Disney Dining Stinks!!!!

[ha1264]

We are here now. Arrived 5-24 leaving out 5-31. The weather is great people are nice but the dining plan is a drag. Everything is BOOKED! This is our 2nd trip. Went last October maybe we got spolied only missed The spirit meal thing. This time I think we are going to have a few sit down meals left. Maybe it's my fault for not making ADR's months in advance. I just can't do that. We do have a small stradegy to attack the parks but I can't plan my meals months in advance. It's a great deal money wise but having to plan your day around a meal doesn't make since to me. We even tried to go at odd times. It seems the other 200,000 people did the same. The counter service in the parks is a 2hr ordeal. Will come back becuase we like it here but will never use the plan again. Sorry to send so many negatives waves but I had to vent. Thanks, for letting me.

 

[tinawv]

I am sorry that you didn't get into any of the restaruants that you wanted, but going to WDW without advanced dining reservations during moderate or high crowd season is like winning the lottery - one in 7 million chance that you will win. Seriously, to make the most of your dining plan one most take advantage of making advanced dinner reservations. This is even necessary during the low crowd season. If you don't, then it is just hit or miss as to whether you will be able to get dinner reservations once you get there. Unlikely you won't. If I was really wanting to eat at certain restaraunts during my stay at WDW, I wouldn't dream of trying to get reservations by just walking in at anytime.

 

[TDC Nala]

Even if you go without the plan you'll still have to get advance reservations for table service meals - because practically everybody else is using the plan. But at least you won't lose your credits if you can't get in.

 

[DiszyDean]

I am not sure what the dining plan had to do with your problems. You failed to plan and therefore planned to fail. It doesn't seem like it was a lack of knowledge on your part that you should make ADRs. You just chose not to. Had you been on the dining plan or not, you would have still faced the same issues without reservations.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

What a bummer. Have you tried to make an ADR while you are there? I am a little surprised since I am leaving tomorrow and was still making ADRs about a week ago and got pretty much every ADR I wanted just at odd times which wasn't a problem for us as we tend to combine our meals on vactaion anyway (late breakfast/ early lunch followed by a late lunch/ early dinner than maybe a late night snack if we are hungry again). The only thing I didn't get was CRT and that was because they only had a 9:15pm and that was to late for my little ones so what would be the point?
I hope your luck turns around and I hope the weather stays nice

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We just got back on Wednesday and only booked a few ADRs a few weeks before we left. When we tried booking our ADRs we got everything we wanted. While we were there we tried several table service meals (LTT, Mama Melrose) without any reservations and were never turned away and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table.

 

[lisajl]

My DH always asked me why I made ressies so far in advance..we don't know where we will want to eat.
I just told him, we want to eat...so make a ressie.

While we were there (2005) all the people that walked up to get dinner with no ressies were turned away.
I know it's no fun to make them far in advance, but I like at least one sit down dinner.

 

[eeyoresnr]

maybe you are trying to eat during peak times..try waiting a little bit later

 

[scanne]

I agree with the above poster. If you head to a sit down restaurant before peak meal times, there is a better chance of getting a table. We always eat a light meal in the room for breakfast, then either have a big lunch and light dinner or reverse it. But we do make our dining ressies at the 180 day mark. I figure it's easier to cancel something than to find something open at the last minute.

We don't use the dining plan. For us it just seems like entirely too much food. And my DH tend to share meals a lot. Plus, we're not appetizer eaters and only get one or two desserts at dinner. We like our Mickey Bars and Dole Whips.

 

[doconeill]

It is perhaps a shock to someone who doesn't visit WDW all the time and hasn't been in a few years how different things have gotten. Prior to DP, the only thing you really HAD to book in advance was CRT.

Then priority seating for shows happened, and certain other places became tougher to get without ADRs.

Now, with the DP, more people who otherwise would probably skip TS meals in favor of CS meals are using up all the TS restaurants. Gone is the day when you could simple walk in to a TS and be seated, unless it is at non-standard times.

This has been the chief complaint about the DP. However, it is getting people in to the restaurants which might otherwise go empty for portions of the day, and its seems to be doing well for Disney, so it seems to be unlikely that it will change any time soon.

It's just safest to assume you need to make ADRs as early as possible, when possible.

 

[The Sweetness]

I am not sure what the dining plan had to do with your problems. You failed to plan and therefore planned to fail.

ITA

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Even if you go without the plan you'll still have to get advance reservations for table service meals - because practically everybody else is using the plan. But at least you won't lose your credits if you can't get in.

Just because someone stays onsite and does not purchase the DDP, they don't have to make ADR's for every single day they are at WDW. What if they have a car and want to eat at some offsite restaurants, just like my family and I. We don't purchase the DDP and don't make ADR's at 180 days out because that is not our thing, so most of the time we eat at offsite restaurants. The only places onsite we eat our counter service locations and the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.

