I'm going to get flamed....

[Mr Brit]

well i respect you opinion and do understand what you are saying, and i guess to a point agree with you, but Disney cant afford to take peoples money in advance for the dpp only for them when they go to make reservations not be able to use them, so i really do believe there is more to this than meets the eye. Anyone else believe in a kennedy conspiracy theory...lol

ONLY JOKING

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

well i respect you opinion and do understand what you are saying, and i guess to a point agree with you, but Disney cant afford to take peoples money in advance for the dpp only for them when they go to make reservations not be able to use them, so i really do believe there is more to this than meets the eye. Anyone else believe in a kennedy conspiracy theory...lol

ONLY JOKING

Well then it's the guests responsibility to make their ADR's when they hit their 180 day mark and anyone who purchases the DDP knows this, so they are not stupid.

 

[Mr Brit]

i think we shall have to agree to disagree...lol

 

[dbk1029]

Sorry but I didn't read all the posts but here is my 2 cents:

IMO: there is no more "Off Season" at Disney World. More and more people are travelling to Disney World and that alone is going to book up the restaurants that offer table service. People need to realize that you really must book the 180 days out from your time of arrival.

WDW is a TOURIST destination. The dining offered in the parks and hotels was intended to keep the tourists visiting WDW on-site and spending their money on-site and not off-site. Previously "locals" were apparently able to take advantage of the "slow/off season". But as I stated above there really is no more of that season.

Sorry to the locals who can no longer "wing-it" with dining at WDW. I guess you'll simply need to make those reservations like all the rest of us.

Oh and people on the DDP still have to follow all the same rules for booking a reservation as those not on the DDP. Does anyone actually think that ONLY the DDP people make double bookings, and call 180 days out?

 

[KevinYee]

WDW is a TOURIST destination. The dining offered in the parks and hotels was intended to keep the tourists visiting WDW on-site and spending their money on-site and not off-site. Sorry to the locals who can no longer "wing-it" with dining at WDW. I guess you'll simply need to make those reservations like all the rest of us.

And this is why, several posts ago, I pointed out the real problem is that there are tourists who do not realize they need to make reservations. By definition, none of them are HERE, reading this thread. But there are at the parks - just listen at any restaurant podium for a while, and you'll find them. The SYSTEM is not fair to those tourists.

I agree that WDW needs tourists to survive and thrive. And that includes those tourists who don't know they need to make reservations. Why alienate a large part of your visitor base?

 

[Mr Brit]

thanks for your contribution, i agree with what your saying but again i appreciate its a tourist destination but this whole 180 day reservation seeems ridiculous to me, if you want to go to a fairly decent restaurent in ur home town do u book 180 days in advance, of course not, now whilst i agree disney is a slightly different situation to not be able to get reservation a month in advance whilst being flexible on time and restaurent is strange. After all i know someone said having the dining experience doesnt entitle you to entry or reservations etc which is correct, but why then sell that because you still have to pay if you cant get any use out of it because you cant get a reservation. After all the DDE was brought about with locals in mind.

 

[Mr Brit]

i think kevinyee you have hit the nail on the head, because that effects locals aswell as tourists who dont know to make reservations which makes it difficult for everyone

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

thanks for your contribution, i agree with what your saying but again i appreciate its a tourist destination but this whole 180 day reservation seeems ridiculous to me, if you want to go to a fairly decent restaurent in ur home town do u book 180 days in advance, of course not, now whilst i agree disney is a slightly different situation to not be able to get reservation a month in advance whilst being flexible on time and restaurent is strange. After all i know someone said having the dining experience doesnt entitle you to entry or reservations etc which is correct, but why then sell that because you still have to pay if you cant get any use out of it because you cant get a reservation. After all the DDE was brought about with locals in mind.

I agree that the 180 day system is not fair, especially for the guests who do not like to book ADR's that far out. I once read on here someone who is not a huge trip planner was forced to make their ADR's at 180 days out, because of how popular the DDP is. However if guests keep calling when their 180 day window begins, then I don't see WDW ever changing it because they must think their system is working 100%.

 

[Mr Brit]

i mean to be honest, people who are booking 180 days in advance, how on earth do they know they are going to be at this park on this day and want to eat at this restaurent at this time. I dont know where im going to eat on sunday let alone 180 days time...lol

 

[jezebella]

Mr. Brit...you know we'll probably be in MK on Sunday and since we can't get any ADR's that you'll be eating at Casey's..

