Your thoughts... Is 180+10 "fair" to resort guests?

[Madame]

I also wish the system would work. Those of us whose +10 does not work are at a *serious* disadvantage having to wait that extra hour to call and then wait on hold.

I also dislike the fact that Disney seems to be holding back tons of availability at certain restaurants (ie BoG) & then flooding the system with them well past the 180 mark which makes my on-site advantage null & void.

I should not have to rely on FB or the Dis to tell me that tons of BoG opened up for August in May. If there was availability, why in the world did they not release it in Feb?!? Sometimes it feels like Disney does it on purpose to feed the frenzie kwim ?

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I think it's "fair," and I don't usually even stay on property. Just as those staying on property are given more advantages than those staying off, those staying longer get more advantage than those with shorter trips. Guests with longer vacations are usually dropping more money at WDW. I personally feel that to make it completely fair, by capitalist philosophy, those staying at deluxe resorts should get more advantage than those staying at a value. After all, they are paying more money.

People are getting exactly what WDW is advertising, so in that respect, it is also fair. Disney does not promise that guests staying on property can book any restaurant they want at 180+10, only that they will be able to book ADRs 180+10. They also do not make any explicit gaurantee that their site will always be working, only that a guest can book an ADR 180+10 in some capacity (site or phone) at some point in the day 180+10.

I'm not being an apologist here, nor do I think it's good business that their website is so glitchy all the time, but I get a little tired of the complaining that WDW isn't fair. It seems like ideas of what is fair or not are entirely based on what people didn't get.

I didn't have the 180+10 advantage and I still got every single reservation I wanted, including a 5:15 Ohana, 8am CP, BOG for both lunch and dinner, and a dessert party. It just took a little bit of work.

Maybe the real issue here is that 180+10 isn't hashing out to be the advantage people thought it would be.

 

[gsmith0113]

I think it's "fair," and I don't usually even stay on property. Just as those staying on property are given more advantages than those staying off, those staying longer get more advantage than those with shorter trips. Guests with longer vacations are usually dropping more money at WDW. I personally feel that to make it completely fair, by capitalist philosophy, those staying at deluxe resorts should get more advantage than those staying at a value. After all, they are paying more money.

People are getting exactly what WDW is advertising, so in that respect, it is also fair. Disney does not promise that guests staying on property can book any restaurant they want at 180+10, only that they will be able to book ADRs 180+10. They also do not make any explicit gaurantee that their site will always be working, only that a guest can book an ADR 180+10 in some capacity (site or phone) at some point in the day 180+10.

I'm not being an apologist here, nor do I think it's good business that their website is so glitchy all the time, but I get a little tired of the complaining that WDW isn't fair. It seems like ideas of what is fair or not are entirely based on what people didn't get.

I didn't have the 180+10 advantage and I still got every single reservation I wanted, including a 5:15 Ohana, 8am CP, BOG for both lunch and dinner, and a dessert party. It just took a little bit of work.

Maybe the real issue here is that 180+10 isn't hashing out to be the advantage people thought it would be.

I like what you are saying. I've been able to get 4 out of the 6 reservations that I shot for (CP, CM, Aker, and TH), and as a whole, we are excited and happy about everything. I also agree that it is really just bad business to have such a glitchy reservation system when WDW should know that a lot of people are going to try to get reservations at 6 AM EST each day.

It is also poor/misleading advertising to hold reservation spots back and then release later, I think that is the main complaint.

Will anyone on these boards stop going, probably not.
Do some people like complaining, yes.

I think this thread is born out of the frustration with the site and no availability of the non-upper tier reservations more than anything...

Otherwise, it seems like everyone on this thread is going to Disney World, so everyone should be a little bit excited!

 

[dbramer]

I am not sure what the problems are either. When I did my ADR's back in March for my upcoming August trip, I was able to get everything I wanted at times I wanted them. I got pre-park CP, Akershus, Hollywood and Vine, Tusker House (although changed it to later due to EMH at AK that day), BOG on my first day in WDW at 6:15 and CRT after my daughter is done at BBB. This was all done online at 6AM on my 180+10 day. Got Chef Mickey for both breakfast and dinner on different days...it was pretty hassle free and the crowds are expected to be 8-10 for my time there.

 

[3Gsandme]

Yeah, I don't think free dining is the problem. I have the same problem getting the restaurants I want no matter what time of year it is.

I think free dining is PART of the problem. Not all of it, for sure, but you're increasing the number of people who need to/want to eat at TS restaurants. IDK what normal capacity is when free dining is not offered, but you're obviously increasing the pool to create a situation where more people need at least one TS every day when, normally, they wouldn't eat that way.

