Reservation Hoarders - You Know Who You Are :)

[VillainFavs]

Hoarder here! I've got a bunch of duplicates booked for my trip in August. What are the things I'm waiting on....

Park hours.
EMHs
Availability of paid pre-park opening and after-park closing hours.
Animal kingdom--just about anything that's going on there! Schedules, events, what's on, what's not, how dining packages will work, etc, etc.,
FPs.

So Disney wants me to make ADRs 180 days in advance. But then makes me wait until last minute to give me the details I need to finalize plans. So yes, I sit on some extra ADRs. They will eventually make their way back into the system. Someone else will snag them. Someone who waited until last minute to plan or scheduled a last minute trip will stumble on them and be happy. They won't go unused.

 

[ELSA711]

As a helpful tip, I was worried about this before too. I could only get a 7DMT FP+ last time right when we would be in the middle of a Crystal Palace lunch. I was unable to move my CP lunch and I think we all know there would be no way I was getting to move a FP+ for 7DMT for 15+ people. But a helpful CM told me if I brought the CP receipt showing I was there during my FP+ window that the CM there would let us on. They said just to go straight there though, not to try it 2 hours later. The CM at 7DMT saw the receipt, saw our FP+ time and let us on. Good stuff to know!

That's good to know but I don't know if I would count on every CM being so gracious.

 

[Mac30188]

This is a Disney generated behavior. I currently am holding 10 ADRs and intend to use 8 or 9 of them. 1 of my duplications is directly related to the belief in Disney is going to shuffle the schedule but has not done it yet. I don't make the rules, but I do respect them and understand that I have to play by them whether I want to or not. If Disney's schedule was firm 6 months in advance, I would have a firm schedule.

In addition, maybe I am just a typical jaded genX, but any system that you believe relies on public altruism to be successful is destined to fail. If you don't like the way the system works, focus on the system and the associated rules, not the people. Getting the general public to change the way it behaves to their own detriment is just not going to happen. An individual person will demonstrate altruistic behavior. A mass of people generally won't.

 

[Nancyg56]

This is a Disney generated behavior. I currently am holding 10 ADRs and intend to use 8 or 9 of them. 1 of my duplications is directly related to the belief in Disney is going to shuffle the schedule but has not done it yet. I don't make the rules, but I do respect them and understand that I have to play by them whether I want to or not. If Disney's schedule was firm 6 months in advance, I would have a firm schedule.

In addition, maybe I am just a typical jaded genX, but any system that you believe relies on public altruism to be successful is destined to fail. If you don't like the way the system works, focus on the system and the associated rules, not the people. Getting the general public to change the way it behaves to their own detriment is just not going to happen. An individual person will demonstrate altruistic behavior. A mass of people generally won't.

I believe that for the most part, people book the ADR's that they think they need. I like you, make additional ADR's based on last year's posted hours, but I know they will likely change when Disney posts updated times and hours. I am pretty good at determining where my family wants to be at any given time so if I have enough information to work with I use it, but I am not willing to hope I can magically secure my ADR if I wait until Disney gets around to posting their schedule. I also know that my family likes PPO breakfasts so at 180 days I book one in each park. We do not want 4 early meals, so once we tweak our plans I drop the ones we have decided we will not use. Again, there are just so many to go around and I know that unless the sun, the moon, and all the planets align, I won't get the opportunity to book that timeframe if I wait one day past my window. I like the 180 day window, and if I plan a trip inside that window I deal with it knowing I am the one late to the party, however I am not going to apologize that I am working with what WDW gives us to use.

 

[GillianP1301]

I think those that really hoard, like multiple ADRs for multiple meals during their trip, are probably few and far between. I can't imagine that a huge volume of people are doing it. Some are certainly, and if they want to take the time it would take to do that, then so be it. The majority of people are pretty much just booking what they want/neeed. I rarely book two ADRs for the same meal, but I have done it a few times where I was waiting on info to finalize my plans. For my upcoming trip, I have two Jungle Book dining packages booked until Tiffin's opens and I read some reviews, then I'll finalize that one. Even though I don't hoard loads of ADRs myself, I really don't have a problem with somebody who does. If it's a super hard to get one, I'll just keep checking every so often for it to open up.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I'm a Florida resident, so my trips are very rarely planned more than 60-30 days out. I know some hoarders exist, but they actually work to my benefit. It's very easy to find reservations a week or two before my trips. Just gotta keep looking. With the app on my phone, I check often enough to find what I want. Not always the ideal time, but it works. That's always my suggestion for those who can't find reservations that they want. Enjoy your trip, and I hope some spots open up real soon

 

[maryj11]

Hoarder here! I've got a bunch of duplicates booked for my trip in August. What are the things I'm waiting on....

Park hours.
EMHs
Availability of paid pre-park opening and after-park closing hours.
Animal kingdom--just about anything that's going on there! Schedules, events, what's on, what's not, how dining packages will work, etc, etc.,
FPs.

So Disney wants me to make ADRs 180 days in advance. But then makes me wait until last minute to give me the details I need to finalize plans. So yes, I sit on some extra ADRs. They will eventually make their way back into the system. Someone else will snag them. Someone who waited until last minute to plan or scheduled a last minute trip will stumble on them and be happy. They won't go unused.

