Dining Disaster

[Alabama Minnie]

CP is the nightly Xmas show at Epcot during Nov./Dec. If you dine at some of the Epcot restaurants you can get a pkg. that includes reserved seating for the show. I think $10-$15 extra at Akershus?

 

[Willowlux]

Try Touring Plans reservation finder. It's free & it works. Also, don't talk up any restaurant plans with the kids until you've actually got the reservations.

People often cancel things as the trip draws near, especially the night before, which is the last chance for them to cancel without paying a penalty fee. CRT is less likely to have cancellations because people pay in advance (although it is refundable). Akershus typically has more availability than CRT.

Using Touring Plans Reservation Finder to secure hard to get restaurants was the best advice I have gotten in recent memory. I can not thank this board enough. After weeks of trying on my own to get BOG lunch and 'Ohana dinner, Touring Plans snagged both at my preferred times in under 24 hours! The text alert feature is amazing. SO thank you!!

 

[SaintsManiac]

Reservation Finder to secure hard to get restaurants was the best advice I have gotten in recent memory. I can not thank this board enough. After weeks of trying on my own to get BOG lunch and 'Ohana dinner, Touring Plans snagged both at my preferred times in under 24 hours! The text alert feature is amazing. SO thank you!!

I was shocked at how well it worked and quickly, too! I still have one I'm waiting for, but it's not a deal breaker if we don't get it. I have faith, though!

 

[Daniela Rose]

How's it going? Did you set up your res finders? You'll be able to get everything. Just be persistent.

 

[DekrRini]

Using Touring Plans Reservation Finder to secure hard to get restaurants was the best advice I have gotten in recent memory. I can not thank this board enough. After weeks of trying on my own to get BOG lunch and 'Ohana dinner, Touring Plans snagged both at my preferred times in under 24 hours! The text alert feature is amazing. SO thank you!!

I'm going to give reservation finder a shot. Is there any advantage to paying for the premium account over the free basic account? The only thing I'd use touring plans is for the reservation finder.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm going to give reservation finder a shot. Is there any advantage to paying for the premium account over the free basic account? The only thing I'd use touring plans is for the reservation finder.

I paid so I could use the Lines app. I really don't mess with it other than the res finder online.

 

[Willowlux]

I'm going to give reservation finder a shot. Is there any advantage to paying for the premium account over the free basic account? The only thing I'd use touring plans is for the reservation finder.

I finally bought the paid version (after they snagged those two coveted reservations for me) to see if they could work similar magic on my daily plans. I only played with it briefly but it seems really cool.

 

[njg2017]

It has been so much harder for our November 2017 trip than it was for our April 2016 trip ... so frustrating! Holding out hope since we are still almost 180 days out.

 

[Trinity88]

We just decided to do a trip around the 90 day mark. So I was way behind in booking ADRs. Touring Plans got me everything I wanted (Tusker, Akershus, Ohana, Crystal Palace, etc) and I'm looking for 5 people which is often harder to find! The ADR thread is great too, I was able to get a River of Light package I was looking for that way. Don't lose hope, you have lots of time!

 

[DekrRini]

It has been so much harder for our November 2017 trip than it was for our April 2016 trip ... so frustrating! Holding out hope since we are still almost 180 days out.

I had the same issue last November/December. I think it has something to do with free dining. I had no problems at all for my May trip this year. It is very frustrating.

 

[laraashley4]

You can't do it all in one trip, and might not even get to do everything you'd hoped to, but IT'S GOING TO BE AN AMAZING, WONDERFUL, MAGICAL VACATION!! Eyes on the prize: You're taking your family to Disney World!

Can I just say thank you for this post! I'm planning our first trip as well and sometimes I feel like it is going to be so easy to get wrapped up in all of the plans and things that I want to see and do that I may miss stopping to watch the magic unfold for my kids.

 

[Texas Hannah]

Another recommendation - if possible, be flexible with what days you're going to do which parks, if possible. I have 13 days in the parks from December 2-15 - with it being before most people go on Christmas break, and so many days, you'd think I'd easily get everything I wanted, right? Not so!

I had to switch some days around that we planned to be at the parks and work around the MVMCP dates a bit (we're doing 2 of these but MK has them about 4 times a week in December), but by doing so I've managed to get every ADR I wanted except a breakfast at Garden Grill (which seems to be due to Disney holding back these openings for the Candlelight Processional Dining Package). At first I was feeling hopeless because for the first week we're there I couldn't get anything at Ohana, Akershus, Biergarten, Coral Reef, etc. for any days or times we wanted. Unless you have hard-ticketed event tickets or your FP's already booked (I'm assuming your trip is in November so you wouldn't), your plans should be quite flexible this far out and you may be able to move which day you plan to do which park around a bit. By moving my tentative plans around, and trying to book more hard-to-get reservations towards the end of our trip, I was able to book everything I wanted - even a PPO breakfast at Akershus, and I had tons of time slots to pick from for Be Our Guest and Cinderella's Royal Table.

