Anyone else hate having to reserve dates, etc?

[bookgirl]

Yes and no.

I like spontaneous but I'm okay with a certain amount of planning.

At least now with Genie+ it is only really the park you have to plan and you get a little more flexibility with the rides. Pre scheduling FP could sometimes be tedious.

However the lack of dining availability is super frustrating so in a way I feel like I have to be spontaneous and just eat wherever is available as well as pick rides that are available when I'm in the moment.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We sometimes decide in the morning what we want to do. It’s a pain thinking in advance and having to worry about diff parks being “sold out” for your day.

Except that hasn't actually happened since capacity starting coming back up towards normal. When capacity was severely COVID-limited, you had to worry about parks being sold out. Now you don't, unless you're going during Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter. In those cases, phase closing was always a risk even before Park Pass.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

However the lack of dining availability is super frustrating so in a way I feel like I have to be spontaneous and just eat wherever is available as well as pick rides that are available when I'm in the moment.

I hope this isn't too political for this forum, but if Disney fans want housekeeping and dining to get back to normal levels, they should be pounding down the doors of the State and Homeland Security departments demanding that we reopen our borders to legal immigration.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I love every bit of it. It keeps the excitement up, changing up dates and dining reservations etc. Just makes it feel like an event, and feel super good when actually there after the hard work

 

[bookgirl]

I hope this isn't too political for this forum, but if Disney fans want housekeeping and dining to get back to normal levels, they should be pounding down the doors of the State and Homeland Security departments demanding that we reopen our borders to legal immigration.

I think the same thing.

 

[Lzegar]

I love Disney but hate all the planning. Especially with kiddos who change his or her mind often

 

[Tinkermom84]

So I dont mind the advanced reservations because I have been turned away from crowded parks during past visits. What I do mind is the 2PM hopper garbage. You are charging me WAYYYYY more money I should be able to go where I want to. If I want to visit 3 parks I need to leave before 2pm. Not saying I ever did but I could have if I wanted to

 

[Delirium]

In the previous setup, I thoroughly enjoyed detailed planning of FP+ and the occasional ADR. So, in a way, I was already 'reserving' a park. That said, we often made our FPs for our 2nd park, which allowed more flexibility on that first park of the day. I feel like I'm losing that flexibility here.

Here's an example. Let's say Animal Kingdom was our first park of the day, but we had late afternoon FPs at Hollywood Studios. We wake up in the morning to find it's pouring rain. Everyone knows that AK is not that pleasant when it's super humid and raining. In the past, we would simply skip the AK morning, do some resort exploration, and head to Studios in time for our FPs.

If I understand the reservation system properly, I'm forced to make that the trek all the way out to 'visit' AK before I can consider hopping to HS. That's not customer friendly at all. Anyone that claims otherwise is just trying to put lipstick on the pig.

 

[PaladinButters]

If I understand the reservation system properly, I'm forced to make that the trek all the way out to 'visit' AK before I can consider hopping to HS.

You could - or you could just switch your reservation to Hollywood Studios for that day.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If I understand the reservation system properly...

You don't. What you described is not how it works. You would simply cancel your DAK reservation and make a DHS reservation instead.

 

[Newbie500]

About all these reservations.....
I have to reserve my parking for the airport
I have to reserve my flight to MCO and back
I have to reserve my resort
I have to reserve my park days
I have to reserve my dining in the parks, resorts and at Springs, if I want to secure a meal.
I have to reserve my LL times in the parks if I use Genie +

I surely don't go to WDW to relax. I go to use my planning skills.

It's my decision to go to WDW, so I accept all of the advance planning (with reservations)

 

[StageTek]

Great point, @Newbie500.

We are all used to reserving some things but change is difficult. As has been pointed out by several people, just two years ago we all reserved Fast Passes 2 months out which wasn't much difference that reserving the park we would visit that day. Same with dining - it was 6 months out wasn't it? And there were many posts asking, "How do I know what I want to eat in six months?" But for those who don't park hop that's exactly the same as reserving a park six months out.

Change is uncomfortable.

No park hopping until 2PM messed up several of my Disney traditions - and we all have our traditions, don't we? - but I'm changing my traditions. As a solo traveler I usually don't plan much, but now I have to.

 

[kwdw]

When I booked FPs 60 days in advance, yes, I was thinking about going to a park that day. But I often changed my mind during my trip. I also revised my plans frequently before my trip. Now, I might not be able to change my park in the morning because park reservations might be full. So, yes, it’s one more thing to worry about to make the perfect trip. And since I sometimes travel with someone who refuses to stick to a plan, I’ll never get him to agree to go back to Disney with the park reservation system in place. If we couldn’t get into a park on the day he wanted to go, he’d be so fed up Disney, he would never be back, ever. So, I’m a hater of the park reservation system.

I’m a bit annoyed at the not hopping until 2pm, but that is completely secondary. To be on a trip and to possibly face not being able to change my park to a different park in the morning….. that’s the kicker for me. That’s not cool.

