Amazed by lack of available reservations

horizons82

horizons82

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
About a month ago I planned for my wife and I to do a split day and AK and DHS (going to AK during the afternoon and then heading to DHS in the evening).

(We're locals and APs who have never seen Fantasmic, so we're trying to rectify that) :)

Anyhow, I specifically chose a day that was listed as a "slower" weekday in November as well as the fact that both of these parks were "recommended" parks this day due to no EMH and the fact that we'd be going to the 2nd showing of Fantasmic, which would give us a better chance at decent seating.

However, as often as I've been checking (which is a LOT), I have yet to see a single reservation open up for lunch at AK or for dinner at DHS. (Rainforest Café at AK does have openings for lunch, but we've been to the DTD one before and really wanted to do something that was unique to AK). Other than Rainforest I've not seen a single lunch reservation open up at AK.

There has also been absolutely NOTHING available for dinner at DHS in the many times I've looked. Usually The Brown Derby would at least have a few openings a month away, but I haven't even seen any show up as being available for there either.

I'm just really surprised as I've never seen dining ressies being unavailable for so long to where not a single restaurant in either park was available for lunch at AK or dinner at DHS! Even so, after checking about 30+ times you'd think I'd see something become available, but no! I'm hoping peoples' plans change as the day gets closer and something will open.

I'm sure several have opened up when I haven't been looking, but I'm just kind of shocked to see how hard it is to get any reservation at either park when it's supposedly a "2" crowd day and those are recommended parks.

I know there are really no more truly slow days at WDW, but still...
 
TXDisney

TXDisney

Well-Known Member
Ya we booked our last trip 7 months in advance and still didn't get all the reservations we wanted. Such as BOG at MK. I'd recommend calling right around 24-28hrs before the day you want to go to eat, bc people might cancel the night before p, so they dint get charged. Plus I'd check frequently to see if something pops up.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
The Osborne Lights is now an evening draw. I can understand that ADRs would be harder to get. I'm in HS on 11/30 after a day at AK and had the same experience. But I'm going solo so am just planning to grab a bite or two from HBD Lounge. Just checked and there are ADRs available at Yak and Yeti on that day. I'm probably just going to eat at Flame Tree BBQ since I have a breakfast ADR at Boma at 10am.
 
tribbleorlfl

tribbleorlfl

Well-Known Member
Had that same problem with my birthday last Thursday. I was on my computer early morning (5ish) exactly 180 days out and all the ressies for BoG were already gone. Checked nearly every day hoping something would open up but no dice. By the time I gave up, all of the other places I like to go were booked up. On a weeknight. In the beginning of November.

The CSR explained it's because on-site guests can make ADR's for 180 days + length of stay, meaning for the most popular locations (Cindy, BoG, Aukershus, Chef Mickey, etc), ADR's are rarely available at the 180 day mark even for non-peak times.

Personally, I blame the DDP and free dining more as all of these people are eating TS more than they would have in the past to maximize the value.
 
rsoxguy

rsoxguy

Well-Known Member
I'm not particularly picky about the in-park restaurants because I'm not a big fan of most, but I have had several trips where we have made dining reservations from the car on the drive up. We usually have a list of three places, and we request them in order according to availability. We have often gotten the first on the list, and rarely made it to the third. I can not recall the times of year that we have done this, but we must be very fortunate.
 
Gomer

Gomer

Well-Known Member
Not sure if it fits your schedule or not, but did you consider hitting up one of the restaurants at AKL or on Crescent lake between parks? I know Sanaa at AKL is open for lunch and they usually accept walkups. I'm sure you could find some options at Boardwalk as well? Then with the proximity to the park it wouldn't delay you too much.
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Maybe it's an omen that nothing is available in the parks. I mean, I think Sanaa is far better than any of the TS options in AK. I guess if you're OK with signature...Jiko at AKL would be another nice option. On the flipside, dining at the Epcot/DHS area resorts should open up a number of options. Surely, there has to be something between BW, BC, YC, Swan or Dolphin.
 
Wildflower

Wildflower

Well-Known Member
As above, check closer to when you go, especially 24-48hrs prior. Also check both the app AND the online MDE....sometimes different things will show up on each.
 
horizons82

horizons82

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Appreciate the suggestions! However, we've eaten at Sanaa several times before (and we do love it), but since it will be a busy day we kind of wanted to eat in the parks. I'll keep looking and hope something opens up...just really surprised to see how taken all of the times were.

We've also eaten at Jiko as well...both Sanaa and Jiko are fantastic, but just not wanting to add an extra trip out of the parks this day.
 
Gomer

Gomer

Well-Known Member
horizons82 said:
Appreciate the suggestions! However, we've eaten at Sanaa several times before (and we do love it), but since it will be a busy day we kind of wanted to eat in the parks. I'll keep looking and hope something opens up...just really surprised to see how taken all of the times were.

We've also eaten at Jiko as well...both Sanaa and Jiko are fantastic, but just not wanting to add an extra trip out of the parks this day.
Click to expand...
You could always try the Brown Derby Lounge. They only accept walkups and you can order anything from the Derby's menu. Depending on the wait time though, you may end up wasting as much time as you would leaving the park.
 
crispy

crispy

Well-Known Member
You can call Yak and Yeti directly to make a reservation - someone posted about this a few weeks ago. I will see if I can find the post with the phone number. I think they said they hold back some reservations so you may be able to get one that way.
 
C

CheshireCat12

Well-Known Member
We walked up to Yak and Yeti around 11:30 AM- they said they had room around 1:00 so we took it. This was in the summer and everyone knows how busy it gets then! Don't give up- sometimes you just have to walk up and see. If you are in the park then you can try asking them what's available. You may want to have another ADR somewhere else just in case though.
 
BrianV

BrianV

Well-Known Member
Scifi diner usually has walk-ups available. ADRS are guaranteed car seating. Non ADRS might sit around the edge, but the fact that there are a decent number of un-reserved seats means there is always a chance to get in.
 
Matt_Black

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
Indeed. Check out nearby restaurants at the resorts, as some are going to be less in demand, particularly at lunch. Certainly, as noted above, the character meal ones are most definitely going to be hard to reserve, but others are going to be easier to snag, and the food is quite delightful.
 

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