We go to Disney every year. Planned a mid-December trip. I am having trouble getting ADR for places I have never had problems getting before. Could it be because we are a family of 5 now instead of 4? Any tips?
Try looking for a 6 person reservation. For whatever reason 6 is easier than 5 to find. You’ll be fine showing up with 5. Be sure to use the reservation finder for any hard to get.
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Thanks. I’ll try that.
If you haven’t been in Dec before, CP dining packages may be the issue. They can charge more for a CP package, so I’m assuming that they are reducing the number of “regular” ADRs to make way for more CPs (although there has to be a limit based on theater size). However, there are fewer 6-tops than 4-tops, so that may also be an issue. I’m guessing that BG may be easier to get based on the seating arrangements, but that is just a guess…
We are looking for Tusker House. Never had any problems with 4 any other trip. The ROL Dining packages have not opened up yet and I am hoping maybe I can get an ADR then. Is there a way to know when the ROL dining packages will open?
We are going Mid Dec as well and are also having a hard time with ADRs. I think for us it is a combination of Free Dining, Reservations beings held back for CP,ROL, etc packages and a larger party size. I’m giving up on BOG dinner at this point and just hoping I can get Tiffins ROL when it opens!
What days are you going? We are 15-20. Goodluck!
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We are a family of 4 and are also having difficulties. I agree with LetItGo that is most likely due to the free dining. A lot of my table service meals ADR I have made have been for lunches. I am trying to use res finder for lunch at BoG and Dinner at Sci-fi. Once I have those I plan on working on the RoL package (hopefully I will have both before then). We are going Dec 9-15. Good Luck 
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Dining packages for shows seem to open a few weeks after the 180 day deadline. For us, it was about 6 weeks. I just made it a habit to check my laptop each morning at breakfast.
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Same here - we are going the week before Thanksgiving and I was surprised to find no availability for any of the spots we were hoping to reserve. I tried booking around the 180 mark and have continued to check but nothing is coming up even for restaurants that aren’t the most popular.
I used the TP reservation finder and was pinged one morning around 4am but it was gone by the time I woke up and tried to reserve. 
Dining packages open up about 80-90 days out once they know the schedule of the shows/parks. Also, dining packages are different links from the normal ADRs (just in case you are trying to find that on the regular ADR link)
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