December Epcot Dinner Ressies

[Tonberry]

will be booking in two weeks, hoping to get a CP pkg. Do I just need to wait until those are releases separately

Yes. CP packages are usually released in July sometime. You will book your lunch or dinner (depending on what showtime you want) when you purchase the CP package.
Don't bother booking an ADR for the day you plan on doing the CP. You cannot convert an ADR into a CP package.

 

[gregf71]

Thanks everyone for your advice and input. I checked again this am and nothing had been released. I make ADRs Friday and am stressing since this is the first time booking character dining and I am uncertain how quickly places book. Plus, we will be there during Pop Warner and it will either be fine or crazy based on what I’ve read – boards are all over the place on this.

I agree with many of you that it is ridiculous to have to keep checking every am until these open (especially since paying extra to stay on Disney property and have this perk. Plus, I have to get up at 4:50 am every am until I get these ressies. 4:50 is very early for me with a still not sleeping well 16 month old)

Gregf71 – Thank you for your input and reassurance. I am impressed you have called. I HATE calling since every single call is a minimum of 12 minutes for me – for a simple question. Good luck tomorrow. I hope it is cleared for you tomorrow ! and then us on Friday!!!

Anna Kat – fear you are correct – won’t be released until July or later. Which honestly, is really unacceptable for the amount of money Disney charges to stay at their resorts and for having to book everything 180+ days out.

Jen731/Mermaid 78 – you are right. It will work out. Planning dining this trip has been more stressful than previous trips. In the past I’ve always gotten everything we’ve wanted, including difficult ressies. This is the first time taking our toddler so our picks now include character meals – crystal palace, chef mickeys, ohana, hoop dee doo, BOG lunch and maybe tusker am and Hollywood and vine, and the rest epcot. It seems like these are all difficult to get. I next have to figure out priorities on Friday am.

Hazzah! I got EVERYTHING we wanted, including BOG, Biergarten, and Chefs de France dinners!!! It pays to get up early (2:45am PST...YAWN...). The website was not perfect. It hiccuped a couple of times during my ADR process, but not when I needed it most! Best of luck tomorrow morning, dnw25!

Now I am going back to bed...

 

[dnw25]

gregf71 - wonderful news!!! Relief too to have it all planned out and done. Sorry to bother you with this but was BOG lunch really limited? Did you book that first? Towards the end of your trip?

Trying to figure out priorities tomorrow. assume BOG lunch first, but then not sure if I should go for CP pre RD or Ohana dinner next and then Tusker House pre RD. everything else can be booked afterwards.

So great that Epcot dinners have opened up. About time!!! We can sleep in June.

 

[gregf71]

gregf71 - wonderful news!!! Relief too to have it all planned out and done. Sorry to bother you with this but was BOG lunch really limited? Did you book that first? Towards the end of your trip?

Trying to figure out priorities tomorrow. assume BOG lunch first, but then not sure if I should go for CP pre RD or Ohana dinner next and then Tusker House pre RD. everything else can be booked afterwards.

So great that Epcot dinners have opened up. About time!!! We can sleep in June.

I never checked BOG lunch times, just dinner, so I am sorry that I cannot answer that for you. When I checked for BOG dinner this morning for December 8th (the night we have tickets to the MVMCP; towards the end of our trip), there were two times available, I grabbed 5:10pm (it was the latest offered at that time). It was the first ADR that I attempted to make...immediately at 3am PST (6am EST).

In preparation for this morning, I created a priority list:

1. Theme park locations: BOG (D), Biergarten (D), CdF (D), TH (B), SFDIT (D), Y&Y (L)
2. Dinner shows: HDD and SoA
3. Resort restaurants: Ohana x2 (B&D), KC x3 (Bx2 & D), Boma x2 (B&D), CM (Brunch), B&C (L), GFC (B)

The last few days, I ran general "meal" (i.e. breakfast, lunch, or dinner) searches for November 29th and November 30th to get a feel for what was still around in the late morning, several hours after the daily ADR window opened for people. From what I saw, and this was just my perception, the theme park locations were the most popular, followed by the resort restaurants. I decided to throw the two dinner shows in the middle of my ADR order just because those were the most important for us of the resort group.

