Blown Away By Some of the ADR Cancellations

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am not a hoarder, but I do frequently get a couple different days for a few of my reservations. As many have said, I am at the mercy of Disney releasing things at different times. So I booked my ADRs at 180. But I had to tweak when they released Candlelight Processional packages a month later. Now they've released Rivers of Light packages, so I will have to tweak again based on if I can get one of those. Then I will tweak yet again when my FP+ booking opens depending on when I can get fast passes. And I may have to tweak even more if they change park hours last minute like they are known to do. So while I don't hold 5 of the same thing, I do make our must dos on a couple days for the reasons I listed above. If Disney wouldn't constantly change hours and release things at random unknown dates, it would make it a lot easier.

ETA: I never get multiple for the same day and usually do this with only a couple favorite restaurants. So I may do one Ohana reservation on two different days of the trip. And I will release whichever one doesn't fit into the schedule.

This is how I used to run my trips as well. My original frustration point was around someone that might have the following:

8:30 am BOG
8:45 am Tusker house w/ Donald
9:15 am BOG
9:25 am 'Ohana
9:35 am BOG
10:45 am Chef Mickey's

Exaggeration a bit, yes I know (but not by much). I know it's a widespread issue, but it doesn't make me any less frustrated. It also doesn't ruin my trip because I get to go often enough and I don't plan my vacation around food. I think I really just shake my head at it now.
 
I am borrowing a phrase from Pete and referring to the people who book multiple ADR's for the same time period (i.e. same evening) as a bag of dicks.

If you have the knowledge of Disney to know that multiple ADR's can help accommodate changing entertainment schedules, than you also know how in demand ADR's are for the vast majority of restaurants on property.

Booking multiplies all within an hour of each other to accommodate possible changes in your schedule is rude and entitled.

Funniest. Line. Ever. I cracked up for days after Pete said that!
 
This is how I used to run my trips as well. My original frustration point was around someone that might have the following:

8:30 am BOG
8:45 am Tusker house w/ Donald
9:15 am BOG
9:25 am 'Ohana
9:35 am BOG
10:45 am Chef Mickey's

Exaggeration a bit, yes I know (but not by much). I know it's a widespread issue, but it doesn't make me any less frustrated. It also doesn't ruin my trip because I get to go often enough and I don't plan my vacation around food. I think I really just shake my head at it now.

Never done anything like that! At most will hold a single time on two different days for a total of 2 reservations. I didn't think the system would allow what you described above? Usually if I have something around the same time, it will make me cancel that one before I book a new one.
 
Never done anything like that! At most will hold a single time on two different days for a total of 2 reservations. I didn't think the system would allow what you described above? Usually if I have something around the same time, it will make me cancel that one before I book a new one.
There are ways to "game the system" in order to acquire multiple, close running ADRs for your party.
 


Oh, so it's yet again Disney's fault and that justifies it, just like with the extra fastpasses. Guess what just got clamped down on? You can't go around doing what you want because sooner or later, it'll be gone. Just remember that.

Exactly right. I'm sorry, but it is beyond childish to blame Disney for your own inconsiderate choices. If you are going to do something rude and sucky, own it!:P

As Disney can change park hours right up to and including the day of, joke is on anyone who thinks park hours are final ahead of time anyway.
 
As Disney can change park hours right up to and including the day of, joke is on anyone who thinks park hours are final ahead of time anyway.

My frustration exactly...tomorrow marks my 180 days for ADR's and still can't pin down park hours. Hard to put things in place when you are missing pieces of the puzzle!
 
My frustration exactly...tomorrow marks my 180 days for ADR's and still can't pin down park hours. Hard to put things in place when you are missing pieces of the puzzle!

Just gotta do the best you can, and roll with it. Adjust if it becomes necessary. I'm not kidding, I've had Disney change park hours the day of during one of my vacations. The park hours are never set in stone.
 


People on these boards have said they have multiple accounts and book three different restaurants for each meal for each day at different parks then fine tune later. That kind of screws up everyone else who just wants one reservation a day. I don't know what the answer is but this system seems to be unfair, and it seems like Disney could devise a system that would be more equitable. But there are always people who are going to figure out a way to manipulate and work the system. And there will always be people who are selfish and greedy and only think of themselves.
 
