Oh so THAT'S WHY I can't get a reservation at Be Our Guest (and every other restaurant in WDW)!!

[CandiceF]

People who get "free dining" don't really get it for free. You do pay full rack price for the room, and often time people who get free dining pay the same, if not more, than someone who gets a 30% or 20% off room rate. Sometimes free dining is a great deal, sometimes it isn't that great. I don't think taking advantage of any promotion should make you "second class," or not in the running for ADR's like everyone else.

I think it is free in the sense you are not paying for dining. Does a room discount save you more money? For some people yes it does. We have three little kids who love character dining and when we did the math it saved us more money if we got free dining.

 

[Bella29]

Does anyone think Disney should just increase capacity at its restaurants so this isn't such an issue? It's just supply and demand. If it were possible to have a decent sit down dinner in whatever park you happen to be in, without planning 6 months in advance, one wouldn't need a complex ADR strategy.

 

[ameliahyde]

I think it is free in the sense you are not paying for dining. Does a room discount save you more money? For some people yes it does. We have three little kids who lover character dining and when we did the math it saved us more money if we got free dining.

I suppose I view it as a promotion on a package. Since you buy a package with free dining, it just comes down to which package price is a better deal for your family. And, yes, I'm in the same boat - 2 little girls who LOVE characters! We do a lot of character dining as well, and since the buffets are ridiculously expensive, free dining is a very good deal!

 

[Bon1423]

This whole thing has been super unpleasant. I actually found this site because we are taking our first family Disney trip in three weeks and I booked 180+10 days out and got nothing we wanted. I was able to get Chef Mickey at 9PM, a 2pm lunch at Tusker house and nothing at all at BOG. Those were really my three must have experiences for my kids and it's really crappy we can't get one at all and the times on the other two stink and are definitely putting something of a damper on the trip at this point. I'm even using dining buddy and dining scout and everyone they notify me of something, it's gone within 2 minutes.

 

[JOE DELL]

The scalpers are only part of the problem, but even if you use dining agent its not %100 you will have a reservation and they will not refund your money. Also they could be using a $25 prepaid card so in all reality they would loose $25 as a whole and not per reservation. That's why those sights go out of business, its a scam.

What WDW should do is limit how many times you can book dining reservations for one day and or limit it to one reservation per restaurant per day. This won't completely solve problems but it will quell some of the 6 reservations for breakfast at BOG on the same day for the same party nonsense.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do you think that Disney cares if you had to pay $15 extra for an ADR at BoG any more than the Dodgers care if you bought your game ticket on StubHub?

Well, possibly not the best comparison. All MLB sites I've looked at in the last few years have direct links TO stubhub on them.

Directly from the Ticketing page on the Dodgers' website:

Also In Tickets

• Postseason Ticket Opportunity
• 2015 Postseason
• Season Tickets
• Mini Plans
• Group Tickets
• Premium Seating
• Individual Game Pricing
• Premium Individual Game Pricing
• Ticket Technology
• StubHub
• Accessible Seating
• Loge Party Boxes
• Executive Club Level
• Dodger Pride Rewards
• AC/DC Concert
• Cirque du Soleil

I do think they care in terms of copyright and trademark (one or both MUST be vigorously defended or you'll lose it, so sayeth my top 10 law firm partner sister in law, about trademarks at least), and in terms of load on their servers, and in terms of CS contacts. But otherwise I don't think they care.

 

[JimmyV]

Well, possibly not the best comparison. All MLB sites I've looked at in the last few years have direct links TO stubhub on them.

But that really was my point. Rather than fight the tide, MLB has embraced the secondary market. And I suspect Disney would too if it weren't for the fact that they will attack anything that messes with their IP. Or...if they can figure out a way to capture the pricing of the secondary market. So far, they have not done that with ADRs. Maybe they are looking into it.

 

[littleblackegg]

I was just answering the question posed by another poster asking which restaurants were so difficult to get into that people needed scalpers.