So, my opinion, given the three locations that you mentioned above, try BOG first thing, then Crystal Palace, Tusker House, and finally Ohana.

Another bit of advice, if you have not already done so, log into your MDE today and get your credit card added to your account. It made the confirmation process MUCH smoother when making the ADRs. This way, come 3am (PST), I was already to go...computer on, logged into MDE, BOG page retrieved, and date and time settings in place, ready to click Find Tables at the stroke of the hour!

I hope that it all works out for you! Best of luck!

 

[dnw25]

Gregf71 - Thanks again for your input and guidance! BOG doesn't appeal to us that much for dinner - which means I'll going for the 2nd most popular ressie - lunch!!! Last time we were in Disney we ate lunch there three times. Having to do an ADR is killing me since loose flexibility and have to plan lunch exactly. Plus, we want to eat there twice.

Have you done HDD before? We are planning on booking that too and I hope its not completely lost on our 22 month old.

Think BOG lunch, CP, TH, ohana, R and C, CM brunch, Cape may dinner, VN, TE, B and C, HDD - one of our nights should be open.

I have been doing the same thing on Disney's site. All set with the credit card. Hope Fast passes aren't this crazy!

 

[gregf71]

Gregf71 - Thanks again for your input and guidance! BOG doesn't appeal to us that much for dinner - which means I'll going for the 2nd most popular ressie - lunch!!! Last time we were in Disney we ate lunch there three times. Having to do an ADR is killing me since loose flexibility and have to plan lunch exactly. Plus, we want to eat there twice.

Have you done HDD before? We are planning on booking that too and I hope its not completely lost on our 22 month old.

Think BOG lunch, CP, TH, ohana, R and C, CM brunch, Cape may dinner, VN, TE, B and C, HDD - one of our nights should be open.

I have been doing the same thing on Disney's site. All set with the credit card. Hope Fast passes aren't this crazy!

Have we done HDD before? Nope, and I am VERY much looking forward to it...my DW, not so much, until I mentioned that wine and sangria were included! Our DD (9) is still not sure what it is...I will probably show her a video snippet online. I am a born and raised southern Californian, so I grew up going to Disneyland (still do) and have great memories of the old Golden Horseshoe Revue from when I was a kid.

 

[dnw25]

Gregf71 - I posted this on another thread this am. Didn't book HDD because the first agent (see below) said my son would be too young, but I have read he might really enjoy, so I think I will book it. I don't have it in me to do it today though. Really bad experience. Fourth trip and never had these kinds of difficulties.


My experience this am was so horrific that honestly, I almost canceled the trip. After having to figure out which days to visit which park to line up dining so it can be booked at 180 +10 and then not being able to do so....Ridiculous. Especially for what anyone staying on property pays. Even with our airfare booked, almost canceled. Does anyone have the address/phone to get through for complaints? Not just a general complaint number.

Was up at 4:45, logged in ready to go exactly at 5:00 (6 est) For 36 min I tried everything - different browsers, logged in and out, searched from the restaurant page, searched from the park dining pages. Absolutely no luck. It would routinely time the available options, but when I clicked would just take me back to beginning.

Around the 44 min mark, I saw availability begin to change with times disappearing or no longer availability. This is when I almost canceled the trip.

I kept trying and still no luck. Woke up the hubby at 5:54. Told him to get on the phone at 6:00, which he did. He also got on his computer. Now 6:00 am, I was lucky enough to get through immediately on the phone (hubby called a min or two later and was told he had a 30 min wait). Explained the problem online to the agent, who said was unaware of any problems online this am. He then proceeded to get me almost all my hard to get reservations. Wonderful, right?

