(Almost) last minute questions

[las3888]

Hi all,

Another WDW regular venturing west. We have had the pleasure of booking GCV and visiting roughly every 6 years and will be arriving in just under 2 weeks. While I think the planning aspect is almost as fun as the trip itself, this trip I just haven't had the time. So I have a few probably basic (and perhaps stupid) questions that I'm hoping somebody will find super easy to answer. Here goes...

1 - We are having zero luck making any dining reservations to our liking. Our fault for waiting too long. We are most interested in the Wine Country Trattoria patio. This is spring break, but what are chances of standby (are they accepting standby?) OR, we have had decent success booking restaurants day before or day of at WDW as people make last minute cancellations. While not a guarantee, is this common at DL?

2 - We have purchased the Lightning Lane package and are not opposed to paying the a la carte fees for Radiator Springs, Rise of Resistence, etc.

a - is it like the old fast pass where the return times are later and later and then eventually all just sold out, in other words, after we ride our first attraction or two, are the next few attraction times (in a busy day as we expect) not available until like 6pm for really popular rides, or can you book one ride after another with decent success throughout the day?

b - Should we just do Rise of Resistance and Radiator Springs at rope drop? What are expected wait times at rope drop or shortly thereafter? Or again, we are not opposed to paying extra, should we just purchase the extra reservations given that it's spring break?

c. Are the individual attractions (i.e. RoR) available all day pretty much? Do you get to pick a time, so if it's 9am, can we choose a time to return of either 1pm or 7pm, whatever fits our schedule best, or does it just give you the next time available and that's all you get?

d. For lightning lane AND RoR-type extra add-ons, are you given a window of time for arrival and what happens if you are early or late?

e. And to confirm, attractions for both lightning lane and add-on attractions can be booked starting 7am for day of, at any location, i.e. hotel room or whatnot?

f. Are there any rides using Lightning Lane that still have excessive wait times (i.e. more than 20-25 minutes)?

Sorry, again, we are a bit overwhelmed being out of our element at DL versus WDW, plus this is our first trip with lightning lane/Disney genie, etc. At WDW we are a little more relaxed since we go so often, we know if we miss something we plan to be back but we don't get to DL as often and will be more likely to try to fit in more than usual. I have watched YouTube videos even on the Lightning Lane etc. and am still a tad confused hence the questions.

 

[pharmama]

1 - We are having zero luck making any dining reservations to our liking. Our fault for waiting too long. We are most interested in the Wine Country Trattoria patio. This is spring break, but what are chances of standby (are they accepting standby?) OR, we have had decent success booking restaurants day before or day of at WDW as people make last minute cancellations. While not a guarantee, is this common at DL?

You can join the Walk Up list for WCT in the app. I can't speak to how long it might take to get in or how fast the list might fill up but I think you'll probably be fine. Day before cancellations are also very common at DLR so start checking ASAP or set up one of the automated alerts for places you're most interested in. I've had very good luck picking up prime dining reservations (Blue Bayou, Lamplight Lounge Brunch etc.) the day before with frequent checking.

I haven't been since G+ debuted so I'll leave those questions to others.

 

[Pluto468]

I haven't been since Genie+ started so I'm not sure about that. But from I hear it's common to be able to get last-minute reservations because people cancel, especially the day before. I've had good luck checking for reservations a few times a day and was able to get Oga's and Lamplight Lounge that way. Have a great trip!

 

[BadPinkTink]

We are having zero luck making any dining reservations to our liking. Our fault for waiting too long. We are most interested in the Wine Country Trattoria patio. This is spring break, but what are chances of standby (are they accepting standby?) OR, we have had decent success booking restaurants day before or day of at WDW as people make last minute cancellations. While not a guarantee, is this common at DL?

Both. While I haven't done either, there have been trip reports where people get reservations the day before due to people cancelling. Some people have been able to get on the day standby as well, by going to the host stand at a restaurant as soon as the restaurant opens, usually around 11am.

a - is it like the old fast pass where the return times are later and later and then eventually all just sold out, in other words, after we ride our first attraction or two, are the next few attraction times (in a busy day as we expect) not available until like 6pm for really popular rides, or can you book one ride after another with decent success throughout the day?

Yes its exactly like the old Fastpass, Lightning Lane return times get later and later and then just are gone. It depends on the day and the crowd levels as to how late they will last, you can in theory book Lightning Lanes in the afternoon with almost immediate return times.

b - Should we just do Rise of Resistance and Radiator Springs at rope drop? What are expected wait times at rope drop or shortly thereafter? Or again, we are not opposed to paying extra, should we just purchase the extra reservations given that it's spring break?

Rise of the Resistance jumps straight to 80 to 90 minutes at rope drop as local people dont want to pay for Lightning Lane and dont mind waiting that time. For out of state / international, not locals, dont waste the early morning at Rise, go to Fantasyland or Adventureland or Tomorrowland and take advantage of low crowds and low wait times. Mid morning check the rturn times for Rise and then book a Lightning Lane when you see a return time that suits your party.

Radiator Springs is kinda the same but Web Slingers is taking some of the early morning crowds.

