Just want to vent about needing reservations for everything

[connorlevismom]

I am leaving in 10 days for WDW and am so excited! We own DVC so we are lucky enough to be able to go often. We are at the point now where we just go and wander around the parks, go what we want to go on, and just kind of do WDW in a relaxing style. My problem with that is that I am sick of not being able to eat anywhere! I don't know 7 months ahead of time where I want to eat! I want to be able to decide the day of that I am in the mood for a certain restaurant. I don't do DDP because we have a full kitchen and have food at our place but we still like to eat out. It is just so frustrating to not be able to just go and have a nice lunch or dinner because everything has been booked up for 7 months! It just really sucks for the people who are not on the dining plan. Ok, I am done venting, thanks for listening.

Kristine

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree with you and my parents and I are also in the crowd of not knowing where we want to eat 180 days until we arrive at WDW. Now we never purchase the DDP and since we always have a car, we have the ability to eat off site and etc. Plus by not purchasing the DDP we don't get tied down to ADR's everyday for our trip. Besides the DDP would never work for us since we changes our plans alot of times at the last minute. Of course guests who don't purchase the DDP can also call at their 180 day mark to make ADR's if they want to, just the way guests on the DDP can. The difference is if they are not driving down or having a rental car then they would be forced into making ADR's or eating at CS locations which I don't find bad at all. So it's to bad WDW does not make it easier on those guests, because it is not fair to those who do not purchase the DDP.

 

[SteveS]

I am with you on this!! We are also seasoned veterans and tour in a relaxed manner.

I read these boards and I amazed at the degree some people over plan their trips down to the exact meal location date and time. I like being flexible and do what ever the day calls for and not be tied to a schedule. For us dinning can be a problem because we don't plan every detail of out trips.

 

[missypie]

It's a whole nuther world. Other than perhaps the finest restaurants in NYC or Paris, where else do you have to make dinner reservations 6 months in advance?

A lady just posted on fodors.com, asking for Disney restaurant advice for her February trip. I imagine that she was pretty shocked when some of us told her that she may be "too late" for certain restaurants and times!

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Leave the dining plan out of it, the point is that WDW is now so popular that if you want to eat at TS there you must make ADRs period it makes no difference if you are paying out of pocket or using the dining plan. It is people who don't want to plan that want spur of the moment that complain. but that is a PART of being spur of the moment people it means not everything you might want is available to you.
So basically it is complaining about not having your cake and eating it too.
Perhaps the answer is for Disney to expand their eating places to have a walk up only section in each one, but obviously those would still be full and people would have long waits, Well thats the way it is now, I too wish that there were few people at Disney and no waits for things, used to be at least some times of year it was, not anymore.

 

[PrincessV]

OP, I understand and am in the same boat. I live nearby and used to be able to go over for the day and be seated at almost any TS location easily and quickly wihtout an ADR. Nowadays, forget it. I'll make them for extended overnight trips, but there's no way I can, or even want to, plan a day trip 6 months out!

 

[mickey&minnie04]

We have the same problem, we have a general idea of what we want to do each day, but really mostly go with the flow and see where we end up. In trips past we would decide in the morning where we were going and then call to see if the were any reservations left for a particular place and we always had a few choices since sometimes our first choice wasn't available. I do think the DP has made it harder to get seated as a walk up, but I think only because it has been offered as a free DP at times. People who were content on eating where ever are now making sure they get there "monies" worth out of Disney. I would love to use the DP, but it just wouldn't work for us, DH is such a picky eater that all he ever gets is chicken and we did the a comparison and he eats for less then what the DP would cost us per day.

 

[Lewisc]

Prior to the current DDP guests needed reservations months in advance at popular restaurants like CRT, Chef Mickey's and Le Cellier.

Even during free dining a few posters got same day ADRs, just not at their first choice.

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

At least some of the resort restaurants (or maybe even a lot of them) have availability later. Boatwrights, Shutters, Olivia's, Big River Grille, etc. Even some of the character breakfasts can have availability with shorter notice (Cape May and Park Fare).

I'll bet some of the restaurants in Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island would be possible as well. And ya know, there are some pretty nice counter service places! I took the advice from here and we tried Wolfgang Puck Express, and Wow!!! We loved it. I felt like we were eating a table service place. They brought our food to us at our table. They asked if they could bring us anything else. And the food was amazing! (I got the rosemary chicken and garlic mashed potatoes).
We all really like Earl of Sandwich too.

But - the restaurants in the parks sure are another story! I hear that Columbia Harbour House is pretty good, and there is an upstairs that is often less crowded (haven't tried it yet though!).

Good luck to you!
-mary

 

[Poppinsme]

Boy do I agree with you connorlevismom!
We had to make our ADRs 190 days out and we are OOP.
Just did dinner ADRs at the signature restaurants and will wing it for lunch. We wanted some spontaneity!
Gone are the days of just walking up and trying to get a table.
Now we have to plan around our dinner ADRs and hopefully that wont be to crazy.

 

[connorlevismom]

Glad to hear I am not the only frustrated one out there!

I have a question about people who make ADR's. If you make them and just don't show up, is there a penalty?

Kristine

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

Nope. No penalty if you are a no show.

