Why is it so difficult to make an ADR, 180 days out for some??

[OctDisney]

I have planned the last 3 trips and did not find the 180 days too bad.
We are going for 8 days, so if it does rain, then we can still do something else and go back.
I believe the key to ADR's is not to have the dining dictate your trip. The dining should be complimentary to your trip.

If I look at my ADR's, they compliment my trip and not dictate what I am doing.
For example, the day we plan on doing the AK, we are doing a late character breakfast at Donald's. We have to eat and there is still enough to do even if it rains. I think the only ride would be expedition everest that would could not go on and only if it rains all day.

Most of our ADR's are on the off days where we have to eat anyway and are not tied to something specific.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

Another compulsive planner here! I have all my ADR's(6) finalized about 3 months ago. Not 180 days. I didn't have any problem getting the time I wanted to eat at all of our chosen restaurants. I have to admit that I was going to change one ressie about 2 weeks ago, (4 weeks before we go) but all ressies were spoken of already. NO LUCK THERE!

I love to plan and plan far ahead. My family and friends have always enjoy a well-scheduled vacation whenever I am involved I guess it is like having a GPS for some.

 

[jeni1072]

This will be our first "real" family vacation, week long, DDP, and all. I have found it annoying to have to do these ADR's so far out. One thing is, we do not park hop. I like to decide what day gets what park, according to the weather, or how we're feeling, or whatever. Now, we have had to plan every day of our trip, where we will go that day.

 

[Bill From PA]

On past trips, mostly in early March, we never made ressies except for Teppanyaki. We've had no trouble walking into an Epcot table service restaurant... until this March when we got shut out except for an early dinner at Le Cellier. So, in one month we'll be making ressies for next March. It's a little easy for us as our habit is to hit a park early then hop to Epcot about 1 pm when crowds at the early park get to be too much. We finish our 'park time' there. We're staying at BWV and have been S/D regulars for years, so our dining choices are Epcot and the Boardwalk eateries. I'll be making a ressie for each day of our 10, but we'll probably use 4 or 5, cancelling the remaining ones at least 24 hours prior. I'd rather not do this, but the fact that these go fast and we're there in a busy time forces our hand. We'll probably do Le Cellier twice and we're looking for a substitute for Teppanyaki as that will be closed during our stay.

Bill From PA

 

[MommyPoppins]

Yep. No problem here. It's easy to make your ADR's 180 days out because park hours are released so far in advance now! I made all of ours way back when, then when TGM had to revise his advice for which days to visit which parks, with the whole new extra extra magic hours in FL, it messed up a couple of my days. But it was no problem to pick up the phone and change a few things. I just finished up my ADR's on Sunday when I paid our balance(44 days and counting ) I was able to add Chef's at the time I wanted, on the day I wanted with no problem. I think most people don't make their ADR's 180 days in advance. Most people aren't prepared and don't realize that they REALLY have to, and all the 2006 guide books say to make your ADRs 90 days out, so we REALLY have a heads up.

 

[faindrops27]

Ok, so most don't have a problem. There are only a few, that do. Camcolt. Your post kind of confused me. But, I think the concensus is, It is a individual thing. Basically, how you look at your vacation, and touring plans. Another poster, said they will make ADR's, and then cancel, half of them? I don't get that. If you know you probably wont eat there. Why make a Adr? But, ok. I guess it is all how you look at it.

Whatever your choice have a magical time!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Disney4girl. Tell me how do u laminate your tour plans. Sounds a bit obsessive. But, if i knew how. I would probably do it too!

OK, last year I used the touring plans from the Ultimate Guide. DH and his family thought I was nuts, but while waiting for the rope drop at MK I had several people ask where I got them and if they could buy them.

This year I typed my own plans according to TGM advice. I also have all CS menus and ADR's typed and laminated. I did the menus so that DH could decide what he wants without going all over to see each menu.

A bit anal retentive? Perhaps.

