7/31 discussion on multiple ADRs - what Disney told me...

[DisneyKevin]

It is things like people making multiple ADRs and not showing up that causes Disney to do things like requiring a credit card deposit...not just a hold... but a deposit, in order to secure a reservation.

While I have no knowledge of this happening or even being rumored to happen for regular reservations...there have been times in the past that this has been the case.

If everyone that made a reservation , made a duplicate and unnecessary reservation...few of us would get to dine anywhere, let alone our restaurant of choice.

It is also things like this...when the few decide to circumvent the system...that Disney decides to change what was a good thing for most...to something more difficult for everyone.

Please make no mistake about this....my opinion of making a duplicate and unnecessary dining reservation just to make a last minute decsison as to where you might like to dine is bad form...pure and simple.

We hear the same excuses...but what if we're not sure?.....what if I'm in a different place?...I paid a lot of money for this vacation.....it will ruin my vacation if I dont get to.....my kid's live will be scarred...

Taking up more reservations then you need due to indecision, bad planning or thinking that you are more deserving then the next family for whatever reason is BAD FORM.

As Bob says....thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Kevin

 

[eliza61]

I think that planning around food is insane. It's food people! Yes, some is better than others. But it's kind of a trivial thing to plan around, don't you think?

Yep, unfortunately if you go during the busiest times they are a necessary evil. Last March we went to disney with no adr's it was fantastic and we had a TS each and every day! Now we are going again in November and I've only made 1 adr. So hopefully fortune will shine on me again.

 

[Cruz Family]

We hear the same excuses...but what if we're not sure?.....what if I'm in a different place?...I paid a lot of money for this vacation.....it will ruin my vacation if I dont get to.....my kid's live will be scarred...

Oh the horror!!!!!....

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

Howdy neighbor Thanks for the "official" Adr stance... all of us trying to get ADR's thanks you!

nope. no offense. I was actually editting my reply thinking the same thing. I experienced a lot of trouble planning out my ADRs (5 months in advance... darnit!) and I understand. For the record I only have 1 adr per night.

I agree. everyone should have 1 ADR per night... and if you change your plans... cancel that ADR.

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

I'm a slave to my stove, and it isn't very often we go out to eat, so in Disney of all places, we'd like to enjoy some great dinners, that I DIDN'T have to cook myself.
If that means I have to plan 6 months in advance of where we will be eating, so be it. I'd rather be set in stone at a table service then be stuck trying to find decent counter service food any night/

boy did you really say it!! Amen

 

[Boardwalker]

We consider the restaurants as important as the rides, and plan our ADRs around what the parks hours are and which ones have EMH. It can kind of be like a triganometry problem when everything gets weighed in, and of course it is crazy. But the planning is half the fun for me.

I would never make more than one ADR, and if at the time we decide something else matters more than leaving one park for dinner in another, we cancel our ADR and make do. It is common courtesy not to shut someone else out of a table because you can't predict how you will feel at some point in the future. Take your best guess, that use it or cancel it if your plans change.

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

First, I'm gonna apologize for exploding in my earlier posts. I was upset about other things and it showed in my posts. I'm sorry.

Now, to be calm, it's more that it's slightly sad that we have to plan our meals 6 months in advance. Plan what time we want to eat, what we are going to eat, etc. No clue what time I'm gonna be hungry on December 17th! But I have to plan it anyway if I want to eat at all. The fact that it has come to this is frustrating.

Also, I like to plan the parks before the food, a lot of which is because I don't want to end up at Magic Kingdom for an 8 o'clock meal the night of EMH. The crowds are just not worth it, at least in my opinion.

 

[pklein09]

I was just reading through the thread. I figure if you like to plan your meals, that's great. If you don't, that's great too. This is vacation... Do whatever you like to enhance your experience (within reason of course!)

