Made reservations this morning! Got everything except BOG

3littlecuties

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
We've been to BOG for lunch a couple of times but never dinner. We wanted to try for dinner. Oh, well. I'll use the reservation finder and see if it comes up.

I was able to get Boma, Hoop Dee Doo, Yak & Yeti, Teppan Edo (placeholder until CP packages are listed), Sci Fi, and Liberty Tree Tavern.

The day that I wanted BOG for dinner we are planning to resort hop to see decorations during the day and then we are doing MVMCP for the evening. I failed to have a back up plan in mind in case we didn't get BOG so instead I made 3 different reservations...breakfast (Whispering Canyon), lunch (Kona Café), and dinner (Crystal Palace). I will only keep one though. I'm going to discuss with DH tonight but which one would you keep???
 
I'll add that we have eaten at Kona before but it was 5 years ago. We've never eaten at Whispering Canyon or Crystal Palace.
 
So, today was the first day my ADR window opened, and I couldn't get to a computer until 6:30. I just assumed that all the pre-rope drop reservations would be gone already, just like they were last year for the week before Xmas.

To my surprise, there was availability btwn 8:05 and 8:15 all five days at each park we will be at, with exception of Epcot (which is likely holding back reservations for Candlelight Processional). There were also still good evening dining options.

Wondering if park attendance for the third week of December is going down a little bit, or was this just weird luck...
 
So, today was the first day my ADR window opened, and I couldn't get to a computer until 6:30. I just assumed that all the pre-rope drop reservations would be gone already, just like they were last year for the week before Xmas.

To my surprise, there was availability btwn 8:05 and 8:15 all five days at each park we will be at, with exception of Epcot (which is likely holding back reservations for Candlelight Processional). There were also still good evening dining options.

Wondering if park attendance for the third week of December is going down a little bit, or was this just weird luck...

It's possible that MK will open at 8 every morning that week (if they follow the pattern from last year) so those spots won't really be PPO. I'd wager people are aware of that and are booking for late morning breakfast to not waste the early morning time. Just my .02.
 


Couldn't get BOG for dinner any night Dec 16-22. Snagged a lunch on Thursday and that was the first lunch reservation I saw that week.

'Ohana dinner totally booked up except for a handful of nights with 9:45-9:50 pm reservations. Nope.

Booked a Garden Grill lunch then looked up the prices. With tip and tax for 4 people, that will be right around $215! Are they serious?! I'll be cancelling that one and probably won't book any buffets this trip.

Looks like we'll be doing mostly QS this trip as I don't find the value in table service dining any longer.
 
It's possible that MK will open at 8 every morning that week (if they follow the pattern from last year) so those spots won't really be PPO. I'd wager people are aware of that and are booking for late morning breakfast to not waste the early morning time. Just my .02.

I'll definitely keep that in mind. Last year, we went the week of Dec 12 -16, and they didn't open Magic Kingdom early on a non-MVMCP day, which is the only early ADR we snagged. We'll keep an eye on the calendars and cancel them if the parks switch hours to 8am.

As an aside, the morning we went to the MK last December, the ticket/magic band scanning system crashed just after we entered the park at 745 and was chaotic for a couple of hours. We had Fantasyland almost to ourselves until about 1030. Luck for us, but a nightmare out at the main gate for many, many people that day.
 
Booked a Garden Grill lunch then looked up the prices. With tip and tax for 4 people, that will be right around $215! Are they serious?! I'll be cancelling that one and probably won't book any buffets this trip.

It is a sticker shock compared to our daily lives. My family has been using Garden Grocer for most of our meal preparation (breakfast and lunch) and snacks/drinks that we take into the park, then doing a little pay-as-we-go for any other small food items we need. That more than saves enough money for us over a week that we feel fine splurging on two or three nice dinners during our stay. This year, we'll do Hoop Dee Do, a Candlelight Processional dinner, and maybe an Imagineer lunch. Because our family is just three people, this strategy works for us, and we save hundreds over the prepaid meal plan. But, I certainly understand convenience of eating at Disney restaurants over an entire stay, and it seems to work for most visitors.
 


It's possible that MK will open at 8 every morning that week (if they follow the pattern from last year) so those spots won't really be PPO. I'd wager people are aware of that and are booking for late morning breakfast to not waste the early morning time. Just my .02.

Does Disney change the hours once they are posted? Touring plans estimated that MK would open at 8:00 am on Sunday, Dec 17 with EMH starting at 7:00 am. The Disney website is now saying the park will open at 9:00 am that day.
 
Does Disney change the hours once they are posted? Touring plans estimated that MK would open at 8:00 am on Sunday, Dec 17 with EMH starting at 7:00 am. The Disney website is now saying the park will open at 9:00 am that day.

Yes, they change quite frequently, unfortunately. It makes it pretty difficult for planning. I looked at last years hours and it appears the 8 openings started on December 17th. Probably why touring plans lists it that way.
 

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