No +10 - How bad will it be?

[Colleen27]

We won't be booking our package until about the 170 day mark, so I'm going to be doing my reservations without the +10 advantage. How has that been lately with the free dining running off and on into the winter/spring? I'm not looking to get Le Cellier (though it is tempting... we'll be there the first week of the signature menu) or CRT, so I should be okay, right?

 

[Nadjalu]

Last week I made my adrs for the first of Feb. Believe I was about 168 days out and I got everything...including LeCellier.
Ohana was the hardest, only one day had a couple times available. That seems to be the hottest ticket right now.

You can book your adrs without having a reservation number. You just can book them 180 days from that specific day. So if you know you are going just waiting to book the vacation, you can do your ressies.

 

[Colleen27]

You can book your adrs without having a reservation number. You just can book them 180 days from that specific day. So if you know you are going just waiting to book the vacation, you can do your ressies.

I know. I just got used to the old 90 day window and being booked in plenty of time to get the +10 advantage for staying on site, so I'm having to re-adjust to the longer window and not being booked that early. I'm not looking forward to being up early to do ADRs day-by-day, but it'll be worth it to get what we want.

 

[Cafeen]

Taking Le Cellier and CRT out of the mix, and if you're not doing O'Hana dinner, it won't be too bad at all.

I made all my late Sept reservations at 180 days out (no trip booked at the time) and got nearly everything I wanted at the exact times. After some tweaking, they fit even better. Of course, FD wasn't announced yet at that time, however it's right in the standard range for the last week (which, it ended up being for the original).

ETA: If you ARE planning on O'Hana dinner, that may be a toughie. But the majority of places should be fine, and with some persistence, you should end up with nearly everything at the ideal times.

 

[Colleen27]

No Ohana in the plans. This is a girls-only trip with my mom and my 2 daughters, so we're going more for the places DH & DS aren't into. The Ohana meat-fest is a hit with the guys, so we're skipping it this time while they aren't along to request it!

The hardest one I'm looking for is California Grill I think, but I'm not looking for a fireworks time ressie so hopefully it won't be too bad. We're only planning one character meal, and it isn't an especially popular one - Garden Grill - though I might fit in Crystal Palace for lunch if it happens to be available since my 2yo is starting to get into Pooh & friends. I don't have my plan finished yet, but the rest will probably be more off the beaten path - Rose & Crown, Flying Fish, The Plaza, etc.