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Priority Seating
Note: A
major change will be made to the priority seating policy for the
character breakfast at Cinderella's
Royal Table. As of
June 9, 2002, a credit card deposit (the card will actually be
charged) of $10.00 / adult and $5.00 / child will be required at
the time that the priority seating is made. After the
priority seating is booked, no changes can be made to the name on
the booking. If necessary, priority seatings may be
cancelled without penalty (i.e. the deposit will be refunded) if
the cancellation is done at least twenty-four hours before the
priority seating time.
"Priority seating" is the term
that Walt Disney World's cast members use for table service restaurant
reservations. Simply put, you can't get traditional reservations for
most restaurants at WDW. Instead, you are given a priority seating time which is different than conventional reservations.
Having a priority seating time at a WDW restaurant does
not guarantee that an empty table will waiting for you when you
arrive. Instead, it means that you will be given the first available
table of the type you've requested after your arrival (as long as you
get to the restaurant at least five minutes before your scheduled priority seating
time). However, if several other folks
with priority seating have arrived ahead of you (even if
they have a later priority seating time), you'll stand in
line.
The reason for this odd arrangement is that many people over the
years were making reservations and skipping them. The restaurants were
forced to honor those reservations, but often ended up holding tables
for people that didn't show up (we're talking up to 40-60% no shows
here). That being the case, Disney cooked up this priority seating concept. It works, as long as you know what your
priority seating really means.
Some comments on strategy are in order here:
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You can make priority seating arrangements by calling (407)
WDW-DINE or by pressing the priority seating button on your WDW
resort phone or in person at the restaurant on the day that you'd
like to have your meal.
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Be aware of the 60 day and 120 day rules! You can not make
priority seating arrangements for any restaurants in the parks
prior to 60 days before the date of the meal. Also, you can
not make priority seating arrangements for any restaurants in the
resorts prior to 120 days before the date of the meal.
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If you want to have a character meal at one of the more
popular venues (Cinderella's Royal Table, which offers a very
few seats for the "Once Upon a Time" character
breakfast, for example) you really do need to get on the
phone five minutes before 7:00am eastern time and start calling
(407) WDW-DINE over and over until you get a receptionist.
In fact, you really should do that exactly 60 days prior to the
date you want. Even if you do this, there is no
guarantee that you'll get a priority seating, but it's your best
bet. If you call any other day (within 60 days of the date
you want) you may be able to snap up a cancellation, but your odds
get worse as you get closer to the day.
-
If you would like to have your meal at a specific time (for
example, you want to see the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom as
you dine at Narcoosee's) you should make your priority seating time for before the event you are planning around.
Next, you must show up at the restaurant well in advance of your priority seating
time (a half hour or more would be
wise). In the worst case, you might be asked to wait until closer
to your seating time, but in my experience, most Cast Members will
simply put you in the queue...immediately following anyone else
with priority seating that arrived before you. Later
arrivals, even if their actual priority seating time
is before yours, will actually be seated after you.
-
If a special table is preferred, one next to El Rio de Tiempo
when dining at the San Angel Inn, for example, you can ask when
you arrive at the restaurant, but you'll probably have to wait
longer. The strategy I explained above, of getting to the
restaurant early for your priority seating time, will
help for such cases too.
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One tip worth repeating here, was provided by Michelle Price
(mrp4507@ix.netcom.com). Michelle pointed out that if you're
staying off property, you can get a 7:30am Character Breakfast priority seating
in a park with early entry. If you
do, you'll finish breakfast around 8am and then get to take
advantage of the early entry. Michelle's family did this last year
in the MK and saw all of Fantasyland (except the Lion King and
Dumbo) before the official opening.
Some people actually plan out their days to such an extent that
they make their meal priority seating arrangements months
before they leave home for WDW. Although I personally don't want
to have that rigid of a schedule, there is wisdom in making some
priority seating arrangements in advance (in fact, very
early if possible). The specific situations that I would
strongly recommend include: Dinner Shows such as the Hoop Dee
Doo and Polynesian Luau (although these are actually real-live
reservations, not "priority seating"), character meals
(especially at Cinderella's Royal Table and the Crystal Palace), and
any special restaurant that you really, really want to visit.
The premier restaurant at Walt Disney World, Victoria and Albert's,
is a special restaurant that serves multi-course meals with premier
service and appointments. Victoria and Albert's seats only a fixed
number of guests at several seatings throughout the evening, so if you
have a priority seating for Victoria and Albert's, you
really do have an honest-to-goodness reservation (even if nobody but
you call it that.)
Frankly, Barb and I usually skip making meal priority seating and wing it. In the Fall, when we tend to visit,
you can often get away without priority seating -
especially for a small-sized party. However, we have had our
share of being burned and turned away at a place we particularly
wanted to visit, so winging it is not bullet-proof no matter what time
of year it is. During the busier times of the year, going to
dinner without priority seating would be laughable. The
moral of the story is that if there is a particular restaurant
(especially the more popular places) that you particularly want to
visit, or if your party is a larger one then you really need to
arrange for priority seating.
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