Can someone explain why at 180 days out I can get NOTHING?

The general chatter that I have learned from the DIS on your ADR planning is that yeah, people make reservations for Plan A, Plan B, Plan C... sometimes people are holding onto 5 reservations because it's so far ahead, most planning is up in the air. Disney doesn't release schedules very well to help people plan to the exact minute, so of course everyone books everything as soon as they can, and changes it to suit their needs once they have their luggage in their rental car and are parking at the TTC. Don't panic, just start checking at least once or twice a day for the month or so prior, and definitely multiple times a day leading up until you walk into the restaurant! LOL

People cancel the other 4 reservations they are holding when they realize that they are eating at the Resort instead because Aunt Martha doesn't have a MK ticket to get into BOG... and they often don't find that out until 2 days before their plane arrives. ;)

I actually forget to ADR a dinner for one of our nights and quickly became a frantic mess when I realized we were likely to go hungry until we could order pizza to our room. Until my DH pulled out his phone and was like, "What Park does this bus stop at next? Okay well here are seven places we can have dinner in the next 15 minutes...where am I placing a reservation for?" And we walked through security, to the restaurant and had a lovely dinner with no indications whatsoever that only an hour earlier, I was practically breathing steam about how I could have forgotten something so obvious... Waterpark Day comes with DINNER at the end, hello! ;)
 
The general chatter that I have learned from the DIS on your ADR planning is that yeah, people make reservations for Plan A, Plan B, Plan C... sometimes people are holding onto 5 reservations because it's so far ahead, most planning is up in the air. Disney doesn't release schedules very well to help people plan to the exact minute, so of course everyone books everything as soon as they can, and changes it to suit their needs once they have their luggage in their rental car and are parking at the TTC. Don't panic, just start checking at least once or twice a day for the month or so prior, and definitely multiple times a day leading up until you walk into the restaurant! LOL

People cancel the other 4 reservations they are holding when they realize that they are eating at the Resort instead because Aunt Martha doesn't have a MK ticket to get into BOG... and they often don't find that out until 2 days before their plane arrives. ;)

I actually forget to ADR a dinner for one of our nights and quickly became a frantic mess when I realized we were likely to go hungry until we could order pizza to our room. Until my DH pulled out his phone and was like, "What Park does this bus stop at next? Okay well here are seven places we can have dinner in the next 15 minutes...where am I placing a reservation for?" And we walked through security, to the restaurant and had a lovely dinner with no indications whatsoever that only an hour earlier, I was practically breathing steam about how I could have forgotten something so obvious... Waterpark Day comes with DINNER at the end, hello! ;)

All you have to do is hang out on a couple of the ADR cancellation threads for a while to know how some are doing this. I'm sort of surprised people will out themselves and actually post several BOG reservations a day for an entire week when they're finally ready to let them go. :rolleyes:
 
This entire post makes me feel this way...:charac2:

They're only dining reservations. You aren't going to starve.
 


Different people place importance on different things on their trips. Not everyone goes several times a year and can just do it next time.

But at the end of the day, it's dinner. If a restaurant makes or breaks a trip to Disney World, you're doing it wrong.
 
Maybe it's "doing it wrong" to you. But maybe not to someone else. It's a theme park. How on earth can anyone be doing it "wrong".

Exactly. It's a theme park. If you're letting a dining reservation ruin your trip, then there's a problem there. With everything else WDW has to offer, your trip is ruined because you have to eat a steak somewhere else?
 


Exactly. It's a theme park. If you're letting a dining reservation ruin your trip, then there's a problem there. With everything else WDW has to offer, your trip is ruined because you have to eat a steak somewhere else?


I guess I just don't understand why it matters to you what someone else prioritizes on their vacation.

There is no right or wrong way to do it.
 
I guess I just don't understand why it matters to you what someone else prioritizes on their vacation.

There is no right or wrong way to do it.

It doesn't matter to me what their priorities are. But it does matter when they come on here complaining about it and blaming people for hoarding reservations or making people feel bad because they DID get the ones they wanted. Sorry you're disappointed, but that's life. Keep trying, and if all else fails, you'll still eat.
 
I was worried after reading posts like these the past few weeks. I did not wake up at 5 am, so just made my ADRs for 180+10.
I was able to get all my reservations, including NYE, CRT, BOG.
 
It doesn't matter to me what their priorities are. But it does matter when they come on here complaining about it and blaming people for hoarding reservations or making people feel bad because they DID get the ones they wanted. Sorry you're disappointed, but that's life. Keep trying, and if all else fails, you'll still eat.


Why would anyone feel bad for getting a reservation they wanted? I think that's great.

I don't see anyone trying to make someone feel bad for getting a reservation they wanted. Overbooking backup plans is completely different from getting a highly desired ADR.
 
