Do people make double reservations?

[Stellapedia]

I'll double book if I absolutely can't get what we wanted or the backup... I'll pick two choices and then ask the wife which she wants and cancel the other. I never keep them more than 48 hours, though.

I'm not super concerned if I have a reservation in a park and don't show, because there are always throngs of people trying to get into CP and TH, if I don't show then it belongs to someone else. I would generally call, though. Though this weekend I called to cancel one and she just was having the hardest time and after 15 minutes on the phone i finally just thanked her and hung up. It was for 11:30 at Turf, I knew it didn't matter because it's always dead in there for lunch, but I wanted to anyway. I was a walk-up a little after noon and was seated fine.

I do wish they required a CC for reservations. Not a 14 day window, but at least a few hours. Would majorly cut back on the "I want my options open" mentality that people feel entitled to.

 

[sylw]

I'm so surprised at everyone's answers! Of course people book more than one and there is NOTHING wrong with that! If I'm willing to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of 90 days out, you better believe I'm going to book every place I think I might possibly want and every time that I think I might want to go. 90 days is too far out to know my exact plans but we all know that if we wait everything will be taken. I could care less about the people who book too late and can't get in. There's a reason I start planning my trip a year before. I know if I don't I would have to be flexible, just take anything that is available, and be glued to the computer up until the day before we left waiting for over-planners to cancel their extras - NOT my idea of a fun trip!

 

[keishashadow]

i thought WDW cancelled res that were within a few hours of each other

know when i mistakenly had 2 ressies ( near duplicates, forgot i had selected the spot already oh so early that am) too close in my cart before checking out, the system let me know.

like anything else, when this starts to affect their bottom line, they'll fine tune the system

 

[Colleen27]

Right on!! I think if you are a no-show for any reason that cannot be proven as medical, Disney should charge $15 for each member of the party.

I think it is easy to want that, until you're the one getting charged for it! I've had to change/cancel ADRs at the last minute due to an under-the-weather kid while in Disney, and it sucks bad enough without being charged $75 for a meal we didn't even get to eat! Thankfully, our issue was minor and only affected one meal (DD had a stomach ache but felt better after a nap, so we ate dinner in and were right back toour plans the next morning), but think of all those people who were reporting back after getting hit by the virus that was going around WDW early this year... Few went to doctors, so there's no proof it was a medical issue, but they were genuinely ill and don't need to be hit with (potentially) hundreds of dollars in last minute cancellation fees for ADRs they wished they could have kept.

 

[bytheblood]

I think it is easy to want that, until you're the one getting charged for it! I've had to change/cancel ADRs at the last minute due to an under-the-weather kid while in Disney, and it sucks bad enough without being charged $75 for a meal we didn't even get to eat! Thankfully, our issue was minor and only affected one meal (DD had a stomach ache but felt better after a nap, so we ate dinner in and were right back toour plans the next morning), but think of all those people who were reporting back after getting hit by the virus that was going around WDW early this year... Few went to doctors, so there's no proof it was a medical issue, but they were genuinely ill and don't need to be hit with (potentially) hundreds of dollars in last minute cancellation fees for ADRs they wished they could have kept.

Then that is medical. That is not being a no-show.

I think it is very simple: Hello, Sir. Can you cancel my reservation for 6 PM tonight. My husband and kid are sick and we cannot leave the room. Okay, thank you!

Viola - a table is now open so that another family can dine.

 

[quantumottle]

Yes, it happens, there's even people who have the nerve to post their adr's on this site, one person even made adr's for the same restaurant 5 times during their trip. And even admitted they made them but didn't intend to use all of them.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

 

[quantumottle]

Yep. It sucks. And then there are people who don't even cancel them, they just don't show up to them, so those poor people waiting for a spot to open won't get it. I wish Disney would put a credit card on file for every ADR, and if you don't cancel within 14 days, you get charged.

I too LOVE this idea! The ONLY reservation I've been able to get is the Epcot Segway tour, and I believe that this is partly because you have to pay in advance. Cindy's Royal Table, Ohana, forget it - there's nothing available....

 

[sersee05]

I'm so surprised at everyone's answers! Of course people book more than one and there is NOTHING wrong with that! If I'm willing to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of 90 days out, you better believe I'm going to book every place I think I might possibly want and every time that I think I might want to go. 90 days is too far out to know my exact plans but we all know that if we wait everything will be taken. I could care less about the people who book too late and can't get in. There's a reason I start planning my trip a year before. I know if I don't I would have to be flexible, just take anything that is available, and be glued to the computer up until the day before we left waiting for over-planners to cancel their extras - NOT my idea of a fun trip!

Well, I don't think everyone knows that if you wait too long ..everything is booked. I had no clue. I didn't know anything about 90 days.... There are a lot of people new to this..so not everyone understands how this all works. It took me a week to figure out what everyone was saying with all the abbreviations let alone how to do the reservations.As you said ..not your idea of a fun trip when you have to take whatever is available..which is what others have to do when someone holds 3 times for one restaurant and doesn't bother to cancel..

