Wait a minute-- no ADRs can be made July 28- until OCTOBER???

[yankeepenny]

i am in the same boat......my trip is feb 1-7

 

[Ginamarie]

Hopefully, the added ability to make reservations online will take away some of the congestion on the phone lines.

I find it hard to believe that they're going to add online booking as an option. The Disney website as it presently exists could not handle the volume AT ALL. I say this from experience having tried to book cruise reservation plans for the Westbound Repo earlier this year. When the booking date opened at midnight, we essentially SHUT DOWN the entire cruise booking system for the rest of the day. My fellow cruisemates and I were trying to book our reservations from midnight until about 8 am. Cruise bookings create FAR less demand than the resort reservation system, as there are a limited amount of cabins on the ship!
I know there are rumors about online booking becoming an option, but this has been a rumor for a long time, and I doubt that they're overhauling the entire website at this point. In fact, Disney never fully overhauled their website the last time they upgraded it. When you look to book resort reservations it reverts back to the old booking system's platform.

Ok someone help me because I am in a fog this morning.

We are going Jan 22-26th. I was all set to make my ressies on July 26th. Can I still do that or am I SOL?? (sorry outta luck)

Yup, you're out of luck You'll have to wait until October to make ressies.

 

[IMACM]

The new system and the old system with be runnning at the same time so those of you that have reservations should be fine, they will not be merging the systems!!

Here is the latest update.........................

Beginning October 24, 2008, the launch of a more robust reservation system for dining, recreation and tour bookings will replace our current Dining Reservation System. With the launch of our new booking system, reservations for dining, recreation, and tours may be conveniently secured during one interaction instead of the multiple transactions required today. This supports our commitment to leverage technology to enhance the overall Guest experience. The upgrade to the new system begins July 21, 2008, with minimal impact expected to the booking window. As the application upgrade occurs, the latest reservation date Guests are able to secure with our current systems is January 25, 2009. Once the upgrade is completed the booking window will expand back to the normal 180 days.

 

[Fredd's Girl]

Our trip is scheduled Jan22-Feb1.
This just doesn't seem very guest friendly or well thought out on Disney's part. We wanted to eat at some of the more popular restaurants, Le Cellier, Narcooses etc. and this might be a huge pain. We could be at the Fish and Chip stand in the UK for a week!

 

[n2mm]

Looks like I just made it. We are there Jan. 18-24, so I should still be able to make my ADRs next week.

 

[ellenmiele]

It seems like an awfully long time for system upgrades unless there is going to be something big - like the addition of an online component? We'll be going over Easter 2009 and our 180 mark would be around 10/15 - I'm a little surprised that the busy spring break/Easter time is going to be affected. All those people are going to have to call (or maybe go online?) on Oct 24th.???

 

[Ginamarie]

It seems like an awfully long time for system upgrades unless there is going to be something big - like the addition of an online component? We'll be going over Easter 2009 and our 180 mark would be around 10/15 - I'm a little surprised that the busy spring break/Easter time is going to be affected. All those people are going to have to call (or maybe go online?) on Oct 24th.???

That's what they're saying- all the spring break/easter people will be able to book starting on 10-24 (along with everyone else who is then within the 180 day window).

 

[Tricia1972]

Originally when this rumor started circulating they were not going to go back to 180 days when they launch the system, they were going to ease their way back up, probably to help minimize the onslaught of calls.

So on 10/28/08 - you'd make reservations for 1/26/09
10/29/08 - 1/27/09

Assuming they'd ease into it, maybe on 10/29 they'd open 1/27 and 1/28


The rumor, when it started, said it would be well into 2009 before they reached the full 180 days. The onslaught of calls is probably why they'd ease vs just open the floodgates.

 

[Tricia1972]

Do remember, of course, it's ALL still rumor until we see official word from Disney about this.

 

[Ginamarie]

Originally when this rumor started circulating they were not going to go back to 180 days when they launch the system, they were going to ease their way back up, probably to help minimize the onslaught of calls.

So on 10/28/08 - you'd make reservations for 1/26/09
10/29/08 - 1/27/09

Assuming they'd ease into it, maybe on 10/29 they'd open 1/27 and 1/28


The rumor, when it started, said it would be well into 2009 before they reached the full 180 days. The onslaught of calls is probably why they'd ease vs just open the floodgates.

That's not what the announcement says though...

 

[Tricia1972]

That's not what the announcement says though...

There's an announcement on the Disney Website now? I must have missed it.

Though even with an 'official' Disney announcement, what they said may not be what they meant. Remember the disastrous announcement of the DDE 18% gratuity last summer. EEK!

