Are there a lot of invalid ADR's on the books?

[RiversideBunny]

Is it possible that a reason for its being difficult to get ADR's is that many of those that are already in place are not valid, i.e., not cancelled?

If someone cancels their trip to WDW they may think that the ADR's automaticallly get cancelled, too, but they might not. Or they might just forget to cancel.
If someone changes the trip date or even the resort, then the old ADR's for the old dates may still be in place.
People staying offsite are not tied to a resort reservation so, even if the ADR's tied to resorts get cancelled by the system, the people who are not in a Disney resort won't have that happen.

There may even be people who make ADR's just in case they do get the trip to WDW that they are dreaming of.

It just seems like the difficulty of getting ADR's doesn't match the fluctuations in the expected number of guests.

Tks.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

I hope that they really correct some of the flaws in the phone reservation system using the new online system they are piloting.

There should really be a number liking a single party reservation to a ticket or some other identifying factor so that many unused ADR's are not made.

I do believe that many reservations are being doubled or uncancelled by people staying off-site, but there are enough culprits to go around. I don't know how to make a really foolproof method other than to change for no-shows on ADR's, just like they would in any city restaurant. And just like a city restaurant, you would have to cancel at least 24-hours in advance or risk being charged a penalty.

If anyone has a number or system you could link both on and off-site guests to or has a better thought, I would be quite interested to hear it.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I don't know how to make a really foolproof method other than to change for no-shows on ADR's, just like they would in any city restaurant. And just like a city restaurant, you would have to cancel at least 24-hours in advance or risk being charged a penalty.

Tying the ADR to a credit card is the only almost foolproof system - I say almost, because some people will STILL double-book even if there is a financial penalty....

If anyone has a number or system you could link both on and off-site guests to

They currently ask for phone numbers, but that would definitely NOT solve the problem.

 

[kimmychad]

I would have no problem giving a credit card for every reservation I make, and hopefully some of the money collected on no-shows can be spent on training for the dining line cms.

 

[Captain Hank]

Is it possible that a reason for its being difficult to get ADR's is that many of those that are already in place are not valid, i.e., not cancelled?

If someone cancels their trip to WDW they may think that the ADR's automaticallly get cancelled, too, but they might not. Or they might just forget to cancel.
If someone changes the trip date or even the resort, then the old ADR's for the old dates may still be in place.
People staying offsite are not tied to a resort reservation so, even if the ADR's tied to resorts get cancelled by the system, the people who are not in a Disney resort won't have that happen.

There may even be people who make ADR's just in case they do get the trip to WDW that they are dreaming of.

It just seems like the difficulty of getting ADR's doesn't match the fluctuations in the expected number of guests.

Tks.

Interesting idea, but this could present problems if a Guest were to re-book in another onsite resort or cancel just the resort portion of their trip, opting to change to an offsite hotel. I'm sure this is a very rare occurance, but I still bet it happens enough to have some impact.

 

[rsoxguy]

I believe that the problem with dining at Disney stems from the Dining Plan system. I never had a problem eating at almost any restaurant within the parks until they implemented the plans. I realize that it makes good business sense to create a system in which people are obligated to eat at the more expensive places, but eating within the parks has become a bit of a hassle since this system was introduced.

 

[MousDad]

If an ADR was a reservation, then overbooking would be a problem. But it's a "reservation" in name only.

In reality, an ADR is a FastPass for a resaurant. You get a place in line reserved for you. You may or may not have to wait, depending on how many people got there first. But the fewer FastPasses (ADRs) that show up, mean the more standby's (walkups) get to get in. That's how I look at it.

The only difference between ADRs and Fastpasses is that you can get in before the posted time with an ADR.

 

[Master Yoda]

I could be wrong but I believe the room reservation systems and the dining reservation systems are completely separate from each other and have little to no connectivity. If a person cancels their trip and the CM does not go in and cancel their dining it stays in the system.

 

[rainfully]

I could be wrong but I believe the room reservation systems and the dining reservation systems are completely separate from each other and have little to no connectivity. If a person cancels their trip and the CM does not go in and cancel their dining it stays in the system.

You got it. They're two completely different systems not tied together at all.

The new system is supposed to address a few of these issues... we'll see how accurately that happens.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Why do they always ask where you are staying when you call to make an ADR?

Tks.

 

[rainfully]

Why do they always ask where you are staying when you call to make an ADR?

Tks.

Mostly info gathering. There's a drop-down box which contains all the resorts to select from... plus tons of other off-property resorts... as well as "local resident" "day guest" and "off property" options.

One of my jobs is actually contacting guests by leaving messages in their rooms about certain dining reservations. I have to do a cross search between the two systems. You wouldn't believe how many resorts are incorrect, names spelled wrong, etc etc... and sometimes people are nearly impossible to find. Sometimes new brides celebrating their honeymoon have their married name on their hotel reservation and their maiden name on their dining. It really is insane.

