Special requests for dining

[horizons82]

Is there a way to make special requests for dining at WDW?

I'm not talking about dietary needs, but for requests like wanting to be seated in certain sections of a restaurant. For instance, I'll soon be having my first meal at The Garden Grill at Epcot and I'd love to be seated down in the booths in the front as opposed to the tables in the upper section.

Is this something I can request in advance or is it just something to ask the host when I check-in? If I can make requests in advance, do I have to call as opposed to just reserving on-line?

And as a separate question, will there ever be tables available by calling the reservation line that wouldn't necessarily show up as being available on the WDW site? Or if the site shows no availability then there really is no availability even if I call?

Thanks for the help!

 

[docdebbi]

you can only make specific seating requests when you check in. the answer is always "we'll do our best" with no guarantee, usually it depends how long you are willing to wait for the table you want to open up.
theoretically all available tables are online as well as by phone, there is no separate stockpile of saved reservations for those who call.
that said, the website stinks, and that's being polite. it doesn't work properly as often as it does. yesterday, it was only showing special events for awhile, no regular restaurants !!!!
so, it never hurts to call in case website being cranky again

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While there are no guarantees, I can say that for Garden Grill, I requested a lower level table when I checked in and acknowledged that we'd be willing to wait a bit longer. Our request was granted. It's not quite like requesting a window seat at Cali Grill or a table on the patio at Rose & Crown before Illuminations. i.e. the demand isn't as great so your odds are better since it's not like you might be waiting an extra hour+ for one of these. Still- they won't make any promises.

As for things being open...it's all a matter of timing. i.e. things can open up or disappear at any second due to people booking or dropping ADRs. The website is buggy, but calling isn't perfect either. I still prefer the website because if it's functioning, you can check for openings far more often than you'd ever do with calling. And usually, if the website is acting buggy, the system the phone reps use likely will be acting up as well. Also, most agree that what you see for openings online is what the phone reservationists are also seeing.

 

[horizons82]

Thanks to both of you for the info. I've been wondering about this, but your answers pretty much confirmed what I was thinking about how it all worked. I'll definitely not be afraid to make a special request at check-in, but obviously the wait will determine just how much I want it.

As for the dining reservations system...I've had a lot of interesting times watching it. There are many days I work at home as a call center operator and I'm able to have the Internet up while I'm working. Many times I'll have the WDW dining reservations page up and I'll hit refresh over and over and over during the course of the day...it's fascinating to see how reservations for the most popular places open up but then are taken just as quickly. I will say I have been able to get a lot of hard-to-get reservations through this method, but it sure is a matter of luck.

Thanks again for the insights.

 

[Scooter]

The last time we had a reservation at Coral Reef, when we checked in we asked to be seated close to the tank. They informed us that they would try and accomodate us and while we did have to wait a little while, our request was granted. The first time we ate there we thought all of the seating in Coral Reef was by the fish tank but it wasn't and we got seated way high up in a booth where we could barely see the aquarium. Needless to say, we weren't very happy. So ask...it couldn't hurt.