Need advice for a friend...on getting ADR's

[Tink0102]

I found out last night that a friend from church and her fairy have booked their very first Disney World trip for the week after Thanksgiving. They will arrive on the 25th of November and leave on the 30th. They have the dining plan, but since they booked so late there are no Princess dining reservations left. They have a 6 year old little girl so they are pretty bummed.
I told her to check the site every day and to also call them frequently. Since the whole purpose of them getting the dining plan was to be able to go to the Princess meals I told her to call Disney and explain this to them and tell them they might have to cancel the dining plan and see if that got her anywhere....it didn't.
You guys have way more experience with Disney than I do....do you have any advice other than what I have already told her? She would really like a breakfast at Akershus or a dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

 

[crispy]

They just need to keep checking. I did see a breakfast opening at 1900 Park Fare. They would see Mary Poppins and Alice there (along with Pooh, Tigger, and the Mad hatter).

Remind her that character meals aren't the only places to see princesses. The New Fairytale Hall just opened, and they can even use a fast pass for that. They can see Cinderella, Rapunzel, and other princesses throughout the day. Jasmine, Mulan, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, and Alice all appear at the World Showcase. Storytime with Belle in the new Fantasyland is a fantastic experience with Belle. All that to say, they will see plenty of princesses even if they don't do a special character meal.

 

[Master Yoda]

There is not much she can do aside from keep trying. When a restaurant is full, that is it. There is no secret pool that they can pull ADR's from.

One thing to try is searching odd times, but since she is traveling during one of the busiest times of the year even that might be a dead end.

 

[epcotisbest]

I found out last night that a friend from church and her fairy have booked their very first Disney World trip for the week after Thanksgiving. They will arrive on the 25th of November and leave on the 30th. They have the dining plan, but since they booked so late there are no Princess dining reservations left. They have a 6 year old little girl so they are pretty bummed.
I told her to check the site every day and to also call them frequently. Since the whole purpose of them getting the dining plan was to be able to go to the Princess meals I told her to call Disney and explain this to them and tell them they might have to cancel the dining plan and see if that got her anywhere....it didn't.
You guys have way more experience with Disney than I do....do you have any advice other than what I have already told her? She would really like a breakfast at Akershus or a dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Since they are going with a fairy, it should not be a problem. If the fairy can't make it happen, not getting a princess dining might be a blessing in disguise. So very many other things to do.
And the we might have to cancel the dining plan approach...pretty lame. The very best advice I can give is to be more flexible..no need to be bummed by one thing when there is so very much to enjoy. If it is that important, just cancel the whole trip and reschedule for a time when they can make ADRs at the 180 mark. I can't imagine it being that important, but everyone has their own priorities.

 

[Tink0102]

Since they are going with a fairy, it should not be a problem. If the fairy can't make it happen, not getting a princess dining might be a blessing in disguise. So very many other things to do.
And the we might have to cancel the dining plan approach...pretty lame. The very best advice I can give is to be more flexible..no need to be bummed by one thing when there is so very much to enjoy. If it is that important, just cancel the whole trip and reschedule for a time when they can make ADRs at the 180 mark. I can't imagine it being that important, but everyone has their own priorities.

Bahahaha! Dang autocorrect! I meant FAMILY!

 

[epcotisbest]

Bahahaha! Dang autocorrect! I meant FAMILY!

Too funny!

 

[Tink0102]

There is not much she can do aside from keep trying. When a restaurant is full, that is it. There is no secret pool that they can pull ADR's from.

One thing to try is searching odd times, but since she is traveling during one of the busiest times of the year even that might be a dead end.

That's what I thought too about the busy t

Since they are going with a fairy, it should not be a problem. If the fairy can't make it happen, not getting a princess dining might be a blessing in disguise. So very many other things to do.
And the we might have to cancel the dining plan approach...pretty lame. The very best advice I can give is to be more flexible..no need to be bummed by one thing when there is so very much to enjoy. If it is that important, just cancel the whole trip and reschedule for a time when they can make ADRs at the 180 mark. I can't imagine it being that important, but everyone has their own priorities.

We all want our first trip to the World to be perfect...and each person's idea of perfection is different. I think in the end she is just incredibly happy that they are able to even go.

 

[Tink0102]

They just need to keep checking. I did see a breakfast opening at 1900 Park Fare. They would see Mary Poppins and Alice there (along with Pooh, Tigger, and the Mad hatter).

Remind her that character meals aren't the only places to see princesses. The New Fairytale Hall just opened, and they can even use a fast pass for that. They can see Cinderella, Rapunzel, and other princesses throughout the day. Jasmine, Mulan, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, and Alice all appear at the World Showcase. Storytime with Belle in the new Fantasyland is a fantastic experience with Belle. All that to say, they will see plenty of princesses even if they don't do a special character meal.

I did remind her of that, but since we have a boy and Princesses were not high on our list I didn't know all the places to tell her to look. I will pass this info along....thanks!

 

[Tink0102]

There is not much she can do aside from keep trying. When a restaurant is full, that is it. There is no secret pool that they can pull ADR's from.

