Glitch in the new system - 190 Day ADRs?

[pad406]

Thanks this is what I figured, I have no problem booking online I have done it for all my past trips and it has been very easy so I will just book the big ticket ones myself and leave the rest to the CL staff

CL IPO will definetly only do at the 180 window, they confirmed this to me on Thursday when I started doing mine on-line at 190days.

 

[ms mouse]

I've skimmed this thread and I'm thoroughly confused. I get that some folks have been able to make reservations at 190 days one day at a time and that if you want to make them all at once, wait for 180. But here's my question. I've been logging onto the sight to practice with the dining reservation system. (I know, I know) Anyway, it will let me see dates for reservations until 12/26 (as of this morning) but when it asks me for my confirmation # it will only let me see dates up til 12/16. (My check in date is actually 12/27) So I put in 12/16 just for the heck of it, and I was able to have my choice of reservations for 12/26. So theoretically, I could put in a fake check in date and get the 190 day reservation? I would have thought "invalid check in date" or something like that would come up. I'm trying to figure this out to see if I can start making reservations tomorrow or if I have to wait 10 more days. Thanks.

The short answer is yes, you can make your reservation for the 20th tomorrow, and for each day after that one day at the time. Good luck.

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

Sorry in advance if this question has been answered previously. My 190 day ADR window opened today and I am trying to make a reservation for Cinderella's Round Table. It isn't coming up when I look through the list of restaurants that I can book. Is this because Cindy's is a 180 day ADR?

 

[Tricia1972]

Sorry in advance if this question has been answered previously. My 190 day ADR window opened today and I am trying to make a reservation for Cinderella's Round Table. It isn't coming up when I look through the list of restaurants that I can book. Is this because Cindy's is a 180 day ADR?

Yes it is. You can book it in the +10 of your180 days from check-in at the resort, but it won't be available until you are 180 days from check-in.

 

[Connears]

I am checking in 12/26/10 and was just playing with the "new" online format from the last time we made adrs online(last december week). My 180 is June 26, but I was able to make adr for Kona 12/26/10 yesterday. I used my confirmation number(AKLV) and I received an email confirmation. Is there a risk of this adr having problem later?

Connears

 

[Cafeen]

I am checking in 12/26/10 and was just playing with the "new" online format from the last time we made adrs online(last december week). My 180 is June 26, but I was able to make adr for Kona 12/26/10 yesterday. I used my confirmation number(AKLV) and I received an email confirmation. Is there a risk of this adr having problem later?

Connears

In the first couple of days that the glitch was discovered, I would have said maybe. But, since it's been running so long and Disney hasn't done anything about it yet (they do know about it), I'll now say that the chances are very good that they'll be fine.

 

[Connears]

Thanks!

Connears

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

Yes it is. You can book it in the +10 of your180 days from check-in at the resort, but it won't be available until you are 180 days from check-in.

Thanks Tricia!

 

[Cafeen]

Summary as of so far: Updated 20 Jun 2010

New Dining Reservations System
The Dining Reservation system has been upgraded to v2 as a beta test. This version offers several new features and things we simply couldn't do before:

• Dining Reservations linked to your login - This gives you the ability to automatically pull up each of your Dining Reservations that you have made under your login. Note: for Dining Reservations made previous to this update, some may not show up. It's normal
• Streamlined Restaurant Search parameters - Instead of the old find a restaurant in the "mega list", choose it, and then click the "Book Reservations" button, there is now a UI dedicated to searching for Dining Reservations itself. It allows you to select parameters from dropdowns (Experience, Location), gives you a "Show only dining plan restaurants" checkbox, or lets you search directly by name.
• Streamlined "Personal" parameters - The selection for party size has now become a simple 1-10 guests rather than separating out adults and children, then forcing the ages of the children. Time is also streamlined and it has options for "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner" along with the standard time searching.
• Expanded search window - Search window has increased from 1hr on either end to 2hrs.
• Improved Results - Instead of just a couple of times and a couple of suggestions, the system will now display up to 3 available times and any other results matching your parameters. It will even show locations which do not have availability. This means that, you can actually search based on a meal (say, "Breakfast") and it will return all results which have availability for breakfast.

190 Day "Glitch"
Dining Reservations are currently being accepted up to 190 days out. This is available to all guests no matter your check-in date.

Accessing 190 day Dining Reservations
To make Dining Reservations at 190 days out, follow the steps below (note, these steps are truncated, for more a more detailed step by step on how to make Dining Reservations in general, see my tutorial linked in my signature). Note that these reservations are 190 days before date of dining. They are not 190 days before date of check-in. There is no "190+10".

