Booking ADRS & Fast Pass + what time in australia

[orion2185]

Hi everyone

We are trying to figure out when and what time we should be up and ready to book our ADRS and fast pass +
We are staying at Bay Lake tower so we can do this 180 days out?

Just wondering what Australia time (nsw/Sydney) will the phone lines and online booking system open up on the day we can start booking?
Naturally we want to be up and ready to book first thing once booking system is open.

Also wondering if anyone can share up their experiences trying to book these at your 180 day within Australia
Did you do it online or call?
Calling is not too much of an issue..we have pretty good international rates or use our ore paid skype account (Skype does not have the best connection at times)

Thanks!

 

[FireflyFi]

I'm so glad someone asked that question, because I've been wondering the same thing myself!

There are a few calculators around the place that you can use. This one is usually referenced:

http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php

But then as for the time that you can book...? I just searched for an online time planner and came up with this for my dates:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converted.html?iso=20140605T06&p1=179&p2=152

So 6am ET is 8pm on the same date in Melbourne (and NSW I would assume), and 7am ET would be 9pm for the phone lines to open. Happy for anyone to correct me...I'm terrible at converting...times, currency...

 

[PrincessInOz]

I believe that the phone lines open at 7 am and I believe On-line bookings open earlier than that.

It might be worth trying on-line first and if you have problems, then call. If you are calling, make sure you do so bang on 7 am.

 

[ssour]

Those times are correct at the moment but they do vary slightly depending on the time of year and who has daylight savings and what not. The latest calling time can get to is 11pm. I normally call for ours and have no issues. If you want Be Our Guest near the start of you trip then is do that one online at least.

 

[dabecs]

I have just been doing all if my booking over the last two weeks.

I definitely found booking ADRs online easier. Before your 180 day window set up an account through the disney go page, make sure it has your reservation and all of your guests listed. Then add a credit card to your account - this step is really important!

Once that is done you can practice dining reservations to see how to do it. Choose a restaurant and then on the right there is a calendar where you can choose the date, the choose the number if people you are booking for and a time. You can choose a time in two ways - you can pick 8:30am or you can select 'breakfast'. For the former it will come up with 2 or 3 times around your chosen time (eg 8:15, 8:30, 9:15) or if you select breakfast it will show a few possible times during the breakfast period (eg 7:05, 8:30, 9:55). If you choose a specific time and it says 'no tables are currently available' then try choosing a meal 'breakfast' to give you a better possible chance of getting a table.

On your 180 night at about 7:50pm set yourself up, I opened a tab for each meal I was trying to book for and chose the restaurant, a time and number of guests, only leaving the date unchanged. At 8pm I went through and chose a date and booked.

The booking takes you through to confirm guests and secure your credit card guarantee. This is where having a stored card makes a big difference, you don't gave to waste time entering all of your details because you have done it previously. They will also ask for a phone number. They don't like my home number or mobile number. My mobile number is 0400xxxxxx so I cut off the first 0 then entered the rest of my number leaving off the last number as well (I think) they ask for a certain miner of digits so you have to modify. The next booking you do this number will appear as a drop dune once you key in the first digit so it will be easy to remember Then write it in your notes to take in case you need it in the park. Select your credit card, tick the 'I agree' to the terms and conditions and then it's done!

I keep a notepad handy to write the date, time and confirmation number down. They will also email you a confirmation but if something girls awry and you have that number you can find the booking yourself later (as can the CMs at the park). It is a very important number!

If you are booking 180 +10 and you want Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table on say day 6 and 8 I would start with those bookings first and then work back to the less popular restaurants.

I'll be back with advice on the phone line after breakfast (just had the call pancakes are ready!)

 

[dabecs]

Fuelled Hubby even made my pancake in a Mickey head shape

This trip I managed to make all ADRs online (last time I had to make the first 10 days over the phone because I couldn't get the website to function, it's changed a lot since then). Anyway for each booking I had to repeat the entire credit card spiel, name on card, number on card, expiration and full billing address. It took for-ever!

I did have to ring twice, once to make a BBBoutique appointment and then again on Friday night to book Pirates and Pals. The fun thing about the phone is they play ride music while you are on hold

Have your reservation number, check in date, credit card and a paper and pen handy. The problem I found with the phone is you ring and ask for a breakfast at x time, they don't have it or any other times around it available. You then have to think very fast on your feet - can you swap to lunch? Would you prefer breakfast on a different day? If you do change days will this affect other ADRs? Is the new day an EMH? Etc etc While if you are online you can take a few minutes to look at your planner and answer these questions before booking.

As other's have said the phone lines open an hour later, currently 9pm here in Melbourne

If you have any other questions please ask, I felt quite overwhelmed by the ADR system on our first trip, this time it's much easier!

