It's a cryin' shame! Lost DDP credits...A BUNCH!

[canwegosoon]

I'm sure you guys are right. My wife's friends are the type people who probobly only go to the parks for a couple hours a day and if there are long lines pass those rides up.

They probobly tried a few times and struck out and then passed any TC resturant that had long lines. The part that is upsetting for us is, like you all, we see the waste. I don't even know if they were bothered. They didn't seem upset, they just mentioned it as if it were something they weren't able to do like riding Space Mountain.

I think it bugged me more than them!

RACHELSMOM1, I'm sure you are right. If it had been out of thier pocket, they may have at least asked me earlier to advise them some.

You know these are people that don't need help...they will do things their way(no matter the cost)...they just don't realize all the things that they are doing "wrong"...and you know what -it works for them...I just know I would never let any credits go unused(I would rather use them for breakfast or a carry away lunch etc.) I just hope that they don't complain to WDW and say there was nowhere to eat.

 

[Miniefan]

It's kind of strange the amount of people who are willing to spend their money and buy something that they really don't know that much about....they just assume they are buying this "all-inclusive" vacation and once they pay for it everything is already taken care of and all they have to do is show up.

On our last trip I checked in for our ADR at LTT character dinner and there was a large man cussing and screaming at one of the hosts, about how he paid for his f-ing dining plan and now there was nowhere for his family to eat. I felt really bad for the CM, and he was the one that later sat our family so I told him I was sorry he had to endure that and he assured me that it was ok but was really an everyday occurrence.

A lot of people do a lot of things in life with little or no planning, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that vacation is also on that list.

On the flip side, I am an Uber-Planner, and we under no circumstances have never left any remaining credits for anything on check out day.

Kim

 

[pezpam]

On our last trip I checked in for our ADR at LTT character dinner and there was a large man cussing and screaming at one of the hosts, about how he paid for his f-ing dining plan and now there was nowhere for his family to eat. I felt really bad for the CM, and he was the one that later sat our family so I told him I was sorry he had to endure that and he assured me that it was ok but was really an everyday occurrence.

Kim

It must be. When I checked in last year during the free dinging promo, I asked the woman checking me in to print out my ADRs for me. She looked at the list and said she was happy I'd made all of my arrangements - she said that I wouldn't believe how many people didn't make any ADRs, then yelled at the CMs who couldn't get them in to their first choices.......

OTOH, when I took DD for a special long weekend during a busy time (VERY busy), we'd planned to only eat CS. One afternoon we decided we'd really love to sit down at a TS. Every place I asked about was completely full - I finally just asked what *was* available and they found us a place at our chosen time. Flexibility can be key.

 

[tynesntx]

I wish there was a way for both walk up and adr's. Last week we had an adr for mama melrose at mgm. We went to the park that day, but it was so hot we needed to take a break. I called and cancelled the res. because one of my kids got too overheated was not feeling good when it was time to go back to the park. I thought we could just eat at our hotel restaurant that night for TS. (POR boatwrights) WRONG!!! They would not take any walk ups that night for any reason. I went to the concierge and asked if he could help us find a dinner before 10pm that evening ANYWHERE the DDP was accepted. He was so sarcastic and rude and said, "Well I guess you learned your lesson, there is nothing available your out of luck today." He refused to call any of the restaurants to see if they had had some no shows. We had to pay out of pocket for cafeteria food. I hate to say after that bad experience, that maybe having a second back-up reservation under another name for an hour or two later is probably a good thing in case you are unable to make the original time.
I wish all of the restaurants would take walk ups and DDP
_____________

 

[pta-mom]

I'm kind of surprised that anyone would think that they can "walk up" to a TS restaurant & expect to be seated within a short period of time, whether at DW or not. When you decide to go to a restaurant within your city, a nice sit down meal, not a family buffet or chain restaurant, do you not typically make reservations? Why would anyone think DW would be any different?

I find it very strange the amount of people who even read these boards that state that they don't make ADR's as they & their family do not want to be a "slave to the clock"!! Do you not typically eat at dinner time? I think there are far too many people who use the "I didn't know" excuse to make a fuss about not getting what they wanted at the last minute & than expect others to accomodate them.

Not us!! We made our ADR's 180 days out & expect to be eating some pretty fancy TS meals at some pretty good times.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I'm kind of surprised that anyone would think that they can "walk up" to a TS restaurant & expect to be seated within a short period of time, whether at DW or not. When you decide to go to a restaurant within your city, a nice sit down meal, not a family buffet or chain restaurant, do you not typically make reservations? Why would anyone think DW would be any different?

I find it very strange the amount of people who even read these boards that state that they don't make ADR's as they & their family do not want to be a "slave to the clock"!! Do you not typically eat at dinner time? I think there are far too many people who use the "I didn't know" excuse to make a fuss about not getting what they wanted at the last minute & than expect others to accomodate them.

Not us!! We made our ADR's 180 days out & expect to be eating some pretty fancy TS meals at some pretty good times.

