Comments

1. Elizabeth says

   August 12, 2009 at 8:35 am

   This is me… sad.

   Whatever happened to spontaneity in dining, my friends?!

   I’m going off to the corner to weep…

2. Watch Me Eat says

   August 12, 2009 at 10:48 am

   I agree with Elizabeth! I personally would never do something like this. It would put a cramp in my travels that I would HAVE to eat at a certain restaurant at a certain time, long before I ever start. I’ve found that you can normally get into these long sought after disney restaurants if you just walk up at an off time anyway.

3. Brad says

   August 12, 2009 at 1:14 pm

   I guess it’s nice for those who are planning a big trip that represents a huge event for them. It probably makes it more likely that they get what they want, but I’m with you guys that it kind of puts a crimp in my style. I rarely know when I’m going 6 months in advance and it sure would be nice to have some element of spontaneity to my dining.

4. AJ says

   August 12, 2009 at 1:22 pm

   @Elizabeth and @Watch_Me_Eat: Spontaneous dining is a draw for me as well. Back when ADRs were 180 booking window a few years ago, I still booked only about 2 or 3 months ahead… . I mentioned on twitter that I might just have to call every day starting October 27th and see when I can get a Le Cellier booking — then just plan the vacation around that 😉

   @Brad: Good call on the “big trip planning” being easier. Then again, Disney still won’t release park hours farther than 3 months out, which means you’re scheduling dining without knowing park hours. Ugh.

5. James Chapman says

   August 12, 2009 at 3:18 pm

   We try to schedule as far out as possible simply to book something that we know we’d like at a reasonable time for our 3yr old daughter, then we review our plans closer to our trip to nail down as much as we can depending on changes to our itinerary. This basically works and provides us with an opportunity to think about our vacations a little more…booking reservations is so much fun! 🙂

   I’m enjoying the online booking system, and appreciate the automatic email confirmation, however, there have been times that I’ve tried to make a reservation and the system says that there’s no availability, and I call the booking agents and there’s a time available. I find that if I try a time and move back or forward on the hour that I usually can get something close to the initial time I wanted.

   As for 6 months ahead? Like AJ, we’ll probably stick with 3 months out for all but Le Cellier. 🙂

6. Heidi says

   August 12, 2009 at 4:25 pm

   I would think that 180 days out makes it so much more difficult to get those choice reservations?! I mean, for those guest who don’t plan that far ahead, how will they ever get into LeCellier or the other popular ones. I like the 90 day out personally, as the park hours are out as well and you can really decide what park you are going to be at and then select your dining. Guess dining will take precedent over which park to attend–or get the park hopper for sure! Thanks for this information!

7. carlyn says

   October 1, 2009 at 11:16 am

   i am going on a tirp with my best friend, for her first time at disney. we wanted to get the Cinderella’s Castle for berakfast and now it’s is going to be even harder to get it because they will go even faster

8. Courtney says

   February 27, 2012 at 4:43 am

   I must be crazy, but I know where I want to eat 365 days in advance!! I wait for a package deal to be announced on disneyworld.com, generally a little over 6 months in advance, and then the calendar shows 6 months of extra magic hours in advance, so it all kind of happens all of a sudden, where I can FINALLY plan my Wonderful Week in Disney. That week it all comes together, the itinerary, the dining schedule, the reservations…I can barely sleep I get so excited! I LOVE Disney Fever!!