New standby policy in operation at Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom

tribbleorlflFeb 06, 2015

Confirmed. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/02/coming-soon-lunch-reservations-at-be-our-guest-restaurant/

Rose&CrownerFeb 06, 2015

Looks like I've been getting the shaft!

BrianVFeb 05, 2015

I august we stayed at the boardwalk. Never got an email, but went to the site and was able to make a reservation without problem. Odd...

TomHendricksFeb 05, 2015

I was able to make our FP for BOG lunch three days before we got our email this time.

Rose&CrownerFeb 05, 2015

In November we never recieved an email, but a valid reservation for Boardwalk Inn, (second time in 2014) went to BOGLUNCH.com, or whatever it's called, and without a doubt were told to go scratch, no email "no reservations available at this time." Now, two weeks ago we got our Bonjour! Email based on our reservation for Beach Club, and I'm happy to say that on Valentine's day My family will be enjoying a meal with the beast again. I bring up the amount of times we stayed and where because wanted to point out that it doesn't make a difference, I believe the selection was random.

wdwmagicFeb 05, 2015

Yes to both.

iAJFeb 05, 2015

I will be at Magic Kingdom this saturday and we're not staying on site. I've been confused from everything I've read online on how exactly lunch works for people not staying at a WDW resort right now. Do you just have to wait in a long line? Is there a good chance you won't get in at all?

TomHendricksFeb 05, 2015

Is the pre-ordering working? Because I've done the pre-order the last 2 times we have went and the orders were never in the system. I'm talking just this past May, so I have to re-enter our orders in at the kiosk. We're going again in a few days and we have lunch FP for BOG on February 14th. I didn't place the pre-order because of it not having worked in the past. Should I try the pre-order this time?

DwarfulFeb 05, 2015

I still don't know how people know what they want to eat 30+ days in advance. Yes, there are things I like to eat, but I have no idea from day to day what I am in the mood for and on vacation I tend to be more 'risky' than I am at home. I might know what locations I will be dining at when at Disney but no idea what I want until I get there. I'd skip sit downs and go off site for a nice meal before I got stuck preordering every meal before we even arrived.

SnarkyMonkeyFeb 05, 2015

Oh ok. But that's a very different thing than not getting to decide what menu item to choose on the day that you are dining.

BrerJonFeb 05, 2015

Sure, in the days before the dining plan restaurants were never fully booked so if you wanted say steak at Le Cellier, or Pizza in Italy, or felt like a smart French meal, you had the full choice. After the Dining Plan was introduced it made so many more guests eat sit-down meals than before that many places are nowadays reservation only at times, so your choice is often limited to either quick service or the sit-downs that are still taking wak-ups.

SnarkyMonkeyFeb 04, 2015

I'm not clear how the Disney Dining Plan has taken away your ability to choose spontaneously what you would like to eat? Could you explain that? Like I said, it's a good theory and maybe they will get there eventually. I personally don't like it, although I would put up with it. I know why Disney would want the meal to go more quickly but I already feel like a lot of TS restaurants are a little rushed.

BrerJonFeb 04, 2015

Abolishing in-restaurant decisions and making guests pre-decide will save a lot of time in the sit-down restaurants as instead of the server having to give recommendations or asking if people know what they'd like, they can just confirm what the guest ordered and put it in the system immediately once they're seated, so a sit down meal should take far less time and they can get a higher turnover of guests. Also the kitchens will know exactly what to make which should make service smoother. The only issue is sometimes people buy things, like an extra dessert, that they didn't know they would have a craving for 30 days before the meal, and I can't imagine Disney turning down the revenue so I imagine they will let people add extra items if they have the stock, but you won't be able to change your entree choice on the day except under exceptional circumstances. They probably will let you do so, possibly by paying a 'change charge', up to 24 hours before though, as they do with ADRs now. I think pre-choosing at quick service will be compulsory only in the popular locations, so that guest who don't want to pre-book their choices still have some options and they get the best of both worlds. But the days of having complete choice at the point of hunger what you want to eat are on their way out I think, in fact you could say it's been like that since the Dining Plan was introduced.

SnarkyMonkeyFeb 04, 2015

This is an interesting take. I think it makes sense that they would like to be able to control stock better, if they could get away with it. I'm not sure though that this would fly with many guests. I can see them making pre-ordering optional, but not compulsory. But I think there is something to them going in this direction.