 

[Tricia1972]

Hey since the website is such a PTN (Pain To Navigate), can you give me a link to their official announcement?

 

[n2mm]

I just got off the phone with disney dining. I had to rearrange some of my August ADRs, surprisingly no problem changing some of my plans for our group of 9. Since I had an EXCELLENT CM, I decided to ask a few questions. She pretty much said exactly what is being posted and confirmed that they would only be booking ADRs up to January 25th (as posted earlier). I asked about calling next week to book my Jan 18-24 trip and she said no problem. She said the 25th was the last ADR they will be booking. I also asked that when I call on Tuesday 7/22, if I could still book my +10 and she again said yes. I mentioned how horrible it will be that first day when the bookings open again and she said yes, they were not looking forward to that. She also said that once the upgrade is complete, they would go back to the 180 day bookings again. While not official--since some need the actual writing--this pretty much confirmed it for ME. Since everything she said way exactly what is being passed around, I think she knew what she was talking about. She said the new upgrade will be much better. So just wanted to pass on another CM confirmation on the new dining system.

 

[mhelsley]

So does this mean i'm safe as my trip is from Jan. 2-10. So i have time to wait and see what the dinning plan will be. I can then add more ADR if i go with the plan. Not to worry i've already book my popular choice(Le Cellier)

Thanx
Melinda

 

[Tricia1972]

If that CM is right, then Disney is flipping nuts! They should ease into it as previously rumored, where they do 90 days for a while.

I feel sorry for you guys who are calling in late October. Also, if the system is going online in late October, then it's sure to crash the first day.

 

[n2mm]

So does this mean i'm safe as my trip is from Jan. 2-10. So i have time to wait and see what the dinning plan will be. I can then add more ADR if i go with the plan. Not to worry i've already book my popular choice(Le Cellier)

Thanx
Melinda

The way she made it sound like was that they will be booking ADRs, but won't book anything beyond January 25, 2009. So yes we can still continue to call and modify our trips prior to that date.

Yes, October sounds like a mess!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

This would be me! We begin our trip on January 19th and end our trip on January 29th! I was all ready to go to book my ADR's on July 23rd (my 180 window) now I am so confused and frustrated ! With this new system, and no January hours yet - I am about ready to pull out some of my beautiful hair! I don't know if I will still be able to make some of my ADR's now or not! Everybody is saying different things about dates and when this system goes into effect - aaarrggg! I just wish Disney would hurry up and release something official!

You should be able to make them since your 180-day mark is before 7/28, and that's when the change is taking place.

 

[momathome]

Our last trip (Jan 2007) wasnt planned until early November the fall before and we had no problems getting any of the ADRs that we wanted. Is January just a slower month for the resturants? We are going again Jan. 22-28, but I'm not even ready to start making ADRs, especially when I dont have a park schedule. Maybe we were just lucky the trip before.

 

[Ginamarie]

Hey since the website is such a PTN (Pain To Navigate), can you give me a link to their official announcement?

It's not been put on the website, but the CMs are confirming it at this point, exactly the way it's been listed on the "news" portion of this website.

So does this mean i'm safe as my trip is from Jan. 2-10. So i have time to wait and see what the dinning plan will be. I can then add more ADR if i go with the plan. Not to worry i've already book my popular choice(Le Cellier)

Thanx
Melinda

Yup, you're safe because your dates are before January 25

If that CM is right, then Disney is flipping nuts! They should ease into it as previously rumored, where they do 90 days for a while.

I feel sorry for you guys who are calling in late October. Also, if the system is going online in late October, then it's sure to crash the first day.

I agree. It's going to be an absolute mess. As for online, like I said earlier, unless they're doing a HUGE overhaul and investing a LOT of money into the website, it will crash within a couple of minutes of going active. The current site can't withstand even a portion of that volume as it stands. If it doesn't go online and it's all phone reservations (as it is now), it's going to be insane those first few days.. and I mean IN-SANE.

 

[Ginamarie]

Our last trip (Jan 2007) wasnt planned until early November the fall before and we had no problems getting any of the ADRs that we wanted. Is January just a slower month for the resturants? We are going again Jan. 22-28, but I'm not even ready to start making ADRs, especially when I dont have a park schedule. Maybe we were just lucky the trip before.

January is a slow period for the restaurants. Also, if you're not picking about the times you're dining, you usually have a good shot at getting what you want. I've booked dining reservations for a couple of my trips just 4-6 weeks in advance and done fine. This may not hold true for the most popular restaurant spots though, even during January. Someplace like Le Celier books up for dinner pretty quickly. It also becomes difficult when you're travelling during a peak period, say President's week or Easter week.