Would you ever go without PS's in place???

[dis-happy]

I'm a little new to the whole PS thing---we've only been to WDW twice before and didn't have them. We're going back in two weeks and dh was asking me about PS's. Should I? It seems like we'll have to plan everything out beforehand, and I haven't even considered yet which parks we'll do on which days.

So, crazy or not crazy? What would you do? If the vote is PS at all costs, which one or two should I not live without? And, now that we're two weeks out, is it too late anyway?

TIA!

 

[rocketriter]

We generally do 1 PS per day. That guarantees that we can get a nice sit-down meal without a terribly long wait.

 

[Chuck S]

I usually only make prior PSs for "Must Do" things, like the Candlelight Package at Christmastime, dinner shows, special occasion dinners...that sort of thing.

Otherwise, I call the morning of, and have almost always gotten what I wanted, but I always have a second choice, just in case.

If, however you are traveling at a busy time, like spring break, Christmas, Easter, etc...absolutely make PSs for every day.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I made our PS's a couple of days ago for our March trip. I didn't worry about what parks we would do on which days. If you're going anytime where there might be be crowds (like the week before Easter, when we're going), you really need PS's or you will be waiting a long time or worse not able to get in at all.

 

[Cass]

I would suggest a few PS's at least... to give you a plan or what you would like to do.

It is not the end of the world if you change your mind and skip a PS.

We make a basic itinerary for our days

(example)

Arrive Friday evening ~ relax
Saturday - MK
Sunday - MGM
Monday - EPCOT

Then we throw in a couple of PS's for where we would like to try a meal.

 

[TnRobin]

I only make PS ressies in advance for the hard to get stuff aka Cinderella's Breakfast, Candlelight Procession, Dinner on Thanksgiving, etc. Other dinner stuff I just make from my room the day before.

Robin

 

[The4OfUs]

I've made ONE PS prior to being on property, EVER...and that's for the Chef's Table at V&A. Other than that, it's from the room, the night before or the day of - heck, even the late afternoon of.... And I've never had problems, ever.

 

[Granny]

I only make PS ressies in advance for the hard to get stuff aka Cinderella's Breakfast, Candlelight Procession, Dinner on Thanksgiving, etc. Other dinner stuff I just make from my room the day before.

Robin

This was going to be my response as well. We just book a couple of PS when we get to the resort, and then it's only for the Fantasmic Dinner package or maybe one dinner for a two week stay.

One of the great benefits of DVC for us was to break the "plan every minute" commando touring mode. Included in that, I suppose, were obtaining PS.

 

[MickeyBabe]

The only PS I have ever made before getting to Disney is the Fantasmic Dinner package.

We made two other ones on our last trip but did so the night before from our hotel.

We found that LeCellier is difficult to get into without a reservation and we wanted to be seated at Rose and Crown for Illuminations so we did a PS for that another evening.

Good luck and Enjoy!

 

[EmptyNester]

...Other than that, it's from the room, the night before or the day of - heck, even the late afternoon of.... And I've never had problems, ever.

This is how we do it too. We don't do itineraries. We have Cirque tickets for later this month, but that's the only "planning" we've done for this trip. We might decide the day's activities when we get up in the morning; sometimes we just get on the first park bus that shows up when we get to the bus stop.

- Sharon

 

[DisneySpence]

We only ever make 1 PS a trip and that is for Chef Micey's for dinner we usually just show up and have never had a wait longer than 5 minutes. We tend to eat at Le Cellier, Flying Fish, CP, to name a few and 50's prime time at MGM.

 

[DVC-Don]

We go quite often without any PS's. Once and a while I'll book one before we leave, but that's the exception. But I have found if I do them from the room for later that same day, often we are not in the system at the restaurant when we get there. So bring your PS # with you.

 

[CarolAnnC]

John and I most often make our PS's the same day from our resort room. This always works well for us, and have only been disappointed once.

 

[beccasmom]

We generally don’t make any reservations before we leave. However, we are long-time WDW visitors and have eaten at pretty much everywhere we have wanted to at this point. If we were to visit during a really busy season – Christmas, for sure, and probably during the summer as well – I would plan on making PS ahead of time. We generally don’t run into many issues because we are usually visiting at a non-busy time. And I would definitely plan ahead if my – or my kids’ – hearts were set on a specific spot. Don’t want any broken hearts!

 

[kathleena]

SOmetimes it depends on how many in your party too. Typical tables are for 4. The larger parties may have a more difficult time getting the PS time you need.

Case in point. We called for Boma one week out. There were 6 of us. Nope. No tables for 6. We could take a table for 4 and for 2, but not a table for 6. So I called back and said we had 8. Hmmmm, we got a table for 8 right away, although still not at the time we wanted.

So depends on how flexible your schedule is and how easily you are disappointed.

 

[Patty3]

Ok, I guess I am the big planner. I always have a PS for dinner every night. DH is not into the parks, but there are certain restaurants he just loves, California Grill, Jiko, Boma, Flying Fish, Artist Point and Victoria and Alberts are always a must. I also make two or three for lunch, one or two Character breakfasts and Tea at the Grand Floridian. For me, half the fun is in the planning. It helps me get my Disney fix early. We also make ressies for the Illumination Cruise and now the Segway Tour.

 

[Deemarch]

I had PS's for each night during the Christmas week. I knew that we were going to need them. But by the 3rd day we were getting to the point of "food overload". So we canceled a couple and went off the beaten path for a couple of days and picked the week back up for New Year's Eve. Now there's only 2 of us and not having kids makes it much easier to do that!

Denise

 

[dyingtodisney]

I always make PS's for one sit down meal a day, we're only 1 year veterans of DVC and have only been to Disneyworld as a family twice so there are so many places we want to try. I am really surprised that so many people don't do PS until the last minute. I was under the assumption it was a "must do". Both trips we've taken people have been turned away at the podiums without Ps , ofcourse we went in June and Christmas/New Years week so it must of been the seasons.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

When Mom and I planned our Oct trip we made about five PS for 8 days. We made them about ten weeks ahead and we still did not get the times we asked for on each and every one. Not that it mattered to change it by a half hour or so but it does mean if you wait till the night before or that day you are not going to get prime times for eating most likely. I like to eat at off times some but in the summer and other busy times, it just makes sense to me to make PS's so you can avoid the lines

Lisa

 

[Doctor P]

We generally make at least one PS a day, but we also generally travel at busy times. Unfortunately, due to health issues, I generally need to plan out my eating times, so PS's really help with that.