1. Log on to the Disney World website
2. Select Dining Reservations
3. Select the date you wish to dine
4. If it is more than 180 days out, there will be a notification and a link for you to click to confirm your resort reservation
5. Click that link
6. Enter your resort reservation confirmation number
7. Enter in a date that is available on the calendar (today through 180 days from today). It doesn't really matter which date, but people have had more success using "today's"
8. Click confirm
9. "Search for a Table" button should now be active and you should be able to continue making the Dining Reservation

Bug/Glitch or New Process?
We are unsure at this time if allowing the 190 day Dining Reservations is intended behavior. Some items suggest it is and other items suggest that the 180+10 should be the case:

• Phrasing of the message regarding why you should link reservations is vague, but appears to support the 190 day theory. (Discovered by Tricia and later, myself)
• The simpler format of a flat 190 days vs 180+10 would also be a valid reason for moving to this type of system. Coupled with fairness issues that are present in 180+10, this would also be a valid reason for moving to this system.
• Through testing (by myself), it appears as though the resort linking has no validation right now. You can enter anything into the boxes and any date. This suggests that 190 days is not intended as it's just passing any resort confirmation through.
• Pre-pay Dining Reservations (CRT, HDDR, SoA) are still at 180+10. They do use the v1 (old) system though, so unsure how this affects them.
• Other recreation remains at 180+10 suggesting that, for consistency, the Dining Reservations are intended to remain at 180+10
• Phone CMs, IPOs (for club level), and Travel Agents* are still limited to 180+10

Either way, we simply do not know yet which way it was intended to be.

*This is an assumption based off if the TA is using a different portal than we are. It's plausible, as I'm 99% sure they don't just book dining reservations the same way we do (it's the same inventory, just a different front end, similar to how phone CMs book).

Known Issues
There are a few known issues with the website beyond the 190 day thing above. Note: I have not included old known issues that still exist (e.g. The "Odd Number" issue), only issues that we have first noticed with the release of v2.

• Issue - Page believes user is using Internet Explorer 6 when they are using 8. This is caused by the HTTP Headers that the browser sends to every webpage including a line about MSIE6.0. The website is seeing this line and kicking back the error, even if the user is actually using MSIE8.0 (located in another line of the Header).
  • Solution A - Use Firefox or Google Chrome.
  • Solution B WARNING: This solution involves editing a registry entry. This is VERY dangerous and you can really mess up your system if you adjust the wrong line. There is no undo. (Well, other than remembering what was originally in there and changing it back!) If you do not feel comfortable with this, I would suggest you stick with Solution A
    Found by robinb:
    

    Hi everyone! I was having the annoying "IE Bug" on the WDW Dining Reservation website. I had IE8.0 installed but I got the error: "Did you know that your Internet Explorer is out-of-date? Our dining reservation system does not support Internet Explorer 6 or earlier versions. You will need to upgrade your version of Internet Explorer to a newer version"."
    To make matters worse, my Firefox browser was also not behaving properly with the Disney restaurant reservation site either. I has to use Chome instead.
    
    I figured out what MY problem was and maybe it's yours too.
    
    I went to http://whatsmyuseragent.com/ (as suggested in another thread). the "User Agent" tells websites which browser you are using and any compatibilities. Well, I got the strangest HTTP_USER_AGENT ever:
    

    HTTP_USER_AGENT:Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0; Trident/4.0; User-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; http://bsalsa.com) ; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; MS-RTC LM 8; InfoPath.2)

    It doubled my browser's identification... once as MSIE 8.0 and again as MSIE 6.0 thing (in red). It turns out that some program that used Borland C++ horked up my User Agent long ago when I used 6.0. I figured that the Disney website saw the MSIE 6.0 in the User Agent, ignored the MSIE 8.0 and threw up the error.
    
    The solution is here:
    http://www.bsalsa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=686
    
    I fired up regedit, found the registry entry "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform" and deleted it.
    
    My User Agent is now:
    

    HTTP_USER_AGENT:Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0; Trident/4.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; MS-RTC LM 8; InfoPath.2)

    The Disney reservation website works fine .
    
    Now I have to figure out what is stopping Firefox from opening up the pop up properly ...