I admit I haven't been to WDW since the advent of DDP - I'll see what happens in December. But the difference is (as I understand it) that some TS restaurants simply flat-out say that they are not accepting any walk-ups, no matter how long you are willing to wait. When I go out to eat locally I may be told there is a wait, sometimes a long wait, but I've never been told that I would not be seated without a reservation. Of course, I don't go to the fanciest of places. But a lot of restaurants at WDW aren't really that fancy either.

I will not be making ADRs for every day of my upcoming trip because I want to be able to have a little flexibility and spontenaity on my vacation. The places I really don't want to miss have been reserved. I'll probably be calling WDW-DINE on my cell phone from wherever I happen to be at the time asking what's available for dinner. I know that doesn't work for everyone - some people like to already know these things ahead of time, but I'm not really worried about it. It's not like we're going to starve at WDW.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I wish there was a way for both walk up and adr's. Last week we had an adr for mama melrose at mgm. We went to the park that day, but it was so hot we needed to take a break. I called and cancelled the res. because one of my kids got too overheated was not feeling good when it was time to go back to the park. I thought we could just eat at our hotel restaurant that night for TS. (POR boatwrights) WRONG!!! They would not take any walk ups that night for any reason. I went to the concierge and asked if he could help us find a dinner before 10pm that evening ANYWHERE the DDP was accepted. He was so sarcastic and rude and said, "Well I guess you learned your lesson, there is nothing available your out of luck today." He refused to call any of the restaurants to see if they had had some no shows. We had to pay out of pocket for cafeteria food. I hate to say after that bad experience, that maybe having a second back-up reservation under another name for an hour or two later is probably a good thing in case you are unable to make the original time.
I wish all of the restaurants would take walk ups and DDP
_____________

The set of backup ressies sounds very good now. I have done them in the past, but thought "maybe not a good idea". Well, there are some times that a backup ressie would be beneficial. Flame away everyone, I don't care. A ressie 2 hours later than the last one is not a bad idea.

 

[bavaria]

Though so far, I haven't seen a single report of folks saying that Yacht Club Galley, Shutters, Olivias, and Boatwrights all being full-up for dinner on the same night.

We just booked a last minute trip for early Sept; I called today to book my room (got first choice at AP rate) and ADRs - we chose three of those you listed, and got all of them at our requested times.

Proof that it can be done, with little advance planning. We never plan our trips more than a few weeks out, and usually don't prebook meals, and even during 'free' dining we were able to get our favourites.

 

[smidgy]

alas! some people just won't listen. we have friends going soon. I told them about the free dining offer. "no, the dining plan is already included in our package." ME: "yes, but you are paying for it. they are offering the dining FOR FREE, you can save money" HER:"no it's included with our package"
(Now, she has been once, her hubby never, they know we go twice a year, but refuse to listen.)
"ME: "you can get the same package, but with the dining for FREE" HER: (again) "no, it's already in our package from our TA" aargh!!!


THEN.... HER:there will be 3 families and my mom and dad,and all my dad wants is for all of us to meet once a day for one meal" ME: "so, you have ressies for those?" HER: "no, no one knows what we'll be doing" I tried to explain that there's no way they will all get into one restaurant a day without ADRS. there was NO talking to her. sorry, I gave up. they just did not want to listen .

 

[amykathleen2005]

Honestly I CAN understand how people do not have ADR's. Disney only states that reservations can be made 180 days in advance. I have not seen it written anywhere that they are required or even recommended. It seems silly to many people to have to plan these things out months in advance or some people don't even think about it. I think that if Disney has such a tough walk-up policy/situation then they should alert people when they book their packages and make it clear that ADR's are necessary to get where you want.

 

[estherhead]

Honestly I CAN understand how people do not have ADR's. Disney only states that reservations can be made 180 days in advance. I have not seen it written anywhere that they are required or even recommended. It seems silly to many people to have to plan these things out months in advance or some people don't even think about it. I think that if Disney has such a tough walk-up policy/situation then they should alert people when they book their packages and make it clear that ADR's are necessary to get where you want.

I have to disagree a tiny bit. We are going during free dining & we got a letter from Disney a few weeks ago that strongly recommended ADR's & explained the process. Now the 180 mark is long gone, but I'm sure there are still plenty of good spots left since I just had to change a few myself & didn't have too much trouble. Perhaps this letter should be sent earlier, but still we got one. And I don't know about other households, but this one takes a letter from Disney very seriously. Even my 6 year old read it & wanted to make sure we had places to eat!

 

[fla4fun]

I don't buy the dining plan, because I can usually make out better with a room discount and paying food OOP on solo trips. But some trips I make more ADR's than others. It makes a difference the time of year I'm traveling whether I make ADR's or not. For example, for my September trip, I'm staying in a 1BR at VWL, so I'll have kitchen facilities. The outside temperatures will probably feel like summer. When I'm overheated, I don't like to eat heavy meals, so I plan to do mostly CS and snacks in the parks, and if I'm back in the room at mealtime, I'll just eat in. At the opposite end of the spectrum, for my trip in February, when the weather is much cooler, I'll make some ADR's and enjoy dining at TS restaurants. I have had pretty good luck with finding some TS restaurants when I don't have ADR's (even during free dining last year), but if I can't, I'm OK with CS.

