Dinner Reservations

[CanadianPatriot]

While i was in WDW ( Nov.29-Dec.9) there was at least 3 times where we had to wait 30-45 minutes past the time of our reservation. did anyone else have this problem?

[Seasonscraps]

That's been my experience a few times when I had a dinner ADR in one of the parks. I find lunch and resort restaurants are more timely.

[CanadianPatriot]

I completely agree. It is very hippocritical as well because if you aren't there on time they seem to have no problem getting rid of your reservation. One time I even had to literally sprint through the world showcase at EPCOT to get to my ADR and got there right on time and i ended up having to wait 45 minutes for my table.

[Seasonscraps]

I think the ADR system is kind of whacked. Technically, it's not a reservation for a table but a reservation for a space in line.

One of the worst waits I had was at the Coral Reef at EPCOT but there wasn't enough room for everyone to wait. It took about 20-25 minutes to get a seat on a bench and then another long wait from there.

Luckily, I haven't encountered a canceled reservation for showing up late but then I can't recall being more then 10, possible 15 minutes late.

[thumperbug]

I've never had to wait that long to be seated for an ADR...I always make sure to show up 10-15 min prior to my ADR..There have been several times we were early and checked in and got seated early.

The only restaurant I found to take longer is the Crystal Palace. And I do not find the CM at the check in for Cinderellas Royal Table to be friendly at all. The last 2 times we ate there, at check in you would think we were waiting to see the queen. They made me feel like I should feel blessed to have an ADR there....

[mom2morgan]

I didn't have any trouble this past week - we were seated early on most occasions and only about 5 minutes or so late once.

[TFrauts]

cali grill and ohanas were the worst for us!! We were on time for the california grill, but had to wait about an hour, and about 20 minutes late for Ohanas(because the monorail broke down...grrr...we had to exit the monorails, and were all waiting on the landing of the contemporary for about 25 minutes! I left my party and snuck out to use the phone and call to make sure they(ohanas) knew we were still coming!! Of course...they were too busy to answer the phone....SOOOOO when we arrived, the lady was like..."SORRY...OUR SYSTEM CANCELS YOUR RESERVATION AFTER 10 MINUTES OF BEING LATE"...we eplained that it was not our fault, that the monorail was broken, and I tried to call...she said "OH...WELL IM TOO BUSY TO BE ANSWERING THE PHONE IN THE OFFICE>>" this was not acceptable for me, as it was our first night on property, and my grandparents 63rd anniversary....and already 9:00pm at night!!....anyways...the "manager" disappeared, we didnt see her again(I know she was avoiding us), and were seated by 10pm....SOOOO NOT ACCEPTABLE IN MY BOOKS!! I was very disappointed to make my 90 year old grandparents wait that late to eat....our reservations were for 8:30!! Ughhhh...not a great start to the trip!! Thankfully it got much better!!

[LoriMistress]

It depends on the time you have your ADRs. The only time we truly waited was at Le Cellier, we had a 7pm ADR. We arrived fifteen minutes early and we still waited 45 minutes!!! They were over booked and the restaurant was packed. They were turning everyone away who didn't have an ADR and had people waiting who did. Luckly, the food was excellent and well worth the wait.

[stitchaholic]

we are headed down at the end of jan,i didn't have this problem at all last year early january,so i hope i will not have it this trip,i booked an 8pm dinner at ohana's,with 2 children under 10,i am thinking that i better keep calling to get an earlier ressie...

[disneyworld55925592]

I haven't ever had to wiat more then 15 minutes however I believe the wait is due to the fact that it isn't actually a reservation. They don't really save a table for you, you just get the next one that opens up. If there is another family that arrives with an ADR around the same time then you get the second one that opens up. It can mean a longer waiting time:(

[DANAM]

We always have to wait at least 20 or so minutes. So this year I built into our schedule time for my DH or myself to wait for the table and the other to do something with the kids for the 10 to 20 or so minutes we would be waiting. Don't you know we walked right up and were seated within minutes of our arrival everytime. I guess when you plan to wait that when you don't.

I have to say normally we wait for ever for 'Ohana's, literally about an hour everytime we have went in the past. They are the worst for seating. But we love the food so we never miss it.

[WDWFanatic]

We always have to wait at least 20 or so minutes. So this year I built into our schedule time for my DH or myself to wait for the table and the other to do something with the kids for the 10 to 20 or so minutes we would be waiting. Don't you know we walked right up and were seated within minutes of our arrival everytime. I guess when you plan to wait that when you don't.

Good plan, lol. If you DH took the kids would they seat you without your whole party being present?

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We just got back from a 10 day trip and the only restaurant we had to wait more than 10 minutes for was Tony's....

[tinksmom02]

The only place we consistently have a problem is Ohana. I always make it a point to show up 20 minutes earlier than our ADR (thinking we might get seated BY our ADR time), but we NEVER get seated until at least 30 minutes past our ADR time.

[kathiep]

For our September trip, we had to wait about 20 minutes for our dinner at O'Hana. I was a little agitated by this but it wasn't too bad as we had drinks in the lounge. However, when we got to our dinner ressie at Le Cellier, we arrived about 8 minutes early and still waited over 40. DH was not happy and of course, keeping DD and DS occupied during this time, wasn't easy.

[bkfree]

We just returned on the 10th from our trip.
The only ADRs that we were seated later than our ressie was at Chefs De France and 50's Prime Time, by about 20 minutes. They were booked solid. We always check in at least 30 minutes before our time.
In fact at Boma, we checked in a hour early and they seated us within 5 minutes.
At Tutto, Chef MIckeys, CP, Askerhaus and Kona we were seated at our exact ADR time.