Oh so THAT'S WHY I can't get a reservation at Be Our Guest (and every other restaurant in WDW)!!

[CandiceF]

It's because it's not hard. I'm beginning to wonder if people claiming it's hard or impossible at two months out. At 180 days without +10, we found everything. Be our Guest, Cinderellas Royal Table, Victoria and Alnerts Queen Victoria's Room, Chef Mickeys breakfast.

And then at 120 days we began moving things around and changing things, we found every single place again except VA which we kept.

At 100 days our two relatives decided to tag along the trip and we found Be Our Guest for 8 by checking throughout the day for two days, we found two 4's at chef mickeys by checking on mobile throughout the day.

Sometimes it is hard even at 180 + 10 days out. I forgot on my 180 days + 10 that I could book online so I called that day an hour latter when ADR booking opened up ant got everything but BOG dinner. It was all gone within an hour for every night of my 8 day trip. Even the CM was shocked. We are going during free dining and F&W plus 2 of the 8 night there is MNSSHP. I was able, after checking everyday, to finally get BOG dinner yesterday at 45 days out. No other reservation was a problem to get at my 180+10 but BOG dinner, BOG lunch was not a problem.

 

[CandiceF]

I think this is definitely true. We made ADRs at our 180 days but we are going for F&W. At the time we could make ADR's there had been no information released for F&W so we didn't know what events we were going to go to. We have since canceled most of our extra ADRs but Disney really needs to get their act together. ADRs shouldn't be so far out when all the other information, FP+, etc is announced much closer to the travel date.

I agree, the F&W festival schedule was not yet released when we booked also. I think maybe that could have something to do with it. It is hard to book ADR's when you don't know when the events are.

 

[littleblackegg]

I'm guessing it's mainly Be Our Guest, and to a lesser extent restaurants like CRT if you're booking post 180 days.

Well of course it is going to be a total nightmare with everyone trying to get in. Add the element of unscrupulous people holding reservations and I guess parents will feel pretty desperate. We ate there once when it first opened because we were sent a special invitation to try it. It was OK, kind of like good counter service food served in a really neat atmosphere. Disney has so many fine, elegant restaurants. The only one I have really had to plan for months ahead of time was Victoria and Albert's. What I've noticed is how Disney traps families with these pre-packaged, expensive experiences that are homogenous and meant to make kids feel like they are missing out if they don't have exactly THAT Elsa dress from the Bibbity Bobbity Boo store, not the perfectly lovely one grandma made her for Christmas. THAT glittery hair like THAT girl. That doll purchased at the Magic Kingdom and not the one purchased at Target. Dinner at THAT restaurant. I watched a six or seven year old have a nuclear meltdown on Main Street because her mother was trying to apply glitter gel to her arms and shoulders along with her sunscreen. The poor creature was hysterical, crying, "I want to go to the princess place! Why can't I go to the princess place? You can't do it right! It has to be done at the princess place!" Heartbreaking.

 

[AThrillingChase]

Correct, but with zero verification. That's why these websites are able to exist. If you tie the card down to a specific account you solve the problem of being able to create multiple fake Disney accounts and make reservations on them. They would be forced to commit credit card fraud to keep their website up and running.

Actually, they do validate to some respect. I had the card that is tied to my ADR account on MDE cancelled because of fraudulent use (it did not expire for a year, so that was not the issue). I went to make ADR's a month or so later and it told me it wasn't a valid card. I didn't even think about which card I had connected, so I had to go through and change the card number.

I completely understand your point on this one and it is a fair method, maybe the fairest of them all! But one word to sum up if this happened: Chaos.

For sure. Utter chaos. I imagine hoards of people flooding the Cali Grill check in desk, people going from resort to resort trying to get into a signature restaurant. Yeah, not going to happen. Chaos over the app is easier than chaos in the lobby and bus system.

The only ADR I have had trouble getting is dining with an imagineer. Which has extremely low availability since it is small group lunches only, and is only offered 3x a week. I do not wake up at 6am, frankly, I forget most of the time and do it days later. Same with FP+. At most, I get off dining times. But I have always gotten in. I go mainly for race weekends which are super busy, and this year went for presidents day, November, and the 4th of July. I have eaten at most signatures (except Citricos and Yachtsman) and have done BOG for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. I can see how larger groups would be an issue. But, I also booked for a party of 8 before. I think in those cases it is just common sense that you need to jump onto it. The same goes for any restaurant around here. I sometimes check back with MDE for a better time. But like some posters here, I just truly have not had a problem.

Also, I am not willing to pay 6 months ahead of time for every single dinner. And I do not think I am alone. Disney is expensive and their whole payment plan set up shows they would rather we book it, then pay it later, to get us there quicker.

