Making Multiple Reservations

[TheDisneyNurse]

I've noticed that a lot of people are in the practice of making multiple reservations for the same restaurant (BOG, mainly), holding them all for months and months, and then releasing all but one at the last minute when they finally decide which one to use. I can't imagine that is a practice that Disney would endorse. It makes it hard for others to find a reservation at 180 days out. I understand they can keep checking and checking obsessively, but not everyone has the time to keep checking, and many people like to have their plans finalized ahead of time. I assume most people see it's unavailable at 180+10 days, and move on to other plans.

It's an issue that I think I'll bring up with guest relations during my next trip. I have an AP, so I can look for last minute reservations and jump on board, but I feel bad for others. What's your opinions?

 

[ldauksch]

I will say that I partially agree with you. I narrowed down my park days well in advance of my ADR day so I feel like everyone else should do the same and not book BOG or other popular restaurants everyday of their trip bc they aren't sure what day they are going to which parks. That being said I do have multiple reservations of my other dinners so I can be as flexible as possible if I find an opening at BOG during my trip, that way I can still eat at all the restaurants I want and not have to settle for whatever I can find. None of them are character dining or extremely popular ones and I only have one extra of each but I guess I'm still technically "hoarding." That being said I'm not sure there is any way for Disney to stop people from doing this and I'm sure even if they made it so you could only select two ADRs at the same restaurant in a given trip those people who can't narrow down their park days 6 months in advance would still find a way around it. I actually had a thought that maybe they should switch things around and have guests make their fast pass selections before their ADRs since certain fast passes seem to be the reason people can't/won't narrow down their plans 180 days in advance.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I will say that I partially agree with you. I narrowed down my park days well in advance of my ADR day so I feel like everyone else should do the same and not book BOG or other popular restaurants everyday of their trip bc they aren't sure what day they are going to which parks. That being said I do have multiple reservations of my other dinners so I can be as flexible as possible if I find an opening at BOG during my trip, that way I can still eat at all the restaurants I want and not have to settle for whatever I can find. None of them are character dining or extremely popular ones and I only have one extra of each but I guess I'm still technically "hoarding." That being said I'm not sure there is any way for Disney to stop people from doing this and I'm sure even if they made it so you could only select two ADRs at the same restaurant in a given trip those people who can't narrow down their park days 6 months in advance would still find a way around it. I actually had a thought that maybe they should switch things around and have guests make their fast pass selections before their ADRs since certain fast passes seem to be the reason people can't/won't narrow down their plans 180 days in advance.

I totally see your point you're making. One extra reservation somewhere else, that's fine by me!. But I'm scrolling through the cancelled reservations threads and people are literally giving up 6 BOG's ONE WEEK before their trip. Come on, now That's a bit excessive.

And I think that's a really good point you're making there. It'll be easier to decide where you'll be to eat on each days if you can also make the FP's at the same time. Sometimes, you do have to adjust because there's only one specific day where you can get a hot ticket, and you don't have the hopper option. Something I'd like to suggest as well.

As far as regulating, MDE can limit it to one per restaurant, per hotel reservation. I'm sure they can have their servers limit some of these extreme hoarders some way or another

 

[airhead]

I haven't been to Disney in 5 years. Seems like it was so much easier then. Why? What happened to that system? Seemed to work great.
Geez.... the stress leading up to our vacay is crazy!! Hope none of us has a stroke while planning dinner 6 months away!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I haven't been to Disney in 5 years. Seems like it was so much easier then. Why? What happened to that system? Seemed to work great.
Geez.... the stress leading up to our vacay is crazy!! Hope none of us has a stroke while planning dinner 6 months away!

It's almost impossible to get reservations 180 days out! It's such a shame. I remember it being a lot easier. Unfortunately, a lot of people are sitting on reservations that they're not planning on dropping until the last minute

 

[airhead]

I think I'll wait too!

 

[maxiesmom]

Many people have trouble distinguishing between something you can do and something you should do.

 

[lmtravis]

I wouldn't consider myself a hoarder but i will finalize my ADRs once I have my FPs. Should be available for others 60 days out. i only have 2 BOGs and may use them both but have Akershus and won't cancel yet because of FPs.

 

[Pumbaa_]

It is a shame when guests decide to hold multiple adrs for multiple meals. The most egregious I ha e seen is someone who had 2-3 bog per day for 8 days.

Please keep this thread friendly so it can remain open

 

[Aggieamy5]

I completely agree. We try our best to decide ahead of time what park we will be visiting which days and plan accordingly in regards to dining. I understand booking a couple of reservations at the same place until plans have finalized, but the hoarding of numerous reservations I've seen lately is crazy. I really think Disney should limit guests to making only two ADRs per restaurant per trip. This would drastically cut down on the hoarding and give others more of a chance. I definitely see the other side of this, but I really think it's the most fair option. I am not saying this because I'm bitter over not getting reservations we wanted. In fact, we were lucky and got most everything we needed during the difficult weeks for Nov 2015. I really would never in a million years even think to book multiple ADRs at same place simply with the intent of canceling all but one later. I will just plan my fast passes around the ADRs we booked. I figured everyone just booked what they actually needed in regards to dining like we do until I started getting on this message board! : )

 

[lmtravis]

I am nowhere near that level but I don't think it is bad to hold onto a few until 30-60 days out. For those of us that swear by crowd calendars and like to see if extra Fantasmic! or parades are added before cancelling it's a system that works. I plan to cancel all of mine 60 days out and post here first since DISers have helped me so much. Is that frowned upon?

