Making reservations (staying offsite)

[Mwigley]

Hi

New poster here! Please can someone help me out.

Coming back to WDW in October 2022 (it’s been about 7 years since I last visited - I can see a lot has changed and sadly doesn’t look like it’s for the best!!)

I’m at a loss at these dining reservations.

I am desperate to get reservations at the following;

Sci Fi
TRex
Garden Grill
Beaches & Cream

I’m aware these seem to be the hardest to get but I’m baffled that there can be absolutely zero reservations as soon as the reservation window opens??

I am not within my 60 days yet so I can’t look at my October dates but I am trying to test the system in advance to see what happens.

I’m in the UK so the reservation window opens at exactly 11am my time. I’ve been looking at the latest possible date to reserve (which so far is September 28th), refreshed at exactly 11am and I couldn’t see a single reservation for any of those places. There are 3 of us but I did put in for a party of 4 as I am aware the system doesn’t seem to like odd numbers! I also tried 2,5 and 6 guests out of curiosity and not a single thing came up.

How is that fair? Have all of those reservations just been taken up already by the people who are staying on Disney site because they get more time to reserve? I will be offsite and I feel like I’ve been put at a disadvantage.

If anyone can give tips or help me understand how the hell I’m supposed to find reservations that’d be great because it seems that even when you are logged in ready to go at the earliest possible time, it still gives you nothing??

Thanks
Meg

 

[LoveDaisy]

Hi. People staying at a Disney hotel can book out 10 days from the start of their trip. Unfortunately these are popular restaurants and book quickly. Those staying at Disney usually have to book them mid to late trip, taking advantage of that 10 day window.

I would set up a reservation alert and I would check the day before as a lot of people change plans once on property. Good luck I hope you get what you want.

 

[vinotinto]

Ac

Hi. People staying at a Disney hotel can book out 10 days from the start of their trip. Unfortunately these are popular restaurants and book quickly. Those staying at Disney usually have to book them mid to late trip, taking advantage of that 10 day window.

I would set up a reservation alert and I would check the day before as a lot of people change plans once on property. Good luck I hope you get what you want.

This is not entirely accurate. Those staying at a Disney resort can book reservations for their dates, from their check-in date to their check-out date (as long as it is 1 reservation), not 10 days. If they are staying 10 days, they can book 10 days. If they are staying 3 days, they can book 3 days. If they are staying more than 10 nights, they can book up until 10 nights. Just wanted to clarify so that people would not think you could stay 1 night and get 10 days of reservations ;-)

 

[vinotinto]

Hi

New poster here! Please can someone help me out.

Coming back to WDW in October 2022 (it’s been about 7 years since I last visited - I can see a lot has changed and sadly doesn’t look like it’s for the best!!)

I’m at a loss at these dining reservations.

I am desperate to get reservations at the following;

Sci Fi
TRex
Garden Grill
Beaches & Cream

I’m aware these seem to be the hardest to get but I’m baffled that there can be absolutely zero reservations as soon as the reservation window opens??

I am not within my 60 days yet so I can’t look at my October dates but I am trying to test the system in advance to see what happens.

I’m in the UK so the reservation window opens at exactly 11am my time. I’ve been looking at the latest possible date to reserve (which so far is September 28th), refreshed at exactly 11am and I couldn’t see a single reservation for any of those places. There are 3 of us but I did put in for a party of 4 as I am aware the system doesn’t seem to like odd numbers! I also tried 2,5 and 6 guests out of curiosity and not a single thing came up.

How is that fair? Have all of those reservations just been taken up already by the people who are staying on Disney site because they get more time to reserve? I will be offsite and I feel like I’ve been put at a disadvantage.

If anyone can give tips or help me understand how the hell I’m supposed to find reservations that’d be great because it seems that even when you are logged in ready to go at the earliest possible time, it still gives you nothing??

Thanks
Meg

My recommendation is to consider some of the less popular restaurants where the food and atmosphere is at least as good, and often better than the "popular" ones. We love Jiko's, Tiffin's, Skipper's Canteen, and Spice Road and rarely have a problem getting those, even pretty close to travel dates.

Also - edit to add - Disney springs! Really nice restaurants there and very easy to get a reservation. Wine bar george, Raglan road, etc.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Ac

This is not entirely accurate. Those staying at a Disney resort can book reservations for their dates, from their check-in date to their check-out date (as long as it is 1 reservation), not 10 days. If they are staying 10 days, they can book 10 days. If they are staying 3 days, they can book 3 days. If they are staying more than 10 nights, they can book up until 10 nights. Just wanted to clarify so that people would not think you could stay 1 night and get 10 days of reservations ;-)

Thank you for clarifying. I should have been more clear about the perk being tied to the length your reservation.

