Which do you like less: FP+ or ADR?

[piccolopat]

I actually like the new FP+ but this is because I never understood the logic of running back and forth across the park to get the old FP. I always thought it a waste of 20 minutes running to get another FP when I could just as easily wait 20 minutes in a line. Of course, we travel off-peak so that makes a difference.

As for ADRs, I think the idea of making ADRs on-line ahead of time is good and I use it whenever we go to the world. I was one of the idiots that would in the mad dash at Epcot to make the reservations on-screen under the globe. I don't miss those days at all. Having ADRs at 180 days forces people to make their vacation plans at least six months out if they really want certain reservations. I think the bigger issue affecting dining is the DDP. For example, in the early days of Epcot meals were more authentic and service was at a more liesurely European pace. Now more families flood the restaurants because of the dining plan. I don't object to families (afterall we brought our daughter when she was young), but I don't like the fact that lighting is brighter (due to kids running around), menus changed to be more Americanized and service is a lot more rushed to get people in and out faster. I also don't like that certain restaurants are only character meals now. We really enjoyed Akershus and would love to have a non-character meal available there, perhaps dinner after 7:30. Same goes for Crystal Palace.

The current FP+ and ADR windows have also led, at least in part, to the "throw away room" issue and makes it harder for people to get reservations at places where they really plan to stay. Shorter windows (such as 30 days for FP+ versus 15 days for day or offsite guests) would still give on-site guests a benefit. It might even tame some of the madness that forces people to be on-line in the middle of the night just to get an ADR for BOG or CRT.

 

[Laketravis]

When it comes to restaurants, WDW doesn't really follow any normal model. While a typical restaurant would benefit from a long forecasting window, WDW knows that 'Ohana is going to be fully booked on 2/9. It may not know the names of those guests. But it knows that it will be full and therefore derives no extra benefit in terms of staffing, budgeting and ordering. It's going to be "all hands on deck" with maximum staffing and maximum inventory. This is why places like the French Laundry have 60 day windows. They know that they are going to be overbooked with a waiting list on June 3. They don't need a 180 day window to help them there. A more "mom and pop" establishment would love to know how many covers there will by on a Tuesday in April. Disney knows.

Do you really think they can be that confident? What about the large percentage of off-site guests who have an ever-increasing number of off-site dining options available to them?

But then I can see your point because a restaurant doesn't have the same people-eating capacity as an attraction; at best each on-site TS only has the capability of serving a few hundred a night?

 

[Laketravis]

I actually like the new FP+ but this is because I never understood the logic of running back and forth across the park to get the old FP.

I'm not defending the "old" system in any way, but in all of our visits to the parks I never remember having to run back and forth across the park to get FP's.

 

[JimmyV]

Do you really think they can be that confident? What about the large percentage of off-site guests who have an ever-increasing number of off-site dining options available to them?

But then I can see your point because a restaurant doesn't have the same people-eating capacity as an attraction; at best each on-site TS only has the capability of serving a few hundred a night?

I think that past history is a better indicator than 180 day ADRs that can be cancelled. Attendance would have to slip to unheard of levels before BoG or LTT or Crystal Palace start hearing crickets. Any rational level of attendance will fill those restaurants.

 

[kmarie99]

I actually like both of them but if I had to chose one that I like less it would be the ADR's. I know exactly what rides I want to ride every time I go do each park, but I don't always know where I want to eat or when I am going to be hungry.

 

[Retro Magic]

Neither really. I still view all pre-booking as a privilege, not a necessity. Dining I do not dislike at all. I love booking so far in advance because it helps get me excited knowing I already have them booked!

FP+, I guess if I had to chose it would be that by default. It can be a little bit of a pain, but at the same time you can easily change these when you are there. And if not, just stick with it. Many seem to really dislike planning eveything in advance. But at the same time, planning it all in advance allows you to start enjoying your vacation the moment you arrive and the planning is done.

At the end of the day, worst case scenario is you can cancel your dining reservation. Either all together or hopefully be able to book another spot on a different day you prefer. Fast Passes, either switch to a different attraction/time or if not, miss it and just wait in the lineup at your preferred date/time.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I don't understand people who don't accept the ADR system at all. I compare the resteraunts at Disney to the most popular eatery in most big cities. To expect to hop in there on a Friday or Saturday night without a reservation is just naive. And for some places, you have to make a reservation way in advance, albeit usually not 180 days out.

I suppose that's it. Disney's eateries are not the most popular eatery in my local city. I doubt I go to that place ever. Locally, I only make one Dining reservation per year, maybe two. ( NYE, maybe once in summer). I was fine when Disney ADR's were limited to places like Cindy Castle.

