Dining Reservations (sort of just a rant - advice welcome!)

[picksthemusic]

So it's our time to reserve for our vacation, and my goodness, things were snapped up FAST!

Do people overbook themselves? Do people let reservations go once they're booked up at their favorite spots? I'm really hoping we can get into some places (Oga's, SciFi), and I think we'll just have to wing it otherwise. Which, I will say, we don't mind much because we'll be so close to Epcot and I know we can get great food there.

Had I known I had to get up at 2:45am Pacific, I would have done that. Oh well.

[Patsy Baloney]

Yes, people absolutely overbook themselves and let go of reservations. It’s ANNOYING! You can utilize stuff like Mousewatchers for alerts. I’ve been watching on the app and see Oga’s Cantina open up for a few reservations almost daily. You can also hop on the walk-up waitlists each day.

It’s such a pain that things get snapped up so quickly, but they do open. Just keep checking, even day-of your visit, and you’ll likely get what you’re looking for.

[picksthemusic]

Thanks! I just set up alerts for the two we are hoping for ($28?!) but hopefully it's worth it.

[puppylove64]

It has been a few years since I went to Disney, but I picked up lots of reservations 24 hours before I wanted them. A lot of people canceled right before they got charged for it.

[sent]

We went in April. I check dining reservations daily while on site because that’s my “strategy” to get the hard-to-get ones. I saw Oga’s Cantina available everyday. I think because it’s mostly a drinks place, people dropped it once they realized they couldn’t get a full meal there.

[picksthemusic]

Aug 1, 2022 21:28:11 GMT -5 puppylove64 said:

It has been a few years since I went to Disney, but I picked up lots of reservations 24 hours before I wanted them. A lot of people canceled right before they got charged for it.

This is a great point! I'll be sure to be on the app and looking!

[picksthemusic]

Aug 2, 2022 6:54:19 GMT -5 sent said:

We went in April. I check dining reservations daily while on site because that’s my “strategy” to get the hard-to-get ones. I saw Oga’s Cantina available everyday. I think because it’s mostly a drinks place, people dropped it once they realized they couldn’t get a full meal there.

I mean, that's the sole reason we want to go - for the fun drinks! DH is super excited to go there, so hopefully we can get a table.

[quesyrah]

I do think people over book which is annoying. You can tell they do because a LOT opens up 24-48 hrs before.

Short of charging some sort of deposit when you book, I’m not sure what the solution is though.

When we went, I did get up at 2:30 am to be ready to book. We went on what will likely be our one and only trip and there were some places I had my heart set on.

[quesyrah]

Aug 2, 2022 12:32:48 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

Aug 2, 2022 6:54:19 GMT -5 sent said:

We went in April. I check dining reservations daily while on site because that’s my “strategy” to get the hard-to-get ones. I saw Oga’s Cantina available everyday. I think because it’s mostly a drinks place, people dropped it once they realized they couldn’t get a full meal there.

I mean, that's the sole reason we want to go - for the fun drinks! DH is super excited to go there, so hopefully we can get a table.

Just FYI most of the tables are standing. They put two groups per table (our table had 9 people) so it can gets squishy. It’s very small inside.

But when we went (January) you were limited to 45 minutes so it wasn’t too bad.

[ksun]

I always use Touring Plans to wait for places to open up since it's free.

[curbsideprophet]

Also, keep checking because sometimes the reservations are just not loaded into the system yet. If there is anything at Disney Springs you want they may be Open Table.