Just for information, I tried making dining reservation through the general 800 number and had a hard time getting the times I wanted. After I hung up with them I called MS and I was able to get the times I wanted for same days I had asked for on the general dining number.
I noticed when booking my CL package yesterday that the regular dining operator asked me what day I was checking in (didnt she know?) or do they not see dvc reservations????
Maybe it's just me, but I've always found the opposite of what folks above are saying. The WDW-DINE reps are great for booking dining. Always very helpful with added information and tidbits (getting timing right for fireworks, that sort of thing). The MS folks seem like they are just putting info into the computer.