I was DISCONNECTED by DISNEY. I was talking to the agent for over 30 min, I was about to give him my credit card number, and all of a sudden the "Tell us how we are doing" survey at the end of every Disney call was playing!!!! What in the world!!!!

Meanwhile, the website miraculous opened up/woke up at 6:00 am too. My hubby was booking ressies while I was on the phone with the agent (not the same ones, I promise). I jumped on and tried to book the same ones I had made with the agent.

Several minutes later, my husband's 6:02 phone call to Disney dining went through. Now it's around 6:35 and the agent couldn't really help me. My early BOG selections were all gone. Ohana gone. She tried to search for any of my old ressies since she said the system "holds" them for a few minutes before they are released again, even without a credit card hold, but couldn't find them. She was explaining how nothing could be done when guess what? DISCONNECTED by DISNEY a second time!!! The survey started playing again.

I finally made all my reservations online, finishing at 7:46. I did get every restaurant I want - numerous character breakfasts, brunch, numerous lunches and dinners, however, I did not get them on the day or time I had hoped for. Trip is not canceled but seriously!?!?!?!

Disney forces you to do all this detailed planning, only to not let you implement it. I cannot clearly express how frustrated I am by this experience. Disney left a very negative impression this am.

 

[gregf71]

Wow...just wow, dnw25. Stunning, but sadly, I have read about similar situations on these boards. Glad to hear that you eventually got all of the restaurants you wanted, but wow. Hopefully, you can rearrange your initial park plans to accommodate and ensure that you have an amazing trip. I am glad that you didn't give up!

As to your question about contacting Disney...do it. As a matter of fact, I did just that myself. Prior to my ADR window opening, using the Contact Us email option on the WDW website, I sent an email reporting the problems people were having with securing Epcot ADRs the end of November and early December. The response I received, from their eCommerce Sales & Service group, was unhelpful to say the least, so I replied with this...

"Thank you so much for the timely response. Please be assured that I realize wholeheartedly that fan sites can provide misinformation, unsubstantiated rumors, and flat out lies, but after you read the same comments on different sites, from different users, over several days, it necessitates that a logical person inquire with the location in question (i.e. the Walt Disney World Resort) directly. Just after sending my initial email, I managed to open a chat session with a WDW CM through your website. I explained my concerns just as I did in my email, but this CM, without providing me with any reasons as to why, confirmed that the Epcot table service restaurants were indeed not accepting ADRs "yet" from late November and into December. She told me not to worry about our ADR window this Thursday, telling me that this issue should no longer be one by then. This morning, I decided to call Disney Dining. I explained my concern again, provided (at their request) two early December dates and World Showcase locations, and the CM confirmed that there "currently was not availability at these locations," but that they "should open up soon". When I asked why they replied, "they are being held back because of the Candlelight Processional."

Can you understand my frustration? I tried email, chat, and telephone and in each case I received different answers. All I ask, as I assume all other future WDW guests do, is for accurate information from all venues, be it on the website, via email or chat, or by telephone. Trip planning for the Walt Disney World Resort has become very complex in 2015 and also, sad to say, rather competitive when it comes to dining and entertainment reservations. We rely heavily on the WDW website and CMs to provide us with timely, accurate information and for the process to work. I can only hope that this Thursday morning (3am here in California) will bring me the opportunity to make reservations at all of our favorite locations and those we are excited to try for the first time. My fear is that our preferred Epcot locations will remain unavailable until a later date, a date that may not even be publicized (because this "current issue" certainly was not), which then increases the number of guests vying for these limited spots and requiring me to be increasingly vigilant in checking, possibly multiple times each day, to see if they become available.

Please understand that my family and I love the Disney brand, its parks, the cruise line, the stores, the music, the films, the history...heck, everything! We hold it in the highest regard and hope that you accept the above commentary not as a complaint, but rather as a humble notice that something is broken and needs attention...or maybe a little Pixie Dust. My family and I are so excited about our upcoming visit to the Walt Disney World Resort and we are certain that it will provide us with magical memories that will last for a lifetime."