 

[FireflyFi]

Wow, dabecs - you were prepared!

Thanks for providing such detailed information

I'm curious though - when booking online, prior to 8pm why did you enter all the information except for the date?

 

[dabecs]

Wow, dabecs - you were prepared! Thanks for providing such detailed information I'm curious though - when booking online, prior to 8pm why did you enter all the information except for the date?

You can't select the new date till the time clicks over, at least when I was doing it you couldn't!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Excellent work dabecs.

May I recommend that instead of having a pen/pencil and paper handy that you open up a word document and cut and paste the number in?

You can setup the word document with the dates and dining establishments. All you then need to do is transfer the ADR number and the time. I've found that it is quicker than writing it down manually and also it makes sure that I don't have any inadvertent errors in my ADR number.

 

[dabecs]

Excellent work dabecs. May I recommend that instead of having a pen/pencil and paper handy that you open up a word document and cut and paste the number in? You can setup the word document with the dates and dining establishments. All you then need to do is transfer the ADR number and the time. I've found that it is quicker than writing it down manually and also it makes sure that I don't have any inadvertent errors in my ADR number.

Good one! I'm still a bit old school with the paper and pen

I

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I have to concur with dabecs' suggestion to book the most popular places first. aka Be Our Guest.
Ohana and pre-park opening Crystal Palace also need to be booked quickly. Plus MK restaurants around 4 - 6 pm on the night of a party.

For what it's worth, I booked on the phone about 8 hours after my 180+10 opened. It was handy for me to ring as I needed to book Pirate's League at the same time.
I had no issues getting what I wanted, however I had to adjust my Ohana time by about an hour as the time I wanted was taken. I must admit, I was quite surprised by this as Ohana was booked for my 9th day so I had a really good head start on booking it. It put into perspective how quickly some places get booked up.

I wasn't interested in BOG, but checked online later that day and there wasn't a free booking left for my whole stay. I also wasn't initially interested in Crystal Palace, but was very lucky to score a 8:15am cancellation about a month later.

I looked frequently at Cinderella's Table trying to decide if I should book it. I had heard that it was hard to get bookings there, but discovered many available bookings well into the 5 month mark. I'm not sure if it's becoming easier to get, or if my experience was unusual.

 

[FireflyFi]

I just booked my ADR's last night, so I'll just leave one further tip. Each restaurant booking takes three pages - pick your date, confirm your credit card, confirm your contact details and agree to the T&C's. For each booking, go through the whole process one restaurant at a time.

I initially tried to get two restaurant bookings going at once, but the website ended up all confused and was loading the pages of restaurant two in the tab of restaurant one. So, just be patient and methodical - one.at.a.time. lol

 

[cola]

If you are staying DVC, either as an owner, renting or exchanging, it means you are staying DVC, which means you can use DVC Member Services. They don't take calls until 9am, but if you've been unable to get something online or through the dining phone number, DVC MS can seem to do things the ordinary channels can't/won't. Particularly handy when you have a split stay.

 

[orion2185]

If you are staying DVC, either as an owner, renting or exchanging, it means you are staying DVC, which means you can use DVC Member Services. They don't take calls until 9am, but if you've been unable to get something online or through the dining phone number, DVC MS can seem to do things the ordinary channels can't/won't. Particularly handy when you have a split stay.

Good to know- thanks
We are staying on dvc points and did not know they could assist / do things that can't be done with normal Disney booking center

 

[WanderlustNZ]

If you are staying DVC, either as an owner, renting or exchanging, it means you are staying DVC, which means you can use DVC Member Services. They don't take calls until 9am, but if you've been unable to get something online or through the dining phone number, DVC MS can seem to do things the ordinary channels can't/won't. Particularly handy when you have a split stay.

Is this a relatively new thing?

It was my understanding that renters couldn't deal with DVC Member Services and that the points owner had to be the one to ring and sort out such things as room requests, Magical Express, and adding the dining plan. At least, that is what I have been told the 3 times I've rented points.

 

[cola]

I don't know if it's new or not, but they were helpful when I rang. They've been helpful when someone else I know rang after the standard dining number was almost abusive to them.

I called about 1am Sydney time, so probably not the most convenient time for most people. I called to get my Disney reservation number so I could do the ADRs online through MDE, but once he found the reservation the CM said he could make the ADRs too and started doing so, he kept saying I'd need help finding BOG and since that was what I was trying to book I had no trouble agreeing. I think I called Tue or Wed morning Orlando time
.
Maybe it was just a quiet day when I called? Whatever the reason, they were helpful and I'm not a DVC member. The only other person I know that has called them renting points also found them very helpful and with a much better attitude than the dining number (admittedly they were ringing up for ADRs during free dining, probably not the best time to be calling the normal dining number)