Aidensmom said:
Well, I guess I am going to try tomorrow for our Dec 19 ADR's!
I've spent an unfortunate amount of time thinking about this, and I think I've figured out why the CMs are confused.
Think about how it is supposed to work. I am arriving on 12/9. 180 days before this is Monday, 06/12. At this point, I can make ADRs for the next 10 days, or from 12/9 through 12/18.
But think about someone who arrives on 12/1. He can make reservations beginning 6/2, and those reservations run from 12/1 through 12/11. The person who arrives on 12/2 can make reservations through 12/12. Etc. So, by the time I get to my 180 days prior to 12/9, there are people who have had as much as 10 days earlier access than me to the ADRs at the beginning of my trip.
So, there are resort guests who have a 9-day "head start" on me, at least for the
beginning of my trip.
In order for this to work, the computer system must be loaded with the available "slots"
190 days in advance. I think this is why the CMs are confused. Before this new rule, the system would only allow them to book ADRs for people 90 days in advance. It simply wasn't an option to book ADRs earlier than that. (Remember that WDW changed two rules at the same time. They pushed the ADRs from 90 to 180 days in advance, and at the same time also added the 10 day period for resort guests.)
The
computer system for ADRs obviously
cannot apply the logic needed to determine that one person CAN make an ADR for this date but another person CAN'T. Disney is relying on CMs to understand the rules to determine this.
The capability to make an ADR 190 days in advance of the actual date must exist. It relies on the CM to "allow" someone to actually make that ADR in compliance with the rules. The slots HAVE TO BE LOADED. (I've had CMs say that the avaibility has or has not been "loaded", which is where I get this term.)
What does this mean? (Sorry to keep going on so long on this.)
1) Disney's information systems
never keep pace with its business rules. I'm a systems' implementer, I know whereof I speak, and I can give you NUMEROUS EXAMPLES of this with the Mouse. I've worked for firms that have implemented systems at Disney, and trust me, their systems are not exactly robust. In fact, I'd say as a rule Disney's parks and resorts information systems
always lag behind the business rules P&R management devises.
2) So, the actual implementation of their business rules relies on the CMs and their abilitiy to understand these rules. I think, and there are some other posts that support this, the ADR CMs work from home, or at least many of them do. (Ever heard a barking dog when your CM picks up? I did today.) They're pretty much on their own. (Twice today I had a CM disappear for A VERY LONG TIME to "check" something; in normal call center environments a check with the supervisor doesn't take nearly that long.) Bottom line: the CM quite reasonably assumes that if the computer
lets them make an ADR, it must be allowed. From the perspective of a CM who's working form her living room with a baby in the next room and a dog in the kitchen and a system that worked that way up to last year, this is not an unreasonable assumption. And if a guest is ever so slightly persistent....
3)
Free dining in August/September is screwing everything up. There is clear evidence that because of the free
Disney Dining Plan, people have figured out they need to make ADRs much sooner. I suspect the ADR CMs are getting slammed. I may be making ADRs out six months, but my call is in the queue with people making ADRs for Summer and Fall.
Okay, I've gone on far too long for this topic. Keep watching this forum to see if experience bears out my theses.
Or ignore this because I'm rambling on.
