[brumcg]

We always plan 180 days out... dining has always been a big highlight of our trips. I view the restaurants as a destination and not "just a meal."

Bruce

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by brumcg

We always plan 180 days out... dining has always been a big highlight of our trips. I view the restaurants as a destination and not "just a meal."

Same here. The resort and restaurants are as important to us as the parks.

[lawwin]

Okay. If we are gong with my mom (sjpurple), then all of our meals will be planned out the very second that the 180 day window is opened.

If it's just me and Brer, then I make a couple of ressies at the places, she likes the most. Then, we add to it by calling for ADRs as we go first thing in the morning while we are there. We really only like one large meal a day and careful planning for ADR times can always get you a seat. We like to go for the first or last lunch sitting or the first dinner sitting. We never eat when everyone else is, because that is the best time to go on rides. We also eat breakfast in our room, because we are not big breakfast eaters and my dd is not real big on character breakfasts. Also, she is now vegetarian which means that I have to check menus to make sure that they have something that she can/will eat. The other meal is usually a small counter service meal. We get most of our energy from the one large meal, that's why I like to do it early.

[Cavey]

I know there's been once where we couldn't get something we wanted in advance. After arriving, we called and got a table based on cancellations.

[Prezcatz]

One thing we have recently found out is that if you are in DVC, you can call member services and have a better chance getting the ADRs you want. My DW (B1wife) called the regular WDW-DINE number to try and get into Donald's Safari Breakfast and was told there was nothing available, and I called DVC member service about 2 hours later, and they got us in at the exact time we wanted. Lesson for us: we'll be calling member services from now on for our ADR needs.

Prezcatz Paul

[dznylvr]

We always book our ADR's 180 days out. We have a couple of places we do every year, and we always try new places also. Having all of this information really helps me plan our days more efficiently.

[brumcg]

Originally Posted by Prezcatz

Lesson for us: we'll be calling member services from now on for our ADR needs.
Prezcatz Paul

Paul, great tip. We're DVC members, but we've always called the "regular" number. We'll have to take advantage of this.

Bruce

[Elmo]

Originally Posted by brumcg

Paul, great tip. We're DVC members, but we've always called the "regular" number. We'll have to take advantage of this.

Bruce

We've had much better luck calling the DVC line with all things Disney. The member line is the first thing I call, regardless of why I am calling. They might transfer me elsewhere, but we start there.

[dac921]

I do the same... I ALWAYS make ADRS 180 days in advance... that's one reason we got what we got... we are really happy with all our ADRs, but then again I did have a problem getting Le Cellier.. we had to wait a day so dinning plans had to be changed.

[jking84772]

Originally Posted by Prezcatz

One thing we have recently found out is that if you are in DVC, you can call member services and have a better chance getting the ADRs you want. My DW (B1wife) called the regular WDW-DINE number to try and get into Donald's Safari Breakfast and was told there was nothing available, and I called DVC member service about 2 hours later, and they got us in at the exact time we wanted. Lesson for us: we'll be calling member services from now on for our ADR needs.

Prezcatz Paul

Wow, that thought never occured to me....thanks!

We were at Disney Marketplace right about 11 this morning so went to Rainforest Cafe...got right in but by the time we left the place was packed!

[Soundgod]

Originally Posted by jking84772

One more thing...I really knew using WDW-DINE was probably not a wise choice for last minute dining. Last year I stopped at the condierge desk the night before we checked out and they got us in for the Character Breakfast at Cape May the next morning...so I agree with all of you that say going in person is a better way to go instead of calling the generic-everyone-on-earth-calling number.

WDW DINE, or rather dialing 55 from any house phone on property, is exactly the same as talking to a lobby concierge or park guest services CM. They all have access to exactly the same reservation system. There is no difference.
The only difference would be the "real" concierge CMs in the deluxe resorts' concierge that are available only to actual concierge or club level guests. These CMs have some additional access and arrangements with some, not all, of the other deluxe resorts, i.e monorail resorts are often able to get guests into other monorail resorts' hard to get restaurants.
Please believe me when I say this. I've got a lot of experience with this.

[Soundgod]

Pet peeve?
People who make all their reservations 180 days out.
I don't think I've even made any reservation more than 100 days out, with the exception of dinner at California Grill on our 10th anniversary.
I will make one more exception in a couple days when I book dinner on New Year's Eve this year, but again, it is for something that is extremely special and in extremely short supply.
Here's another pet peeve. Since the new Disney Dining Plan went into effect in 2005, the menus in WDW have been trimmed and are becoming very standardized. Also, since 2005, Fulton's and HOB along with a few others have totally opted out, where in 2004, every single restaurant in WDW participated.

[Soundgod]

I was hoping to have at least one post between my last one and this one.
After reading this thread, it seems that none of you really have any pet peeves about Disney dining.
The desire or compulsion to make ADRs 180 in advance is not a peeve, it's more like an obsessive compulsive disorder that makes you "have" to make those reservations as early as you can.

Here is a pet peeve. If I dine at Yachtsman's Steakhouse, but am not staying on Crescent Lake, once Epcot closes, I have no way to get directly back to my own hotel, short of hiring a taxi for $20 or I'm stuck either driving my car to the Yacht or taking a bus to DTD and changing buses there to get "home".
One night I ate at Narcoossee's and finished my meal very close to 11 PM. I was staying at the Contemporary so you'd think I'd have no problem getting home. Well, MK closed at 9 PM and the monorail was shutting down for the night 2 hours after the park closed. There was no launch I could grab back to MK so I could walk the rest of the way and if I hadn't just made it to the monorail platform at the GF, I would have missed the last train of the night and would then have been forced to do the two bus thing and go all the way to DTD even though I could see my own hotel because there isn't even a walkway that extends from the GF to MK.
Another time, we had 9:30 reservations at California Grill and were staying at the Yacht. We weren't seated until 10:20 because so many people refused to leave their tables an hour after they'd finished their meals so they could watch Wishes. There were so many guests with reservations from 9:15-9:45 that guests were sitting on the floor waiting for their tables because the bar was packed and the waiting area was also packed. We didn't finish our meal until 12:30. If we'd been seated anywhere close to our reservation time, we would have finished dinner by midnight and would have been able to get a bus from the MK. We weren't worried about getting home because a Disney Transport CM told us that buses would be running from the MK until 1 AM. MK closed that night at 10 PM.
They weren't and again, we got stuck having to pay $20 for a taxi so we wouldn't have to waste an hour going to DTD to change buses for the Yacht.
THAT IS A PET PEEVE!
IT'S NOT NICE TO STRAND GUESTS AFTER THEY'VE FINISHED AN EXPENSIVE DINNER!

[12Amigos]

Originally Posted by mickeysgirlz

My girls and I like surprise.

I always call the dine line and say at 7pm where can we go to eat!

I think DH would have a heart attack if I tried to do this to him!

[dznylvr]

I will now air my pet peeve, along with Soundgod.
When you are eating at a restaurant during a character meal, don't take pictures of the character at MY table. Don't send your kids rushing over to meet the characters when my kids are trying to meet them. I don't want a picture of Eeyore, my three kids and some random child from another family. Let me have my time with the characters, and I promise to do the same!!
(Now I will step off my soapbox. Thank you!)