For DW and I, we like to plan where we're going to eat. We also keep a countdown calendar for the kids months in advance, listen to Disney CDs on almost every car ride, read books, and do a whole host of other Disney-related things. It's helps us fill the void between trips to WDW!

For you folks who make multiple ADRs, do you also drive on the shoulder when traffic is heavy? Do you have your kids stand on different grocery store lines to see which one will move fastest? Do you mow your lawn at 7am because it's too hot in the afternoon? Yeah... I thought so. ;-)

I'm not saying everyone should be a goody-two-shoes. Just a moment's consideration of how your behavior affects other people goes a long way to making life a little more pleasant.

And yes... for the record, we canceled our ADR at V&As. Broke our hearts to do it, but it made me feel better to think that someone trying to get a last minute reservation there was going to hear "you're in luck... we just had a cancellation."

That's Disney magic!

 

[jpeka65844]

DH and I plan out what parks we're doing on each day, THEN we plan our meals. But of course, we LOVE to eat and don't mind doing this 180 days out!

That being said, we decided to make an ADR for inside the Magic Kingdom on the night of our MVMCP, rather than at the Concourse. When I called and made our ADR for Tony's, I meant to cancel the ADR for Concourse. I forgot and hung up. But I then realized that nowhere did the CM alert me that I had 2 ADR's for the same time. Technically, they weren't: one was at 5:05, one was at 5:30. Do you think that made a difference?

I immediately called back and cancelled the Concourse so no harm, no foul.




Denice T.
Olathe, KS

 

[tinkerbellblondie19]

DH and I plan out what parks we're doing on each day, THEN we plan our meals. But of course, we LOVE to eat and don't mind doing this 180 days out!

That being said, we decided to make an ADR for inside the Magic Kingdom on the night of our MVMCP, rather than at the Concourse. When I called and made our ADR for Tony's, I meant to cancel the ADR for Concourse. I forgot and hung up. But I then realized that nowhere did the CM alert me that I had 2 ADR's for the same time. Technically, they weren't: one was at 5:05, one was at 5:30. Do you think that made a difference?

I immediately called back and cancelled the Concourse so no harm, no foul.




Denice T.
Olathe, KS

Okay, so I guess disney isn't stopping you from making multiple ADR's period, just ADR's at the exact same time. Yeah, that may not be extremely helpful.

I just realized that there isn't really a way to put it in the system. I mean, are they only going to let you have 1 ADR per day? There isn't a way for their system to say you have 2 dinner ADRs if they are at different times, because there is a possibility of it being a lunch ADR. Did that make sense to anyone? Because I confused myself and my original logic while writing it.

 

[Cool-Beans]

OK, I didn't read every post, but here goes.

I've made more than one ADR at a time. We did the Hidden Treasures of the World Showcase tour and I figured after 3 hours of walking it might be nice to sit down and have lunch. But Disney couldn't tell me if we'd be finishing up in Canada or Mexico - it differs by what direction they happen to start in that day. So, I booked 'em both. I did cancel San Angel during the tour (I think we were in Germany)...but I had them both.

And I'd do it no differently if I had it to do over again.

I've also gone with a group of people who stayed in different hotels - some offsite, even...and I handled calling all the reservations in. Since different people were going different places, I had several reservations under one name. I didn't want to have to make different calls or tell the CM to switch names because I thought it might all get screwed up and Shanila would show up and be told there was no ressie because the CM or I goofed up and put it under Eileen's name. One call, one name - so much easier. They all just showed up and said they were Cool Beans and everything ran well.

Also, although ADRs are never a bad idea and are sometimes a very GOOD idea, I do think it should be pointed out that even if you don't have ADRs...if you aren't too picky about where and when you eat, you should be able to sit down and have a meal somewhere. The vast majority of my trips are not planned 2 weeks out much less 180 days...and I have yet to starve in WDW.

And GEEZ O PETE, people!! Some folks like to plan (and some plan obsessively) and some don't. Different strokes for different folks. There is no wrong way to eat a Reese's!!