    To access the registry:
    • Windows 7/Vista: Click the start icon, type "regedit" into the "Search for programs and files" box. Click on the icon when it displays. Note that you will need administrator level access to edit the registry
    • Windows XP: Click the start button and click "Run" in the start menu. Enter "regedit" into the box.
• Issue - UK and other international users are unable to get to the reservation retrieval page. This is caused by inner code that tells the site which localization to use. The UK portion (which you would only know by looking at the contact numbers!) does not have the link to the system.
  • Solution - From andrewilley:
    

    If you're on the UK version of the site (and annoyingly that is no longer indicated in the address bar, which just shows http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/) you can get to the Dining Reservations page, but not some of the other stuff on the US site, such as the "My Disney Vacation" link.
    
    The easiest ways to tell which site you're one are (a) the phone number is listed as 0870... in the UK, rather than 407... and (b) the top bar will list "FREE Holiday Planning DVD" (UK) as opposed to "FREE Vacation Planning DVD" (US). The search bar right at the top is another clue.
    
    I've just checked though, and the link http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/res...-reservations/ will still work even if you are currently in the UK site - there's just nothing on the site which you can click to take you there (as far as I can tell).
    
    Andre

    Update: There is now a "My Reservations" link available on the UK version of the site as well. This should be located right next to the Log In portion:
    UK Version
    
    
    
    
    US Version
    
    
• Issue - Some reservations do not show up. This is due to the way that the site was ordered before the change to v2. You did not have to log in to make reservations, so some reservations may not be tied to your log-in.
  • Solution - You will have to use the "Retrieve reservation from confirmation number" link on the right hand side.
• Issue - Searching by restaurant name is not working properly (Note: I haven't seen this one myself, so I don't know if there's an error or something along those lines). I am unsure of what actually causes this, but it's most likely not on the client-side. (Or at least directly, it could be a configuration/localization issue between the client and the website).
  • Solution - Search by other parameters and pick the correct restaurant from the list.
• Issue - CRT and Dinner Shows do not allow 180+10 for all guests, even with a confirmed resort reservation.
• Issue - CRT and Dinner Shows do not register a dining plan for all guests, even with a confirmed resort reservation.
  • Solution - The latter of these two issues has been around for awhile, but it seems more widespread now. The former is also an issue that many people are seeing. Unfortunately, these are both internal to the Disney site and there is nothing we can do on our side to make it work online. The only solution is to call Disney Dining for the reservations. (Alternatively, you can wait until 180 days before you dine if you are going to pay OOP (or don't mind being charged first).)

That's about all I can think of for now. I'll try and keep this list updated as we continue.

Summary Change Log

• Use of "Dining Reservation" instead of "ADR" throughout, as that is the official name
• Formatted for improved readability
• Reworded the 190 day thing.
• Added clarification that there is no 190+10
• Added the instructions to access 190 day bookings
• Changed the "last day available" to "any available date on the calendar"
• Added piece about using today's date to the above change as well
• Added Robinb's IE8/6 fix
• Added CRT/HDDR/SoA/BBQ issues (no 180+10, forced prepay on DDP)
• Probably added a few typos, something to fix for next time!

 

[Cafeen]

I think I need a "DISBoard Novelist" title to reflect the average length of my posts

Except this one.

 

[Kathy Z]

I think I need a "DISBoard Novelist" title to reflect the average length of my posts

Except this one.

OK, I hereby nominate you to be known henseforth as "DISBoard Novelist"

Many thanks to you and Tricia for all the help

 

[Bostonterrierlover]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but when taking advantage of the 190 day mark can you only book one day at a time? This is what it looks like to me. Or can you do up to 10 days out on your vacation? Thanks!

 

[Tricia1972]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but when taking advantage of the 190 day mark can you only book one day at a time? This is what it looks like to me. Or can you do up to 10 days out on your vacation? Thanks!

You can book one day at a time at 190 days, so you're booking from the date that you want to dine there.

 

[tinka-belle]

*This is an assumption based off if the TA is using a different portal than we are. It's plausible, as I'm 99% sure they don't just book dining reservations the same way we do (it's the same inventory, just a different front end, similar to how phone CMs book).

Yup, we log into a different site and still have V.1

 

[Inkmahm]

Actually, that's a good idea. I think I WILL contact Disney to let them know how much I like the new 190 day policy.

In the meantime, I really was curious what the person was told who said they were going to call to complain. Did Disney agree that it was a glitsch or did they say it was 190 days on purpose? Did they say early made reservations would have a problem since they weren't fair, or not? Sorry, I thought it was fair to ask the person what the result was. I asked it again here only because the original thread was mushed into this one and the question was lost being all out of order at this point.

