ADR with no trip yet ?

[JennyLynn21]

Areyou allowed to make dining reservations with out an actual trip booked yet? I am just waiting on my boss to confirm my vacation time. She is taking her time.. I was wanting to make adrs for the beginning of March. And if for some reason I can't go, I would obviously cancel!! What do you think? Am I being unfair to people's who trips are already booked?

 

[TDC Nala]

Anyone can book restaurant reservations within 180 days. Doesn't matter if they've booked a trip, if they haven't booked a trip, if they're staying onsite, if they're staying offsite, or if they're local.

Not sure how it could possibly be unfair for anyone listed above to book restaurant reservations. They're not reserved for onsite guests or guests who have already booked a trip.

 

[mcd2745]

I think under the current rules/system in place, you have to make your ADRs now. But again, this highlights why 180 days is ridiculous and that these types of scenarios can be avoided if it were reduced to 45 days.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't know why it would be necessary to avoid this type of scenario. If she doesn't get the vacation time, she cancels the reservations. Someone else picks them up. Doesn't seem to me to be anything unfair about that.

 

[Nadjalu]

I think it is fine for you to book your adrs now.

I actually booked LeCellier about 5 days before my upcoming trip was booked.
Our anniversary is Feb 2 and was thinking where did I want to eat...LeCellier came to mind and since it would be over a year since our last trip, said "why not??".

I booked the adr and printed it, then took it to DH and said what did he think about this anniversary dinner.....of course he smiled and said, sounds good to me. Didn't know if we would be able to swing the trip so it took a bit of crunching numbers but after a few days of doing so booked our trip and the rest of our adrs.

It is fine if you do it, and if you can't go just cancel and make some person very happy that something popped up so close to their vacation.

 

[mcd2745]

I don't know why it would be necessary to avoid this type of scenario. If she doesn't get the vacation time, she cancels the reservations. Someone else picks them up. Doesn't seem to me to be anything unfair about that.

It's just not optimal, IMO. Why have all kinds of ADRs occupied by people who may end up not going to WDW at all? Yes, some will cancel (I have confidence that most DISers will cancel), but others will not. To me, this is just one out of a number of "problem" scenarios which are a direct result of the 180-day window.

 

[MHSweb79]

I actually booked LeCellier about 5 days before my upcoming trip was booked.

I did the exact same thing and it's a good thing I did as I got exactly the time/ day I needed. After the trip was booked I went ahead and got ADR's for the rest of my days as my other choices were much less likely to be booked solid.

 

[aubriee]

It's just not optimal, IMO. Why have all kinds of ADRs occupied by people who may end up not going to WDW at all? Yes, some will cancel (I have confidence that most DISers will cancel), but others will not. To me, this is just one out of a number of "problem" scenarios which are a direct result of the 180-day window.

I work 11-7 shift and am the only RN on my unit. I go to WDW several times a year. I always put my requests in months in advance, but my supervisor never, ever returns them approved. He is good about finding coverage for me, but I never know for sure that my vacation days are approved until the schedule comes out the last week of the month for the next month. In fact, I have WDW trips scheduled for Dec 4th-12th and also for April 30th-May 8th. My time has not been approved yet for either, but I fully expect to be going. I have ADRs made for both my Dec and May trips. I went on a cruise several years ago and turned in my request for time off a full year in advance. I then called my supervisor and told him I needed to know if it was approved and he had a full year to find coverage for me. He said he couldn't do that, but to plan the trip and he'd see what he could do for coverage. I did not know my time off for that cruise was approved until less than a week before I left. All of us that work on this unit have told our nurse manager that we need to know if our requests for time off are approved, because we can not wait for the last minute to make airline reservations, resort reservations, dining reservations, etc. He still refuses. We just have to wait until that month's schedule comes out. Thus far he has always given me all my days or else I have been able to find someone to cover the few days he doesn't. I will be going back to WDW again in late Sept or early Oct. Sorry, I am making dining reservations at 180 days out from the day I plan on leaving for WDW. My time off will not be approved, but I'm about 98% sure my time will be appoved later. If I go the first week of Oct I won't know my time off is approved until the last week of Sept. No way am I going to wait until just a few days before my trip to try to make ADRs.