I'll fess up. I am guilty of doing some of this right now. I had nailed down the perfect trip until Irma screwed us over. I am now left desperately trying to re-piece it together for December. It is much easier to scoop up some options as you see them before you can start to formulate a plan and then start dropping them. I completely agree that this is obnoxious and a terrible system, but its the one we have to work with. You can't understand what days you will go to which parks until you start to formulate a dining plan to see what is available at this point. You just have to just start grabbing what you can and seeing how the cards fall before you can edit it down to something sensible. Every time I have hesitated I have missed out and regretted it....
 
Do not call out specific posters. Not needed and really not nice

All posts removed
 
I think reservation hoarding is wrong. If you want and will genuinely use a BOG lunch every day you are there, fine, but, I really think there should be a limit of three meals per person per day booked. And no more. This hoarding in case your plans change is not fair. What about all those people whose plans have to change because they can't book ADRs because someone else has hoarded them so they can have more choices?
We have an ADR plan. We make it at 180+10, then we make everything else we do fit that. That was, I thought, the fair way to interpret the Disney practise of making people book ADRs so far out?
 
I'll fess up. I am guilty of doing some of this right now. I had nailed down the perfect trip until Irma screwed us over. I am now left desperately trying to re-piece it together for December. It is much easier to scoop up some options as you see them before you can start to formulate a plan and then start dropping them. I completely agree that this is obnoxious and a terrible system, but its the one we have to work with. You can't understand what days you will go to which parks until you start to formulate a dining plan to see what is available at this point. You just have to just start grabbing what you can and seeing how the cards fall before you can edit it down to something sensible. Every time I have hesitated I have missed out and regretted it....

Why not formulate your plan and then book ADRs? Fewer moving parts that way, and it keeps everything from becoming so overwhelming.
 
Why not formulate your plan and then book ADRs? Fewer moving parts that way, and it keeps everything from becoming so overwhelming.
I think it depends on what drives your planning. If ADRs drive where you go in a day, her way makes sense. If other things like schedule and EMH drives your planning then your way makes sense.
 
I have no current need for any of the character meals since the children of our December trip have no interest in them. Nope, my want is to eat at signature restaurants almost every day of the trip and I suppose some of them are as hard to get as BOG or CRT. Oh and if you are staying at the Poly you can generously and graciously step aside from the Ohana ADR fight by ordering the "Twilight Feast" which will be served in your jammies, LOL. Slight digression over and back to the topic with no deviations.

Right now I'm "hoarding" and only a twinge of guilt exists about it. I have 2 prepaid reservations for NYE; one in the late afternoon for a still not announced prix fixe menu and the other around 10:00 PM for another unannounced menu. My understanding is the menus will be posted sometime in November. I will hold both reservations until that time since I'm interested in the venue but it's hard to make a decision without knowing what we are being offered to eat.
 
Last edited:
Why not formulate your plan and then book ADRs? Fewer moving parts that way, and it keeps everything from becoming so overwhelming.
But but what happens if ADRs are your main motivation instead of FPs OR you are part of a diverse party and need to balance FPs with ADRs?

People are too complex for a one plan fits all method and DW is quite aware of that and so far has "given" us 4 theme parks (don't forget to pay for each one;)) and over 20 resorts to accommodate the thunk. Doing a wonderful job for their shareholders on that level too.

I honestly suspect that if Disney felt that demand outweighed supply they'd just open another restaurant or expand an existing one.
 
People on these boards have said they have multiple accounts and book three different restaurants for each meal for each day at different parks then fine tune later. That kind of screws up everyone else who just wants one reservation a day. I don't know what the answer is but this system seems to be unfair, and it seems like Disney could devise a system that would be more equitable. But there are always people who are going to figure out a way to manipulate and work the system. And there will always be people who are selfish and greedy and only think of themselves.

