Total ADR failure......

[Hawleys]

We snagged an Oga's reservation for 5/29 at 5:50am Pacific today. We got up at the same time yesterday but Oga's reservations for 5/29 didn't drop until TODAY at 5:20am (at least that's when the alert service sent me an email). It hard getting up that early two days in a row. Definitely feeling bleary today. Agree with all the folks who mentioned how frustrating the current system is.

For another perspective on character dining on park days, we plan to go to Storytellers for brunch/lunch at 11:30am on one of our DCA days. My kids love breakfast food! Our youngest is 4 years old. Those little legs get tired! A long break in the AC will be just the thing. The restaurant is so close to the Grand Californian DCA entrance it's practically in the park. We are assuming we will be able to use our Storytellers receipt to re-enter the park.

 

[Steven G]

That's a good point, I am always thinking in perspective of DL, not DCA, but you are correct that dining at GCH on a DCA day can be a great idea.

They generally don't enforce the "only GCH hotel guests can use the GCH entry into DCA" after the first couple hours. Basically, once the line dies down, they pretty much let anyone use it, but yeah, just in case, your receipt should be fine.

 

[ktlm]

So , here is a question. I see it opened up for today at 9am. Is is safe to assume Oga's is gone?? How do I know if it even opened up? Its basically says the same message......No times available as it did this morning......do I have to actually talk to a human (after being on hold for several hours?)

Nope- not safe to assume unless you see someone saying they got Oga's today for that date. Maybe they dropped, maybe they didn't. Being a WDW person, I'm obsessive about dining too. Pre-covid, DLR used to be a whole lot easier than WDW. You could get everything you wanted relatively stress free. This new not necessarily going to drop at the moment they are supposed to and are going to be instantly all booked up, is stressful.

I'm not sure calling and attempting to talk to a human is going to be helpful or worth your time, assuming they can even tell you whether they dropped or not. In my experience all they know is what the system is showing them- which will likely be just be what you are seeing "no times available". They may not even be able to confirm whether they have dropped. The better way to find out if they dropped would probably be to look at the threads here and if you don't see anything start a thread here asking whether anyone was able to get Oga's for your date.

I think mouse dining will let you set a couple for free- not sure about limitations on how they do the notifications for free ones. We were trying to get the Lamplight brunch and also maybe get some different times on another meal, in addition to Oga's- so I paid for both alert services for our trip last October. It was money well spent. I can't say I still didn't somewhat stalk the website myself-- but I can say we got absolutely everything we wanted through the alerts. And from the amount of times, I clicked through an alert or jumped on the app after an alert and didn't get it fast enough to get the ADR, you can about bet that others are going to have alerts set for what you are looking for and are getting immediate notices when availability pops up. You will see more availability pop up as the trip gets closer. I started without the alerts just stalking on my own, then went to the free alerts for a couple of things, but as our trip got closer and I hadn't gotten everything we wanted, I gave up and did the paid alerts. It worked.

 

[ktlm]

You are right in not booking breakfast ADRS- at least not at park opening. Because there are a lot of locals, the first 2 hours in the parks at DLR are going to be your best in the day as far as crowds. You can usually get a lot done before the crowds start building. As a couple of others have said, doing a breakfast/brunch around 10:30 can be good if you want to do a breakfast. We have done that many times to see the characters at Minnie's Breakfast.

 

[xipotec]

We snagged an Oga's reservation for 5/29 at 5:50am Pacific today. We got up at the same time yesterday but Oga's reservations for 5/29 didn't drop until TODAY at 5:20am (at least that's when the alert service sent me an email). It hard getting up that early two days in a row. Definitely feeling bleary today. Agree with all the folks who mentioned how frustrating the current system is.

For another perspective on character dining on park days, we plan to go to Storytellers for brunch/lunch at 11:30am on one of our DCA days. My kids love breakfast food! Our youngest is 4 years old. Those little legs get tired! A long break in the AC will be just the thing. The restaurant is so close to the Grand Californian DCA entrance it's practically in the park. We are assuming we will be able to use our Storytellers receipt to re-enter the park.

Well thats shocking.

It would seem that this should be a fairly easy system to mange….

Crazy to think Ogas dropped a day late and at 5am

 

[GoHorns94]

I was doing our ADRs last week and Ogas actually dropped at 2:07am PST 59 days out instead of 60.

Luckily old man here woke up around 4:30am CST for his usual bathroom break mid sleep, saw the email alert I had signed up for and grabbed an afternoon slot for Ogas.

A couple of days later Ogas dropped with everything else at 6am PST and I grabbed an evening slot then - all Ogas reservations were gone within 3-5 minutes that morning.

It has been random - I am still waiting and wondering if Carnation Cafe lunch reservations will ever open. I currently have a 10:30am ressy which is doable, but would prefer to make it lunch if possible.

 

[xipotec]

I was doing our ADRs last week and Ogas actually dropped at 2:07am PST 59 days out instead of 60.

Luckily old man here woke up around 4:30am CST for his usual bathroom break mid sleep, saw the email alert I had signed up for and grabbed an afternoon slot for Ogas.

A couple of days later Ogas dropped with everything else at 6am PST and I grabbed an evening slot then - all Ogas reservations were gone within 3-5 minutes that morning.

It has been random - I am still waiting and wondering if Carnation Cafe lunch reservations will ever open. I currently have a 10:30am ressy which is doable, but would prefer to make it lunch if possible.

Wow , so thankful for those nighttime bathroom trips eh?

