We were in Disney last week, had the basic dining plan, and were talking.... (this is longer than I intended.. SORRY!!! 
)
I had made ADR's both in advance and last minute - multiples in one day, since I wanted us to have lots of flexibility about where we were, when and what we were doing, and had every intention of cancelling them as we went along (a day in advance) via my iPhone.
However, I hadn't tested out this plan before going.... and once down there discovered that the way you get out to your reservations to cancel them thru the extremely convoluted and not very userie WDW website, isn't an option on an iPhone because of the way that particular bit of the website functions (I think Flash incompatibility and a bunch of other geekerie). So, I gathered the gang together and figured out which reservations we absolutely wouldn't use and called.
To be specific, I was on location, in the Land Pavillion, sitting outside the bathrooms - about the quietest location I could find and be inside (it was raining) at the time. The new automated system is a bit of a pain, as you have to answer umpteen questions, and of course, CANCELLING a reservation isn't one of the multitude of options - inspite of telling the nice automated lady that I was looking to cancel reservations. I managed to get it done (and I have to say, encountered some sort of hilarious extreme rudeness from the CM - long story), but I couldn't help but think..... I'm trying to do the right thing here, and Disney has made it nearly impossible.
Sure, part of it was my own fault, by having multiple ADR's - but why isn't there a specific button on the main Disney front page about dining reservations? It seems like such a logical thing to have, considering it's the main way (and certainly the most efficient for me) to make ADRs at this point.
It got us all to thinking... why doesn't Disney have iPhone apps that are not games? Like a Restaurant Reservation app.... it could operate a little like a times guide or a wait times guide does in application form.... one place that would manage all of your dining reservations, and making it easy to cancel them. The reservation portion could function much like it does on the website.
Imagine though... for anyone who has the free Wait Times app.... if it had a "Near ME" function. For instance, you are standing in the heart of the World Showcase with 5 cranky people/kids... all you want to do is sit down in air conditioning and relax and have a nice meal... the last thing you want to do is troop everyone across the whole WS, asking at every receptionist if there is availability (we have done this, it isn't pretty, and it gets uglier as time goes on). Imagine if you could hit a "Near Me" button, and it would tell you what restaurants had availability starting in an hour (because I think real time would be nearly impossible to accomplish), nearest your GPS location.
I would so pay $5 for that. In a heartbeat.
So - iPhone users - what do you think? Would such an app be something you'd use? Why hasn't Disney gotten on the app bandwagon???
)I had made ADR's both in advance and last minute - multiples in one day, since I wanted us to have lots of flexibility about where we were, when and what we were doing, and had every intention of cancelling them as we went along (a day in advance) via my iPhone.
However, I hadn't tested out this plan before going.... and once down there discovered that the way you get out to your reservations to cancel them thru the extremely convoluted and not very userie WDW website, isn't an option on an iPhone because of the way that particular bit of the website functions (I think Flash incompatibility and a bunch of other geekerie). So, I gathered the gang together and figured out which reservations we absolutely wouldn't use and called.
To be specific, I was on location, in the Land Pavillion, sitting outside the bathrooms - about the quietest location I could find and be inside (it was raining) at the time. The new automated system is a bit of a pain, as you have to answer umpteen questions, and of course, CANCELLING a reservation isn't one of the multitude of options - inspite of telling the nice automated lady that I was looking to cancel reservations. I managed to get it done (and I have to say, encountered some sort of hilarious extreme rudeness from the CM - long story), but I couldn't help but think..... I'm trying to do the right thing here, and Disney has made it nearly impossible.
Sure, part of it was my own fault, by having multiple ADR's - but why isn't there a specific button on the main Disney front page about dining reservations? It seems like such a logical thing to have, considering it's the main way (and certainly the most efficient for me) to make ADRs at this point.
It got us all to thinking... why doesn't Disney have iPhone apps that are not games? Like a Restaurant Reservation app.... it could operate a little like a times guide or a wait times guide does in application form.... one place that would manage all of your dining reservations, and making it easy to cancel them. The reservation portion could function much like it does on the website.
Imagine though... for anyone who has the free Wait Times app.... if it had a "Near ME" function. For instance, you are standing in the heart of the World Showcase with 5 cranky people/kids... all you want to do is sit down in air conditioning and relax and have a nice meal... the last thing you want to do is troop everyone across the whole WS, asking at every receptionist if there is availability (we have done this, it isn't pretty, and it gets uglier as time goes on). Imagine if you could hit a "Near Me" button, and it would tell you what restaurants had availability starting in an hour (because I think real time would be nearly impossible to accomplish), nearest your GPS location.
I would so pay $5 for that. In a heartbeat.
So - iPhone users - what do you think? Would such an app be something you'd use? Why hasn't Disney gotten on the app bandwagon???