I think anyone who buys the DDP and doesn't make at least most of their ADR's is taking a big risk.

 

[amykathleen2005]

The Disney letter must be new than because I have never heard of it or received one for my trip last May.

 

[tabrizia]

The Disney letter must be new than because I have never heard of it or received one for my trip last May.

I got it for our trip last August and our trip coming up in September. It is sent about 50 days give or take before the trip, it is in a nice little packet with a map of the parks included as well. I made my reservations as soon as we booked the trip this year and at 180 days last year so I didn't need the reminder. It was nice to have though in case I hadn't read any guide books or found this site.

 

[honeymo78]

Honestly I CAN understand how people do not have ADR's. Disney only states that reservations can be made 180 days in advance. I have not seen it written anywhere that they are required or even recommended. It seems silly to many people to have to plan these things out months in advance or some people don't even think about it. I think that if Disney has such a tough walk-up policy/situation then they should alert people when they book their packages and make it clear that ADR's are necessary to get where you want.

Every time I call about my package they remind me about making ADRs, whether it was before or after the 180 day mark. The brochure from disney (which I hope anyone booking a package takes the time to read) recommends ADRs. If you visit the disney site to read about restaurants, it tells you ADRs are recommended. Any disney guidebook will tell you to make ADRs.

 

[illiniowl]

I hate to say after that bad experience, that maybe having a second back-up reservation under another name for an hour or two later is probably a good thing in case you are unable to make the original time.

The set of backup ressies sounds very good now. I have done them in the past, but thought "maybe not a good idea". Well, there are some times that a backup ressie would be beneficial. Flame away everyone, I don't care. A ressie 2 hours later than the last one is not a bad idea.

With all due respect, there are lots of things people could do to make their personal vacations run smoother, but that doesn't make all of them right. At the end of the day, holding 2 ADRs for the same meal (and if that's ok, what's to stop someone from holding 3, 4 or 24?), while it certainly would come in handy if life throws one a curveball in the midst of one's meticulously-planned WDW day, is inconsiderate and wrong. No, it's not on par with robbing a bank but still the end (personal convenience) does not justify the means.

 

[zumbergc]

I had friend who went to disney in may, her first trip ever w/ her brother.
I repeated many times she needed adr's. She was almost willing to make ADR's but didn't want to do all the planning w/ her brother.

She didn't want to commado plan w/out his help, except for her brother works way to many hours, and never had time until they were on the plan heading to disney.

First night, your right, didn't get in on a walk up.

However, I did tell her, if she didn't make ressies she would have to be super flexible if she waited until she got their to make her ADR's. I told her they might get lucky to get in before 4pm, or after 8:30pm, if they tried same day, if they were lucky. I don't think she believed me.

However they became flexible and did sit downs at lunch time.
Once there, they had several sit downs at lunch. So mention that to your friends, the one that don't think they need adr's. At least it gives them a chance to use those table service meals, lunch better than no meal, and paying OOP.

 

[Nwfdrool]

I got it for our trip last August and our trip coming up in September. It is sent about 50 days give or take before the trip, it is in a nice little packet with a map of the parks included as well. I made my reservations as soon as we booked the trip this year and at 180 days last year so I didn't need the reminder. It was nice to have though in case I hadn't read any guide books or found this site.

Hmmm, we are going at the end of September and have not received anything other than the ME yellow tags.

 

[asmit4]

My family hasn't been since 1991...we never stayed on property and didn't do a dining plan. The last time I was there was 2001.

I'm a planner and thanks to the DISers, I booked ADR's for our family trip including my sister, husband, DS, and my parents!

They STILL do not believe that we need ADR's and STILL think that we can "wing it" when we get there.....

I made the ADR's anyway, and I KNOW they will be glad. When I called last month 3 of our restaurant choices were already booked solid!

They just see disney like it was years ago...fewer hotels, fewer guests, etc etc.

 

[Kathi OD]

Honestly I CAN understand how people do not have ADR's. Disney only states that reservations can be made 180 days in advance. I have not seen it written anywhere that they are required or even recommended. It seems silly to many people to have to plan these things out months in advance or some people don't even think about it. I think that if Disney has such a tough walk-up policy/situation then they should alert people when they book their packages and make it clear that ADR's are necessary to get where you want.

I'm looking at the FAQ for the DDP and the first question is "Are reservations required?" Answer: "Many of our restaurants are quite popular and book quickly. We strongly suggest you make advanced dining reservations. Most Walt Disney World Table Service restaurants, Signature Restaurants, Character Dining locations, Dinner Shows and Grand Gathering Experiences accept reservations up to 180 days prior to arrival. Dinner Shows and Grand Gathering Celebrations require advance reservations."