Websites that now scrape for ADR's and sell them, oh no!!!!

[smjj]

Over on the Misc. board for DVC there is a thread about this and at least two on Facebook. I can't find one here so I thought this is where it should be anyway.
Evidently there are people who scrape Disney dining somehow and capture all available ADR's and hold onto them. They then sell these to people for a fee! Due to so many complaints Disney is now "looking" into this mess. I and many others are upset about how these people can scam this process and wonder if this is why many of us are having so many issues when it comes to making ADR's for out trips. Have many here seen these articles or heard about this? Hopefully Disney can somehow put an end to this...smjj

 

[Disneyliscious]

There are already several threads about this here on the Restaurants Board and also on the Dining Reservations Board. Its nothing new here. Been discussing it for a few months now.

 

[smjj]

There are already several threads about this here on the Restaurants Board and also on the Dining Reservations Board. Its nothing new here. Been discussing it for a few months now.

Good, this popped up on the DVC misc. board(where I go mostly) a few days ago and was the first I heard about it. The Facebook threads were new also so maybe it is getting around now. Thanks...smjj

 

[Disneyliscious]

Good, this popped up on the DVC misc. board(where I go mostly) a few days ago and was the first I heard about it. The Facebook threads were new also so maybe it is getting around now. Thanks...smjj

Often times people want to spread the word because they feel its a bad thing the way these businesses are operating, when in realty all that happens is free publicity for the businesses. I'd wager all the recent press has been much more beneficial for the companies than any forum or facebook thread could take away from them.

 

[smjj]

Often times people want to spread the word because they feel its a bad thing the way these businesses are operating, when in realty all that happens is free publicity for the businesses. I'd wager all the recent press has been much more beneficial for the companies than any forum or facebook thread could take away from them.

There is some truth to this statement but it is also I think very important to let others know so they can in turn let Disney know thru e-mails and the like. Ignoring this problem will not make it go away, complaining to Disney might..smjj

 

[Shannon G]

I don't understand how they can even do this - I thought that reservations were non-transferable?

 

[RRRmouse]

I don't understand how they can even do this - I thought that reservations were non-transferable?

They basically sell you the fake name they made the reservation under, so there is no transferring involved. The following is from their website - which I hope gets shut down by Disney cleaning up the reservation process...


You will receive a MDE account already set up (no credit card needed). If you already have an MDE account, this will simply serve as a spare (it does not need to be used for anything other than this ADR). The ADR will be not placed in your name and you will need to use the name of the ADR Contact upon check in at the restaurant. We will provide you with this name. The name on the ADR does not need to be present upon check in at the restaurant. The MDE account can be changed over to your name once you receive it, however, this will not change the name the ADR is booked under.

 

[mcd2745]

They basically sell you the fake name they made the reservation under, so there is no transferring involved. The following is from their website - which I hope gets shut down by Disney cleaning up the reservation process...


You will receive a MDE account already set up (no credit card needed). If you already have an MDE account, this will simply serve as a spare (it does not need to be used for anything other than this ADR). The ADR will be not placed in your name and you will need to use the name of the ADR Contact upon check in at the restaurant. We will provide you with this name. The name on the ADR does not need to be present upon check in at the restaurant. The MDE account can be changed over to your name once you receive it, however, this will not change the name the ADR is booked under.

What happens if you no-show? That's one of the things I'm curious about. It would seem to me that their CC would be charged the fee. Perhaps, they would then pass the charge to the customer who bought the ADR/fake MDE account.

Anyway...I would love to see Disney take several steps to put an end to this. Some simple and logical, and some rather radical that may not be received all that well.

The first, and easiest, is to require the person's whose name is on the ADR to actually be present to check-in at the restaurant. Also, while this business claims that they do not use bots (not sure I believe that, and even if they do not there are others who do), they should add extra measures like the"Captcha" phrases and such to the reservation process.

On the more radical side...I think they should add a non-refundable fee/deposit that is charged when the reservation is made. Let's say ten dollars. You get charged that as soon as you make the ADR. You show up for the meal, then that $10 is applied to the cost of the meal. If you're on the dining plan, when you show up for the meal the $10 can go toward any "extras" purchased such as appetizers or specialty drinks. If you do not have any of those extras, since you need to be staying on property at a WDW resort to be on the dining plan, the $10 becomes a resort credit. If you flat out cancel the ADR, you lose the $10. You wouldn't lose it if you change the reservation to a different one. I realize many people probably would rail against such a procedure, but as long as you fully intend 100% to attend every reservation you make (as I do) at the time you make it, there's no reason to take issue with it. It would not only stop a business like this one selling ADRs, it will also put a stop to the ADR hoarders such as the ones that we see come into the cancellation threads with BOG dinner reservations for 5 days in a row once they finally decide which day will actually go and cancel the rest.