I'd be careful about calling people unscrupulous for holding reservations. I booked two reservations at Chef Mickey and kept them both until I nailed down our iteniary. I've since cancelled one of them, but that hardly makes me unscrupulous.

I thought there were some unscrupulous companies making large numbers of reservations. I didn't realize there were individuals doing it. Holding a single reservation is hardly in the realm of unscrupulous. I asked which restaurants were so impossible to get into because this has not been my experience, and people answered. Easy enough.

 

[mom2rtk]

I thought there were some unscrupulous companies making large numbers of reservations. I didn't realize there were individuals doing it. Holding a single reservation is hardly in the realm of unscrupulous. I asked which restaurants were so impossible to get into because this has not been my experience, and people answered. Easy enough.

I think it's a matter of degree. While I was watching the cancellation thread for June, I saw someone release lunch and dinner reservations for BOG nearly every day for a week. Sure, they got cancelled and someone got them. But I think that steps over the line.

 

[jaysmom4285]

I agree with JimmyV, who wrote:" Disney already has a system in place for stopping the process if it chooses to do so. It simply has to utilize it. ADRs require a CC for booking. That very same card has to be shown at check-in, and a photo ID has to be presented that matches the name on the CC. No CC switches allowed after the ADR is made." This seems like a very common sense way to deal with the issue and assure that only the person who made the reservation can use it.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

ITA. This would be the fairest, least invasive solution. That and a captcha for searching would help the situation (heck, even the DIS uses a captcha for searching).

I agree with JimmyV, who wrote:" Disney already has a system in place for stopping the process if it chooses to do so. It simply has to utilize it. ADRs require a CC for booking. That very same card has to be shown at check-in, and a photo ID has to be presented that matches the name on the CC. No CC switches allowed after the ADR is made." This seems like a very common sense way to deal with the issue and assure that only the person who made the reservation can use it.

 

[GaryDis]

Disney already has a system in place for stopping the process if it chooses to do so. It simply has to utilize it. ADRs require a CC for booking. That very same card has to be shown at check-in, and a photo ID has to be presented that matches the name on the CC. No CC switches allowed after the ADR is made.

I'm not sure you could do the "no switches" part. I have an affinity card that recently switched from Visa to MasterCard, so I got a brand new card and card number, with no say in the matter. It's not reasonable to assume that a person in this situation would think ahead and not destroy the old card.

What you might do is to say no name changes on the card.

 

[kidneymomma]

I think you have to remember when you are going makes a huge difference. We are going in an off season/an no free dining so I was able to get all the resi I wanted. I do have more than one resi at one restaurant until I have our plans further decided but that doesn't make me dishonest. If you are going during Christmas & if there is free dining I would expect it to be more difficult to get resi.

 

[littleblackegg]

I was raised with that "think about other people" ethic. Thinking about how my behavior might impact other people is just part of how I function. My husband too. If I suggested we make five reservations for the same restaurant that everyone was trying to get into "just until we firm up our plans," he would think I was having a stroke or something. What about other people who don't live here who come with little kids and are celebrating graduations and the end of chemo and stuff like that? <shudder> My conscience would never let me hold on to a bunch of nice things so other people can't have them just because that is easiest for me.

 

[smiths02]

I agree with JimmyV, who wrote:" Disney already has a system in place for stopping the process if it chooses to do so. It simply has to utilize it. ADRs require a CC for booking. That very same card has to be shown at check-in, and a photo ID has to be presented that matches the name on the CC. No CC switches allowed after the ADR is made." This seems like a very common sense way to deal with the issue and assure that only the person who made the reservation can use it.

Here is how our trip went....ADRS for 5 people, meaning each cancellation would cost $50.
My DH got sick and could not attend his birthday dinner at Yachtsman, so if he had made the ADR, then the whole family is SOL? We can't check in and are charged $50?
For the record, the only ADR I hoarded wad a BOG dinner while I waited for lunch ADR to open, but we would have gone to the dinner if we couldn't get lunch.

