Restaurant reservations

[Leigh51]

We are staying at the Contemporary beginning Oct.8,2018 for 5 nights.Do we need reservations for breakfast or lunch in the hotel?

 

[Bullseye1967]

Yes, it will not be packed parks, but the crowd levels are much higher than they used to be say 5 years ago at that time.

 

[nickys]

There's plenty of choice without needing reservations, apart from Chef Mickey.

The Contemporary Cafe is the QS place, next to Chef Mickey. Not sure what it's like for breakfast (we do breakfast in the room at BLT) but IMO it's pretty good with a separate bakery counter and the usual grab and go breakfast items, as well as stuff you could order and sit down and eat. For lunch it's great, same for dinner. DS likes their meatballs and flatbread, quite often would go and take out a flatbread for a late night snack!

There's also a coffee bar down on the ground floor for coffee and pastries on your way to the parks.

The Wave is a hidden gem for breakfast. It does a buffet but also a menu, so you can mix and match pending on what your family like to do. And best of all, if you plan a late-ish breakfast (after around 9am you don't usually need a reservation. Over Christmas we nearly made one the night before but weren't totally decided; we ended up walking in at 9:30, 4 of us, no problem. (Not Christmas Day but Jan 2nd/3rd).

The pool bar does the usual stuff, fine for lunch if you're having a resort day.

Chef Mickey - yes you do need reservations.

 

[DisAl]

You should go ahead and make reservations at your 180 day mark for anything you think you might like to do, especially places like Chef Mickey's or Be Our Guest. If you change your mind later don't forget to cancel the reservation to avoid the no show charge..

 

[Mark P.]

The Wave is a hidden gem for breakfast. It does a buffet but also a menu, so you can mix and match pending on what your family like to do. And best of all, if you plan a late-ish breakfast (after around 9am you don't usually need a reservation. Over Christmas we nearly made one the night before but weren't totally decided; we ended up walking in at 9:30, 4 of us, no problem. (Not Christmas Day but Jan 2nd/3rd).

The Wave is also a hidden gem for lunch (and dinner too, for that matter). We love going there in the middle of a busy park day; we've never had a problem getting a table at the restaurant or in the lounge without a reservation.

 

[Weather_Lady]

...also, if you wanted to splurge on the pricey Sunday brunch at the California Grill, advance reservations are a must.

Edit: Never mind! It doesn't look like your dates include a Sunday anyway.

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

We are staying at the Contemporary beginning Oct.8,2018 for 5 nights.Do we need reservations for breakfast or lunch in the hotel?

Up to you, but I would HIGHLY recommend reservations.

My dear wife and I are DVC Members at the WL. Been going there twice per year, 12 years running.
We're kind of boring.... we always have breakfast at Whispering Canyon . And we ALWAYS make reservations.

This has given us the ability to make a LONG TERM observation of walk-ups. Sometimes (small party)? Great luck. But we've also seen parties with hungry, crying children told that the wait would be "about an hour" . This can really WRECK a family's day .

 

[MagicalMaci]

For quick service locations - Contempo Cafe is the main one at the Contemporary - you can grab breakfast, lunch or dinner without a reservation. For any Table Service dining at any meal, I always recommend making an ADR because you just never know what the crowds will look like at that restaurant for the day.