Take me, for instance. DH and I are serious foodies, but we don't feel the need to have a sit down every day of our Disney trip. I'd probably opt to do 3 Table service seven days, but the dining plan pushes me into once per night of stay increasing my need to make reservations by 4. I'm more than doubling my preferred number of reservations and I bet there are a decent amount of people like my family. We don't eat like birds, but I don't want a big, heavy, long table service meal every day. Sometimes, I want to eat and get on with it.

I think Disney would reduce some of the problem by tying the 180+10 reservations to a person's resort reservation, meaning if you cancel your resort stay you lose all reservations made in the +10 space. You can keep the one for 180, because all Disney guests get that "perk". Of course, people would ***** like crazy if that happened, so they probably won't do it. It would be fine with me, but I book what I intend to use and don't exploit the loopholes.

Otherwise, I don't see the 180+10 as being unfair. Everyone has the same perk. If you book short stays you are at a disadvantage, but you're at the same disadvantage as everyone booking short stays.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I have no issue whatsoever with "fairness" or with having guests staying longer on Disney property having an advantage. What I do have issues with is that technical problems with the booking system are widespread, meaning not everything is available or released at 180 days or 180 plus 10 and nobody knows when they WILL become available.

I think Disney would reduce some of the problem by tying the 180+10 reservations to a person's resort reservation

The restaurant and resort systems are separate.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I like what you are saying. I've been able to get 4 out of the 6 reservations that I shot for (CP, CM, Aker, and TH), and as a whole, we are excited and happy about everything. I also agree that it is really just bad business to have such a glitchy reservation system when WDW should know that a lot of people are going to try to get reservations at 6 AM EST each day.

It is also poor/misleading advertising to hold reservation spots back and then release later, I think that is the main complaint.

Will anyone on these boards stop going, probably not.
Do some people like complaining, yes.

I think this thread is born out of the frustration with the site and no availability of the non-upper tier reservations more than anything...

Otherwise, it seems like everyone on this thread is going to Disney World, so everyone should be a little bit excited!

Sure it's frustrating. I've wanted to throw a rock through my screen on more than one occassion because of that worthless site. However, I truly do not believe ADRs are being purposely held back. What I really think is happening is that Disney waits to see how crowded certain parks are going to be on certain days and then decides to add more staff to those restaurants, creating a higher turnover rate and opening up more ADRs. This would be no different from changing a 9am opening to an 8am. It's purely based on demand, which can sometimes be hard to gauge 6 months out.

 

[DizBelle]

I think it's "fair," and I don't usually even stay on property. Just as those staying on property are given more advantages than those staying off, those staying longer get more advantage than those with shorter trips. Guests with longer vacations are usually dropping more money at WDW. I personally feel that to make it completely fair, by capitalist philosophy, those staying at deluxe resorts should get more advantage than those staying at a value. After all, they are paying more money.

People are getting exactly what WDW is advertising, so in that respect, it is also fair. Disney does not promise that guests staying on property can book any restaurant they want at 180+10, only that they will be able to book ADRs 180+10. They also do not make any explicit gaurantee that their site will always be working, only that a guest can book an ADR 180+10 in some capacity (site or phone) at some point in the day 180+10.

I'm not being an apologist here, nor do I think it's good business that their website is so glitchy all the time, but I get a little tired of the complaining that WDW isn't fair. It seems like ideas of what is fair or not are entirely based on what people didn't get.

I didn't have the 180+10 advantage and I still got every single reservation I wanted, including a 5:15 Ohana, 8am CP, BOG for both lunch and dinner, and a dessert party. It just took a little bit of work.

Maybe the real issue here is that 180+10 isn't hashing out to be the advantage people thought it would be.

A and B are both staying at the GF for the same length of time in the same room type but A arrives a day before B. A can make ADRS for the almost all of the days of B's trip a whole day before B can even start.

 

[pixiedustmomma]

I think that it is fair to a point. I don't think you should be able to book multiple restaurants or times for the same meal (like dinner) on the same day. No 5pm meals at BOG and a 7pm meal at CRT because you don't know which one you want to eat at or what time you want to eat. That is what isn't fair. The other day someone posted they were canceling 3 reservations for BOG on the same night. How is that fair?

I am also not looking forward to the app or website having issues. I see more and more post that people can't get into any of the restaurants they want. It really stresses me out.

 

[Disneylover99]

The other day someone posted they were canceling 3 reservations for BOG on the same night. How is that fair?

With the popularity of Anna and Elsa and Mine Train fp's, I can see why people do this. Basically, you take the times of those two fp's that you can get. It's frustrating when you've got one BOG booked and then the fp's you get end up being at the same time as your ADR.

 

[Nancyg56]

Now THAT I agree with for sure! Getting started at 6 am only to find the whole system down is a serious drag.

I have had the "pleasure" of this happening on both my last trip and on this upcoming trip. Serious Drag is not how I described it.....

