Reservations hard to get

[monte4623]

Is something strange going on or is it always this hard? I am staying on Disney property in early December. I couldn't book Chef Mikckey's for any time slot for the length of my stay. Also had similar problem with Le Cellier. Other restaurants I could only book on certain days. This was 90 days out at 7am when i called.

Currently, when you go online and try to get reservation for Tony's in Magic Kingdom it comes up with nothing for seven days. Tony's is good but should not be booked full for 7 days. I thought early December was considered low season. Is this normal or should I be expecting huge crowds?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Free Dining is being offered thru Dec 17. Many restaurants are booked up or close to it. Keep trying. There may be some cancellations as people get closer to the day that they need to make their final payments on their packages. Good luck!

Oh, and check the December 2009 Cancelled ADRs thread for fellow DISers who are changing their dining plans. You might find that someone is about to cancel a reservation for the same restaurant and night that you're seeking.

 

[pumba]

we just returned during free dining time also.......Book reservations at some of the other choices, if yours does not come up...but keep trying every day to see if any cancellations appear.......we did this and voila....got Le Cellier for the night of my husbands birthday. It does happen.....so keep trying .

 

[Nadjalu]

Yes it is suppose to be a slower time but with Free Dinning going on I have my doubts about the low crowds.
It is our first time going during the holidays (the first wk of Dec) and I was so looking forward to no waits and less people but alais Disney opened up and offered FD to everyone. I am glad for people as it is such a savings (for us anyway) and it makes things easier $ wise for people to vacation but I wish I could experience DW with low crowds.

Just as the above posters said keep trying, I was able to get all my ADRs, including CM and LeCellier, so thankful I got in. Good luck.

 

[jaysmom4285]

Free dining periods will always translate into very limited availability for the TS restaurants - after all, those with free dining want to be able to take full advantage of it. But it doesn't generally translate to overall higher crowds levels. Only a certain number of onsite rooms are reserved for the free dining package, and a substantial number of WDW visitors are staying offsite. We've been to WDW several times in early December and crowds have always been fairly low. Keep in mind that low crowd levels don't translate into deserted streets and empty attractions - it'll just be way more manageable than busy times like Christmas or the 4th of July. Early December is a great time to go because of all the holiday festivities. You'll love it.