Disney dining buddy...will it actually help me/be worth it?

[amandals2007]

I am going in sept and i have a ressie for Cali grill i snagged for a 510 the night of a MNSSHP. I have either this night or one another night that isnt the night of a party that i could get a ressie for, i want a time like 6-9 would be better, preferably around 730 so we can see the fireworks after dinner. i know we can return with our ticket to come up and watch but that is our last evening and i would rather eat, see fireworks and head back to room rather than eat and kill some time. we thought about a monorail bar crawl but that isnt what we really want to do. my dad and i check multiple times a day, thats how we got the ressie we have right now since it wasnt in our original plans and we had to fly into disney the night before so we gained a dinner and decided to use it for a signature. is it worth paying the 8-10 bucks i see that site and others like it go for? ive never tried it because normally i dont change my mind like this. also which one is better? or should i just keep checking myself?

 

[LaurEm378]

I love the dining buddy. It found me 3 ADRs at my ideal times for a party of 12 on my last trip. Just last week I set it up to alert me for Ohana in August; I got exactly what I wanted 12 hours later. I set it up to text me, and the text contains a link that takes you straight to the booking page.

You pick the date/time you'd like and it alerts you if anything opens up +/- 2 hours. If you don't like the first alert it gives you, you can take or leave that ADR and it will keep alerting you if other times open up.

I think it's $8 well spent, especially since most of the alerts have come in the middle of the night when I never would have been checking MDE on my own. Happy planning!

 

[amandals2007]

my only concern is that ill get an alert and ill be at work or cant get on the site at that time to get it and it will be a waste. you really think its worth it? i have a time for 5, i just feel like a baby since i wanna pay 8 bucks to get a time for 7 or 8

 

[DisneyHardin]

I signed up for a BOG lunch with Disney Dining Buddy and got it on the second notification. I do think you pretty much have to be able to book right then. The first notification I got, by the time I logged in, it was already gone. The second one, I was on the computer when it came it, so I was able to snag it.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

I have never used it, but I think in considering how much a Disney vacation costs, $8 is nothing. Especially if it will make your night more relaxed or enjoyable or let you do something else you want to do.

 

[bar423]

We booked our trip well after the 180 day mark and I used it and now have everything I wanted at the times I wanted. BOG 8am breakfast and a dinner. CRT, chef mickeys, ohana just to name a few hard to get ADR. If it alerts you and it's not a time you want or you miss it it's ok because you can continue to get alerts. it's not just 1 alert, you can say keep alerting me for this. I love it and it was worth the $$ (to me)

I do the text alert so I can hit the link right from my phone. There was only 1 or 2 I missed but ended up getting them at a later alert.

 

[undertheradar]

Unless things have changed recently, there is not much need. We were there last September and there are many adrs that become available as you get closer to your dates. This is due to folks hogging adrs, fine tuning plans, and holding adrs until right before penalties kick in. If you are flexible, you can get almost any adr within the week before you need it.

 

[LaurEm378]

If you don't jump on it right away, you could very well miss the ADR, but again, it'll keep alerting you if other spots open up--so it's not like you only get one shot for your $8.

The worth is really up to you. For me, depending on what else I've planned that day, if a "better" ADR time is going to make my day easier or more enjoyable, I don't mind spending the money.

For example, the Ohana I just scored for my arrival day. When I first booked on MDE I got it for 7:30 pm, but that's late--my 6 year old will be tired from traveling and I've always been seated past my ADR time at Ohana. I want to eat early, then take my time hanging around the Poly and GF, then head back to sleep when we're ready--not wait all afternoon for the 7:30 ADR with a hungry, maybe cranky kid, and then have to rush back to bed. For my $8 I got a 5:30 pm ADR and I've bought myself a way more pleasant first night in WDW.

If you're still on the fence, keep checking MDE as much as possible for a while, and if you still don't have what you want within 15-20 days of the trip, set up the buddy.

 

[elopez]

Hi, I used disney dining scount and only paid $4 for 4 watches and over the last month have been able to get 2 of them Crystal Palace Breakfast and BOG Dinner.

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

I never used Disney Dining Buddy, but I have great success with the MDE app. I would advise to check at different times of the day.

 

[mickeygirl78]

I signed up for dining buddy about a month ago searching for a Sci-Fi reservation for 7 in Sept. I had booked all my reservations 180 days out but then the kids realized they really wanted Sci-Fi. I figured $8 was worth the gamble. I still haven't received any alerts yet but I'm hopeful. $8 is worth my time not to have to be online searching all the time.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I've used both Dining Buddy and Dining Scout--love these services, have been able to get my ADRs with their help. You do have to be ready to log on or you could lose out, happened to me a couple of times.

 

[22Tink]

Definitely worth it for me!! I use both Dining Buddy and Dining Scout.

 

[amandals2007]

I've used both Dining Buddy and Dining Scout--love these services, have been able to get my ADRs with their help. You do have to be ready to log on or you could lose out, happened to me a couple of times.

i tried disney scout but its not working.....i type in what i want and click that plus sign and NOTHING happens....i wanted to try the free feature to see what its like but nothing is happening.....what am i not getting here?

 

[Mom2Stitch]

i tried disney scout but its not working.....i type in what i want and click that plus sign and NOTHING happens....i wanted to try the free feature to see what its like but nothing is happening.....what am i not getting here?

Did you register? I think you have to have a log in first. It should bring up a box to fill in your restaurant, date, time and number in your party. And you will only get to have 1 search on the free feature, 4 on the 3.99.

 

[Madteaparty001]

Disney Dining Buddy was the reason I got my BOG dinner on a party night, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

So I had posted earlier that I had never used this service before. I figured, what the heck, and signed up 2 days ago for Be Our Guest lunch on 12/22. I tried to book it at my 180, but didn't get it. I just got the notification and I booked it! Well worth the $8 to me now!

 

[amandals2007]

Did you register? I think you have to have a log in first. It should bring up a box to fill in your restaurant, date, time and number in your party. And you will only get to have 1 search on the free feature, 4 on the 3.99.

i really only need one search. i have two other ressies i want to change the times on but nothing i want to pay for, like its nothing that i cant be happy with what it is im just picky (but arent most of us with our vaca we want it perfect lol)

lets see if this one free one will work for me. will it email or text me on the free one? it didnt say.

 

[Trinity88]

I have found it worth it! It notified me a couple of days ago when a bunch of BOG dinners were released. I got my desired day and time. I probably would have missed out if I hadn't had the notification. I'm still waiting for an Ohana dinner, but I'm hopeful I'll find one using dining buddy.

 

[DatFan]

Probably a stupid question but I see three options only...Free, $4 and $6. I signed up last nite, never tried it before but booking for 6 people this trip. Is there another service besides DDS I should look into as well?