Dining confusion!

[theGoldprint]

Hello! I've looked for help elsewhere in the forum and can't see anything, but apologies if this has been asked before!

We're going to DLP and staying onsite in March. I was told at booking I could make dining reservations 60 days in advance, however I'm looking now and I can make lunch and breakfast reservations already! I rang the dining help number and was told that the rules have changed and as soon as the restaurants open their bookings, I can book, which could be anytime between now and 60 days, completely random and not even necessarily the same day for each restaurant.

I know that information has come from the horse's mouth, so to speak, but is that right!? That seems crazy, I just have to check every day, often as poss to make sure they haven't become available?!

During our visit, we're hoping to do captain Jack's and Remy's for dinner, Pyms for lunch, and a character breakfast (not all on the same day, I must add, I'm up for a challenge, but still...!) Any tips on how to get these, if the reservation system is just a wild west!

Thanks so much for any help!

[ClippedWings]

Don’t despair! I booked Remy and Manhattan for my September trip back in March, so six months out they had availability posted. Also, not many people know about this change.

My issue was not knowing park closing times this far out; as a guide, I looked at historic closing times and predicted sunset times for Paris (park close is normally shortly after sunset). Hope this helps a bit?

[Wishtogoback]

I wouldn’t worry too much about it, I made reservations last week for September so really don’t think the demand will be that wild for March. All the ones you mentioned were available at some point during my visit. I would check once every week or so on the app and think you will get what you want

[theGoldprint]

Ah! Thankyou for the replies! I'm feeling better about that then! Thanks everyone. I'll keep an eye every now and again and fingers crossed I'll get them.

With the character dining, can you book that in the app? Or is that something you need to ring for...?

[theGoldprint]

Originally Posted by ClippedWings

Don’t despair! I booked Remy and Manhattan for my September trip back in March, so six months out they had availability posted. Also, not many people know about this change.

My issue was not knowing park closing times this far out; as a guide, I looked at historic closing times and predicted sunset times for Paris (park close is normally shortly after sunset). Hope this helps a bit?

See more...

It does, thankyou! Much appreciated!

[ClippedWings]

Originally Posted by theGoldprint

Ah! Thankyou for the replies! I'm feeling better about that then! Thanks everyone. I'll keep an eye every now and again and fingers crossed I'll get them.

With the character dining, can you book that in the app? Or is that something you need to ring for...?

See more...

You can book it in the app or go on the main website and ‘manage booking’, then ‘add extras’ - you’ll see character dining at the bottom. It shows more availability than the app and you can just add it on to your package.

[Guest]

They have recently changed the rules so that onsite guests can book up to one year in advance, off site is still 60 days.

The issue is that they don't always decide on restaurant opening hours as far out as a year, sometimes it is much closer to the time. I hope that in time they will work towards planning things better so that everything can line up to the year mark - but its a work in progress!

[Darge]

Yeah it is a little bit all over the place. I had a reminder for 60 days out in my diary, and found many of the places I wanted to book already completely full.

So whilst checking every day might be a bit excessive, I would keep a fairly regular eye on things. Especially if you want Downtown, Manhattan, Remy, Walts & Captain Jacks - those seemed to be the ones that filled up quickest.

With regard to character dining - if you booked directly you should be able to call up the number and add these on to your booking. I did this both for a Plaza Gardens dinner & the Princess Lunch. I managed to do this very easily over the phone, whereas the app didn't have any availability at all.

[theGoldprint]

This is so helpful, thanks everyone, I really appreciate the advise and help!

[Rachv38]

I've just managed to book a table for Downown when we go in Feb. If I hadn't seen this thread I wouldn't have known. It's later than I'd like but 7.45 isn't too bad. We are going to watch the fireworks on the first night anyway. Waiting for Billy bobs to become available as we love that one.