 

[SouthJersey]

Sometimes it is hard even at 180 + 10 days out. I forgot on my 180 days + 10 that I could book online so I called that day an hour latter when ADR booking opened up ant got everything but BOG dinner. It was all gone within an hour for every night of my 8 day trip. Even the CM was shocked. We are going during free dining and F&W plus 2 of the 8 night there is MNSSHP. I was able, after checking everyday, to finally get BOG dinner yesterday at 45 days out. No other reservation was a problem to get at my 180+10 but BOG dinner, BOG lunch was not a problem.

Yeah see, one place of dozens, but ultimately you found it. That's why I'm saying these posts about it being impossible to book 'anything' are confusing.

 

[CandiceF]

Yeah see, one place of dozens, but ultimately you found it. That's why I'm saying these posts about it being impossible to book 'anything' are confusing.

I haver never had any trouble booking anything but BOG dinner. I think that restaurant in particular can be sometimes harder to get a dinner. I have been checking everyday for 4 months before I finally got that one. I think free dining brings in a lot of families with small children who want to see the beast. From what I've been seeing October and November seem harder to get certain ADR's than December this year.

 

[Miskey]

Curiosity got the best of me and I looked at one of the scalping sites. I was surprised at how FEW ADR's they had available for purchase.

Personally, I wouldn't consider using a site like that because I'd be worried about credit card fraud. You really have no clue who is running those sites.

 

[Fiddysmum]

180 days out I couldn't get BOG dinner (settled for lunch) and TRex. I literally just got TRex for tomorrow night after checking every hour today and I'm stoked!!!

 

[JimmyBean42]

180 days out I couldn't get BOG dinner (settled for lunch) and TRex. I literally just got TRex for tomorrow night after checking every hour today and I'm stoked!!!

If you ever go back and want TRex, call them up directly. They usually have more reservations then what is listed on the Disney site since they are independently run.

 

[littleblackegg]

If you ever go back and want TRex, call them up directly. They usually have more reservations then what is listed on the Disney site since they are independently run.

Also, if you join the Landry's club they will always get you in.

 

[Aurora0427]

Well of course it is going to be a total nightmare with everyone trying to get in. Add the element of unscrupulous people holding reservations and I guess parents will feel pretty desperate. We ate there once when it first opened because we were sent a special invitation to try it. It was OK, kind of like good counter service food served in a really neat atmosphere. Disney has so many fine, elegant restaurants. The only one I have really had to plan for months ahead of time was Victoria and Albert's. What I've noticed is how Disney traps families with these pre-packaged, expensive experiences that are homogenous and meant to make kids feel like they are missing out if they don't have exactly THAT Elsa dress from the Bibbity Bobbity Boo store, not the perfectly lovely one grandma made her for Christmas. THAT glittery hair like THAT girl. That doll purchased at the Magic Kingdom and not the one purchased at Target. Dinner at THAT restaurant. I watched a six or seven year old have a nuclear meltdown on Main Street because her mother was trying to apply glitter gel to her arms and shoulders along with her sunscreen. The poor creature was hysterical, crying, "I want to go to the princess place! Why can't I go to the princess place? You can't do it right! It has to be done at the princess place!" Heartbreaking.

I was just answering the question posed by another poster asking which restaurants were so difficult to get into that people needed scalpers.

I'd be careful about calling people unscrupulous for holding reservations. I booked two reservations at Chef Mickey and kept them both until I nailed down our iteniary. I've since cancelled one of them, but that hardly makes me unscrupulous.

 

[Aurora0427]

I haver never had any trouble booking anything but BOG dinner. I think that restaurant in particular can be sometimes harder to get a dinner. I have been checking everyday for 4 months before I finally got that one. I think free dining brings in a lot of families with small children who want to see the beast. From what I've been seeing October and November seem harder to get certain ADR's than December this year.

This post exactly.... BOG dinner seems tough. I have no idea who gets those! I called at 5am CST at 180 plus ten. There were more available for our trip last December. I keep checking, but we are going the last week in October and it's looking to be very busy. If we get it great, if not, we'll just do lunch. No big deal.

 

[piccolopat]

Simply make the reservation nontransferable and ask for photo id or check the person's identity using their magic band.

 

[SouthJersey]

I was just answering the question posed by another poster asking which restaurants were so difficult to get into that people needed scalpers.

I'd be careful about calling people unscrupulous for holding reservations. I booked two reservations at Chef Mickey and kept them both until I nailed down our iteniary. I've since cancelled one of them, but that hardly makes me unscrupulous.