One thing to try is searching odd times, but since she is traveling during one of the busiest times of the year even that might be a dead end.

I told her I thought that was one of the busiest times and she told me that the Disney rep told her that it wasn't as busy as spring break and summer...so they down played it on other words. I came home and pulled up my touring plans account and saw that 3 of the 5 days she is there are at a 10 for crowd levels. Yikes! We went this past June and I knew that I never wanted to go again during busy times.

 

[Master Yoda]

I told her I thought that was one of the busiest times and she told me that the Disney rep told her that it wasn't as busy as spring break and summer...so they down played it on other words. I came home and pulled up my touring plans account and saw that 3 of the 5 days she is there are at a 10 for crowd levels. Yikes! We went this past June and I knew that I never wanted to go again during busy times.

She was misinformed. Spring break is busy, but not too bad because spring break is not a set week for everyone. Easter will be insane, but the weekdays around it are not crazy busy.

The 4 day Thanksgiving weekend tends to be right up there with the week between Christmas and Newyears. The days before and after it are not that bad, but those 4 can be murder.

 

[sxeensweet]

I found out last night that a friend from church and her fairy have booked their very first Disney World trip for the week after Thanksgiving. They will arrive on the 25th of November and leave on the 30th. They have the dining plan, but since they booked so late there are no Princess dining reservations left. They have a 6 year old little girl so they are pretty bummed.
I told her to check the site every day and to also call them frequently. Since the whole purpose of them getting the dining plan was to be able to go to the Princess meals I told her to call Disney and explain this to them and tell them they might have to cancel the dining plan and see if that got her anywhere....it didn't.
You guys have way more experience with Disney than I do....do you have any advice other than what I have already told her? She would really like a breakfast at Akershus or a dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

That's actually the week OF Thanksgiving if it's for this year. Just so they know. Thanksgiving is 11/28 this year. And In 2014 its on 11/27. Now 2102 was on 11/22 so that might be where the mistake happened b/c it was early last year??? So the week they will be there will be extremely busy!! Check with them if they made a mistake b/c if they want to go the week after that will be the beginning of Dec. The week AFTER would be A LOT less crowded!!!!! They may want to consider changing to that week. We never would go Thanksgiving week and we always go the week after and the week after that. Very low crowds those next few weeks following Thanksgiving. We are arriving on 12/5 this year which is the actual week after Thanksgiving not what they are thinking is the week after. They would be more likely to get ressies if they go then.

 

[Tink0102]

That's actually the week OF Thanksgiving if it's for this year. Just so they know. Thanksgiving is 11/28 this year. And In 2014 its on 11/27. Now 2102 was on 11/22 so that might be where the mistake happened b/c it was early last year??? So the week they will be there will be extremely busy!! Check with them if they made a mistake b/c if they want to go the week after that will be the beginning of Dec. The week AFTER would be A LOT less crowded!!!!! They may want to consider changing to that week. We never would go Thanksgiving week and we always go the week after and the week after that. Very low crowds those next few weeks following Thanksgiving. We are arriving on 12/5 this year which is the actual week after Thanksgiving not what they are thinking is the week after. They would be more likely to get ressies if they go then.

You're right that is Thanksgiving week. I was thinking Thanksgiving was the week earlier. But that is the week they are going. It is going to be so crowded. I feel bad for her, but I think they have to go that week because of the school schedule.

 

[sxeensweet]

You're right that is Thanksgiving week. I was thinking Thanksgiving was the week earlier. But that is the week they are going. It is going to be so crowded. I feel bad for her, but I think they have to go that week because of the school schedule.

I feel so bad for them as well!! It can be hard to truly experience being in the world with it being so crowded. I hear too many stories from friends how they don't know why people love going b/c they were miserable with the crowds and waits , can't get reservations, etc etc b/c they went at a bad time and did not do their research and learn about things prior. They can always consider taking the kiddos out of school it would be so worth it but I sure hope they enjoy it regardless. As first timers I always recommend not going at times like those were it it just crazy!!

 

[lilclerk]

I feel so bad for them as well!! It can be hard to truly experience being in the world with it being so crowded. I hear too many stories from friends how they don't know why people love going b/c they were miserable with the crowds and waits , can't get reservations, etc etc b/c they went at a bad time and did not do their research and learn about things prior. They can always consider taking the kiddos out of school it would be so worth it but I sure hope they enjoy it regardless. As first timers I always recommend not going at times like those were it it just crazy!!

Start setting them up with the right expectations now. If they know what they're in for and how to prepare for it, hopefully they'll still have a great trip =) If they do decide to keep the dining plan, make sure they make reservations now and keep checking to see if anything with princesses pops up.

 

[Tink0102]

Start setting them up with the right expectations now. If they know what they're in for and how to prepare for it, hopefully they'll still have a great trip =) If they do decide to keep the dining plan, make sure they make reservations now and keep checking to see if anything with princesses pops up.

I agree....I'm going to tell her what I have found out about that week. At least then she will be prepared. I did find an Ohanas ressie for her for Breakfast. It's not Princesses, but I told her that she would need to take what she could get for now and hope for better. Personally, I would rather see Stitch than a princess anyway, but that's just me.