Skipper Canteen ADR watch

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Subscribing

 

[DanceisArt]

I'm sure there won't be any update tomorrow, but since I get up at 6:am anyway, checking for ADR, will be the first thing I do.

 

[pmaurer74]

nothing today. Dec. 17 6am

 

[maiapapaya]

The page has changed now. It no longer says reservations are accepted and the reservation widget is gone. Being on the DP I can't see us not making an ADR for a MK day. Maybe once we see how the system works we'll change our minds. Hopefully they have a back up to the text notification system though, because the resort text notification has never worked for us since we're not from the US.

 

[kandb]

How could they possibly have walk up only? We are on the ddp. If we want to eat there one night, don't make any adr's and then can't get in, we would loose a TS credit and have no where to eat dinner. This would never work for people on the ddp.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I don't see how the walk-up situation works for anyone. In order to eat there, we will now have to plan, I would think, up to 2 hours of "wait time" into our schedule. How is one supposed to schedule FP+ into this? I guess leave your entire afternoon and/or evening open? And they say "arrive when you are ready to eat" and then wait? With hungry children in tow, no less? I wish they would at least run it like Jedi Training where you get a return time and they can even adjust it to your existing schedule. I'm sorry, WDW, did you want us to uber-plan or not plan at all? You can't have it both ways.

 

[HopperFan]

I don't see how the walk-up situation works for anyone. In order to eat there, we will now have to plan, I would think, up to 2 hours of "wait time" into our schedule. How is one supposed to schedule FP+ into this? I guess leave your entire afternoon and/or evening open? And they say "arrive when you are ready to eat" and then wait? With hungry children in tow, no less? I wish they would at least run it like Jedi Training where you get a return time and they can even adjust it to your existing schedule. I'm sorry, WDW, did you want us to uber-plan or not plan at all? You can't have it both ways.

They are taking your cell number, giving you approx wait time, sending text with wait time and option to decline and then text when table ready. You can do other things in area while waiting.

 

[maiapapaya]

They are taking your cell number, giving you approx wait time, sending text with wait time and option to decline and then text when table ready. You can do other things in area while waiting.

As I said in my last post, the resort texting system doesn't work for non-US cell numbers (probably because WDW doesn't want to pay the out of country charges) Unless they change that for the restaurant, this system won't work for non-American guests.

 

[HopperFan]

As I said in my last post, the resort texting system doesn't work for non-US cell numbers (probably because WDW doesn't want to pay the out of country charges) Unless they change that for the restaurant, this system won't work for non-American guests.

I "heard" you the first time, my response was to another poster whose post implied they had to wait at the restaurant. Most don't.

The system will work for many if not most guests. It may be long term, may not. They pushed to get open before holidays and doubt we'll see long term management of it until after the new year. My guess is if long term they will have another option, perhaps a paper with window of return time - what they are doing now will easily adapt to paper.

 

[amie416]

If any international guests are in the park today, I'd love get an update on how they're handling these notifications for those without a US cell phone. DH and I are big Jungle Cruise fans, but now I don't know how we'd get a table.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

How could they possibly have walk up only? We are on the ddp. If we want to eat there one night, don't make any adr's and then can't get in, we would loose a TS credit and have no where to eat dinner. This would never work for people on the ddp.

There are hundreds of restaurants at WDW, you could find one to use your credit at. It may not be what you would want to do or plan on doing, but it's up to you to use your credit, even if you have to do something like leave the park and have a meal at the Wave or GF Café or Kona because you can't get into anything inside the park (you can generally walk into lunch at the Wave). You don't lose the credit, you would just have to come up with somewhere else to use it.

 

[HopperFan]

There are hundreds of restaurants at WDW, you could find one to use your credit at. It may not be what you would want to do or plan on doing, but it's up to you to use your credit, even if you have to do something like leave the park and have a meal at the Wave or GF Café or Kona because you can't get into anything inside the park (you can generally walk into lunch at the Wave). You don't lose the credit, you would just have to come up with somewhere else to use it.

Agree. You can't eat everywhere and even with ADRs often don't get something you really want even at 180 out. So this would just fall in to the category of those places that are harder to eat at than others for whatever reason. If it's a long term plan, it is strange but so was making BOG ADR for a QS. And maybe they are doing to answer the complaints about having no walk up options. I wouldn't even worry about the process right now, they are still working on it.

And I know when we have the DDP we usually end up paying for a meal out of pocket because we'll use 2 credits for signature. You can book a dinner ADR somewhere if you must have a TS each day with plans to use your credit and then if you really want to see the Canteen, try a walk up for a lunch and pay OOP.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I don't think it is strange.

How many people on how many sub-boards have you seen talking about how "un-magical" it is to plan 180 days out, or making spur-of-the-moment trips, or not knowing that priority dining spots are 180 days?

If you are someone who knows about 180-day ADRs, you have a few options with something like this:

1. Hold a day open and try to get in. If you can't, go to Pecos Bill or somethin' somethin'.
2. Make an ADR for a "sure thing" and eat the no-show fee if you get in at SC.
3. Make an ADR for a "sure thing" and carry on.

If you are on the DDP, you can pay for this one OOP if it comes down to it, or roll the dice, or accept that to get "surety" out of the DDP, this restaurant may not be an option for you and there are many others that are.

