How I long for the days of the ole Epcot dining reservations kiosk

[Bill Brown]

Just need to vent a bit, sorry. Anyone remember the same day dining reservations kiosk at the entrance to Epcot? Those were the good ole days. Having any idea which park I'll be visiting 180 days out is absurd. My last and probably final WDW visit was several years ago. Made multiple ADRs for one meal each day in an attempt to retain some freedom of movement, but it was still a grand hassle dashing to get to one ADR on time in a particular park. Gave myself a few years to chill from that last experience. Reading the highly informative posts, here, I see the situation has only gotten far worse and worser come October. Fortunately, only the Blue Bayou interests me when making annual visits to DLR. ADRs for the Blue Bayou are still needed, but with just the one restaurant I really enjoy, it is a lot less hassle than WDW. I miss WDW , but the WDW ADR situation is way too much hassle for an enjoyable WDW visit.

 

[Googelibear]

Just need to vent a bit, sorry. Anyone remember the same day dining reservations kiosk at the entrance to Epcot? Those were the good ole days. Having any idea which park I'll be visiting 180 days out is absurd. My last and probably final WDW visit was several years ago. Made multiple ADRs for one meal each day in an attempt to retain some freedom of movement, but it was still a grand hassle dashing to get to one ADR on time in a particular park. Gave myself a few years to chill from that last experience. Reading the highly informative posts, here, I see the situation has only gotten far worse and worser come October. Fortunately, only the Blue Bayou interests me when making annual visits to DLR. ADRs for the Blue Bayou are still needed, but with just the one restaurant I really enjoy, it is a lot less hassle than WDW. I miss WDW , but the WDW ADR situation is way too much hassle for an enjoyable WDW visit.

Just wanted to say that Yes, I remember that kiosk. Made my very first ADR ever there for Crystal Palace the next morning.

 

[hforman]

those are gone? that's too bad. I remember those when I went to Epcot 22 years ago. They were the coolest and so futuristic.

 

[CindyIsMyFave]

I do miss that - and it. It just seemed so much easier "back then."

I am a planner, but I don't like scheduling everything so far in advance. Even if it's not 180 days, it's still more planning than I'd like to do. We're so comfortable with WDW and know what we're doing, that it would be nicer to just be able to just wander the parks and eat when we feel like it (within reason), rather than sticking to a big schedule.

But - it's not enough to keep us away from Disney.

What I'm really not a fan of is the new cancellation policy. We spent 2 days with my parents there this last trip and my mother is in a wheelchair. Her health/feelings can be somewhat unpredictable. With the weather change on a particular day and her situation, it would've been nice to just cancel our Flying Fish ressie. But we didn't want to lose $40, so off we went. That kind of thing is frustrating.

 

[fla4fun]

Just need to vent a bit, sorry. Anyone remember the same day dining reservations kiosk at the entrance to Epcot? Those were the good ole days.

Yes, I do. I also remember when they first allowed on property guests to make reservations in advance - a whole seven days in advance! I also remember that before the dining plan, I could call Disney Dining on my lunch hour and get a reservation for dinner on my way home from work (sometimes I could call just before I left work).

These days, I don't do much TS dining, but it hasn't caused my trips to be any less fun. I can be a lot more spontaneous eating QS, and it's not all hot dogs and burgers anymore. Most days I don't even know what park I'm going to until I see what bus shows up first! I usually only do TS if I'm dining with someone else, like when my sister and BIL joined me for the last day of the Osborne Lights. I managed to get a lunch at Le Cellier only two days out, and dinner at 50's PT as well.

 

[Bill Brown]

...and dinner at 50's PT as well.

I was unhappy that the DCA soap opera themed restaurant closed after its relatively short existence. Managed to eat there twice, though. Each time I visited WDW I always managed at least one meal at Cinderella's Royal Table, until my last visit. I was really about that and combined with the hassles of trying to get into other themed restaurants I left WDW in a lousy state of mind. I figured on skipping WDW for a few years and getting my Disney fix solely at DLR for those few years. For some 3 decades or so I'd alternate annual visits between WDW and DLR, sometimes visiting both in one year. Fortunately, I still leave DLR with my inner child rejuvenated for another year.

 

[shoney]

I remember being in Epcot in 1986, I was a teenager and my parents made ressies on a video phone. We ate in China!

