I'm going to get flamed....

[Maria311]

We call last minute quite a bit and usually can get a reservation.
Although, I'm never there when it's crazy busy.
To OP...we are lucky to be local. Could you imagine having to book everything down to the last detail in advance. Flights, packages, dining etc.
Could you imagine how expensive that must get? It's never less expensive. Free dining or not. Give me my AP, used a hundred times, and my DDE card and we are ready to go. The benefits of living nearby FAR outweigh missing out on a few reservations. The deals can be great last minute and then you hop in the car and drive home.
Gotta love Florida!!! Be happy to be near the magic.
You can come to my house for dinner!!!

 

[bradk]

not being guilty of it myself, there's nothing wrong with making double bookings when everyone has the same opportunity and chances. it's a level playing field and historically, when disney didn't think it was a level playing field, like with CRT, they used to charge a deposit when booking to hinder people from doing just that.

what may have changed is simply that there are no tables reserved for walkups anymore. but that doesn't change the fact that as i just stated earlier, i've had no problems getting every restaurant i've wanted (except one), including CRT, a little more than a month out. i've even gotten walk ups in the recent past.

now if, as a FL resident, i had bought into the DDE and then constantly had issues with dining (which i still don't see here), then i might be a bit frustrated.

 

[jezebella]

Brad, what you don't seem to understand is that I've had a HUGE issue booking ressies lately. I can't seem to get anything unless it's at 9:30 at night. Which is the source of my frustration being a purchaser of the DDE and trying over and over to get something decent.

As for you....just thank your blessings that there wasn't an ADR for CRT...totally NOT worth it...EVER!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Well... Menu prices have kept many guests out of the restaurants over the years, but Disney has finally found a way to make dining at WDW seem affordable... and guests, perceiving real value for their vacation dollar, are booking tables in droves. Can you blame them? The DDP is not only adding value but improving a guest's overall vacation experience. The DDP brings them in.

If you miss dining at WDW, call earlier. If not, enjoy the rest of Orlando's restaurants.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

not being guilty of it myself, there's nothing wrong with making double bookings when everyone has the same opportunity and chances. it's a level playing field and historically, when disney didn't think it was a level playing field, like with CRT, they used to charge a deposit when booking to hinder people from doing just that.

Then how come WDW will sometimes cancel an ADR you have if they think you are trying to double book 2 ADR's within the same time frame? If this keeps happening a lot maybe they should consider making deposits reqired for all restaurants inside WDW. This way it will stop guests from double booking ADR's, so they can only book one at a time. However should they want to change an ADR, WDW would just switch the deposit over the new ADR they have selected.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

Exactly..I guess my main frustration is that...when you all are at home and want to go somewhere other than the staple, Olive Garden, Ale House, Red Lobster, etc....do you make reservations 4 months in advance? Suprisingly...in Orlando, being a Disney person is not the best thing.

For what it's worth (I know...not much on a forum like this!), I think your irritation is misplaced. My parents are locals, and they make their ADRs 180 days out, just like everyone else. Then again, they don't spend a lot of money on table service at WDW restaurants. For them, it is a special occasion to go out to eat. They simply realize you can't "wing it" in WDW unless you are prepared to be turned away. Taking a chance is just that...taking a chance. No guarantees. As a local, you certainly have a better opportunity to roll the dice than the average tourist. If you can't get an ADR, you can have meatloaf at home or call Domino's, and try again tomorrow. Spontaneity is a wonderful thing. However, some things in life don't lend themselves well to it. A wise person figures out which don't, and calls six months ahead! I also think you're exaggerating a bit about not being able to find ANYTHING a month in advance ...but I can't prove that either way so I'll let that one slide. Hee hee!
P.S. WDW doesn't care WHERE they're getting the money. I really don't think their business is going to dry up the way people seem to think it will...and if it does start to slow, the locals won't be expected to pick up the slack. Most people I know who live in Orlando wouldn't be caught dead in WDW (and yes, I know a lot of people who live there or nearby, as I used to live in the area)...so it's not exactly a huge base of patrons for keeping their restaurants afloat, right? Seriously now...I lived a stone's throw from WDW for three years and never once set foot in the Mouse House. No interest. That's for wacky vacationers from Idaho and the like, don't you know?!?!? (No offense intended towards our fine Idahoan friends! )P.P.S. There are MANY non-chain restaurants in Orlando that deserve a second look. Just because you (and I, so I'm not knocking it) are addicted to WDW doesn't mean that's your only choice for eating out in a nice/exotic/interesting place. FAR from it.