I think over time, if Disney can find a way to manage it, they will add more walk-up Table Service options to help balance out the pre-planning madness (which has been driving things like ADR snipers and software) and some people's wish to go with the flow. The pre-planners may be disappointed about the lack of ADR here; the flow-ers have already been cranky about the 180-day windows.

My guess is that in the longer term, they may start having many restaurants not book up entirely via ADR and hold 25% of seating for walk-ups. And that it won't be at all TS locations, and never at Signature or Character options.

 

[HopperFan]

I don't think it is strange.

How many people on how many sub-boards have you seen talking about how "un-magical" it is to plan 180 days out, or making spur-of-the-moment trips, or not knowing that priority dining spots are 180 days?

I think over time, if Disney can find a way to manage it, they will add more walk-up Table Service options to help balance out the pre-planning madness (which has been driving things like ADR snipers and software) and some people's wish to go with the flow. The pre-planners may be disappointed about the lack of ADR here; the flow-ers have already been cranky about the 180-day windows.

My guess is that in the longer term, they may start having many restaurants not book up entirely via ADR and hold 25% of seating for walk-ups. And that it won't be at all TS locations, and never at Signature or Character options.

I am sure one of the major complaints Disney gets is from the lack of availability for TS walk ups. I would not be at all surprised to see them do this at some popular places. It would be a version of FP+ and SB for restaurants. It would help push guests who want to have solid ADR to other restaurants.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Fundamentally, a bunch of the Disney Springs TS restaurants (all operated by third parties) are already doing this. They release some tables via Disney Reservations, a few of them release tables via own reservations (Landry's) or OpenTable, and seem to hold a few for walk-ups at many times of the year.

 

[PirateFrank]

Not much of an update, but I just got off the phone with Disney Dining and the CM stated this restaurant will be strictly walk in for the foreseeable future.

Having said that, I think this is a terrible idea. Before the time of ADRs, the whole place was walk-in (or day-of reservations). The nice thing about those days, was that you didn't have to plan out your restaurants 6 months in advance and the restaurants weren't 2 hour walk-up waits. If this is the intention here, to make this restaurant 'more accessible' you either have to make *all* of the restaurants walk up, or none of them.

By making this restaurant walk up only - there will never be anything less than a 2 hour wait for dinner, throughout the park. Because Every. Single. Person. that was turned away at BOG, Liberty, CRT, even Tony's -- will flock here and jam up the line.

I like the idea of walk up reservations -- but only if the rest of WDW is similarly accessible. Without across the board accessibility to all restaurants -- this will be an unmitigated disaster.

 

[pixarmom]

Fundamentally, a bunch of the Disney Springs TS restaurants (all operated by third parties) are already doing this. They release some tables via Disney Reservations, a few of them release tables via own reservations (Landry's) or OpenTable, and seem to hold a few for walk-ups at many times of the year.

This seems reasonable, and it would be helpful if Skipper Canteen would take at least some ADRs and reserve the rest for walk-ups. When my husband and I are traveling on our own, or if we would travel with just our teens, we can definitely go with the flow. But I travel to Disney with our teens and our youngest son, who has disability-related needs that make "go with the flow" a challenge. ADRs help create some predictability, and allow us to note his disability-related request for booth seating in advance, where available. If ADRs don't open for SC, we'll plan to show up around 11am and explain the request for booth seating at the podium.

In any event, the system described by aurora would meet all needs - those who need or want the plan, and those who prefer to play it by ear.

 

[prudence64]

Page is down. Is there a link to the menu anywhere that I can send to a friend not on these boards?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

They are taking your cell number, giving you approx wait time, sending text with wait time and option to decline and then text when table ready. You can do other things in area while waiting.

I think we are going to give this a shot!

Given the current system, what do you think our best strategy is? Here is our schedule:

We will be in MK on December 29 with the following FP+

10:15 am - 11:15 am BTMMR
11:15 am - 12:15 pm 7DMT
(have lunch in between these FP+)
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm Space Mountain

Is it better to get on the Skipper Canteen wait list at 10:30 am on our way to BTMRR? Or get on the list after BTMRR on our way to 7DMT, ride 7DMT and then go back to the Canteen?

I had left that 1 hour "hole" in our FP+ schedule in the hopes of snagging a Skipper Canteen ADR around 11:45 am - 12:30 pm, but, obviously, that isn't happening. Just wondering what our best strategy is to get on that wait list so we can sit down to eat somewhere between 11:45 am - 12:45 pm.

 

[HopperFan]

I think we are going to give this a shot!

Given the current system, what do you think our best strategy is? Here is our schedule:

We will be in MK on December 29 with the following FP+

10:15 am - 11:15 am BTMMR
11:15 am - 12:15 pm 7DMT
(have lunch in between these FP+)
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm Space Mountain

Is it better to get on the Skipper Canteen wait list at 10:30 am on our way to BTMRR? Or get on the list after BTMRR on our way to 7DMT, ride 7DMT and then go back to the Canteen?

I had left that 1 hour "hole" in our FP+ schedule in the hopes of snagging a Skipper Canteen ADR around 11:45 am - 12:30 pm, but, obviously, that isn't happening. Just wondering what our best strategy is to get on that wait list so we can sit down to eat somewhere between 11:45 am - 12:45 pm.

You will be going a very busy time so I don't think my experience will be yours. If it were me I would go on my way to Big Thunder because lots of others will be going early and likely your return time would be longer. See what they tell you the wait time is. If it seems too soon, then stop by again as you move from Big Thunder to 7DMT.