Will we have trouble getting ADR's in Oct?

[Jade+3]

I have only just started reading the dining forum in preparation for our vacation in October. Are the issues with making ADR's due to free dining, or is it always this hard to make reservations?

I am just wondering if I need to have some backup plans if I can't get the ADR's that we want. We are staying off-site so I will need to ring daily. We are looking at doing a couple of character breakfasts.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

It always challenging to get ADR's any time of the year. At least for the months I have been. January, Febuary, April, May, June, September and October. If you don't get them at first try at the 45 day mark a lot of people drop the vacation when the final payment is due.

When I call I have a back up for each one to look for just to be prepared.

 

[Hootch]

some restaurants and some times at specific restaurants that are more difficult to get than others. For example, pre-opening breakfast ADRs at Crystal Palace or Cinderella's Royal Table are generally harder to get. An ADR at Le Cellier can be hard to get for lunch or dinner. Chef Mickey's can be tough to get too. The Food and Wine festival will be going on when you are there so Epcot restaurants may be a little harder to get.

The crowd levels are not generally high in October. The time around Columbus Day can be a bit higher. We generally go in late June or early July when crowd levels are generally higher and don't usually have too much problem getting what we want.

You have some time to determine where you want to go. Since you are staying off-site the earliest you can call is 90 days before each day. If there are certain restaurants that you want you may consider asking from them at the beginning and then subsequent days if you don't get them. Have back-ups for specific areas. There are a number of good restaurants in each area. For example, the MK has the monorail resort restaurants and Epcot has the Boardwalk area.

For character breakfasts Chef Mickey's and Ohana can sometimes be difficult. October may be easier with many kids in school. Donald's Breakfastsorous in Animal Kingdom has similar characters and isn't usually in as much demand. The Cape May breakfast also has similar characters. Crystal Palace can be tough before park opening. It should have less demand after park opening. The Pooh characters are different and the food is really good.

 

[winterman]

I think that most of the problems making ADRs recently are related to two things. One is free dining. The second is the new computer system. My DD had no problem making ADRs a few weeks ago but it was for the period just before FD. She was able to get ADRs for Fantasmic dinner package and for Chef Mickey.

 

[pixidust princess]

I sure hope not! I am worried now. Our dates are Oct. 3-10, with my 90 day mark on July 5th. I will be making ADR's for a party of 9. I will call at 7:00, 6:00 our time and be ready to be flexible. We can keep our fingers crossed and hope it works out!!!

 

[Tam1067]

We are arriving August 8, and I had no trouble at all with any of our ADRs except for Le Cellier. There are 5 of us, on the deluxe dining plan, and I was able to get (and even change a few days later) several "hot" spots including 'Ohana (dinner), Chef Mickey's (breakfast), CRT (breakfast at 8:10 a.m.), Crystal Palace (breakfast at 8:15 a.m.), and more. We could have had Le Cellier for lunch, or for a late dinner at about 8:00 p.m., but my kids do not like dinner that late.

So relax. Free dining causes all sorts of havoc with the system.

 

[Jade+3]

Thankyou so much for your helpful responses. I will have a plan B, just in case. At least it will be 9pm here when the phone lines open, so no nasty middle of the night phone calls will be required!

 

[CoolDisneyKitten]

Oct. is during Food and Wine Festival, so if you want to eat in Epcot I would make those soon.

 

[aubriee]

This will be my fifth time going during free dining. Every year gets more and more crowded. Don't get me wrong crowds in the parks will still be the lightest they are all year long, but TS restaraunts will be packed. People that normally eat CS will flock into the TS restaurants. Your problem is that, as you know, staying offsite you will not be able to utilize the 90+10 rule that onsite guests can. For example, I'll be down there Sept 26th-Oct 4th and can make all my ADRs for the week 90 days out from Sept 26th, which will give me an advantage over anyone staying offsite. If at all possible I'd try to stay onsite and take advantage of free dining, plus being able to use the 90+`10 rule. If that's not possible then for sure have back ups in mind everyday when you call. Try to get the hardest ADRs first (Le Cellier, CRT, character breakfasts, etc), so that you'll have additional time to try for them during the week. With onsite guests having the advantage of 90+10 though, I wouldn't count on being able to get ADRs like CRT or Le Cellier. For example if I wanted either, I could make them for Oct 3rd and Oct 4th 90 days out from Sept 26th, whereas you will have to wait until exactly 90 days out from Oct 3rd and 4th. Every onsite guest going that week will have the exact same advantage over you and alot of guests that normally stay offsite, will choose to stay onsite in order to get free dining, so more people than usual will be trying for those hard to get ADRs.