No more ADR's

[Texa]

We made several character meals for our June trip and only CRT required a credit card (and the fantasmic package but thats not character).

 

[EEyorelover22]

CRT, Fantasmic and Epcot Princess meals were the only ones that I had to use a CC on. I booked CP, Donald's, LTT, CM, 1900 Park Fare too and didn't need a CC.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

How about first come, first served ??????????????????????

Nope, I like it how it is- 'First plan, first served'

 

[mommyaof2]

I also booked 1900, CM, and Ohana's Lilo and Stich. No cc needed!

 

[jennypenny]

Yeah, we travel with 12 people--there is no way we could walk up and get a nice table anywhere. I like being able to call and find out if they have a table for 12, or 6 and 6, etc. Plus, I can't imagine the 12 of us having to discuss where to eat before every meal. The discussions would eat up half of our vacation!

I like having our vacation mapped out. We ALWAYS change it a couple of times after we arrive, but it's easier to change it when there is some sort of basic schedule.

Jenny

 

[YorkieMom]

Let's make ALL ADR's required credit card with a $10.00 no-show fee. This would give everyone a chance to book the seating and give those without the "commando planning syndrome" a chance to "walk-up" and eat a TS meal.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Let's make ALL ADR's required credit card with a $10.00 no-show fee. This would give everyone a chance to book the seating and give those without the "commando planning syndrome" a chance to "walk-up" and eat a TS meal.

Or the system could remain "as is" and people can get used to planning. It's not that difficult and it's often possible (unless you are going during an especially busy time) to make last-minute changes.

 

[Allison]

Let's make ALL ADR's required credit card with a $10.00 no-show fee. This would give everyone a chance to book the seating and give those without the "commando planning syndrome" a chance to "walk-up" and eat a TS meal.

I would hardly call being prepared 'commando planning syndrome".

 

[Allison]

Ok...Iam in a mild panic now.

Can anyone please confirm that Character meals do NOT require a Credit card deposit??

Nearly all of my ADR's are going to be character meals!!!

Don't worry, that post was incorrect.

 

[Buzz2001]

Well, I dont think this will happen any time soon....I personally like the ADR system...Who wants to wait with a little flashing buzzer for 3 hours waiting for a table while you could be out at the parks?

I agree with you

 

[Kanga1]

Nope, I like it how it is- 'First plan, first served'

This is too funny!!

I guess I'm an over obsessive planner because I don't think 90, 180, or 4,398 days is too far in advance! Having our parks and ADR's already planned out makes our vacation so "stress free." We know WHERE we're going, WHAT we're doing, and HOW we're getting there...almost as if we had an invisible travel guide following us along. All my June ADR's are in place and I would gladly make them this soon for our 2008 trip if they'd let me!

BTW, I just booked 9 character meals in Dec. and only CRT, Princess Storybook, and Wonderland Tea Party required a credit card.

 

[YorkieMom]

So I should make as many ADR's as I can for my 13 day stay and cancel when I decide what I want to eat on that particular day ??? With 4 adults in my party I can make 4 TS lunch ressies and 4 TS dinner ressies per day. That makes 104 ADR's for the entire trip. Is that what I should do ??? At least, with all of the cancellations, that would free up space for "walk-ins".

 

[scanne]

Personally, I think that it's much easier to plan things now that Disney has EMH's posted so far in advance. I was able to see which parks had EMH's that day or night. Then I chose to go to a park that does NOT have EMH's. I chose a restaurant there and made an ADR. We're going in July. I am so excited that I have the "ideal" plan (for us)! And we're doing some old favorites plus a couple of new ones.

With two small kids, I would hate to have to wait in line to be seated for dinner if no ADR's existed. Then it would come down to me running to a CS, getting them chicken nuggets or a hot dog, the kids would eat then we'd make them sit while the grown-ups eat. Ha ha! Yeah right.

I like the system the way it is.

 

[mjkaferle5]

ADR's are to the restaurants as fastpass is to the rides.

Would you want first come, first serve on the rides? No, because that is going back to standing in line.

Just call and make your ADR's. It really isn't that painful!

 

[Allison]

So I should make as many ADR's as I can for my 13 day stay and cancel when I decide what I want to eat on that particular day ??? With 4 adults in my party I can make 4 TS lunch ressies and 4 TS dinner ressies per day. That makes 104 ADR's for the entire trip. Is that what I should do ??? At least, with all of the cancellations, that would free up space for "walk-ins".

Why all the hositility?