I have had several reservations for different places. This year it has been really hard to know when to make dining reservations because of all the changes going on. I try to release the extras as soon as possible though. For example, I had 2 Hoop Dee Doo reservations for 2 different days because we planned to go to MK that day and the day we had first planned ended up being the new morning magic event. I decided to keep both until I found out how the new morning magic effected the crowds. I ended up cancelling the one day and decided we would just go to MK on the morning magic event. But it has been that way with several days trying to figure out when to get an ADR with so many changes going on.

 

[honeybunches]

I'm getting all kinds of great ideas from this thread!

It does hurt the ones who actually plan ahead and are unable to get what they want.

It's all a matter of perspective. Someone who has 2x the ADRs they will use could say that they actually planned ahead, too. See?

If it weren't for hoarders or others dropping, I wouldn't even have had a chance for any ADRs.

Me, exactly. Due to my husband's unpredictable schedule, we usually book our trips around 60 days out. Thankfully the hoarders make sure I have some great ADR choices!

I had a conversation with a co-worker with an autistic daughter who just returned from WDW. He had tried for months to get a reservation to Cinderella's castle. Finally, there was a cancellation and his daughter's dream came true. What struck him was that the room was full of tables with mostly adults. He felt a bit sad that his almost not dinner was because adults want to meet and greet the princesses. I am just saying to all, be a little more thoughtful.

So many things wrong with this observation, I'm not sure where to start. Was he sad because his daughter deserved to meet the princesses more than the adults, and was that due to her autism, or because of her age? Did he feel bad for taking up a seat that a child could have been sitting in? Seriously. Everyone has dreams, and they don't always come true when you're a child. Sometimes you have to wait until you're an adult with your own disposable income to make that dream come true.

Now, I'm off to go create my 2nd account for ADRs, and to plan my fake vacation in case there's a big promotion next year.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

So many things wrong with this observation, I'm not sure where to start. Was he sad because his daughter deserved to meet the princesses more than the adults, and was that due to her autism, or because of her age? Did he feel bad for taking up a seat that a child could have been sitting in? Seriously. Everyone has dreams, and they don't always come true when you're a child. Sometimes you have to wait until you're an adult with your own disposable income to make that dream come true.

N

I double book a bit during planning and I always feel a little guilty about it lol

As for the above comment, it is an interesting topic. I guess it will always seem weird when adults do this, but I guess I see your point that they are just as entitled as a child. I just feel an adult has the capacity to cede that entitlement to a child since the adult is more mature and has a less vibrant imagination. As a dad I do enjoy meeting characters but only because I am with my kids. I wouldn't visit them alone it would feel odd to me.

I mean...you can't really compare an adults feelings with a child...children are by nature incapable of thinking of very much besides themselves. One would hope they outgrow that by seeing examples of adults thinking of others.

 

[Nancyg56]

As for the above comment, it is an interesting topic. I guess it will always seem weird when adults do this, but I guess I see your point that they are just as entitled as a child. I just feel an adult has the capacity to cede that entitlement to a child since the adult is more mature and has a less vibrant imagination. As a dad I do enjoy meeting characters but only because I am with my kids. I wouldn't visit them alone it would feel odd to me.

I mean...you can't really compare an adults feelings with a child...children are by nature incapable of thinking of very much besides themselves. One would hope they outgrow that by seeing examples of adults thinking of others.

Are you suggesting that children are more entitled to these experiences than an adult would be? Or that because parents have children they are entitled to enjoy the experience because they are doing do with a child in mind? I find that mindset to be very self absorbed. Where does this end? My son was very senior in his department,which was seniority based. Every holiday he would have first choice and would sign up for 1/2 day, usually the early shift, as he had been told some of the young parents wanted mornings with their children. Now he did not need to sign for the hours at all, but done complained he did not have kids do he should work all day. Really? If you do not have children you don't have family?

I am a parent, and i am a Nana. U would never expect that the young ones in my family are more entitled to anything simply because they are young. They learn early that you cannot always have your way. You cannot always be first. And cute doesn't matter to anyone but Pa. To him they are more special, and cute to boot. Everyone else expects them to understand that others matter too.

Now I never stand in front of little ones. I won't take the last pastry. I always offer them first. But the one who offers is me. I get to decide what is special and where their place is. The day my child's enjoyment trumps that if any one else just due to age, I have failed miserably in my job.

 

[ElaineB55]

This has been an interesting thread and I am reading and learning as the OP. I still stand by the hoarding, however, I do believe due to WDW's inability to have clear hours posted, etc., that people may need to double book some things. We have tweaked our plans due to changing park hours on our June trip. But as soon as we have booked a new ADR, we cancel the old and don't hang onto it just in case.
As for the character dining, I was just remarking on what a co-worker told me and how he felt. This is a free country. If you want to dine with the characters, then go ahead if that makes you happy. And Nancy - as far as workplace, I don't think parents with children should be treated any differently or special than other workers. I don't know how this morphed into that.
I was not aware that TA's book groups of ADR's for possible clients. That could account for blocks of ADR's being cancelled at one time.
Looking forward to our soon upcoming trip and at this point we have done our best to make our trip at seamless as possible. May you all experience the magic, no matter what age you are!