We are going on Wednesday for our first onsite trip and first time with ADR's. I really don't like the idea at all! I wish we could just wander around and eat where we feel like to. I wouldn't mind waiting 30 to 60 minutes to be sat at table. I would prefer it to being stuck to such a schedule. I just couldn't eat counter service all the time, ts is important to me.

 

[DisneyDiana]

Ah, the good ole days! I absolutely remember that kiosk. I hate the way ADRs are made now so we pick one or two TS per trip and stick with mostly CS now. I find I don't miss TS meals much. I don't like having to be so scheduled on vacation. It just doesn't feel right.

 

[MAYNARDS99]

If you need reservations at popular restaurants in your hometown, why would you not need them at Disney? I can't imagine just showing up at a popular restaurant in NYC or San Francisco without a reservation and expect to be seated.

Disney's Quick Service is always available!

 

[mom2rtk]

Basically you're longing for less attendance and fewer families eating onsite. Given the huge influx of resort rooms on property since then, and the addition of ME (meaning fewer people with cars to even GET off-site)......... that's never going to happen.

If they did a similar thing today, you would have to get up at the crack of dawn EVERY day you wanted to eat at a moderately popular restaurant....... and possibly spend an extended period of time waiting in line....... just to GET to the kiosk.

While I don't like the degree to which this advance planning thing is heading...... I do like being able to schedule ADRs far enough in advance that I can get into any restaurant I want if I plan ahead.

 

[disneychic2]

I do remember the kiosk you speak of. Hadn't thought about it in years! I also remember walking into Le Chefs de France for lunch with no ressie and being seated right away..in a mostly empty room!

I guess I'm the exception of the people responding, though. I don't find it to be much of a hassle to make reservations 180 days out. It's just DH and I usually so that probably makes it easier than families with small children or people with health issues. I like to plan my park days according to predicted crowd levels, so that helps as well. I certainly do understand others' aversion to so much planning, though. OP I'm glad you can still enjoy Disneyland!

 

[mcd2745]

Made multiple ADRs for one meal each day in an attempt to retain some freedom of movement, but it was still a grand hassle dashing to get to one ADR on time in a particular park.

I agree the whole thingis a hassle, but this should never be anyone's solution.

 

[Bill Brown]

I agree the whole thing is a hassle, but this should never be anyone's solution.

I agree with you. The best solution was for me to stop visiting WDW, because the ADR system drained off too much of my enjoyment. Overall, I no longer enjoyed my WDW visits. Being expected to make dining reservations months in advance is absurd. I just have to settle on reminiscing about the good ole days.

BTW, I was a 10-day to 3-week visitor and I liked to TS dine at least once a day and making ADRs for that many meals 180 days out was a nightmare.

 

[mcd2745]

I agree with you. The best solution was for me to stop visiting WDW, because the ADR system drained off too much of my enjoyment. Overall, I no longer enjoyed my WDW visits. Being expected to make dining reservations months in advance is absurd. I just have to settle on reminiscing about the good ole days.

BTW, I was a 10-day to 3-week visitor and I liked to TS dine at least once a day and making ADRs for that many meals 180 days out was a nightmare.

I'm the biggest critic of the 180-day rule there is. I believe the number should be no more than 45 days. It's the #1 problem with the whole ADR system IMO.

I also believe the other major factor has to do with capacity. I'm not the historian with all the statistics that some here on the DIS are. But since the days you're talking about with the kiosks (I didn't experience it myself first-hand - my first visit was in the 90s)...how many resort rooms have been added? They probably increased resort capacity - and I'm just guessing here - what....5000% or more? How much higher is the average daily attendance than it was 30 years ago? And how much higher is the TS dining capacity relative to those other numbers - particulalry inside the parks? I'm sure it's a much lower percentage.

 

[Bill Brown]

...And how much higher is the TS dining capacity relative to those other numbers - particulalry inside the parks? I'm sure it's a much lower percentage.

Wonder how many TS restaurants would have to be added to bring back the good ole days dining experiences?

 

[NWmom]

I do remember the kiosk you speak of. Hadn't thought about it in years! I also remember walking into Le Chefs de France for lunch with no ressie and being seated right away..in a mostly empty room!

I remember when the Chefs de France had an outdoor eating area.