But I often go to WDW for a week. That means all my table service meals need to be preplanned.

the short answer for me is that I feel I do my part- make ADR's at 180 days- and Disney doesn't do theirs. the WDW transportation is unreliable and unpredictable. A bus might show up now- or it might take over 30minutes for the bus to show. or a storm has stopped the boats (and none of the dock CM's have been informed). or the monorail is down, or stopped. And getting from place to place isn't just one bus away- it is often a bus+monorail+walking+entering a park lines.

I arrive on time for my ADR- and don't get seated anywhere near on time. We've often been seated 30minutes late, or worse- over an HOUR past our ADR time.

And while Disney doesn't control the weather, getting to many eateries means crossing a park in driving rain or thunderstorm. I don't do that locally, if it is raining, I can drive up to the front door in most cases and park nearby.

So what annoys me, is that Disney doesn't do their part, but they want to charge me if I can't make it?


I feel sorry for folks who think it is okay for large companies to treat us that way. It is amazingly lopsided.

And truly it doesn't have to be that way. The entire rest of the year, I eat out at places that have minimal waits. I arrive when I am hungry. If the wait is long, I go some place else.

and that one night a year, if for some reason we didn't feel up to going, I would not worry about it. I know the place probably isn't going to notice. They certainly aren't going to charge me.

And somehow my local eateries do just fine with all that unpredictability! They don't have the kind of information that Disney has. Disney already knows well in advance how many folks are staying onsite.

 

[Laketravis]

And truly it doesn't have to be that way..

We went to that-other-place-in-Orlando-who's-name-I-won't-mention last week over New Years and we never had reservations for any restaurant the entire week we were there. And yet we never waited more than 10 minutes for a table at very popular places like Emeril's, The Kitchen, Margaritaville, Pat O'brian's, Bubba Gump, etc.

I wonder how they manage that?

 

[Angel Ariel]

FP+, without a doubt

Eating meals, however, is a different story. I'm really curious how folks have no problem picking restaurants sooooooo far in advance to eat at every day they're there. Six months? To me that impossible. And picking an exact time? That makes it even harder.

As to this - we have favorite restaurants, so basically we head to those places. (unless there's something new we decide to try, like we did Flying Fish this past trip, or Liberty Tree Tavern on our Oct 2013 trip and it's now among the favorite list).

As for picking an exact time - we have a general dinner time at home. Usually anywhere between 5:30 and 7, depending on when people get home from work. We try to keep DD on some kind of schedule when we're traveling, so we will schedule a dinner ADR for somewhere in that same time period. If 5:30 is all that's available...well, that's not too different from 6pm, so not a big deal. If 6:30 or 7 is all we can find for a dinner, we'll make sure to eat a later snack so that no one gets too hungry/cranky before that.

If I can't get a dinner ADR for some place, we look for lunch...again, there's a general window we have for lunch at home anyway, so we just keep that same general time period in mind for lunch ADRs.

I certainly don't scold you for feeling differently, though. We all travel differently and have different park touring styles. It's important for us to sit down once/day and relax for a bit- we use ADRs for this. That's less important for others, which is completely understandable!

I'd also note that when DH and I took our adults only trip in November 2014, we ended up cancelling a lot of our ADRs - actually all of them, except a BOG FP+ lunch and Flying Fish. We ended up doing more CS, because it was all adults and we decided we wanted to spend that time otherwise. With DD, though, we would have kept the ADRs.

 

[Susiequsie60]

We went to that-other-place-in-Orlando-who's-name-I-won't-mention last week over New Years and we never had reservations for any restaurant the entire week we were there. And yet we never waited more than 10 minutes for a table at very popular places like Emeril's, The Kitchen, Margaritaville, Pat O'brian's, Bubba Gump, etc.

I wonder how they manage that?

Don't want to stir any pots (really) but is this a legitimate question? Is it logical to compare the two resort areas?

Again, can someone speak to me like I'm a 5-year old, and tell me all of the negative things that would happen (to WDW and to us, the consumers) if they changed their ADR system? Speak nicely. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how/why this system works for so many people - or better yet, why it would really mess people up if the ADR system were different.

NOTE: I'm definitely NOT disagreeing with anyone who loves the ADR system as it is. I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons of it, and if I really am an outlier on this particular topic.

 

[Laketravis]

Don't want to stir any pots (really) but is this a legitimate question? Is it logical to compare the two resort areas?

Again, can someone speak to me like I'm a 5-year old, and tell me all of the negative things that would happen (to WDW and to us, the consumers) if they changed their ADR system? Speak nicely. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how/why this system works for so many people - or better yet, why it would really mess people up if the ADR system were different.

NOTE: I'm definitely NOT disagreeing with anyone who loves the ADR system as it is. I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons of it, and if I really am an outlier on this particular topic.

