Disappointed wth ADR Availability - Advice needed

[alopez926]

Hi everyone,
We are arriving Nov 12th so yesterday was day 180. By the time I got on the phone with an agent at about 7:30AM Eastern, almost every reservation I wanted was gone or the times were too late for some of the younger kids we will have in our party. We are a party of 8 so that makes things a bit of a challenge for sure. I was very flexible with dates and times, so by inability to get reservations was not due to my rigidity.

I checked back today and I cannot believe that almost every reservation at MK is booked completely during our stay. It's November for Pete's sake!!! (Sorry I'm really feeling quite cranky about this).

What's the likelihood that I might be able to pick up a reservation for 8 for BOG or CRT sometime in the next 6 months and what are some tips for maximizing the possibility that I might pick these up. Are there best times to search? Anybody have luck with Disney Dining buddies? Thanks in advance, Annie

 

[Alesia]

You're going during free dining. People tend to overbook their ADRs and then cancel them as they finalize their plans.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Yup welcome to free dining! This is why I purposely booked my Nov trip not within free dining dates this year and got everything I wanted and at the times I wanted them. This is just getting crazy anymore, not even just ADR's but the crowds in general that week.

 

[Anomaly711]

Just curious why you didn't do ADRs online. Our window opened up yesterday and we were ready at 5:45am and got everything we wanted. Of course, that was only for 3 people. I understand it must be really hard to book for 8 people. You could see how many people were booking reservations according to the reservation number. I think between my first and last ADR that I made, something like 3000 other res. had been made. It's cutthroat!

 

[Dis703]

People cancel all the time. Especially around the 45 day mark when they can't pay their package in full and again the couple weeks ahead. We've gone with as many as 7 people and until this recent trip we'd never booked our meals more than 3 months out and always got pretty much exactly what we wanted. You just have to be willing to check back regularly.

 

[lovndisney12]

Keep checking - like PP at 45 day mark and then even day or two before. Also, one year when we didn't get what we wanted - it made us try some other restaurants that are now some of our favorites. BUT I do understand the two you are talking about and it is hard to find substitutions for those two. Also, if breakfast at BOG an option yet? My understanding is it is still in the test stage. If that is the case, if they do offer it - you could maybe grab that if you can jump on when it is first offered since you already hit your 180 mark and won't be competing with those that had 180 +10. Good Luck!

 

[alopez926]

I did try booking online before calling. But for whatever reason, the system wasn't recognizing my resort reservation and would not allow me to book dates other than the first day of our trip (actually, Nov. 11, not the 12th). So I had to wait until 7AM to call to book for our entire trip. On hold for 35 minutes. Obviously lost time, but still.

I never book my vacations this far in advance so I was expecting greater availability. When I book with 60 days advance of departure, I expect to not get everything I would like. But I never anticipated it would be so difficult at 180!

 

[emsstacey]

I agree.. I was considering going Halloween weekend and everything we wanted was booked solid. The dining is such a big part of our vacation, that I decided to wait until another time when we can get everything we want.

 

[UnderTheRialto]

I have never had the website work (for my +10). I had to call, too. It is SO frustrating!!!!

 

[wdwjeffc37]

If it is possible to split your party(4&4 or 5&3) you might have a better chance of finding ADRs. Of course you won't be seated together but it might get you in where you want to eat. You can always ask the seating hosts to seat you at tables close to one another if possible. Large parties are tough because a lot of the restaurants don't have that many large tables so they tend to fill up fast. If you can't or don't want to split up keep checking, several times everyday. People are always changing their plans and cancelling their ADRs. Good Luck and have fun!!!

 

[Anomaly711]

How many days are you staying? There are openings at BOG on November 19th right now!! 10:30 am (I just snagged a 10:45am) Go now!!

 

[L&Lfan]

We'll be there from 11/7-11/15. We got everything we wanted except we couldn't get Raglan Road or Il Mulino no matter what. We're gonna keep trying and cancel our ADRs at Narcoossee's and Yachtsman Steakhouse if we're able to get those two.

 

[10CJ]

i would just keep checking. I think things will open up as people rearrange their plans.

can you split your group into two smaller groups at get two reservations near each other while you search for reservations for everyone? This may require some help from someone else in your group.

I also think some restaurants hold back reservations. Via Napoli just opened up a bunch more times for Oct last week. I had been looking for an earlier time and suddenly there were tons of options when there was no availability at all right before.

As others have said I think free dining is a factor.

Not sure if the Nov cancellation thread has been started yet but you can flow that to see what people are going to drop.

Good luck!

 

[Greeny T]

Sorry you haven't had great luck, but like everyone's been saying, you really just need to keep trying back. Every single day, check that website. People are CONSTANTLY canceling their reservations, and you may get lucky. BOG is still an extremely hard reservation to come by when it's not such a large amount of people or a busy time of year. All I can say, is keep at it.

 

[jerseygal]

Hi everyone,
We are arriving Nov 12th so yesterday was day 180. By the time I got on the phone with an agent at about 7:30AM Eastern, almost every reservation I wanted was gone or the times were too late for some of the younger kids we will have in our party. We are a party of 8 so that makes things a bit of a challenge for sure. I was very flexible with dates and times, so by inability to get reservations was not due to my rigidity.

I checked back today and I cannot believe that almost every reservation at MK is booked completely during our stay. It's November for Pete's sake!!! (Sorry I'm really feeling quite cranky about this).

What's the likelihood that I might be able to pick up a reservation for 8 for BOG or CRT sometime in the next 6 months and what are some tips for maximizing the possibility that I might pick these up. Are there best times to search? Anybody have luck with Disney Dining buddies? Thanks in advance, Annie

HOPEFULLY people will cancel.. keep trying! NEXT TIME try to get online at MDE at 6AM and maximize the window before 7AM Disney Dining opens up.

 

[tinkerbella16]

We'll be there from 11/7-11/15. We got everything we wanted except we couldn't get Raglan Road or Il Mulino no matter what. We're gonna keep trying and cancel our ADRs at Narcoossee's and Yachtsman Steakhouse if we're able to get those two.

Lots of people had no luck with Raglan Road online! But you can call the restaurant directly and get an ADR with no problem. I don't know why thats happening with Disneys adr system, but you'll have better luck calling directly for it!

 

[Figmentmommy]

Yup welcome to free dining! This is why I purposely booked my Nov trip not within free dining dates this year and got everything I wanted and at the times I wanted them. This is just getting crazy anymore, not even just ADR's but the crowds in general that week.

My family travels during Free Dining often and we've always been able to get the ADRs we wanted- including BOG, 'Ohana & other popular restaurants. We normally book online. I guess everyone's experience is different. 2014 was the first year we actually made ADRs at 180 days. Normally we don't plan that far ahead.

OP- I would suggest you check periodically online. I have found many great ADRs even a few weeks/days before. Good luck & I hope you can snag the places you want - eventually.

 

[jenjersnap]

We'll be there from 11/7-11/15. We got everything we wanted except we couldn't get Raglan Road or Il Mulino no matter what. We're gonna keep trying and cancel our ADRs at Narcoossee's and Yachtsman Steakhouse if we're able to get those two.

Raglan Road is on Open Table too and wide open in November!

 

[alopez926]

How many days are you staying? There are openings at BOG on November 19th right now!! 10:30 am (I just snagged a 10:45am) Go now!!

Leaving Nov. 16th. Boo!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Don't go during FD...