Flawed System..

[Kirlinale]

I have been calling for weeks to get a set of ADR's for our upcoming trip. I finally got what we wanted/needed but had a very interesting.. but nice phone call with the CM handling the call..

When trying to make up my mind between two places, I had already had an ADR for one - got another , but later ADR for a different place that we wanted but wasn't sure I could handle eating that late... she said.. well .. let's just hold both.. Hmmm.. after all I went through to get the ones I had. .I politely told her that during the busy time is it REALLY fair to hold two dinner reservations.. she said it happens all the time and they don't worry about the place being filled during that time of year.. and I only held one..

Then I made an ADR for Ohana, but forgot to cancel my Wispering Canyon.. so I called back but was on hold for 1/2 hour and figured I'd try again later..

It is a frustrating system for people on the dining plan who can't just decide to eat something else when they PREPAY for their dinner.. so I wonder what the actual percentage of people holding multiple reservations for the same day/time/ are? .. I know I still have two for one night , by total accident.. and will call to cancel now.. but I wonder how many kids like mine are totally going to be dissapointed they didn't get a 'Park Fair or Chef Mikey etc.' because of multiple holds..

The CM told me the best chance is to do a same day call from the resort.. she had a ton of Chef Mikey's cancel recently and were able to seat people the same day..

I like my ADR's and it is due to our late decision to go that my special princess won't get PF .. but I wonder if that place for 8 days is booked up due to the 'multiple' can't decides so let's just hold it in case . or people really planning on eating there...

I think it should be locked into some kind of 'name/phone number' and double booking being strongly discouraged..

But this is Disney and they aim to please.. it only took me two weeks of daily calling to get some of what we wanted.. what's two more weeks on the phone ...

 

[Uncle Remus]

I have been calling for weeks to get a set of ADR's for our upcoming trip. I finally got what we wanted/needed but had a very interesting.. but nice phone call with the CM handling the call..

When trying to make up my mind between two places, I had already had an ADR for one - got another , but later ADR for a different place that we wanted but wasn't sure I could handle eating that late... she said.. well .. let's just hold both.. Hmmm.. after all I went through to get the ones I had. .I politely told her that during the busy time is it REALLY fair to hold two dinner reservations.. she said it happens all the time and they don't worry about the place being filled during that time of year.. and I only held one..

Then I made an ADR for Ohana, but forgot to cancel my Wispering Canyon.. so I called back but was on hold for 1/2 hour and figured I'd try again later..

It is a frustrating system for people on the dining plan who can't just decide to eat something else when they PREPAY for their dinner.. so I wonder what the actual percentage of people holding multiple reservations for the same day/time/ are? .. I know I still have two for one night , by total accident.. and will call to cancel now.. but I wonder how many kids like mine are totally going to be dissapointed they didn't get a 'Park Fair or Chef Mikey etc.' because of multiple holds..

The CM told me the best chance is to do a same day call from the resort.. she had a ton of Chef Mikey's cancel recently and were able to seat people the same day..

I like my ADR's and it is due to our late decision to go that my special princess won't get PF .. but I wonder if that place for 8 days is booked up due to the 'multiple' can't decides so let's just hold it in case . or people really planning on eating there...

I think it should be locked into some kind of 'name/phone number' and double booking being strongly discouraged..

But this is Disney and they aim to please.. it only took me two weeks of daily calling to get some of what we wanted.. what's two more weeks on the phone ...

I applaud you for wanting to do the right thing by cancelling the ressies you know you don't want, thank you so much.

And I agree with the part of your post that I bolded.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I agree with you. I cancelled all of my ADRs immediately in 2007 when we had to cancel a big weeklong trip. I didn't think it was fair to hold some good spots that I had booked six months prior.

 

[Kirlinale]

I guess this got to me for a more personal reason.. Our 'reason' for this trip is our very special princess who is 7 and for 7 years has battled a brain tumor (and continues to do so). She also has other medical issues such as epilepsy and developmental delays.. She is medically stable but still medically fragile with her tumor being inoperable it makes planning anything diffucult at best, I also have a 10 and 12 year old.