My Dec trip is paid in full and all I owe on my May trip is about $600.00. I intentionally did not pay that $600.00 because I'm hoping for an AP discount that should be just a little less than that. I have air fare paid for both trips also. I'm on the DxDDP in Dec and have 16 ADRs booked. I'm on the basic DDP and have eight ADRs booked for the May trip. I've worked on this unit for over twelve years and know that even though my supervisor refuses to approve time off until the last minute, that I always get it. If a day or two is denied then I have coworkers from the other two shifts, that I know will cover for me, just like I'll cover for them if they need it.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I work 11-7 shift and am the only RN on my unit. I go to WDW several times a year. I always put my requests in months in advance, but my supervisor never, ever returns them approved. He is good about finding coverage for me, but I never know for sure that my vacation days are approved until the schedule comes out the last week of the month for the next month. In fact, I have WDW trips scheduled for Dec 4th-12th and also for April 30th-May 8th. My time has not been approved yet for either, but I fully expect to be going. I have ADRs made for both my Dec and May trips. I went on a cruise several years ago and turned in my request for time off a full year in advance. I then called my supervisor and told him I needed to know if it was approved and he had a full year to find coverage for me. He said he couldn't do that, but to plan the trip and he'd see what he could do for coverage. I did not know my time off for that cruise was approved until less than a week before I left. All of us that work on this unit have told our nurse manager that we need to know if our requests for time off are approved, because we can not wait for the last minute to make airline reservations, resort reservations, dining reservations, etc. He still refuses. We just have to wait until that month's schedule comes out. Thus far he has always given me all my days or else I have been able to find someone to cover the few days he doesn't. I will be going back to WDW again in late Sept or early Oct. Sorry, I am making dining reservations at 180 days out from the day I plan on leaving for WDW. My time off will not be approved, but I'm about 98% sure my time will be appoved later. If I go the first week of Oct I won't know my time off is approved until the last week of Sept. No way am I going to wait until just a few days before my trip to try to make ADRs.

My Dec trip is paid in full and all I owe on my May trip is about $600.00. I intentionally did not pay that $600.00 because I'm hoping for an AP discount that should be just a little less than that. I have air fare paid for both trips also. I'm on the DxDDP in Dec and have 16 ADRs booked. I'm on the basic DDP and have eight ADRs booked for the May trip. I've worked on this unit for over twelve years and know that even though my supervisor refuses to approve time off until the last minute, that I always get it. If a day or two is denied then I have coworkers from the other two shifts, that I know will cover for me, just like I'll cover for them if they need it.

Just got got a pin code for May.. So, you may be in luck!
I personally don't think there is anything wrong with booking your Adr's ahead of time. Most people will cancel . Those of us that are Disney fanatics know how booking ADRS works and I believe 9 times out of 10 we will get what we want, regardless of who has booked ADRS and their trips.. JMO

 

[mcd2745]

I work 11-7 shift and am the only RN on my unit. I go to WDW several times a year. I always put my requests in months in advance, but my supervisor never, ever returns them approved. He is good about finding coverage for me, but I never know for sure that my vacation days are approved until the schedule comes out the last week of the month for the next month. In fact, I have WDW trips scheduled for Dec 4th-12th and also for April 30th-May 8th. My time has not been approved yet for either, but I fully expect to be going. I have ADRs made for both my Dec and May trips. I went on a cruise several years ago and turned in my request for time off a full year in advance. I then called my supervisor and told him I needed to know if it was approved and he had a full year to find coverage for me. He said he couldn't do that, but to plan the trip and he'd see what he could do for coverage. I did not know my time off for that cruise was approved until less than a week before I left. All of us that work on this unit have told our nurse manager that we need to know if our requests for time off are approved, because we can not wait for the last minute to make airline reservations, resort reservations, dining reservations, etc. He still refuses. We just have to wait until that month's schedule comes out. Thus far he has always given me all my days or else I have been able to find someone to cover the few days he doesn't. I will be going back to WDW again in late Sept or early Oct. Sorry, I am making dining reservations at 180 days out from the day I plan on leaving for WDW. My time off will not be approved, but I'm about 98% sure my time will be appoved later. If I go the first week of Oct I won't know my time off is approved until the last week of Sept. No way am I going to wait until just a few days before my trip to try to make ADRs.