Are the individual attractions (i.e. RoR) available all day pretty much? Do you get to pick a time, so if it's 9am, can we choose a time to return of either 1pm or 7pm, whatever fits our schedule best, or does it just give you the next time available and that's all you get?

It depends on the day and crowd levels. On my January trip I bought Rise Lightning Lanes around 5pm.
No you can not pick a return time, it just gives you the next available time

For lightning lane AND RoR-type extra add-ons, are you given a window of time for arrival and what happens if you are early or late?

You have an hour window time for both.

And to confirm, attractions for both lightning lane and add-on attractions can be booked starting 7am for day of, at any location, i.e. hotel room or whatnot?

No thats only at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland California you can only buy or book Lightning Lanes at park opening when you scan into a park. If you scan in at 7.30am but park opening is 8am you have to wait until 8am. There is no onsite hotel advantage, everyone is on a level playing field.

 

[las3888]

You can join the Walk Up list for WCT in the app. I can't speak to how long it might take to get in or how fast the list might fill up but I think you'll probably be fine. Day before cancellations are also very common at DLR so start checking ASAP or set up one of the automated alerts for places you're most interested in. I've had very good luck picking up prime dining reservations (Blue Bayou, Lamplight Lounge Brunch etc.) the day before with frequent checking.

I haven't been since G+ debuted so I'll leave those questions to others.

Very sorry, but I'm not sure what WCT is...and where do I find the Walk Up list? This sounds like something I want to find! And finally, how do you set up an automated alert? Sorry, I'm not on top of this app (obviously)! Thank you for your advice!

 

[pharmama]

Very sorry, but I'm not sure what WCT is...and where do I find the Walk Up list? This sounds like something I want to find! And finally, how do you set up an automated alert? Sorry, I'm not on top of this app (obviously)! Thank you for your advice!

WCT is the abbreviation used around here for Wine Country Trattoria- sorry about that! The Walk Up list is in the Disneyland app. Switch the map to Dining, locate the restaurant you are interested in and if they have a walk up list (and it's not full) there will be a button to join the walk up list. If they have a walk up list but it's already full you can see that too. You can play around with this now- you don't have to be in the parks (though you do have to be in the parks to actually join the walk up list).

The alerts I mentioned are not part of the Disneyland app or any official Disney offering. They are third party sites that monitor for reservations and then email or text you when something comes up. Some options are free and some are not. I haven't actually used them but others here have with success. However, the DIS blocks the names of the two main sites now so I'd just say google Disneyland Dining Alerts and you should come up with some options.

 

[las3888]

Thank you very much for the helpful advice, this helps me sort through how we want to go about our days. A couple follow-up questions...

For out of state / international, not locals, dont waste the early morning at Rise, go to Fantasyland or Adventureland or Tomorrowland and take advantage of low crowds and low wait times. Mid morning check the rturn times for Rise and then book a Lightning Lane when you see a return time that suits your party.

Do you say to wait until later to see if maybe the wait time is down to like 40 minutes or something manageable that we may be able to avoid paying extra? And if these add ons sell out, on a very busy day (our days are sold out for park reservations) approx. when do they sell out? Mid morning? Early afternoon? Within 10 minutes? (-:

"No thats only at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland California you can only buy or book Lightning Lanes at park opening when you scan into a park. If you scan in at 7.30am but park opening is 8am you have to wait until 8am. There is no onsite hotel advantage, everyone is on a level playing field. "

Also, thank you for this information. I asked the CM for DVC reservations just now and she told me 7am in your hotel room no problem. I'm sure she is thinking of WDW, the CM's aren't as well versed on DL. This is helpful to know.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Do you say to wait until later to see if maybe the wait time is down to like 40 minutes or something manageable that we may be able to avoid paying extra? And if these add ons sell out, on a very busy day (our days are sold out for park reservations) approx. when do they sell out? Mid morning? Early afternoon? Within 10 minutes? (-:

For Rise just budget the $20 per person, and keep a watch on the return times. If the wait time goes down to something you are comfortable with, go for it, but then try to book the Lightning Lane as well, as you will want to repeat it

Also, thank you for this information. I asked the CM for DVC reservations just now and she told me 7am in your hotel room no problem. I'm sure she is thinking of WDW, the CM's aren't as well versed on DL. This is helpful to know.

DVC only have a very small property at The Grand Californian Hotel, so the phone cm's just assume everyone is going to Florida.

 

[las3888]

WCT is the abbreviation used around here for Wine Country Terrace- sorry about that! The Walk Up list is in the Disneyland app. Switch the map to Dining, locate the restaurant you are interested in and if they have a walk up list (and it's not full) there will be a button to join the walk up list. If they have a walk up list but it's already full you can see that too. You can play around with this now- you don't have to be in the parks (though you do have to be in the parks to actually join the walk up list).

The alerts I mentioned are not part of the Disneyland app or any official Disney offering. They are third party sites that monitor for reservations and then email or text you when something comes up. Some options are free and some are not. I haven't actually used them but others here have with success. However, the DIS blocks the names of the two main sites now so I'd just say google Disneyland Dining Alerts and you should come up with some options.

