Waiting time at most restaurants
 

if you arrive around five but after that usually 45-hour wait. If you have a large party like grandchildren and parents forget about it. Anybody have any tips.

Any group over 4 is a pain to get seated

Go at four.

Some of the restaurants will take reservations, like Bonefish Grill. I believe Olive Garden and Red Lobster have "Call Ahead" seating.

At the Country Clubs, we just go to the bar and have a drink, while we wait for our table.

Go out to eat in July. :p

Those 45 hour waits can be tiring!

Agree that best to go early or call for reservations. But best advise is wait till the snow birds leave and all the places lower the prices and announce their dinner and drink deals!

Army Guy

Would it work to go at 7:30PM, assuming that most villagers had already eaten?

Most of the time, No, especially if entertainment is going on, as most "camp-out" and stay for it. If going late you need to look after 8 or 8:30.

Army Guy

wait time
 

We were there for a preview tour over Labor Day weekend and had no problems anywhere - we are going back the week between Christmas and NE - is this a warning that it will be different! We are trying to "experience" during the different times so we know what to expect when we move.... house in GA goes on the market this week or next - hope it is "here we come" soon!!!
Thanks

The difference is
 

Summer months, approx. 35,000 people and growing.
Winter months, approx. 85,000 people and growing. (Some of these extras are in line in front of you, some are behind you.)

We eat our main meal between 2 and 4:30 and usually have no trouble getting a table. Also if there are seats open at the bar we don't have any trouble eating there. The bar menu's are the same as the main menu in many places. Also not hard to find your server for another drink ;)

Yes it will be different. Hope your house sells quickly!

renrod your figures are villagers only. You also have to add residents guest, renters and their guest and people living adjacent to the villages all competing for seating

It will probably be fairly "quiet and calm" between Christmas and New Year. However, as of January 1, the population will explode. Until you spend an extended amount of time here during the "season", you will not know what to expect. And it gets busier every year. I've lived here for 5 years and it's nothing now like it was the first year. The grocery stores will be insane on the 1st and 2nd of January because all the renters will be buying their groceries to stock up their rental units. Coming to visit for a week here and there does not give you the full picture.

Don't you just love it?

No, I don't. You don't realize how much of a vacation destination The Villages is during the winter months until you've lived here for a few years.

But they sure help keep the expense and calories down.

We dine out 5 or 6 nights a week. We are retired not in a rush and never have problems. Slow down folks:crap2:

Been here since 2000......is that long enough?

So even though it is a different "season" we won't get the whoke pix! May I ask ... during the snow bird season, if things are as crowded as indicated = do the "FROGS" internally group and continue the "lifestyle" or just "hibernate"??? Help me here, does not sound like there are a lot of regrets out there!!!
Thanks

In our first years here, we tried to do the same things during the high season that we do in the summer, but we both are uncomfortable in large crowds. As a result, we tend to "hibernate" a bit in the winter. We don't go to big events in the squares like the tree lighting or Octoberfest, etc. We recognize golf will be different in terms of access and starting times, but we still get to play almost as much as we want. We just have to be more flexible about it. We don't eat out as much, mostly because one of us doesn't like to wait. At all. Ever.

But we still love it here, winter or summer, spring or fall. So many friends. And still so much to do.

Our life here in The Villages mirrors yours in almost every way, except the eating out and hibernating parts! We still go out to eat but it's usually a late lunch. We don't like crowds, either, and after 13 years living here we have "been there and done that" when it comes to many of the events that take place on the squares. We are also 13 years older and really enjoy settling in, in the evening, after an active day outside. We definitely do not hibernate and our lives move along at exactly the right pace for us. That is the beauty of this place. We can all do as much or as little as we like.

:22yikes: Yikes.......No matter how hungry, I sure couldn't handle that one!:icon_hungry: :)

That is us also except we have only been doing it for 10 years. We do an occasional run to the SS square on vendor night but we get there at 3-3:30 and eat before we go to the square.

Re The Difference Is..
 

If one visits during High Season and Off Season is that not enough to determine if one is suited for the Villages extremes of population? With the completion of the Villages just a few yrs away.. Is it an assumption that the current lifestyle will continue with the majority of residents being SnowBirds verses the Full time Frogs? Just curious where the Villages is heading for Residents on a year round basis...Will it be looked upon as a Vacation Spot primarily once its Built out? Thanks and still looking forward to our LSP in a few weeks:) With hopes of being a Frog!!

I think as the individual villages mature, the snowbirds turn into frogs. So eventually I would expect 80% frogs and 20% snowbirds. That will be several years out on the south side and even more on the south side of 466A.

There were 16,000 residents living here in The Villages when we moved in, in 1998. I looked upon it as "home" then and it will still be "home" when build out completes. I think that just about any community in Florida has its share of snowbirds. For those of us who chose this fabulous place to call home it will never be a "vacation spot". It is home, period. We shop for groceries and other needed items just like we did back north. We have appointments and a social life just like we did back north. In Maine our highways and communities are inundated with tourists from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Waits are longer in restaurants and roadways clog with traffic at times. The tourists' and part-time residents' money is such a boost for the economy. Many, many businesses here in Florida and in The Villages area would likely not survive if it wasn't for the snowbirds and the $$ they pump into this already fragile economy. Vacation spot? This is a fabulous place to come on vacation. As for me, I feel as though I am on a permanent vacation every day!

VillagesFlorida, post#275, makes some good points. Most desirable areas have similar conditions relative to seasonal fluctuations in population. NC mountains, Cape Cod, Nags head, Colorado ski areas, most of South Florida, Adirondacks, etc., etc. I wouldn't consider The Villages a serious vacation destination. We have no beaches nor mountains. We have no blocks of high rise condos. We don't even have a lot of hotels, motels or cabins. Our appeal is single family homes with a particular life style. Although children are welcome and enjoy visiting their grand parents we are not really overrun with them.

I think we have a good balance. It does get more crowded during the season but I can live with that. It is a pretty well behaved crowd including the kids. Seasonal fluctuation is part of the way of life here.
.

When living up north most people agree that they are bummed out during the winter months and that feelng repeats each year.

Living in The Villages as October approaches some folks here begin to get bummed out knowing that they will have to drastically alter their routine and/or withdraw from most activities until April/May. This isn't to impugn anyone it is simply a fact of life here. Many many people rent out their homes so that the busy season gets longer and longer here by the month. While many people, incuding myself, understand this situation and manage it well, it does not change the fact that realistically it affects your quality of life in just about every respect.

I agree with the idea of managing the changes that occur with the seasonal residents and renters/guests. It is a fact of life here in TV. You can fight it and get angry/frustrated/resentful, or you can accept that for 4-5 months of the year you have to plan more to do the things you want to do. Remember that our seasonal residents are paying amenities fees all year, but we get the amenities all year long.

I always get a chuckle when I hear people grouse about the seasonal residents. When asked, they admit that their seasonal neighbors aren't the problem, it's those OTHER ones that clog the restaurants, golf courses, or line dancing classes. You know, THEM. :1rotfl:

Welcome!
 

We are new villagers-1 month----put our house on the market in Indiana and it sold in1 week--- price it right and you can celebrate new years eve here---we love it! Good luck:wave: