and put you next in line if others have been waiting longer - that isn't fair. They aren't likely to comp dessert (they used to do this on occation, but with most people on the dining plan, its meaningless). They could make long term changes to the number of tables they book, but there is no way to really gage if you are their on an exceptionally slow evening and normal business is to get seated promptly - and I suspect onsite restaurant staff has very little input into how many tables they book.

Is it OK for them to keep you waiting? No, but there isn't a lot you can do other than walk and take your business elsewhere. A reservation (even a real reservation) isn't a contract with a penalty clause for non-compliance. If you purchased the dining plan and are staying on site - going elsewhere may not be a viable option.

We try and make our plans for earlier in the evening. There is a lull between late lunches and early dinners that still makes it likely to get seated fairly promptly. This is especially true at restaurants that don't even serve lunch.

 

[Flossbolna]

The longest wait I have ever was an hour at Ohana's for dinner. By the time they sat us the place was almost closed. We had a great table but I was a little to upset to enjoy it. I'm not one to complain but when I was asked how we were doing I let the CM know how I felt. She then told me I had shown up an hour early for my ADR and they had seated me on time . Thank goodness I had a confirmation print out of my ADR that I got during check in with me. I pulled it out and informed the CM she was very much wrong and I wanted a manager right away. I let the manager know that I understood that things happen, but to use the excuse I was to early was more then disappointing. I felt as if they were trying to place the blame on me. The manager apologized and offered to comp us by only chraging for only one meal. I told him we intended to pay the full price of our dinner, and no comps were needed. After that I did start to enjoy the meal and the food was great!. When we got the receipt there were 6 "No Strings Attached" passes. 2 for a Fastpass 2 for Mickey Icecream Bars and 2 for popcorn. I did not want to take them but DF begged me to give in, so I did.

I am sorry for your wait! But I really loved your story and how you dealt with this annoyance! Just wanted to let you know that I think it's great that you complained to let them know what was wrong and not for getting something out of it and did not let this ruin the evening! I think you absolutely deserved those passes!

 

[faindrops27]

All during free dining last year. We were always at least 10 minutes early. Except for Concourse.

50's prime time over an hour
Lecellier 1 hour
Boma's over an hour, we were so hungry this day, from skipping lunch a mgm. Skipping a snack for the buffet. It was a nightmare
Ohana's 30 minutes
Concourse, we arrived late 5 minutes late. But, they seated us within 35 minutes