 

[pilferk]

Well, with the countless, posts. I have seen about people, hating the DDP, or why is the DDP so hard.
Please, I want to understand. The statement. I hear over and over again. I don't want to make a ADR 180 days in advance. Because, i don't know what I will want to eat, on that day?? I really do not understand why it is such a big deal. I mean, you look up resteraunts on allearsnet.com. You look at what kind of food the resteraunts offer. You make a compiled list of those resteraunts/foods you want to try, and you make an ADR. Not because you feel like chinese, or steak on one perticular evening. But, because, the menu items, looked good, and you want to try that resteraunt. Please, for all of you that find it so difficult. Please help me understand, why is it so hard? To me, it is a piece of cake. I must be missing something

You know what it is? Some people are just not compulsive planners...and MAKING them be compulsive planners to get an ADR (they have to decide which park their going to be in and which place they want to eat 6 months prior to arrival) just doesn't fit their make up, for whatever reason. It stresses them out. It's just the way some people are and it's tough, for me at least, to fault them for it.

Now, keep in mind, my wife and I ARE compulsive planners. We enjoy plannng the details of the trip, and don't mind having to make our ressies FAR in advance. It's part of the "fun" for us. But having travelled with co-workers a couple of times for conferences at "The World", I can tell you that we are not like the majority of those "tripping" to WDW....at least if the majority of my coworkers are any indication. And I can also tell you that when I brought up, at a staff meeting, that people were going to want to start making dining plans 90 days out for our January conference, I was met with lots of blank stares and "are you crazy" looks. Those same people, I might add, did an AWFUL lot of waiting for tables during our trip...but I digress. They just didn't see the need, and saw the necessity as a bother.

Some people just want the freedom of flying by the seat of their pants, especially on a vacation. They view all the ADR stuff (and thus, DP) as being too limiting. And more power to them if that's the way they feel, I guess.

 

[dawnball]

Well, part of our problem is that we don't know that we're going to WDW 180 days out, let alone what parks we'll be at. We decided in the middle of May to do a fall WDW trip, but we didn't have dates. We picked dates in early June for a first of September trip. That's 90 days out or so. We couldn't really pick dates earlier, since dates were dependant on my sister's grad school class schedule. As it was, we picked dates as soon as she selected classes to enroll in and hoped she got her first choice of classes.

Then we had to decide (in general) which parks we wanted to visit on which dates and what food sounded good to us. As it happend - none of it sounded good. So we picked food based on it not being a buffet, being in or at a park (monorail or boardwalk restaurants included) and there being something on the menu that fit all of our special dietary requirements. That limited the field immensely, and then we just booked what fit into our schedules and had tables. We might end up making a quarter of our ADRs. I'd rather not book reservations until we get there because so much can change between now and then. However, if you wait to book ADRs until you're there - you won't get a table anywhere.

 

[brerrabbit]

The main reason I don't plan out 180 days is because I don't even book most of our vacations till about 2 or three months in advance. With one in college and one in high school combined with my job, its not easy to know what the future holds so we can't plan that far out. Now mind you I don't care that other people do plan that far in advance because it seems to have never really effected my booking ADRs. We were there July 14 through the 21 and we got all the ADR's we wanted about three weeks out. Ate at Ragland Road, Garden Grill, and Tempennyaki. Also got an ADR same day at MK for Tony's. Now I know if I want certain TS I probably could not get them on my time schedule but thats okay because I can get most everything else I want.

 

[faindrops27]

Brerrabbit. This is Off topic. But, I love your name. When, I saw it. I started hearing in my mind. Gotta keep rolling along, that's right! Gotta keep rolling alonnnng! The song from Splashmountain!! I truly cannot wait until Sept. That is my favorite all time Disney ride!!

 

[dizfanz]

To the OP I say this, it is vacation and I don't want to plan what I am eating 6 months in advance so I can gaurantee a seat in a restaurant. Do you know what you are eating next Tuesday? If you do, that is just wierd. Maybe on a particular day at WDW it is nice and sunny and a good pool day. I will sit poolside and drink my cocktail until 7pm and then go back and shower and go for a late dinner. Maybe that day is a bit cloudy and cool and would be a nice time to stroll around WS and stop in Chef's de France. I just don't know. Maybe I should be able to figure that out 1 week or 4 weeks out, but I sure as heck am not figuring out what I am eating January 8th at 7pm when the calender says August 2nd, the thermometer says 97 degrees and I am sweating my you know what off in central Indiana! JMHO

 

[Williamsfamily7]

You said exactly what I feel. As I said earlier, I love to plan, but knowing what and when I want to eat in advance is just a pain!!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Some people don't like to plan like that. My DH's co-worker decided to take the family to WDW during free dining time last year. I warned him and warned him about making ADRs. He could not grasp the idea of knowing where to eat even 30 days in advance....so forget about 6 months! So, basically his family did not eat dinner at the places they thought they would like. He got lucky and was able to get an ADR at the GF for the Cinderella dinner for the same night. Other than that, they had to use thier TS credits for lunch if they wanted to get into the other popular restaurants.

