Same day dining reservations coming to Skipper Canteen..

[Disneylover99]

Just like a Rope Drop. The few who make the effort will be rewarded. Many won't. I'm not saying that I am a fan of the new system. I am only saying that it has to make some difference to some percentage of people. The idea that this "won't make any difference to anyone" simply isn't true.

I don't view this at all like rope drop. At rope drop, you get to ride multiple rides, multiple times if you want. You get headliners with little or no wait.

I see this more as an unnecessary Fp. You can make an ADR at Skipper's Canteen for a specific time at 6am. But you don't need one throughout the day anyways, if you just choose to do walk up instead.

The only benefit is for Skipper's. Now people may be dinged for a fee, if they change their mind later in the day. It really doesn't benefit the customer at this point.

 

[JimmyV]

But you don't need one throughout the day anyways, if you just choose to do walk up instead.

Only if you equate Skipper Canteen to, say, Muppet Vision. But Disney envisions this restaurant to become more like Toy Story Midway Mania, for which Rope Drop becomes far more valuable. Again, you are assuming that the restaurant is unpopular and will remain so, such that a rush to get a reservation is completely unnecessary. Disney obviously believes that someday, the Be Our Guest phenomenon will be repeated and they are trying to do a test to avoid people lining up at 10:00 to get a table at noon. You and Disney obviously have different ideas of what the future of this restaurant holds.

Bottom line, (assuming that reservations become available at 6:00 a.m.):

1. Under the walk-up only system: I wake up at 6:00. I want to have dinner at Skipper Canteen at or around 7:00 p.m.. Even if the restaurant remains unpopular, my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 is less than 100%. And my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 without a wait is substantially less than 100%. I might succeed. I might not. I just have no way of knowing.

2. Under the same day reservation system: I wake up at 6:00. I want to have dinner at Skipper Canteen at or around 7:00 p.m.. I search for and find a time at or around 7:00 and hit "Reserve". Even if the restaurant gains in popularity, my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 is 100%. And my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 without a wait is still close to 100%. Just like TSMM. If I arrive at Rope Drop, I am guaranteed a wait of less than 45 minutes. If I arrive later, I may or may not get a wait time of less than 45 minutes.

Any way you slice it, there is more certainty with system number 2. And if for some reason I fail to get the time slot that I want, I will know 13 hours in advance and can plan accordingly, which is better than showing up at 6:30 only to find out that the wait is 2 hours. That leaves me stuck.

You don't have to convince me that this system is inferior to a traditional ADR with a 180 day window. I get that. But there is now way that the math does not work out in favor of system #2. Your degree of certainty as to whether you can dine at the restaurant, and at what time, go up under system #2. There is no math that can be used to refute that. System #1 can only replicate System #2 in terms of certainty if luck or sustained unpopularity play a part.

 

[Disneylover99]

Only if you equate Skipper Canteen to, say, Muppet Vision. But Disney envisions this restaurant to become more like Toy Story Midway Mania, for which Rope Drop becomes far more valuable. Again, you are assuming that the restaurant is unpopular and will remain so, such that a rush to get a reservation is completely unnecessary. Disney obviously believes that someday, the Be Our Guest phenomenon will be repeated and they are trying to do a test to avoid people lining up at 10:00 to get a table at noon. You and Disney obviously have different ideas of what the future of this restaurant holds.

Bottom line, (assuming that reservations become available at 6:00 a.m.):

1. Under the walk-up only system: I wake up at 6:00. I want to have dinner at Skipper Canteen at or around 7:00 p.m.. Even if the restaurant remains unpopular, my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 is less than 100%. And my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 without a wait is substantially less than 100%. I might succeed. I might not. I just have no way of knowing.

2. Under the same day reservation system: I wake up at 6:00. I want to have dinner at Skipper Canteen at or around 7:00 p.m.. I search for and find a time at or around 7:00 and hit "Reserve". Even if the restaurant gains in popularity, my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 is 100%. And my degree of certainty of dining at or around 7:00 without a wait is still close to 100%. Just like TSMM. If I arrive at Rope Drop, I am guaranteed a wait of less than 45 minutes. If I arrive later, I may or may not get a wait time of less than 45 minutes.

Any way you slice it, there is more certainty with system number 2. And if for some reason I fail to get the time slot that I want, I will know 13 hours in advance and can plan accordingly, which is better than showing up at 6:30 only to find out that the wait is 2 hours. That leaves me stuck.

