I hate Disney's dining website! AHHH!

[gwb]

MY 180+ is coming up and I called Dis dining up with questions and concerns about the best procedure to get the +10 days. I was told outright that the dining site rarely works for +10 and they recommend you just call them up asap at 7am est

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

MY 180+ is coming up and I called Dis dining up with questions and concerns about the best procedure to get the +10 days. I was told outright that the dining site rarely works for +10 and they recommend you just call them up asap at 7am est

Still give it a try. It worked beautifully for me this morning.

 

[queenbeen]

My 180 day was yesterday and I was on the laptop and the iphone. If it wasn't for the app, I don't think I would have gotten anything. By going back and forth, I was able to get everything I wanted, and eventually just used the phone and kept trying over and over. I got CRT at 8:10am and two lunches at BOG, as well as Ohana and several others. I then called at 7 to book the Fantasmic dining package and Pirates League, and the CM was super sweet. I would suggest trying the app at 6:00am on the dot and then calling right at 7am to finish up. Good luck everyone! We are so excited about our first trip

 

[Moushe]

I had better luck with the ME app on my phone and ipad...

 

[alopez926]

This is my first time booking a trip for a larger group (8) and I will never do it again. In the past, when it's been my daughter and me, or the two of us and my mom, life was simple. We'd book our trip 90 days out, we'd score a few ADR's about 30 days out, and our trip was lovely. So much fun. We're not super picky, but were able to get a CRT or Akershus without a hitch. On our last trip we got BOG for lunch on the day they opened lunch reservations and a decent time for Teppan Edo. We don't like to overschedule and were very happy with our two ADRs.

Planning for 8 is exhausting. I couldn't book my 180+ 10 online either. Called at 7, had a 40 minute wait, and only got two ADRs we really wanted. I'm having a miserable time stalking the dining site (when it works) and rarely coming up with ADRs for 8 where and when we want to be, even when I try to split our party into 2 groups of 4. I can't imagine the drama that will ensue when I try to book FP+ for 8 people with diverse interests and park experience.

My brother, who is coming for the first time with his family, can't believe the hoops I have already gone through to try to make their first park experience a magical one.

I know we will have a great time once we are there and things will open up as our time gets closer. But I think I need a little hiatus from Disney after this trip. The magic has worn off a bit for me. As a more spontaneous free spirit kind of traveler, planning my vacation days this far out and to this degree is making me batty (especially trying to do it using systems that suck).

 

[Dean Marino]

Ugh, me too. There's just no excuse for such terrible IT......

LOVE Disney - but really? They HAVE no IT. Consider: When was the last time you worked with a company that DESIRED to make money (amazon.com comes to mind) - and could not buy something?

Solution is easy - if painful. Ignore that broken website, and CALL CALL CALL... Easier if one is in the US - but SKYPE comes to mind for our offshore friends. Overloading the call center will do two things: 1) You will get results 2) Disney will get pure feedback in economic terms: a working web site is far cheaper than human operators.

 

[farmermom]

I still can't get Rose and Crown or Via Napoli for Dec 2 & 4. I can get times to show up and then it goes back to the previous screen. I called and they said that Rose & Crown wasn't available yet and Via Napoli didn't have availability for 5 even though times showed up on the website. Has anyone booked those restaurants in Dec successfully?

 

[JimmyBean42]

We are traveling with my entire family (20 people) and 4 of us were trying online at 6 am. Only one of us had any luck at the 180 +10 mark online. It was really weird. We thought maybe it was something with the iPad's / PC's some of us were using. Nope. When I logged onto the site with my ID on the iPad it was working on, I got the same error. Luckily we all called at 7 am and got everything we wanted (more or less, it was a big "wish list") but the site is not great at the 180 +10 mark.

 

[Nicole N.]

I still can't get Rose and Crown or Via Napoli for Dec 2 & 4. I can get times to show up and then it goes back to the previous screen. I called and they said that Rose & Crown wasn't available yet and Via Napoli didn't have availability for 5 even though times showed up on the website. Has anyone booked those restaurants in Dec successfully?

Yes, yesterday I was able to book Teppan Edo for November 29th and Rose & Crown for December 2nd. My adr date was June 1st, tried a few times each day til I was able to get them. Not sure if this makes a difference but it is only two of us.

 

[farmermom]

Yes, yesterday I was able to book Teppan Edo for November 29th and Rose & Crown for December 2nd. My adr date was June 1st, tried a few times each day til I was able to get them. Not sure if this makes a difference but it is only two of us.

Thanks. I at least figured out the website. Even though it looks like I can do 180+ days out, when I change the date, the calendar underneath that shows the hours only goes out to 180 days, so it will let me do 180 days, but not 180+. I have no idea what the problem was when I called last night. Not sure if I want to try calling again since this will be the third time, or just wait until day 180 and do it myself....

 

[JJZMgailey]

I'm still not a believer in anything being (necessarily) wrong with the IT on the MDE site. There are many, many, many different ways to make dining reservations but they're all using the same dining system that has to be completely accurate at any given time. When I think about the stories I've heard over the years with a family at home and each person in the family is on their computers on the site, on their smartphones with the app open, on the phone with someone from Disney Dining - technology is only so good and how many people do this same thing?