Yesterday, I received a phone call from someone in the WDW Communications group (much better than eCommerce). Unfortunately, we were away, so I need to call them back this weekend. I am hopeful that the conversation will be beneficial for both sides. I have quite a bit additional information to share with them.

In the end, all I want is for the site, the process, to work...for everyone. You should not have had to go through what you did, and in reviewing the boards you were not alone, perhaps not to the same degree, but not alone to be sure. Disney needs to be made aware of these glitches beyond the front line CMs, so send them an email, or call Disney Dining and ask to be transferred to a supervisor from their IT support desk (I did that last week to report a Biergarten page problem and I like to think that maybe it helped resolve it).

 

[Aerinha]

Tomorrow is adr day for me. Was checking out MDE to make sure all was go and noticed something odd that is freaking me out in light of all the glitches. Hoping someone can talk me down.

Previous trips, it simply would not let me even try to make an adr prior to the start of my stay. Today, I found I could book any date before my 12/3 arrival, but that the actual dates of my stay were overlaid in gray. Could not click on them to make an adr like I could on all dates before 12/2. The dates after my stay was over were not overlaid, but I could not click on them. I assumed that was because I was not at my window opening yet, but am concerned that tomorrow it will only let me book 12/3 and not my whole stay.

Will my 9 days come alive tomorrow as usual or do I have a problem brewing?

 

[gregf71]

Tomorrow is adr day for me. Was checking out MDE to make sure all was go and noticed something odd that is freaking me out in light of all the glitches. Hoping someone can talk me down.

Previous trips, it simply would not let me even try to make an adr prior to the start of my stay. Today, I found I could book any date before my 12/3 arrival, but that the actual dates of my stay were overlaid in gray. Could not click on them to make an adr like I could on all dates before 12/2. The dates after my stay was over were not overlaid, but I could not click on them. I assumed that was because I was not at my window opening yet, but am concerned that tomorrow it will only let me book 12/3 and not my whole stay.

Will my 9 days come alive tomorrow as usual or do I have a problem brewing?

Listen...with all of the wack-a-doodle-ness that I read before my ADR window opened yesterday morning, I was freaking out a bit too, but when my time arrived, the website, while not perfect, worked for me. I got everything that we wanted, including a dinner at BOG! I consider myself VERY lucky and there is no reason to believe that it won't work fine tomorrow for you...have faith. If it acts up, keep trying and don't give up. Be prepared to call if necessary (I did), but don't go in thinking that you will have to. I will tell you, when the page misbehaved for me those couple of times, I refreshed and tried again or tried the search a different way (i.e. instead of searching on the restaurant's page directly, I did a general "dinner" search from the main dining page...believe it or not, if one way didn't work, the other way did...it was weird).

To your question...that behavior you are describing today seems normal to me. Dining reservations can be made 180 days out, so theoretically today you could make an ADR for any day up until your arrival date. I saw the very same thing leading up to yesterday. When I initially logged in at 5:55am EST, I too did not see my dates (180 + 10) "active" yet, but at the stroke of 6am EST I did a search (for BOG of course) and all of my dates were there!

Good luck! And hey...maybe we will see you at the Poly...we are staying there too the first week of December! Aloha!

 

[Aerinha]

Listen...with all of the wack-a-doodle-ness that I read before my ADR window opened yesterday morning, I was freaking out a bit too, but when my time arrived, the website, while not perfect, worked for me. I got everything that we wanted, including a dinner at BOG! I consider myself VERY lucky and there is no reason to believe that it won't work fine tomorrow for you...have faith. If it acts up, keep trying and don't give up. Be prepared to call if necessary (I did), but don't go in thinking that you will have to. I will tell you, when the page misbehaved for me those couple of times, I refreshed and tried again or tried the search a different way (i.e. instead of searching on the restaurant's page directly, I did a general "dinner" search from the main dining page...believe it or not, if one way didn't work, the other way did...it was weird).