My Dec trip is paid in full and all I owe on my May trip is about $600.00. I intentionally did not pay that $600.00 because I'm hoping for an AP discount that should be just a little less than that. I have air fare paid for both trips also. I'm on the DxDDP in Dec and have 16 ADRs booked. I'm on the basic DDP and have eight ADRs booked for the May trip. I've worked on this unit for over twelve years and know that even though my supervisor refuses to approve time off until the last minute, that I always get it. If a day or two is denied then I have coworkers from the other two shifts, that I know will cover for me, just like I'll cover for them if they need it.

Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that you shouldn't make ADRs. I'm just saying that Disney's 180 day window should be reduced (to 45 days, if it were up to me). Too many things are "up in the air" at 6 months out for most people. This leads to a lot of ADRs being made that either get canceled or just end up being no-shows. That why I say it's not optimal. At 45 days out...most people's plans are crystalized by that point and therefore they will be making ADRs that have a much higher likelihood of being kept and (just as importantly) atttended.

Your scenario, where your time off requests are not approved in a proper manner/timeframe until the last minute is a rare one and it seems to have more to do with poor management where you work than anything else. Seems to me that your supervisor just want to cover his you-know-what and be able to say to his superiors in the event of a problem as a result of a lack of staffing "Well, I didn't approve the time off".

 

[clanmcculloch]

I think under the current rules/system in place, you have to make your ADRs now. But again, this highlights why 180 days is ridiculous and that these types of scenarios can be avoided if it were reduced to 45 days.

With all due respect, 45 days isn't best for everybody. You may prefer it, but many wouldn't. Disney did shorten the window to 90 days for a while but clearly they found it didn't work as well as 180 days so Disney reverted to their original 180 days. 180 days clearly works better from Disney's perspective. Since Disney is the business, what matters most is what works for Disney.

People have to make their final payments on packages at 45 days out. I'm not about to book a package that includes dining if I can't be sure I'll actually get ADRs. Basically, I'd never use a dining plan. I would think there are a lot of people like me who feel this way. The dining plans make Disney a LOT of money so they really sell these hard and want people using them. That won't happen with a 45 day ADR window. It just won't. Not many will pay for something when they don't know if they'll be able to use it. 45 days does not make any sense. Disney would lose money.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

With all due respect, 45 days isn't best for everybody. You may prefer it, but many wouldn't. Disney did shorten the window to 90 days for a while but clearly they found it didn't work as well as 180 days so Disney reverted to their original 180 days. 180 days clearly works better from Disney's perspective. Since Disney is the business, what matters most is what works for Disney.

People have to make their final payments on packages at 45 days out. I'm not about to book a package that includes dining if I can't be sure I'll actually get ADRs. Basically, I'd never use a dining plan. I would think there are a lot of people like me who feel this way. The dining plans make Disney a LOT of money so they really sell these hard and want people using them. That won't happen with a 45 day ADR window. It just won't. Not many will pay for something when they don't know if they'll be able to use it. 45 days does not make any sense. Disney would lose money.

ITA!! And imagine how many CMs they'd have to have manning phone lines (not to mention a greater amount of lines themselves) if everyone had to wait 45 days to book ADRs. The phone and online system would be backlogged all day. I'm sure it would be a logistical nightmare. MANY hardcore planners book at 6 months out but some at 4 months and some at 2 months, but EVERY WDW guest (on an offsite) would be trying to book at 45 days out.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I am going for 10 days in march and had ALL my ADR's made for every single day for a good month or two before I booked the rest of my package. I knew I was going and the dates, and I was in the 180 window, why not book them? Are there stories out there of people not finding any place to eat? I doubt it and I am sure "The Mouse" has spent plenty of time and $$ to figure out what is optimum, they do w/ everything else.

 

[mcd2745]

With all due respect, 45 days isn't best for everybody. You may prefer it, but many wouldn't. Disney did shorten the window to 90 days for a while but clearly they found it didn't work as well as 180 days so Disney reverted to their original 180 days. 180 days clearly works better from Disney's perspective. Since Disney is the business, what matters most is what works for Disney.