And lastly, of course, simply reducing the 180-day window would cure a lot of ills with the ADR system.

 

[DJ_Big_Daddy]

On the more radical side...I think they should add a non-refundable fee/deposit that is charged when the reservation is made. Let's say ten dollars. You get charged that as soon as you make the ADR. You show up for the meal, then that $10 is applied to the cost of the meal. If you're on the dining plan, when you show up for the meal the $10 can go toward any "extras" purchased such as appetizers or specialty drinks. If you do not have any of those extras, since you need to be staying on property at a WDW resort to be on the dining plan, the $10 becomes a resort credit

I like the idea, but not sure this is the best way to achieve it. It's entirely possible (yet not very probable) that people on the dining plan don't spend any extra money at the resort nor buy anything extra during meals. So, if you have 7 ADRs, you'd have a $70 credit which would be useless.

I completely subscribe to the idea of making it more difficult for ADR hoarders and making sites like the one described significantly more difficult to run. If you could find another way to reallocate the $10, I'd be fully behind it.

 

[mcd2745]

I like the idea, but not sure this is the best way to achieve it. It's entirely possible (yet not very probable) that people on the dining plan don't spend any extra money at the resort nor buy anything extra during meals. So, if you have 7 ADRs, you'd have a $70 credit which would be useless.

I completely subscribe to the idea of making it more difficult for ADR hoarders and making sites like the one described significantly more difficult to run. If you could find another way to reallocate the $10, I'd be fully behind it.

Maybe some don't normally spend extra at the resort. However, if you have a $70 credit sitting there, I'm sure most people wouldn't let it go to waste. So perhaps that t-shirt you liked, but didn't want to spend the money on...now you purchase it. Same thing happens a lot with extra snack credits on the dining plan. Some may let them go unused, but most instead pick up candy or popcorn at their resort shop before leaving to utilize them. Another option could be to put the $10 toward the gratuity, but i seems like that could be a little trickier logistically.

 

[smiths02]

What happens if you no-show? That's one of the things I'm curious about. It would seem to me that their CC would be charged the fee. Perhaps, they would then pass the charge to the customer who bought the ADR/fake MDE account.

Anyway...I would love to see Disney take several steps to put an end to this. Some simple and logical, and some rather radical that may not be received all that well.

The first, and easiest, is to require the person's whose name is on the ADR to actually be present to check-in at the restaurant. Also, while this business claims that they do not use bots (not sure I believe that, and even if they do not there are others who do), they should add extra measures like the"Captcha" phrases and such to the reservation process.

On the more radical side...I think they should add a non-refundable fee/deposit that is charged when the reservation is made. Let's say ten dollars. You get charged that as soon as you make the ADR. You show up for the meal, then that $10 is applied to the cost of the meal. If you're on the dining plan, when you show up for the meal the $10 can go toward any "extras" purchased such as appetizers or specialty drinks. If you do not have any of those extras, since you need to be staying on property at a WDW resort to be on the dining plan, the $10 becomes a resort credit. If you flat out cancel the ADR, you lose the $10. You wouldn't lose it if you change the reservation to a different one. I realize many people probably would rail against such a procedure, but as long as you fully intend 100% to attend every reservation you make (as I do) at the time you make it, there's no reason to take issue with it. It would not only stop a business like this one selling ADRs, it will also put a stop to the ADR hoarders such as the ones that we see come into the cancellation threads with BOG dinner reservations for 5 days in a row once they finally decide which day will actually go and cancel the rest.

And lastly, of course, simply reducing the 180-day window would cure a lot of ills with the ADR system.

So now instead of paying the scalpers $10/reservation, I've paid Disney?
I understand I *may* get the money I paid Disney back, but no cancellation at all is pretty strict.

 

[mcd2745]

So now instead of paying the scalpers $10/reservation, I've paid Disney?
I understand I *may* get the money I paid Disney back, but no cancellation at all is pretty strict.