 

[bbak30]

I agree, it sucks. This process that Disney has set up makes it difficult. Personally, I have 2 'Ohana reservations that I'm holding on to, because I'm still trying to get BOG. I need some flexibility for that reservation, so I'm going to wait to cancel one until I either get BOG or I'm forced to make a decision.
I have also had good luck getting last minute reservations. That's how I got BOG last trip. Unfortunately we have a party of 10 this time so I'm not too hopeful.

 

[EvieBug]

It is a shame how everything must be booked in advance now. I admit I am dreading FP time. I have young kids - there is plenty we won't be doing due to age/height. But I will be desperately trying to get an A&E meet and greet FP, as that is something my kids truly want. And of course, that could screw up our ADRs. :-/

Extreme hoarding is not good. But Disney is somewhat forcing people's hands, especially with FP. I totally agree that should be booked first or at least in a similar time window. Plus there will always be "legit" reasons to reserve two times or days.

I do think maybe the system is on the verge of collapsing in on itself, maybe that will inspire a rethinking?

 

[nugov2]

Sorry, but Disney makes scheduling such a headache you have to. If I can't get the FP in MK then I have to switch days and risk losing an ADR that we want and can only use my MK day if it is for CRT and BOG
We don't go every year so I want to make sure we have the FP and the ADR's we want. If all scheduling was the same it wouldn't be an issue. I will release extras right away and have no issue with prepaying all adr's and have no issue with no show fees. I'm sure almost all people release them so they do become available. It isn't as if people don't end up enjoying that table just because it was once booked. For me I didn't have 5 per day or anything, but have no issue with 3 BOG on 3 different days until you know your FP schedule.

 

[lmtravis]

I will be desperately trying to get an A&E meet and greet FP, as that is something my kids truly want. And of course, that could screw up our ADRs. :-/

Exactly our situation. I will be doing BOG on the day we meet Belle and cancelling BOG on our A&E meet and greet day. Won't know until we get our FPs.

 

[Pumbaa_]

It is very hard to plan parks and dining at 180 days when fast passes are at 60.

 

[10CJ]

What if you want to eat at a restaurant more than once? We are hoping to do BOG lunch and dinner. At the moment we only have a lunch ADR.

I have heard about people doing breakfast and dinner at Ohana. Should that not be allowed?

I don't think there is a good way to know across multiple days what people will actually be using.

3 ADRs per restaurant per day seems excessive, but how many people actually have that many?

 

[Ariel on Land]

Yes, I think they need to reassess their scheduling now that they "force" us to schedule our rides too. Back in the day when you only had to prebook ADRs, you could choose in the park whether or not to get that FP for whatever ride. But this is nuts. Someone needs to think this through and figure out a more sane way to handle all this nonsense. Planning a WDW trip shouldn't be this complicated!

 

[Nancyg56]

It is a shame how everything must be booked in advance now. I admit I am dreading FP time. I have young kids - there is plenty we won't be doing due to age/height. But I will be desperately trying to get an A&E meet and greet FP, as that is something my kids truly want. And of course, that could screw up our ADRs. :-/

Extreme hoarding is not good. But Disney is somewhat forcing people's hands, especially with FP. I totally agree that should be booked first or at least in a similar time window. Plus there will always be "legit" reasons to reserve two times or days.

I do think maybe the system is on the verge of collapsing in on itself, maybe that will inspire a rethinking?

I am in total agreement with you. I have made our ADR's and have a few extra, not multiples of any but 1 extra BOG lunch, but I am taking my little Princesses and their Mom on this trip, and I am not at all sure how the A&E and Rapunzel FP will work out, and these two M&G supersede any other activity for these little girls. I also have to tweak my plans to accommodate a 7 diverse folks. I think it is a shame that FP must be booked 4 months after booking ADR's and it is also a problem that park hours tend to change as well.

AS to that system collapsing...I am shocked it has not simply exploded. It is one of the worst websites I have ever used.

Sorry, but Disney makes scheduling such a headache you have to. If I can't get the FP in MK then I have to switch days and risk losing an ADR that we want and can only use my MK day if it is for CRT and BOG
We don't go every year so I want to make sure we have the FP and the ADR's we want. If all scheduling was the same it wouldn't be an issue. I will release extras right away and have no issue with prepaying all adr's and have no issue with no show fees. I'm sure almost all people release them so they do become available. It isn't as if people don't end up enjoying that table just because it was once booked. For me I didn't have 5 per day or anything, but have no issue with 3 BOG on 3 different days until you know your FP schedule.

I also release my extras as soon as I am settled in my plans. I have never held one just because, and I have never skipped out on one when something better came up, even prior to the no show fees.

People are trying to make the best of a very difficult vacation when it comes to preplanning. Dining is tough when you absolutely need to plan meals 6 months in advance in order to ensure your family gains entry into the ones you want during the time you like to eat. You need to navigate shows, parades, travel timing, and now FP attractions time. Disney created this monstrosity of planning so I believe they need to manage it better.

 

[EvieBug]

I am in total agreement with you. I have made our ADR's and have a few extra, not multiples of any but 1 extra BOG lunch, but I am taking my little Princesses and their Mom on this trip, and I am not at all sure how the A&E and Rapunzel FP will work out, and these two M&G supersede any other activity for these little girls. I also have to tweak my plans to accommodate a 7 diverse folks. I think it is a shame that FP must be booked 4 months after booking ADR's and it is also a problem that park hours tend to change as well.

It's just a shame. Everyone wants to make their trip magical, and that is what Disney is essentially marketing and selling. Then we seem to get pitted against our own plans, and other guests, to get the things that will give us that magical experience.

I guess the good news is that the reservations get released when people's plan change so hopefully that means we all kind of get to reshuffle as a bunch and hopefully don't lose stuff.