ADR's, just book away? is it true, no rules, wild wild west?

[*TheWigs*]

In a perfect world...

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Here's the thing... Disney doesn't NEED to change it. People may be abusing the system and other people may not like it but Disney is still filling restaurants beyond capacity and having people waiting. As long as Walt is making money then they have no reason to change there policies. When the ADR system starts to cause loss of revenue and restaurants are empty as a result of over booking then they can and WILL put something in place. Until then it is what it is. Make your adrs @ 180 days and if you don't get what you want when you want it then keep trying. Your vacation isn't going to be terrible if you miss eating at 1 restaurant.

 

[MSLRAC]

Here's the thing... Disney doesn't NEED to change it. People may be abusing the system and other people may not like it but Disney is still filling restaurants beyond capacity and having people waiting. As long as Walt is making money then they have no reason to change there policies. When the ADR system starts to cause loss of revenue and restaurants are empty as a result of over booking then they can and WILL put something in place. Until then it is what it is. Make your adrs @ 180 days and if you don't get what you want when you want it then keep trying. Your vacation isn't going to be terrible if you miss eating at 1 restaurant.

But that is not exactly true. We saw numerous families being turned away at TH, CM and Ohana yet their were empty tables (that sat empty for awhile if not our entire meal) at all three places. The only place that we saw turning away people that was truly booked to capacity was LeCellier. So it would appear to me that Disney is missing the boat on part of the walk up crowd.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I'd question what time you were eating and if they were changing from one meal to another. I have never seen people not waiting at Tusker House. Normally there is a crowd waiting for seats out front. The same is true at almost all disney restaurants. Disney does know that people will cancel and they allow for that in there bookings. That is also why some restaurants that have fewer no shows sometimes end up with longer waits.

 

[MSLRAC]

I'd question what time you were eating and if they were changing from one meal to another. I have never seen people not waiting at Tusker House. Normally there is a crowd waiting for seats out front. The same is true at almost all disney restaurants. Disney does know that people will cancel and they allow for that in there bookings. That is also why some restaurants that have fewer no shows sometimes end up with longer waits.

Oh there was a TON of people waiting to be seated at TH and Ohana so the empty tables really kind of blew my mind. At CM's, they waited until our dining area cleared completely out (we were the last ones out because we were waiting for DS to get to see Mickey) and then they started sitting the area again. Cm's was really kind of odd but we experienced the same thing at the clambake later that week.

 

[DisGirl819]

Oh there was a TON of people waiting to be seated at TH and Ohana so the empty tables really kind of blew my mind. At CM's, they waited until our dining area cleared completely out (we were the last ones out because we were waiting for DS to get to see Mickey) and then they started sitting the area again. Cm's was really kind of odd but we experienced the same thing at the clambake later that week.

There was probably empty tables b/c they were low on waitstaff or something. If they fill every available table and don't have enough servers, everyone waits so long for food that no one is happy.

 

[Colleen27]

There was probably empty tables b/c they were low on waitstaff or something. If they fill every available table and don't have enough servers, everyone waits so long for food that no one is happy.

I've seen several trip reports/dining reviews that seem to suggest that is the case - that Disney isn't maintaining the necessary staffing levels to have everything running at full capacity all the time. Whether that's because of the economy/hiring freezes or simply more call-offs than usual, it does seem to be a recurring issue, not just with sections of restaurants sitting empty but also with servers busing their own tables/doing their own food-running and seeming like they're handling too much to provide really good service.

 

[MSLRAC]

There was probably empty tables b/c they were low on waitstaff or something. If they fill every available table and don't have enough servers, everyone waits so long for food that no one is happy.

That very well could have been the case. I didn't even think about it from that perspective. I just assumed that it due to people not showing up for their ADRs but I guess that doesn't make much sense since an ADR is not like a traditional reservation.

 

[taymorel]

For my May trip, I constantly change my mind about reservations and will cancel and re-book other restaurants and times. And others do this, so if you really want a particular reservation, you have to keep checking the Dining system to see if something has opened up.