You don't have to convince me that this system is inferior to a traditional ADR with a 180 day window. I get that. But there is now way that the math does not work out in favor of system #2. Your degree of certainty as to whether you can dine at the restaurant, and at what time, go up under system #2. There is no math that can be used to refute that. System #1 can only replicate System #2 in terms of certainty if luck or sustained unpopularity play a part.

The fact is, there is already dining certainty with little to no wait now. There is no need for more certainty. Offering up a same day ADR is not going to make it like a BOG frenzy. I really don't even think that Disney thinks there is hope for that, at this point.

Having the ability to book at 180 days (not day of) may have some impact initially, but I just don't think the theming, service or food is going to help the restaurant in the long run. Changes need to be made.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Oh, and the dude in the picture needs to take his hat off - he's in a restaurant!!!

No hats? When did this become a rule? I don't even think twice about hats.

 

[Jetta8300]

The fact is, there is already dining certainty with little to no wait now. There is no need for more certainty. Offering up a same day ADR is not going to make it like a BOG frenzy. I really don't even think that Disney thinks there is hope for that, at this point.

Having the ability to book at 180 days (not day of) may have some impact initially, but I just don't think the theming, service or food is going to help the restaurant in the long run. Changes need to be made.

Yep. They would have much more luck with a walk up only restaurant somewhere like The Plaza. It's more likely that people who come unprepared with an ADR to Disney are going to want something more like a club sandwich...not fish collars and shrimp heads, and spending $40+ a person. As as, this would never turn into a Be Our Guest type thing with walk ups. Especially with the current kid's menu. (I personally would try it with ADRs, but I'm just talking about the majority).

The reservation issue isn't their only problem, but the ADR issue makes the place much less desirable for the TYPE of person who would most likely eat there. People who know about the restaurant, willing to spend the money, and are adventurous...aka, most people who make ADRs.

 

[ajwolfe]

No hats? When did this become a rule? I don't even think twice about hats.

It's always been a rule in our family/area. My DH and my boys always take their hats off in a restaurant.

 

[srauseo]

This has made me a little more comfortable with the space I'm holding open in my schedule for lunch on 20th. I get that most people are getting in with little to no wait at this point but I like a little more security. Now I can wake up that morning and make a reservation....and if I can't I can make another plan. But I agree that in the long run the lack of ADRs hurts them, especially with the intended audience. Make Plaza same day reservations and add the Cantina to the 180-system. That makes more sense to me.

 

[JimmyV]

The fact is, there is already dining certainty with little to no wait now. There is no need for more certainty.

Again, this is entirely dependent on the restaurant remaining unpopular. Tony's doesn't need ADRs 180 days in advance. Neither does Nine Dragons. Those places are virtual ghost towns and anyone can walk right in on any day at any time and get seated. So those two restaurants do not need ADRs 180 days out, or on the same day. And if Skipper Canteen remains as unpopular as those two restaurants, then nothing Disney does is going to matter. But by contrast, Ohana accepts ADRs 180 days in advance, and if it didn't, and allowed for only walk-ups, on days when the restaurant opened at 5:00, the line would start to form at 3:00. And if you wanted to dine there at 7:00 and arrived at 6:30, you would get laughed at and would be told that that wait was in excess of two hours. So then, if Ohana moved to a "same day reservation" system, what would happen? Instead of showing up at 6:30 and getting laughed at, you would go on line at 6:00 a.m. and secure a table at or around the time you want to dine. So you see, for a popular restaurant, same day reservations make a huge difference over "walk-ups only". The reason you are not applying this outcome to Skipper Canteen is because you simply don't think that the restaurant is popular and thus does not need a change. And today, on February 10, 2016, this is probably true. But by Easter and into the summer months, this may no longer be true. If and when the popularity rises, the math dictates a better outcome with same day reservations. And the math also dictates an still better outcome with 180 day ADRs.