To your question...that behavior you are describing today seems normal to me. Dining reservations can be made 180 days out, so theoretically today you could make an ADR for any day up until your arrival date. I saw the very same thing leading up to yesterday. When I initially logged in at 5:55am EST, I too did not see my dates (180 + 10) "active" yet, but at the stroke of 6am EST I did a search (for BOG of course) and all of my dates were there!

Good luck! And hey...maybe we will see you at the Poly...we are staying there too the first week of December! Aloha!

Thanks! If you see me, I will be the lost looking person at the Poly. Never been there before . Off to bed to be up before 6

 

[Aerinha]

Update...I went through 5 internet capable devices at 6 a.m. And none worked. While I marvel that net capable things out number people in my household it is sort of ironic that with all those gizmos what got me my adrs today was a call placed via landline at 7 a.m.

The CM was super nice so I really tried not to laugh when she told me their site usually works so well. Anyway, today's issue seems to be that no matter what I used, when I clicked an available time, it cycled me back to today's date. If anyone wants a 9:30 p.m. Dinner adr at BOG for today for two give it a try as I could have booked that (rolling eyes) as it took me right to the credit card page when I tried to see if any date would work.

Only two I didn't get were lunch at LTT because refurb has it closed to adr until July and Raglan Road which the CM said she can't seem to get for anyone although there is no reason for it in their system.

My eyes feel like they have sand in them. I didn't sleep well and had to get up at 5:55 to begin this ordeal so that I could call at 7, costing me an hour of sleep for no reason. So annoying. Good luck to those still battling it out.

 

[AnnaKat]

Yes, their glitchy/non-working site makes booking ADRs an ordeal!! What's worse is that they don't seem to want to admit it,
& will just say it's on your end(device,browser). They have us locked-in w/resort reserv. & tickets, so maybe they don't care IF we can get ANY ADRs thru online?!?! IF they EVER get rid of the dining landline CMs, THEN it would be impossible!!!!! I found getting on @ 5 CST just to have nothing work to be stressful We have 16 nites, a huge dining budget, but ALSO potential to NOT have ressies for breakfast & dinner @ our home resort?!? It's unacceptable!!!!! W/DVC, they get big $$$$$$$ upfront, but NO ADR availibility?!?!

 

[Aerinha]

I forgot to mention, calling got me a 6 p.m. Dinner at Via Napoli, so adrs for epcot restuarants the first two weeks of .december are out there.

 

[gregf71]

Update...I went through 5 internet capable devices at 6 a.m. And none worked. While I marvel that net capable things out number people in my household it is sort of ironic that with all those gizmos what got me my adrs today was a call placed via landline at 7 a.m.

The CM was super nice so I really tried not to laugh when she told me their site usually works so well. Anyway, today's issue seems to be that no matter what I used, when I clicked an available time, it cycled me back to today's date. If anyone wants a 9:30 p.m. Dinner adr at BOG for today for two give it a try as I could have booked that (rolling eyes) as it took me right to the credit card page when I tried to see if any date would work.

Only two I didn't get were lunch at LTT because refurb has it closed to adr until July and Raglan Road which the CM said she can't seem to get for anyone although there is no reason for it in their system.

My eyes feel like they have sand in them. I didn't sleep well and had to get up at 5:55 to begin this ordeal so that I could call at 7, costing me an hour of sleep for no reason. So annoying. Good luck to those still battling it out.

Sorry to hear that you had issues. At least you were emotionally prepared for it and got mostly what you wanted. Regarding Raglan Road, I thought that I read on another thread that folks were getting reservations there by using Open Table. You may want to look into that.

 

[Aerinha]

Sorry to hear that you had issues. At least you were emotionally prepared for it and got mostly what you wanted. Regarding Raglan Road, I thought that I read on another thread that folks were getting reservations there by using Open Table. You may want to look into that.

Open table keeps telling me it won't book that far in advance. I saw someone got it for Thanksgiving week, but 12/8 seems to be too far.