I don't think not getting a certain restaurant will ruin someone's trip but it's awfully frustrating. To pay the money you are paying just to go to Disney, it doesn't seem right to have to "fight" for reservations especially when some people are fortunate enough to get multiple reservations at the same place just to have backup plans. We're all in the same boat when it comes to Disney not releasing or changing park hours at the last minute so it just feels like some have more of an advantage for some reason. And some restaurants may be special for some people, making it more frustrating for them if they can't get it. In the end, it works itself out for the most part but the process becomes discouraging.
 
Why would anyone feel bad for getting a reservation they wanted? I think that's great.

I don't see anyone trying to make someone feel bad for getting a reservation they wanted. Overbooking backup plans is completely different from getting a highly desired ADR.

OP replied to someone who didn't have any trouble getting the ADRs they wanted for December:
"But you are staying for three weeks, whereas I am staying for 5 nights. You don't have nearly as much competition to make your reservations."

That is a pretty crappy thing to say and would make ME feel bad.

I've booked trips 3 weeks out and have gotten to eat everywhere I wanted to, and if I didn't get something, I didn't whine about it. OP needs to be persistent, just like everyone else. Not blame everyone else for her problem.
 
OP replied to someone who didn't have any trouble getting the ADRs they wanted for December:
"But you are staying for three weeks, whereas I am staying for 5 nights. You don't have nearly as much competition to make your reservations."

That is a pretty crappy thing to say and would make ME feel bad.

I've booked trips 3 weeks out and have gotten to eat everywhere I wanted to, and if I didn't get something, I didn't whine about it. OP needs to be persistent, just like everyone else. Not blame everyone else for her problem.

I don't think anything the you quoted from the OP there is wrong. The people with a longer trip don't have as much competition. That doesn't mean she wishes they didn't get what they wanted, just saying that explains why they got what they wanted and she was still hunting.
 
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OP replied to someone who didn't have any trouble getting the ADRs they wanted for December:

That is a pretty crappy thing to say and would make ME feel bad.

So you backfire by making everyone else who has a problem with DISNEY (yes Disney, not the other guests. Disney) feel bad? Im upset by the process. I am upset because of the money that could have been saved to go elsewhere is being given to a company that clearly doesn't care. Had I have known it would be this much of a pain in the butt, you bet I wouldn't have even bothered. BUT I wasn't aware of that. In all of the times I have been to Walt Disney World, this has never been a problem. I was not expecting this trip to be so drastically different.

If you are honestly so offended by the people who are having problems with dining, then that is your prerogative. Yes, dining is important to me. It is not JUST dinner. Disney has made their dining experiences something to cherish and look forward to. If you don't feel that way, then that is fine. There are other things that may be more important to you that I don't give a flying poop about. Your vacation is not my vacation, and you have made it very clear that my vacation is certainly not yours. I am going to continue to fight for what is important to me, my family and our vacation. Dining is 100% apart of that. And if Disney doesn't care about the money we are throwing at them enough for us to get what we wanted (and are paying for), then we don't need to be taking any more Disney vacations after this until they get their act together. It has nothing to do with you, or anyone else for that matter. It is our choice to make our hard earned money count and take it somewhere else.
 
I don't think anything the you quoted from the OP there is wrong. The people with a longer trip don't have as much competition. That doesn't mean she wishes they didn't get what they wanted, just saying that explains why they got what they wanted and she was still hunting.

Thank you. Definitely not my intent to make anyone feel bad. I don't want to be one of those people on here. And I genuinely am glad for the people who get everything they want out of their vacation! That is how it should be!
 
Dining's a big deal for us too. We usually travel with extended family or several families, who live far apart, with a wide age span in the group. Everyone likes different things about Disney. Some like shows. Some like thrill rides. Some like to hang at the resort. But we all come together a meal each day. It would be very disappointing to buy the Deluxe plan, attempt to get your ADRs on the first day they are available, and not have success. I hope it all works out in the end and you have a fabulous trip!

Laurie
 
One more thing - I don't think it's unreasonable to be frustrated by those who make multiple reservations for the same meals or by a policy that allows that to happen. One recent example I just saw on one of the cancellation boards - a person was cancelling 6 (!) O'hana reservations within a 1 week period, including 3 nights on which this person was cancelling 2 dinner reservations in different restaurants for the same night, meaning that they were probably holding a third they kept. I get that plans change, but that's just rude.

Laurie
 
I was so worried about booking for Thanksgiving week, but I wound up getting the restaurants we wanted (if not on the preferred days) right at 180 as well as a few from TP alerts. I can't understand how it's worse for NON holiday weeks!

What are people trying to get that is so impossible? Specific times? BOG? CRT? I'm just curious. Maybe the ones we wanted weren't in such high demand. We also eat at off times, so maybe that helps.

Good luck to all!
 
I was so worried about booking for Thanksgiving week, but I wound up getting the restaurants we wanted (if not on the preferred days) right at 180 as well as a few from TP alerts. I can't understand how it's worse for NON holiday weeks!

What are people trying to get that is so impossible? Specific times? BOG? CRT? I'm just curious. Maybe the ones we wanted weren't in such high demand. We also eat at off times, so maybe that helps.

Good luck to all!
Maybe less people on free dining?
 

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