 

[Disneylover99]

Again, this is entirely dependent on the restaurant remaining unpopular. Tony's doesn't need ADRs 180 days in advance. Neither does Nine Dragons. Those places are virtual ghost towns and anyone can walk right in on any day at any time and get seated. So those two restaurants do not need ADRs 180 days out, or on the same day. And if Skipper Canteen remains as unpopular as those two restaurants, then nothing Disney does is going to matter. But by contrast, Ohana accepts ADRs 180 days in advance, and if it didn't, and allowed for only walk-ups, on days when the restaurant opened at 5:00, the line would start to form at 3:00. And if you wanted to dine there at 7:00 and arrived at 6:30, you would get laughed at and would be told that that wait was in excess of two hours. So then, if Ohana moved to a "same day reservation" system, what would happen? Instead of showing up at 6:30 and getting laughed at, you would go on line at 6:00 a.m. and secure a table at or around the time you want to dine. So you see, for a popular restaurant, same day reservations make a huge difference over "walk-ups only". The reason you are not applying this outcome to Skipper Canteen is because you simply don't think that the restaurant is popular and thus does not need a change. And today, on February 10, 2016, this is probably true. But by Easter and into the summer months, this may no longer be true. If and when the popularity rises, the math dictates a better outcome with same day reservations. And the math also dictates an still better outcome with 180 day ADRs.

We walked by Skipper's several times the week leading up to Christmas when the MK was a 10. It was never crowded. I did hear reports that between Christmas and New Year's, there were waits during prime lunch/dinner hours. Those waits seemed to die off after the holidays.

I suspect that there will be waits at Skipper's during busy times like spring break/Easter due to crowds. Just as you will see some waits at Tony's or Nine Dragons during this time. Waits here increase due to need, not popularity. That's the difference. Will waits continue to become a trend at Skipper's because of same day reservations? I don't think so. Not unless they make some changes. But only time will tell.

 

[GaryDis]

I'm having a hard time reconciling all the complaints I saw about the 180 day ADR system when I first started researching here a few months ago against all the notes here describing how important it is for Skipper's to support the same system. I realize it's not the 180 days per se, but still it's good to see them at least trying some other system.

I get that people would prefer to have some sort of reservation locked in, and because of the cancellation fee on regular ADRs, the same morning reservation conflicts. But it doesn't appear that there's any risk of not being able to get a good reservation at Skipper's, and worst case scenario, you eat QS if you show up at Skipper's and can't get a time you like. For most people QS isn't the end of the world. And besides, as we saw on the Mama Melrose thread, it's not as though the ADR actually guarantees anything.

 

[JimmyV]

Given that neither the phone number nor the web address are the same as the regular WDW dining reservation system, quite possible that the hours will differ from that for other locations.

I haven't tried to call, but as far as the on line reservations are concerned, it seems to be operating exactly like any other restaurant with the only difference being that if you move the date to any day other than today, you get a "nothing available" message.

 

[cigar95]

Looks like the reservations go through something called jungleskippercanteen.com, rather than anything at the usual disney.go.com. So there may be a whole separate reservation machine in place.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't deal with the hassle of getting up at 6 (or planning to be online at a certain time) while in the parks to get a reservation when there are a hundred restaurants were I can get the reservation before I get there and don't have to worry about it. I wouldn't be willing to do that even for BOG. If SC had been open last trip, I would have tried it walk up, because the menu seems appealing to me but on the upcoming trip we have DDP so the number of CS and TS are dictated to me. Franken-Disney, meet your monster. I'm a last minute, vacation by the seat of pants type by nature but I have been trained for how to do Disney. "Make your dinner plans 180 days ahead of time, we'll charge you if you cancel last minute, eat at this many of each type of restaurant.' 'Why, oh why, is no one flexible enough to try our new walk up place??'

 

[Disneylover99]

Just looking at availability at Skipper's this morning for ADR's today right before 8am. There is availability at all times throughout the day for a party of four. I wonder how they are handling walk-ups? Are they asking people to make reservations online as people walk up?

 

[karly05]

Just looking at availability at Skipper's this morning for ADR's today right before 8am. There is availability at all times throughout the day for a party of four. I wonder how they are handling walk-ups? Are they asking people to make reservations online as people walk up?

My question, too. I really wanted to try a walk-up (now this will be April, so who knows what they'll be doing by then). I'm not on the DDP and I like QS at MK, so if SK doesn't work out, I'll just head to CHH or Pecos Bill's. I can't believe SK wouldn't still take walk-ups if they have availability.

 

[AngiTN]

Looks like the reservations go through something called jungleskippercanteen.com, rather than anything at the usual disney.go.com. So there may be a whole separate reservation machine in place.

No, you can go through the regular dining ADR system on Disney's website

 

[rcraw45425]

FWIW, I just now checked for today. It's 11:40am eastern time and I was able to book a 12:25 table for two.

 

[Disneylover99]

FWIW, I just now checked for today. It's 11:40am eastern time and I was able to book a 12:25 table for two.

It doesn't seem like this day of ADR test is making much of a difference.