Last year, I got Le Cellier 2 weeks before my trip because someone cancelled. So, people do cancel ressies, they aren't just holding on to them if they don't plan to go. Good luck.



caroline

 

[Darcy03231]

A lot can depend on how many are in your group, too. If you have a large party it can be more difficult to seat you at a high demand time. I've also found that if you have an odd number of people in your party the system doesn't give you great times. One trip I made reservations for 3 people and took less than optimal times as that was all that was available. A week later someone else decided to join us. When I cancelled our original reservations and rebooked to 4 people, lots of prime time slots opened up at all the restaurants we wanted.

 

[kmedina]

I agree and disagree. As one poster mentioned, you may book one restaurant in place of another hoping the one you really want will open up. If it does, you then book the new one first, and cancel the old one right after. This is not abuse, just wise thinking. There are a number of other reasons reservations open up. People may have to change their stay dates, cancel their trip all together, and are just unsure about their plans. I am a planner, so you hope to never have to deal with any of these. Even though I booked on the day I was allowed last time (staying nine nights), so 189 nights in advance, I missed a reservation on arrival night (180). That is most likely due to the fact that others had booked it at 180+10. It happens. You just keep checking and hope you can get it. If not, hopefully you can go there next time.

There are some people who book multiples because they do not want to be tied down to specific plans. I do not do this, since I know exactly where I will be as soon as the calendar is posted. I do not agree with this in most scenarios (and agree it is abuse if overdone), but do not have a problem if it is just once a trip. You may for instance plan a day at each park and on your fifth day decide to go back to the park you feel you need more time at. As long as people are not doing this for everyday of their trip, I have no beef with them at all. It is at their own risk too since one or both may be kicked out if they place them too close together. Everyone needs to cancel unsdesired ADR 48 hours in advance rather than not showing up. A lot of people make last minute calls and someone can get it if they cancel more than 48 hours in advance.

There should be a credit card guarantee that does not charge unless you do not show up or cancel with enough time for a replacement to take the reservation (48 hours or less depending on the restaurant as some like Chef Mickey's and CRT could probably fill a same day cancellation). They have this for some restaurants but should have it for all. That way, the people who are abusing the system (by making multiple plans to not be tied down) will cancel or be charged a fee of at least $10 to $20 per no show.

 

[ajh88]

I just wanted to mention (since I haven't seen it anywhere) that I just had to modify a reservation for CRT in August. I had a seating for 3 people at a 10 am breakfast. I wanted to change to 5, so I searched for that and when it was available, I chose to book it. When the system pulled up the new reservation, a pop up box appeared telling me that I had a conflicting reservation. It gave me the choice to either cancel the existing reservation or keep them both. I chose to cancel since I was making the new one that I really wanted, but I wonder what would have happened if I would have chosen to keep both.

Of course, it might only do that because CRT is one that requires pre-payment.

 

[lsulindy]

I just wanted to mention (since I haven't seen it anywhere) that I just had to modify a reservation for CRT in August. I had a seating for 3 people at a 10 am breakfast. I wanted to change to 5, so I searched for that and when it was available, I chose to book it. When the system pulled up the new reservation, a pop up box appeared telling me that I had a conflicting reservation. It gave me the choice to either cancel the existing reservation or keep them both. I chose to cancel since I was making the new one that I really wanted, but I wonder what would have happened if I would have chosen to keep both.

Of course, it might only do that because CRT is one that requires pre-payment.

No, it does that for all restaurants. Happened to me the other day when the ressie I really wanted opened up. I chose to keep both until I could talk with my group b/c it was the restaurant we wanted, but not at an optimal time. I went back and cancelled later.

 

[lsulindy]

Oh there was a TON of people waiting to be seated at TH and Ohana so the empty tables really kind of blew my mind..

I would guess that this was done due to under-staffing like others have suggested. If they had the staff for those tables, I'd think they would have sat the people waiting with ADRs.