Advance Eating Reservations had been alleged to roll out as we speak for Beak & Barrel Bar, the brand new Pirates of the Caribbean tavern coming to Magic Kingdom this Halloween season. As an alternative, Walt Disney World trip planners had been handled (or tricked?) into one other WDW web site meltdown. This put up recaps how issues went and provides commentary on one other resounding success for Disney IT! (Up to date August 14, 2025 at 9PM Japanese.)
None of this could come as a colossal shock to anybody who has been a Disney fan for quite a lot of years. In the event you’ve by no means been battle-hardened by a Disney Drop Day, I invite you to learn the our Oogie Boogie Bash Occasion Issues or “We’re in Orbit!” put up (or its feedback) from Walt Disney World’s reservations launch day or our “A Contact of Disney” put up feedback or our Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge reservations now reside put up feedback or or or…
These posts cowl a few of Disney’s previous “slow-motion practice wrecks” with drop days. In the event you’ve been across the block, a lot of you have got in all probability develop into intimately acquainted with the small print of Disney’s digital ready rooms or error message pages (what number of of you hate the beloved Large Thunder goat or Sew?!) whereas spending a number of hours in a queue solely or refreshing a web page solely to have the system crash. Repeatedly.
That is the way it goes on occasion on Disney Drop Days. Some folks spend the higher a part of a day ready solely to come back up empty handed. Anybody who has tried to e-book one thing on a Disney Drop Day in all probability has their very own horror story. These woes are a lot much less frequent than they was once a number of years in the past, as Disney IT appears to have upgraded from the ‘ole Gateway 2000 they use to run the Go.com servers.
However, issues nonetheless happen on occasion. Simply earlier this week, Walt Disney World reportedly had points with the Parisian Breakfast Buffet at Cooks de France and needed to delay the ADR drop day for that by a day. (I say “reportedly” as a result of we weren’t attempting for that, however did hear from a number of readers who had been.) So maybe the corporate upgraded from Gateway 2000 to common ole Gateways, circa 2001. Or maybe it really is Hei-Hei’s fault, as he’s the brand new head of Disney IT. That might try.
I didn’t plan on writing a put up about this as I haven’t personally skilled issues with Disney IT shortly, so I didn’t meticulously doc occasions, however I began checking for ADRs at round 5:55 am. I’ve heard from others who tried even earlier. That doesn’t actually matter, although. Regardless of if you began wanting, the tip end result was the identical.
The whole Walt Disney World ADR system crashed proper round that point. Friends had been greeted by a rotating assortment of error messages, just like the one above, on each the Walt Disney World web site and My Disney Expertise app. Then they pulled the plug utterly, placing the system into upkeep mode.
The excellent news, when you’re in search of a silver lining, is that the number of characters used this go-round was wider-ranging than up to now. So now you may hate Hei-Hei, Dante, that three-eyed alien from Monsters Inc, and extra. I may swear at one level that donkey from Shrek was in there, silently taunting me. Or possibly that was a sleep-deprived hallucination? Most likely not.
After some time of this and when it turned patently apparent that the ADR system wasn’t working and could be down for the rely, I’ll be sincere with you: I went again to mattress. Sure, I’m responsible of dereliction of responsibility, however the one factor you could consider is that the Disney Blogger’s Code is basically extra pointers than what you’d name precise guidelines.
By this level, I had already obtained messages that the cellphone traces had been additionally slammed. As excited as I’m to expertise the Beak & Barrel, I’m completely not “wait 2 hours on the cellphone for probably nothing” ranges of excited. (Plus, there’s a really excessive likelihood of disconnection and/or getting by means of however being informed the backend is having the identical downside. I’m not one to tilt at windmills any greater than completely essential.)
It didn’t matter, anyway. After I woke again up after 8 am, all the Advance Eating Reservation system was nonetheless down. It’s now began to slowly come again on-line, and as I’m scripting this, I may now make completely different ADRs if I so desired. (A minimum of, I assume. I can get totally by means of the reserving movement–earlier than affirmation–with out incident.)
Nevertheless, it seems that the Beak and Barrel will not be a type of Advance Eating Reservations. After I go on to the lounge’s web site, the blue “Examine Obtainable Days” button has vanished. I assume because of this we’re getting a redux of the reservation launch day, maybe tomorrow. Oh pleasure.
Presently, the purple bulletin nonetheless reads as follows: “Wish to dine at this restaurant throughout Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion? Beginning September 3, 2025, Disney Resort resort Friends could make reservations—for dates as much as 60 days prematurely of their arrival, for all the size of keep (as much as a 10-night keep). All different Friends can e-book beginning September 8, 2025. Study reserving home windows.”