 

[Boardwalker]

And GEEZ O PETE, people!! Some folks like to plan (and some plan obsessively) and some don't. Different strokes for different folks. There is no wrong way to eat a Reese's!!

Even if there is no wrong way to eat a Reeses, it isn't nice to pick up the last two from in front of the check out and carry them around the store with you, knowing you are going to only buy and eat one........

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

More of what I meant was that it's slightly...I really can't come up with a good word to describe it, at least that couldn't be taken as insulting. I'm just saying that if you plan everything around where your ADR's are, and you plan your ADR's 6 months in advance, you end up at Magic Kingdom on the first day because you planned to eat at Crystal Palace, when you really were in the mood to go to Epcot to ride Test Track.

Food isn't all that important to me, but we are on the dining plan for our next trip and I don't want to pay for TS that I won't get to use just because I failed to plan ahead. And to be honest, I can't think of any day that I was in any Disney park and thought to myself, "Epcot sure is nice but I sure do wish I had gone to MGM today..." No matter which park I experience on any given day, I'm just happy to be there

 

[BobNoxious]

Okay, so I guess disney isn't stopping you from making multiple ADR's period, just ADR's at the exact same time. Yeah, that may not be extremely helpful.

I just realized that there isn't really a way to put it in the system. I mean, are they only going to let you have 1 ADR per day? There isn't a way for their system to say you have 2 dinner ADRs if they are at different times, because there is a possibility of it being a lunch ADR. Did that make sense to anyone? Because I confused myself and my original logic while writing it.

If multiple ADRs are tied to the same number (reservation or phone), then if the DD person does not warn you about 2 ADRs for your entire party in the same 2-hour block, then the system will kick out your first reservation, per the first post in this thread.

 

[stalkingmickey]

How about booking your trip and ADR's 6 months in advance...Booking breakfast(BOMA) the morning you fly out at the hotel (AKL) you booked.....Then finding out they are moving people from your hotel to others....My TA calling 2/12 months before arrival many times to inquire if I was being moved and told NO ....I then decided to book another breakfast for the same day and around the same time at one of the Boardwalk hotels just in case Disney ends up moving us.... Getting the call 45 days before arrival that you are being moved!!! WHAT

I am going during free dining and breakfast is very important to a happy DH. and was worried about not being able to have breakfast at a close location before we head to the airport. CM never said anything about my other ressie and booked the new one. Did I lose my other ressie? We ended up taking the POLY . My Dh decided he still wantted to go to Boma for breakfast, so I already canceled the other ressie. I hope I still have Boma's. Looks like I need to call and double check.

 

[dwelty]

I think that planning around food is insane. It's food people! Yes, some is better than others. But it's kind of a trivial thing to plan around, don't you think?

If you only want to eat crappy counter service food, than your comment is valid.

 

[landsm99]

I for one can't stand the stress the meal plan has added to ADRs. It is crazy. How do I know where we want to eat 6 months from now? What if we make decisions based on the great on-line menus and then the menu changes by the time we get there? Sure we have a plan-but we are very flexible-if the kids want to go to AK on a day that we thought we would be at MGM-so therefore made an ADR-we go to AK. Cancel the ADR and realize we will eat at counter service-unless we get lucky. Our 1st trip w/DD we went in September, made no advance ADR-and ate dinner every night based on where we wanted to go-often calling to make an ADR that afternoon. That was only 4 years ago-now if do not have ADRs at least scheduled months in advance we are all worried. That is fine for 'special' places (CRT, CG etc) but most other places it should not be so hard and require that type of planning. I really hate the changes that the meal plan has made-Here is hoping the rumored changes take place and people decide it is not worth the $.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

I really hate the changes that the meal plan has made-Here is hoping the rumored changes take place and people decide it is not worth the $.

If you have any doubts as to if people decide the new plan is/is not worth the money, check out this thread... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1534326