Making ADRs for that day

[sbkline]

I know the phone number we use to call in our ADRs in advance is (407) WDW-DINE. I was just double checking to see if that's the same number I would use to call today to make an ADR for today, or if there is a different number for same day ADR's? I'm not there right now, but I'm just getting all my facts straight for our hoped to be April 2010 trip. Hoping for more spontanaeity, I don't plan on making a bunch or ADRs 6 months out. I plan on 2 for sure, but the rest, I just want to do on a whim, and I don't even know if we're doing the DDP or not. Now, as many of you may tell me, I am aware that the risk I take is not getting the restaraunt of our choice, or the time slot of our choice. But I figure even in that event, that's a good way to have a "surprise" restaraunt...the spontanaeity of ending up at a place we hadn't even thought of initially.

But anyway, I was just thinking of the best way to call in an ADR that morning. Say we're at the Magic Kingdom that morning and we have an idea for supper that night. Obviously, if it is at a MK restaraunt, we can go there and book. But if it's for somewhere else, do we call WDW-DINE, or is that only for advance ressies?

And do I understand correctly that we can make ADRs for all Disney restaraunts from the lobby of our resort hotel as well? Say, when we stop at the food court for breakfast, or are doing some morning browsing at the gift shop, we can go up to the concierge desk and book an ADR for any restaraunt on property that day? Assumming, of course, that there is an opening.

And one more question, if you give them a specific time that you have in mind, can they pull up a list of every restaraunt on property that has an available ADR for that time slot?

 

[DisneyJoe]

- resort room phone has a dedicated dining button or number

- Guest services at the front of each park can help

- front desk at your hotel

- or call from your cell phone - WDW DINE

And one more question, if you give them a specific time that you have in mind, can they pull up a list of every restaraunt on property that has an available ADR for that time slot?

No - they all basically use the same online system that we use now.....

 

[sbkline]

That pretty much answers my question. Thanks! :wave:

 

[Rob562]

If you're in the parks and don't have a cell phone, you can use any pay phone to call the WDW-DINE line for free. There's a special number posted on the phone, which I'm drawing a blank on... It's *77 or *88.

And if you really want to talk about access, any WDW Resort House Phone should have a Dining button on it, or you can dial 0 and ask to be connected to WDW-DINE. You could conceivably call and make dining arrangements while in the hotel laundry room, at the bus stop, wherever.


Lastly, if you can't get an ADR for the restaurant of your choice, try going as a walk-in anyway. It helps if you arrive toward the beginning of their meal service (i.e. 10:30-11AM for lunch, 4-5PM for dinner)

We tried to get same-day ADRs for Tony's in the MK, and couldn't. We ended up taking a 5:15PM for Liberty Tree Tavern. Before dinner we were shopping on Main Street, and before heading to LTT at 5PM we stopped into Tony's. Sure enough, they were able to take us. We ended up with less than a 5-minute wait. (They took our Liberty Tree ADR# and cancelled it for us)

-Rob

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Just a couple of things to consider for next April - when does Easter fall, and don't forget Spring Break. Both will play a major part in your ability to make same day ADRs

 

[sbkline]

Just a couple of things to consider for next April - when does Easter fall, and don't forget Spring Break. Both will play a major part in your ability to make same day ADRs

Our arrival date is scheduled for Monday April 19, and Easter is April 4. But spring breaks may still be taking place, although hopefully, the majority of them will be over.

 

[Mystic]

It may be possible to get same day dining. Consider which park you will be at on the day and which resorts are near that park. You need to be really flexible in times and restaurants that you're willing to take. They may not be able to give you 6pm but they may be able to give you 6:45pm. It will also depend on your party size. If you are calling from your hotel room there will be a button on your hotel room phone that says "Dining" just press that and it will connect you to directly to Disney Dining. If you're calling from a cell phone just call WDW-DINE or go to your hotel concierge for help. It's a free call from any pay phone in any park. I would suggest making a list of all the restaurants you're interested in that are in or around the parks that you will be in each day you're there so that when you're looking to make an ADR for the day you have a list of restaurants in hand to work from which will make it easier for both you and the CMs to find a workable ADR. Last minute ADRs are possible if you are flexible, I speak from experience, I managed to do it last year in December for half of my trip.

 

[Nemo14]

Our arrival date is scheduled for Monday April 19, and Easter is April 4. But spring breaks may still be taking place, although hopefully, the majority of them will be over.

Just so you know, that is school vacation week for many schools here in New England, so it may be busy.

