Do I really need to make ADR's now for August trip??!

[mkovalm]

I'll be traveling with my family August 22-29th and see all this talk about making ADR's 180 days before the trip! Is this really necessary?? It seems like quite a ways away and I wasn't even thinking about reservations yet. We will have the DDP, are there limited seats or something for the dining plan? I'd love a little bit of clarification and advice from you guys!

 

[TDC Nala]

If you want Le Cellier at all, or CRT, Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana dinner, California Grill for fireworks, any character dining during peak mealtimes, then yes you probably do.

Those dates are likely to be during a general public free dining promotion so you should probably make reservations as early as you can for anything you really want.

There is no limited seating for dining plan users. It's just probable that there will be a LOT of people on the dining plan that time of year and they all want into the restaurants too.

 

[samefay]

yesterday was my 180 days out - I still didn't get everything I wanted - the times I picked on a few were not available

 

[mkovalm]

Wow, I'm amazed! Can I make the reservations now, without having booked my trip yet? I'm waiting to see if the DDP goes free during my travel days!

 

[mickeysaver]

Yes, if you want to have the best selection of Table Service dining options for your stay, it's best to book ASAP. I know that it seems really odd to try to think of what you will feel like eating 6 months from now, but it can be done and with some planning, it can work out really well.

Your trip is during a time when many people were able to book their stays with the Free Dining package. It's rumored that the Free Dining package will be available to the general public sometime soon and you can bet that there are many people out there that are counting on it and booking dining even without a reservation yet.

Do yourself a BIG favor and subscribe to TouringPlans.com or TourGuideMike, I prefer Touring Plans after having tried both. After you check out their best days calendar, make a plan for your park days. Then, just check out Allears.net's detailed menus to figure out what restaurants sound like they would appeal to your family. Make a plan and then make the table service ADR's. It's fun and it's very necessary unless you want to dine quick service most of your stay.

 

[mkovalm]

Thanks for the info! I'm extremely happy that I just counted the days until we go, and I believe we're still 185 days out! So in 5 days, you better believe I'll be calling someone!

 

[TDC Nala]

Wow, I'm amazed! Can I make the reservations now, without having booked my trip yet? I'm waiting to see if the DDP goes free during my travel days!

You can make reservations at least 180 days out whether you have a room reservation or not. If you are not currently a Disney resort guest and you want 180-day reservations you would have to call or make online reservations exactly 180 days from every day of your trip (if you want to make them that early). Only guests who already have a Disney resort reservation are able to make reservations all at once for their full trip (up to 10 days worth) at the 180-day mark from their arrival date.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

If you want Le Cellier at all, or CRT, Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana dinner, California Grill for fireworks, any character dining during peak mealtimes, then yes you probably do.

Those dates are likely to be during a general public free dining promotion so you should probably make reservations as early as you can for anything you really want.

There is no limited seating for dining plan users. It's just probable that there will be a LOT of people on the dining plan that time of year and they all want into the restaurants too.

Don't forget with those popular restaurants they might backed up with their ADR's, which means the guests would be seated way past what time their ADR was scheduled for.

 

[beroh2253]

You don't even have to be staying on sight to get ADR's. I think they wanted your telephone number. Last October I booked 3 or 4 restaurants before booking the trip, I knew we were going but I wanted to get the restaurants (last year 90 days out) cause they were available.

 

[frostymom]

I think it would be appropriate to have 180 adrs for those have reservations and 90 days out for those without reservations. Just my opinion. Booking should have a few perks...

 

[beroh2253]

I think it would be appropriate to have 180 adrs for those have reservations and 90 days out for those without reservations. Just my opinion. Booking should have a few perks...

I feel the same, we always stay on site. I think the only perk is the 180+10

 

[CanadianPaco]

I feel the same, we always stay on site. I think the only perk is the 180+10

But it's a good perk!

 

[DisneyKidds]

We'll be there Aug 16 to the 21st. Made some reservations yesterday. Availability for Le Cellier was limited, but there was some, especially for lunch times. Did get a 4:00 dinner and an 8:20 dinner, but dinner times in between were non existent.

 

[rgf207]

You only need to make ADR's if you want to eat at TS restaurants. August 22-29 is right at the beginning of Free Dining and all TS restaurants are usually filled.

 

[tami82]

Yes you need to make them this far ahead while there is availability or else the pickings will be real slim especially for the more popular places such as Ohana, Chef Mickey, etc....I learned from past experience even though at the time it was 90 days out and i called on the exact opening time & day, some of the times i got were kind of late especially if you have kids.
We went away during the second week of free dining last August so the 1st week free diners kind of had an advantage over us since their reservations kind of overlapped into the second weekers especially if they were staying longer than 7 nights..
When the online system came out weeks after that it took me over a month to look for cancellations and to get to an early dinner time.

 

[beroh2253]

But it's a good perk!

Yes it is, this really helps you get Le Cellier

 

[frostymom]

My kids are fit to be tied if we do not eat around the same time each day...6-7. Hoping for good times come tuesday morning!

 

[eeyoregon]

Tomorrow is your booking day !

We are staying August 21-30 and I just booked all of my ADR's a few minutes ago...yes I got up at 3:00 AM to do so (we are on the West coast).

Got everything I wanted with no problems and all of the times that I requested within 15 minutes.

I did all of my ressies online this year and that was much easier than hammering out every detail with a CM long distance.

Happy reserving!

 

[ryrysmom14]

Tomorrow is your booking day !

We are staying August 21-30 and I just booked all of my ADR's a few minutes ago...yes I got up at 3:00 AM to do so (we are on the West coast).

Got everything I wanted with no problems and all of the times that I requested within 15 minutes.

I did all of my ressies online this year and that was much easier than hammering out every detail with a CM long distance.

Happy reserving!

We're arriving on 8/21 also and just booked! You are really good tho getting up at 3AM. I'm on the East Coast so I got up at 5:50 to start the process. It was so easy online! Everything we wanted was avl and pretty close to the times I put in, only exception...wait for it... Le Cellier. We did get it but at 5:00 instead of 6:00 which is still very good. After I booked, I searched a little more and there was very little at all for Le Cellier from 8/21 to 8/26 but opened up on 8/27.

Happy booking to everyone!
Lorraine

 

[francie57]

Like all the other said I would make the reservations when you are able to. We did ours last week on-line and got everything we wanted. If they offer free dining during your time frame things will fill up fast. We use the hopper option so we just pick out the restaurants we want to go to and make the reservations and then plan our days later. We usually start at one park, go back to the BWV for a swim and then head to dinner. I know people on here have said they made their package reservations to secure the room and then will change to the free dining when its available - that may also be a consideration. Depending on what level resort you stay at you may make out better with a room discount. We stay in a 2 bedroom villa at the BW and with our room discount we actually save more than using the free dining and paying full price for the room. It pays to figure out the trip both ways.