Victoria & Albert's questions

Walt Disney World Dining
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My wife, her father and his girlfriend and I are thinking about taking a trip to Orlando to go to Victoria & Albert’s. I’ve got a few questions for those who have been.

  1. How long does it take and what time do you usually finish? I’ve heard of these taking 3-4 or even 5 hours. I’m assuming you aren’t done until at least 10 pm.
  2. We would love to do the Chef’s Table, but are also interested in the Queen Victoria’s room. Is the Chef’s Table more difficult to get reservations for?
  3. None of us are big wine drinkers. Has anyone done it and NOT done the paired wines?
  4. Lastly, I’m assuming this is a very difficult reservation to get. Is it nearly impossible? Is there any way to increase your chances, other than being online at 6 am the morning of 180 days? We aren’t sure if we will stay at Grand Floridian or not, but that is what we are leaning towards, since it doesn’t look like you could fly out that evening.

Thanks in advance for any tips or insight.

2

  1. Yes, it takes 3-4 hours, and you’ll want to savor it! They do a good job of presenting each course at a good time, but with so many courses, it takes awhile. The Chefs Table takes even longer. I would definitely plan on staying the night around the area. Here’s a good review/breakdown (but note it’s a few years old so some things may have changed): A review of The Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's

  2. Victoria’s room and the Chefs Table have very limited seating, so you will need to call the moment they open to book them. I’m not sure which is harder to book, but they are both exclusive.

  3. I ate there while pregnant and it was fine to not get the wine package. My husband had just a glass, (which was still very expensive) and didn’t feel like he missed out on anything.

  4. We booked our trip a month or two out, and I called about a month before to see if they had any reservations. They didn’t, but put me on a waitlist. In the airport, I got the call that there was an opening (regular room) the next night, which we accepted (I don’t think we had time to reconsider, it was a take it or leave it call). My husband hadn’t packed a jacket, so he borrowed one there, which worked out fine. I felt like we got lucky, but it does happen that reservations open up!

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The Chef’s Table is the most difficult reservation to get, as there is only 1 booking per night. You pretty much have to be staying on-site and looking to get it late in your stay, as by your ADR day the earlier days in your stay will have already been taken. You also cannot book it on-line - you have to call the V&A at 10:00 am.

The Victoria Room is easier, as there are more tables per night, but you still will be more successful later in your stay. Also, you can book it on-line starting at 6:00 am.

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I thought ADRs were 180 days, not 180+X like Fast Passes. Our issue is that we will be going down simply for dinner at V&A. We won’t make hotel reservations until we can get a reservation to V&A. So, if they are 180+X, then we will be screwed as we would likely check in that day, go to V&A and then check out the next morning.

I’d love to get Chef’s Table, but would be fine with the Queen Victoria room if we cannot get Chef’s Table.

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ADRs are 180+plus your MDE-entered reservation,

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Hi, my wife and I were there in March and here is a review of our experience.

To answer your questions.
1 - It does take time, ours was just over 4 hour and this was at the Chef’s Table. The time we walked out was 9:40pm.
2 - The Chef’s table is by far the hardest reservation to get at WDW. That said, the best thing to do is to call V&A directly. Tell them the dates you are looking at, which experiences you would like (I told them March 9 - 15, 2019, with the order of what we would like - the Chef’s Table, the Queen Victoria Room and lastly, the Main dining Room)
3 - We did not pair the wines, however did have 1 bottle of wine - a Moscato, which was $110
4 - You can do the Main Dining room and Queen Victoria room online at the Disney website. The Chef’s table, as stated above, must be called to V&A directly.

There were some changes that took place shortly before we dined there. The Main Dining room and the Queen Victoria room are now both 10 course meals for $235 per person plus tax and tip.
The Chef’s Table is $250 per person plus tax and tip.
The Main Dining room has 19 tables (2 people per table), the Queen Victoria room has 4 tables, also 2 per table and the Chef’s Table is for 2 to 8 people of which it is only one party so you don’t have to worry about sharing.
We were staying at the All Star Movies and used Lyft or Uber to get to and from the resort.
Even though we had not planned on doing any upgrades, I would highly suggest you at least budget it, just in case you decide to, as we did.
Something that guys may not know is wear a long sleeve shirt if you want to take off your Suit jacket.
The Chef’s Table was not available when I first called but I did call back and was able to get that. The first reservation we had was actually on 3/12 for the Queen Victoria Room.
Lastly, no matter which room you are able to get, enjoy the night. Take it all in. It was truly the most amazing dining experience either my wife or I have ever had. It will be hard to top V&A Chef’s Table.

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I know this is highly controversial, but one way to do it would be to use a dummy resort reservation to book V&A at 180+10. After you are within the 180 days, cancel the dummy resort reservation. The ADR will still be on your account

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I forgot about your Blog post on your experience - thanks for sharing it!

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OK, once more with feeling:

  • The first rule of The Trick Which Must Not Be Named is: You do not talk about The Trick Which Must Not Be Named.
  • The second rule of The Trick Which Must Not Be Named is: You do not talk about The Trick Which Must Not Be Named.

Got it? :wink:

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Glad it could help.