BuenaVistaBound
Planning my next trip...
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 92
I'm at my 180-day window (Jersey week!), and encountered a few problems with making ADRs and have read some other posts with similar issues, so I'm sharing my experience to hopefully alleviate some stress for fellow DISers.
First off, I missed the boat on the 180+10. I started early in the morning on my 180 day and found I was almost completely shut out. Through some digital miracle, I was able to get California Grill on the night of our arrival.
Then I checked the DIS to see if others were having booking problems, and read about the 180+10. Somehow, I couldn't see anything past my 180 window, so I called. The CM I spoke with reported all kinds of trouble for the last few days, and she was unable to even make reservations that should be no problem (Sanaa at midday, for example). So clearly, there's some backend issues happening as well. She did get me three ressies for lunch & dinner a few days into the trip.
Going back online, I realized that my hotel reservation was not attached to my itinerary. Make sure you do this! That opened up the rest of my trip through the website. Once I could click beyond 183 days, everything opened up.
Finally, one last trick. Sci-Fi Drive-In is a family favorite, so it's a priority. When I searched for 'lunch' in Hollywood Studios, everything came up with no availability. But when I searched for a specific time on the Sci-Fi page, I got exactly the time I wanted. Pick a place and take the extra step to make a reservation on the restaurant's individual page.
So calling, linking my hotel reservation to my profile (I booked through DVC online and still had to do this manually), and booking through the restaurant page all came together to make my desired itinerary. Here it is:
11/3: Lunch at Sanaa (checking it at Kidani Village), dinner after fireworks at California Grill
11/4: Late breakfast at 'Ohana, QS dinner in Magic Kingdom (probably Cosmic Ray's)
11/5: Lunch at Sci-Fi, dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby
11/6: Lunch at Teppan Edo, dinner at San Angel
11/7: Lunch at Be Our Guest, dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
First off, I missed the boat on the 180+10. I started early in the morning on my 180 day and found I was almost completely shut out. Through some digital miracle, I was able to get California Grill on the night of our arrival.
Then I checked the DIS to see if others were having booking problems, and read about the 180+10. Somehow, I couldn't see anything past my 180 window, so I called. The CM I spoke with reported all kinds of trouble for the last few days, and she was unable to even make reservations that should be no problem (Sanaa at midday, for example). So clearly, there's some backend issues happening as well. She did get me three ressies for lunch & dinner a few days into the trip.
Going back online, I realized that my hotel reservation was not attached to my itinerary. Make sure you do this! That opened up the rest of my trip through the website. Once I could click beyond 183 days, everything opened up.
Finally, one last trick. Sci-Fi Drive-In is a family favorite, so it's a priority. When I searched for 'lunch' in Hollywood Studios, everything came up with no availability. But when I searched for a specific time on the Sci-Fi page, I got exactly the time I wanted. Pick a place and take the extra step to make a reservation on the restaurant's individual page.
So calling, linking my hotel reservation to my profile (I booked through DVC online and still had to do this manually), and booking through the restaurant page all came together to make my desired itinerary. Here it is:
11/3: Lunch at Sanaa (checking it at Kidani Village), dinner after fireworks at California Grill
11/4: Late breakfast at 'Ohana, QS dinner in Magic Kingdom (probably Cosmic Ray's)
11/5: Lunch at Sci-Fi, dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby
11/6: Lunch at Teppan Edo, dinner at San Angel
11/7: Lunch at Be Our Guest, dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table
Lol! I've been checking the WDW site each day to get an idea of what's available and it's not looking good!! There seems to be such limited restaurants with availability. I'm hoping I can snag at least a few of our top picks!!
