Booking ADRs: When everything goes wrong

[Merx]

So last night was my first 180+10 night. I was set up: computer, ipad and iphone at the ready and logged in with cc details already entered, ressie linked - spreadsheet with restaurants and times on my left, notepad and pen on my right. 9pm (I'm in Sydney Australia) rolls around and I refresh - we're off! Except we're not. It seems I'd fallen victim to the infamous glitch where the +10 doesn't work and I could only get the first day of our stay I tried all the tricks suggested here and elsewhere; refreshing, logging out, clearing the cache, going in from different launch pages, using the MDE app - but all to no avail. After 45 minutes I finally admitted defeat and resigned myself to using my horrible landline to call Dining when 10pm rolled around.

I call, get through and despite the connection being awful and my phone making crackling noises as if I was calling from 1955 itself, I manage to snag the coveted BOG dinner reservations as well as my 8 other ressies - hooray! I give my cc details and we're waiting for the reservation numbers to pop up when.... silence....horrible, agonising silence. My phone had completely died and I was disconnected I panic. I download Skype, which I haven't used in ages and need to set up a whole new account, add some US call credit and call on the computer....but the microphone is so poor that the CM can't hear me well at all! Panic again as I now download Skype onto my mobile (cell) and try again. This time it's a much clearer line and the CM is wonderful. She goes in to check for the ressies using my resort booking number.... nothing....my email address....nothing....my phone number....nothing....I'm starting to feel deflated as it's now 10:40 and I am sure BOG is totally booked out when she asks for my zip code. I give her my post code and *DING DING DING*!!!! They're all there!!! The CM gives me all the reservation numbers whilst I keep interrupting her with my thanks (she probably told all her CM friends how she had some loony from Australia on the phone first thing this morning). I link the first reservation in MDE and there they all. All ADRs pop up where they should be. And now I can do my little celebration dance. I got BOG. My family don't get it, but they will when we're dining there And tonight I might get more than four hours sleep

Well, I'm also from Sydney and is close to my 180 day, hopefully it'll work for me, will definitely get my Skype credits ready!

What was your 180-mark day? I'm having trouble calculating my 180-day as different websites are telling me different dates, along with the time zone difference it's doing my head in, I think it's 9pm Sydney time when it's 6am at Disney World. My first day is 9th Oct and one website is telling me my 180-mark day is 11th April, the other is telling me 12th April.

 

[tammilynne]

So glad they all worked out in the end!!

 

[soniam]

The first year we went in 2012, it was before MDE; however, you could book ADRs online. I got up and had everything ready, then bam, nothing worked. The site was just hosed. I then had to wait until the phone lines opened. The site hadn't come back in over an hour. I was lucky to get everything I wanted, but it was really nerve wracking. So glad that yours turned out well too. Have a great trip

 

[DWillowBay]

It's a dice game...every time!!

 

[GaryDis]

I wish my boys were excited about BOG, but they tend to see anything princessesy and take an immediate dislike to it. I know their tune will change though once we're actually there

I'm going to gamble and bet you didn't have brothers growing up. But maybe if you emphasize the Beast and avoid mentioning anything about a princess, they'll have fun.

 

[5ofus]

I'm going to gamble and bet you didn't have brothers growing up. But maybe if you emphasize the Beast and avoid mentioning anything about a princess, they'll have fun.

Two brothers, and they wouldn't have been excited either, but I hold out hope!

 

[5ofus]

Well, I'm also from Sydney and is close to my 180 day, hopefully it'll work for me, will definitely get my Skype credits ready!

What was your 180-mark day? I'm having trouble calculating my 180-day as different websites are telling me different dates, along with the time zone difference it's doing my head in, I think it's 9pm Sydney time when it's 6am at Disney World. My first day is 9th Oct and one website is telling me my 180-mark day is 11th April, the other is telling me 12th April.

I used this calculator http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php and yep, 9pm on the date it told me...although daylight saving finishes here this weekend so I think that will change things. I'm hopeless on daylight savings so I don't know if that means you'll be online at 10pm or 8pm?!?!? Yours says the 12th for me.

Another development though... a friend told me how she set up an MDE account for her husband so I did that on Thursday and linked it to my account. Wouldn't you know it, he had the +10 working (although it was only +1 by that late stage) so I managed to get my last booking (Beaches and Cream for the night we do an illuminations cruise) on his MDE account. It might be worth setting up an account for your partner - you'll need separate email addresses - as a back up. Good luck!

