please tell me it will be okay...

[hivemama]

Tomorrow is the first day we can book our adr's. FIL wants to book everything through his travel agent, and sh3 can't meet with us till 10. I'm concerned about availability by that time. Please tell me i'm crazy! We've planned a lot of character meals and event/grand gathering meals. I'm really worried they'll be full.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Tomorrow is the first day we can book our adr's. FIL wants to book everything through his travel agent, and sh3 can't meet with us till 10. I'm concerned about availability by that time. Please tell me i'm crazy! We've planned a lot of character meals and event/grand gathering meals. I'm really worried they'll be full.

Why not get up and book the "important" ones yourself. Then when you get to the TA's office, you can say, here - just add this "ADR" number that one is already taken care of? If a dining experience is that important I would do it myself, OR if you make on and the TA finds one that is comparable, just go home and cancel yours. And for the record, I do think 10am may be too late for certain ADRs that are hard to get.

My last suggestion would be to get the ones you need and send a quick email to the TA. Explain you don't want to hurt FIL's feelings, but the following were very important to you and you booked them. Could they please just act as if they were making them.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck and enjoy your vacation. One missed meal won't ruin the whole trip, I promise.!

 

[DVCconvert]

As per your request.....

You're Crazy.





don't sweat it...about the only possible prob..might be if you're trying to get CRT....other than that....check ebay for good prices for pre-owned straight jackets!

 

[JimmyV]

For the week after Thanksgiving, I think 10:00 (ET) will be fine. But without intending to offend the travel agents out there, there is no guarantee that the agent is going to make the reservations right there on the spot. And if they make them later in the day, or the next day, and things are not working out as planned, will the TA be able to make decisions on the fly? If you want a particular meal around 5:45 on Wednesday, but all that is available is 7:45, but 5:45 is available on Friday, do you take the 7:45 on Wednesday, or the 5:45 on Friday? These are the types of decisions that I do not want in a TA's hands.

This is one of those times when it is best to act first and ask forgiveness later. For me, it is a simple thought process:

Is there a potential downside to getting up early and making the ADRs on-line hours before you meet with the TA?-No. (Maybe you will get an odd look or a "hurumph" from your FIL, but that will melt away).

Is there a potential downside to relying on the TA?-Yes. You might get shut out of a few meals.

You can eliminate the potential downside by acting on your intincts and booking yourself.

 

[sharadoc]

Unless you have a reservation/confirmation number, you can only do a reservation for 180 days out from that day. As a Disney guest with a confim number, you can reserve for up to 10 days. Your TA usually has that confirm and access, so I think it would be best to work with her or you have to be on the phone every morning.

 

[JimmyV]

Unless you have a reservation/confirmation number, you can only do a reservation for 180 days out from that day. As a Disney guest with a confim number, you can reserve for up to 10 days. Your TA usually has that confirm and access, so I think it would be best to work with her or you have to be on the phone every morning.

Why do you assume that the OP won't have access to their confirmation number?

 

[DaniB]

No way I would be wanting to wait until 10am or later...

Do you have the reservation number? Surely your FIL has it in a confirmation e-mail or something? See if you can get a hold of that number today.

As long asyou have the trip reservation #, you can make the reservations yourself online. I would do it anyway in case the TA cannot get them later in the day.

 

[ktlm]

Okay, I'll put fuel on your fire. Personally, I don't like to hand my ADR's over to a TA. I like having the control of getting everything booked at the first available minute, and knowing it has been done. I also like being able to later change and tweak them on my own if I need to without having to rely on a TA to do it. If you can get the information for access by the TA so you can get the 180 plus 10, I would do that today and make my ADRs myself first thing in the morning. If not, I would still get up first thing in the morning and at least go ahead and make my ADRs for that first day, even if I can't go further without the plus 10 access. You may very well be just fine though. I have noticed that when it was 90 days for ADRs, you had to be on the phone/online the minute it opened up or you could be shut out. It is not as bad 180 days out. A lot of people haven't even made the decision to go to Disney that week yet. I will tell you that if I couldn't meet with her until 10, to even tell her what I wanted, that we would be sitting there at 10 online or on the phone with Disney, and I wouldn't leave until all my ADRs were made and I had confirmation numbers in my hand.

 

[NancyIL]

Who planned the trip - you or your FIL? If you did, then I think it's your choice to book the ADRs. Is FIL paying? If so - then it gets trickier! Guess I'm fortunate that my in-laws haven't footed the bill for an extended-family WDW vacation!

 

[robinb]

I agree with DVCconvert - You're crazy! Don't worry about it. There are very few restaurants (if any) that are completely booked by 10:00 am on the first day you can do it. Maybe ... Le Cellier for lunch but I bet that even that would be available, esp later in the week.

 

[csharpwv]

We are going the week after Thanksgiving and we have already made our dining reservations - in fact we did it either Saturday or Yesterday - We are checking in on Saturday.

We were able to get all the reservations we wanted - however we had to adjust our times a little to be able to get them all in.