We’ve but to listen to from anybody who efficiently made Advance Eating Reservations for Beak & Barrel. My finest guess is that they by no means turned accessible, however I’ve thought that previously, and it turned out that there was a quick window when the system was working and sufficient folks received by means of to ‘promote out’ all dates. As it is a high-demand meets limited-supply state of affairs, that’s believable. (Please share within the feedback when you efficiently scored ADRs. We received’t direct our ire at you, we promise!)
Walt Disney World has not but launched an announcement about any of this. My hope and expectation is that they’ll replace the little purple bulletin within the coming minutes or hours to replicate the brand new ADR begin date. There’s additionally an opportunity that they’ll simply quietly launched ADRs whereas I’m in the course of scripting this, and the second I hit publish, this will probably be flooded with feedback saying, “what are you speaking about–we simply booked ADRs!”
Beak & Barrel ADR Replace – 9pm Japanese
Walt Disney World has added the next bulletin to the Beak & Barrel Bar web page: “Arrgh! Too many pirates tried to pillage at The Beak and Barrel. Thanks for yer persistence. Come again for the treasure ye search when reservations set sail the week of August 18, 2025.”
Primarily based on our conversations and a number of reader stories confirming the identical, Forged Members are indicating that Beak & Barrel ADRs by no means absolutely loaded into the system. That there was no bookable availability, and even when visitors noticed reservations, they might not have the ability to affirm them. The above appears to corroborate that by saying that reservations won’t launch as we speak, which suggests that they haven’t already launched.
Nevertheless, we’ve additionally heard from a few readers who had been capable of make reservations and numerous others who noticed them for a break up second. I are inclined to consider this, versus the official assertion. The system displaying reservations means that they had been, in truth, loaded into it sooner or later, nonetheless briefly. And in the event that they had been loaded, somebody (or a number of someones) in all probability received by means of and booked one thing.
What stays to be seen is simply what number of ADRs received booked versus what number of are nonetheless accessible. Beak and Barrel Bar is extraordinarily low-supply and high-demand, so it’s a type of issues that would e-book up for 60+ days in a way of minutes. It could possibly be–and will probably be, when ADRs do go reside (once more)–a blink and also you miss it kinda factor.
We weren’t among the many affluent plunderers, so we’ll see you all someday subsequent week (our guess is August 19, 2025) for a second shot on the bounty. However ye be warned, there be fierce competitors forward. And who is aware of when that evil curse will strike the grasping beholders of those bewitched Beak & Barrel ADRs. Ye’ve seen the cursed treasure. You understand the place it’s hidden. Now, proceed at your personal threat.
We beforehand warned that demand for Beak and Barrel ADRs could be sky-high on opening day, August 29, 2025. That’s Vacation spot D23 weekend, a time when diehard dorks like me are descending upon Walt Disney World, and there will probably be hundreds of us–together with the same old suspects–who all need to expertise the brand new PotC bar on opening day or opening weekend.
You know the way GEO-82 was extremely aggressive for opening day and remains to be virtually inconceivable to e-book until you’re 60+ days out? Beak and Barrel will probably be like that on steroids for Labor Day weekend, with demand ultimately leveling off a bit (by comparability) because of the (presumably) larger capability and extra stringent guidelines and closing dates. However that first weekend, they could as nicely name it Bleak and Barrel, as a result of that’s what it’ll be like attempting to attain ADRs.
Even after the preliminary rush over Labor Day, that is going to be one of the crucial aggressive ADRs in all of Walt Disney World for years to come back. All of this assumes that the ADR system really works, which I suppose was a daring assumption given the historical past of Disney IT.
In any case, I can’t wait to listen to from Bob Iger or Hugh Johnston on the following earnings name or CNBC interview boasting about “sturdy shopper demand” and “model affinity” for Walt Disney World, spinning this as one other rousing success versus one other colossal Disney IT meltdown. I want that had been a joke.
We do must admit that even we didn’t anticipate the extent of Disney’s IT woes. It’s been some time since we’ve skilled an issue fairly like this. Oogie Boogie Bash and all different occasion ticket gross sales have been easy crusing for the final couple of years, as have all low cost drop days. Disney does appear to make use of digital queues greater than I might count on to handle demand–maybe that ought to’ve been the case right here, too? I suppose we’ll discover out if the launch day for Beak & Barrel Bar reservations (take two) begins with the “We’re Virtually in Orbit!” message. Keep tuned.
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Your Ideas
Did you expertise issues attempting to make Advance Eating Reservations for the Beak & Barrel bar? Excited to expertise the brand new Pirates of the Caribbean tavern? Will you be attempting to attain ADRs for opening day or someday over the vacation weekend? What do you consider Magic Kingdom getting a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even if you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!