Advice for making ADR"S

[heartofdisney]

My 90 day mark for making my ADR's arrives this Saturday! I have made lots of ADR's in trips past,but I have never been on the dining plan before,and reading about the trouble some people are having in getting the ADR's they want really has me a bit nervous. We are bringing Disney newbies with us in August,and I really wanted to make some great dining reservations so that our friends will have a wonderful time,and from my experiences,some great Disney experiences can be had even while eating.
Anyway,my question for all those who have booked during free dining before,or for those who have already booked for thier reservations for this years free dining, is how exactly should I do it. Is it best to ask for the more desired and popular places to eat in order of our priority,or should I just begin making the ADR's for the first day of my stay and take it day by day from there? Thanks for any and all help!

 

[Dancing Queen]

Hi Neighbor! Greetings from Central Bucks!

I made ADRs last week - went with priority first (requested CRT first). My days were all out of order but I got the 3 out of 4 ressies I wanted. I am still working on that fourth

Have back-up plan ready - I had a B plan but did not have to go for it (I did throw in an alternate for the one ressie that I could not get).

I did call in at 7AM and waited on hold for about a half hour but was totally done withing 48 minutes. I guess I was lucky.

Good luck! Hope you get everything you want!
Helen

 

[Libbyt]

I've been lucky too, I guess! Made mine last week (starting 8/17) and got 4 out of 5 right off the bat. I asked for restaurant, date, and meal, and was flexible with the times. I subbed the 5th one after a couple of tries but am going to keep trying for my first choice. And I have not had to wait for over 2-3 minutes each call. It may be easier than you think!

 

[NorweJenNY]

Definitely book your priorities first, and try to plan the harder to get restaurants for later in your trip (Le Cellier, CRT, CM, etc.) Ealier in your trip ressies will be harder to get as more people will have already booked those days with their earlier stays and the 90+10 option for making ADRs.

I also suggest using 1 for yes and 2 for no when going through the opening menu, as it seems to take a little bit longer for the system to recognize your voice and move on. The sooner you get in, the more chance you'll get your ADRs.

I also agree with having a back up plan. Other days for that ADR, or doing a restaurant at lunch instead of dinner... or choose another restaurant that you'd like to get on a particular day if you can't get your first choice.

And note that with the new system, you tell the CM a date and time for a particular restaurant, then they will search one hour before and one hour after. So if you say you want August 30, 6pm at 'Ohana, they will search for availability at 'Ohana between 5-7pm on Aug 30th... so if you want an ADR between 6-8pm, say 7pm, not 6pm, as they have to do a whole other search to find any ADRs more than one hour past the time you provide them.

Don't fret if you don't get what you want right away... call back later! You might have better luck exactly 90 days before your ressie date (instead of 90+10)... and around 45 days beforehand you might have more options as that is the time others would be cancelling trip plans to avoid losing their deposits.

Hope this helps!

Good luck to everyone!

 

[Will316]

I made mine yesterday and went 6 for 6, including a bunch of popular ones (CRT, etc). You might have to be a little flexible with the times, but I was happy. Unless you are really anal about going at the EXACT time on the EXACT day, I think the issues are overstated (at least in my experience).

 

[NorweJenNY]

(Sorry... bad internet connection resulted in a repeated post...)

 

[BelleBway]

I suggest calling the day before- not during prime hrs, but later in the day- to get a feel for the prompts. Someone had posted that you can hit 0 as soon as you get through, and I made sure that worked. I wrote down my responses to all the prompts. When I called for real, I started dialing in a few minutes before 7. Once I got the message reflecting the fact that they were open, I breezed through the prompts and I ended up getting to a CM without having to be on hold at all. I was so shocked to get right through that I was flustered asking for my first ADR!

I asked in order of a combo of priority and popularity. I'd written a list of restaurants and times I wanted, and just moved down the list. When I couldn't get a reservation at CM for a time I wanted, I skipped over that and moved on to the next one on the list. By the end of my call, I'd figured out another day to try for CM and that one worked. (one reason I ended up trying for that day was because I'd ended up with a lunch ADR that was earlier than other days)

I found the whole thing relatively painless and am basically pleased with what I got. The entire phone call took only 16 mins. It actually took a lot longer when I called back later in the day to change one of my times... and when I called later another day to confirm the price I was charged for CRT breakfast (I hadn't realized they included a gratuity)

 

[kimgof]

I just made mine earlier today. I was slightly open with times but I got everything I wanted within 30 minutes of my time frame. I only had to change one night and swap Coral Reef and Tutto. I didn't call early, I called in the afternoon and got through in 10 minutes. I don't know if its luck or anything but I have no complaints about my ADR's . I had some real popular choices too like CRT and Ohana and Tutto. So Good Luck!

 

[Marshay]

Please remind me what the hours/days are to make an ADR. My 90 days begins on a Sunday...will I have to wait until Monday 7am?

Thx!