When making ADR's trust your instinct!

[3DisneyBuggs]

I decided to add the Storybook breakfast the day before we leave. I called and the CM pulled up my info and checked the date. She said it was totally booked the day I asked for. So I asked her to check the week, I gave her our check in date. Sorry the whole week is booked, she said. Hmm I hung up and it didn't feel right. I called back, got another CM and asked for the same original date. She was happy to make my ADR. So beware, I don;t know why the first CM lied to me outright. Then I called, got another nice CM who went through all my ADR's with me. They are all nice and safe. I thought that first CM might have been a villian who enjoyed cancelling ADR's!

 

[Kick Save]

Doubt the first CM outright lied to you, it's altogether possible a cancellation made it into the system during your redial and you picked that up with the CM you got on the call back.

The call volume there has to be insane. I made a string of ADRs one night and there was a spread of at least 600 in my confirmation numbers. I couldn't have been on the phone more than 10 minutes making the reservations.

 

[Aneille]

I had a similar experience a few months ago.

I called for a ressie for Boma, actually I was changing the time/day that I had already. Well I was told nothing was available for the day I wanted until after 8pm.

I called right back and was told it was wide open that day.

I got my ressie for the day/time I wanted.

 

[mskay]

That's just crazy! It's so hard to fathom that the volume is that high!

 

[Bambi1Fan]

I'm sorry you think you were lied to by the original CM. I'm a CM at the Reservation Center and I can tell you that in no way would I get on the phone and lie about any given reservation info. There would be no need to do so...the dining agents do not get paid any sort of commission on their calls. What may have happened would be that some cancellations did come through in between your calls. On any given day our reservation center takes 25,000-30,000 (more during peak seasons) calls per day and yes, some of those are cancellations. I'm glad the second CM you spoke to was helpful and that you were able to get what you needed. Have a Magical Vacation!

 

[Aneille]

To be honest I have no idea why someone would lie to me. And I can't say they did. I only posted my response because I think the OP is correct in saying you should trust your instinct.

In my case the CM answering the phone could have lied (although I think that is usually very unlikely), made a mistake and looked at the wrong date, wrong restaurant or what not, which I think is more than likely what happened.

Every CM I have ever got through CRO or Dining has been nice. So many go above normal curtesy that WDW is actually one place I don't mind calling. Usually calling a call center is a nightmare.

Keep up the good work.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

I have two stories to share.

I made an ADR for dinner at Ohana prior to leaving for the trip and was given a time of 6:30PM. When the actual day came, 6:30 was going to be too late for us to eat and I tried to call in the afternoon to get it changed. I was told it was completely booked. We decided to chance it and showed up at Ohana at 5:15. We were seated within 10 minutes and were done eating by the time our ADR time came around.

Another story doesn't pertain to dining, but to CM discounts on a resort (from when I was allowed them thru the Disney Store) I had a trip booked with an AP discount from before I became a CM and as soon as I was hired and trained, I started calling the CM reservation line to get a CM discount added to the room. I called every day up until the day before we left and finally got the discount. The CM on the last day told me she was "making it happen" so maybe there was room, maybe there was not. She did say "You're lucky to be talking to me!" This lovely gal saved me another $90!

It is very possible due to the amount of calls they get that things can change rapidly. I'm the kind of person who will call and call til I get what I want!

Glad you were able to get your Princess meal! Have fun! Enjoy your trip!

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I just want to add that every other CM I spoke with (and I've been calling a lot) has been very helpful and very nice. One CM, a man added my room requests and mailed me a copy of the ressie with the room request noted. So I hope no one thinks I wanted to bash CM's, just keep trying if youu don't first get what you wanted is my message.

 

[johnvree]

I don't know why the CM would lie. It is possible that some seatings opened up or the CM may have just made a mistake. Afterall, they are human - for now at least, I think it is only a matter of time before we are making our own ADR's on line and through an automated system.

I have had some experiences where, like the OP said, it just didn't feel right and then discovered there were some openings when I called back. This has happened for both restaurants and resort rooms. In fact, just last month when the July AP rates were released, I called and the CM told me there were no AP rates yet past 6/3. I told her that I had read they were just released and she told me they had not. Finally, she checked and, to her surprise, realized that they had been released. Thought it was odd that a CM was unaware of that, but she was.

Final thought, hats off to the CM's that do this. I make a lot of ADR's and have found most of the CM's to be incredibly helpful and nice.

 

[pinchy]

I've had the same experience... in my case I called twice and got no res but the third time (I hadn't planned on trying to get the res I wanted, I had done some rethinking and was trying to slightly rework my plan) I suddenly got the ressie I had wanted all along.

Personally I think that some of them just don't know how to properly use the computer systems for the bookings.

I was quite amused because I had armed myself with a lot of knowledge before making my ADRs. At one point I was trying to book a restaurant during EMH and the CM said there were no ressies available at that time. I told her that the restaurant (the san angel inn in fact) is a restaurant specified as being open during EMH and there is probably a special drop down box on her screen. She found it straight away after that!