This post is basically just to help out anybody who, like me, hasn’t been to WDW in a while and forgot a lot of the ADR strategies. I’ll preface by saying that I’ve read up a lot on ADRs and even read The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2022.
But one key thing that I failed to put the puzzle pieces together on was the fact that if you’re looking to book a super popular dinner, DON’T DO IT FOR THE FIRST NIGHT (or possibly nights early on in your trip) because there are the other WDW on-site guests who’ve had 60 days+ however long they’re staying for.
So while I jumped on the web to book my ADR right at 6AM Eastern, there were very few slots left, so I got stuck booking a Category 1 spot. I was shooting for that anyway, but I also wanted to be early enough that I was sure to get a good seat.
After realizing what my mistake was (not accounting for all the people who were able to book days ago), I wish I had planned to do HDDMR later in my trip.
Anyway, let my poor planning be a lesson for you and learn from my mistakes.
PS - I’m still happy that I got a spot…I’m just upset that I overlooked a very key part of booking ADRs, especially since I’ve done so much planning.
But one key thing that I failed to put the puzzle pieces together on was the fact that if you’re looking to book a super popular dinner, DON’T DO IT FOR THE FIRST NIGHT (or possibly nights early on in your trip) because there are the other WDW on-site guests who’ve had 60 days+ however long they’re staying for.
So while I jumped on the web to book my ADR right at 6AM Eastern, there were very few slots left, so I got stuck booking a Category 1 spot. I was shooting for that anyway, but I also wanted to be early enough that I was sure to get a good seat.
After realizing what my mistake was (not accounting for all the people who were able to book days ago), I wish I had planned to do HDDMR later in my trip.
Anyway, let my poor planning be a lesson for you and learn from my mistakes.
PS - I’m still happy that I got a spot…I’m just upset that I overlooked a very key part of booking ADRs, especially since I’ve done so much planning.
Last edited: