ADR Tutorial Request...

[jbm02]

Okay, so I've got the idea from the boards that getting the ADRs you really want can be a challenge. When we call, what should a newbie do? Are there prompts we should know about to bypass alot of speaking? What restaurants fill up first and so should be the first ones we ask for? Should we ask with restaurant first or date? (ie, Chef Mickey - August 10...or... August 10 - Chef Mickey)? Does it really matter??
Thanks for your help!!

 

[geenerbell]

Character/Castle meals fill up fast. Call and double check what your 90 day mark will be. Call at 6:59am that day. Have your schedule of meals you want and have back ups or different times available.

 

[1osfan]

I just called yesterday for our ADRs and I am a newbie also. Here's what we did.

We used http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/pscalc/dispscalc.html to find our call date. I then looked at a calendar and counted backwards just to double check. A day or two before my call date, DW called the phone number and went through all of the prompts to understand what we would need to do. She made simple notes like 'say English' so we new what each question would be.

Then, we made sure we knew what ADRs we wanted on which day and at which time and made a simple list. For each one, a found a back-up choice just in case we could not get something for the day and time we wanted. We also made sure that we had our reservation number, a pen, and our credit card out.

We used our cell phones because they have the most accurate time and we both started calling at 6:58 or 6:59. When we heard the sound that let us know that we had gotten through, we used those notes to get through the menu quickly and we got to the CM. This was the worst part. It seemed to take forever for her to get our reservation number and info ready so we could ask for the first ADR. When she was ready, I simply said I need CRT for breakfast on X date at 8:00 or so. She checked, said she had it for 8:15; I said I'd take it, then she gave a little thing about arriving 15 minuted early and such and I kind of rushed her through it. She asked me what I wanted next and we did it again.

All in all, I was on the phone for 30 minutes, her computer crashed twice (once losing our CRT, CM, and O'H ADRs), I made 10 ADRs, and got everything I wanted when I wanted it. I did use my backup plan once because she could not find an available dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's on the day I wanted. I gave her a second date that worked for us and she had no problem with that one.

Just relax, know what to expect, and have fun!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Thanks for starting this thread, I am an ADR newbie, too. I have 8 ADRs to make at the end of August, I can get myself into a fit thinking about it.

I was planning on doing a test before my actual call in date, too..like you did. Also to have CM confirm my call in date.

One question I have is that when you are starting to ask for times, do you just state your preferred time, and the CM will start to come back with alternative times, or do you have to keep asking for a specific time until you find one? Does that make sense? Hope so. Also, do you just go in chronological order or do you start with the more popular restaurants first? One good thing, my call in date falls on a Sunday so I will not have to worry about doing it while trying to get everyone ready for school!

 

[1osfan]

One question I have is that when you are starting to ask for times, do you just state your preferred time, and the CM will start to come back with alternative times, or do you have to keep asking for a specific time until you find one? Does that make sense? Hope so. Also, do you just go in chronological order or do you start with the more popular restaurants first? One good thing, my call in date falls on a Sunday so I will not have to worry about doing it while trying to get everyone ready for school!

When I called, I would say "I'd like Chef Mickey's on August 2nd around 5:00" and she would normally say something like "I have a 4:55."

Also, I looked at two things when deciding what order to ask for ADRs. First, what did we want the most. Second, what would be hardest to get. With a DD6 and a DDS2, the two we wanted the most were CRT and CM. Since we wanted CRT for breakfast and as early a breakfast as we could get, I asked for that first. Once I had that, I got CM. I made all of them that way and it worked out pretty well. Although I had heard it was hard to get and my DW and I would love to eat at Le Cellier, it was lower on our list because our top priorities were the character meals for the kids. I didn't really expect to get it since it was so far down on our list, but we did, so it worked out very well.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

When I called, I would say "I'd like Chef Mickey's on August 2nd around 5:00" and she would normally say something like "I have a 4:55."

Also, I looked at two things when deciding what order to ask for ADRs. First, what did we want the most. Second, what would be hardest to get. With a DD6 and a DDS2, the two we wanted the most were CRT and CM. Since we wanted CRT for breakfast and as early a breakfast as we could get, I asked for that first. Once I had that, I got CM. I made all of them that way and it worked out pretty well. Although I had heard it was hard to get and my DW and I would love to eat at Le Cellier, it was lower on our list because our top priorities were the character meals for the kids. I didn't really expect to get it since it was so far down on our list, but we did, so it worked out very well.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad it all worked out for you, I hope you all have a great trip! I expect to gain at least 8 pounds on this trip!

 

[JReneeW]

I know that I'm a newbie, too... but I figured out that you don't actually have to say the prompts. If you go through the menus before hand, you only have to press the corresponding number to the prompt or 1 for yes and 2 for no (or whatever order options are given in). I know it doesn't save much time, but I think if you're calling at 7:00, every second counts towards how long you'll be on hold for.