Dining Reservations Poll/Question

[Dreamer8]

How far in advance do you make your ADR's?

 

[Cafeen]

I make the bulk of mine at the 180 day mark. Some minor tweaks and changes follow, but the majority are booked as soon as I can.

Of course, I also do plan to go at the same time every year, so have between the previous trip and the 180 day mark to plan accordingly.

 

[figment_jii]

I also make the bulk of my ADRs at the 180 day mark, but lots of tweaking happens after that. I would say that about 50% of the ADRs change by the time I leave for the trip. For example, this up coming trip is during F&W, so things will probably change when the F&W schedule is released, but my 180+ date was back in April.

 

[GAN]

I've been going to Disney pretty regularly for the last 30yrs and I love the planning aspect of it -but one thing I've never quite bought into is the 180 day reservation system. To plan where and at what time I'm going to eat 6 months down the road just doesn't excite me. I usually take what I can get at 60 days out or so -if I can't get what I want, I can usually show up at the door around 5:00 and within 15 mins get seated anyway. Last trip it worked at Jiko, Boma, and Whispering Canyon -we were a party of 5. Obviously, there are a few places this strategy would be a dead loser -so we don't bother.

 

[disneymath]

I'm another 180-day ADR maker (which was today for our NYE trip in fact). I will call back frequently if tweaks need to be made, but the bulk of it is taken care of at 180 days.

 

[daisyduck123]

We eat at popular places like 'Ohana for dinner, every trip, so I always make my ADRs as soon as possible.

I have never, ever had a problem getting the ADRs I want, & we eat TS meals a lot....over 20 dinners in the past year.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

We always book at the 180 day window. We do lots of char meals, dinner shows...etc. Next trip is planned for Christmas 2012 and will definately be making dining reservations as soon as the 180 day window opens.

 

[lovewildernesslodge]

We always do our ADR 180 days in advance...and like some of you...we tweak closer to vacation!

 

[cymbaldiva]

I'm not a fan of being tied to reservations so I don't bother with ADRs

 

[OKW Lover]

I voted 7-30 days before trip. That's usually what we do. But sometimes we book the same day or only a day or two before, as our plans change. For a special meal, we may book further out than that but seldom more than 60 days. We just don't plan that far ahead.

Yes, sometimes we can't get our 1st choice. We are flexible since we visit so frequently and not getting an ADR won't ruin our whole vacation.

 

[bicker]

Even though I'm eligible for the +10, I tend not to use it, because we're generally aiming for ADRs that don't fill-up quite so quickly (i.e., Artist Point for dinner, Tusker House for lunch, etc.)

 

[DisneySarah80]

I do the 180+10 because if I didn't do it then, there would be no way we would have reservations for CRT and places like that. I make all my reservations at the time, but usually cancle, move around, or add more as time goes by.
Never had a problem so far!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I always book my trips about 2-4 months in advance approximately. I have always gotten the ressies i've wanted. never had any problems. Mind you, its only the 2 of us travelling. My son and I.

 

[honeymo78]

We usually right around 180 days sometimes a little later. We've been so many times that we know where we like to eat so picking places isn't hard - it's usually the same ones we ate at during the last trip, just switching days around depending on which park we'll be in.

 

[eliza61]

I don't make many adr's and those I do are usually signature restaurants so I don't have to worry a much. Next, we really don't have any "must do" restaurants, so we have a lot of flexibility.

 

[Aliceacc]

180+10

I get such a kick out of all the Disney planning, I enjoy knowing my ADRs are in!

 

[PoohsFan1]

I book my ADRs right at the 180+10 because I want to make sure I get my ADRs for the time (or close to our time) and the day that I want them. Plus we always book the hard to get ADRs (CRT dinner, Le Cellier lunch, etc) so I also want to make sure we get those ADRs too. You will also find me on the Disney dining line bright and early to do these ADRs too

 

[Aliceacc]

Keep in mind, though, that the typical Disney visitor is probably NOT in the Disboards. Most visit their travel agent, book a package, and follow the instructions given by their agent. Some will also pick up a guidebook.

We tend to be just a TINY bit more compulsive than the typical visitor.

 

[MYD714]

I make the bulk of mine at the 180 day mark. Some minor tweaks and changes follow, but the majority are booked as soon as I can.

This.

I make them, and then tweak them if my plans or needs change.

In fact, I just changed one yesterday.

 

[CindyIsMyFave]

It's rare for us to be able to plan a trip 6 months in advance, so I chose the "as soon as I can" option. An exception is our NYE trip this year - I knew that was happening, so I was able to book yesterday at the opening of my 180+10 window. Really did get everything I want except for exact timing of NYE dinner . . . but I'm quite sure I will be logging in to see if I want to change anything (or to see if they keep the Epcot restaurants open any later than 9!) I think more advance planning is key for holidays - like Christmas, New Year's, Easter, etc.

But for our Labor Day weekend trip, we didn't decide on that 'til late May and that was only about 3 months in advance. But - I really did get everything for that too - 1 ressie's time is a little off, but I just keep monitoring it.