.

[JimmyV]

I can't see it work that it would be "We can seat you in about 2 hours. Please wait in our lobby for your name to be called" ... I think it would be more like " "We anticipate we can seat you in about 2 hours. We will text you when you are 15 minutes out so you can come check in at the podium"

That would be nice...but I've never had anyone extend that offer to me. Heck. Even with an ADR at 50's Prime Time and Via Napoli I have had to wait more than 30-45 minutes in the lobby for my name to be called. No one has ever said to me: "I see that you have a 7:00 ADR. You can leave and we will text you when your table is ready." The best that you get is a light-up UFO looking thing that has a range of about 100 feet or so allowing you to go outside the restaurant, but not very far from it.

 

[Hiitsme]

180 days out is crazy. I don't know what want I for lunch today, let alone what my family might want to eat in six months. My first trip to Walt Disney World in the mid 90s you only had to book Hoopdee, King Stephan's and maybe Ohana at 180 days. Everywhere else you could score same day. I know a lot of folks want to blame free dinning (the scourge of locals), but what if it's just some insane marketing trick. Like limited edition type stuff. Disney makes some TS restaurants appear "booked" solid and then pixie dust poof and you magically have your coveted dinning reservation. Just a gut feeling on this one.

 

[disneysteve]

the family has to endure their two hour wait in a restaurant lobby

I can't see it work that it would be "We can seat you in about 2 hours. Please wait in our lobby for your name to be called" ... I think it would be more like " "We anticipate we can seat you in about 2 hours. We will text you when you are 15 minutes out so you can come check in at the podium"

I agree with TheMaxRebo. Nobody would be sitting around waiting for 2 hours. They'd either get a beeper or be texted when their table was ready. They do this now at places on property. We just had it last week at Trader Sam's. Until our pager buzzed, we strolled around property, browsed in the gift shop, watched the torch lighting ceremony, etc.

 

[JimmyV]

I agree with TheMaxRebo. Nobody would be sitting around waiting for 2 hours. They'd either get a beeper or be texted when their table was ready.

From a review posted recently on Allears pertaining to Skipper Canteen:

When we returned about 8:30 p.m. on quite possibly the busiest day of the year at Walt Disney World’s signature park, the wait was an hour. So, we checked in and were given a pager and invited to hang out in the “open air” rooms. Given how hot and humid the Florida weather was that day, we were wishing for air conditioning.

It is nice to think that you would be free to roam wherever you want and then get texted. It is something else to see what actually happens in real world application. It is one thing to pop into a few shops at the Poly while waiting to get into Trader Sam's. But in the MK, you aren't going to be able to kill an hour riding Splash Mountain while waiting to get in to Skipper Canteen. And under no circumstances did I think that I could leave 50's Prime Time and go over to Muppets while burning my 45 minute wait. It was made quite clear that I was to remain in the area.

 

[buccikulju]

Although I had a few set-in-stone ADRs, I will note, as others have, that it was fairly easy to make reservations the day before when we were at WDW as long as we weren't terribly picky about the time and/or the place. A few weeks prior to our trip, I started checking how available things seemed to be hypothetically for the "next day" (go onto My Disney Experience and search for restaurant availability for the tomorrow or the day after.) I was pleasantly surprised and it helped me relax knowing that we could decide while on vacation where we might like to go. Because of the cancellation policy I suspect a LOT of reservations open up 24-48 hours ahead. I doubt, though, that those same restaurants would have been available for walk-ups.

If Disney went to day-of reservations only, you'd have to get up early or into the parks early every day to make those reservations especially for things like Ohana or BOG, and that WOULD be stressful. And it would likely be the moms doing it. Great. (not great)

 

[GroovyArtMomma]

I remember going when there were no ADR's I was just fine with it. ( I loved the whole TV thing in EPCOT, it was fun!) While I'm a planner to some degree, I enjoy the flexibility that comes with being able to choose what I want to eat the day of. The only reason I use ADR's right now is because we like to have a sit down dinner in the evenings. I feel with Disney's current system, that an ADR is the only way to ensure that.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

...but...but...but...if people can't get an ADR, doesn't that mean that others did get an ADR, thus disproving the assertion that NO ONE can get an ADR? If you can't get one, that means they are all gone, because...brace yourself....lots of others succeeded.

