What if Disney went to a no-ADR policy?

[raidermatt]

Pete, you troublemaker you.

I guess I'm sort of in the middle on your planning scale. I don't plan every meal at WDW, but I do plan dinner for most nights, and a character breakfast or two. Usually we keep the reservation, on occasion we cancel it that day.

I'd prefer to do the "by the seat of the pants" thing as well, but I find that actually causes us more trouble. We're usually with friends and/or other family members, and coming to a consensus on the spur of the moment is no easy task. Plus, there's the practical matter of not wanting to have to wait a long time for a table when we could be enjoying the park at our leisure.

So, I use the park schedules (which are coming out earlier now, btw... something many said was impractical) to figure out what days we'll likely be in which parks, then make PS/ADRs for the restaurants we like or want to try. Its usually not that hard to time things so we get to the restaurant very near the ADR time, and we don't have to wait in line. (Though I think I'll try dropping your name, Pete, if we decide to walk-in somewhere.)

Still though, 180(+10) is a bit much.

I also don't have a problem with keeping some tables available for walk-ups. Its not about rewarding or penalizing any group. Its just usually not a good idea to have the notion out there that getting a walk-up table is impossible. There are times when you need walk-ups and you'd hate to have people completely scared off from even trying at those times.

 

[sotoalf]

I will be at WDW on Dec 16. I made reservations at: Akershus, Artist Point, and Citricos, for which I called yesterday evening. I got every time I requested.

 

[skuttle]

We always plan which table service restaurants we want to eat at for each trip. Eating is a big part of why we love WDW so much! LOL! I like planning where we're going so we don't have to waste an hour trying to decide where to go...trust me, we would! I'm glad that, with ADRs, the majority of the time we don't have to waste 30 minutes or longer waiting for a table. We make an itenerary re where we're going each day and which table service place we plan on eating at that day. If we don't feel like doing what's on our itenerary that day...we don't...it's not set in stone for us. But the planning does avoid the "where should we go? What should we do?" conversation that I know we would get into and waste time. Plus, we actually enjoy the planning part of the trip.

Now, if only WDW would allow you to book ADR's online...I'd be one happy girl!

 

[hubby_of_newtodisney]

PP,
Are you really in Marathon? Thats one heckuva drive!!! It seems to me to be simple, though.

1. At most I can go to WDW once a year. (But don't look at my signature)
2. Pirate Pete, the brownie eater, goes several times a year.

Therefore,
If Pirate Pete shows up at a Restaurant that he REALLY wants to eat at, and he doesn't get in...oh well...he'll be back in a couple weeks anywho!
If I show up at a restaurant that I really want to eat at, I've gotta wait for anudder year!

In a nutshell, I am jealous of Pete's ability to visit Mickey's house more than me!!!

Aagain, my wife has had no problems making ADR 2 weeks out, including Le Cellier on December 18.

There was a piece on Disney today on the Travel Channel. There was a minister and his family. He handed out cards to each member of his family with minute by minute plans for the day. NOW THAT IS OVER THE TOP PLANNING!

 

[Peter Pirate]

Yes indeedee we do live in Marathon (6 hours from Disney to be precise) and we're making the trip two to three times per month lately (not due to Disney per se but we have a place in Celebration and my DD, 12, is playing competetive tennis using Celebration as our base).

Marathon is not looking too great yet, after Wilma's flooding, but thankfully I was one of the REAL lucky ones this time around!

You are correct in your Disney assumption, of course. We won't do anything that involves much waiting or hassle because like you said there's always tomorrow (or next weekend) but I still would like a fair, well thought out strategy by Diseny to best accomodate the guests in general rather than one whose sole end is top profit potential. I mean I'm sure there's a way to tweak ADR's and still allow some wiggle room for walk ups.

Very entertaining writing style, btw.

 

[Stitch1404]

I can just see it now: Woman tramples park-goers to get her 4 year old daughter to Cinderealla's Royal Table at park opening...
But seriously, I think people would get really worked up and every morning when the Magic Kingdom opened those who wanted CRT would be lined up at the gate an hour before opening time and then racing to the restaurant. And people like me who like to plan would also get worried about other popular restaurants and end up stressing out the whole trip about dining plans and making my family eat dinner at 4:00 before the restuarant filled up! I know for me it would make my vacation soooo much less relaxing.