FPs and ADRs, those were flexible items for me during a trip. Getting into the park I want to go to on a day, nope….. I was an out of state AP holder, and that’s an added level of risk to the flexibility of my trip.

Disney has made it clear I’m not their target customer anymore.

 

[Delirium]

You don't. What you described is not how it works. You would simply cancel your DAK reservation and make a DHS reservation instead.

If there are reservations available on that day for that specific park. How many times does HS actually have same day availability?

Basically, your point about how they work justifies that they are not necessary. If a guest can change the reservation the day of, what value does the reservation system even provide?

It may have been helpful when attendance was restricted, but it provides no more insight into crowd levels at a park than ADRs do or FP+ did.

Disney can spin it however they want, but reservations are not customer friendly, nor do they provide any significant value beyond what was already in place (before they started messing with it).

 

[Delirium]

You could - or you could just switch your reservation to Hollywood Studios for that day.

I thought I mentioned my last trip was over Thanksgiving week (2018), but maybe I didn't. What do you think the odds are that I would get a same day reservation for HS during a Holiday week? If that's easy to do, why have the reservations system in the first place?

 

[HopperFan]

I hate it as well, especially since I travel with my son who is disabled and needs flexibility.

But we love Disney World enough we will put up with it and hope it becomes second nature.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How many times does HS actually have same day availability?

Almost always.

Basically, your point about how they work justifies that they are not necessary.

Correct.

If a guest can change the reservation the day of, what value does the reservation system even provide?

Most guests will make their passes ahead of time. Even if they're unnecessary, there's an illusion that they're necessary. You can almost always change your reservation the day of, but most people don't know that, and even if they know that they probably won't want to take the risk.

It may have been helpful when attendance was restricted, but it provides no more insight into crowd levels at a park than ADRs do or FP+ did.

Exactly. The only reason this is sticking around is because FP+ is no more.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Part of the reason we go on vacation is to be spontaneous, do things we don't do when at home and get away from the phones/emails/rigid schedules/etc. associated with our jobs. Planning a Disney trip now seems like too much of a hassle or job to be any fun. Have ZERO plans to go back anytime soon, far more choices to vacation we enjoy better. For us, Disney has gotten too expensive, requires too much planning and is way too crowded to be able to enjoy the popular rides in a reasonable amount of time. The whole Genie thing seems annoying and you would end up with your nose stuck in your phone, zig/zagging all over the park to get to your next timeslot instead of enjoying your park/family time together.

For the very examples you listed you have actually made it clear why Walt Disney World is (or at least, was) unique in this regard.
Your examples of how you have no problem with booking in advance: the cruise - well, a cruise is set with a specific number of passengers who can be on the cruise, be it 500 or 2000 passengers. So, yes you need to book in advance to be one of those passengers if you want to take that cruise. New York show tickets - likewise, the theatre can accommodate X number of attendees per show so once again, you need to book in advance to guarantee yourself a seat at the showing. Red Sox tickets for a game - check! Hawaii trip - transportation and a tour - also limited by seating or attendee count - check! Dinners on special occasions - there are only so many seats in a restaurant so booking is a must as you noted. But these things you listed are all individualized "events" that by necessity needs to be limited per event - no flexibility to really be found.

Disney World, on the other hand, has always (or used to be) advertised to potential visitors as a place where you can be flexible because there are 4 parks you can visit and "hop". So on a given day you used to be able to have the flexibility to run/hop around at will to enjoy the parks as you might see fit. You were able to start in MK and maybe decide it was getting too crowded so you hopped on that monorail and headed to Epcot whenever you wanted. Your kid woke up that morning and decided he wanted to eat at the Japanese hibachi place for lunch so instead of going to Animal Kingdom in the morning the family decides to go to Epcot instead. These things you were able to do with great flexibility before. So if someone is bemoaning the loss of the flexibility that was available in the past at Disney World it is understandable. At least to those of us who understand the difference between instant park hopping at Disney World as was allowed in the past versus the sort of "hard ticket" examples you listed which by their very nature have always allowed little to no flexibility.

Excellent posts. If one is into "micro-managing" ones vacation and I (sort of) get it that some people enjoy doing this, then WDW is for you. But many do not. Funny when I think for years and years we'd go to WDW with few plans and like so many just decide that day what to do and have no problem doing it including sit down dining reservations. Try that now and with rare exception you're not getting in where you want to eat or when or will wait a long time. Same with attractions. The "good 'ol days", yeah I suppose so but micro-managing every minute of the day glued to a phone is not my idea of relaxation!

 

[mco65]

Certainly not ideal for anyone i can imagine. Its not a hate from me, just a nuisance. I typically plan the park days way in advance and rarely changed them once onsite. Its just not fun knowing its not easy to swap out a park for another day of..

 

[jimmymc]

Did you never use Fastpass plus? You did have to pick a park, and if you were using Fastpasses well then they would usually be for your first park.

For me, reservations are less stressful than Fastpass plus, so it really doesn't bother me.