But...but....but....obviously, I was using "NO ONE" in a hyperbolic sense in this case to indicate the ridiculous amount of planing that needs to go into eating dinner at a TSR at WDW.

hy·per·bo·le
hīˈpərbəlē/
noun

1. exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
   synonyms: exaggeration, overstatement, magnification, embroidery, embellishment,excess, overkill, rhetoric; More

Obviously there are people that do succeed in getting their ADR's for WDW, but the fact that you have to plan out every meal that isn't a QSR 6 mos. in advance is ridiculous and I stand by that statement. We've heard it discussed on the podcasts how places are listed as "no reservations available" and then when you walk up to them, you could fire a cannon down the main dining room and not hit anyone.I remember a time where you could simply walk up to Guest Relations and make a same day reservation for something during the day.
Yes, people do succeed (we are a prime example) but...and I know this may be difficult....so brace yourself

There are people who don't plan their WDW vacation the way people on this message board, or any other Disney fan community do....

Put yourself in the position of a family who have no idea what "ADR" or "CRT" (I'll admit, not having kids, that one took me a few minutes to figure out) or Fastpass+ even mean. All they know is, they've heard of this place where you can have dinner with a princess...maybe a CM at their resort told them they would need dining reservations for that restaurant, only to be told that they needed to make reservations 6 mos. ago.

We we all know there are also unscrupulous people people out there who make multiple ADR's on different accounts (this has been talked about on the podcast as well as other media outlets) and hoard them till the last minute. Lest we forget the issue of Disney shutting down those "Dining Buddy" type websites. In my experience, when you get to the point where Disney acknowledges the problem...something is up.

Not only that but the restaurants are so crowded nobody goes there anymore.

Yogi Berra....
Ahh, the classics.

I just got back from WDW a week or two ago...................We had no issues with our ADR's. Yeah we made them well in advance but I'll take that moment of stress at 6am, months before my trip.................to the stress of dealing with this stuff WHILE I'm on vacation.

With all due respect you don't see any stress on the third day of your vacation and you want a CRT Dinner? How do you propose it would work in getting those seats? What will you and your family (assume a family of 4: DH, DW, DD(*), and DS (10)............do?

Doug [/QUOTE]


I can never remember....Is that 6am EST...? I live on the West Coast and whatever is is on the East Coast, we have to get up to make out ADR's three hours earlier. We also tend to take longer trips since we go about every other year, so we often have to wake up early on multiple days. At least that's what I think we do...the DGF is the Hyperplanner, and she makes all the color coded charts.
Ironically, our planning of our last trip is what brought us to the DIS.

That being said,
Look at my previous scenario, not everyone is a Disney Hyperplanner. Some people preferred the more casual route to enjoying the parks than the Frankenstein's Monster Disney has created. When I want to go to dinner somewhere IRL I don't make a battle plan 6 mos. ahead of time...I go to the front podium, ask how long the wait is, and then go from there.

I think that the average family would be much more amiable to being told, "we'll text you in two hours" than "sorry, you should have spent the last year with a dozen open tabs on your computer waiting for zero dark thirty the day your slot opens up for 6 months from that day". Maybe you could make same day reservations from your resort room phone, or concierge. I also remember that once upon a time, you used to be able to make your same day reservations from guest relations.

*The opinions expressed in this rant are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DGF who occasionally reads the DIS Boards, but refuses to post.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

That would be nice...but I've never had anyone extend that offer to me. Heck. Even with an ADR at 50's Prime Time and Via Napoli I have had to wait more than 30-45 minutes in the lobby for my name to be called. No one has ever said to me: "I see that you have a 7:00 ADR. You can leave and we will text you when your table is ready." The best that you get is a light-up UFO looking thing that has a range of about 100 feet or so allowing you to go outside the restaurant, but not very far from it.

That makes me think of a funny story. The very first time I ever saw one of those "light up UFO things" at a restaurant (or anywhere) was at Epcot - forget which restaurant. Anyway - they did NOT tell me it was going to vibrate, in addition to it lighting up. I was looking out over the water, holding it in my hand, when it vibrated. Scared the holy BeJesus outta me, and I flung it into the lagoon, which I sheepishly had to explain when I went to get my seat.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That would be nice...but I've never had anyone extend that offer to me. Heck. Even with an ADR at 50's Prime Time and Via Napoli I have had to wait more than 30-45 minutes in the lobby for my name to be called. No one has ever said to me: "I see that you have a 7:00 ADR. You can leave and we will text you when your table is ready." The best that you get is a light-up UFO looking thing that has a range of about 100 feet or so allowing you to go outside the restaurant, but not very far from it.

