Anyone Else Think The Online Reservation System Stinks??

[stepdisney]

Hi stepdisney

No worries and really I'm not annoyed with you or anyone that makes a reservation. Personally I think the online reservations system is fantastic and is a great idea. However what I don't like is that restaurants can get way way overbooked and there is no way to know what is a legitimate reservation versus someone who doesn't know or worse couldn't be bothered to cancel their unused reservation. So when I or anyone else comes in and tries to book a great restaurant, we can't because there are a ton of bogus reservations there.

A.

I hope that eventually the system will make sure you are not double booking. Also, I think you should HAVE to connect reservations to a legitimate resort reservation. Maybe a fee for no shows? That may cause a riot but it would surely make people think twice before booking. Good luck when you book

 

[vicki_c]

I hope that eventually the system will make sure you are not double booking. Also, I think you should HAVE to connect reservations to a legitimate resort reservation. Maybe a fee for no shows? That may cause a riot but it would surely make people think twice before booking. Good luck when you book

You could never have to connect ADRs with a reservation -- you don't have to be staying on site to make an ADR. Locals make ADRs too.

And to the PP that was talking about the e-mail confirmations - you only get those if you enter in your e-mail address while you are making the reservation. There's a little check box or something that you pick to have copies sent to your e-mail, and you have to put your e-mail in there as well.

 

[Tiger926]

You could never have to connect ADRs with a reservation -- you don't have to be staying on site to make an ADR. Locals make ADRs too.

And to the PP that was talking about the e-mail confirmations - you only get those if you enter in your e-mail address while you are making the reservation. There's a little check box or something that you pick to have copies sent to your e-mail, and you have to put your e-mail in there as well.

This isn't actually correct - this is only true if you are not logged in to the Disney system. If you are logged in, with your member name, you must have an email address associated with your account, and so the online ADR automatically sends an email confirmation. You don't need to check off anything.

That being said, as I mentioned above, if you have a glitch, which is common with online ADRs within Disney's system, even if you are logged in, you will not get the email. You have to follow the steps as I mentioned above through your "My Vacation" to access the confirmation number, and then you can proceed by putting in your email address and get that ADR emailed to you.

I know the online system very well, and thoroughly enjoy it, but there a few glitches here and there on Disney's end, but this is common with Disney Tech Dept. LOL!

It is a great system though most of the time, Tiger

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks Tiger - didn't realize it automatically sent them as well - I always put my e-mail address in a little box, even when I was already logged in.

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks Tiger - didn't realize it automatically sent them as well - I always put my e-mail address in a little box, even when I was already logged in.

You are most welcome! Tiger

 

[Sunshine22]

I love using the on-line system since it is much more flexible than calling for a ressie. If you are unable to get a reservation at your 1st choice restaurant, you can go back on-line as often as you wish and at whatever time you wish to search again and again, etc. You never have to be on hold (unless the system is down). You can also quickly and easily cancel reservations that you don't need. I always sign into my account and check the box for a confirmation email to be sent to me. It makes it easier to keep track of what reservations I am holding.

 

[TDC Nala]

Also, I think you should HAVE to connect reservations to a legitimate resort reservation.

That only works if you intend to stay onsite, and restaurant reservations are not and should not be limited to onsite guests. Offsite guests and even locals can make WDW restaurant reservations if they'd like to, and I don't see Disney excluding them completely.

If you call WDW-DINE they can look up your reservations using the telephone number you provided when you made them, and cancel any of them that you want to cancel.

 

[Ashbiez]

If you are doing all your ADRs at the same time, you actually can't double book yourself. When I was booking mine, I kept changing my mind on where I wanted to go and the site kept yelling at me saying I was trying to book two reservations too close to each other. So I'd have to delete the one I didn't want anymore before booking the new one.

I suppose there's no check if someone just did every single option separately.

 

[stepdisney]

What I mean is that if you have a reservation, you should have to connect your dining reservations to your reservations. That is what I meant by HAVE. Right now, you have the option to connect or not. This way, when you pull up your resort reservations, any double bookings will come up. Not trying to count out locals or those staying off site, goodness no.

 

[Tiger926]

If you are doing all your ADRs at the same time, you actually can't double book yourself. When I was booking mine, I kept changing my mind on where I wanted to go and the site kept yelling at me saying I was trying to book two reservations too close to each other. So I'd have to delete the one I didn't want anymore before booking the new one.

I suppose there's no check if someone just did every single option separately.

FYI - it says this message, but also says you may continue with the booking if it's for 2 groups of people. So, double bookings are possible. I've done it 1x as we did have 2 groups, and I was able to book.

Tiger

 

[photographymom517]

Sorry OP...not meaning to highjack your post, but I had a question about ADR's & figured you guys could help me out!