 

[tobikaye]

Many of these may go right at 60 days, but may open up closer to your arrival. I have eaten at Beaches & Cream three times and each were as day of reservations, including last year (2x for 3 people). I also know I have seen SciFi pop up when looking closer to my travel dates.

Many of the DS restaurants will have walk up availability if you go for lunch, especially for lunch before 12:30-1:00, which may work for T Rex.

I would do some searching for dates within 1-2 weeks dates to see which pop up more frequently. I just did a check and if I was going tomorrow, I could have have gotten Garden Grill near noon or Beaches & Cream around 4 pm.

 

[sipnride]

Yes it's people staying at the resort who eating up those reservations. A lot of things can seem unfair about the resort perks but without some incentive Disney would have a really hard time renting out rooms at at their value resorts charging higher rates than a suite at the doubletree just a mile from Disney Springs - if not for their perks. And in the end many of those perks have limited value. Better chance to get a reservation at a specific restaurant before others get the opportunity to do so. How much is that worth really? And even then no guarantee. I was able to book at the 65 day mark and still couldn't get garden grill. No chip and dale, which is kind of sad. So we had to "settle" for eating at Spice Road. Never been. Heard it's great. Either way I think we'll be alright.

If you REALLY want a reservation you can probably land it with some persistence. Check the app frequently to see if gg and 220 have any openings on the days you're gonna be at Epcot. Same for trex and AK. But also call Disney every couple days. Most of the cast members in the phone really do try to deliver a little magic, and I think they genuinely enjoy being able to find the impossible reservation. In the meantime book reservations at other places (they're easy to cancel if you land your dream rezzie) and find some comfort in knowing that you're probably going to enjoy it just as much.

 

[CarolynFH]

Is joining the Landry’s Select Club an option for you in the UK? If you join, you get priority seating at T-Rex and the other Landry’s (Yak & Yeti, both Rainforest Cafes) without a reservation. It costs $25, but you get a $25 credit on your first check, so it’s a wash. And you can list any month you like as your birthday month for your $25 birthday credit - they don’t check (but I don’t think you can stack your birthday credit with your new-member credit on the same bill).

 

[focusondisney]

How is that fair? Have all of those reservations just been taken up already by the people who are staying on Disney site because they get more time to reserve? I will be offsite and I feel like I’ve been put at a disadvantage.

Well, people staying onsite are paying a huge premium. Disney has offered this advanced booking perk to onsite guests for as long as I can remember. And we’ve been going for close to 30 years. There aren’t a lot of benefits to staying onsite anymore & this is a big one. Everyone has to do their own analysis of what’s important to them & their vacation. Many people choose to save money & stay off site. Thats fine but there are trade offs for doing that.

Is it fair that universal gives some of their guests front of the line access? And I have to pay for it? Am I at a disadvantage because I have to pay, if there are even spots open? No. It’s a perk offered by them to their onsite guests. Can’t complain I don’t get that perk if I decide to stay offsite.

You have to know these things going in & make your decisions accordingly. It’s not a question of fair or not fair. It’s about making informed decisions on what is important to you. But, lots of onsite guests won’t get the ADRs they want either. Especially if they have short stays. And as Disney adds more hotels to inventory, that makes even more people vying for the limited dining spots available. Disney has what, 28 hotels now? And they are all pretty fully booked. That’s a lot people trying for some of these really popular places at any given time.


But as others have said, a lot of ADRs open up the day before as people change plans. So check even while you’re on vacation & you might find something. How many people are you trying for? If you have a big group, try breaking it up into 2 smaller ADRs. Ex: party of 6, try for 4 & 2, or 3 & 3, with times close together. You can ask to be seated together or near each other at check in. Sometimes small groups are hard too tho. We are usually a party of 2. In some places, it’s really hard to get an ADR for 2. So I book for 3 or 4 & have better luck. Then when I check in, I say it will only be 2. There is no penalty for having less people than the ADR is for. Caution: don’t try to make the ADR for less people & expect to be able to add them when you check in. Your extras may get turned away. Especially at popular places that may be at capacity. When you check in with the app, you will sometimes be offered the option to add “1 guest”. But never more than that. And often it will say, add “0” guests. So best to get an ADR for your full party.

TRex is a Landry’s restaurant. They don’t give Disney all their reservations. You can call them direct to make reservations.