(although I think there is a penalty for CRT, - - and maybe even for Poly-Luau, & Hoop Dee Doo if you don't call in advance to cancel).

mary

 

[Belle5]

Let me tell you how we do it. We have started making very few theme park ressies. Mostly, we choose resort hotels for dinner and make ADR's there. That way,after a morning of theme park touring, we take our afternoon naps, swim, boat, whatever and then have a 5:30 ADR at a resort. When we are done eating, we head on to whatever park we are in the mood to see. We also are of the opinion that the resort dining is superior (for the most part) to theme park dining--. I just like not being committed to attending a certain park six months out. I can go to any park from a WDW resort easily!

BTW, as someone else mentioned, you do NOT have to be on the DDP to make 180 day ADR's!

 

[Colleen27]

I don't mind needing to make reservations in general, but I hate the 180 day change. Even 90 days felt much more reasonable! We often don't plan our travel 6 months ahead of time, and the 180 thing has really discouraged us from taking short-notice Disney trips because we do like nice meals while we travel and wouldn't enjoy a trip where we were shut out of most of the good/convenient table service locations.

 

[letthewookiewin]

I absolutley agree. I do like to plan by making a customized planning book for our family. Having to plan where you want to eat 180 days out is just ridiculous. I don't know what I want to eat for dinner today, much less what I want to eat for dinner in 180 days. In the past we have only made ADR's for character breakfasts. Other than the one character breakfast per trip, the only TS we eat at every trip is Biergarten. However, on our next trip, we will be at WDW for 8 days, so we are doing to do the Deluxe DDP. That way we can eat at all of the TS's that we have been wanting to. I figured out on a calendar the exact 180 day out mark from our trip, so that I can call first thing in the morning to get the ADR's we want. I have it in my planner in my purse, and a reminder set up with my yahoo calendar and myspace calendar. Even though we are not going to WDW until Sept 28 - October 5, 2008, we have most of the places we want to eat at picked out. Now we just have to decide if we want to eat at them at lunch or dinner. The only problem is that we want to try and do MNSSHP while we are there. Since the dates don't come out until May/June for the event, I can see us having some conflicting dinner ADR's. Oh well, the only thing I can do is play their way, so I can get the TS my family wants.

 

[dreambound]

Glad to hear I am not the only frustrated one out there!

I have a question about people who make ADR's. If you make them and just don't show up, is there a penalty?

Kristine

Only if it is a meal you have to use a credit card to reserve. For example, Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Or a package like Fantasmic.

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

I absolutley agree. I do like to plan by making a customized planning book for our family. Having to plan where you want to eat 180 days out is just ridiculous. I don't know what I want to eat for dinner today, much less what I want to eat for dinner in 180 days. In the past we have only made ADR's for character breakfasts. Other than the one character breakfast per trip, the only TS we eat at every trip is Biergarten. However, on our next trip, we will be at WDW for 8 days, so we are doing to do the Deluxe DDP. That way we can eat at all of the TS's that we have been wanting to. I figured out on a calendar the exact 180 day out mark from our trip, so that I can call first thing in the morning to get the ADR's we want. I have it in my planner in my purse, and a reminder set up with my yahoo calendar and myspace calendar. Even though we are not going to WDW until Sept 28 - October 5, 2008, we have most of the places we want to eat at picked out. Now we just have to decide if we want to eat at them at lunch or dinner. The only problem is that we want to try and do MNSSHP while we are there. Since the dates don't come out until May/June for the event, I can see us having some conflicting dinner ADR's. Oh well, the only thing I can do is play their way, so I can get the TS my family wants.

Just making sure that you know that when you get to your first date for making the ADR at 180 days out, you can make all the ADR's for your whole trip (which, with an eight day trip, gives you an eight day advance to the 180!).

You don't have to call each day for that 180 day advance.
-mary

 

[connorlevismom]

Only if it is a meal you have to use a credit card to reserve. For example, Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Or a package like Fantasmic.

I think that is really stupid. If you are going to book up places 180 days in advance and then not have any penatly for not showing up, that is not fair! So I could book all the best places I wanted at 180, and then just blow them off, while someone who REALLY wanted to eat there is shut out because I have the reservation. That seems really backwards and completely rude.

Kristine

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

I wonder if they over-book to take the no-shows into consideration ?

 

[dreambound]

I think that is really stupid. If you are going to book up places 180 days in advance and then not have any penatly for not showing up, that is not fair! So I could book all the best places I wanted at 180, and then just blow them off, while someone who REALLY wanted to eat there is shut out because I have the reservation. That seems really backwards and completely rude.

Kristine

Yup, basically. You could make a breakfast, lunch and dinner ADR for each day of your trip and just show up to the one you decide to go to. There is no penalty.

I have been making a lot of ADR's in trying to decide what I want but I always make sure I never have double ADR's for more than a few hours. It's tempting to try to hog up the ADRs to make sure you have something at the time you want to eat. But unless they have a credit card attached to your ressie, they won't penalize you. They just open the table up to walkups.

I sometimes wonder if those ADRs are often just people overbooking. Or people who *think* they might take a trip so they make ADRs, then never book the trip (or cancel the one they booked) and then never bother to cancel their ADRs.