Why have reservations at all?

[goofy4tink]

A few thoughts. A party of two is actually harder to seat. Disney has only so many tables for 2....it's really hard to get ADRs for a party of two at popular restaurants. Much easier to get a table for 3 or 4..use the same size table.
LeCellier is poorly laid out for waiting. If you aren't within earshot of the front podium, then you aren't going to hear them call you. BUT...I have been sitting there when the CMs made a huge effort to find people. They called the name several times over inside, then went outside to check out there. Many times the guests were waiting outside due to the crowd inside. But, that may not have been the case with the OP.

ADRs are not aptly named. I really wish they would go back to PSs...priority seatings. The word reservation makes the guest feel that they will be seated within 5 mins of showing up...and that's just not true. Yes, Disney has a pretty good idea of how long it 'should' take the average guest to eat and leave. BUT....there are always going to be glitches. There is going to be the guest who feels their steak wasn't prepared properly and sends it back..which now means the group is going to be held up longer at that table. Or, you get the group that is enjoying their glasses of wine, and chatting, after dinner itself. The CMs are not going to rush the guest out of the restaurant. I have been in many situations, especially at Epcot, where I have overheard diners close to me talking about they only have to kill 40 more mins until the 'fireworks' start...so, order more wine. Happens all the time.
Unfortunately, once someone is seated, and enjoyed their meal, they don't much care about those that are waiting to be seated...even if they are now into their second hour at the table!!!!

I have almost always had a wait of at least 15 mins at the majority of WDW restaurants....doesn't much matter what time of year it is. And at some of the restaurants, the wait has been closer to 30 mins...especially later in the evening. Just the way it is...doesn't make it right though.

 

[goofy4tink]

I am a planner by nature but when it comes to food not so much. I like to just find a place to eat that has an acceptable menu. How much trouble will I have in Disney without any reservations? I will be in the parks Jan 16-18. What are the best sit downs that might have availability? Thanks.

Depends on where you want to eat. The vast majority of the time, it is very hard to walk into the 'better' restaurants in WDW. And I guess that when I say better, I really mean more popular. You can't walk up to any of the character meals.....almost impossible to get into without ADRs. You can always try...get there just as the restaurant opens.

 

[Praying Colonel]

They should go back to calling them Priority Seatings instead of ADRs, because it more accurately describes what you're getting when you make those dinner plans.

It wouldn't change a thing when these problems arise, but it would at least manage guests expectations a little bit better.

 

[Colleen27]

I went to LeCellier during one of the slow times of the year (end of Jan. beginning of Feb.) and still waited over 45 minutes in a packed mad house before being seated.

And not to flame you, but it is up to that childs parents whether keeping a child up at 8:45 is reasonable or not.

We ran into the same thing... such a long wait at Le Cellier that the hostess wouldn't even check us in because she already had too many parties waiting, and told us to enjoy the park (on a cold, rainy Jan night) for another 45min or so and then come back. I didn't make an 8:45 ADR but it would have been about then by the time we were seated, assuming the 45 min before returning and then a "standard" 15-30min to be seated once we were checked in. Since this was long before the CC guarantee we just told the hostess to cross us off the ADR list and walked over to ESPN Club where we were seated immediately, but under the new policy it seems we'd have to decide whether that flexibility is worth paying $50 for. That's why our Jan trip (booked before the new policy) will probably be the last time I make ADRs at any of the CC guarantee restaurants.

 

[thej]

Yeah... but they're probably out of Chocolate Milk and Hot Apple Pie.

Only if you burned a turkey!

 

[PixieDustFanatic]

We had a similar experience at Narcoossee's on our wedding anniversary. Our ADR was for 7pm, we were seated at 8:10. My DS fell asleep in my arms while we waited and slept through the meal. We didn't even get an apology, or an acknowledgement of our anniversary, which was indicated on the ADR. Fortunately, we were staying in the Sugar Loaf, so we didn't have far to go afterward. As a result, we'll never return to Narcoossee's ....it was the only negative experience of our trip. We've never experienced that kind of a wait before at Disney. I can totally understand the OP's frustration.

 

[Chellymouse]

With the new "fee" we have been very careful to select our restaurant choices. DH and I had a horrible experience at 1900 Park Fare on our 10/10 trip and I'm not likely to book there again EVER! we arrive 20 minutes prior to our 5:15pm ressie and were told it would be a few minutes, here is a beeper. We had tickets to MNSHHP that night and did not want to be in a restaurant much past 6:15-6:30. Had eaten there once before on my "girls trip" and while the food and characters were quite good, service was not and we waited nearly 45 minutes past our ADR time for 2 people. There was a party of 8 who was 40 minutes early for their ressie right behind us and they were seated within a few minutes. After 40 minutes PAST our ressie time DH and I had had it, turned in our beeper to a rather rude CM and at CS at GF and made it to the party by 6:30pm. I have to agree with the OP that while I can understand folks may linger and kitchens do get backed up, the CM need to be a bit more proactive or they need to make fewer ressies. We haven't returned to Le Cellier since our 09 trip for the same reason. We weren't seated until an hour after our ADR time on a Monday in August! Food wasn't very good and we were concerned about getting back to our resort as we didn't finish our dinner until 1 hour after the park closed! At least they had a bus waiting for us, but still.

 

[maxiesmom]

They should go back to calling them Priority Seatings instead of ADRs, because it more accurately describes what you're getting when you make those dinner plans.

It wouldn't change a thing when these problems arise, but it would at least manage guests expectations a little bit better.

I agree with you. I also agree with the poster who stated buzzers and benches would help. But then they would probably have people wandering all over the parks, expecting their buzzer from Le Ceiller would buzz them on Spaceship Earth. Even if they were told to stay in the area.

 

[goofy4tink]

I will say that I am curious as to how Disney is going to deal with that whole CC deposit thing. If you arrive at, say LeCellier, at 6:30, for your 6:45 ADR...as you are supposed to....and you are told it will be about a 30 min wait, and then as 7:15 approaches, you are told it will be a bit longer, and you decide that's too long since you need to be somewhere at 9pm, will Disney allow you to walk away without paying that per person CC cost??? If not, it will certainly change the way I eat in WDW.