Keep checking as people release reservations all the time. Don't give up hope! With you having booked your trip this far out, it tends to be pretty rare for you to not be able to get at least 75% of what you want, even if it pops up at the last minute.

 

[DekrRini]

I'm a touring plan convert. I just got the Garden Grill ADR I wanted. Unfortunately, I missed the BOG dinner spot because of a cc issue, but I'm hopeful I can get another chance. I have a particular day I want for BOG--my birthday--but at this point, I'll settle for any day and pretend it's my birthday.

 

[ChristinaMarie95]

@comomom , in case you were looking for it, here's the November 2017 ADR cancellation thread. All the details are in the first post in case you're not sure how it works.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...-adr-thread-guidelines-in-first-post.3603977/

Also wanted to say don't stress too much about not getting the ADRs you're hoping for. 6 months is a long time and there will plenty of opportunities. To echo the advice of others, touring plans res. finder is a great tool. Also, spend some time on the Nov. cancellation thread. If you do both of these things I'm willing to bet you will score the ADRs you're looking for. Maybe not at the exact times you're looking for, but close. Who knows, in no time time at all you might have too many ADR options and begin posting on the cancellation thread helping others.

I see you mentioned this will be your family's first Disney trip! How exciting! These boards have a wealth of information and lots of great people to help with any questions you might have. You have truly come to the right place.

Edited to add: doing some quick math it seems you're arriving on November 26th. Not sure how long you're staying but it seems your visit could potentially overlap into December. I searched for a Dec. cancellation thread and it doesn't seem one has been started yet but rest assured there will be one for that month too.

Thank you for this!

 

[Gentry2004]

I have been patiently waiting for TP to find me 2 BOG lunches in December with no luck so far. I am 143 days out but tried for BOG at 180. I hope December isn't extra bad this year!

 

[DekrRini]

I have been patiently waiting for TP to find me 2 BOG lunches in December with no luck so far. I am 143 days out but tried for BOG at 180. I hope December isn't extra bad this year!

I'm going in December as well and I've found that for the last two years the ADRs have been more difficult to get. Have you tried for 2 different 1 person lunches for about the same time? I got my 1 person lunch fairly easily without using TP.

 

[Monima]

Try Touring Plans reservation finder. It's free & it works. Also, don't talk up any restaurant plans with the kids until you've actually got the reservations.

People often cancel things as the trip draws near, especially the night before, which is the last chance for them to cancel without paying a penalty fee. CRT is less likely to have cancellations because people pay in advance (although it is refundable). Akershus typically has more availability than CRT.

I tried to log on for the free touring plan guide, but it keeps going back to the subscribe page which would be $ 15 dollars
Any idea what I am doing wrong?

 

[Frankie Nova]

I normally let my travel agent book my dinner reservations and as busy as she is I don't believe she would be as diligent as I would about times and places. is there anyway to monitor or watch changes trends etc... almost as a mock session to familiarize myself with the system?

 

[Frankie Nova]

Another recommendation - if possible, be flexible with what days you're going to do which parks, if possible. I have 13 days in the parks from December 2-15 - with it being before most people go on Christmas break, and so many days, you'd think I'd easily get everything I wanted, right? Not so!

I had to switch some days around that we planned to be at the parks and work around the MVMCP dates a bit (we're doing 2 of these but MK has them about 4 times a week in December), but by doing so I've managed to get every ADR I wanted except a breakfast at Garden Grill (which seems to be due to Disney holding back these openings for the Candlelight Processional Dining Package). At first I was feeling hopeless because for the first week we're there I couldn't get anything at Ohana, Akershus, Biergarten, Coral Reef, etc. for any days or times we wanted. Unless you have hard-ticketed event tickets or your FP's already booked (I'm assuming your trip is in November so you wouldn't), your plans should be quite flexible this far out and you may be able to move which day you plan to do which park around a bit. By moving my tentative plans around, and trying to book more hard-to-get reservations towards the end of our trip, I was able to book everything I wanted - even a PPO breakfast at Akershus, and I had tons of time slots to pick from for Be Our Guest and Cinderella's Royal Table.

Keep checking as people release reservations all the time. Don't give up hope! With you having booked your trip this far out, it tends to be pretty rare for you to not be able to get at least 75% of what you want, even if it pops up at the last minute.

I normally let my travel agent book my dinner reservations and as busy as she is I don't believe she would be as diligent as I would about times and places. is there anyway to monitor or watch changes trends etc... almost as a mock session to familiarize myself with the system?

 

[Shanti]

I tried to log on for the free touring plan guide, but it keeps going back to the subscribe page which would be $ 15 dollars
Any idea what I am doing wrong?

There is a button on the subscription page that says "Basic Access". Press that and you will be able to sign up for a free subscription that will allow you to use the reservation finder.