 

[Meezers]

Proud to be anal!

Yep...made my reservations at the 90 day mark (it wasn't 180 days yet!).

I also don't eat locally at a place that doesn't take reservations or call ahead dining....life is too short to hang out at a resturant for an hour....and sitting in the bar is NOT an option!

 

[Uncleromulus]

We have some restaurant owners and former owners who view the boards all the time. Wonder how they feel about all this? As noted, WDW is NOT a "local" restaurant scenario and things probably need to be different there. BUt the 180 day thing DOES seem long (even to me, who's trips to WDW these days revolve around where I'm going to eat), and the notion of holding a few (but HOW few??) tables for walk in's is interesting.
But I really can't see them ever going to a simple and total first come first served policy.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Meezers, I'm happy you have a sense of humor and use it!

Uncle, for sure WDW operates under different circumstances than almost everywhere else, but 180 days??? Geez, I could have a long illness, rally and retreat a couple of times, die and be buried and still get charged for the missed CG reservation (see the other thread).

I totally agree that doing away with ADR's isn't feasibile, at least not across the board. Maybe a restaurant or two could implement this, but I think the combination of say 80% ADR 20% walk up would allow folks flexibility. Yeah those walkup tables could be scarce but it'd be better than nothing ever.

 

[TiggerandBelleFanMom]

I still think the most relevant question is why there is such a scarcity of tables at table-service restaurants. I understand that Disney wants to sell 100% of tables at 100% of their restaurants 100% of the time. That maximizes profit. From reports on this board, though, it still sounds like demand is outstripping supply, especially in certain locations and for certain kinds of food.

There probably are some tables at certain times that are going unfilled. But there are also people like me who just AREN'T going to eat dinner at 10 PM, no matter what. I would have broken out the Nutragrain bars from the suitcase long before that point.

Obviously, it costs money to build a restaurant and staff it, but it sounds like Disney could use at least 2-3 additional table service restaurants, perhaps especially in the parks.

It's not that I'm an anti-counter service snob, but we are in our late 30s and have a 3 year old. If we've been standing in line for rides, when lunch comes around, I'd like to be escorted to a table to sit down and eat, and not have to fuss with first standing on line and then hovering like a hawk waiting for someone to finish eating so I can grab a table. (I don't know if it's like that at Disney, but I know it is at many other vacation spots.)

 

[tlbwriter]

I still think the most relevant question is why there is such a scarcity of tables at table-service restaurants.

This hasn't always been a problem, has it? I think the dining plan is the culprit. Perhaps Disney didn't realize how popular it would be.

 

[crisi]

This hasn't always been a problem, has it? I think the dining plan is the culprit. Perhaps Disney didn't realize how popular it would be.

No, it was a problem before the dining plan - especially during busier seasons - but even the less than packed seasons. We've always been October or early Febuarary people to avoid the big crowds but crowds have really picked up over the years - with it problems walking into a restaurant. It got a LOT worse when the dining plan was offered - but it was a problem before. About five years ago now we took our first trip with kids - not knowing how kids would travel, we only made reservations for one character meal and one dinner. This was early Feburary. The whole week was spent being told restaurants weren't taking walkups or that we'd have a two hour wait (except Marrakesh, we went to Marrakesh twice!) We made one "for the next day" reservation at WCC while we were there after being told at 5:00 that it would be after 7:00 before a table would open.

Eating is a huge part of our vacation, and I have to say that if Disney went to a no-ADR policy, I'm not sure if we'd continue to go (and we are DVC members, so we are pretty committed to the Disney thing). I research carefully and make reservations when I travel to San Franscico or Santa Cruz, we made reservations when we went to Vegas. We loved the ease of dining on a cruise, and I really want to do the easy dining of an all-inclusive in the Carribean. There are too many vacation options where I CAN either make reservations or be ensured that they will "just feed me" and I won't have to wait in a two hour line competing for my vacation time and dollars.

