Blue Bayou reservation windows

[DizneeRailFan62]

So yesterday I attempted to get a basic dinner reservation for BB for Dec 12, 2024 (60 day window before my visit) and received the basic message that there were no available reservations for that date. I called to main reservation line (no more dining reservation dedicated phone lines - sure miss that) and was informed that just because we have the ability to schedule dining reservations at the 60 day out time frame doesn't mean the restaurant dates have been released at that point, and I should keep trying, every day, to see when those dates become available.

Does anyone have an idea, on average, when BB dates become available to schedule a dinner res?

 

[crystal1313]

I’m seeing dinner for 12/12 with 4 people. It’s late though. 9:50pm. I’m not sure how many are in your party….

Disney can be super inconsistent on a lot of things. Especially when dining reservations drop. I would keep looking every day. As the trip gets closer, people might cancel too. Good luck!

 

[DizneeRailFan62]

I’m seeing dinner for 12/12 with 4 people. It’s late though. 9:50pm. I’m not sure how many are in your party….

Disney can be super inconsistent on a lot of things. Especially when dining reservations drop. I would keep looking every day. As the trip gets closer, people might cancel too. Good luck!

I was reading another dining thread and discovered the algorithm limits these dining reservations to parties of 3 and above. I was trying for my party of 2. When I went back in today and put my party to 3 there were reservations suddenly available. Same issue when trying for a Fantasmic! dining package. Disney is purposely excluding smaller parties from getting prime reservations. So now I can't get reservation at a reasonable dining time for BB and I lost my chance at a Fantasmic! Premium RBT reservation as well.

 

[crystal1313]

Oh no. That is so weird. We did the premium RBT dining in July and I was able to make the reservation for only 2 people. I don’t understand why they would change that.

 

[DizMe]

Oh no. That is so weird. We did the premium RBT dining in July and I was able to make the reservation for only 2 people. I don’t understand why they would change that.

I know! And they don't note that anywhere so you just assume they were booked up! I'm glad for this board so at least I can try again tomorrow.

 

[maleficent55]

Oh no. That is so weird. We did the premium RBT dining in July and I was able to make the reservation for only 2 people. I don’t understand why they would change that.

I don’t think they changed anything. It’s not impossible but just harder. It’s always good to play around with the number of people and see if changing the number opens up a reservation slot. You can always show up with less people versus more.

 

[maleficent55]

So yesterday I attempted to get a basic dinner reservation for BB for Dec 12, 2024 (60 day window before my visit) and received the basic message that there were no available reservations for that date. I called to main reservation line (no more dining reservation dedicated phone lines - sure miss that) and was informed that just because we have the ability to schedule dining reservations at the 60 day out time frame doesn't mean the restaurant dates have been released at that point, and I should keep trying, every day, to see when those dates become available.

Does anyone have an idea, on average, when BB dates become available to schedule a dinner res?

What time were you actually trying to get it. Yes, the reservations open 60 days out but it’s crucial to be ready at 5:59 AM so that the second it is 6 AM your fingers are ready to click on the date you want. I always have the number of gas already selected and I’m already in the restaurant Page in the app if that makes sense

At 6 AM they go incredibly fast so if you were looking later, it makes sense that even though you were 60 days out, things were already gone gone or maybe there was only a really late reservation time

 

[DizneeRailFan62]

Oh no. That is so weird. We did the premium RBT dining in July and I was able to make the reservation for only 2 people. I don’t understand why they would change that.

Well, I can speculate that it has a lot to do with grossing more per venue to help the flailing bottom line. I cannot in good faith say I was a party of 3 or more just to get the res then try and get a refund for the failed extra person "not showing", because I believe they would charge me for 3 instead of 2. And forgive me Walt for saying this, but a rehashed version of Fantasmic! (as much a fan as I am of the Peter Pan scene) is not worth $270 to have a seat with only a fair view of the show. Sorry for sounding pessimistic, but I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't test it this morning.

 

[DizneeRailFan62]

What time were you actually trying to get it. Yes, the reservations open 60 days out but it’s crucial to be ready at 5:59 AM so that the second it is 6 AM your fingers are ready to click on the date you want. I always have the number of gas already selected and I’m already in the restaurant Page in the app if that makes sense

At 6 AM they go incredibly fast so if you were looking later, it makes sense that even though you were 60 days out, things were already gone gone or maybe there was only a really late reservation time

I have been on the website before 6 AM for the past 3 days trying to get dining reservations for Dec 11-13, in particular a Blue Bayou dinner and a River Belle Terrace Premium Fantasmic! seating, mostly the latter because I am unable to sit on the ground due to a medical condition. I was seriously bummed when I tested the 2 vs 3 party hack and found it to be true that the algorithm excludes parties less than 3 from making premium dining reservations, because I could have had a BB res yesterday, and even at 7 am there was still a 9:50 pm res available for 3 or more, but that's way too later for me.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Does anyone have an idea, on average, when BB dates become available to schedule a dinner res?

when I made dinner reservations 2 years ago for Blue Bayou, I was able to do so 4 months before the day.

 

[irlandaise]

I don’t think they changed anything. It’s not impossible but just harder. It’s always good to play around with the number of people and see if changing the number opens up a reservation slot. You can always show up with less people versus more.