That is the only thing that irritates me. If you not going to use your reservation..why not call and cancel..so someone else has a chance to take the leftovers.I am also up at 3 am trying to catch the reservations that people drop. Did I plan my trip 5 years ago? No..this just came about. ..but now I know how this works and I will change things next time..but I can completely understand first timers frustrations with trying to eat and figure this all out.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I double book (first trip to Disney) but only for a day while I read reviews to choose restaurants. I agree that it is rude to GO to Disney with 2 reservations at the same time, intending to skip one, but for a day or two to decide between two reservations with limited information? It's not easy. And 90 days out is far away from travel time. I've never been to Disney as an adult so I have no clue what restaurants are good, what travel times are like, where they are located. But there's this pressure to book so early. I am just grateful that it wasn't 180 days out. We only booked our trip at only 95 days out! I found it SO hard to pick parks, figure out what to do each day, how long we wanted to be there AND pick restaurants. I didn't even know which resorts were close to which park and I'm still figuring that out. Like I said, I only have made double reservations for a few hours and cancel as soon as I can. But you can't expect everyone to immediately have things figured out, particularly when you are afraid you won't get anything at all and are on the dining plan.

As to the 14 day cancelation fees someone proposed: that's ridiculous. People should be able to cancel freely up until the reservation. What if your kid gets sick? What if plans change? What if you have to cancel your vacation altogether? What if you're really tired?

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

this will be my first trip ever I booked our trip a while back and found out early enough about ADRS booked my ADRS on my ADR window day now as it has gotten closer I needed a few things tweaked because of our park schedules...etc.....I booked the new ones online and called in a few days later to cancel my old ones when I was for sure of which I wanted to keep. I called and spoke directly to CM to cancel. I asked her if I was abusing the system by going online to get something different I had already booked for different day/time and then cancelling whichever I didnt want to keep. She sounded stunned that I even asked and said No way are you abusing anything...that is what the system is for?????

Just sharing my experience

This is my first trip and I've been doing EXACTLY the same thing. I'm not hanging on to my reservations once I make up my mind. But what happens is I'll see a review of a restaurant and find out it is near the park I plan to visit. I look for availability online, if the time is there and the menu looks good, I'll book it. Then I'll come here, pore through reviews or maybe post a question. Once I make up my mind, I'll call and cancel within a day at most.

 

[mel373]

I'm so surprised at everyone's answers! Of course people book more than one and there is NOTHING wrong with that! If I'm willing to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of 90 days out, you better believe I'm going to book every place I think I might possibly want and every time that I think I might want to go. 90 days is too far out to know my exact plans but we all know that if we wait everything will be taken. I could care less about the people who book too late and can't get in. There's a reason I start planning my trip a year before. I know if I don't I would have to be flexible, just take anything that is available, and be glued to the computer up until the day before we left waiting for over-planners to cancel their extras - NOT my idea of a fun trip!

Not everyone can plan their trip a year before they go! I tried to book on the 90 days out and couldn't get CM or the Castle Lunch. I think it is rude for people to book the same restaurant for everyday of their trip so they can decide "later" Decide now and make a plan so others can have a shot at getting reservations. A lot if restaurants will not take walk ins even when people don't show up for reservations. The bottom line is that I don't think it is fair for people to book everything for everyday and then decide later. It's just not fair. I wish Disney would take a credit card guarantee or deposit for ALL reservations.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Yep. It sucks. And then there are people who don't even cancel them, they just don't show up to them, so those poor people waiting for a spot to open won't get it. I wish Disney would put a credit card on file for every ADR, and if you don't cancel within 14 days, you get charged.

I agree, except I think it should be like 24 hours instead of 14 days.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm so surprised at everyone's answers! Of course people book more than one and there is NOTHING wrong with that! If I'm willing to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of 90 days out, you better believe I'm going to book every place I think I might possibly want and every time that I think I might want to go. 90 days is too far out to know my exact plans but we all know that if we wait everything will be taken. I could care less about the people who book too late and can't get in. There's a reason I start planning my trip a year before. I know if I don't I would have to be flexible, just take anything that is available, and be glued to the computer up until the day before we left waiting for over-planners to cancel their extras - NOT my idea of a fun trip!

This is exactly what I have a problem with, and exactly why I think Disney should impose a credit card charge on all reservations.

I'd say more, but this is a family-friendly site.