People have to make their final payments on packages at 45 days out. I'm not about to book a package that includes dining if I can't be sure I'll actually get ADRs. Basically, I'd never use a dining plan. I would think there are a lot of people like me who feel this way. The dining plans make Disney a LOT of money so they really sell these hard and want people using them. That won't happen with a 45 day ADR window. It just won't. Not many will pay for something when they don't know if they'll be able to use it. 45 days does not make any sense. Disney would lose money.

ITA!! And imagine how many CMs they'd have to have manning phone lines (not to mention a greater amount of lines themselves) if everyone had to wait 45 days to book ADRs. The phone and online system would be backlogged all day. I'm sure it would be a logistical nightmare. MANY hardcore planners book at 6 months out but some at 4 months and some at 2 months, but EVERY WDW guest (on an offsite) would be trying to book at 45 days out.

I see...45 days would be too level a playing field for you. It seems the main argument against it is..."I'll lose whatever advantage I currently have". 45 days doesn't necessarily "work" for me in particular. I just believe it be the most logical and equitable number - for EVERYONE.

The fact that packages must be paid in full at 45 days makes it the perfect time to open up ADRs. You're now, for the most part, committed to going or not - eliminating speculative ADRs by people who end up NOT going. Also, everyone can far better plan out their days - which parks they'll be at, what shows they'll be seeing, etc. - meaning they shouldn't feel a need to double-book at multiple parks. You can't tell me at 6 months most people are locked-in for day 4 of their 10-day trip to be their Epcot or DHS day. They may have an idea, but their plans are much more crystalized at 45 days. To me, this is the greatest factor. I know that I can pretty much go for a steak any day, so it's not as much a matter of "will i be in mood for steak?" if I'm booked at Le Cellier 6 months in advance. It's a matter of, how do i know that's going to be my "Epcot day". Well...I guess you're locked in to that now. And yes, the extra "competition" will deter people from making contingency ADRs. For Disney, this all would result in a much lower no-show rate - a big problem for them. I also don't believe for one second that it would deter many people from doing the DP.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I see...45 days would be too level a playing field for you. It seems the main argument against it is..."I'll lose whatever advantage I currently have". 45 days doesn't necessarily "work" for me in particular. I just believe it be the most logical and equitable number - for EVERYONE.

The fact that packages must be paid in full at 45 days makes it the perfect time to open up ADRs. You're now, for the most part, committed to going or not - eliminating speculative ADRs by people who end up NOT going. Also, everyone can far better plan out their days - which parks they'll be at, what shows they'll be seeing, etc. - meaning they shouldn't feel a need to double-book at multiple parks. You can't tell me at 6 months most people are locked-in for day 4 of their 10-day trip to be their Epcot or DHS day. They may have an idea, but their plans are much more crystalized at 45 days. To me, this is the greatest factor. I know that I can pretty much go for a steak any day, so it's not as much a matter of "will i be in mood for steak?" if I'm booked at Le Cellier 6 months in advance. It's a matter of, how do i know that's going to be my "Epcot day". Well...I guess you're locked in to that now. And yes, the extra "competition" will deter people from making contingency ADRs. For Disney, this all would result in a much lower no-show rate - a big problem for them. I also don't believe for one second that it would deter many people from doing the DP.

No, my comment was that it would be a logistical nightmare for Disney. There aren't enough phone lines in Orlando to accommodate all those phone calls in a single day. I bet they did the math and the cost of additional phone lines and CMs to man those lines and it didn't make financial sense.

The other flaw in your 45 day logic is that not everyone visiting WDW have a MYW package. Some have APs or room only reservations and PIN codes, or stay offsite. They still have the possibility of canceling their trip, so should NO reservations be made in advance?

 

[mcd2745]

I understand not everyone is there on a package. But obviously, there has to be a date to open up ressies - be it 45, 180 or anything in between. So, when looking at the whole picture, 45 makes the most sense to me. If I were going on general principle alone, I feel it should be even less. What other meals does anyone in their lifetime make a reservation for more than a couple of weeks in advance? I just don't see any logical reason to need a dining reservation 6 months in advance.

As for the logistics..one solution would be going to a strictly online system.

