Loving the new ADR policy...

[mom2rtk]

Or they could add reservation kisos in the hotel loby and by the buss stops.

Well, since I doubt those lines would have fastpass, I'll have to pass on this idea too. While 180 days isn't ideal, I still like it better than anything same day. Our park and dining plans are generally made in conjunction with each other. If there's a particular restaurant I want to eat at, I don't want to stand in line each morning to see if we can get in and if we even want to go to that park that day. It sounds like a nightmare. There are more and more people chasing a fixed number of seats. It would NOT be a pretty scene.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

Good luck with that, seriously. Disney's voice recognition programs now are so fussy that I have to turn off the TV and make sure my 3yo isn't in the room to navigate it, and God forbid the dog bark or someone knocks at the door because the slightest noise is all it takes to confuse the system. There's no way you could navigate it from within the parks, at a bus stop, or anywhere else with a high level of background noise.

Reservation kiosks would be more feasible, but then you're talking about standing in line to make dining reservations in the morning which I think most people would find far less convenient/desirable than making reservations from home.

Hahahahaha!!!! My family's last name is Baranyai. Do you know how many times I have to spell it for the Disney VM just to screw it up every time? It has NEVER gotten it right!!! I find myself getting louder every time. So annoying.

Well, since I doubt those lines would have fastpass, I'll have to pass on this idea too. While 180 days isn't ideal, I still like it better than anything same day. Our park and dining plans are generally made in conjunction with each other. If there's a particular restaurant I want to eat at, I don't want to stand in line each morning to see if we can get in and if we even want to go to that park that day. It sounds like a nightmare. There are more and more people chasing a fixed number of seats. It would NOT be a pretty scene.

It seems you two have identified the problems with that idea. I would never want to go to Disney without wanting to know where we were eating in advance. I have a party of up to 16 sometimes. There's no way we'd ever get in, and I don't want to ever have to waste vacation time trying to figure out where we are going. Minutes mean dollars in Disney time. I prefer to get my money's worth rather than throw precious minutes out the window.

I don't mind the new policy. I got sick on our last trip, and probably should've gone to the ER. I went right when we got home. I didn't even go home in fact, just drove straight to the ER. I managed to make it to my ADR's b/c the first day I was sick we just stayed in our room. It happened to be one of the few days without an ADR. The next day we went and I did the best I could. My hubby pushed me in a wheelchair b/c I was so weak, but I made it. I hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does and I have to cancel I will deal with it at that time. Or, maybe I would call and have them adjust our ADR by one person, and send the rest of my family. It is usually me that gets sick, so I am assuming my hubby could still take them. My doctor recently gave us a prescription for an antibiotic for while he was out of town b/c we all were sick in our house. He told me to hold it to see if my son improved, but if he didn't, then to go ahead and fill it. He got better, but I am filling it anyway b/c it is a Z-pack and I can have it on hand in case I get sick again. I catch everything!!!!

I am glad I saw this thread b/c now I am not so nervous about booking my ADR's come April.

 

[jmellarkey]

Hope someone has info about this. We are 99% complete with booking our ADRs for our trip in June, 2012. HDDR is not showing for the date we want and some internet searches suggeest that seats may have not been loaded beyond 6/2/12. I am concerned that we have lost our advantage to book early. Calling seems to get me no information. Anyone have info about when these seats will be available?

 

[disneybliss2]

Here's another big fan of the new system. I too noticed a big difference when making our reservations for our upcoming trip. When I wanted to change some dates/restaurants around, I love how it had the option to cancel the existing one right then and there for me. It made it so easy!

 

[arthuruscg]

I guess we go to disney differently. The night before is when we deside where we want to go the next day. So, planing 6m out for us is crazy. We COULD be one of the families that makes reservations at everypark for every day, that that is just not the right thing to do.

Ever since the 180d ADR combined with the "Free Dining" crazyness we have reduced how much we eat in the park and will order pizza delivered. When we do eat in the park it has been cs type stuff. So, Disney has been getting less $ per trip from us.

 

[triplejen]

I don't think this will have a chilling effect on the amount of ADRs I make. I'll probably still make ADRs at 180 days out for pretty much every meal of every day of our trip.

I typically tweak everything in the final weeks before we go, so I can cancel what I don't need then. Honestly, I'm surprised to hear that this seems to have had as much of an impact as everyone is reporting on the advance ADRs.

I am annoyed about the required cancellation window, though. On our last trip, we had an 8 am flight that ended up being delayed 10 hours

I called from JFK to cancel the ADRs we had booked for that night, but it seems that I'd be on the hook for them under the new policy. That kind of sucks - it seems like it eliminates the ability for anyone to make arrival date ADRs

I'm not a fan of that :-(

 

[marx]

At 180 days out, schedules for the park are not finalized. This past August, hours were changed for the MK and Fantasmic dates were updated between 180 days out and our trip. Also, park attendance estimates (viewed through another site) changed between 180 days out and our trip (I think due to the changes in park schedules).

My dining plans are based on which parks I attend. Since I am unsure which park I will be in, I typically make two dinner reservations each night. I DO cancel the extra res about 30 days out when I firm up my touring plans based on the updated park hours.