it would need to be a change of policy and perhaps some new technology ... but they do that now with your resort room that they will text you when your room is ready if it isn't when you check in so figure they could handle it

 

[NeuroCindy]

That makes me think of a funny story. The very first time I ever saw one of those "light up UFO things" at a restaurant (or anywhere) was at Epcot - forget which restaurant. Anyway - they did NOT tell me it was going to vibrate, in addition to it lighting up. I was looking out over the water, holding it in my hand, when it vibrated. Scared the holy BeJesus outta me, and I flung it into the lagoon, which I sheepishly had to explain when I went to get my seat.

This is hysterical.

 

[ninecrayons]

Listened to the podcast this morning on my way into work and I was hoping someone was going to start a thread.

We're localish, so we don't tend to use ADRs often, except for one major one: New Year's Eve.

If you've been to the park during the holidays or on a popular celebration holiday (Christmas, New Years, etc) then I cannot fathom how this would work without it being chaos. Even with an ADR this year, we had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated at the Brown Derby. And if I'm going to be in a park until midnight or later, getting there for rope drop really isn't an option.

I would have to think that Disney would have to have some system for making reservations other than being in that park and just walking up. Whether it is an option in the app or a pay option, it just seems like this would end up being crazy without some kind of system.

 

[smiths02]

But...but....but....obviously, I was using "NO ONE" in a hyperbolic sense in this case to indicate the ridiculous amount of planing that needs to go into eating dinner at a TSR at WDW.

hy·per·bo·le
hīˈpərbəlē/
noun

1. exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
   synonyms: exaggeration, overstatement, magnification, embroidery, embellishment,excess, overkill, rhetoric; More

Obviously there are people that do succeed in getting their ADR's for WDW, but the fact that you have to plan out every meal that isn't a QSR 6 mos. in advance is ridiculous and I stand by that statement. We've heard it discussed on the podcasts how places are listed as "no reservations available" and then when you walk up to them, you could fire a cannon down the main dining room and not hit anyone.I remember a time where you could simply walk up to Guest Relations and make a same day reservation for something during the day.
Yes, people do succeed (we are a prime example) but...and I know this may be difficult....so brace yourself

There are people who don't plan their WDW vacation the way people on this message board, or any other Disney fan community do....

Put yourself in the position of a family who have no idea what "ADR" or "CRT" (I'll admit, not having kids, that one took me a few minutes to figure out) or Fastpass+ even mean. All they know is, they've heard of this place where you can have dinner with a princess...maybe a CM at their resort told them they would need dining reservations for that restaurant, only to be told that they needed to make reservations 6 mos. ago.

We we all know there are also unscrupulous people people out there who make multiple ADR's on different accounts (this has been talked about on the podcast as well as other media outlets) and hoard them till the last minute. Lest we forget the issue of Disney shutting down those "Dining Buddy" type websites. In my experience, when you get to the point where Disney acknowledges the problem...something is up.



Yogi Berra....
Ahh, the classics.



With all due respect you don't see any stress on the third day of your vacation and you want a CRT Dinner? How do you propose it would work in getting those seats? What will you and your family (assume a family of 4: DH, DW, DD(*), and DS (10)............do?

Doug

I can never remember....Is that 6am EST...? I live on the West Coast and whatever is is on the East Coast, we have to get up to make out ADR's three hours earlier. We also tend to take longer trips since we go about every other year, so we often have to wake up early on multiple days. At least that's what I think we do...the DGF is the Hyperplanner, and she makes all the color coded charts.
Ironically, our planning of our last trip is what brought us to the DIS.

That being said,
Look at my previous scenario, not everyone is a Disney Hyperplanner. Some people preferred the more casual route to enjoying the parks than the Frankenstein's Monster Disney has created. When I want to go to dinner somewhere IRL I don't make a battle plan 6 mos. ahead of time...I go to the front podium, ask how long the wait is, and then go from there.

I think that the average family would be much more amiable to being told, "we'll text you in two hours" than "sorry, you should have spent the last year with a dozen open tabs on your computer waiting for zero dark thirty the day your slot opens up for 6 months from that day". Maybe you could make same day reservations from your resort room phone, or concierge. I also remember that once upon a time, you used to be able to make your same day reservations from guest relations.