This vacation will be my first with making ADR's...what do you suggest I do...try to call that morning or just get online? Also I've heard its 90 days and some others say 90 + 10 days...help!

Also once you make the reservations through the online system, does it "add" the ADR's to your reservation through the "My Vacation" on the Disney site??? (I apologize if someone already answered this...I didn't read through everything.) I am super...uh, overly...organized so I already have a spreadsheet printed out with the dates/times I'd like to have...so I can just have a copy of it beside me when I call or go online. But it would be nice to have something online with my reservations on their site. Appreciate any advice/suggestions!

 

[Tiger926]

Sorry OP...not meaning to highjack your post, but I had a question about ADR's & figured you guys could help me out!

This vacation will be my first with making ADR's...what do you suggest I do...try to call that morning or just get online? Also I've heard its 90 days and some others say 90 + 10 days...help!

Also once you make the reservations through the online system, does it "add" the ADR's to your reservation through the "My Vacation" on the Disney site??? (I apologize if someone already answered this...I didn't read through everything.) I am super...uh, overly...organized so I already have a spreadsheet printed out with the dates/times I'd like to have...so I can just have a copy of it beside me when I call or go online. But it would be nice to have something online with my reservations on their site. Appreciate any advice/suggestions!

RE: 180 days - If you are staying onsite, and retrieve your reservation through the system, your 180 + 10 days will show up (it's been changed back to 180 days). When you make an ADR and click on the calendar to add your dates, you will see a series of dates in which you are allowed to make ADRs for. It's very helpful and so if your vacation is longer than that timeframe, you can return each day and see that the additional day has been added.

RE: My Vacation - As I mentioned, you must be a logged in member of the Disney site. You log in first, then retrieve your reservation, and you are good to go. As long as you are in a current session, once you click on My Vacation, you will then see all of the ADRs you just made. Once you logout, this ability disappears. It's the biggest thing that Disney needs to improve on, IMHO. Having to input each confirmation number separately, is a big pain. It's so much easier to see an actual list - I think it would streamline the process incredibly, as well as cut way down on calls to Disney.

Just be aware that there can be a few glitches though in this process, so I would suggest reading my previous post #8 and you will see the workaround for that. So, my biggest tip is to write or copy the confirmation number down immediately, as this will allow you to access ADRs through My Vacation in case of an email glitch. If everything goes correctly when you are logged in, you will get an automatic email with ADRs that you have made. Conversely, you can make cancellations online too, and again, sometimes there are glitches here with emailing that info as well. You can always call Disney though as they do have the ability to pull up all ADRs at one time, as long as they are associated with the same phone number.

HTH, Tiger

 

[photographymom517]

RE: 180 days - If you are staying onsite, and retrieve your reservation through the system, your 180 + 10 days will show up (it's been changed back to 180 days). When you make an ADR and click on the calendar to add your dates, you will see a series of dates in which you are allowed to make ADRs for. It's very helpful and so if your vacation is longer than that timeframe, you can return each day and see that the additional day has been added.

RE: My Vacation - As I mentioned, you must be a logged in member of the Disney site. You log in first, then retrieve your reservation, and you are good to go. As long as you are in a current session, once you click on My Vacation, you will then see all of the ADRs you just made. Once you logout, this ability disappears. It's the biggest thing that Disney needs to improve on, IMHO. Having to input each confirmation number separately, is a big pain. It's so much easier to see an actual list - I think it would streamline the process incredibly, as well as cut way down on calls to Disney.

Just be aware that there can be a few glitches though in this process, so I would suggest reading my previous post #8 and you will see the workaround for that. So, my biggest tip is to write or copy the confirmation number down immediately, as this will allow you to access ADRs through My Vacation in case of an email glitch. If everything goes correctly when you are logged in, you will get an automatic email with ADRs that you have made. Conversely, you can make cancellations online too, and again, sometimes there are glitches here with emailing that info as well. You can always call Disney though as they do have the ability to pull up all ADRs at one time, as long as they are associated with the same phone number.

HTH, Tiger

Thanks Tiger...appreciate all the information!!! It will be extremely helpful once I am ready to book my ADR's!

Thanks again!

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks Tiger...appreciate all the information!!! It will be extremely helpful once I am ready to book my ADR's!

Thanks again!

You are most welcome! Have fun making your ADRs! Tiger

 

[eeyoregon]

Nope, I adore the online system! Beats being on hold for ever and ever and then getting a cast member that is clueless and slower than snail poop and in the meantime everything fills up and you are still on long distance hoping for a miracle.

I booked all 11 of my ADR's in under 12 minutes last week. I have a visual confirmation number, it's linked to my reservation and I can change/cancel/add anything, anytime I like vs. the limited East coast phone hours.

Too bad it took them sooooooo long to implement online ADR's!