I won't speak to you like you're a 5 year old

But I will say that a comparison can certainly be made between the two. Are they equal in size? No. But then they don't both have the same number of options for guests. I'm betting that in terms of a ratio of guests looking to dine and dining options available, the two are relatively equal. And if they aren't, and one is able to serve guests better without requiring reservations because they have a lower guest-to-option ratio, then perhaps the other place needs to add more options and thus distribute demand in a better manner.

 

[mcd2745]

We went to that-other-place-in-Orlando-who's-name-I-won't-mention last week over New Years and we never had reservations for any restaurant the entire week we were there. And yet we never waited more than 10 minutes for a table at very popular places like Emeril's, The Kitchen, Margaritaville, Pat O'brian's, Bubba Gump, etc.

I wonder how they manage that?

Easy.

• A total crowd level that is a tiny fraction of WDW's
• Not as "captive" a destination as WDW, combined with...
• I-Drive and tons of other dining choices a stone's throw away
• To my knowledge, none of their options are inside the park gates
• To my knowledge, none of their options are "character meals"
• Citywalk can be compared to Downtown Disney - whose restaurants, outside of T-Rex do not have the availability issues that the rest of the WDW restaurants have

 

[Susiequsie60]

I won't speak to you like you're a 5 year old

But I will say that a comparison can certainly be made between the two. Are they equal in size? No. But then they don't both have the same number of options for guests. I'm betting that in terms of a ratio of guests looking to dine and dining options available, the two are relatively equal. And if they aren't, and one is able to serve guests better without requiring reservations because they have a lower guest-to-option ratio, then perhaps the other place needs to add more options and thus distribute demand in a better manner.

That's sort of what I think . . . but not sure a lot of people would agree!! I guess the bottom line for me is that while I understand the whole WDW is a business and is there to make money (that's the #1 priority) I just think they could still do that while also making the system a little more user friendly. And I'm still happy to hear how changing the current ADR system (either making the window shorter, or by not including all TS restaurants) would hurt us - the final consumer.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I dislike FP+ more. The way I figure it, I'm likely going to eat 3 times a day with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually eat breakfast in the morning, lunch around midday, and dinner in the evening. Not a lot of planning goes into that. I rarely book more than one ADR during the day and when I do, I book breakfast and dinner. I know which restaurants I like and have a good idea of where we will want to eat. If I have a reservation for Biergarten for lunch, odds are, I will be at Epcot that day. However, I don't feel as locked in. Depending on the lunch reservation time, if I wake up that morning and am not feeling Epcot, I can either head to another park and make sure to hop over to Epcot with plenty of time to make my ADR, go ahead and go to Epcot that morning and leave after lunch, do another park in the morning and plan to spend the evening at Epcot, or spend the morning at one park, hop to Epcot for lunch, and then hop to a completely different park for the afternoon. With breakfast and dinner reservations, it's very easy to change my plans day-of.

With FP+, it's not quite as easy as I will have 3 different reservations during the day with at least an hour for each reservation. So, best case scenario, I have 2 hours in there that are set aside for rides (1:00-2:00 for Splash, 2:00-3:00 for Thunder, 3:00-4:00 for Space, for example) but it will take more than that because I won't be done with my third FP+ reservation until 20 minutes or so after I arrive (I hope that made sense). If I woke up that morning and didn't want to be at the park at which I have FP+ reservations, it's not quite as easy to change my plans. I'd first see if there were FP+ times available for the rides I was hoping to ride at the park I am intending to visit instead of the original park. If there aren't, that pretty much shoots the idea of switching parks in the foot because standing in line for 45 minutes or missing out on my favorites isn't the kind of trade-off I'd be willing to go with.

 

[Laketravis]

That's sort of what I think . . . but not sure a lot of people would agree!! I guess the bottom line for me is that while I understand the whole WDW is a business and is there to make money (that's the #1 priority) I just think they could still do that while also making the system a little more user friendly. And I'm still happy to hear how changing the current ADR system (either making the window shorter, or by not including all TS restaurants) would hurt us - the final consumer.

Exactly. A superficial response is often that there are simply more people at WDW. Well, okay. But doesn't more people mean more cash flow which means more resources available for capital expenditures like building more restaurants? Sure it does. It's all about scale. If one place can have happy guests and not require dining reservations or ride reservations because they have matched capacity to crowd levels, why can't another place do that?

Another factor is a bit more strategic and goes beyond capacity, and that is popularity. A park could have 100 restaurants but if 99 of them suck, it's still going to be crowded at the one popular one. Same with attractions.

That is something that is addressed thru proper strategic planning, and what Disney decided to do (first, perhaps) was to introduce a method to strategically increase the utilization of less-popular attractions by including them in a forced-choice pool of options and artificially manufacturing demand for them.