Not at all, I do the same thing.
It'd be rude holding like 5 of one place, but even then if you're canceling it before the trip and a family gets it, then nobody has any complaint. Someone gets the adr, it's irrelevant if you're hoarding until that week.

Not saying I condone that many for ONE place, but, the problem is that Disney knows a paid customer will get it if it's cancelled before that day. Their response will become "just keep checking!"

 

[Disneyliscious]

Curiosity got the best of me and I looked at one of the scalping sites. I was surprised at how FEW ADR's they had available for purchase.

Exactly. I did the math on another thread and they can't average more than $60 a week even if they sold every single ADR time on their site from now till December. People are acting like its some big corporation snapping up thousands of ADRs lol. People need someone to blame. This site is PEANUTS compared to the hoarding of ADRs that goes on here.

It'd be rude holding like 5 of one place, but even then if you're canceling it before the trip and a family gets it, then nobody has any complaint. Someone gets the adr, it's irrelevant if you're hoarding until that week.

This is exactly what the scalper site does. If an ADR is still available on their site a week before the date, they release the ADR. So obviously someone gets it when it goes back to being available.

 

[SouthJersey]

Exactly. I did the math on another thread and they can't average more than $60 a week even if they sold every single ADR time on their site from now till December. People are acting like its some big corporation snapping up thousands of ADRs lol. People need someone to blame. This site is PEANUTS compared to the hoarding of ADRs that goes on here.



This is exactly what the scalper site does. If an ADR is still available on their site a week before the date, they release the ADR. So obviously someone gets it when it goes back to being available.

Let's be real, the scalper site is doing it in volume to the point of a substantial impact. A person holding two, one of which they'll keep, is not hoarding or hurting anyone by taking one out of current rotation. Five would be absurd, by they'd open, which is why I'm saying ultimately everyone can find what they want.

If the scalpers are like others, they're using a bot and a list of fake credit numbers or a list of phished real ones and locking down dozens per day.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Let's be real, the scalper site is doing it in volume to the point of a substantial impact.

You could be correct. So I went and looked.

Including those that have already sold (for the month of October)

4th
6th
8th x 2
9th
10th
12th X 5
13th x 2
14th
15th x 2
16th
19th x 2
20th
21st
22nd x 2
23rd
28th
31st

Thats 26 ADR's for an entire month which result in (if I counted right) 107 seats for the whole month. 14 days of that month there aren't any ADR's offered at all.

BoG alone seats 500 people at a time. If they had 6 seatings a day (6 x 1.5 dining hours per seating = 9 hour park day) thats 3000 people for ONE restaurant EACH DAY which means 93,000 people for that one restaurant per month. Given the volume of the Disney restaurants, I really don't think the place who is seating 107 people for an entire MONTH is the problem. I'm not saying it doesn't cause issues or that I even agree with it, but looking at it objectively makes a BIG difference. The scalper site and bot sites are not the reason people can't find seats. Its regular people hoarding.

 

[HyperPippi]

If they make it so you cannot do an ADR without a ticket, then Make-a-wish kids will be out of luck entirely. We don't receive our tickets until we actually arrive at Give Kids the World and do orientation.

 

[GreatLakes]

If they make it so you cannot do an ADR without a ticket, then Make-a-wish kids will be out of luck entirely. We don't receive our tickets until we actually arrive at Give Kids the World and do orientation.

Any properly thought out solution would have exceptions for specific scenarios built it. I don't see any reason why GKTW couldn't have a way to secure ADRs for their guests. I would be quite surprised if there wasn't already a person or department at Disney that worked with GKTW in a concierge capacity with their own interface for these kinds of things.

 

[SouthJersey]

You could be correct. So I went and looked.

Including those that have already sold (for the month of October)

4th
6th
8th x 2
9th
10th
12th X 5
13th x 2
14th
15th x 2
16th
19th x 2
20th
21st
22nd x 2
23rd
28th
31st

Thats 26 ADR's for an entire month which result in (if I counted right) 107 seats for the whole month. 14 days of that month there aren't any ADR's offered at all.

BoG alone seats 500 people at a time. If they had 6 seatings a day (6 x 1.5 dining hours per seating = 9 hour park day) thats 3000 people for ONE restaurant EACH DAY which means 93,000 people for that one restaurant per month. Given the volume of the Disney restaurants, I really don't think the place who is seating 107 people for an entire MONTH is the problem. I'm not saying it doesn't cause issues or that I even agree with it, but looking at it objectively makes a BIG difference. The scalper site and bot sites are not the reason people can't find seats. Its regular people hoarding.

At that volume it would take a large average of holding per person based off the availability of so many other locations.

Could it just be hype and mass individual bookings with the addition of some hoarding? After all, this is a place where people formed 3 hour lines at 9:30am for lunch