We are taking a trip to the Disneyland Resort BEFORE our next WDW vacation - and we were surprised to find out that at Disneyland you can only book your dining 30 days in advance.

OK - let's take a totally objective look booking dining reservations 180 days in advance - 180 days - REALLY? That is just shy of 6 months!

Who knows exactly what they want to eat - and WHEN they want to eat 6 months in advance?!?!

The thought process behind that is totally insane - how many people actually book their vacations 6 months in advance? Some - but really - how many?

I can seem a DVC member making a room reservation 11 months in advance - that's one of the best things about a vacation club - you can book 11 months in advance or a few hours in advance and still get something 90% of the time.

My wife gets worked up about 'not getting to eat where we want to!" and to that I say - what's the big deal if we don't 'get in' where we want to.

Relax - take a deep breath, and I bet sometime between now - and the 6 months leading up to your vacation you will be able to 'get in' somewhere that will satisfy your cravings 3-5 months out!

Planning is wonderful - and it's great to have a plan, but don't forget - the plan is there for your convenience, not the other way around - don't be a slave to your vacation plan!

 

[hivemama]

Unless you have a reservation/confirmation number, you can only do a reservation for 180 days out from that day. As a Disney guest with a confim number, you can reserve for up to 10 days. Your TA usually has that confirm and access, so I think it would be best to work with her or you have to be on the phone every morning.

I do have the number, and would love to just book them myself, but fil is insistant tjat we book with the agent, and since he's paying I dont want to tick him off. If i did book a few ahead, will it show up on our account when she goes to book other ones?

 

[NancyIL]

I do have the number, and would love to just book them myself, but fil is insistant tjat we book with the agent, and since he's paying I dont want to tick him off. If i did book a few ahead, will it show up on our account when she goes to book other ones?

If your FIL is insistent - then I would let him bear the responsibility for getting the reservations you want. Since he is in charge, he also gets the blame if everyone else is unhappy. That's not a bad thing!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I do have the number, and would love to just book them myself, but fil is insistant tjat we book with the agent, and since he's paying I dont want to tick him off. If i did book a few ahead, will it show up on our account when she goes to book other ones?

I dont know if your ressies would show up but i would just be straight with your FIL and tell him that you've booked the ones you really REALLY wanted. Also, i wouldnt worry about everything being full. For two of my disney trips, i've booked everything (including the trip itself) only 2 months in advance (approx) and for some reason i always got the restaurants i wanted.

 

[ktlm]

We are taking a trip to the Disneyland Resort BEFORE our next WDW vacation - and we were surprised to find out that at Disneyland you can only book your dining 30 days in advance.:

FYI- I don't know how far out you are from your trip, but Disneyland dining is actually 60 days in advance, except for the Fantasmic Dessert Package which is 30. However, if you call the minute they open 60 days before your trip, they will instantly know you are a WDW person and they will laugh at you! I know, it has happened to me! Shockingly, most places at DL, a lot of times you actually can walk up and get a table too, even the character meals (I hear Blue Bayou is one that can be hard to get a walk in). I wouldn't rely on that that though if there are places you really want to go, as they can book up.

Goofyintoronto you are lucky!!!! I booked only a few months out a few of years ago, and tried calling multiple times a day every day for over 2 months and never got CRT. Other than that, I have usually gotten what I want, but sometimes it has taken me being online several times a day for weeks on end trying to pick up a cancellation to do it. My biggest concern for OP, is that it sounds like she is talking about a large group, which might be harder to get in places.

 

[hivemama]

We are a group of 12. Here is my list, can someonw tell me what might be hardest to get into?
Breakfast:
Tonys grand gathering
Akershus
Boma
Crystal palace

Dinner:
International grand gathering
Whispering canyon
Spirit of aloha
Safari grand gathering
Hoop de doo review

Whatcha think?
Thanks!

 

[ktlm]

I've never been with a group that big, but it doesn't look to me like you have any of the really hard to get into places on your list. I think Akershus is probably the hardest one on your list. I'm guessing you will be okay on all of them 6 months in advance. My only concern would be the size of the group.

 

[NancyIL]

Having gone to WDW in 2001 with my family group of 11, I'm glad to not be booking any large family gatherings again! I made a few dining reservations, and half the group chose to bail on one of them! My feeling about traveling to WDW with family is - I'll do what I want and they can do what they want. If we end up doing the same thing - great. If we all do different things, then everyone is still happy.

 

[hivemama]

Having gone to WDW in 2001 with my family group of 11, I'm glad to not be booking any large family gatherings again! I made a few dining reservations, and half the group chose to bail on one of them! My feeling about traveling to WDW with family is - I'll do what I want and they can do what they want. If we end up doing the same thing - great. If we all do different things, then everyone is still happy.

I totally empathize with you Thankfully, we are doing whatever we want during the day, but promised Dad we would do dinner together each night since its a trip celebrating their anniversary and they're paying. I, however, have been ele3cted head of the planning committee - it may make me crazy

 

[hivemama]

Just got done and we got everything we wanted, just had to flex on some times! Yay!