 

[YorkieMom]

No hostility, I just don't know what I will want to eat or whick park I'll be in on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 (for example)

 

[skiwee1]

Yes, Crystal Palace now does require a credit card guarantee. All of the character meals now require credit card guarantee. There is a 48 hr cancellation policy and the no show fee is 10.00 per person.


HARRY

Not true I booked 15 ADRS last week. The only one that needed a CC hold was the StoryBook breakfast at Epcot. The other one that does require a CC is CRT.

 

[thelionqueen]

Personally, I think OP has something against those of us who plan (OK, I LIVE to plan but anyway). OP sounds very hostile about "having" to make ADR's so far out with a "why should I have to do this" attitude.

Personally, I don't know why anyone would spend so much on a vacation to WDW then "wing it". If you're reading these boards you will see the majority of people don't "wing" anything. Everything is planned, and for good reason.

1. WDW is the #1 vacation destination in the World (not US, World) and there
are tons of people there everyday wanting to do the Exact same things
you want to do.

2. Dining @ WDW is not like eating @ your local Six Flags or something. There
are thousands & thousands of people needing to be fed everyday. As it
happens, the most popular restaurants are booked because people want
to eat there & took the time to pick up the phone and make a reservation.

3. There is so much to do you can easily lose track of time (lots of it) and
could have missed a lot. By planning which park what day, which meal,
etc. you have an idea (not script, not set in stone) of what you're going
to do. By at least writing down what you want to do you have a much
better chance of actually doing it.

Now, there are many who don't like to do this...that is fine....just don't expect to get what you want, not @ WDW anyway. To the other planners who like to get their $$ worth and know how to do it right, see you @ CRT!

 

[skiwee1]

No hostility, I just don't know what I will want to eat or whick park I'll be in on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 (for example)

Look, it does sound crazy to the average person but a Disney fanatic has a certain plan for doing an itinerary. I never go to WDW commando style but I do plan what days I think I will be in what parks. To me, commando means running from place to place to get it all in. We only spend maybe 4 hours a day in the parks so we are not commando! What I do is list the days of my trip. I then put in what parks I kind of want do and when.I avoid MK on weekends and generally schedule Epcot on one of those days and make the other a Downtown Disney and pool day. I then match them up against the EMH list. I avoid parks that have EMH so I adjust accordingly. So that is the start. I then look at the park hours or at least get a glimpse of last years hours if I am unfamiliar with them so I can get an idea how long I might be there. I happen to know I want to do Fantasmic on a weekday and I book my meal at my favorite restaurant that I have to do each trip 3 hours before Fantasmic. I do this with the entire 2 weeks of my trip. Of course we have deviated fronm the itinerary but try not to on the days I have ADRS for our must do restaurants. I do agree with you that 180 days is absurd. I always stay onsite and love making all my own ADRS. It is still stressful to me and especially when I have to lay out the itinerary 6 months in advance but all in all fun! LOL! You need to learn a good plan for yourself and implement. Doing so will give you another fun part of your entire travel experience. To me, planning is really half the fun of the trip. It is exciting to see each milestone of planning go by and makes you realize the trip is just around the corner. Instead of getting frustrated with the whole process stick around and we can show you how easy it is. It sounds overwhelming and can be to first timers but that is why we are here to help!

 

[Becky2005]

Hmmm....one thing you are forgetting is that you CAN make an ADR the day of if you want, you may not get your choice of times and it may be booked but it's possible - which is better than just walking up as a walk-in.

We did it on our July trip (which was a busy time - it was right after 4th of July) - we went down to the counter at the Contemporary and asked if there was anything available for Tony's that night and we were able to get in.

We also did that for the Concourse Steakhouse.

We also cancelled a ADR for LeCellier so it opened it for someone else.

Now, this was before the 180 deal but if you are able to work with the timeframe and have choice B, C & D, it could work.

I also (still in shock about it) - witnessed a walk-up to Cinderella's breakfast the day we had ours (before park opening even!) - now with the new changes that probably won't be the case.

As for making several ADRs for the same timeframe/meals - I thought they had something in place so you couldn't do that.

I didn't find it all that difficult to do, I guesstimated which parks we would be in what days and worked from there (we had other things though so knew what those schedules were). It was kind of easy though too since my DH is a picky eater, it wasn't hard to decide which ones to go with. It was our first trip ever, never having been there before and I was still able to do it without a problem. We aren't going back for a couple of years but I will easily be able to decide what we are doing - I liked knowing stuff ahead of time, just like knowing ahead of time where I'm going to be sleeping and not just take a chance that their might be a hotel room open at the one I want that night.

We did change things around somewhat as they needed but there was never a problem (plus we were late to every ADR - I don't recommend this but it happened!).