Dining Reservations - Phone or Online?

[Monkeespaw]

Monday is my day to make reservations for dining 180 days out. What is more efficient and successful, telephone or online? I have never done it online before. Is the start time at 7:00AM online as well? Thank you!

[beksy]

It starts at 6 so doing it online gives you an hour advantage. I've started doing all of mine online. It is easier to see the times and I just seem to have more luck. I would explore how it works a little bit before Monday morning to get the "feel" of things. Good luck! :mickey:

[r4kids]

I prefer online because your not waiting for an agent to come on the line and then work at their pace while relaying all the info. I think you can start at 6am online. Someone who's knows that better will come along but it's really easy. Practice beforehand with dates earlier than you are to go and get familiar with the system. Just don't actually book anything :) If you shop online it's similar. Have fun!!

[faline]

I've begun doing most of mine online. Seems quite efficieint and you don't have to sit "on hold" or go through multiple menu options before you actually get to a person!

[DizneyRox]

I'm all for talking to a person, but they have made the dining reservations very easy. You never know the mood of the CSR, but online you don't have to worry about it.

[cer]

What I like about going online is being able to see all of the available times. You are not just suggesting times to a cast member that may or may not be open.

[Strmchsr]

Remember that it's 6 am eastern time that ADRs open online and 7 am for the phones. Some folks forget that it's always eastern (which means 5 am for us).

I don't know that I've found an advantage either way. The online system is pretty easy to navigate, but it only shows a limited number of times whereas a live person can scan all available times very quickly. For instance, I enter Le Cellier for 4:00 it'll show me anything available between 3 and 5, but what if there's something at 5:30? So, if it tells me no availability during that first search, then I re-enter 5:30, then 7:00, etc so make sure I cover all the times. That's a small hassle with the online ADRs as opposed to calling, but it's not that big of a deal. Only an issue for the really popular places with limited availability.

[senderella]

Just used online for the first time yesterday....very easy! I do miss the Disney music while I am on hold though.

[FriendsofMickey]

For my upcoming trip, I used both.
I was just out there making ressies for a friend and it seems they have changed it a little since May (when I made my ressies). It seems even easier to navigate.

You have to remember certain ressies ,you cannot do online. I am guessing it is anything that you need to give your credit card, so CRT, Fantamsic, all the 2TS.

So, I would do what I could online. It should not take you an hour. Then at 7:00 call for any that you cannot make online.

[faline]

Just used online for the first time yesterday....very easy! I do miss the Disney music while I am on hold though.

Just plop a Disney CD in your computer drive and play it while you make your reservations - best of both worlds!

[NewDVCowner]

I made all my ressies for my Christmas trip online and it was super easy. What I liked, especially, was you could select breakfast, lunch or dinner as the times you are looking for rather than as specific time. They do only show three options, though, and most of those seemed to be close to five (for dinner) so I think it might start with the three earliest available. If the time you're looking for doesn't come up with that search you can narrow it down, that's what I did for a couple of our dates. You can also just select a park or a time and all restaurants there will show their availability, so if you want to be at Epcot one day, but your first choice isn't available you can easily see all the other restaurants at that park that do have a slot availible.

Over all, I had no problem what so ever. I would certainly, though, play around with it now so you have an idea of how it works and you're not experimenting during valuable reservation time. :mickey:

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

You have to remember certain ressies ,you cannot do online. I am guessing it is anything that you need to give your credit card, so CRT, Fantamsic, all the 2TS.

I loved making my ADR's online. It felt much quicker than on the phone, and I could see other times and other places with openings.

They must have updated the system, because I was also to book things requiring a credit card, such as dinner shows and CRT - they had me fill in my payment information after making the ADR.

You can always try online :geek:, and if you have any trouble with it, you can still call :eat:

[FriendsofMickey]

I loved making my ADR's online. It felt much quicker than on the phone, and I could see other times and other places with openings.

They must have updated the system, because I was also to book things requiring a credit card, such as dinner shows and CRT - they had me fill in my payment information after making the ADR.

You can always try online :geek:, and if you have any trouble with it, you can still call :eat:

That is great to know! The system has definately changed because I was just in it and saw the differences with my friend; however, we did not try to do any 2TS with her.

[ozmom]

Online worked well for me, I was actually able to book a few days before the 180 day mark. You may want to try today. :mickey:

[RedSoxFan]

I did all my ADR's for my December trip on line. So easy and it beats being on hold.

[Renfairwedding]

I loved using the Online system!!!! I must have made 15 changes untill I felt it right all on my time table.

:mickey:

[VWL Mom]

That is great to know! The system has definately changed because I was just in it and saw the differences with my friend; however, we did not try to do any 2TS with her.

You can do the 2TS signature dining online. I did Cali Grill, Narcoossee's, and Artist Point through the system. No problem.

A suggestion to the OP would be to do your "must haves" first and get those confirmation numbers. Then go back and do the others. I have had the system go down on me and had to start all over.

[iheartdisney]

Another vote for online. A few weeks ago I made our ADRs online for the very first time. It was so easy, so quick and painless. I wondered why we hadn't done it sooner!

[LudwigVonDrake]

Online has worked real well for me :mickey:

[disneymom2000]

I used online only because I use a cell phone with limited minutes and I hate having to answer all those questions before you actually get a person to help and use up my minutes. What I do hate is that by using online - I am putting people out of work. :unsure:

[NancyCnstn]

I made my reservations online as well. So easy. I took my time and was able to get most of what I wanted. I have also gone in on different days and had things pop up that were not available days before. I have changed things and changed times on a few occasions. It's so relaxing to be able to make them online and just take your time and look at everything. When I was finished I printed them out so I have the confirmation numbers with me for my trip.

[goofy89]

We did ours online for our upcoming trip in January and it was so easy! Very fast and it definitely beats waiting on hold! :mickey:

[Tinker Fan]

We did aal our reservations online this year and it went great. It was much better and quicker than trying to figure it out on the phone and it took us no time at all. It is nice to be able to see all the different times available at the different places to eat.

[BoricuaBell]

ONLINE! Faster to reserve and cancel if you make mistakes :thumbsup:

[brownie]

I made all our dining reservations online for our upcoming trip. It was relatively easy and liked being given more than one time option.