Making reservations half a year early may seem crazy to others...

[anneofgreengables]

My date for booking ADRs fell during the week of our camping trip. I told the friend I went camping with that I had to find a pay phone to drive to from the middle of the forest, so I can wake up at the crack of dawn and call Disney and make reservations for restaurants six months before my trip! It must have sounded crazy...

It's good the early birds' chirping woke me up and it's good I found a working payphone, so I got my ADRs!

 

[Chap7]

Well the early bird does get the worm. Great job!

 

[LauraAnn630]

Thats great! Im doing the same think this weekend! We are going camping in Pa. I have to get up and make ADRs. Everyone thinks Im crazy. We are going at Christmas, I know we will need ADRs!!

I tryed to do them today but they said Id have to call back everyday!! I thought you could make them all at your 180th day mark???

I did get Crystal Palace Christmas Eve!! My brother and his family are going to CRT Christmas Eve...they are pretty excited...its there first time!

 

[budbeerlady]

And now you can sleep in knowing you have what you want for your dining!!!! My family also thinks we have lost it, but I know what I want and I know how to get it. Love the Dis for all the info.

 

[MelanieC]

I feel your pain. One year while I was visiting my mom in Vegas (I grew up there) I got up every day at 3 am to call for my ADR's. I was exhausted, lol! I'd wait on hold foverever and think is it worth it. Glad you got all your ADR's!

 

[CharmedLife]

I tryed to do them today but they said Id have to call back everyday!! I thought you could make them all at your 180th day mark???

I did get Crystal Palace Christmas Eve!! My brother and his family are going to CRT Christmas Eve...they are pretty excited...its there first time!

If you're staying on Disney property, you can make reservations at the 180 day mark from your check-in, plus an additional 10-days. So you should be able to make them for a 10-day vacation starting 180 days before you check in. If the CM told you that you had to call back every day, I'd hang up and call again to get another CM.

If you're staying off-property, then they are correct - you'd have to call every day.

 

[anneofgreengables]

Thats great! Im doing the same think this weekend! We are going camping in Pa. I have to get up and make ADRs. Everyone thinks Im crazy. We are going at Christmas, I know we will need ADRs!!

When I went camping there was no cell phone reception at the campsite, so i had to use a payphone and buy a phone card in advance. I called the park rangers the week before to ask if they had a payphone at the park office, and they said they did, but it was out of order!

I called a couple of days later, and they said the phone had been fixed and was working. Whew! I thought I had to drive miles to the nearest town to find a payphone.

(edited because I typed dawn instead of town)

 

[LauraAnn630]

Im still working at this! I call today and they said because I am not staying on property I have to call back at the 180 day mark for every ADR.

So Ill have to call on the 4th of July at 6:59am to get an ADR on New Years Eve.

Im worried I wont get what I need. We are meeting friends there New years Eve. We want to do a character meal with Mickey. So we can take pictures of the kids together with the main man...lol...

Is Garden Grill the only place that has Mickey at Epcot?

THIS IS CRAZY...

I dont see how people do it without the DISboards. I can see why some people go and never want to go back. You really have to know your stuff!

 

[ellyn2000]

It is a great feeling when your ADR's are all booked. I'm using AAA for this trip so I was able to fax my requests to my agent and she held it until booking day and then I rec'd a confirmation in the mail.

 

[kcashner]

Mickey can only be one place at a time....so, yes, Garden Grill is the only place at Epcot to dine with Mickey.

As to 180 or 180 + 10....that's great if you know what you want that far in advance, and is definitely a good idea for a holiday trip. However, do not panic over it. I did most of my ADRs at about 45 days out (short notice trip) and got everything we wanted in May. We even changed some while we were at WDW, and again, were able to make the changes we desired.

So, if it is 179 days and you don't have ADRs yet, RELAX. Remember that vacation is supposed to be fun.

 

[BooScout]

Crazy is such a relative term, anneofgreengables! Sure, they might say you're crazy now, but they won't when they breeze in to their table past the folks who didn't plan ahead.

I made sure to book our meals once we hit the 180-day mark and now I can kick back and focus on the fun we're going to have on our trip.

I don't know if the policy has changed in the last few months, but the big dinner shows like Hoop-dee-Doo and the luau can be booked out much earlier than 180 days.

 

[The Sweetness]

Unless it is raining $$$ when I wake up on the day that I get to make my ADRs, I am calling WDW as soon as I have my fastest a.m. bathroom visit EVER! (some things just can't wait )

 

[AStamm]

I had to laugh when making my Christmas ADR's last week. I used my cell phone to call and the telephone in the room started ringing. The CM asked if I needed to get it, to which I said "Nope...my husband can get it. It's just our wake-up call...We're in Disneyland!" Couldn't even finish one vacation without planning for another

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I read your first paragraph and thought, "that's exactly what I would do!" If that's crazy, it seems there's a lot of us to keep each other company in our insanity!

 

[01Sweetpea]

My date for booking ADRs fell during the week of our camping trip. I told the friend I went camping with that I had to find a pay phone to drive to from the middle of the forest, so I can wake up at the crack of dawn and call Disney and make reservations for restaurants six months before my trip! It must have sounded crazy...

It's good the early birds' chirping woke me up and it's good I found a working payphone, so I got my ADRs!

Yep..that would have been me, on the phone ANYWHERE making my ADRs.

 

[anneofgreengables]

I'm glad we can all relate. My camping friend said, "That's like micro-managing..." I don't know if that was a good thing or not in her eyes, but I knew all you guys would understand.

 

[teamagic]

We all understand and are with you. My friends think that I am crazy to get up before 7am to make ADRs for our trip 180 days in advance. However, once on vacation at WDW it is such a rewarding feeling knowing where you are going to be eating at each day. As we are walking to our table I sometimes feel bad for all the people that did not make an ADR and are standing there wasting their time at Disney trying to get a meal. Then, my mood changes quickly because I think that these are the same people that make fun of making ADRs 180 days in advance at 7am.

 

[cigar95]

I don't know if the policy has changed in the last few months, but the big dinner shows like Hoop-dee-Doo and the luau can be booked out much earlier than 180 days.

I believe that the dinner shows went under the same 180 day umbrella when the change from 90 to 180 was made. (But tables booked before the change are still in the system, of course.)

On the more general subject, I have a hunch that it will only be in rare circumstances such as Christmas or New Years Eve that it may be necessary to call right at the 180 day mark, even for the more popular places. While most people have vacation plans in place 90 days out, far fewer are going to know the details 180 days out. I suspect if you want to have dinner at Alfredo's next April, calling at 153 days will be just fine.

Plus, remember that because the 180 day policy is new, many future guests are still reading last year's guide books, which will be quoting the 90 day policy. Come this October or so, that advantage will be gone. (But I still think the need to call right at 180 days will be a minor thing.)

 

[vellamint]

Okay...I must win a prize for this one. (Dont know if it is a naughty or nice prize though!)

The morning after I spend almost the entire day and night admitting my mother to the hospital (ER, Tests, you name it)....I got up at 6:50 am to book our Wishes Cruise.

Oh....and I got it....maybe someone up there knew I need some pixie dust...