I concede that there are folks who do this, and frankly the level of stress that must be under makes me wonder how they manage. I think there are relatively fewer people who do this than it seems. I bet we are just more aware of those who do, inflating the number in our minds.



I honestly suspect that if Disney felt that demand outweighed supply they'd just open another restaurant or expand an existing one.

I wonder if Disney is content with the current situation. There are plenty of choices within the entire complex, but think about the strategy that exists if you limit the number of "specialty" restaurants in choice locations. I do not know if any other destination where people lock themselves into multiple dining commitments so far in advance, and where people will pay an entrance charge over the cost of their meal for that "privilege"

There is a lot to be said for creating a demand that the supply does not meet, and then allowing the market to compete for open slots. I am not complaining, I will often be up and online, ready to go by 6am so my family dines in their favorite wdw restaurants. I will often smile when my dh suggests a restaurant a week before we arrive, one his friend thought was good. Really? 50's PTC on that date and time? I'll try.

No, Disney may not have intended this chain of events, but other that attempting to limit the number of adrs that were left open without even a call for cancelation, they have done little to address the problem. I think they changed what had a negative impact on their occupancy and that's it.
 
Do people make reservations without having rooms or flights or a plan in place?

Errr...........I still don't have a way back home from DW. We are AMTRAKing down and I continue my search for a decent to my mind airfare for our January return.
I do have a plan though- if I can't book a flight... I'll book more days at the hotel, more ADRs, and more FPs;).

I think the fact that some cannot get exactly what they want when they want it is clouding their vision.

I'm a DW novice.
First 5 day trip booked 2 weeks before arrival on the 4th of July, and we were able to do much that we hoped with the exception of eating at 'Ohana's (ordered pretty much the same meal from room service instead), Sci-Fi Cafe (a blessing in disguise since we did a walk in at Brown Derby and will now eat there for Christmas Day), and getting FPs for FoP and 7DMT.

Our current upcoming 11-12 day trip for Christmas season planning , began after the 180 day window opened, and there are no ADRs I've wanted that I haven't been able to acquire with a little patience and time.

My current most niggly problem is I can't find a Via Napoli ADR before 8:10 PM on the date I wish. So maybe, once again, we'll eat late, and wander EPCOT, observing the 'scape without a crowd slowing or speeding us up.
And then there is the waiting patiently for some menus to be released for Monsieur Paul conundrum that has inspired a little answered thread with much thanks to the one poster who did; Nancy Drew type tracking down of the restaurant's telephone so they could answer questions directly and now I'm done.
I did my due diligence and am left to my own devices by every known to me entity out there.

I strongly urge those who are disgruntled by the current system to find a TA who can do the work for them. It will cost them nothing and if they are still a member of the working classes, free up their time.
I'm now a full fledged member of the "where is my pension check?" brigade, and have time on my hands:).
 
Last edited:
Why not formulate your plan and then book ADRs? Fewer moving parts that way, and it keeps everything from becoming so overwhelming.

In our case we have a toddler and some reservations we really want her to experience before she gets older. So for us some of the dining is a main motivating factor. Since the reservations are so darn competitive, its easiest to book a few options leading up to our 60 day FP window. For example, we really would like to do Akersush. Ideally we have a specific date in mind for that but all I have been able to find is one for the day we planned to have off and one for the day of our Christmas Party. I booked both and keep looking. If I do find that date that is ideal, great, if not I have to look at those two reservations and shift our park days around a bit (or give up). Now, lets say I get the day I want (I did, thanks to cancellation post!). I hesitate to release the other options because what if we go to book FP, and since the ideal Epcot day for us is the first day of our vacation, there are no options for FP to frozen? If that happens we may once again still need to fall back on the other options. Can you see how ridiculous but necessary it is to have some options? Once FP day arrives we can settle on a plan and release reservations we don't plan to use. I can then start a more targeted search since we will have a park plan in place. Call me crazy but I don't think that I am much different than most people in planning in this way. There are just too many unknowns until you get closer to your trip and the reservations book up so darn fast...

Sometimes I feel like I should be the one getting paid for this vacation. I spend all my idle time searching reservations :P
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top