I have free dinning (bounceback) in August 2012 and will not change my strategy.

I'd like to see the window shrink to 45 days, to be in line with the package payment deadline and cancellation penalties, so that fewer people are booking ADRs on spec or making a million changes as park hours and events are announced/changed.

I would like to see the 180 window changed too to something more reasonable (90 days would probably work) when park hours and showtimes are more firmly set. This would allow me to plan specific restaurants and not have to speculate on changes. I only make dual dinning res due to probable changes that occure to park hours and showtimes.

 

[kamik86]

At 180 days out, schedules for the park are not finalized. This past August, hours were changed for the MK and Fantasmic dates were updated between 180 days out and our trip. Also, park attendance estimates (viewed through another site) changed between 180 days out and our trip (I think due to the changes in park schedules).

My dining plans are based on which parks I attend. Since I am unsure which park I will be in, I typically make two dinner reservations each night. I DO cancel the extra res about 30 days out when I firm up my touring plans based on the updated park hours.

I have free dinning (bounceback) in August 2012 and will not change my strategy.




I would like to see the 180 window changed too to something more reasonable (90 days would probably work) when park hours and showtimes are more firmly set. This would allow me to plan specific restaurants and not have to speculate on changes. I only make dual dinning res due to probable changes that occure to park hours and showtimes.

Wasn't the window 90 days before? I seem to remember my first trip that it was 90 days.... only foggy though becuase I didn't know much about disney and was inside the 90 days before I booked then.

 

[Gymbomom]

I LOVE the new policy!!! We rarely missed an ADR and if we did, it was for a simple breakfast that would usually have times for walk-ups anyway!
I think this is a GREAT way to prevent people booking multiple times and locations with different names. I have heard of people over and over again doing this and it just isn't right.
We book one sit down everyday and I have no problem being committed to that.

 

[mom2rtk]

Wasn't the window 90 days before? I seem to remember my first trip that it was 90 days.... only foggy though becuase I didn't know much about disney and was inside the 90 days before I booked then.

It was 90 days when we booked our ADR's in 09. By then free dining was already out there and everyone's trips were firmed. It was a feeding frenzy for the most popular places.

 

[Gymbomom]

Hope someone has info about this. We are 99% complete with booking our ADRs for our trip in June, 2012. HDDR is not showing for the date we want and some internet searches suggeest that seats may have not been loaded beyond 6/2/12. I am concerned that we have lost our advantage to book early. Calling seems to get me no information. Anyone have info about when these seats will be available?

I think this has something to do with Disney deciding on what times to land on. They are testing the changes to earlier times. Which I for one hope they stick with!!!

 

[WaltD4Me]

While it may not be the most customer friendly policy ever, I do place most of the blame for it on the park guests, not on Disney. Too many people felt no obligation at all to cancel ADRs if they decided to not use them. And too many people didn't feel one shread of guilt if they booked multiple ADRs, knowing full well they were not going to use them all.

Part of it is because of how easy it is to book ADRs by phone and on-line. Years ago it wasn't quite as easy. And I really believe years ago people didn't have the same Who Cares as long as I get what I want attitude.

I don't know...I think that Disney seriously helped creat the problem. Yes, guests that book multiple reservations are the problem, but Disney's 180 out booking window is also a big issue. I have made multiple ADR's because it's so far out and you just don't know the park schedules yet. I do cancel when park hours firm up. I would gladly wait until park hours are more firm to book, but with DDP and Free Dining, you really can't...unless you want to eat CS the whole trip. I even think 90 days is silly. To me 60 days out is suffient.

Don't get me wrong, I really don't have a problem with the policy, I just have a HUGE issue with the time frame. 24 hours/One Calendar Day is ridiculous. I have friends going in the spring with their mom who has MS. She is in a wheelchair now and I don't know what to tell them about making ADR's. She has good days and bad days, should they drag her to an ADR on a bad day so they aren't charged $50 or should they just not make ADR's at CC hold restaurants? It's a sad decision to have to make IMHO.

 

[sue and co]

Whilst this may not be completely the right way to solve the problem - it is inconsiderate guests that have caused the problem not Disney. It may be that the timeframe for bookings and/or cancellations needs to be tweaked but it is guests making bookings (often multiple bookings) that they then neither keep nor cancel that have caused the problem. I think for us it will make booking ADR's easier but we are only just approaching the window for our next trip so I will have to wait and see.

 

[GiJohnsGirl]

I can understand how situations come up and I really think they should be more understanding of those cases. However, I was able to get Cinderella's Royal Table a month before our trip for any time I wanted.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can understand how situations come up and I really think they should be more understanding of those cases. However, I was able to get Cinderella's Royal Table a month before our trip for any time I wanted.

That has nothing to do with the new policy. CRT has allways been cc guaranteed or prepaid.

It has more to do with them running the princess character meal pretty much nonstop from 8 am until 10 pm or whenever they close. They used to just do breakfast with characters, then breakfast and lunch, now all 3. And I think it's nearly nonstop between meals now. More opportunity.

