Storing Taqman plates with polymerase in fridge before running
Not sure if this question is still valid, but it was marked as unanswered and frequently viewed, so here's a go :)

These days most polymerases (certainly for Real Time PCR) are so-called Hot Start enzymes (ask your manufacturer, because they save you a whole lot of trouble!). They are modified with a protein that prevents them from working until activated at 95 deg. Celsius. Be aware though that not all hot start enzymes require the same activation time at 95 deg. Celsius, and some enzymes lose activity when activated for 15 min. at 95*C instead of 2 min.

In my experience storing plates at 4 degrees (or room temperature) is not a problem at all, and most manufacturers advertise that the PCR mixes (including primers, probes and DNA) are stable at room temperature for 24 hours. You do however need to protect the mixtures from (sun)light because the probe might be damaged when exposed for longer times.

Personally, I would not recommend storing real-time PCR plates in the freezer, because condensate will most-likely form when you thaw your plates. This can influence the PCR, as real-time PCR uses light for the analysis of your samples.

If you want to save yourself some pipetting, but can't prepare plates in advance, you can prepare a primer-and-probe mix, which you can freeze in batches. In our lab, we keep a stock of primer-and-probe mix for every assay. Maybe this also works when you already add water and PCR mastermix, but I have never tried. I wonder how other people do this, so please leave a reply.

Hope this might help some people.