I'm confused, is there something specific you are looking for or just within a certain timeframe? Also what are your dates? What do you consider a "decent hour?" If you have a rigid schedule you're trying to fit ADR's into at certain restaurants, yeah you're gonna have bad luck. But if you are open to eating a little earlier or later, at different places or on different days, or trying lunch ADR's you could get a great schedule.
Figure out your desired mealtimes and then be willing to go an hour earlier or later. Make a list of places you'd like to try for - if you want, say, 7 ADR's then make a list of 12-15 places. You will have much better luck this way and still get something you're happy with. Program the Disney Dining phone number into your cell phone and call again the day of, you might luck out and get a last-minute cancellation. Then you can cancel yours and maybe make someone else's day.
I just made all our ADR's this week for 5 people, including a 5yo and 2 grandparents who like to eat early. Our trip is Labor Day weekend and the following week. I ususally make ADR's early but for some reason put it off this time, and I think we got the best ADR's yet - this will be our 5th year of
free dining plus several in between trips. We were able to get everything we wanted and then some that I didn't even think of trying for, using the new online reservation system. You can enter a range of dates and if the place you want isn't available, the system will bring up other suggestions. The system also searches for the hour before and after what you put in, so try inputting different times and most of all, be flexible.
Another tip: Use the online system late at night. I'm sure there are less people using it at that time and I had great luck. It was much slower during the day. I think it "holds" people's choices in their "cart" for a short time and then releases them if they don't finalize the reservation, so late at night there are less ADR's tied up in the holding pattern.
If you don't find what you want, try again at another time, there are cancellations all the time. As long as you are flexible on either times or restaurants and you should be fine. As of last night there were still tons of reservations open, maybe not for the most "popular" places (i.e. Chef Mickey's, Le Cellier) but we got into Ohana, CRT, Boma, Crystal Palace breakfast before park opening, etc. All places I would have expected to be full and all at desirable times, not crazy early or very late. My DD5 really wants Chef Mickey's but it wasn't available so we booked something else. I'll try again later and if we get it, great but if not we have an ADR for someplace new we've never tried, it's exciting!
Don't stress, it's vacation at Disney World, it's supposed to be fun!