Anyway long story short.. after a recent dr's appointment ,my special DD was talking 'Disney' and saying.. memeber when I kissed Cindalllella (LOL) and my DH looked at me and said we really need to take her again while she is 'stable' .. so we booked a rather last minute trip , for Disney time that is..

We decided to do the dining plan which meant me for the first time HAVING to make ADR's ,before when we went it was.. let's see if we could get a table etc.. Anyway DD 7 wanted PF really bad so I have been calling everyday.. She wanted it more for Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother.. We still don't have that reservation but have others we are happy with. She loved CM last time so I have been beating down the phones trying.

We can't eat too late because she needs medication and proper rest for seizure purposes and we try to get done so she can 'see' the early shows and parades because she can't do the later ones etc..

I guess what really got me was my brain sitting here thinking that there are some people are holding two reservations for these places because they don't know what plans they need.. I think holding only one is fair , even if you think you may cancel, at least it is only one.. but I see that there is nothing stopping people from multiple reservations and I think that is a flaw that should have some kind of control .. but .. again that is for my own personal reasons.. .. I just canceled my WC that I forgot to.. so I hope someone who really wanted it can get it..

Tomorrow I keep trying for PF or CM... maybe I will get lucky , if not, just being able to see my child smile and enjoy being a child the reason we are going is going to make up for it..

Just needed to vent a little ...

 

[NJFabFour]

Kirlinale,
I applaud your strength and devotion to your little one and wish the very best for her health and stability (I work in Early Intervention and see lots of medically-fragile babies so I can appreciate the challenges you must face!). However, I respectfully disagree about the policy.

I have held some multiple ADR's due to the fact that it can be difficult to plan well in advance exactly where you will be which day and what you will be doing at which times. Once our trip gets closer and I have a better plan laid out, I cancel those ADR's that don't work but I confess it's usually about a week or so before. However, I don't think I would do it for a highly-sought ADR such as CRT. I've never done DDP but I'm not sure why you had so much trouble getting your ADR's that you wanted? I've always called the 45 days or whatever allotted time it states and been able to book everything I wanted . . . usually even additional ones another week or two later (with the exception of CRT of course!). I never have trouble getting through (a couple minutes waiting maybe) and we've always gone in summer when it's quite busy. I'm not sure why there is such a discrepancy between our experiences?

Anyway, I really do empathize with your situation but as a compulsive planner (I'm even one of those nuts who ridiculously overpacks with several "just in case" items and outfits!) I really like having the convenience of being able to make plans for several different scenarios until I know exactly which plan I need. It seems to me that there are certainly enough character meals to choose from that kids should be able to get into at least one of them to meet the characters and, as stated, if making the ADR's at the window alotted, it's never been a problem for us to pick and choose any that we wanted (NOT including CRT! ). I hope you are able to get what you want and I'm sure your children will have the time of their lives regardless!

 

[wezee]

IMHO multiple ADRs are just plain selfish. At one point I read that WDW was cancelling all ressies if they found multiple ADRs....and I agree with this policy. I fell lucky to be so well informed by the Dis, and feel sorry for the many thousands of guests each week, who purchase a dining plan..arrive at WDW, and find out they cannot get in to any of the restaurants they have dreamed about.

 

[2Monkeys]

How would they determine 'multiple ADRs'? We went on the DDP in 2007, and at least 2 days had 2 ADRs for the same day, with full intention of using both. Those on the DxDP often will have 3 on the same day. I think it would be difficult and costly to change Disney's computers to differentiate between my situation, and those who are holding more than one for planning reasons. I realize that you mean 2 dinner reservations, or 2 breakfast reservations, etc - I still think the cost of implementing such a system would be more than the benefit derived from Disney's standpoint.

To the OP - Have you checked the thread of those wanting to trade or give away ADRs? You may have some luck finding what you want there. I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip, and make many beautiful memories with your daughters.