Also I said this before and I will say it again. Not every single restaurant in WDW is 100% booked for 365 days a year. I agree that the DDP has made things harder to get ADR's, but there is always a chance of last minute ADR's and walking-in to some restaurants.

 

[MissMet]

I am sorry that you didn't get into any of the restaruants that you wanted, but going to WDW without advanced dining reservations during moderate or high crowd season is like winning the lottery - one in 7 million chance that you will win. Seriously, to make the most of your dining plan one most take advantage of making advanced dinner reservations. This is even necessary during the low crowd season. If you don't, then it is just hit or miss as to whether you will be able to get dinner reservations once you get there. Unlikely you won't. If I was really wanting to eat at certain restaraunts during my stay at WDW, I wouldn't dream of trying to get reservations by just walking in at anytime.

so true, but talk about rubbing salt in the wound!

 

[LorilieMarie]

I don't plan my days around my reservations, I plan my reservations around my days. First you have to look at the calendar to see what days have extra magic hours, if you know you will be there that day, book a res for that day. If you want a free day, book it somewhere more Central (like a resort inbetween the parks) and make them for late so you know you will be tired and hungry from whatever park you chose to go to. The worse thing that can happen is you decide not to make your reservation. I hope you can go again and do it right

 

[labdogs42]

As for counter service being a 2 hour ordeal, have you tried eating at 11:30 am? I always try to eat lunch early and it always works out great! Eat a light breakfast, early lunch and early dinner (before 6pm) and then have a snack during the parade or fireworks if you really need one. As for the dining plan, if you can't get TS ressies now, I guess they let you use your TS as CS if you want to. I don't know if the value is worth it, but it is better than losing those credits. Good luck to you! FYI, for future trips, you can always make the ADR's and cancel them if you decide not to go. Then at least you'd have them if you DID want to do a TS meal (dining plan or not).

 

[doconeill]

Just because someone does not purchase the DDP, they don't have to make ADR's for every single day they are at WDW. What if they have a car and want to eat at some offsite restaurants, just like my family and I. We don't purchase the DDP and don't make ADR's at 180 days out because that is not our thing, so most of the time we eat at offsite restaurants. The only places onsite we eat our counter service locations and the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.

Also I said this before and I will say it again. Not every single restaurant in WDW is 100% booked for 365 days a year. I agree that the DDP has made things harder to get ADR's, but there is always a chance of last minute ADR's and walking-in to some restaurants.

I'm not 100% sure of the point you are trying to make in the first paragraph. We are talking about dining at TS restaurants on property. Yes, if you have transportation you have the option of eating off site if you choose, but that's not the point here. IF you want to eat at a TS restaurant at a particular time of day, you should make an ADR. If you don't want to eat at a TS restaurant at all, or want to take your chances, then you don't have to - just don't expect to be able to drop in at a TS restaurant and be seated quickly - or at all.

As for your second paragraph, yes, there is probably a TS somewhere that isn't 100% booked. It probably isn't the one you want, and it may not even be in the same area. But there is a chance, and you have to weigh your odds against how much you want to eat there.

 

[The Sweetness]

We don't purchase the DDP and don't make ADR's at 180 days out because that is not our thing, so most of the time we eat at offsite restaurants.

Sounds more reasonable than expecting to get a table where they know that reservations are made 6 months out

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I'm not 100% sure of the point you are trying to make in the first paragraph. We are talking about dining at TS restaurants on property. Yes, if you have transportation you have the option of eating off site if you choose, but that's not the point here. IF you want to eat at a TS restaurant at a particular time of day, you should make an ADR. If you don't want to eat at a TS restaurant at all, or want to take your chances, then you don't have to - just don't expect to be able to drop in at a TS restaurant and be seated quickly - or at all.

As for your second paragraph, yes, there is probably a TS somewhere that isn't 100% booked. It probably isn't the one you want, and it may not even be in the same area. But there is a chance, and you have to weigh your odds against how much you want to eat there.

What I meant was just because someone does not purchase the DDP if they are staying onsite, they are not forced to make ADR's for every single day if they don't want to. If you purchase the DDP you have no choice, but if you don't purchase it you can eat offsite if a family wants to do that.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you can't bring yourself to make dining ressies, then you are risking losing your meal credits. I don't understand why you would do that. To me, it is worth the bother of making ADRs to ensure I have a sit down meal when I want it. Why would you risk throwing away money like that?

 

[REL1203]

To the OP... I hate to say this, but its your fault for the problems. You knew of ADRs, and you knew how to make them, but YOU chose not to... This is your problem, not disneys, not anyone else, your problem. Had you not been on the DDP, you would still have had the same problem, but the fact that YOU choose not to made ADRs, YOU decided your own fate to risk it, and you paid for it. Had you not come in here and blamed others, i would have felt sorry for you, but honestly, now after reading your post, i soley blame you and your ignorance