How to get summary of ADRs?

[latrischler]

I have had to book my ADRs in several different phone calls, and I have notes scribbled on my papers. I'm pretty sure I have it all together but is there a way to check for sure what all my ADRs are before I get to WDW?

 

[dqpowell]

Call during a non-busy time (i.e., not first thing in the morning) and ask a CM to go through your ADRs with you so you can confirm you have all the information correctly recorded. Before you call, get a clean sheet of paper and transfer all of your scribbled notes to the new sheet, in order by date of the reservation. Make sure you have: restaurant, date, time, number of guests in your party, confirmation number, and a notation of any special dietary requirements. Then when you're speaking with the CM, you can move through each one quickly and only pause long enough to correct any discrepancies between what the CM tells you and what you have written down.

David

 

[thunderbird1]

I always begin with the scraps of paper, post-its, backs of old envelopes too. Then I put all of mine into an Excel spreadsheet with day of the week, date, time, restaurant and confirmation number. I also added columns for which parks have am and pm emh hours each day, and a final column for extras, like hard ticket events, water park days, etc. (After the first trip, it was easy to just scroll down and add each subsequent trip on the same sheet.) Then, whenever I make changes, it's easy to print out a new, clean copy.

Once I'm finished making changes (which usually takes several weeks, if not months), like the PP, I call and ask a CM to read everything off to me to double check and make sure I got it all down correctly. Then I print it out and file it away nearby, so I can pull it out and study it obsessively every week or so until we go.

When we check into the resort, one of the first things I do is have the concierge print out a list of all my ADR's, so I can triple check and compare it to my list.

I guess the ADR's are a little important to me.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I finally got smart with my Disney planning and placed a spiral-bound notebook next to my computer. Now, even if I scribble some notes down -- it's all together in the notebook and it's just a matter of looking through a few pages to find it. This has helped me immensely with keeping track of my ADRs!

 

[latrischler]

LOL Thunderbird - you sound like me! After I posted this I sat down and started putting everything in an excel spreadsheet with the days, what park, what ADR, suggestions for CS lunches, etc. Whew - now I feel so much better that I've not "lost" something I need to remember! As long as my computer doesn't crash.......... (I did print it off though)

Now DH & I can review more leisurely other details before we go in 2 months. I wish we could get the kids input, but we've decided to keep it a surprise as long as possible. They have never gone (DD 9, DS 7) and it's hard not to tell them!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Just did this today - I called Disney Dining and asked if they would go through my ADRs to make sure I'm showing the same ( I had cancelled some last weekend and I was worried something happened to the others - everything was fine). She did no problem. First she repeated my name, party size and then went down the dates, times & restuarant. When you arrive at your resort then can print a copy for you as well.

 

[tink_about_it]

Before I call I do this:

Boma

Date:

Time:

Confirmation #:

_____________________

Chef Mickey's

Date:

Time:

Confirmation #:


ETC. ETC.

 

[Rustysmom]

After you call, make sure you save them somewhere. Some people us the spreadsheet. I don't have Excel and open office said it was going to take 7 hours to download, so I made up a sheet in Word with each day of vacation, what park we are going to, and the name, time and confirmation # of each ADR for that day. I also wrote them in my Passporter, which I'm taking with me.

 

[klj27]

I am always afraid to call and check them. I fear that they will mess them up.

 

[dqpowell]

I am always afraid to call and check them. I fear that they will mess them up.

They don't change anything if you just call to confirm. They're just reading your information off the screen.

David

 

[thunderbird1]

I finally got smart with my Disney planning and placed a spiral-bound notebook next to my computer. Now, even if I scribble some notes down -- it's all together in the notebook and it's just a matter of looking through a few pages to find it. This has helped me immensely with keeping track of my ADRs!

That's a good idea! I do have the file folder where I put all things Disney (package paperwork, airline reservations, the spreadsheets and calendar pages, printouts about various events and activities, etc.), but I should add a small notebook to it, instead of the jumble of post-its stuck to the inside cover.

LOL Thunderbird - you sound like me! After I posted this I sat down and started putting everything in an excel spreadsheet with the days, what park, what ADR, suggestions for CS lunches, etc. Whew - now I feel so much better that I've not "lost" something I need to remember! As long as my computer doesn't crash.......... (I did print it off though)

Now DH & I can review more leisurely other details before we go in 2 months. I wish we could get the kids input, but we've decided to keep it a surprise as long as possible. They have never gone (DD 9, DS 7) and it's hard not to tell them!

I hope this doesn't curse you or anything, but ours did die 2 months ago. And it died bad--we couldn't retrieve anything. Like you, I had printed out a copy, so all I was facing was a little retyping. And fortunately, dh had recently backed everything up, so it's all good. (I am loving the new computer, though.)

Your kids are going to have so much fun! I'm awed by those of you who have enough self-restraint to surprise your kids. I think it would be such a fun thing to do, but I couldn't keep a big secret from them to save my life. Have fun planning!

 

[Inkmahm]

I never have called to double check ADRs because I also transfer my notes to an excel spreadsheet. I have different tabs for Hotel info; ADRs and which parks we plan to be at including fireworks show times, EMH info, etc; flight info, rental car info, shopping list for the grocery store for breakfast items, Disney ticket numbers (in case anyone loses theirs) etc. I use the same template for each trip so I also have a history of files telling me where we ate, etc for each trip.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I'm a pretty organized person and I still check my ADRs. Especially now after last weekend when I cancelled a bunch of ADRs. The CM on the phone was very nice but made me nervous. I would say the confirm # and he would say the restaurant and time and I'd say yes thats it. On one he didn't say the restaurant (maybe he was waiting for it to show up on his computer -the computers seem rathar slow) or the time for what I thought was a while so I said that one is for CP at 11:30 and he said "No I have the Flying Fish".

Anyway he had entered the confirm # wrong - which I'm sure happens from time to time - everyone makes mistakes but anyway it made me nervous. But the correct one did get cancelled. Anyway I say it can't hurt and if something has happened to one of them by accident you have time to reschedule or pick another restaurant before you get there. Have fun!

 

[Gus]

Something new I'm trying for our upcoming trip is a wiki. We're going with my DSis' family, so we both have password-protected access and can both make changes. This way, I can access it at home or work or anywhere with a Net connection. So when I'm on the phone making or changing ADRs (it seems like every other day), I have it open in edit mode and just type in each one. I'm using pbwiki.com, but there's several free sites you could try.

 

[MomofKatie]

I also call to double and triple check all my ADRs- then I write them all down in my itinerary. I also make a small, business card sized "cheat sheet" that has all my dates and conf #s on it, and carry it with me when we are at the parks. That way, just in case the CMs have a problem finding my ADR, I can givi them the information.