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I think the 180 is fair. I think onsite resort guests should get more of a jump than they do now on off site. we are paying a premium to pay onsite we should get more perks out of it.

I think the main problem is the double/triple/quadruple booking ADRs at places, the website tries to help with that but everyone knows you can call in and get a double or trip and people do it all the time. its ridiculous and selfish and that's what calls the majority of issues, there is no excuse for it IMO and I wish Disney would implement a system that catches that and auto cancels everything double booked. That's the only way to stop it.

 

[22Tink]

I think the 180 is fair. I think onsite resort guests should get more of a jump than they do now on off site. we are paying a premium to pay onsite we should get more perks out of it.

I think the main problem is the double/triple/quadruple booking ADRs at places, the website tries to help with that but everyone knows you can call in and get a double or trip and people do it all the time. its ridiculous and selfish and that's what calls the majority of issues, there is no excuse for it IMO and I wish Disney would implement a system that catches that and auto cancels everything double booked. That's the only way to stop it.

I so agree with this! It is so selfish to make more ADRs than you need 'just in case' when there are so many people needing them!!

 

[lazer]

I've been during free dining in the fall and walked up to restaurants (hasn't been this was since 2013 though). More people are going in the fall, more people are spending more money on vacation. I'm not buying the free dining is causing the issues. A lot of it is the site too, it just sucks. There are tons of people having issues with November booking. Most restaurants are completely full our entire week (including Yak & Yeti, H&V and a few others that don't typically fill up this early).

 

[midnightlouise]

I'm with you guys about hoarding ADRs. It really stinks for everyone else when you've got a few people booking way more than they need. Really messes things up for everyone else. There are probably very few people who know exactly what they want to eat 6 months in advance, but that's the nature of the beast, so we suck it up and choose the most likely options. There has to be a better way to set that up. I mean, it won't let you choose 2 different restaurants for the exact same time period without making you cancel one- so why can't they extend that out a bit? Oh well. It is what it is, and I got most of what I was trying to get. I'm just hoping that this is not an indication of the crowd levels that week...which was supposed to be light. We shall see.

 

[Dis4Heather]

I thought I knew most things about Disney and I overlooked seeing the 180+10 so I started at 180 mark and getting some reservations has been tricky.

 

[Aerinha]

I have had the "pleasure" of this happening on both my last trip and on this upcoming trip. Serious Drag is not how I described it.....

I sent a complaint email about their site and got a call today. Basically they know it doesn't work, problems are snowballing unchecked, and they don't seem too concerned with fixing them, sorry you got up at 6 for no reason, but they are testing MDE to make things easier....and apparently making them way harder is the way to accomplish this. Good news is that if it won't let me make FP in Oct, I can call this very apologetic but useless woman back and she can get me one pass for my 9 day stay, but not at anything big like 7DMT or A&E for my trouble, just something small that I probably could walk on anyway. Really?

 

[SaintsManiac]

With the popularity of Anna and Elsa and Mine Train fp's, I can see why people do this. Basically, you take the times of those two fp's that you can get. It's frustrating when you've got one BOG booked and then the fp's you get end up being at the same time as your ADR.

People need to decide what's more important. I'm working FP around ADRs. If we have to wait for a ride or a meet then fine. I booked my ADRs with flexibility of time, but not days and I got everything we wanted including BOG dinner. It's absurd that people think they should hoard ADRs to have so much control over a vacation. What happens when the kids have a meltdown or it rains or someone sprains an ankle? You can't control everything.

 

[Nancyg56]

I sent a complaint email about their site and got a call today. Basically they know it doesn't work, problems are snowballing unchecked, and they don't seem too concerned with fixing them, sorry you got up at 6 for no reason, but they are testing MDE to make things easier....and apparently making them way harder is the way to accomplish this. Good news is that if it won't let me make FP in Oct, I can call this very apologetic but useless woman back and she can get me one pass for my 9 day stay, but not at anything big like 7DMT or A&E for my trouble, just something small that I probably could walk on anyway. Really?

It is this kind of theing that just baffles me. I just do not understand the huge "mood" swings in customer service. SOmetimes the response is what I would consider over the top, and a gift, but then this???

 

[Snookies]

Many of OP's ideas have been standard operating procedure in the past. Many years ago, only on-site guests could make reservations. Then, all guests could. I don't remember all of the permutations, but the booking windows for most dining reservations have been 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and now 180 days in advance. When Cinderella's breakfast was the hottest ticket in town 15 or so years ago, I think most reservations were 60 days, but the Royal Table was 30. There was no +10, so you had to call (yes call) everyday. I found that to be tiresome for long trips. FWIW, I'm not sure one system has been better or fairer than any other, but I do wish the booking window would open later than 180 days. 180 days is good for management's planning purposes, but, imo, that benefit comes at the cost of guest flexibility.