180 days out ADRs, will it change your travel plans?

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Just thinking about this- we have planned trips under 6mo ahead of time before- would you consider NOT making trips on short notice because of the 180 days out ADR thing now? What I mean is would you be a little less likely to book a trip say 2-3 mo out since the ADRs can be made now 6mo ahead of time and you might not be able to get the ADRs you really desire for your trip?

My answer: I'm not sure... it might not keep me from making the trip but I'd definitely think about it a little more. Would depend on what kind of trip it was- if it was the entire family, longer trip where we wanted to do everything and certain ADR's, and also would depend on if we weren't thinking we'd go back for a long time- in those cases we would probably just try to book over 6mo ahead which in our case would mean up to a year ahead since we basically only want to go during summer or holiday breaks from school now.

But what are your thoughts on this? 90 days seemed reasonable and while at first the thought of 180 days made it sound like those "in the know" might have an easier chance of getting the ADR's they wanted- I started thinking hmmm, that might really mess up your plans if you were booking trips less than 6mo out.

 

[tmt martins]

ADR's mean nothing to us we would travel with none and just eat on the fly .

The sad truth is if we can't eat on-sight there's plenty to eat at on 192.

I also think we will be eating more at the room now that we are DCV members during our breaks in hte day.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Okay obviously this question would only apply to those that making ADR's was actually a big part of their WDW trip (ie: wanting TS meals and not having to just "find" a restaurant without hours waiting or being turned away, OR having children that you wanted certain character meals, etc.)

If you don't care where you eat- then you don't care when it's possible to make ADR's. LOL

 

[thelionqueen]

I don't think it would affect our travel plans. Since I am an obsessive overplanner, I don't think I would have it in me to do a spur of the moment trip anyway.

ADR's and dining are a huge part of our vacation, so having the 180 day window is awesome for us.

 

[mouseketeer]

I don't think it would, especially if you're traveling during an off-peak time of the year...BUT this coming from a person who has all her ADR's lined up when my trip is 117 days away. Like thelionqueen I'm a planner and like to have things READY TO GO way in advance!

 

[MinnieM21]

No, it's not changing my travel plans. I just decided to take a trip to WDW a week ago and our trip is 11 days away.
About two or three days ago I called and made ADRs. I was able to get ADRs for all the restaurants that I wanted, at the exact times I wanted.

 

[Allison]

Absolutely not.

Even if my first choice wasn't available, something else would be. That would be good enough for me.

 

[Ginamarie]

It's not going to change my travel plans. Usually, I book WDW way in advance (a year plus), but we've already made two rather last minute trips to the parks (December 2004 and October 2005). Even though I was within the 90 day mark for those vacations, I was still able to get the ADRs I wanted. Granted, I wasn't looking for CRT at the time, and we had to be a little flexable with a couple of TS meals.

Let's face it, for those of us who frequent WDW annually or more often, missing one restaurant is not going to kill us, because we can always catch it on the next vacation. Also, there are so many good restaurants at WDW that it's very easy to fill up a few days of ADRs and be very happy, even if you don't get your first choices.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I, too, am an obsessive overplanner- it's my hobby! So, it won't change the majority of my plans- because I almost always plan a year in advance. With the new park hours coming out earlier, I am in overplanning heaven! i can get my hours and do my ADR's 6 months out! Plenty of time left for minutaie!

Now, would it stop me from planning an impromptu trip? No. I go to Disney for the rides, the shows, the atmosphere, the shopping AND the dining. All the magic would still be there.
If I had the opportunity and money for an extra unexpected vacation 3 or so months away, I would definitely still plan it, but it would change my expectations. I wouldn't expect to get the times and places I wanted and I would have lots of back up plans when I called for my ADR's. There are a lot of restaurants I enjoy in WDW, so I would still make ADR's, I would still enjoy my trip and I would still eat in nice places. There are even some great counter service places- Tangeriene Cafe, Fountainview Bakery, Columbia Harbour House, Flame Tree Barbecue, that I would frequent instead- not to mention room service.

 

[helenk]

I would not want to make my ADRs 180 days in advance unless I wanted breakfast in the Castle or something really hard to come by. I'm a planner but not that far in advance. And I certainly would not change my travel plans because other people might be making their ADRs that far in advance. Besides, generally they do not open up all the tables at the 180 day mark, as it get closer to your dates more open up at the 90, 60 and 30 day mark.
I just made my ADRs for our trip from May 15th to the 19th and I got all the restaurants and the times I wanted.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Besides, generally they do not open up all the tables at the 180 day mark, as it get closer to your dates more open up at the 90, 60 and 30 day mark.

I didn't know about them opening ALL tables at the 180 mark- like saving some for those with concierge services/etc. but I didn't know they were purposely saving some to open up at the 90 day, 60 day, etc. mark!

Generally I'm a major pre-planner... so in most circumstances the 180 days won't affect me- I can just plan earlier. However, even someone like me (totally knowing about this board and knowing how to plan ahead, having been many times so I know the drill on how ADR's are practically necessary, etc.) could possibly not know of the change. I only found out like a week or two ago myself! (thank God for this board LOL)

It won't affect me as in not going... but I will think twice about planning a spur of the moment trip. And it might come to pass that I plan a short-notice trip, go to make ADR's and can't get what I want- so postpone the trip for a little later. Atleast when ADR's are important to our trip (ie: when it's not a solo trip and I'm taking the kids and such). I don't know... on the one hand it doesn't bother me at all to plan that far ahead, but on the other hand (the hand that sometimes makes trips with shorter notice than atleast 6mo ahead of time!) it might make me less likely to make a short-notice spur of the moment trip, of which I did two last summer like that. One was booked 2mo ahead of time- the next one was booked when we returned less than 2mo ahead of time! LOL We were on the dining plan and I had my kids with me- ADR's were definitely a necessity (to us).

But if they are holding back tables making it pretty easy to still get ADR's closer to your travel date- then I guess it doesn't matter how early they START taking ADR's. I didn't know they weren't making them all (or almost all) available at 180 days out and holding some for later dates to "open" the availability on those tables.

But with that info... is it better to have 180 ADR's possible but maybe harder to get because not all the tables are available so you keep calling constantly for 6mo until more tables are available so you can get it... vs. all available at 90 days out?