It’s ok! We could not add a dummy person to my cousin’s room because he has a package and then it would charge for dummy tickets.
My plans have changed a little so we aren’t going to do the Celebration at the Top which is what I really needed the 11th for anyway. I booked everything else this morning and the 9th and 10th were open but still no Space 220! But I got two different Oga’s times so I’ll take it as a win.
This morning was my 60-day and I got everything I wanted - Sci-Fi, Oga’s, Sanaa, Skipper Canteen - but not Topolinos. Not too bad since I was unable to get a leading reservation.
Fingers now crossed for the reservation finder!
Wonky real reservations due to DVC availability: 12.4 check in at BWV, 12.5 move to Grand Villa, 12.9 check in at Poly bungalow. We’re a party of 7 or 9, depending on the day, so I felt like the best shot was to do a leading reservation. Booked leading res for 11.30 - 12.10, and was able to get Oga’s post-close, SciFi, Le Cellier, and some others.
About to cancel my leading reservation (would love that deposit back since as stated above, it was $$$$). I know I shouldn’t be nervous, but here we are lol. Anyways, best of luck to everyone else doing this!
Leading reservation strategy totally worked for us! We got all the ones that we were worried about and had plenty of times to choose from. Now time for cancellation.
So our actual trip dates are 12/11-12/18. Meaning today is my 60 days. Can I cancel my leading res tomorrow, or do I wait until I’m 60 days out from the last day of our trip (which I guess would be 10/20)?
Can you share what reservations you got? I ask only because if you read this thread you’ll see that there has been wide variability in the success rate folks are experiencing.
Sure! About half of these were for a group of 8
-Chef Mickey’s (arrival night)
-Boma
-Oga’s
-Beaches and Cream
-Sanaa
-BOG
-Space 220
-Liberty Tree Tavern
-Topolino’s Terrace breakfast
Oh man.
My friends looking for some of those very ressies are gonna be PISSED!
Yay for you though!
How far was your lead??
The safest thing to do is to wait until you’re within 60 days of your last ADR.
Someone tested it by cancelling earlier and didn’t have any problems with ADRs getting cancelled, but if Disney changed that behind the scenes, we’d have no way of knowing until someone had it go badly for them.
When I did my leading reservation, I could get Topolino’s breakfast my last park day. And I definitely did not book it +10 out, as we had something else booked and changed our mind a day or 2 later. We got Ogas our first park day around 7pm and Sci Fi our second park day. I could have booked Space 220, but we weren’t interested due to the cost for a family of 5. I had booked the leading reservation last minute as I was getting frustrated seeing others book for the week I was going to be there. Trip is 11/27-12/4.
6 days before trip start. The hardest to get ones were towards the end of our trip so I was able to try for those on 60+10 which I think really helped.
I cancelled the day our final reservation of our split stay opened and had no problem.
If anyone has a “must get” reservation for New Year’s Eve, today is the 60 + 10 day and my reservation covers it. There was a lot availability. I am happy to do a pick up and drop for you.
Unfortunately special NYE events have not yet opened. So far no fireworks desert parties the week of Christmas or other special events announced.
Thanks to everyone for all the great info here. I was able to get all the ADRs we wanted for our group of 11, including Oga’s! I cancelled my room only ressie and all is well. The cancellation screen states “Please be aware that any existing dining, tour or recreation reservations you have booked have not been canceled. If you wish to modify or cancel these types of reservations, please contact us”. 
Hey!! My window opens tomorrow- what time in the morning does it officially open?
Online at 6am. Sometimes you can see your dates at 5:45 but you will generally get an error message if you try to book then.
It has varied over the past few days…start trying at 5:45a
So this morning I had a thought: I turned and tilted my head to the left (bill to Chapek sent), changed my time a hair and a half (the half is important) and, perhaps most effective at all, changed my dining party size from to 4 and was able to get a reservation at Homecomin’ where it says there is no availability if I search for a party of 2. That part is something I forget (because it’s so stupid!). But if you’re having trouble, turn, tilt, add the half hare, and check using different party sizes for various table sizes (I used 2, 4, and 5 this morning). There’s no penalty to show up with fewer people. It’s a shame that we are taking a table for 4 but if that’s what we gotta do, that’s what we’ll do. Our plan is to roll out of WDW fat and happy and so it’s important that this is our last meal!
Here’s a tangentially related soapbox moment:
TODAY Disney emailed me to invite me to book my dining.
Um, my 60 day mark was TUESDAY. There is almost nothing left at all for my dates.
I know - go us that we are on top of the game and such. But damn, that’s just shitty guest service.
They are failing in so many ways lately.
Or maybe I just spent 7hrs behind the wheel and need to just step away from the computer and go to bed.
Editing to say I made my ressies on my 60 day date. Just grumpy over just getting an email now because what if I wasn’t on top of things, you know?
I am making reservations for 3, but like you, sometimes when I searched for 3 nothing was available. However, searching for 4 gave me lots of options. That’s bizarre because in many restaurants a party of 3 will sit at the same size table as a party of 4, which suggests that this is about maximising profit.