 

[Nancyg56]

This has been an interesting thread and I am reading and learning as the OP. I still stand by the hoarding, however, I do believe due to WDW's inability to have clear hours posted, etc., that people may need to double book some things. We have tweaked our plans due to changing park hours on our June trip. But as soon as we have booked a new ADR, we cancel the old and don't hang onto it just in case.
As for the character dining, I was just remarking on what a co-worker told me and how he felt. This is a free country. If you want to dine with the characters, then go ahead if that makes you happy. And Nancy - as far as workplace, I don't think parents with children should be treated any differently or special than other workers. I don't know how this morphed into that.
I was not aware that TA's book groups of ADR's for possible clients. That could account for blocks of ADR's being cancelled at one time.
Looking forward to our soon upcoming trip and at this point we have done our best to make our trip at seamless as possible. May you all experience the magic, no matter what age you are!

Elaine, the reason I stated that it about woking parents is that I don't care what you are, there will be those who believe that children trump everything. From guilting those with no kids to work for them to guilting adults with no kids to skip popular character dining experiences and M&G the characters in parks. I think that the coworker had every right to feel sad he was not able to take his child to a special meal, but when he was sad that adults interfered in that plan, well I think that was just selfish.

 

[CaliTex]

Wow. So much controversy.

So....I don't enjoy character meets. I didn't as a child, and I don't now, but I also don't think it's weird or inconsiderate if adults want to meet a character. It's not my thing, but I'm not judging others or feeling like they shouldn't be taking time with a character, thus depriving a precious snowflake child of the fulfillment of their life's ambition (all 6 years of it) to meet Rapunzel/Cinderella/Snow White/ Ariel/ those weird frozen chicks that I am completely over. Faux princesses.

Please do not flame me and defend the Frozen Faux to me.

It's a joke.

But I am sick of them.

Or flame me. Whatever.

Hey, does anyone know if BOG dinner ressies require a CC to hold? Because that probably needs to happen.

We all have our little conspiracy theories based in paranoia and irritation. Mine is that "travel agents" block big groups of ADRs in some nefarious back door scam that is "legal" but grossly unethical and hugely not nice, and then these "travel agents" (you know who you are) release them in blocks to we, the people. We, the fair and just and over-planning peons, who then must lap up these suspicioulsy "excess" ressies like thirsty dogs. They (you know who you are) especially do this with BOG, and I know this for a fact because I have tried for two years (TWO YEARS!!) to get BOG for dinner and haven't yet. So I think it's pretty obvious something foul is afoot in Fantasyland. Bastiges! After all, I have a precious 6 year old granddaughter whose life long dream, ever since I told her it was her life long dream, is to eat at BOG for dinner and meet the Beast. And I think it's pretty dang rude of adults to make ressies there when my precious, precious, wonderful and really angelic and perfect DGD hasn't had a chance to eat dinner there, in all of her 6+years. So, on our next trip, should the "travel agents" persist in this rude, boorish hoarding, I will have no choice except to stand by the entrance to the Beast's castle and loudly remark to the entering diners how inconsiderate they are. Especially the ones with no children. THE UNMITIGATED GALL!

Well, keep it up, "travel agents" (you know who you are) because CREDIT CARDS reservations are coming, baby!!! Bawwwhhaa hahaha! Then we'll see what's what.

But seriously, shirley, if Disney would just release their hours at the same time ADR windows open and then (in my fantasy) just do away with Fastpass+ a lot of this could be avoided.

And don't post to me about my theory regarding "travel agents", ok? I like my theory. So leave me alone. And you know what? All this pales in comparison to the scofflaws that use flash photography in HM and POTC and then load themselves up on their ECVs and try to kill us all. PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!!! Get your priorities straight! We have people trying to kill us on Main Street, USA and you are worried about where you are going to eat?? Gawd, no wonder our country is in the state it is in.

HEY! Stay off my lawn!

I crack myself up.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Hey, does anyone know if BOG dinner ressies require a CC to hold? Because that probably needs to happen.

Every ADR requires a CC to hold, including BOG lunch and breakfast. It's not pre-pay, because among other things you can't realistically pre-pay a menu like that of BOG dinner. It isn't prix fixe.

 

[CaliTex]

EVERY ADR? That's new. Dang hoarders.

 

[Nancyg56]

EVERY ADR? That's new. Dang hoarders.

This was to discourage the no call no show folks

 

[ELSA711]

EVERY ADR? That's new. Dang hoarders.

I don't think the CC requirement is that new.

 

[Nancyg56]

I don't think the CC requirement is that new.

Its been at least a year or 18 months anyway. Long enough so I just keep one stored.

 

[mom2rtk]

Its been at least a year or 18 months anyway. Long enough so I just keep one stored.

It was in place on our last week+ trip to WDW in 2012.

 

[Nancyg56]

It was in place on our last week+ trip to WDW in 2012.

I think it was just certain restaurants back then. I know we were there December 2012 and I don't remember having to leave a cc on file.