[crlejeune]

Hi, Everyone my family and I are going the first week in May. Does anyone know if the Priority Seating really works or is there a still a long wait? I have Priority Seating at the California Grill for 7:45pm, and asked for window seating. The fireworks start at 9:00pm at MK. Any help or ideas are greatly apreciated.
Thanks
Robin :)

[mickey]

I think it varies by restaurant. I have noticed that at very busy restaurants, you still have to wait. We always have to wait at Le Cellier, and last time we were at California Grill, we waited about a half an hour. The alternative is to just show up, but then you are put at the end of the list, and keep getting rotated down below all the people that come after you with PS. Last visit at Le Cellier, the wait for a non-PS was over two hours. I honestly don't think you would even get into California Grill without a PS. I wouldn't expect your wait to be over a half an hour. Make sure you arrive a couple minutes early and get your name on the list.

One nice thing about CG is that they have a nice waiting area, and you can also walk out onto the catwalks outside. They have great views of the Magic Kingdom and the other monorail resorts. They also give you a beeper that works throughout the Contemporary, so you could also explore while waiting.

[crlejeune]

Thanks, Mickey your a great help.
Thanks
Robin :)

[lopo]

crlejeune, my experience has proven that prioity seating definitely makes a big difference. Although I have not dined at either of the restaurants that Mickey mentioned, I have found that my party has never had to wait to be seated for more than 15 minutes at any of the places we had PS. And, I've observed folks walking in to some of the places and being told that either they would not be able to dine that evening or that they'd have a long wait (more than an hour). If a place is popular and you know that you want to eat there while you are at WDW, I recommend that you use PS, if possible, to avoid disappointment.

[brumcg]

One thing that we do is to make our Dinner reservations - if possible - sometime around 4:30-5:00 - on the early side. Show up 10 minutes early, and boom - you're in. That works well with the kids. Typically, we do an early breakfast in the room, grab some counter service before noon, and by 5:00 we're more than ready for a nice meal.

The only place that I can remember waiting more than 15 minutes or more was the Crystal Palace.

Bruce

[tinkerbell]

crlejeune

we normally go in may .. and usually sometime during the first of the month .. I admit we do not do the PS very often ..we just go get on the list ..I cant remember this ever being a real problem for us .. one time though it did take us about an hour to get a table at the Crystal Palace, but I think thats about the longest its ever taken. We have a tradition now of showing up at Chef Mickey's our first morning there and I think the longest we have waited was 25 minutes. We have waited about this long with PS. We are not "schedule" types ..we just cant stick to one .. I guess because when we started going the youngest granddaughter was only 6 months ..and with a baby you have to go when the baby is ready :)