Thus the current contention and complaints about the system. I mean, if all of the attractions at all of the theme parks were equally popular, I don't think we'd see as many complaints about a ride reservation system. Because a ride reservation system wouldn't be necessary.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

just made a lunch reservation for Sci Fi 9 days out.

 

[Bete]

Absolutely, FP+ is my downfall. I can't get over how well we were able to utilize legacy FP. I'm not satisfied with FP+ and I don't think I will change my mind. For one, it has turned me into a part time park person, now. I don't spend the same amount of time in the parks anymore. My strategy has become to have FP+ in the afternoon and winging it in the morning or evening, but not both morning and evening. I'm probably getting 7 to 8 hours in a park, now. With legacy FP I would average a 10 to 12 hour day. To me that is less value for the park ticket which is not cheap by any means.

With ADRs you have so many choices that usually even with last minute ressies you can get in someplace. Even if it's peak times you have the choice of quick service. We are very good on planning our day around ADRs and we have been able to do reservations 180 days out without any issues. Also, we are fortunate enough to say we have done most of the restaurants and so I'm not as concerned about going here or there.

 

[SmithSmith]

I like both. Heres why:

1. Every restaurant I want to dine at does not have to be booked 180 days out.
(FWIW, I just checked MDE and I could get into every restaurant for dinner at 30/60 days out besides BoG, CRT, CM, Akershus, CP. The new Boardwalk Italian restaurant was available, V&A was available, Cali Grill, Sci Fi, Brown Derby, et al all available)

2. I eat at the same time every day, it's no different on vacation.

3. Every menu has a wide variety of tastes. I've never had to settle for a burger when I'm craving something else.

4. There's always new places I want to try, and old favorites I want to revisit. Between those two, I can easily fill dinner slots and I look forward to each and every ADR.

5. I know my and DH's tastes and preferences when it comes to meals. Typically, we have a piece of fruit for breakfast, a light lunch, and big dinner. We also don't do buffets, are underwhelmed by signature dining, and won't do character meals. So that means at Disney I'll never be scheduling a breakfast ADR or 2 TS in a day or a signature or a hard to get character buffet. Therefore it's pretty easy to narrow it down.

6. When it comes to park days I don't let crowd calendars mandate my schedule. I will always want Magic Kingdom as my first and last day. Hollywood Studios is my next favorite so I'm going to schedule that as my second and second to last day. On a 7 day trip, that just leaves 3 more days, so naturally Animal Kingdom and EPCOT are divided amongst those. Since I like symmetry, I'm not going to want back to back EPCOT days. So naturally, my 7 day trip would look like this: Day 1 Magic Kingdom, Day 2 Hollywood Studios, Day 3 EPCOT, Day 4 Animal Kingdom, Day 5 EPCOT, Day 6 Hollywood Studios, Day 7 Magic Kingdom.

7. I checked MDE on a regular basis during my last trip and every single restaurant I had booked had availability the night before, including BoG. Knowing that last minute changes were possible (something that is considered an impossibility by some) has made it so much less stressful for our next trip.

So with all the above information it's incredibly easy to figure out when and where to book ADRs.

Concerning FP, I only find it useful to schedule FP in the evening, which makes it really easy to schedule those as well. Just pick the most popular rides around your ADR time, and "Voila!" All done! It doesn't matter to me if I'm scheduling these things 180, 90, 60, or 30 days out, the results would still be the same.

I will say that I DEFINITELY don't want ADR & FP windows opening at the same time. If for some strange reason I was going after a coveted ADR and FP than I wouldn't want to stay awake till 11pm to book the FP just to be back up at 5am to book the ADR! That'd be nuts! I much prefer what is going on now. People have to remember these are "booking windows" not "booking mandates".

I also DEFINITELY wouldn't want the FP booking window opened up at 7 days! I'm far too busy preparing for our trip, I do not want to still be in the planning stages at that time. Honestly, I'm not even sure why that'd be suggested because most attractions are all still bookable at 7 days out.

I think that covers everything. Hope that helped!

 

[mom2rtk]

I have no problem with ADRs for this reason: I can skip ADRs entirely and not feel the value of what I paid for park entry is diminished.

If you don't like FP+ and choose to skip it, the value of what you get for the price you paid to enter is lowered (in my opinion) because you are relegated to the 10-30% of ride capacity not taken for FP+.

 

[Sparkly]

I weirdly thought ADRs were more restrictive! Stop what you're doing, you have a meal in 30 minutes. Gotta get there now. And yes, Disney transportation stinks for getting to meals! We frequently waited a crazy amount of time for the right bus, and I won't even talk about the time it took us over an HOUR to get to DTD.

We wished we had stayed with the QSDP so we could eat when we felt like it instead of dinner at x at 7:30pm.