 

[GatorChris]

ADRs at DL have always been rough compared to WDW. But never has it been as bad as it is now. In the "old" days, the most trouble you had was getting a F! Dining package which would come out well after the 60 day mark. That was a pain.

These days? We went in October and I didn't have a single reservation for the whole trip. Every time I'd try to get one, all that was available was River Belle Terrace and Carthay Circle, both of which I've sworn to never go to again. I just don't get it. I know there's apps out there that can help you get reservations as they pop up. But you've never needed that in the past. Shoot, back in 2017, I was able to land Carnation Cafe for a prime dinner slot 3 days before our trip. Now it's just a big fat joke.

This simple truth is that DL dining reservations have become the worst experience in the entire Disney company. And that's saying something considering Genie+ .

 

[Hawleys]

Finally finished up with our dining reservations. Up at 5:50am again for an Oga's afternoon reservation on 5/31.

I'm pleased with the reservations we have. Oga's AND Trader Sam's for grownup dates on the day my SIL is watching the kids, Storytellers for lunch on our DCA day and another trip to Oga's with the kids on our second DL day. Truly wish I didn't have to get up before 6am all week to do this.

Before kids, we never ever ever made dining reservations bc we were too busy riding rides so I have nothing to compare but this stinks. If I use a Disney Travel Agent, will they book dining for me?

 

[Malcon10t]

I'm usually at work when they drop and don't have time to remember to look right on time on the day they supposedly drop. But I also know that at the 60 day mark, they only drop the minimal tables. More tables are dropped as managers figure out their schedules at the 30 day marks. I think a few here remember all the reservations that dropped last week for the week of April 18-24 at 3 in the afternoon. For my trip April 15-20, I got most of my reservations last week. (Lamplight, Cafe Orleans, Carnation Cafe, Carthay.) I also know as it gets closer, people drop reservations, so keep looking, stuff pops up. THAT is what Mouse Dining is helpful with. Letting you know when A SPOT has opened at the time you want. Just be prepared to be fast because if others want the same time, someone can beat you to it.

 

[xipotec]

So today, they dropped at 9:00, or just before…..

Well most did, some obviously have not dropped as I doubt CC sold out.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

They seem to have dropped at 8 central, so I am guessing you mean 9 eastern? This would make sense with a 6am pacific drop time, so at least that's consistent.

 

[Buzzw0rthy]

Just got back from our trip a week ago. In our planning we had heard/read the DL ADR system is a total cluster, so we gave minimal effort at 60 days, no waking up at crazy times or trying to time the reservation drops perfectly to get something. We tried to find a reservation on our terms and got shut out. When we got to the parks we really wanted Blue Bayou and were willing to do lunch so we just went to the podium around 10:30 when we saw a cast member outside. We asked about any openings and were first on the wait list. The CM told us come back at 11:10. A short Haunted Mansion ride later we were back at the podium to check in and by 11:25 were seated for lunch.

Hope is not lost if you get shut out of what you want at 60 days, would recommend giving the waitlist a shot.

 

[blabbermouth]

Finally finished up with our dining reservations. Up at 5:50am again for an Oga's afternoon reservation on 5/31.

I'm pleased with the reservations we have. Oga's AND Trader Sam's for grownup dates on the day my SIL is watching the kids, Storytellers for lunch on our DCA day and another trip to Oga's with the kids on our second DL day. Truly wish I didn't have to get up before 6am all week to do this.

Before kids, we never ever ever made dining reservations bc we were too busy riding rides so I have nothing to compare but this stinks. If I use a Disney Travel Agent, will they book dining for me?

I am up at 6 every day anyway

 

[Hawleys]

I am up at 6 every day anyway

Oh I wish I could get up early!

 

[GeneralTso]

It's so random I swear. Sometimes availability shows when it's supposed to, other times no.
That's why I tell people not to fret if they don't get what they want. Stuff typically opens up as the days roll on.
Many "hard to get" places have openings right up until the day before. Check the ap, it's very accurate.

 

[Ariel 2021]

Ok, so I came on here to get info on the new Genie system and saw this post. As a So-Cal native I didn’t even know that dining reservations were a thing! Seriously, we have never had a problem finding somewhere to eat, there are tons of restaurants in and around the park and in Downtown Disney, don’t stress if you can’t get reservations!

 

[xipotec]

Ok, so I came on here to get info on the new Genie system and saw this post. As a So-Cal native I didn’t even know that dining reservations were a thing! Seriously, we have never had a problem finding somewhere to eat, there are tons of restaurants in and around the park and in Downtown Disney, don’t stress if you can’t get reservations!

Og’a would like a word…LOL

 

[xipotec]

Today was 9am on the dot.

Og’s was finished at 9:05
I didnt see Trader Sam end but it was after 15 minutes
Lamplight was still available after 10am

 

[maleficent55]

Finally finished up with our dining reservations. Up at 5:50am again for an Oga's afternoon reservation on 5/31.

I'm pleased with the reservations we have. Oga's AND Trader Sam's for grownup dates on the day my SIL is watching the kids, Storytellers for lunch on our DCA day and another trip to Oga's with the kids on our second DL day. Truly wish I didn't have to get up before 6am all week to do this.

Before kids, we never ever ever made dining reservations bc we were too busy riding rides so I have nothing to compare but this stinks. If I use a Disney Travel Agent, will they book dining for me?

A travel agent will absolutely book dining for you. I have a TA for Disney world in November and I plan on working with her so there are TWO of us trying.