 

[bradk]

As for you....just thank your blessings that there wasn't an ADR for CRT...totally NOT worth it...EVER!

but i DID get CRT 5 weeks out. that's my point. of course i agree with you and if i wasn't going with a 6 year old who considers one of her life's regrets to never being in the castle, i wouldn't have even tried.

Then how come WDW will sometimes cancel an ADR you have if they think you are trying to double book 2 ADR's within the same time frame?

i'm not honestly aware of this happening 'behind the scenes.' in other words, the system totally allows it (and honestly, there's a really simple way around it too given the way the system works), but i am aware of CMs who may not allow it. whether that's official policy or not, i don't know, but when you call, they don't know what ADRs you've booked unless they pull them up (now mind you, they DO use caller ID, so if your number isn't blocked, it changes the rules a bit - THEN they know everything booked under that phone number).

personally, if i was going to change anything, it would be for something exactly like CRT or HDD or any of the dinner shows or the FDP or CPP (and by the way, NOTHING is more detrimental to being able to get ADRs like the CPP is) which don't charge at time of booking if you say you're on the DDP. I think you should be charged and then charged back as required.

the problem with that is it costs disney money to do charge backs.

 

[jezebella]

Well....just an FYI-- my DD is 6 as well and I feel your pain. We had her 5th Bday party at CRT and blew $800 on a slew of little girls who could really care less about the food and were more intrigued with the BBB. But yes, I understand. My DD6 is still wondering why we don't go back to her favorite restaurant which is the PYC which has become extremely substandard...

Oh well..I give up...I knew it was going to be just a rant with many retorts that I should be happy that I live next to the "mouse" and book dining 6 months in advance...

Luckily...I'm cruising on Disney soon...and don't have to book my dining..well..except for Palo...and I thank the Castaway Club for that. Cheers!

 

[Nala2007]

I can't believe people are "flaming" in here. How would they feel if they couldn't get a meal in their hometown any night of the week they wanted? I do feel your pain.

We love going downtown (Waikiki), but don't even dare it on the weekends and holidays...all the good restaurants are down there but trying to get in on a whim is a joke

 

[raidermatt]

If you are having trouble calling a month in advance, try two or three...

That's very helpful.

Unless of course you want eat next month and not next quarter.


The issue isn't really a local thing, though it does impact locals. There is less flexibility than there used to be, no doubt about it. And along with that, more generic menus.

It's a legitimate complaint with no easy solution.

 

[TYMAN]

I kinda agree with the OP...we live about 2 hours away and visit about once a month because of work, etc. Not sure which week we'll be there so ADR's can't be done. It would be nice to have a decent WDW dinner while there, but those are few and far between. I also think that if you book 180 days out, you should have perference, although double booking should be frowned upon....

 

[gina2000]

Truthfully, with the quality declining, you're going to find better value and better food outside of WDW in many cases.

I agree with the problem of flexibility. We've always made ADRs but sometimes want to change venues at the last minute. We went in February and we were unable to do so on the spur of the moment. We left the park and ate offsite.

 

[hmp2z]

I agree with the OP also, as far as the problem with WDW dining. We live about 15 minutes from the parks, so if we want to eat out, that used to be where we'd go. If you live right near Disney, and want to dine out, you have to either battle the rush hour traffic to get out to Sand Lake or else go into Clermont where, admittedly, selection is just not the same. After a few bad mystery shopping experiences wtih 192 restaurants, we won't touch them with a 10-foot pole.

And who the heck makes dinner reservations 2-3 months out to eat out in their own hometown? Yes, if it's New York and you want Per Se, then you'd better do that. But when we lived in NY, because there were so many restaurants, so easily accessible, reservations were never a problem. You could walk up to most places we went to.

Here in Orlando, it's not the same. The city is much more sprawling, and there is no public transportation, unless you count the city bus (shudder...). So, for those of us on the Southwest side of Orlando, Disney is (or was) pretty much it.

OP, we now just eat out on weekend nights, and we go to places like Roy's (which blows any WDW restaurant but V&A's out of the water) or Samba Room (lower quality than Roy's, same quality as a WDW signature, but much prompter, friendlier service). For casual, we do Tijuana Flats, Moe's, and a few other places like Paradise Cove in Howey in the Hills (mediocre food but unbeatable view), Lee & Rick's Oyster Bar in Winter Garden (fantabulous oysters & shrimp!), etc.

I would definitely suggest trying offsite. Disney isn't out for the local market, at least right now, so they're not going to do anything to help us get last minute reservations. And, contrary to what others have posted, I've actually been ENCOURAGED by CM's to book 2 or 3 reservations at the same, time, just in case I don't know where I want to go. I refuse, but it's disheartening to see that they encourage this.