I think a few walk ups would be nightmarish and wouldn't really accomplish much. Sure, if 50 people a night could walk into Le Cellier, that would make 50 people happy. But they'd turn away hundred with "I thought you held room for walk ups." Everyone tends to individualize - i.e. "I thought you held room for walk ups" becomes "I thought you held a table open for me."

They could put in a few more restaurants that don't take ADRs at all - like Beaches and Cream and the Tempura bar in Japan.

Does anyone else remember years ago when there wasn't much counter service in Epcot? I suspect all the counter service was the solution to "too many guests, not enough tables in the sit down restaurants."

 

[tlbwriter]

The whole week was spent being told restaurants weren't taking walkups or that we'd have a two hour wait (except Marrakesh, we went to Marrakesh twice!)

That's a very under-appreciated restaurant, isn't it?

 

[Peter Pirate]

tibwriter, on the whole I agree that the dining plans are the culpit. Except for the busiest of times walk ups or short term PS's could always be handled. Even now we can always get into some of our favorites. The CG and 'Ohana have the added burdon of Wishes. Rose & Crown with Illuminations and Le Cellier due to their small size, etc. But Artist Point and even Jiko, to a lesser extent are seldom sold to the max, so I don't think it's as much lack of tables as it is perception (which Disney obviously like) and a few places being constantly full.

 

[skiwee1]

I wish they would go back to the old system that only allowed onsite guests to make ADRs. That would solve much of the problem.

 

[aviva5675]

Ok Im familiar with the 180 out booking policy, ADRs etc, and have taken advantage of them the one time we went previously (03), but what is the +10? (180+10)??

 

[crisi]

tibwriter, on the whole I agree that the dining plans are the culpit. Except for the busiest of times walk ups or short term PS's could always be handled. Even now we can always get into some of our favorites. The CG and 'Ohana have the added burdon of Wishes. Rose & Crown with Illuminations and Le Cellier due to their small size, etc. But Artist Point and even Jiko, to a lesser extent are seldom sold to the max, so I don't think it's as much lack of tables as it is perception (which Disney obviously like) and a few places being constantly full.

You had a very different experience than we did when we went five years ago and short term and walk ups could not be accomodated. We were turned away, had two hour waits (with kids the same as being turned away), or saw people turned away in early Febuary at WCC, San Angel Inn, Teppanyaki, Sci Fi, 50s Prime Time - granted all popular restaurants even pre dining plan.

But yes, even now its pretty darn easy to walk into Jiko - we made that reservation the day before and walked into an empty restuarant (it was opening, we were the first people seated that night, but we were still half surrounded by empty tables when we left). There are other signature places that are pretty easy to get into as well.

(Yes, Marrakesh is underappreciated. This last trip was the first time in years we haven't been - its a favorite of ours)

skiwee - I actually agree - at least in the parks (but allow AP holders to make ressies, too - otherwise not fair to the locals), although I'm not sure if it would completely solve the problem - with the dining plan I think most of the diners ARE onsite). I think they need to combine a perk for staying on site or holding an AP - advanced reservations - with an increase to the price of the dining plan so it isn't a no-brainer great bargain.

 

[jbird327]

The ten extra days allows you to book ADRs for your entire vacation from day one, instead of having to call each day for the duration of your trip.

 

[lucincia]

Look @ how they market CRT. Lousy food. Okay character interaction. Good location. But make it in short supply and everyone wants to go

Location. Location. Location.

Hype. Hype. Hype.

I bought into it. Oh well, been there, done that

 

[MyGoofy26]

Personally I like the old system, same day reservation except resort guests could make them up to 3 days in advance. I hate planning my meals so far in advance, but that's JMHO.

I'd love to see this reinstated.

I hate feeling obligated to know what I'm in the mood for 6 months in advance. Heck - I can't remember the last time we even had the trip booked 6 months in advance. We usually decide a couple months out. We're going next week and the trip was just booked in October.

Six months is absolutely ridiculous. It's nice to be able to make reservations. . . but half a year? Isn't that excessive?