BOG - What are the chances?

[Piglet]

I was able to get BOG for lunch but would have liked a dinner reservation for our trip in January. What are the chances one may open up? Does it really matter much between lunch and dinner? My daughter really wanted to see inside - probably not such a big deal about the food.

 

[SilSprBea]

You'll find one if you keep checking! I didn't get one originally for dinner and then found one (not so great time) and then a few days later found a better time! The big difference for lunch and dinner is that dinner is table service (and you are greeted by the Beast) and lunch is considered quick service (the beast is not there at lunch). So, if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, lunch and breakfast are quick service credit and if you go for dinner it is considered a table service credit. Meals at BOG are a good value for quick service credits!

I personally find it is harder to find the lunch and breakfast openings than the dinner openings, so keep your lunch and keep looking for that dinner!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would recommend signing up for the January Dining Reservation thread and get notifications each time someone cancels. The closer you get to your trip the more cancellations you will find. For the next while not many people will make changes for January I don't think.

We haven't been for dinner but my DD really isn't interested in meeting the beast so it will be lunch for us again this trip.

 

[prprincess]

Keep checking as much as possible. I've been checking for a BOG ressie for months. Then the other day I just kept hitting refresh on the reservations screen, and low and behold, snagged one!

 

[Yogamomma13]

Good Luck! I have been trying for a few weeks now to get a breakfast reservation and we leave in 2 weeks! I just keep checking everytime I get online. Fingers crossed!

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

How big is your dining party? In my experience, this far out, you stand a very good chance of getting a dinner ADR, especially if you are a party of 4 or less. Persistence is key. Check whenever you have the chance. I've always managed to get an ADR, even for last minute trips. The only time I couldn't get dinner was for a party of seven two days after Christmas a year after BOG opened. We had lunch instead. It's honestly easier to get BOG after 180 than it is to get Ohana.

I do think dinner is more special than lunch, more "formal", as dining in a castle should be! Plus the beast is there. Since I've been there quite a bit now, my preference has switched from dinner to ppo breakfast. But for a first timer, dinner is essential, I think.

 

[MrsJobba1]

I was wondering the same question. My dh & I are going 1st may & staying onsite for 5 nights. We are after a dinner & will be trying at 180 days. What do you think?

 

[SilSprBea]

I was wondering the same question. My dh & I are going 1st may & staying onsite for 5 nights. We are after a dinner & will be trying at 180 days. What do you think?

I think you should be able to get one for dinner at your 180 day mark if you try for it 1st and later in your trip. I didn't book my trip 180 days out so by the time I booked things were long gone. However, with two weeks of checking I found a cancellation (multiple actually) for dinner the night I wanted at about 4 months out. You will get one with persistence! And, check on the cancellation boards here; people drop them all the time!

 

[HopperFan]

- I've eaten all three meals and in all three rooms.
- If food is no big deal there is really no difference between lunch and dinner other than the Beast is there and someone takes your order.
- Both meals deliver your food to you.
- Same rooms, same atmosphere.
- Lunch is cheaper and Dinner menu doesn't wow me.
- Lunch is the best value, especially if on DDP.
- I think if you check whenever you think about it you should be able to get dinner if you want it.
- I personally have cancelled dinner 5-6 times the week of our trip, just didn't want to go bad enough.

 

[Govols1997]

Last year we got a BOG while we were there. I was in bed checking at night and we got a PPO for BOG the next day. Keep trying.

 

[Ellie_]

We booked our trip about a month out and at first couldn't find anything for BOG. We check the app religiously (seriously, every free moment, it's so addicting) and have since been able to find prime dinner and lunch reservations. Persistency is key.

 

[ShannonMB]

I booked my trip well after 180 days, and DD (15) considers BOG a 'must do', particularly dinner - so that's what I was hoping for. Obviously that meant checking for cancellations. I first found a breakfast at an inconvenient time, then I traded that for a breakfast at a better time. Then I found a lunch at a bad time (which I would rather do than bfast since paying OOP and the breakfast looks like a straight rip-off to me price-wise OOP), upgraded that to a better lunch time, then finally got the dinner I wanted a couple weeks out.

If you are fairly vigilant, you will probably get it - and don't get discouraged early because as a PP said, your chances increase the closer you get to your dates.

I've been to BOG for lunch and dinner multiple times, and I really do enjoy it. Dinner definitely has a different feel to it for us than the busy, noisy feel of the counter service lunch and is our preference. And at this point I would be fine taking a BOG break for the next couple trips. But IMHO, it truly is a magical experience dining there and every Disney lover should experience it at least once!

Best of luck to you, and enjoy your planning!