 

[carebee21]

Don't get me wrong, I really don't have a problem with the policy, I just have a HUGE issue with the time frame. 24 hours/One Calendar Day is ridiculous. I have friends going in the spring with their mom who has MS. She is in a wheelchair now and I don't know what to tell them about making ADR's. She has good days and bad days, should they drag her to an ADR on a bad day so they aren't charged $50 or should they just not make ADR's at CC hold restaurants? It's a sad decision to have to make IMHO.

This is pretty much the exact predicament we have. We typically travel with my parents. My mom has fibromyalgia, so one day she'll feel well and make it through the parks, another day, she can barely get out of bed. We have no way of knowing how she'll feel and whether she'll make it to breakfast, lunch or dinner on any given day.

My dad also has diabetes, so for him, eating on time is important. Although not usually a big deal, we have had to wait an hour for an ADR at Mama Melrose. It wasn't a big deal that day, but some days, there's no way he could make it an extra hour without needing to eat something. My understanding is that we would be charged, even under these circumstances.

Thrown into this wonderful mix is the fact that I get migraines that could strike at any time, without giving me 24 hours notice and I have a child who has gotten strep throat and pink eye while vacationing at Disney World. I'm down right weary of making any credit card reservations.

I don't understand Disney's thinking on this policy at all. The more popular restaurants are the ones with the guarantees, but, for example, if I cancel Ohana's, there's going to be a family walking up that will gladly take my spot. I just don't see how they're losing out on that much money because of people overbooking/no showing. On the other hand, due to this policy, it has me questioning whether Disney is really the right destination for our family on our next vacation with my parents. If it turns out it is, it looks like we'll have to eat offsite to ensure we can have a sit down dinner every night, which then brings into play whether or not staying on site would be worth it given that scenario. So, instead of Disney possibly looking at missing money off of a couple reservations, they are now looking at us possibly vacationing somewhere else, or staying and eating offsite, both of which would seem to cost them a whole lot more than possibly(assuming no walk ups take our place) a couple dining reservations.

The other thing about this policy that really grosses me out is that people who aren't feeling well and maybe otherwise would have just stayed at the resort may just come to the restaurant and suck it up so they or their family don't get charged the no show fee. It's almost like Disney is inviting the sick in to eat at the buffets or mingle with characters that everyone else's kids are going to touch. I'm not a germophobe in the least, but that was my first thought when I heard of this policy...

 

[maxiesmom]

The other thing about this policy that really grosses me out is that people who aren't feeling well and maybe otherwise would have just stayed at the resort may just come to the restaurant and suck it up so they or their family don't get charged the no show fee. It's almost like Disney is inviting the sick in to eat at the buffets or mingle with characters that everyone else's kids are going to touch. I'm not a germophobe in the least, but that was my first thought when I heard of this policy...

I think the people who would haul a sick child to a restaurant to save $10 a person would have hauld them out anyway.

Also, Disney doesn't seem too quick to give away tables when people don't show up. I've been told they will hold them at least 20 minutes past the time when the family would have been seated. That may not be much time really, but when it happens often and multiple times a day, that money lost by holding spots adds up.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the people who would haul a sick child to a restaurant to save $10 a person would have hauld them out anyway.

Also, Disney doesn't seem too quick to give away tables when people don't show up. I've been told they will hold them at least 20 minutes past the time when the family would have been seated. That may not be much time really, but when it happens often and multiple times a day, that money lost by holding spots adds up.

But the point is that they COULD give them away if the had a shorter window, like a few hours, instead of a day or two, or whatever it turns out to really be in practice. Heck, they could probably give that table away with a ONE hour window in most cases.

Like many here my issue is not what they are doing, it's HOW they're doing it.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I think the people who would haul a sick child to a restaurant to save $10 a person would have hauld them out anyway.

Also, Disney doesn't seem too quick to give away tables when people don't show up. I've been told they will hold them at least 20 minutes past the time when the family would have been seated. That may not be much time really, but when it happens often and multiple times a day, that money lost by holding spots adds up.

The point is ..... if you have a sick kid, you shouldn't have to be worrying about it, you should be able to call and cancel without being charged. It's just another stresser being added to a VACATION. You already practically need a Masters Degree to plan a trip to WDW and now you have to worry about every cough, sneeze and queasy stomach?

 

[maxiesmom]

The point is ..... if you have a sick kid, you shouldn't have to be worrying about it, you should be able to call and cancel without being charged. It's just another stresser being added to a VACATION. You already practically need a Masters Degree to plan a trip to WDW and now you have to worry about every cough, sneeze and queasy stomach?

You can call and cancel without being charged, if you call at least a day before or have ADRs at the many restaurants that do not require a credit card.

Allowing people to cancel only a few hours before their meal with in no way deter them from making a bunch of ADRs, that would make it way to easy. So now Joe knows his family wants to be in MK on that day, so he can cancel ADRs at Le Ceiller, The Prime Time Cafe, and Chef Mickeys. So he hogged those ADRs and people who really wanted them, and would have booked them ahead of time guaranteeing Disney revenue, were shut out.

Disney would still rather have someone with an ADR then have to hope a walk up will come for that exact time frame.