 

[hwdelien]

It's really a courtesy thing. I have a timeshare, so I always stay offsite. Last year I had ADR's for everything. When one day, I found a conflict, I called and cancelled the one that I couldn't use. It was for Chef Mickey's, and I'm sure it was gobbled up the day I cancelled it.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If a person cancels their trip and the CM does not go in and cancel their dining it stays in the system.

I think I'm right in saying that the reservations CM would have no need to go into the ADR dining reservations - that's up to the guest who is cancelling and that obviously isn't being done by the majority.

On a positive note - non cancellations of ADRs always means there is the opportunity for a walk in

 

[WDWFigment]

I always make a ton of ADRs ahead of time that we never use, and I don't cancel them. The only ones I cancel are the ones that have my credit card tied to them. I don't see this as an issue, as my unused ADRs allow walk-ups to get seats. People will complain about others not using all of their ADRs, but people also complain about the difficulty in walk-in dining since the advent of the dining plan. You can't please everyone, but at least the current system strikes somewhat of a balance. If Disney really does tighten up the ADR system, there will be more complaints from the walk-up folks.

 

[Master Yoda]

I think I'm right in saying that the reservations CM would have no need to go into the ADR dining reservations - that's up to the guest who is cancelling and that obviously isn't being done by the majority.

On a positive note - non cancellations of ADRs always means there is the opportunity for a walk in

I would think that is should be procedure to ask a guest canceling a reservation if they had made any dining reservations that needed to be canceled as well. I seriously doubt that the average guest would even know that the systems are separate and would simply assume that their dining would be canceled along with their room.

 

[Master Yoda]

I always make a ton of ADRs ahead of time that we never use, and I don't cancel them. The only ones I cancel are the ones that have my credit card tied to them. I don't see this as an issue, as my unused ADRs allow walk-ups to get seats. People will complain about others not using all of their ADRs, but people also complain about the difficulty in walk-in dining since the advent of the dining plan. You can't please everyone, but at least the current system strikes somewhat of a balance. If Disney really does tighten up the ADR system, there will be more complaints from the walk-up folks.

I think that you logic is a bit flawed but that would dependent on the way the CM at the restaurant does things. If the CM's are allowed to take a walk up in place of an ADR that is late then what you are purposing would be true. However, I do not believe that the CM's are allowed to do that so all that you have done is prevented someone else from making an ADR that would have used it. If I am not mistaken the ADR system predicts for a certain percentage of no shows so in truth a fully booked day is actually overbooked if everyone shows up. Because of this if a CM knows that the day is fully booked he/she will typically tell all walk ups that they are fully booked and walk ups are not available. If an ADR does not show walk up availability does not suddenly show up in the system.

 

[RiversideBunny]

How long do they wait for no-shows at the restaurants on ADR's before they give away that place?

Tks

 

[Master Yoda]

How long do they wait for no-shows at the restaurants on ADR's before they give away that place?

Tks

I do not think that they ever give that spot away. It simply goes unused.

 

[RiversideBunny]

I do not think that they ever give that spot away. It simply goes unused.

OK. Maybe I didn't ask the question right. They would not let the table go unused. They would give it to someone.
Say a walk-up is standing there waiting for a table.
The ADR is a no-show.
Would they give the table to the walk-up after a certain amount of time?

In a non-Disney restaurant if they call out 'Leroy Schmidt, party of four' and Leroy doesn't show up they then go ahead and call the next person.

So, you must be saying that since the ADR no-show never checked in with the CM at the desk, then the ADR no-show isn't really in line for a table. Makes sense.
But won't the reservation system still show the CM that there is not a table availabe because it's holding it for the ADR party? What's telling the CM at the desk that there is now a table open?

Tks

 

[Master Yoda]

OK. Maybe I didn't ask the question right. They would not let the table go unused. They would give it to someone.
Say a walk-up is standing there waiting for a table.
The ADR is a no-show.
Would they give the table to the walk-up after a certain amount of time?

In a non-Disney restaurant if they call out 'Leroy Schmidt, party of four' and Leroy doesn't show up they then go ahead and call the next person.

So, you must be saying that since the ADR no-show never checked in with the CM at the desk, then the ADR no-show isn't really in line for a table. Makes sense.
But won't the reservation system still show the CM that there is not a table availabe because it's holding it for the ADR party? What's telling the CM at the desk that there is now a table open?

Tks

This is the way the ADR system was explained to me. When you have an ADR you basically have a place in line in a virtual queue. Each restaurant knows how many guests/tables they can service in a particular span of time. ADR's are given out up to and possible a little past this theoretical number. When a walk up shows up the CM has to check if there is an open spot in this virtual queue (ie restaurant can turn 20 tables per hour and only 18 ADR's are taken) An ADR not showing up does not just open up a spot (because they can show up late) it merely puts the system a little ahead of schedule. If the restaurant gets a certain bit ahead of schedule the manager can manually slip someone in but from my understanding that does not happen all that often if the restaurant is fully booked.

When and ADR is a no show it does not necessarily open up a spot for a walk in or leave a table unused it merely speeds up the line waiting to eat.