(Creating this topic so folks on Lines Chat can reference instead of re-answering similar questions)
We’re implementing a limit of 2 active dining searches per person on our dining reservation finder. This means you’ll be able to look for 2 dining reservations at a time. You can still put in as many requests as you want over the life of your subscription, but you’ll only be able to have 2 active at any given time.
The limit should go in to effect this week (June 13, 2016).
If you’ve got 2 or more active searches, you’ll need to wait until one of them finishes (or you delete it) until you can make another request.
What happens to my existing requests?
This applies to new requests only. If you’ve currently got more than 2 reservation searches active, all of them will be searched, and you don’t need to do anything. The limit only applies to new requests.
Again, if you’ve got 2 or more active searches, you’ll need to wait until one of them finishes (or you delete it) until you can make another request.
Why are you doing this?
A small number of travel agencies are responsible for a very large number of requests. Some individual agents have as many requests as 25 average families.
We asked these agents and agencies to limit themselves to a handful of requests at a time. Some did. Some didn’t.
We don’t have the people or time needed to police these agents on an ongoing basis. The best solution seems to be system-wide limits.
Remember that behind the scenes, we have real people running these searches. And we provide the service for free. We think these limits are the best way to share our staff’s time across as many families as possible.
Why not just run 2 requests at a time per user?
We considered this idea - allow someone to enter a bunch of requests at a time, and then run no more than 2 of them at a time. Our concerns were that it would be confusing to many people (and generate emails that we’d need to answer); and that we’d need to implement some sort of priority-based system that would allow folks to prioritize their searches. That seemed expensive, time-consuming, and potentially unclear to a large number of people.
Why 2 requests, not 3, 5, or 10?
We looked at the stats, and most folks have 2 requests. We expect that most folks won’t be terribly affected by this limit.
I desperately need more requests
We can make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Email webmaster@touringplans.com to make your case. Keep it to one short paragraph, please.
The other thing I’d suggest is to prioritize your requests. Of the 120+ sit-down restaurants that offer reservations across Walt Disney World, about 7 of them are truly difficult to book. Use the dining reservation finder for those, and do the other searches manually.
The most difficult restaurants to book seem to be: Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, Le Cellier, Via Napoli, Rose & Crown Dining Room, and The Plaza,
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