We found, across the board, that eating early (5:15 seating) was best. That way, you have the entire evening OPEN to do as you wish and not have to worry about getting seating. (Usually finsih eating by 6:45...) For shows that we really want to see, we send in a single person of our party (taking one for the team) to get in the venue and hold some seats for 30+ minutes until the rest show up. If you have to worry about getting seated for dinner AND there is a massive line, you lose the opportunity of getting great seats or missing the first few minutes of a show or not getting in to a show if you don't have reservations.