Chefs de France disaster. Never again.

[Bjkandma]

Sorry you were disappointed. Most restaurants ask you to check in 15 minutes before reservation. Being in a scooter (unable to transfer, and restaurants having prior knowkedge), we've waited as long as one hour past our ADR. Liberty Tree in Magic Kingdom and in Epcot for the princess breakfast. They needed to place me in an area that was "safe". We've always allowed 15 minutes prior to reservation time, and know that eventually we will be seated. A good idea is to plan 90 minutes to 2 hours for a sit down meal, possibly more with a larger party.

 

[Dash7]

I know I tried checking in early at Chefs once and the hostess told me they don't do that there, that you have to wait until your actual time. I don't know if that's actually a policy they have or if it was just what she came up with to tell me. Sorry your experience was frustrating. In my experience with the exception of early morning ADRs, we almost always have to wait after our ADR time to be seated. I build that in to my plans and then if we're actually seated on time we have a pleasant surprise.

 

[KPeterso]

Never had a problem with our ADRs at Chefs and having to wait very long. Usually, the scooter is barely parked and they are calling us. But we are a party of 2 usually, so small group.

Our bad experience with a long wait was at 1900 Park Fair a number of years ago now. The two top tables were not being cleared out and it was a good 45 minutes post ADR time when us and another party of 2 were seated. We were getting close to becoming a new party of 4 (combining our groups) since they were seating all the parties of 4 with ADRs at least 30 minutes past our time.

 

[maxiesmom]

I agree with others that the delay in seating was not egregious considering the time of night it was and the size of the party.

However, I somewhat disagree that Disney's ADRs are not true reservations. They most certainly are because they will charge you if you cancel. That seems like more of a reservation to me than an actual reservation. But no reservation anywhere is a guarantee of a time.

ADRs are reservation for a table, but nor for a time. Honestly, they should go back to calling them what they are, which is Priority Seating. That was the old name, and it really still fits.

If you thought Chefs was slow, stay away from The Rose and Crown. Now if I don't wait at least 20 minutes past my ADR time I think something is wrong. 30 minutes is my average wait time.

 

[fla4fun]

Our worst wait has to be Coral Reef, which was well over an hour after ADR time. They did mention they were behind when we checked in, but not how far, or we probably would have gone somewhere else. Prime Time is almost always 30-45 minutes past ADR time. We have just started either having a TS dinner or having evening plans, but not both. On the days we have evening plans, we book a late lunch instead of dinner and that works better for us.

 

[brertoad]

It wasn't your fault. They should have treated you better and tried to honor the reservation time. I've had a similar experience for the 4th of July, however we missed the fireworks.

All you can do it change your planning accordingly for the future, don't trust that it will go smoothly. If fireworks are the priority, as you said, maybe quick service instead. I know I won't do a table service again for the 4th of July.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Disney World forces us to plan our trips down to the minute, many months ahead of time. I'm a planner, I enjoy the planning aspect and how it gets us excited for the vacation. But Disney has to uphold their end of the bargain if that is the system they want to have in place.

This will forever drive me batty about WDW and I refuse to be an apologist about it. Its a huge buzzkill. An ADR doesn’t actually mean reservation time, it just holds your spot in line essentially. Waiting past your ADR time is fully expected. More people need to admit that WDW doesn’t have the resources to keep up with current demand but they pack them in as if they do.

Seven trips in two years, including one this week, have taught me to have a plan A, B and C because stuff will go wrong at some point :-/

 

[rdaky]

I'm sorry to hear that you were disappointed and so irritated. From an outsider's perspective, it sounds like you were unrealistic, impatient, and possibly aggressive toward restaurant staff.

So we waited in the front area...FOREVER. After 10 minutes went by

This sounds incredibly impatient to me, especially Disney.

I asked her what the wait time would be. She didn't remember my name or party from the two previous and recent interactions so I had to remind her. "No table" she says curtly. 25 minutes past our reservation time and I went up to her to ask for the table and her reply was "sorry. we will try our best." Huh? She got a manager at that point who came out to apologize...to a different party. He just walked into the vestibule and started talking (about my reservation, using my name) to the first person he saw. I spoke up and said actually that's me you're referring to, but instead of coming over to me, he started walking away. Another member of my party realized my aggravation and went over to him to say that we were the party who had been waiting.

FYI many many people wait 25 minutes after their ADR to be seated and most don't seek out a manager.

As we were getting ready to call it quits, FINALLY we are taken to our table and sit down at 7:58pm. 28 minutes after our reservation time, despite checking in early, on time, and then repeatedly.

So you were ready to call it quits 3 MINUTES after speaking to a manager?

Luckily our server was friendly and a welcome change of pace. But that pace apparently didn't apply to the kitchen. We knew we were on a time crunch for fireworks, so we ordered drinks and our entire meal right when he first came over (pre-fixe option). The soups arrived relatively quickly but then we sat and waited and waited until 8:40pm when the entrees arrived. So for a 7:30pm reservation, we didnt get our meals until 8:40pm.

But you weren't seated until 8ish. You had your soup and entree by 8:40. Sounds reasonable to me. Did you expect them to microwave some frozen meal in the back?

Fireworks in 20 minutes, we are forced to gobble down our food at light speed (the opposite of what you want when one sets out to enjoy a nice sit down meal) and order our desserts to go. We raced out and watched the fireworks right as the torches were snuffed out and the music started playing.

That's your own fault for poor planning. Sorry. 7:30 ADR for a 9pm anything is not a reasonable expectation AT ALL.

But there is no reason for the short rude replies from the hostess. The manager could have actually taken 1 second to make sure he talked to the right patron, rather than offering an empty standard apology to the wrong person.

Again, you were complaining for waiting after 10 minutes. I'm having a tough time believing that you weren't possibly aggressive toward them first.

They could have offered to get us water while we waited or arranged for us to order cocktails in the waiting area.

And that would have helped you how? You'd still be upset about being late for the fireworks.

Maybe I sound whiny.

Yep.

But Disney World forces us to plan our trips down to the minute, many months ahead of time. I'm a planner, I enjoy the planning aspect and how it gets us excited for the vacation. But Disney has to uphold their end of the bargain if that is the system they want to have in place. We always end our trip with Illuminations in EPCOT.

Again, a 7:30 ADR was unrealistic to begin with and all of this could have been avoided had you planned better.

 

[DISNEYSQUIRRELS]

We banned Chefs de France a few trips ago because the food was so bad. We had always had good meals there but the last time we were there, my god...it was slop.
Except for dessert.
I really wish Disney would do away with ADRs or come up with a better system.
It’s crazy to me that 180 days out, we all start scrambling to get our perfect ADR times for all the restaurants on our to do list only to have the whole plan unravel when FastPass day comes

 

[maxiesmom]

We banned Chefs de France a few trips ago because the food was so bad. We had always had good meals there but the last time we were there, my god...it was slop.
Except for dessert.
I really wish Disney would do away with ADRs or come up with a better system.
It’s crazy to me that 180 days out, we all start scrambling to get our perfect ADR times for all the restaurants on our to do list only to have the whole plan unravel when FastPass day comes

I have no problems making my FPs work with my ADRs. It is not that hard.

 

[westie55]

It is unfortunate that you had to wait that long past your reservation time. Having said that, this is not an uncommon occurrence at Disney so it must be factored into planning. The wait time for the meal doesn't sound at all unreasonable to me; in fact it sounds typical of what I would expect in any restaurant. If staff ignored you, that isn't right. The way you categorize 10 minutes as forever brings the rest of the complaints (some of which might be legitimate) into question, I must say, because it suggests that you are exaggerating or are being overly sensitive. Just my 2 cents. Sorry your experience was less than magical.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They should have treated you better and tried to honor the reservation time.

This makes it sound like the restaurant was intentionally holding the OP's party back as some sort of spite type thing.

While I know it's not as common in the outside world as perhaps Disney's usage of the process but I've been to plenty of places where I have a reservation for X time but am not seated at X time. This comes down to one or more of the following:

~No tables available at X time even if they had pre-selected some tables to choose from for our party
~Wait staff issues as in perhaps they don't have enough (unfortunate but it happens)
~Not all of party there (if such establishment requires this to be sat down)
~Cleaning or getting tables ready for us
~Place operates as a "check in then next in line for table for size of party or sometimes just the next table available" reservation system

I know it can be frustrating for people truly I know but I have to question if people have never had this happen anywhere else. Has everyone always been sat down at their table at their exact reservation time 100% of the time they've been out? If so I guess it would come as a shock if they went to WDW and has this happened.

