Lunch reservations with park hopper

[DCcook]

If I have a lunch reservation, say at Blue Bayou before 1 pm, does that mean I have to pick DL as the starting park for that day? So I shouldn't pick California Adventure that day? Or will they let us pass through a little earlier with a dining reservation?

 

[Malcon10t]

They will not let you in prior to one, so select Disneyland as your starting park.

 

[DCcook]

Ack, ok. I definitely didn't plan this out that well. It will be our second day and I had hoped to start in CA Adventure.

Thanks for confirming.

 

[ktlm]

Yes- and it stinks and really caused issues with our trip as we usually hop for lunch. Even if we don't have a lunch reservation- on the days we start at DLR we often hop to CA around 11 or 11:30 and eat at their CS for lunch. DH really likes some of the counter service at CA.

What was really frustrating was when reservations dropped late and after our park reservations were set and I could only get reservations at any time during our trip for a restaurant where we wanted to eat lunch (r for Oga's at all) with times before 1:00 p.m. on a day we had a reservation in the other park. If you try to switch park reservations you have to give yours up before it is confirmed that you have one in the other park. Where I should have been able to book those reservations, I had the stress having to look at them just sitting there with their availability taunting me because I couldn't enter the park for them, and of having to stalk the dining website and setting alerts at other websites to try to pick up reservations on the right park days.

LOL- you really got me started. We despise that park reservation system. It really messed with our trip.

 

[DCcook]

LOL, I get it! I haven't booked our park reservations yet so I suppose I can do DL/DL/DCA. The final day will be a Saturday so maybe it won't be a bad thing to start in the other park that day. Presumably many more Sat visitors will want to start in DL on Sat? Who knows.

Or I can reserve DL/DCA/DL and see if a dining reservation comes up on those other dates.

Thanks for the heads up about changing the park reservation. I'm having anxiety about booking my dates because it seems a bit of a pain to change them. That is good to know.

 

[DisneyAndreaM]

I forgot which parks I picked first and then made all my reservations not thinking about this. Sucks! Now nothing is available…..

 

[Not Your Mom]

I wrote where we had to start in a notebook, so I wouldnt forget as I was not super sharp when I was trying to make dining reservations at 2am to 6am in the morning AZ time.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I forgot which parks I picked first and then made all my reservations not thinking about this. Sucks! Now nothing is available…..

Probably easier to switch your parks than get new reservations.

 

[CharleneTheDM]

This is one huge issue for me when it comes it park reservations.

I was able to snag a Lamplight Lounge brunch but realized I was starting in DL. I had to switch starting parks, but was so worried that during the time I was switching, the reservations spots might no longer be available XD

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

LOL- you really got me started. We despise that park reservation system. It really messed with our trip.

I am right there with you. We are at the parks right now, and I also had an Oga's snafu, where I saw a reservation come up but couldn't take it due to the stupid hopping rule. I have no idea why they have left it in place. It does't make any sense right now (the parks aren't crowded at all). I saw an old man in a walker being turned away from CA adventure today at 1 pm because his reservation was from DL and he hadn't tapped in yet (at least that's what I think was happening). We had a reservation at CA adventure today for lunch at 1 pm and the lines were deep and frustrating. Park reservations and hopping only a after a certain time are the COVID changes I hate the most. It's worse at WDW where you can't hop until 2 pm and you *must* tap into your first park before hopping, which is much harder to do with the parks so far away from each other.