Last min. trip, no reservations.....

[4twinboyztrip]

Hi Everyone,

We decided to finally take our twin boys on a last minute trip to Disney. We are leaving on Aug. 27 and returning Sept. 2. I called and was unable to get a reservations anywhere I wanted. I was upset and now nervous. Is it even worth it now to get a dinning plan? What is your advice, thanks so much,
Jen

 

[Christine]

What type of places were you trying to reserve?

I know that during free dining, the restaurants get incredibly full and it is very hard to even do a walk up, but not impossible.

You may want to try playing around on the online reservation system because they do give you suggestions for alternate places to dine when you can't get the place you want. Maybe this will be a trip where you try "new" places if you can get those?

 

[familyS]

I would not get the dining plan, since reservations are limited or impossible to get so close to arrival date during free dining. I would be worrying about not using all my credits.

I would, however, keep trying to snag a few ADRs. Some people get lucky and snag a last minute cancellation.

 

[trac96]

maybe just get the quick service meal plan and just go with that. we have gone totally without a plan before and have a wonderful time and i'm sure you will as well. don't sweat it and have a great time.

 

[averill94]

Deep breath..... you will get ressies, don't give up!

I just booked a last minute trip too. 8/29-9/2 When I started looking for ADr's absolutely nothing I wanted was available. Our party size is 6 and I thought this was part of the reason but it is not since I even tried for 2 and 4

One of the CM's I spoke to said they don't release everything right away and ressies will be released as you get closer to the day.
I also suspect many people especially free dining vets have dupe ressies that they are waiting to cancel. (Don't worry people really do cancel their dupes!)

As of two days ago I got everything I wanted. THe compromise I had to make was a CP lunch vs. dinner. I checked online everyday.

Try and be flexible and don't give up!

Have a magical trip!

 

[Hopefully]

Personally I would not get the DDP if you are unable to get the ADR's you want. You will be prepaying for meals you will not be able to get. Walk ups to popular resetaurants are very rare and I don't think you can plan on them.
I agree with others to keep trying. With online reservations you can now check on your own.
Also the Quick Service Dining Plan is another option, if that fits your touring style.
Good Luck

 

[acourtwdw]

There are a lot of restaurants that don't fill up even during free dining. Nine Dragons in EP comes to mind. Also try to be flexible around the times that you want the ADR if possible. Remember most people don't make it to their 7am ressies, so if you are looking for a character bfast and can be at CM or Cape May when they open you have a good chance of being seated.

Enjoy your trip

 

[TDC Nala]

Personally I would not buy a dining plan including table service if I was unable to get reservations (not surprising during free dining), unless I was willing to leave the parks and try some out of the way places.

If the plan is free, that's different. You could probably use the TS for counter service.

 

[Soon2B4]

I am going around the same time, Aug 29-Sept 5 and I did find some things I wanted. I just had to change from dinner to lunch on some. The other thing to look at is the August and Sept. trade/cancel thread. People have been canceling a lot lately as their plans become more definite. Hope that helps.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We do a lot of last minute trips and learned you have to be flexible on your times and places...do not give up because thngs open up all the time. Have you tried places like GFC for breakfast and dinner? Boma breakfast? Olivia's for dinner? Usually the resort places are easier to get into than the park ones.

I tried for weeks to get into 50's PT for our June trip but no luck...while I was in WDW (Epcot actually) I called to change things around and guess what...I was able to get 50's PT for dinner the next night at 7pm...miracles do happen

 

[cattrix]

It may not be as hopeless as you think, I was shocked last year when we walked up to a few places during free dining and they got us in. I think Disney is crafting the fine art of free dining and they're doing better by not overbooking their restaurants.

The first couple years of free dining you would ALWAYS get turned away if you walked up to a restaurant and didn't have a ressie, now I'd give it a shot.

Another great tip is to call when you first get down there, people start canceling their dining ressies after they get down there and realize they aren't going to use it. Or if you want to eat somewhere in a park hit them up first thing to see if they have any cancellations for that day and snag them up

I'd go ahead and book the dining plan if I were you.

 

[walt's assistant]

Hi Everyone,

We decided to finally take our twin boys on a last minute trip to Disney. We are leaving on Aug. 27 and returning Sept. 2. I called and was unable to get a reservations anywhere I wanted. I was upset and now nervous. Is it even worth it now to get a dinning plan? What is your advice, thanks so much,
Jen

Jen, get the dining plan. Unless you are resigned to eating quick/counter service meals for lunch and dinner, you will save money regardless of where you end up.

Your situation actually happened to us once. Where there was no acceptable/available options within a theme park, we opted for one of the available full service hotel restaurants on the list. In all but one case (Maya Grill @ Coronado Springs), we were pleased with the experience.

 

[Motherofboys]

We are going 8/30 - 9/4 and have been able to get everything we wanted?

I have switched our ADR's around several times too. The only "no go" was getting a dinner at Le Cellier. Big surprise!

I even booked us for 'Ohana dinner at 6:45pm YESTERDAY, after I changed my mind again!

Have you tried the online system? What restaurants are you trying to get? I wonder if it is more difficult for you as a party of 4? We are a table of 7 and have found pretty good availabilty for everything.

Heck, as of yesterday they even had a late dinner at CRT if we wanted it!

Hope your luck changes!