FWIW I think for the OP perhaps it was made worse by the employee and manager interaction and that aspect I totally get. It would put me off too.

 

[jdisnut]

With all respect to the many people in this thread pointing out that Advance Dining Reservations aren't true reservations, it's Disney that decided to put the word "reservation" in the name. Any normal human being would assume as much, and, frankly, Disney's own Cast Members don't exactly put a stop to that natural perception.

The original poster shouldn't have had to wait as long as she did, but regardless, the real issue is how the restaurant handled the situation. A little service recovery probably would've gone a long way there.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

With all respect to the many people in this thread pointing out that Advance Dining Reservations aren't true reservations, it's Disney that decided to put the word "reservation" in the name. Any normal human being would assume as much, and, frankly, Disney's own Cast Members don't exactly put a stop to that natural perception.

The original poster shouldn't have had to wait as long as she did, but regardless, the real issue is how the restaurant handled the situation. A little service recovery probably would've gone a long way there.

But as I mentioned I've been to plenty of places where I've had a reservation for X time but was not sat at that time. I do understand the confusion surrounding just how Disney utilizes their system but they are not unique in that a reservation for X time does not mean you will be sat at X time.

Went to Vegas a little over a week ago. We had 3 reservations: one reservation we were seated 10mins after we checked in the place was super busy and we lucked out honestly checking in when we did because we would have waited long for get this...a table to become available. Another reservation the place wasn't busy and we were sat immediately. The other reservation allowed us a table out of ones that had been held back for reservations. However, if all the tables held back for reservations had been busy we would have waited past our reservation time. As is again we lucked out checking in when we did because about 15mins after that the place was a mad house and full.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We love that joint. We never plan a must "do or die" anything on our last day.

 

[Dizzytime]

We always loved the food there, but FWIW Luxurious_Lumiere, we gave up Chefs years back for basically the same reasons. Unlike any other DW restaurant , were consistently seated long ( 1hr ++ ) after our PS/ADR even though checking in early, plus the prevalent rude attitude, unless ( and this was another consistent observation we found impossible to ignore) you spoke French.
When they took Chef's dinner off Tables in Wonderland it made it easy to, finally, just say no more.
Just our experience, and I know that's all it is, but thought it would be worth sharing here. Hope those that still go are having a better experience.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Honestly, they should go back to calling them what they are, which is Priority Seating. That was the old name, and it really still fits.

Even the word "priority" implied a status which doesn't exist. Maybe they should call it what it really is - Call Ahead Seating

We banned Chefs de France a few trips ago because the food was so bad.

Completely understandable.

We had always had good meals there but the last time we were there, my god...it was slop.

Less understandable First meal, or one of only two, sure. But multiple good meals and one bad?

With all respect to the many people in this thread pointing out that Advance Dining Reservations aren't true reservations, it's Disney that decided to put the word "reservation" in the name.

if the intent was for it to be an actual reservation, wouldn't they use just that word? Plus, isn't the actual situation described every. single. time. a table is booked - including multiple times when making multiple ADRs in one transaction?

 

[piccolopat]

OP, waiting a half an hour is not unreasonable for a very busy restaurant at the peak of the dinner hour. If earlier diners are lingering longer than expected it can set the rest of the night up for delays beyond their control. This is especially true for larger parties since there are fewer tables to accommodate them. It's also important to understand that the French, and other Europeans, view dinner as an experience and something not to be rushed. We love that aspect to dining there as it brings back memories of dining in Paris. Too many U.S. restaurants rush you through your meal, even presenting the bill before you've finished eating. We also learned a long time ago that the French aren't as warm and fuzzy as many Americans expect but they are efficient and generally pleasant with a little effort on our part. Just greeting them in their language is a nice way to get their attention.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Too many U.S. restaurants rush you through your meal, even presenting the bill before you've finished eating.

I don't equate that to rushing FWIW. I call that efficiency. We've never felt like a bill being presented means we need to be shooed out. They always say "whenever you're ready there's no rush" and we've never had a waiter or waitress act like they desperately need you to give them whatever method of payment you're using to get it over with.

That said I think certain places lend themselves to being more acceptable if you will to placing the bill down before the meal is up.

 

[MarkinNM]

Confused on Advance Dining Reservation not being a reservation lol?

I was told that and ADR is indeed not a reservation but rather a "request", and understand ADR stands for Advanced Dining Request.........So no it is not a reservation per say, I know I know its Disney......