 

[dnw25]

gregf71 - already sent the emails to Disney. I don't expect anything from them but I agree they need to realize when they have a possible problem. I commend your tenacity with Disney. We are the same as your family. Love the Disney brand and visit WDW but am shocked at how customer services levels at WDW have dramatically changed since 2009 when we started visiting regularly. I also have had rough calls with reservations asking questions. To the point where I called multiple times for the same question. For every truly helpful agent, I would get one so-so and one barely able to answer the question. In the past I always had amazing agents who were seemingly excited about my upcoming trip, helpful, and sought out answers if they didn't know them. This trip seems like I am dealing with an entirely different company. (which is why I honestly considered canceling) Likewise, this was my first time having online dining reservation problems.

As for our plans. We will still go to the same parks everyday, but the Ohana dinner change is throwing off our evening plans. Honestly, may just cancel Ohana since I am not sure if our 22 month old will be into the kids activities.

Aerinha - I am so, so sorry you had the similar/same experience as I did. So frustrating. I started the post/thread on the Disney Dining Complaint Number under the restaurant forum. I posted the same message as above. I did get majorly jumped on by a few people and a few people also 'attacked' after clearly not understanding my post. However, for the most part, people have been supportive. What we dealt with is honestly ridiculous for a company who prides themselves on excellent Customer service, encourages online bookings, and does force you to book ASAP or miss out for on some experiences. As my hubby said, the price has surged dramatically, will the quality of experience has gone down. Yes, this online 'stuff' is part of the Disney vacation experience, in our opinion.

Please send Disney as email if you have a chance.

 

[dnw25]

BTW, we did book Raglan Road on open table for our last trip. Use it on a regular basis and their cancelation policy is so easy and no credit card hold.

 

[chinarider]

I'm sooooo hoping that I dont have issues on the 19th when I call. I'm in Az so getting up at that hour is real early ( even for me ). Considering it's FD and the week before Christmas, Im thinking it's going to be tough. At least I dont have to worry about scoring a ADR for prepark opening CP breakfast ( since I'm sure MK will at least have 8 am park openings)

 

[gregf71]

So, I just had a nice conversation with a CM from Disney World Communications. It started off a tad concerning in that he attempted to paraphrase my earlier email as "you have issues with information being presented on fan boards." I immediately corrected him, stating that the confusing information was coming from various CMs from Email, Chat, and Telephone communications and their website, not the boards. "Oh...," he replied, followed by a pause, "that's right." I rolled my eyes, initially wondering if he actually read my email, but then I figured that he communicates with multiple guests every day, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In any event, I explained the frustrations that I personally experienced and the multiple problems that I have seen with the website lately. He did his best to defend the company, which I appreciate and respect, but was forthcoming enough to realize that I was presenting him with practical, real examples of where things are falling short. For example, I specifically pointed out a confusing phrase on the Tokyo Dining menus for both lunch and dinner. In the Kids sections, it currently states in large print, "Under 9 years old," yet beneath the menu items it states the standard, in much smaller print, "Kid's menu items for children 9 and younger." I shared with him a Chat exchange from last week, where the CM I communicated with told me that, yes these items are for children under 9, so "8 and under." After asking her to reconfirm that, she checked with someone, retracted her statement and reaffirmed the standard 9 and younger policy, telling me that they would get that fixed (it was still there as of the moment I am typing this post).

In the end, he tried valiantly to offer reasons for several of my identified issues with "maybe" this or "maybe" that, but I was prepared for that, impressing upon him that I have extensive experience working with and testing websites. He told me that he was taking copious notes and would be sharing the information with the appropriate groups. I have hope and faith that he will. He asked if there was anything that he could do for me (I wasn't 100% sure what he meant by that if I'm honest), but thankfully we were lucky Thursday morning and managed, website hiccups aside, to get everything that we wanted. I thanked him, declined and told him to do something magical for someone else who was perhaps less fortunate...I hope he does.