I'm actually not convinced that any amount of the best IT people on the planet could do anything better. #IJS

 

[ThistleMae]

This seems to be a huge problem for many people! I ended up calling...I haven't been able to book anything online. I can see what is available, so I'm hoping this is accurate so when I see what I want I can just call in. I get the same messages as everyone else....the site is unavailable, try later. I get the wonky calendar thing, where it will only let you put in the first day and not the 10. I've tried different browsers, different computer etc. My son says they don't have enough servers to be able to meet capacity. And yes...when you do call they sometimes say they can't get into the system. So just keep trying. It just shouldn't be this complicated to make reservations! I'm dreading my fast pass date. I haven't heard any complaints about that so far....but I'm not optimistic given how complicated it is to book dining! Good luck to everyone...we are all in the same boat!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The OP is being too specific.

I hate ALL of Disney's websites. Worst IT operation out there LOL!

 

[fairy oma]

Today is our 180+ day and I have only been able to make 2 ADRs online; I finally ended up calling and got my ADRs (not on the days I wanted, but, oh well). CM said this is the busiest Oct-Jan for reservations she has seen in 7 years. Disney is still holding a lot of dates unavailable for CP. CM said that many people had complained about not being able to book online this morning...she speculated they were doing maintenance. Has Disney ever heard of doing maintenance during the overnight hours instead?

 

[JimmyBean42]

CM said that many people had complained about not being able to book online this morning...she speculated they were doing maintenance. Has Disney ever heard of doing maintenance during the overnight hours instead?

They've been doing "maintenance" for almost a month now. Seems odd. But calling always works and CM's are always great & helpful on the phone.

 

[peacefulmama]

I had to re-log in constantly, and it took an hour, but I was able to book everything we wanted online except for Ohana on Thanksgiving (the night after we arrive) and all our reservations are for either a party of 8 or 10.

 

[wencherous]

It's our 180 day today, logged in fine, had no issues, except there's literally ONE available time for 'Ohana dinner on the two days we want. And I can't get a single time for BOG lunch. Insanity.

 

[dnw25]

My experience this am was so horrific that honestly, I almost canceled the trip. After having to figure out which days to visit which park to line up dining so it can be booked at 180 +10 and then not being able to do so....Ridiculous. Especially for what anyone staying on property pays. Even with our airfare booked, almost canceled. Does anyone have the address/phone to get through for complaints? Not just a general complaint number.

Was up at 4:45, logged in ready to go exactly at 5:00 (6 est) For 36 min I tried everything - different browsers, logged in and out, searched from the restaurant page, searched from the park dining pages. Absolutely no luck. It would routinely time the available options, but when I clicked would just take me back to beginning.

Around the 44 min mark, I saw availability begin to change with times disappearing or no longer availability. This is when I almost canceled the trip.

I kept trying and still no luck. Woke up the hubby at 5:54. Told him to get on the phone at 6:00, which he did. He also got on his computer. Now 6:00 am, I was lucky enough to get through immediately on the phone (hubby called a min or two later and was told he had a 30 min wait). Explained the problem online to the agent, who said was unaware of any problems online this am. He then proceeded to get me almost all my hard to get reservations. Wonderful, right?

I was DISCONNECTED by DISNEY. I was talking to the agent for over 30 min, I was about to give him my credit card number, and all of a sudden the "Tell us how we are doing" survey at the end of every Disney call was playing!!!! What in the world!!!!

Meanwhile, the website miraculous opened up/woke up at 6:00 am too. My hubby was booking ressies while I was on the phone with the agent (not the same ones, I promise). I jumped on and tried to book the same ones I had made with the agent.

Several minutes later, my husband's 6:02 phone call to Disney dining went through. Now it's around 6:35 and the agent couldn't really help me. My early BOG selections were all gone. Ohana gone. She tried to search for any of my old ressies since she said the system "holds" them for a few minutes before they are released again, even without a credit card hold, but couldn't find them. She was explaining how nothing could be done when guess what? DISCONNECTED by DISNEY a second time!!! The survey started playing again.

I finally made all my reservations online, finishing at 7:46. I did get every restaurant I want - numerous character breakfasts, brunch, numerous lunches and dinners, however, I did not get them on the day or time I had hoped for. Trip is not canceled but seriously!?!?!?!

Disney forces you to do all this detailed planning, only to not let you implement it. I cannot clearly express how frustrated I am by this experience. Disney left a very negative impression this am.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Yes, we all know it's a disaster, but guess what??

We are all still going and paying... As long as Disney is selling out EVERY seat they have no motivation to improve IMHO. Until they reach the tipping point where the cost/frustration are too great I don't expect much in the way of improvement.

 

[dnw25]

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Seriously considering a mass assault. We even booked a deluxe resort which is a complete joke because the rates Disney charges are outrageous for the actual room quality. (Same goes for the moderates resorts. Haven't stayed at a value so I don't know) That's why I almost canceled. For what I am paying I should at least have a realistic chance to book the dining I want when I am trying for it at the exact earliest moment I can reserve it.