 

[hmp2z]

What many people here don't seem to get is that, depending where in Orlando you live, WDW may be your only viable choice for a restaurant. Unlike NYC, the restaurants in the Orlando area seem to be in pockets. I happen to be in the 4 Corners area, so my nearest pockets are WDW, followed by Clermont (a bit of a schlep), followed by Sand Lake (a much longer schlep, depending on traffic). If it's a weekday evening and we want to go out, we're pretty much stuck with WDW, because slogging out through I-4 on a weekday evening is unimaginable.

So I get the whole locals thing. I definitely think that WDW has increased the demand, and now they need to increase the supply accordingly. It doesn't even have to be Disney owned places; in fact, the non-Disney owned places are better, because they're not affected by the DDP in the sense of forced menu standardization.

There are a few standbys that we can almost always get into, like Kimonos, Raglan Road, Artist Point, or Jiko (though we don't like Jiko). Walk-ins like Earl or Beaches & Cream are, of course, anyone's game.

I don't think the purpose of this thread was anything constructive, though; I think it was to vent & get some empathy, which I & others have given It definitely attracted some very bizarre flames - who the heck cares what part of NYC compares best to WDW? I can't believe how many posts were taken up with that random thread!

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Mr Brit]

im not eating at casey's, we will go to that burger place near splash mountain, i forget whats it called now. Assuming i can have carbs that day...lol

 

[Mr Brit]

hi heather thanks for your blog, i completely agree, i mean who cares about nyc and how really does it relate. And you guys seem to be in the same situation we are in as we are in Winter Garden. Love Raglan road...lol but unless you live here and not in the whole vacation thing i dont think you can ever realise that wdw is our local...lol

 

[mking624]

I can see where locals are coming from, but as was pointed out, that's the nature of the beast when you live where you live. WDW is an extremely popular tourist attraction, that goes without saying. So it should be expected from everyone, locals and tourists, that you may not be able to get into where you want to get into. It wasn't designed to be just for the locals, so locals shouldn't expect that they'll have an easier time getting in somewhere. Such is life...it goes on. Disney is a business, and they'll still make their money whether they're getting it from someone who lives a few miles or a few thousand miles away.

 

[raidermatt]

It's only apples to oranges because it defeats the argument of those in agreement. However, it's perfectly apt.

Or you are insisting its the same because its the only way to support your position?

But that wouldn't be a fair thing to say, would it...

Sure, there are operational differences but that doesn't mean, for the sake of this PARICULAR discussion, the comparison, within the context provided, isn't apt. We're talking strictly about availability and reservations. Not about policy, not about business modeling, and not about quality.

The business policy has changed the availability and the quality, therefore the policy is the issue.

 

[jezebella]

Ok...that's enough...how are we spoiled because we live near Disney? You choose to live on an island with no running water. I'm sure you have options as well, perhaps unfavorable, but as you pointed out we do too with the dining at Disney. Honestly..I'm not sure when this thread went from being about a rant on my experiences to being chastisted for living in a nice location, which we work our collective arses off to do.

 

[dbk1029]

I guess I just don't see WDW as being someone's "hometown". I see it as a tourist destination. If I lived near a tourist destination with this sort of dining conundrum I would either make my ressies WAY in advance, take my chances with same day calling, find something not located in said toursit spot, or eat at home. I am not saying I would like it but I would deal with it.

As to saying it isn't fair to those guests that don't know about the 180 day policy. It's perfectly fair. Everyone has to follow the same rules. How is that NOT fair? DO I empathize with those that don't know about the 180+ policy? Yes. However everyone should live and learn. Also WDW should do more to educate people about this policy.

 

[Olaf]

IMHO if Disney is going to keep the DDP, then they need to build more sit-down restaurants. I witnessed a guest get really irate with a CM in early Dec this past year. He wasn't able to get a ressie to use his sit down points. He was DVC and used to coming in early December. The parks were unusually crowded this past year and nothing was available to him.

 

[mking624]

IMHO if Disney is going to keep the DDP, then they need to build more sit-down restaurants. I witnessed a guest get really irate with a CM in early Dec this past year. He wasn't able to get a ressie to use his sit down points. He was DVC and used to coming in early December. The parks were unusually crowded this past year and nothing was available to him.

Just because he'd used to something doesn't mean it will always happen that way. It really bothers me that people get irate at CMs for something that the CMs have no control over. It's not the CM's fault that the guest just assumed it would be the "same like always". Perhaps better planning, and not assumption, is needed on the guest's part.

 

[Mr Brit]

your right Olaf, and what really ticks me off is when people take it out on cm's.

I dont work there myself but its not their fault. They are just there doing a job