While I totally understand how you feel about making ADR's so far ahead of time, the thing you need to keep in mind is that you are (hopefully) going with children, or at least one child, this time. It's easy for adults to be flexible with dining times, but you'll find that your son might be cranky if he has to wait to eat. You'll need to bring plenty of snacks along, and keep him hydrated, or plan to grab snacks in the parks to keep him happy.

 

[lilclerk]

Our arrival date is scheduled for Monday April 19, and Easter is April 4. But spring breaks may still be taking place, although hopefully, the majority of them will be over.

I went during Easter/Spring Break last year and got a same day reservation at The Plaza. At MK outside of Town Hall, they had a billboard up with a list of restaurants that had availability so I gave WDWDINE a ring. I'm not sure if the other parks have something similar.

 

[sbkline]

Just so you know, that is school vacation week for many schools here in New England, so it may be busy.

While I totally understand how you feel about making ADR's so far ahead of time, the thing you need to keep in mind is that you are (hopefully) going with children, or at least one child, this time. It's easy for adults to be flexible with dining times, but you'll find that your son might be cranky if he has to wait to eat. You'll need to bring plenty of snacks along, and keep him hydrated, or plan to grab snacks in the parks to keep him happy.

Ya, we are definitely planning on taking our son, and we are still weighing the pros and cons of taking our daughter, who would be almost 10 months old at that time. That's actually another reason that I can see for prefering a little spontanaeity. Dining plans are so subject to change depending on the child's mood and when he may end up being hungry, so I can see a little trouble in trying to keep to all the ADRs that we may make 6 months in advance. The ressie may be for 6 PM and he decided he's hungry at 5. Or he may be burned out for the day and just want to stay at the resort even though we had supper scheduled at a theme park. So I figured if we can just decide each day where we want to eat at, it may be easier than trying to assume months in advance how everyone will be feeling at a particular time that evening. However, I do see your point as well. But if we don't do the DDP (which we haven't totally decided yet), there would always be the option of falling back on a counter service venue without worrying about losing a meal credit.

 

[DisneyChik17]

Ya, we are definitely planning on taking our son, and we are still weighing the pros and cons of taking our daughter, who would be almost 10 months old at that time. That's actually another reason that I can see for prefering a little spontanaeity. Dining plans are so subject to change depending on the child's mood and when he may end up being hungry, so I can see a little trouble in trying to keep to all the ADRs that we may make 6 months in advance. The ressie may be for 6 PM and he decided he's hungry at 5. Or he may be burned out for the day and just want to stay at the resort even though we had supper scheduled at a theme park. So I figured if we can just decide each day where we want to eat at, it may be easier than trying to assume months in advance how everyone will be feeling at a particular time that evening. However, I do see your point as well. But if we don't do the DDP (which we haven't totally decided yet), there would always be the option of falling back on a counter service venue without worrying about losing a meal credit.

Considering all of the comments that have come up, I would do the GSDP. That way you have 2 snacks paid for (per person per night), 2 QS meals paid for (per person per night), you have a lot of flexibility, and you can still do TS whenever you feel like, really. I check-in a lot of couples who have no children who do this plan because they don't want to meticulously plan every moment of their stay. I don't blame them one bit either. I have seen much more satisfaction from that plan than any of the others.

 

[sbkline]

Considering all of the comments that have come up, I would do the GSDP. That way you have 2 snacks paid for (per person per night), 2 QS meals paid for (per person per night), you have a lot of flexibility, and you can still do TS whenever you feel like, really. I check-in a lot of couples who have no children who do this plan because they don't want to meticulously plan every moment of their stay. I don't blame them one bit either. I have seen much more satisfaction from that plan than any of the others.

I just need to decide over the next several months which way would be most economical, considering we have 2 or 3 definite TS places we want to eat at. We definitely plan to book an 8 AM ADR for Crystal Palace, and we plan to meet another couple from these boards for a sit down dinner. So both of those will have an advance ADR. And my wife wants to try 50s Prime Time, although we may leave that one to some degree of spontanaeity once we get there as to which day to try that one. So that's 3 definite sit down dinners, plus the restaraunt at our resort, Maya Grill...which I have heard isn't generally very busy, thereby lessening the need for an ADR. And then there are whatever other TS places we may spontaneously decide to eat at. So I'm not sure the quick service dining plan would be the way to go. I'm thinking, either pay out of pocket without a meal plan, or purchase the meal plan, knowing that for a 9 night stay, we would really only need to come up with 4 spontaneous TS locations, since one of the aforementioned ones will probably be a 2 credit venue. Part of the decision is that there are a couple days where we will be spending more time off property and not doing a theme park (unless we spontaneously decide to go in later in the evening after the day's activities are done), and therefore paying out of pocket for food off property.