Edit: I did find the email for Disney customer service and sent a thank you note for the 190 day procedure as opposed to the old 180+10. I explained why I think the new 190 day rule is fairer for booking for everyone and told Disney that I really like the new policy.

Thought posters might like to see my original thank you note to WDW and the response I received today:

Dear Ms. xxx,

Thank you for contacting us at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I am happy to hear how pleased you are with our recent changes to assist
guests staying on property to make dining reservations. We appreciate
our Guests taking the time to share positive comments with us. At the
Walt Disney World® Resort we strive to deliver a magical experience for
each of our Guests, so it is rewarding to know we achieved this for you.


Please be assured that your feedback will be shared with the appropriate
Leaders.

Again, thank you for sharing your comments.

Have a Magical day,

Deb Baker
Guest Communication Services
Walt Disney World Resort

Received Date:6/15/10 status:responded
-----------------------
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I want to tell WDW how happy I am that the reservations for dining can
now be made at 190 days instead of 180+ 10. I think it is much more
fair this way and gives everyone an equal shot at the more popular
restaurants.

Now, when a day opens for reservations, everyone who is staying on
property that day has an equal shot at getting the reservations that
they want for dining. Before, at the 180 day mark you had little
chance for getting the more popular restaurants early in your trip.
There were 9 days of people checking in before you that had access to
your day 180, for example. I don't think anyone checking in earlier
than me should have priority over me when we are both staying on
property on a given day.

Although we need to make reservations daily now for our trips, I still
prefer to do daily reservations using the 190 day mark than the old one
day reservations at the 180+10 mark. Thank you for the online dining
change in reservations!

 

[vicki_c]

I think that's all very curious. One of the things they use as a selling point to stay on-site is the advantage for booking dining. I'm surprised they would be doing away with that since they use it in their marketing of the on-site resorts (along with EMHs and transportation).

 

[hmillerbarilla]

Thought posters might like to see my original thank you note to WDW and the response I received today:

Dear Ms. xxx,

Thank you for contacting us at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

I am happy to hear how pleased you are with our recent changes to assist
guests staying on property to make dining reservations. We appreciate
our Guests taking the time to share positive comments with us. At the
Walt Disney World® Resort we strive to deliver a magical experience for
each of our Guests, so it is rewarding to know we achieved this for you.


Please be assured that your feedback will be shared with the appropriate
Leaders.

Again, thank you for sharing your comments.

Have a Magical day,

Deb Baker
Guest Communication Services
Walt Disney World Resort

Received Date:6/15/10 status:responded
-----------------------
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I want to tell WDW how happy I am that the reservations for dining can
now be made at 190 days instead of 180+ 10. I think it is much more
fair this way and gives everyone an equal shot at the more popular
restaurants.

Now, when a day opens for reservations, everyone who is staying on
property that day has an equal shot at getting the reservations that
they want for dining. Before, at the 180 day mark you had little
chance for getting the more popular restaurants early in your trip.
There were 9 days of people checking in before you that had access to
your day 180, for example. I don't think anyone checking in earlier
than me should have priority over me when we are both staying on
property on a given day.

Although we need to make reservations daily now for our trips, I still
prefer to do daily reservations using the 190 day mark than the old one
day reservations at the 180+10 mark. Thank you for the online dining
change in reservations!

Thank you for sharing this! I think your email was very well worded.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Not sure if this came up earlier, but I am beginning to wonder if the 190 days was somewhat intentional (rolled out without announcement).

I remember threads last year about people making reservations for earlier dates to take advantage of the 180 + 10, and then changing them to the actual check in date after dining reservations were made.

190 days open to all takes that off the table and gives WDW a better room inventory even if it was a small percent doing this.

Don't know, just guessing ,lol.

 

[Cafeen]

Yep, we've discussed that back and forth. We've come to the conclusion that we just don't know

There's lots of supporting evidence that the change was intentional, there's lots of supporting evidence than the change was not intentional. It's really up in the air right now.

 

[knockUout]

I have just spent 3 hours trying to make ressie for Dec 30, 2010. I log into www.disneyworld.com, go to dining reservations, put in my date (which then prompts me to put in my confirmation #). I manually type in 12/30/2010, put in time and # of people. I keep getting invalid date. If i leave the date at 6/24/2010 I get a list of options for 6/24/10. Everytime I type in or click 12/30/2010 I get told invalid date. Have windows 8 and even installed google chrome and attempted it there. My room ressie is with our DVC membership so i tried the DVC member page. Same thing happened. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.