 

[Gixer]

Kirlinale - When are you going on vacation? I have a PF breakfast reservation on 26th April, it is scheduled for my daughters 13th Birthday, but she just read your post and offerd to give up her Birthday breakfast so your DD could go to PF. If you want the ADR its yours, just PM me and I will give you the conformation number, its for a party of 5 at 8am

 

[Ella's Mom]

I don't know if it's true, but I just read on another thread that with the new system they are currently implementing, you won't be able to hold two ADR's for the same meal (i.e. two dinners).

Another poster said that the new system will also tell you days a particular restaurant is available. If you ask for June 10 at CM and it isn't available, it would tell you that June 12 is available.

If true, I think these are great upgrades.

 

[rosiep]

On my last trip I called to cancel an ADR I wasn't going to use and I ended up on hold for what felt like an eternity but was probably 10 minutes or so. The CM sounded as if I had wasted her time...Still, I felt glad knowing I had opened up seating for someone.
The thing is..I can understand why someone wouldn't bother to cancel when that it took that much time and energy. ( I had to go through the whole automated questionaire..."Have you been to WDW before" "Five or more times?" etc....) UGH

 

[Kirlinale]

I just got word that our travel agent was able to get me a reservation d/t her client needing to cancel Park Fair on a date we are going to be there.

Thank-You Gixter for your offer. That was the nicest thing I could have read!!! We are going for spring break and it was a last minute decision as we had to wait for DH's job to decide what they were doing and of course my daughter's health.. because of the short notice it was hard to make ADR's that my kids asked for. My problem was that I felt that it shouldn't be allowed for people to make multiple ADRS for dinner on the same night/time etc.. I understand about planning.. God knows how much I have to do.. but to level the system for everyone I think you shouldn't be allowed to hold multiple dinner reservations for the same night while you figure it out.. it locks up so many options for other people and if 100's of people do that every day.. then people ARE going to be dissapointed.

I didn't want to start a debate or trouble and I fully respect everyone's opinion. I just found it odd that people would or could make Dinner reservations at three locations months in advance, thus possibkly locking that option out for others tyring to plan. I agree there are enough Character dinners.. but obviously , if your Child Wants a certain one, Like Cinderella, then that could get tricky at best.. I am just one person so it really doesn't matter.. I just got frustrated calling and being told everything was SOLD OUT for all my choices for all 8 days.. and then wondering how many of those tables are being held up by multiple ADRS for one person.. according to the CM on the phone.. Likely 10/20%..

It worked out for me.. but it was a lot of work calling every day to get this done, and if it wasn't for luck of my TA it probably wouldn't have.

Thanks for all your feedback and hope you have a magical evening!!!

 

[summermac]

Kirlinale - When are you going on vacation? I have a PF breakfast reservation on 26th April, it is scheduled for my daughters 13th Birthday, but she just read your post and offerd to give up her Birthday breakfast so your DD could go to PF. If you want the ADR its yours, just PM me and I will give you the conformation number, its for a party of 5 at 8am

What a wonderful daughter you have!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Gixer - I commend you for raising such a beautiful daughter! She is awesome - as are you! Your post brought tears to my eyes.
My thoughts & prayers are with OP that she and her family can enjoy a truly magical vacation!
Pixie Dust to You All!
Gretchen

 

[noahdove]

Gixer, you have raised a great and compassionate daughter..give her a hug for me and I thank God for children out there that truly care....and Kirlinal, have a beautiful and magical trip..I'll lift you in prayer...

 

[Kirlinale]

The world needs more people like your DD.. Let her know how much we appreciated her offer and give her our BEST wishes for a most magical birthday!!!

I believe people can change the world by one kind gesture at a time.. and her offer just confirms that..


Nicole!!!!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Kirlinale - When are you going on vacation? I have a PF breakfast reservation on 26th April, it is scheduled for my daughters 13th Birthday, but she just read your post and offerd to give up her Birthday breakfast so your DD could go to PF. If you want the ADR its yours, just PM me and I will give you the conformation number, its for a party of 5 at 8am

That is one of the sweetest things I have ever read on the Dis.