That's the point though. Not just to eliminate the scalpers, but also the hoarders. This way, no one will be making ADRs unless they are sure that's where/when they want to eat. It will do wonders for availability. You *will* get the money back, if you show up and eat at the meal you've reserved. Only if you speculate a lot with your ADRs (or hoard), should this be a problem for anyone.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

I have a good solution: a photo id must be present at check-in and must match the person who made the reservation.

 

[DJ_Big_Daddy]

I have a good solution: a photo id must be present at check-in and must match the person who made the reservation.

That's the easiest and most logical solution. However, that doesn't stop a site from hoarding ADRs and coordinating releasing them with someone that pays them (much like we do here, but without fleecing our fellow Disney visitors). The good thing is that there's no 100% guarantee you'll get the reservation when it's released, so it should discourage people from using such services.

 

[smjj]

I have e-mailed via the DVC site to Disney about this and did it a while ago. They are usually very prompt about responding to all previous e-mails I have sent them. I have not heard from them on this issue and it has been much longer than normal. I can speculate as to why but Disney would not do that would they!!..smjj

 

[greentea]

Only if you speculate a lot with your ADRs (or hoard), should this be a problem for anyone.

Or if your plans/dates change in the 6 months since the reservation was made, or if you get sick the night before, or if any number of things come up that mean you may need or want to cancel your dining reservation.

 

[mcd2745]

Or if your plans/dates change in the 6 months since the reservation was made, or if you get sick the night before, or if any number of things come up that mean you may need or want to cancel your dining reservation.

If your dates change, you simply change to new ADRs without penalty. You're not outright cancelling. If you're prone to getting sick at the last minute or like to change up plans at the last minute...you probably shouldn't be making ADRs in the first place.

 

[HopperFan]

That's the easiest and most logical solution. However, that doesn't stop a site from hoarding ADRs and coordinating releasing them with someone that pays them (much like we do here, but without fleecing our fellow Disney visitors). The good thing is that there's no 100% guarantee you'll get the reservation when it's released, so it should discourage people from using such services.

Easy enough to fix. Write the software so that when an ADR is cancelled it goes back into a virtual spin cycle that randomly kicks them back into the system over the next 6-8 hours. There would be no way for coordinate drop/add. It would hurt those folks on here doing it but it would stop any business trying to hold and release for a fee.

As far as the fake accounts, yes require an ID to match the reservation.

 

[mousehockey37]

On the more radical side...I think they should add a non-refundable fee/deposit that is charged when the reservation is made. Let's say ten dollars. You get charged that as soon as you make the ADR. You show up for the meal, then that $10 is applied to the cost of the meal. If you're on the dining plan, when you show up for the meal the $10 can go toward any "extras" purchased such as appetizers or specialty drinks. If you do not have any of those extras, since you need to be staying on property at a WDW resort to be on the dining plan, the $10 becomes a resort credit. If you flat out cancel the ADR, you lose the $10. You wouldn't lose it if you change the reservation to a different one. I realize many people probably would rail against such a procedure, but as long as you fully intend 100% to attend every reservation you make (as I do) at the time you make it, there's no reason to take issue with it. It would not only stop a business like this one selling ADRs, it will also put a stop to the ADR hoarders such as the ones that we see come into the cancellation threads with BOG dinner reservations for 5 days in a row once they finally decide which day will actually go and cancel the rest.

And lastly, of course, simply reducing the 180-day window would cure a lot of ills with the ADR system.

So what if you are planning, make an ADR with a CC hold, decide you don't want the ADR and cancel, but don't book another one right away. Say a week goes by and something opens up... Do you lose that $10 then put another $10 out there again?

I see the plus side, but people change their minds and shouldn't be penalized for it.

 

[mcd2745]

So what if you are planning, make an ADR with a CC hold, decide you don't want the ADR and cancel, but don't book another one right away. Say a week goes by and something opens up... Do you lose that $10 then put another $10 out there again?

I see the plus side, but people change their minds and shouldn't be penalized for it.

Yes. In that situation, if you have you're eye on a different restaurant...wait until the new one becomes available before cancelling the original one. The idea is to stop everyone from booking ADRs frivolously with the mindset that they'll just cancel later before getting hit with a fee. They should only be made once you are certain that is where/when you want to eat. Outside of these "scalper" sites...there's too many ADRs booked "just in case" out there.