 

[Karenj2]

The last time DH and I went to WDW (4 years ago), we just played it by ear for where we ate, and all I remember about that trip was that I got REALLY sick of chicken strips and hamburgers... For this upcoming trip I did some research on TGM, found out which parks (in general) I wanted us to be in each day, then made ADRs for the restaurants I wanted to be in. It was no biggie (and I made the ADRs only 50 days out, I think.) The only restaurant I didn't get that I was kinda hoping to eat at was CRT for dinner. Oh well.

 

[vanyel]

I don't like the 180 as I often don't plan a trip that far in advance. I'm a bit more spontaneous. I've always made adrs at the 90 days if I knew I was going that early but sometimes I ended up cancelling one and going somewhere else, or skipping a meal (as the ddp has more food than I want sometimes).

It irks me a bit to have to think about where I want to be at what time 6 mo in advance but I'll do it if I plan a trip that far in advance because I have certain places I want to eat.

 

[Nancyg56]

I did not find it to be a problem. For my family, a vacation is also about our dining time. I am not a very good planner when compared to some of the experts here on the DIS, but I do like to plan which park we are visiting and where to have our meals. We have plenty of open time, and on those days we venture further to eat. We are not as attraction oriented so this is not a problem for us. I did make ADR's for each evening, but will change them as we get closer because Disney does not have the dates and times for the SOA in January, and we do want to attend this.

 

[brerrabbit]

Brerrabbit. This is Off topic. But, I love your name. When, I saw it. I started hearing in my mind. Gotta keep rolling along, that's right! Gotta keep rolling alonnnng! The song from Splashmountain!! I truly cannot wait until Sept. That is my favorite all time Disney ride!!

It's always been one of my favorite rides too. Hence when I signed up for the DIS I chose it. Lucky for me it wasn't taken yet at the time. I have a copy of the movie, several different versions of the books, and the original record (33 rpm) of the soundtrac from the movie. I collect a lot of the Brer stuff.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

My thinking is that since we are going to be in MK that day why not plan to eat somewhere that's easy to get to from MK. When in Epcot, plan an Epcot restaurant. It can't be "That bad" Here is our daily park/dinner rundown:

day 1: AK/MGM/Boma's/MGM
day 2: Epcot/Le Cellier
day 3: not doing any park/Chef Mickey's (outside the park)
day 4: MK/O'hana (short monorail ride from MK)/ back to MK
day 5: no plan/Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe(DTD)

 

[BillSears]

My thinking is that since we are going to be in MK that day why not plan to eat somewhere that's easy to get to from MK. When in Epcot, plan an Epcot restaurant. It can't be "That bad" Here is our daily park/dinner rundown:

day 1: AK/MGM/Boma's/MGM
day 2: Epcot/Le Cellier
day 3: not doing any park/Chef Mickey's (outside the park)
day 4: MK/O'hana (short monorail ride from MK)/ back to MK
day 5: no plan/Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe(DTD)

Ok that's 5 days with day 3 and 5 not really "planned" other then the meal. Now extend your stay to 11 days and you'll see how planning can really be tough.

For this upcomming September trip I'm doing 7 nights/8 days but I have done the 11 day trips in the past.

Day 1: EPCOT/LeCellier
Day 2: MK/Chef Mickeys
Day 3: MGM/ 50s Prime Time Diner
Day 4: AK/Boma
Day 5: Probably EPCOT/Spoodles
Day 6: No idea, maybe MK, Maybe MGM/Raglan Road
Day 7: No clue at all, EPCOT? MK? MGM? AK? What park did we not see enough of or what shows did we miss./Les Chefs de France but this is just a wild guess I may have to cancel and try for somewhere else.
Day 8: Leaving around 3:00 but we'll hit whatever park we feel like in the morning.

For my December trip it's even worse. My plans are to visit each resort to see the Christmas decorations and to see all of the Christmas shows/events in each park. Right now I have no specific days planned in any of the parks. This was originally planned as a solo trip but now my daughter and her BF are coming along. I plan on seeing the sights while they plan on visiting the parks and we'll meet up every now and then. So how do you plan ADRs when you really don't know where you will be on a given day at dinner time?