 

[clanmcculloch]

You're right that some date has to be chosen. Since Disney tried 90 and found that it was too short, I don't understand how you don't see that 45 wouldn't work. We all get that you would like 45 days. Do you not see that there are all sorts of reasons why Disney, the business in question, would not like 45 days? I'll work with whatever Disney decides and will be fine with it because it's their decision. I would certainly make different decisions about my vacations if it was 45 days and most likely Disney would get less money from me so big picture I suppose maybe it would be good for me, but not for Disney. I don't care about this playing field you're perceiving. There will never be a timeframe that everybody will be happy with. Disney has determined what will work best for them. The logistical nightmare for Disney has been explained to you (even online there's only so much bandwidth plus they'd lose the business of all those people who won't or can't book online). The package issue has been explained to you. There's also the fact that many people who book early continue to go back to the reservation site and book more and more ADRs (which they plan to keep BTW). This is all good for Disney. Where is the downside to the 180 days FOR DISNEY? I understand why YOU don't like 180 days. Really, for Disney, this is what works and it's not going to change. Disney tried and didn't like it.

 

[Pumbaa_]

to the OP Book away!

Just a reminder, this is not the debate board. If this continues to be a debate issue, the thread will be closed.

Thanks everyone!

 

[mcd2745]

You're right that some date has to be chosen. Since Disney tried 90 and found that it was too short, I don't understand how you don't see that 45 wouldn't work. We all get that you would like 45 days. Do you not see that there are all sorts of reasons why Disney, the business in question, would not like 45 days? I'll work with whatever Disney decides and will be fine with it because it's their decision. I would certainly make different decisions about my vacations if it was 45 days and most likely Disney would get less money from me so big picture I suppose maybe it would be good for me, but not for Disney. I don't care about this playing field you're perceiving. There will never be a timeframe that everybody will be happy with. Disney has determined what will work best for them. The logistical nightmare for Disney has been explained to you (even online there's only so much bandwidth plus they'd lose the business of all those people who won't or can't book online). The package issue has been explained to you. There's also the fact that many people who book early continue to go back to the reservation site and book more and more ADRs (which they plan to keep BTW). This is all good for Disney. Where is the downside to the 180 days FOR DISNEY? I understand why YOU don't like 180 days. Really, for Disney, this is what works and it's not going to change. Disney tried and didn't like it.

I do agree it's not going to change - and if it did it will probably be the other way to 1 year. But I think it would just be a response to customers requesting that and not because longer windows work better for Disney from a logistical or profit standpoint. I also agree that whatever the the cutoff is and however the system is set up there will be people unhappy with it, that's just the way life is. However, where I disagree is that I do believe 45 days would work better for Disney as it would result in drastically less no-shows/empty tables. Which certainly seems to be a big probelm they are recognizing - as evidenced by all the talk/rumors of double-booking cancellations and what not. Disney wants only one thing - full restaurants. And they are having trouble getting that under the current system, despite restaurants booked beyond capacity with ADRs.

As for the bandwidth issue, if they went to an online only system (at 45 days)...so maybe some people woldn't be able to "get through" and may lose out on that Ohana reservation. So from that standpoint, it's not that much different that the 180 days - there will be people left out from coveted ADRs. Are they really going to cancel their entire vacation because of it? I doubt it. It's just that now it would be an equal chance that it would be someone who plans their trip a year in advance and someone who plans their trip less than 6 months in advance. And that seems to be what everyone is against.

 

[paxsarah]

ITA!! And imagine how many CMs they'd have to have manning phone lines (not to mention a greater amount of lines themselves) if everyone had to wait 45 days to book ADRs. The phone and online system would be backlogged all day. I'm sure it would be a logistical nightmare. MANY hardcore planners book at 6 months out but some at 4 months and some at 2 months, but EVERY WDW guest (on an offsite) would be trying to book at 45 days out.

Every day is 45 days before some other date that falls during someone's Disney vacation, though. The issue wouldn't be that there'd be a consistent crush of reservation demand under a 45-day window, all year 'round. It's that the demand peaks would be higher and the slow periods would be slower. I'm sure that currently, there's a surge in dining reservations starting, say, at the end of June for the Christmas holidays. But with the 180-day window, more reservations trickle in over the next 6 months. With a 45-day reservation window it would be a bigger surge in early-mid November, and then a dropoff as the window opened for the post-holiday period. I would think that Disney's systems could handle this, especially given the availability of online reservations, but who knows.

As far as the OP goes, I think in the current system you have to do what you have to do - make ADRs now, cancel if plans change.