 

[wdw4rfam]

Only all of us here can relate to the total panic you went through. I am usually up at my 180, with a full spreadsheet, ready to go too. So imagine when this year, I get a great deal at my dream resort and book it, get to the end of the call and my TA tells me, " oh yeah, I don't know if you realize, but you are now at 176, so you need to book some ADRS". Yup, FULL PANIC MODE. After all, our travel dates are during typical free dining time, so I was sure everything was gone. So I sit down, come up with a spreadsheet in 30 minutes and start booking ADRS, and magically, they are ALL available. I couldn't believe it.

 

[GaryDis]

Only all of us here can relate to the total panic you went through. I am usually up at my 180, with a full spreadsheet, ready to go too. So imagine when this year, I get a great deal at my dream resort and book it, get to the end of the call and my TA tells me, " oh yeah, I don't know if you realize, but you are now at 176, so you need to book some ADRS". Yup, FULL PANIC MODE. After all, our travel dates are during typical free dining time, so I was sure everything was gone. So I sit down, come up with a spreadsheet in 30 minutes and start booking ADRS, and magically, they are ALL available. I couldn't believe it.

I don't believe free dining has been announced yet for the fall. While it will impact ADRs, most people who sign up for the free dining haven't started booking yet.

 

[wdw4rfam]

I don't believe free dining has been announced yet for the fall. While it will impact ADRs, most people who sign up for the free dining haven't started booking yet.

Right, but people who think they WILL get FD, tend to book ADRS before their trips in anticipation of it.

 

[GaryDis]

Right, but people who think they WILL get FD, tend to book ADRS before their trips in anticipation of it.

Surely that's just a small percentage of them. If everybody who ultimately booked free dining were to book rooms without free dining earlier, Disney would have little reason to bother offering it.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Surely that's just a small percentage of them. If everybody who ultimately booked free dining were to book rooms without free dining earlier, Disney would have little reason to bother offering it.

I'm saying they book ADRs, not rooms. I know a lot of people book ADRs, then wait for free dining to book their rooms.

 

[oceanmarina]

So glad you got everything you wanted!!

It's a dice game...every time!!

Yep to that!! I had that problem 2 years ago and had to call everything in at 7AM - which made me late for work that day

Only all of us here can relate to the total panic you went through. I am usually up at my 180, with a full spreadsheet, ready to go too. So imagine when this year, I get a great deal at my dream resort and book it, get to the end of the call and my TA tells me, " oh yeah, I don't know if you realize, but you are now at 176, so you need to book some ADRS". Yup, FULL PANIC MODE. After all, our travel dates are during typical free dining time, so I was sure everything was gone. So I sit down, come up with a spreadsheet in 30 minutes and start booking ADRS, and magically, they are ALL available. I couldn't believe it.

Yep that's my nightmare, I did that with my fast past plus date 2 years ago, I remembered a month later to make them (which happened to be about a month and a half before our trip!) Miraculously I was able to get Anna & Elsa meet & greet twice (by looking for 2 instead of 4), and that was the summer when Frozen craze was still bananas!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My last trip online booking of the 3 adr's I wanted didn't work at all. I finally resorted to calling but I'm in the US so it's much easier.

I didn't get my BOG ADR but that's ok - I know I'll go back sometime this year so maybe I'll get it then.

I'm glad you were able to get the ones you wanted.

 

[sallytigger]

That was stressful to read, so I cannot imagine how you felt. Thankful it turned out happy!!

 

[Merx]

I used this calculator http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php and yep, 9pm on the date it told me...although daylight saving finishes here this weekend so I think that will change things. I'm hopeless on daylight savings so I don't know if that means you'll be online at 10pm or 8pm?!?!? Yours says the 12th for me.

Another development though... a friend told me how she set up an MDE account for her husband so I did that on Thursday and linked it to my account. Wouldn't you know it, he had the +10 working (although it was only +1 by that late stage) so I managed to get my last booking (Beaches and Cream for the night we do an illuminations cruise) on his MDE account. It might be worth setting up an account for your partner - you'll need separate email addresses - as a back up. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips, will definitely do that