rose and crown for fireworks?

[alisonwonderlnd]

should we?
i have heard you can request the last reservation of the day,,,,ask nicey please to sit outside to see ILLUMINATIONS
has anyone ever nOT gotten to see them doing this?
the meal is kinda pricey and we have OK british food place here in town
BUT
DH may like it for a suprise,,,,,and i would get to see fireworks
last time,,,we just stood in epcot and were ok,,,BUT we had to stand around awhile to stake our claim and IM SUPER short and always afraid a tall person would block my view
otherwise,,,the only other special way I know to see it is to rent a boat and isnt that over 300.00?

 

[The Mom]

It depends upon the guests who are there before you.

You may not get an outside table, and might end up standing on the top level to watch them. Your CM will let you know where to stand so you don't block the view of the seated diners.

Many people purposely draw out their dinner so that they will still be on the patio for Illuminations, even if they arrived much earlier. As long as they are still eating and drinking (and ordering more), they are allowed to stay, in my experience.

 

[alisonwonderlnd]

It depends upon the guests who are there before you.

You may not get an outside table, and might end up standing on the top level to watch them. Your CM will let you know where to stand so you don't block the view of the seated diners.

Many people purposely draw out their dinner so that they will still be on the patio for Illuminations, even if they arrived much earlier. As long as they are still eating and drinking (and ordering more), they are allowed to stay, in my experience.

well just raspberries,,,lol
im so confused
thats a lot of money for us and maybe still not get to see them.
im thinking its not worth the risk,,,I would be irritated if i had ressies and didnt get where i wanted because other people were dragging,NOW yes,,,I do understand its only a nicety that they even let guest do it,,,and NO i wwould act mean rude or entitled as i have seen SOME people act on vacation
its just a bit of a crap shoot when,,,,i just want a nice spot to see fireworks and not have an hour gobbled up by standing and waiting'
thanks for the feedback

 

[stefan74]

Three years ago my mom, sister, nephew (13 at the time) and myself ate at the Rose & Crown for Illuminations. I made a 7PM reservation and the agent on the phone told me to arrive at 7PM and ask for an outside table. I did exactly as she told me and we had to wait maybe 20-30 minutes before they seated us. We sat right next to the railing and had the greatest experience for Illuminations. The waitress came up to us and asked if we would be watching Illuminations and we said yes. She said she would take her time with us. It was fantastic not having to wait so long for a good spot to see Illuminations and the rest of my family enjoyed it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We tried R&C last December and were hoping to catch Illuminations. Illuminations was at 9:30p that night and even at 5am CT 180 days out...the best I could get was 7:45p. I looked for something better each and every day and NOTHING ever showed up. I was advised not to try for a late seating b/c as a PP noted- most people try and drag out their meals. Thankfully, it took them until about 8:10p to seat us (plus we had all kinds of drinks, appetizers, desserts, etc to drag it out). When we arrived for our ADR, we were told they'd have to seat us inside, but the hostess and our server both said we'd be taken outside to see Illuminations. In fact, what they said was spot on to what everyone on here said would happen. Sadly, it didn't happen. My brother reminded our server after the torches were lit and she promised she'd get us out there, so we sat and waited. We were still sitting at our table when the show started. We decided to check out the patio for space just in case we could work in and see the show (especially since the place was dead inside). Well, there was PLENTY of seating outside...so we wound up seeing 75% of the show from the patio. Our server wasn't pleased with us, but she failed to follow up on the promise and there was TONS of space to have us out there. Not sure if 60% of the people booked for R&C that night just failed to show or what, but it was not the evening I'd planned.

Illuminations aside...our server was good at the food service point, the food was very tasty, and the atmosphere was good. We'd return to R&C again, but I don't think we'd go out of our way to make it work with Illuminations.

We seem to be the exception- not the rule ...and it does seem like it would be a really nice meal if it all worked out, so you may still want to try. I know lots of people on here have had perfect R&C Illumations experiences. I just like to put my story out there so people know it doesn't always go smoothly.