From what some people have said on this forum recently, it actually is impossible to get certain reservations with only 1 or 2 people. And given how quickly some reservations (F! premium, BB, etc.) go, there isn't time to try different party sizes.

It's very tacky of Disney to institute this change without indicating it on their website or app. I've wasted quite a bit of time on both platforms entering information that I now know was useless because I was never going to be offered the reservations I wanted.

 

[twodogs]

You can definitely show up with one less person on your BB reservation and not get charged a penalty. We had to do that Saturday at BB; had a reservation for 4 but there were only 3 of us. All I did was tell the CM at the check in that we only had 3. She said no problem. I am not sure how this would work if it is a prepaid special event like the dessert parties, since you pay at the time of booking and would need a refund issued.

As well, I accidentally forgot to book BB at exactly 60 days at 6am. And this was for this crazy weekend we just had at the parks in October which are super crowded. I set up the free reservation alert site, and only got one notification in all of those 60 days (so not sure if the site was working well). I checked myself several times per day, every day and nothing. Then on the flight here on Friday, I checked per usual, and there was a perfect 11am reservation for us! So don’t give up! As well, when I failed to get our Saturday reservation initially, I booked one for Sunday as a back up. So on Friday, when I got the Saturday one that I wanted, I cancelled my Sunday (48 hours out). So then someone hopefully picked that up last minute and enjoyed it. Don’t give up and keep trying!

 

[maleficent55]

You can definitely show up with one less person on your BB reservation and not get charged a penalty. We had to do that Saturday at BB; had a reservation for 4 but there were only 3 of us. All I did was tell the CM at the check in that we only had 3. She said no problem. I am not sure how this would work if it is a prepaid special event like the dessert parties, since you pay at the time of booking and would need a refund issued.

As well, I accidentally forgot to book BB at exactly 60 days at 6am. And this was for this crazy weekend we just had at the parks in October which are super crowded. I set up the free reservation alert site, and only got one notification in all of those 60 days (so not sure if the site was working well). I checked myself several times per day, every day and nothing. Then on the flight here on Friday, I checked per usual, and there was a perfect 11am reservation for us! So don’t give up! As well, when I failed to get our Saturday reservation initially, I booked one for Sunday as a back up. So on Friday, when I got the Saturday one that I wanted, I cancelled my Sunday (48 hours out). So then someone hopefully picked that up last minute and enjoyed it. Don’t give up and keep trying!

Prepaid options like the world of color, dessert party and tomorrowland skyline Terrace… if you show up with less than, you will be charged for that missing person

 

[maleficent55]

I have been on the website before 6 AM for the past 3 days trying to get dining reservations for Dec 11-13, in particular a Blue Bayou dinner and a River Belle Terrace Premium Fantasmic! seating, mostly the latter because I am unable to sit on the ground due to a medical condition. I was seriously bummed when I tested the 2 vs 3 party hack and found it to be true that the algorithm excludes parties less than 3 from making premium dining reservations, because I could have had a BB res yesterday, and even at 7 am there was still a 9:50 pm res available for 3 or more, but that's way too later for me.

I am not certain that this party of three thing is true. I think that the River Bell premium Dining goes so fast and that is why you’re not getting it versus your party size. I’ve reserved it for three before.

 

[twodogs]

I am not certain that this party of three thing is true. I think that the River Bell premium Dining goes so fast and that is why you’re not getting it versus your party size. I’ve reserved it for three before.

That is what I was afraid of. And if I recall, you can’t modify those bookings on the app to reduce the party size either. So I guess you would have to call and see if they could do it ahead of time and issue a refund.

 

[maleficent55]

That is what I was afraid of. And if I recall, you can’t modify those bookings on the app to reduce the party size either. So I guess you would have to call and see if they could do it ahead of time and issue a refund.

Well the River Belle premium isn’t pre paid though

 

[catloaves]

I snagged a 12/12 7:10pm Blue Bayou dinner res for 4 people so they were definitely released 60 days out.

Don't worry — in the past, I've been able to get dinner for 2 at BB in the weeks leading up to the date I wanted. Folks cancel all the time as their plans change. And Disneyland isn't conspiratorially trying to ration certain table sizes — they simply don't care because they'll fill every BB table in seconds due to the endless stream of walk-ins. The ratios are what they are based on what makes sense operationally.

 

[disneychrista]

I am not certain that this party of three thing is true. I think that the River Bell premium Dining goes so fast and that is why you’re not getting it versus your party size. I’ve reserved it for three before.

It is not just the premium Fantasmic package. I tried to book a regular BlueBayou (not Fantasmic) and nothing showed for 2 but as soon as changed it to 3 a bunch showed up.

 

[laugard]

I just booked Blue Bayou for 2 for Saturday, Dec. 14, 60 days out.

Seems likely to me that it’s not that premium dining tables for 2 aren’t being offered at all, there are just fewer available at some locations. So if a table can seat 4, they’re going to try and maximize it by only opening it up to 3 or more first. Which makes sense, just not ideal if you’re a party of 2 and you’re trying for a location that books super fast already.

Unlike the dessert and fireworks specialty dining, they can't make parties of 2 share tables (though we got super lucky for an OBB party one year and got one of the very few tables for 2). So I can definitely see them limiting seating for 2 to smaller tables if they have them or offering a lower number so larger tables can be maximized. Business-wise, that makes sense. But it is still possible to book for 2 based on my reservation this morning.