Duh, if I had thought for a minute, I would have gotten the WCT! Thank you...I see the Walk up list on my app but can't do anything with it, it tells me I have to move closer (since I am in Chicago that won't be happening). So because that button is there that says ""join walk-up list" that means that a walk-up list IS indeed available for this particular restaurant? If I instead choose make a reservation and plug in our dates, it just says sorry there are no reservations available, try another date, etc. no mention of a walk up list. Does that tell me that they don't do walk up lists?

Interesting about the dining. I appreciate that tip. I am off to google now! Thanks!

 

[gelatoni fan]

1. Wine Country Trattoria gets cancellations and my cousin has gotten good at getting reservations the day before. You have to be in the area to get on the wait list and if you mass refresh, it is doable. I have more experience getting Ogas in the morning than Wine Country Trattoria so not sure how easy the wait list is but lunch should be easier than dinner.

2a. I think you can get Lightning Lanes with decent success at least on the Disneyland side.
2b. Racers is a good rope drop option if you aren't planning to rope drop Web Slingers or do Racers using single rider later in the day. Rise of the Resistance can be a challenging ride to rope drop if you've never done it before so most people may elect to do it around 7-8PM if getting spots for night entertainment isn't a priority because the wait time typically drops to an hour or less at that time. Unfortunately, you can't go later than 9PM because the ride closes early. If you were going to buy Individual Lightning Lane for only one ride, Rise of the Resistance would be the best one to get.
2c. I'm pretty sure you can't pick your return time and you just pick the next available one. I think Rise of the Resistance will sell out eventually but it isn't too hard to get in the morning. The other two rides usually have availability later into the day.
2d. You can scan in up to 5 minutes early. If you are late by more than 15 minutes, you lose the pass and cannot book the same ride again that day. CMs have become unforgiving with this and I see first time users of Genie+ get burned by this.
2e. You can book from any location but I'm not 100% sure if it's starting at 7AM.
2f. Indiana Jones lighting lanes can have a long wait because the merge point is so early. Most should not take more than 20 minutes unless there is a ride breakdown or you happen to go in with a large crowd.

 

[pharmama]

Duh, if I had thought for a minute, I would have gotten the WCT! Thank you...I see the Walk up list on my app but can't do anything with it, it tells me I have to move closer (since I am in Chicago that won't be happening). So because that button is there that says ""join walk-up list" that means that a walk-up list IS indeed available for this particular restaurant? If I instead choose make a reservation and plug in our dates, it just says sorry there are no reservations available, try another date, etc. no mention of a walk up list. Does that tell me that they don't do walk up lists?

Yes, if there is a Join Walk Up List button then that location has a walk up list you can try to join when you are there. Restaurants that have a walk up list have it every day (to the best of my knowledge) as they seem to leave some tables for this purpose. So lack of reservations on future dates is not connected to the walk up list. It just means reservations are full. However, not all locations offer the walk up list so poking around in the app now will help you know which ones this might be an option for.

One last thing about dining reservations- IDK why they're so flaky like this but when searching for reservations make sure you are checking by actual time slots, not "Lunch" or "Dinner". For whatever reason reservations often don't show up under those generic groupings. I'd also recommend checking each timeslot. I don't know how many are in your party or your exact dates but I do see several mid to late afternoon openings at Wine Country for parties of 4 and even 6 the week of March 27. Maybe not the optimal meal times but sometimes we find that one large mid to late afternoon meal is all we need and we "fill in" with snacks the rest of the day

 

[Brandonius]

For lightning lane AND RoR-type extra add-ons, are you given a window of time for arrival and what happens if you are early or late

You have an hour window time for both.

Lightning lanes actually have a 5 minute early arrival and 10 minute late arrival grace period. (Both for individual and Genie+) If your reservation is from 9:00-10:00, you can actually scan in from 8:55 - 10:10.

If a genie+ ride breaks while you have a reservation for it and it stays down until the later part of the reservation window, you get a "multi-experience pass". That's a skip the line on any ride in the park, with caveats.
- The multi passes are NEVER good for an individual skip ride (Rise, Spider man, Cars), and they are NEVER good for peter pan
- There are 2 tiers of multi-experience passes. If your broken ride is in the A tier (Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Guardians, Toy Story, Soarin'), then your pass is good for any of the rides in the park, barring the universal exceptions.
- If your broken ride is in the "B tier", all of the A tier attractions won't work. It'll show you on your pass what ou can and can't use it for - that's just the general idea.
- The multiple experience passes are good for rides that don't have a lightning lane too!
- If you miss your time slot and grace period entirely, you can modify the reservation and book a new ride.

If an individual lightning lane ride breaks during your reservation, you can use that pass for that ride any time that day. If it breaks for the rest of the day, you're out of luck and won't get a refund.


Also, don't rope drop an individual lightning lane ride. If you're willing to pay for the lane, do it. The lines are the longest by a LOT at rope drop. The best strategy for those rides (Other than paying up) is to get in line late in the day when the lightning lane people aren't slowing the standby line way down.