My number one complaint with the DDP, though, is the standardization of the menus & decline in the quality of the food itself. That's yet another reason why we've been going to Sand Lake more & more, when we want a quality dining experience. Chowhound.com has some excellent reviews of other local places.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[LuvsMainStreet]

My DD6 is still wondering why we don't go back to her favorite restaurant which is the PYC which has become extremely substandard...

Having a brain delay here....What is PYC?

 

[Lisa F]

Not a flame but an alternate experience. We just booked a last minute trip in about a month and I had no problem getting the restaurants I wanted at the times I wanted. There was even choice of times, all well before 9pm. One was day was a saturday night.

 

[Susiev25]

I have to say I agree with the OP! Although I don't live in the WDW area I can see her complaint. Gone are the days when there are walk-ups. Dining MUST be planned 6 months out now a days. We planned our dining at 6 months out but were a few days off and the ONLY dinner time we could get for Le Cellier was 4 pm(which is actually fine with us) but in WDW we tend to eat later lunches(we won't that day). All the other days for LEcellier were totally filled up and we are there for 12 days. It is becoming a bit crazy! Yes there are certain restaurants were you can get in as a walk up or make a last minute ADR(like we have always been able to get into Spoodles which we love) but I fear that won't last long.

 

[2forMe]

I take this as a complaint that you're being slighted because you're local. If you're complaining about not being able to get an ADR because the restuarants are busy, well... I don't know what anybody can do about that.

Ok, I don't know for sure, but I would think this is an easy enough problem to get around. Either make up a fictitious out-of-town phone number that you always use when making your ADR's, or get a tracfone with an out-of-town number so you don't look like a local. Except for the restaurants that need your address for the cc# information, that should be sufficient, right? Or is there something else I'm not seeing here?

I think what you are not seeing is the fact that locals, I assume, used to have no problem either making short/late notice ressies or showing up on the spot .. just to eat at the restaurant.. not really meaning to go to the parks.. so since the DDP and Free DDP has been around it is harder for locals to decide at the least minute or with less notice to go and eat

 

[KevinYee]

While I am a local and certainly can echo what the OP said in terms of MY situation, what I think is a real, huge, unaddressed problem is what happens when NON-LOCALS do not make ADRs.

Go watch at the podium of a restaurant sometime - any of them - and listen for ten minutes. There will be a few dozen people coming to ask how long the wait is. "Ah, stupid them," you think. "They didn't make an ADR." And quite true - they should have known better.

But the point is, Disney needs to make THOSE people happy too. Not just those of us who know better, who read sites like these, and who make ADRs. There was abject misery during the Free Dining Plan last year as loads of folks arrived, thinking they were on easy street, and found there was nowhere to eat (which is why the Tomorrowland Noodle Station was temporarily converted to reservation-accepting buffet). Lots of people got angry at Disney for not having enough seats for the walk ups.

And think about folks who PAY for the dining plan and don't know they need to make ADRs. They get to the park and now feel really ripped off. Their fault? Sure it is. But Disney is likely going to lose a customer here (or encourage someone to visit only every two years, not every year). To me, that is a problem. Disney needs to keep their infrequent visitors happy, because they are the bread and butter of the revenue.

And don't even get me started on how the dining plan encourages menus to homogenize or otherwise grow stale

 

[islandmum]

definately no flames from me to the OP - but I have the opposite view!

its our first trip to WDW, we live overseas so probably will only be able to visit once every 5 years or so.

DDP has made the trip financially viable for the family and means we can set a budget (very important when costing expensive international flights, cars, hotels etc..) and has meant we can stay at the better resorts.

we did book on the 180 day mark .... for peace of mind and the fact that with a 5 and 3 year old we HAVE to eat early - late bookings are a no-go.

So to the OP - I'm sorry you feel frustrated - it would probably piss me off too if I was in your shoes, but at the same time I envy the fact you spend so much time at WDW because its on your doorstep .... we want to have our time in the World too.

For people like us from overseas and with growing families Disney is not an every year vacation, so booking up our ADR's at 180 days guarantees that for our 1 STAY in 5 years we'll get the times we want.

 

[bavaria]

and the emphasis on the DDP has also shut out another lucrative market for WDW - convention and business travellers.

I know people who attend conventions at WDW and never step foot inside a park. The only place that they can get a reservation is at a resort restaurant.

I am often in Orlando on business; I arrange those trips about a week out and certainly don't know when I will be free for ADRs.

My usual business restaurant now is Raglan Road - excellent food and service, and a good place to meet with clients.

Too bad that WDW is no longer getting as much of my dining revenue - they are opting for the lower revenue DDP customer rather than the higher revenue business traveller in hopes of filling in the off season. I understand that decision, but like the OP, it means that I eat at Disney restuarants less often than in past.