Should I make reservations for 2 ppl?

[Elonwy]

Just wondering how necessary it would be to make reservations for dining when there are only 2 of us traveling.

We're pretty laid back and while there might be a few restaurants I would definately want to visit I don't necessarily see us sticking to a schedule. We're both kind of "lets see where our mood takes us" kind of girls.

I just thought that if we just walked up to the restaurant and asked for a table for 2 even if we had a 30-45 min wait or so neither of us would mind.

But I don't want to miss out on eating in some of my favorite places (she's a newbie and i think she'll like most of the restaurants I do) like Sci-Fi and Crystal Palace.

 

[tigsmom]

Make the reservations, the days of walking up to a restaurant and getting a table are over; there are times when CS places have a 30-45 minute wait

 

[ClemsonTigger]

While you are right that seating two is easier, as TigsMom said, make the ressies to guarantee the spots you want to eat at.

 

[mousermerf]

Recently at Prime Time Cafe i walked up and asked if they had any ressie for the rest of the night for a table of 2, by luck a reservation spot was open in like 10mins but they were also able to seat us almost immediately.

Just after we took the spot and got the ressie number, we stood in the lobby, and three couples who came in after us were told it'd be a 45min wait.

 

[Monty]

Make reservations for any TS you want to eat at. If you're not using DDP and can settle for CS if TS aren't available, then you can take the risk of not booking, but if you really like to sit and be served, ADRs are unavoidable.

Last time I ate at Le Cellier I arrived early for our ADR [I like chatting with the hostesses while I wait :lookaroun] and watched about 15 couples/groups get turned away and half of those were clearly angry because it wasn't their first turn-away of the evening.

I much prefer TS and book ADRs 180+ days in advance. :shrug:

 

[Elonwy]

Thanks for the advice I will definately put some thought into which places we should make res. at.

I am traveling in "value" season so what do you guys think the chances are of getting a same day res? IE if we decide to go to MK in the morning, trying to book a dinner res for 2 for that night? Can you do that right at the restaurant?

 

[kasey1988]

I wouldnt risk it if there is somewhere you really want to eat. We went in early may, it wasnt value season but when we arrived we wernt able to get a reservation at any of our choices for the whole week.

 

[gardenia]

Forget about "wait time" - some restaurants won't be taking walkups AT ALL. This happens even during value season. Dining just isn't a choose-as-you-go thing anymore. You should make ressies for every meal that you think you might want at a table service restaurant, or be ready for some disappointment.

 

[elizs77]

Go ahead and do it. I've found that the tables for 2 are the last thing to go, so you shouldn't have a problem snagging them. Might as well be safe rather than sorry! If you change your mind, you can always just cancel them.

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks for the advice I will definately put some thought into which places we should make res. at.

I am traveling in "value" season so what do you guys think the chances are of getting a same day res? IE if we decide to go to MK in the morning, trying to book a dinner res for 2 for that night? Can you do that right at the restaurant?

That all depends. If you are trying to book Crystal palace then your chances would be at best fair. If you want Cinderella's Royal table your chances are near zero. If you want to eat at a TS restaurant in WDW it is best to reserve it as far in advance as possible. And if the "value" season you are traveling in is September dinning will be booked almost solid months in advance.

 

[mschmitt1217]

Although a party of two would most likely not need a reservation...to be sure you could always just reserve a restraunt you can't miss out on. It can't hurt.

 

[disneyfankev]

are there places you can book 180+ i thought it was starting 180 prior to date

 

[Sam02]

are there places you can book 180+ i thought it was starting 180 prior to date

If you are staying on property you can start your booking 180 days prior to your check-in date. You can also make your ADR's for other days after your check in date, up to 10 days after. This allows you to make ADR's 190 days in advance.

 

[lilclerk]

I am traveling in "value" season so what do you guys think the chances are of getting a same day res? IE if we decide to go to MK in the morning, trying to book a dinner res for 2 for that night? Can you do that right at the restaurant?

Well I'll tell you this much... we were there during spring break this year and is was the busiest I've ever seen it (I'm normally a value season kinda gal) but we got same day reservations at The Plaza about 3 hours ahead of time. We were leaving the MK to head back to the Pop for a break and there was a sign in front of the town hall saying several restaurants had availability. While we were waiting for the bus, I called and made the ADR.

But I wouldn't count on that always happening.

 

[Phonedave]

Just wondering how necessary it would be to make reservations for dining when there are only 2 of us traveling.

We're pretty laid back and while there might be a few restaurants I would definately want to visit I don't necessarily see us sticking to a schedule. We're both kind of "lets see where our mood takes us" kind of girls.

I just thought that if we just walked up to the restaurant and asked for a table for 2 even if we had a 30-45 min wait or so neither of us would mind.

But I don't want to miss out on eating in some of my favorite places (she's a newbie and i think she'll like most of the restaurants I do) like Sci-Fi and Crystal Palace.

Reserve reserve reserve.

I travel for work and end up in Orlando every so often, but most of the time with only 20 - 30 days notice.

I have trouble getting ADR's 30 days out as a single at many places. I have been told there are NO seatings available for thw whole night at just about every restaruant in the WS, when I tried to walk up as a single at around 4:00 PM.

Make the reservation, and if you decide not to go, then cancel it.

-dave

 

[polynesiangirl]

Everyone's given you great advice so far. I think it really depends on when you go and where you want to eat (and how much you want to eat at that particular place.)

We're very laid back, too, when we go to WDW (since we go a LOT, we're less concerned about seeing everything every time.) It's also usually me and 1 other person so it's not like I have a huge group to get seated somewhere. So what I typically do is make a small list of places we really want to eat at and grab those reservations (knowing that of course you *can* call and cancel if you decide to go somewhere else.)

Honestly, since we're not usually trying to get into Cinderella's Royal Table or some of the other really popular dining spots, I can't honestly say that I've had a tremendously difficult time getting seated on my last few trips. But perhaps we've just been lucky (and we haven't been there during, say, Spring Break in a good few years, so I'm sure that's helped.)

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

The majority our our trips there is just the two of us, DH and yours truly. We've always made ADR's but there were a couple of times when we were able to walk up and dine at a TS location IF it wasn't during free dining or if we were going to one of the less popular places. I'd suggest ADR's though to be safe.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Anyone in particular or are you the mystery millionaire.

 

[Philo]

Make the ADR's

If your going in a quiet season you might get lucky by just turning up for the less popular restaurants but I wouldn't bet on it.

Whilst waiting to be seated at the Coral Reef in early April this year I over-heard someone trying to make a reservation.
Guest - "Can we eat here tonight?"
CM - "Sorry no, we don't have any tables left"
Guest - "How about tomorrow night"
CM - "I'm afraid we're fully booked till the end of May!"

And that's not even a mega popular restaurant.

Bottom line is that it's much easier to make a couple of phone calls now rather than have to walk round 15 restaurants when your in the world. No matter how easy going you are, after a while your just desperate to eat somewhere and you easily get frustrated.

 

[elizs77]

We just got back. We had a lot of ADRs, but we didn't have anything scheduled for our first day because we didn't want to be tied down. We were at MK, and we stopped by the Plaza. Nothing. Nada. Zip. No walk-ins.

We had an ADR for Thursday night at San Angel Inn, so we had no problem, but they turned lots of people away saying they had no tables available.

These aren't the most popular restaurants in the World, and they were booked. Go ahead, take the 10 minutes to make the ADRs, tweak them as you want as time goes on.