Making Reservations Is An Adventure

[WDWNY]

First time I'm in charge of making dinning reservations. I think it will be my last.
180 days was today. Got up a few minutes before 6. Went to make reservations for Thanksgiving first. 1900 Park Fare for dinner only 1 time slot was available... 7:40 a little late for us since we like to catch the parade and wishes but we will survive. Next, Be Our Guest for lunch... no luck Eventually something came up- YAY! Made the reservation and realized it was for TODAY. So I couldn't go back to sleep- I had to wait to call at 7 to cancel the reservation since it wouldn't let me online (probably because it was the day of)!
We're only staying on property until Thanksgiving so I have to make the reservations for after at the 180 mark not 180 plus 10 so that means I have another 4 days of this. Oy vey.
Whoever makes the dinning reservations for their party at 6am and can function-

 

[Harambe]

hahaha - you can do it!! Oh, how no one understands the pain of it all! Seriously, you will be glad you did the reservations once you get there and there'll be no pressure to do anything but enjoy your trip!

 

[MainMom]

I would just call. I have better luck with it sometimes.

 

[mickeyheart]

What time do the online reservations open up? my 180 days is Monday and I'm in the UK. All these time zones confuse me!!

 

[rosiebean]

I have a quick question...my 180 date to make ADRs is coming up soon. I'm staying on property, so will be able to do the 180 day plus 10. Can I do that online, or do should I call? I hate the phone system and would much rather go online. But I'd appreciate advice from those with more experience!

We've always booked later in the past, and as I never had that 180 day out luxury, I made ADRs online and got what I could get. We've never been disappointed in the results, but I want to be prepared this time as I might be able to get more difficult ADRs!

 

[matthewhavens]

I have a quick question...my 180 date to make ADRs is coming up soon. I'm staying on property, so will be able to do the 180 day plus 10. Can I do that online, or do should I call? I hate the phone system and would much rather go online. But I'd appreciate advice from those with more experience!

We've always booked later in the past, and as I never had that 180 day out luxury, I made ADRs online and got what I could get. We've never been disappointed in the results, but I want to be prepared this time as I might be able to get more difficult ADRs!

Online starts at 6am eastern and phones start at 7am. Definitely go the online route if that is your preference anyway.

 

[honeybunches]

Oh, don't give up yet! Playing with ADRs is part of the fun of planning. It's one of my favorite parts of the trip. No pain, no gain! For the ones you really want (BOG, later time at 1900PF) just check back, or set up one of those reservation searches. There will be openings!
The online res site is giving me problems still, especially not letting me see the rest of my trip dates. Are you staying on property? If so, you should be able to access all of your trip dates. I found that logging back in fixes it.

 

[rosiebean]

Thank you, everyone!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Make sure you check around 45 days from your arrival date. That's when people who have booked packages need to pay their balance. I think there are a lot of people who cancel then.

 

[AngiTN]

First time I'm in charge of making dinning reservations. I think it will be my last.
180 days was today. Got up a few minutes before 6. Went to make reservations for Thanksgiving first. 1900 Park Fare for dinner only 1 time slot was available... 7:40 a little late for us since we like to catch the parade and wishes but we will survive. Next, Be Our Guest for lunch... no luck Eventually something came up- YAY! Made the reservation and realized it was for TODAY. So I couldn't go back to sleep- I had to wait to call at 7 to cancel the reservation since it wouldn't let me online (probably because it was the day of)!
We're only staying on property until Thanksgiving so I have to make the reservations for after at the 180 mark not 180 plus 10 so that means I have another 4 days of this. Oy vey.
Whoever makes the dinning reservations for their party at 6am and can function-

Been there, done that.

Hint, next time, modify for a later date and then cancel

 

[IndyRnRfan]

I guess we are just fortunate. We don't ever get up at 6 at the 180 day mark and have never had an issue getting any ADR. Last summer we didn't make our ADR's until 60 or so days out for August and got every one except BOG. We did get it once we arrived. We don't even have any issues getting over Christmas Break well after the 180 day mark.

 

[WDWNY]

Are you staying on property? If so, you should be able to access all of your trip dates. I found that logging back in fixes it.

We are staying at BWV for a night then moving over to Dolphin. We are staying there because of work so we got a convention rate. Long story short the reservation is not in Dolphin's system yet and isn't going to be in their system until about a month in advance so we can't connect it to MDE because we don't have the resorts confirmation number. Called Disney and they said to call Dolphin closer to the date. So it's basically like we're staying off site when it comes to booking dinning and possibly fast passes (fingers crossed they have it before the 60 day mark)

 

[WDWNY]

Been there, done that.

Hint, next time, modify for a later date and then cancel

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I will keep this in mind for the next couple of mornings when I try to get these reservations taken care of. Thanks!

I guess we are just fortunate. We don't ever get up at 6 at the 180 day mark and have never had an issue getting any ADR. Last summer we didn't make our ADR's until 60 or so days out for August and got every one except BOG. We did get it once we arrived. We don't even have any issues getting over Christmas Break well after the 180 day mark.

Same here. We usually are last minute trip planners (a month or two in advance) so we've never done the 180 days. I always get the restaurants I want, sometimes not the perfect time but after today I realize chances are slim whenever you book it! Since it is Thanksgiving break I figured it will be harder to make reservations.

 

[addiln]

I have a quick question...my 180 date to make ADRs is coming up soon. I'm staying on property, so will be able to do the 180 day plus 10. Can I do that online, or do should I call? I hate the phone system and would much rather go online. But I'd appreciate advice from those with more experience!

We've always booked later in the past, and as I never had that 180 day out luxury, I made ADRs online and got what I could get. We've never been disappointed in the results, but I want to be prepared this time as I might be able to get more difficult ADRs!

We have always used the online system. It is much easier compared to calling the number and waiting on hold. I am not a fan of the phone systems either so it just works better for me. Most people sound like they are up a 6 am est ready to go to do this but i tend to start around 9 and have always gotten what I wanted.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Definitely set up reservation finders though touring plans. I couldn't get a BOG lunch on my 180 a few weeks ago. I set up a reservation finder and already got an alert and got it booked.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

We are staying at BWV for a night then moving over to Dolphin. We are staying there because of work so we got a convention rate. Long story short the reservation is not in Dolphin's system yet and isn't going to be in their system until about a month in advance so we can't connect it to MDE because we don't have the resorts confirmation number. Called Disney and they said to call Dolphin closer to the date. So it's basically like we're staying off site when it comes to booking dinning and possibly fast passes (fingers crossed they have it before the 60 day mark)

Take a trip over the the Theme Parks sub board FP+. The group over there have a ton of information. I believe that if your tickets aren't part of the Dolphin package, you can link your tickets to the BWV stay, and you will be able to take advantage of FP+ at 60 days (although you may have to make them each day since the Dolphin reservation isn't in the system).

 

[WDWNY]

Take a trip over the the Theme Parks sub board FP+. The group over there have a ton of information. I believe that if your tickets aren't part of the Dolphin package, you can link your tickets to the BWV stay, and you will be able to take advantage of FP+ at 60 days (although you may have to make them each day since the Dolphin reservation isn't in the system).

Thanks!! I will go check it out. We are going to use AP so hopefully it works out!