*The opinions expressed in this rant are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DGF who occasionally reads the DIS Boards, but refuses to post.[/QUOTE]

I cannot imagine walking up to a restaurant somewhere around our normal dinner time and being told "we'll text you in 2 hours" Yeah, no thanks...we have to eat somewhere else. I have twin 3 year olds...I'm not waiting 2 hours to eat (even if we can do something else)

If ADRs are same day or walk up, then we have to plan to get to the restaurant 2 hours before we eat or get to the park at opening to get into same day ADRs

Disney has a lot of places to eat with no ADRs, they are called counter service.

Maybe the average family doesn't know what they want to eat 6 months in advance...but I don't think that is true for character meals and dinner shows. So I would imagine that you would still need ADRs for those

Also, it seems to me that ADRs with a credit card guarantee is the best way for Disney to keep the restaurants constantly at capacity and/or plan staffing accordingly. I don't see the benefit to them of doing away with it.

 

[keys2kingdom]

Well yes, there's that too, and I never suggested that such an awful and selfish practice was justified. Only that the 6-month window lends itself to such behavior much more so than a 30-day window would.

I know you were just using that to illustrate your point and I wholeheartedly agree. I think the 6-month window is just crazy. People would be much less tempted to make multiples if their plans were firm and the 30 day mark is when that really happens for most people, so I agree with you 100%. You really said it in a pleasant and concise manner.

 

[eastendlights]

I like making ADR's. I much prefer spending the time to make them when I am home rather than wasting valuable park time on another line. If anything, I would like them to be 90 days for resort guests and 60 for non-resort guests.

 

[senadler]

I think the best case would be for TS restaurants to allocate a percentage of their availability to same day reservations. This would allow those who want to plan to book in advance, while others can choose to walk up, put their name in, and come back when the table is available. With no ADRs, it would make it very difficult to plan TS meals around FP+ times, especially when you have no idea what the wait will be.

 

[BudgieMama]

I like ADRs... I have some issues with anxiety and one of my big issues is with not being able to find somewhere to eat. I hate walk-up anywhere (not just WDW) as I find it very stressful and I get worse when I'm hungry.

I like the security of knowing it's all sorted. We're on the QSDP next time and I am already nervous about how that will work. I hate buying food then walking around looking for somewhere to sit.

 

[samsteele]

I like ADRs... I have some issues with anxiety and one of my big issues is with not being able to find somewhere to eat. I hate walk-up anywhere (not just WDW) as I find it very stressful and I get worse when I'm hungry.

I like the security of knowing it's all sorted. We're on the QSDP next time and I am already nervous about how that will work. I hate buying food then walking around looking for somewhere to sit.

If you time it well, you should be fine. I believe @disneysteve mentioned this earlier in either this thread or a similar one: the tried & true Birnbaum paper guidebook's advice still works wonders. If you can eat your meal at an off time (say 4:30 pm) to avoid the rush, it can be a decent experience. I've had great luck walking up to the following CS restaurants right at lunch/dinner opening: AK: Flametree BBQ, MK: Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bills (new menu), Epcot: Tangierine Cafe, Sunshine Seasons, Cantina de San Angel, HS: more of a challenge. Starring Rolls gets busy fast & truly has limited seating. This might be a good park to pay OOP for a sit-down meal at eg Sci-Fi. But if you wait for your meal until 12:30pm or 6pm, and mostly hit the chicken nugget palaces like Restaurantasaurus (wonderful theming but not wonderful food), Cosmic Rays, etc. then you will be stuck in a line with some very cranky children around you. ps don't forget the nearby resorts CS spots for a nice dinner break. eg Captain Cook's in the Poly. Easy monorail ride return. Good luck!

 

[BudgieMama]

Thanks @samsteele - that's very helpful!

 

[disneysteve]

don't forget the nearby resorts CS spots for a nice dinner break. eg Captain Cook's in the Poly. Easy monorail ride return.

Thanks @samsteele - that's very helpful!

Another thing people often overlook is the grab and go options, especially at the resorts, but also at places like Sunshine Season at The Land. You can easily have a nice lunch or a lighter dinner without having to stand in line and wait to be served. They have fruit, yogurt, sushi, salads, hummus, sandwiches, and more in those refrigerator cases.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Who overlooks it?? I always see the CS and grab an gos busy and active.

It seems our audience, the Disney superfans, enjoy reserving their dining reservations in advance.

I assume MOST people who go to the parks enjoy to do so as well.