Guys, you have to be patient in this. This was the biggest software upgrade that has ever been done at WDW. First off, the scheduled/announced downtime was always an estimate. It was a mark of when the core of the upgrade would be complete (ie, basic functionality). Bugs of course needed to be fixed, and I honestly wouldn't expect the system to be up to 99% functionality until late next week after the next set of upgrades.
I know when a lot of people think of installing new software, they think of popping in a CD or running an exe file. That's not how it works though. This is a very complex project with very numerous interdependencies.
More importantly though, if you know about an outage, either make your reservations in advance or be prepared to wait for the dust to settle. Whenever something like this occurs, a huge traffic overload happens, and this doesn't have to do with software. Imagine walking down Main Street after the fireworks... it is really crowded, but you eventually make it to the end. Sometimes it goes slower, sometimes faster (depending on the season). Now imagine it is the fourth of July (and the park was closed the day before) and standing at the entrance of the park is Justin Beiber, Obama and Oprah. Main Street is still the same size, but now there is many more people trying to go down it in a much more disorderly fashion. That is basically what happened in the days after the upgrade.... doesn't matter how many people with wands are there.... nothing is going to help if more people are trying to go down a street that is the same size.
And by the way, if your reservation isn't for weeks or months.... just chill. When in doubt, forget about the web... just call the number 407-WDW-DINE and the Cast Member will retrieve the reservation for you (it might take a while, but...). Again, this is like a reverse hurricane effect. You know... it might be announced days or weeks before... but the day before it hits everyone goes to the store to get water and supplies. They had all week, but they decide to go then. People here feel the need to go on right when the system returns.... unless the reservations are that time-sensitive, just wait.
Anywho, there are a couple of more scheduled downtimes over the rest of this year, but none of them should be nearly as big as the first. Summary of my story I guess: Be patient and plan well