 

[alisonwonderlnd]

We tried R&C last December and were hoping to catch Illuminations. Illuminations was at 9:30p that night and even at 5am CT 180 days out...the best I could get was 7:45p. I looked for something better each and every day and NOTHING ever showed up. I was advised not to try for a late seating b/c as a PP noted- most people try and drag out their meals. Thankfully, it took them until about 8:10p to seat us (plus we had all kinds of drinks, appetizers, desserts, etc to drag it out). When we arrived for our ADR, we were told they'd have to seat us inside, but the hostess and our server both said we'd be taken outside to see Illuminations. In fact, what they said was spot on to what everyone on here said would happen. Sadly, it didn't happen. My brother reminded our server after the torches were lit and she promised she'd get us out there, so we sat and waited. We were still sitting at our table when the show started. We decided to check out the patio for space just in case we could work in and see the show (especially since the place was dead inside). Well, there was PLENTY of seating outside...so we wound up seeing 75% of the show from the patio. Our server wasn't pleased with us, but she failed to follow up on the promise and there was TONS of space to have us out there. Not sure if 60% of the people booked for R&C that night just failed to show or what, but it was not the evening I'd planned.

Illuminations aside...our server was good at the food service point, the food was very tasty, and the atmosphere was good. We'd return to R&C again, but I don't think we'd go out of our way to make it work with Illuminations.

We seem to be the exception- not the rule ...and it does seem like it would be a really nice meal if it all worked out, so you may still want to try. I know lots of people on here have had perfect R&C Illumations experiences. I just like to put my story out there so people know it doesn't always go smoothly.

thanks
I think we shan't chance it
we may eat there,,,BUT lunch more than likely and not count on it for Fireworks,,,I love them too much and would cry,,,,

 

[JillC LI]

OMG yes! It was our favorite dining experience ever at Disney. We had a 7:50pm reservation there this past March. It was a cold evening and nobody wanted to sit outside on the patio. But we had a table inside by the plastic drop-down see-through walls. When the fireworks began, our waitress brought over a tool to roll up all the plastic walls on that side of the restaurant so everyone had a clear view of IllumiNations (albeit chilly for a while). It was so beautiful while we enjoyed what was a delicious surf and turf meal. Before we were seated we spent some timei n the bar area enjoying the Hat lady's performance. I recommend R&C during IllumiNations to everyone!

 

[heartodisney]

Good luck to you wherever you are able to "see" IllumiNations, be sure to take in account of any wind..last time we were there, the American Pavillion was swamped by the smoke! We are very much going to sit in the Norway area due to being able to aquire "Norway Schoolbread" for our snacks!

 

[BUZZCRUSH]

We made reservations for 7pm and sat outside and were able to watch the show no problem. We were there Easter week 2011 and strangely people left before the show and there were lots of empty tables when the show started. The folks inside were welcome to come out if they wanted but no one seemed to and it was very uncrowded. Not sure why

On another night we were able to get a table near the water next to the Rose & Crown, there is an area of tables that anyone can sit at. We bought a couple of beers at the outside vendor and just found a seat. I think a lot of people think these are part of the restaurant or reserved somehow but they are not. At least no one told us to move.

 

[slappy magoo]

thanks
I think we shan't chance it
we may eat there,,,BUT lunch more than likely and not count on it for Fireworks,,,I love them too much and would cry,,,,

There are places in the outdoor area where people who were eating inside can stand and watch illuminations. Not as much fun as already having a seat outside, but better than having to stake a claim someplace for an hour outside of the restaurant, too.

 

[rjhall2]

We had 7:50 ADR on a night when Illuminations was at 9. We were asked if we had a preference, and obviously we wanted to sit outside, but understood it was a very popular choice. After a whole 2 minute wait we were seated at a table that would normally be outside, but since it was so windy, they had the flaps of their tent down. We were told they didn't know if they would be raising them because of the wind that night. It wasn't a problem, as when it was time to see the show, we were escorted to their private viewing area, which was just fine. So having a table outside isn't necessary. One note about viewing Illuminations from Rose & Crown, you can't really hear the audio, so if that's important to you, you may want to seek an alternative. It is a great place for a meal, and the service was just wonderful.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We eat at R&C every trip and always time our reservations to coincide with Illuminations. We may have just been lucky (or perhaps its because we're British) but we have ALWAYS had an outside table and enjoyed the show from there