 

[fairy oma]

Here is how our trip went....ADRS for 5 people, meaning each cancellation would cost $50.
My DH got sick and could not attend his birthday dinner at Yachtsman, so if he had made the ADR, then the whole family is SOL? We can't check in and are charged $50?

I am in charge of making the reservations for 9 people (3 families) therefore my CC is on record for each reservation...so if I am not going with that particular family then it would be booked as a no show? That is not an option! I have no problem securing the reservation with my CC because I know they are going to show up for that reservation but Disney does not have a process in place to be able to transfer that dining reservation to a linked party in your group.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I disagree. Disney created this entire monster with the Dining plans to begin with and the 180 day booking window. A company has found a way to do the work for people and monetize it. Good for them. It is no different than a travel agent who charges fees to create touring plans.

Big difference. A travel agent does this with the full knowledge and blessing of the companies she's booking for these tours and gets a legit commission and never makes any false claims of who she is to do so. These companies are making reservations using false names and then selling what was a courtesy without prior knowledge and consent of the restaurant involved.

In another article I read, the last sentence read: ""Disney created a market here of a lot of very frustrated guests who are trying to get into restaurants and are not able to do it," he said. "Good entrepreneurs have found a way to serve that market."

As a firm believer in entrepreneurship, I see no issue that one company has created based on the monster Disney and their dining has become!

Lying to obtain a courtesy reservation under false pretenses from Disney (or any restaurant) and then selling it all the while conspiring with the buyer of said reservation to also lie without knowledge nor consent of the restaurant in question is not legit entrepreneurship.

 

[kidneymomma]

I was raised with that "think about other people" ethic. Thinking about how my behavior might impact other people is just part of how I function. My husband too. If I suggested we make five reservations for the same restaurant that everyone was trying to get into "just until we firm up our plans," he would think I was having a stroke or something. What about other people who don't live here who come with little kids and are celebrating graduations and the end of chemo and stuff like that? <shudder> My conscience would never let me hold on to a bunch of nice things so other people can't have them just because that is easiest for me.

In that instance the family is probably going on a make a wish trip and will receive special treatment anyway.

This is our first trip since having our son who has a life threatening disease called chronic kidney disease and prune belly syndrome. He's 2 so he's not even old enough to request a wish but this trip is more a treat for our daughter; her life has bee turned upside down more than once since his birth & yes I have 2 resi at one restaurant on the same day for a princess meal it's not CRT its Askerhaus. I didn't know if would we want an early breakfast or more of a brunch big deal!!

 

[Disneyliscious]

Lying to obtain a courtesy reservation under false pretenses from Disney (or any restaurant) and then selling it all the while conspiring with the buyer of said reservation to also lie without knowledge nor consent of the restaurant in question is not legit entrepreneurship.

I've seen a lot about the fake names so a few days ago I emailed the company in question. I X'd out the names. Here is the response I got:

"Dear XXXX,

DDA does not book any ADRs under "fake names". Our bookings are done with the names of real people who are the staff of DDA. We act as the clients Concierge and are not required to show up to dine, as is customary in this line of work. Furthermore, DDA has never booked a single resort stay and cancelled it in order to get any ADR. We begin booking at the 180 day mark like most others. While I understand your concern, rest assured that DDA does not use any automated program to make ADRs or make any false bookings in order to obtain such.

Regards,
XXXX"

 

[sunflare]

I'm not sure you could do the "no switches" part. I have an affinity card that recently switched from Visa to MasterCard, so I got a brand new card and card number, with no say in the matter. It's not reasonable to assume that a person in this situation would think ahead and not destroy the old card.

What you might do is to say no name changes on the card.

I was just going to post the same thing (I'm looking at you, Chase Bank, and your MC to Visa switch with NO NOTICE). This would also cause problems with people whose cards get lost or stolen ...especially if it happens while they're at the parks. In those cases, any identifying feature may change on the card used to check in...name, card number, type.