 

[LoriFromBama]

This is all very interesting to me. I completely understand the frustration of trying to get ADR's and nothing being available. I didn't get everything I wanted at 4 in the morning on my 90th day so what else can one do other than check constantly for cancellations if they feel like getting that coveted ADR will make or break the trip. On the other hand, I see a lot of frustration against the people making ADR's when I think that frustration should be directed more towards the system and Disney. Our family chose to upgrade during free dining to the deluxe dining plan so we could pack in all the character meals possible. That's just what we enjoy doing. We would rather stop and take a break at a TS meal rather than grab a CS. I started a thread asking for advice on which of our meals would be the cheapest to pay for if we ended up having to pay OOP so I listed our itinerary. We have at least 2 TS meals scheduled per day on most days and 3 scheduled on 2 days of our trip. I got lots of feedback, not so much on the actual question I was asking, but instead I got some comments about how MANY adr's I had and how could we eat THAT much food? and how we should narrow down our adr's and share them with people that are desperately trying to get adr's of their own. For a moment I started feeling guilty for booking all the adr's I had, but what a minute, we're paying for them! With that said, I honestly do understand the frustration with people double booking without any care of whether or not they will use them, but also, with the restaurants as insanely popular as they are, it would be crazy of me to not take advantage of making all the adr's I think we will use ahead of time even if it is 3 TS's per day. Will we make every single one of them? I plan on it, but things happen. I don't know the solution, but the system does need to change. If only to hold a certain amount of tables for those that don't or can't book their adr's so far in advance. ... anyway... that's my two cents and who knows if it even makes sense!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

This is all very interesting to me. I completely understand the frustration of trying to get ADR's and nothing being available. I didn't get everything I wanted at 4 in the morning on my 90th day so what else can one do other than check constantly for cancellations if they feel like getting that coveted ADR will make or break the trip. On the other hand, I see a lot of frustration against the people making ADR's when I think that frustration should be directed more towards the system and Disney. Our family chose to upgrade during free dining to the deluxe dining plan so we could pack in all the character meals possible. That's just what we enjoy doing. We would rather stop and take a break at a TS meal rather than grab a CS. I started a thread asking for advice on which of our meals would be the cheapest to pay for if we ended up having to pay OOP so I listed our itinerary. We have at least 2 TS meals scheduled per day on most days and 3 scheduled on 2 days of our trip. I got lots of feedback, not so much on the actual question I was asking, but instead I got some comments about how MANY adr's I had and how could we eat THAT much food? and how we should narrow down our adr's and share them with people that are desperately trying to get adr's of their own. For a moment I started feeling guilty for booking all the adr's I had, but what a minute, we're paying for them! With that said, I honestly do understand the frustration with people double booking without any care of whether or not they will use them, but also, with the restaurants as insanely popular as they are, it would be crazy of me to not take advantage of making all the adr's I think we will use ahead of time even if it is 3 TS's per day. Will we make every single one of them? I plan on it, but things happen. I don't know the solution, but the system does need to change. If only to hold a certain amount of tables for those that don't or can't book their adr's so far in advance. ... anyway... that's my two cents and who knows if it even makes sense!

I feel the same way you do. I am against double booking, but the two times I've gone with the deluxe plan I have had three TS meals in one day a couple times. And each trip I did make it to every meal. I didn't feel guilty at all. There's a difference between being well organized and having a well planned trip, then to make many ADR's just because you can when you don't intend on using them.

 

[Maren1111]

I have to assume that Disney has logarithms in place & expects a certain number of overbookers/no-shows. Kinda like airlines that will oversell a plane, knowing there will be people who miss the flight. I also think that the online booking is going to throw off those logarithms.

 

[LoriFromBama]

I have to assume that Disney has logarithms in place & expects a certain number of overbookers/no-shows. Kinda like airlines that will oversell a plane, knowing there will be people who miss the flight. I also think that the online booking is going to throw off those logarithms.

Logarithms--- do I vaguely remember that word from math class or am I way off?

 

[bytheblood]

I agree, except I think it should be like 24 hours instead of 14 days.

I also think 24 hours is more reasonable - but I sure like the idea.

 

[Mysteria]

I'm so surprised at everyone's answers! Of course people book more than one and there is NOTHING wrong with that! If I'm willing to wake up at 3 in the morning the day of 90 days out, you better believe I'm going to book every place I think I might possibly want and every time that I think I might want to go. 90 days is too far out to know my exact plans but we all know that if we wait everything will be taken. I could care less about the people who book too late and can't get in. There's a reason I start planning my trip a year before. I know if I don't I would have to be flexible, just take anything that is available, and be glued to the computer up until the day before we left waiting for over-planners to cancel their extras - NOT my idea of a fun trip!

This is exactly what I have a problem with, and exactly why I think Disney should impose a credit card charge on all reservations.

I'd say more, but this is a family-friendly site.

I'll just add, selfish.

 

[bytheblood]

I'll just add, selfish.

And just in case anybody is assuming I am bitter about not getting my reservations, thus the reason why I am agreeing with this position, I am in Disney in December for 11 days and got every reservation I wanted. I only booked once, but at the moment I realized I had a double-booking online & on the phone, I canceled it.