There were a few articles at the end of September 2015, one of them from Fox News, that Disney shut these sites down. So hopefully they fixed the problem and these sites won't be able to pop back up!

Just cancel reservations in BOG and make it first come
first served. Walk ins only. You wait 120 min for an Anna & Elsa meet and greet for Gods sake . Think of it as another attraction. End of story.

Offer the same thing as the dining buddy reservation system but for no fee. Problem solved. Why would anyone pay dining buddy or any other business for something that Disney gives them for free?

This has plagued us local annual pass holders. We would love to book special dining events for our kids or enjoy a magical anniversary experience. Sometimes feels like Disney punishes you for living too close.

Easy fix for initial reservations: Do not permit name changes on reservations, and require valid matching ID at time of seating.
As for the services that charge and then continually search until they find the availability window you request, there is no solution. They are being paid for their time and service.

The first one doesn't make any sense. It would also make it impossible for cast members, guests of cast members and anyone with tickets that don't have a specific date.

It's 6am for ADRs, not 12:01am.

Not everyone has their tickets in advance, so I'm not sure it's fair that you have to have a ticket to make a reservation, especially since the window is 180 days for ADRs and only 60 for FP+.

I do agree something needs to be done about the scalpers. Disney gave gag orders (essentially) to those that were creating DVC hotel searches off the system, why should it be any different for the ADR search?!

A follow-up thought.... I agree that there should be a waiting list. Everyone who inquires about a restaurant for a specific date and time would be added to the list with those parameters. The computer would automatically go through this list and notify the next person on it. That person would have 24 hours to confirm or the open reservation goes to the next person on the list.
This way those people who purchase park tickets at the gate will still be able to make advance reservations without benefit of a ticket number "holding it.)
Computer programs can be tweaked to do all kinds of things. Use them.

I think there is no easy solution, as visitors may make a trip to the parks a last minute decision (low plane fairs, special event packages, etc). Also, visitors may opt to buy their tickets at the gate or through official 3rd party outlets at the last minute looking for the best bargain. Those visitors do understand they will not get a chance to make reservation, but sometimes you walk up and "surprise", there is an opening (we lucked out one year by getting a night table at Ohana's that way).

It's a shame to be honest. I see both sides, but it must be costing Disney a small fortune in have open tables, especially during peak seasons at Signature and Event dining. Having watched the boards at various sites I see this to be an issue everyone talks about.

I think your first suggestion may not work because there is a portion of the guests that would shut out, although a small portion so who knows, but the other suggestions are good. And secondly, I am also VERY doubtful of these so-called "legitimate" businesses that are charging a fee to "monitor" the reservations. I believe they are also hoarding reservations to release randomly for their customers. After all, people are praising their success rate all over FB. So, if people aren't having success, they would have no more business. I think it's definitely more than luck making that system work!

Number one would be an issue for me. My fiancé is a CM and takes me on his guest pass. I often make our dinner reservations, but don't have a valid ticket for the day because the passes aren't linked to a person, they're just guest passes. He could make them himself, but I like to surprise him sometimes and that would kill that. Also, for guests who are not going into the park, locals, some DVC members simply stay and enjoy the resort and DTD, etc. would have an issue if this was required at all restaurants.
I do like the wait list pool. That seems like a great option. Cancelled reservations would go to the first person on the wait list. Maybe via email with a 24 hr response time. If they don't grab it within 24 hours, it goes to the next person, and down the line.

Does Disney really care? I don't think so. Their bottom line is not being affected in any way.

Not sure I'm seeing where a ticket would help....if the scalpers are making the money you are inferring, then all it would do is take away a couple hundred dollars in profit.....and since you can't activate APs until you arrive...they can sit in your MDE for years, so it's a one time "business expense" for them. I doubt they will even blink.

I am an AP holder....and I often book trips in much less than 180 days...in fact I just booked a trip for November at the end of August....so about 3 1/2 months in advance.....I had to work for it and search several times a day for about a week, but I have reservations at Be Our Guest for lunch and twice for dinner, for California Grill about an hour before fireworks, Akershus for lunch, and several others. They can be found, you just have to be diligent.....and it is MUCH easier to do that with the online reservations....I typically search when I'm on the phone with someone, they can't see me and I can try several times during our call, lol. Since Disney requires securing your ADR with a reservation people are much more likely to cancel reservations they don't want.....best time to look for those is 45 days from when you want the reservation.....people are cancelling their trip (45 days is when packages have to be paid in full).....or the night before....you have until 11:59pm to cancel your reservation for the next day in order to avoid the fee, so people usually plan the next day in the evening and cancel what they won't use. I've gotten several great ADRs that way too, including a Hoop Dee Doo on Level 1 in May.

Obviously, this upsets the author a great deal, but really, if a dining reservation is that important to you, spend some time continuing to try to get it.

Disney already limits this by not allowing multiple dining reservations at different restaurants during the same time period.

One flaw in the first part of your plan is cast members. We dine at Disney restaurants too, so you'd have to have a system in place for us, as well. We have our own cast member dining reservation system, but it is literally if someone cancels we get it, so all of us almost always book through the regular web site. What would be your idea for us?

Not true that it would make it difficult for military hoppers. We are military and went to wdw last year, made all or reservations 6 months in advance.

Vulgar, unscrupulous people like this are anathema to the spirit and intent of Walt Disney. One of the people in the comments above thinks that these enterprising crooks should be congratulated for their cleverness? Sickening.

I think Disney should only allow 1 dining reservation per restaurant. If you want a different time, then its all subject to availability at the time you release it. I know CMs and they stated that 2ppl jad 57 BOG reservations and they were only here for 5 nights. To me that is absurd!

Is Disney Dining Biddy considered "scalping"?

I have seen sites on Facebook (and probably other social networks) that advertise they will find you a table in a restaurant where you want to eat, on the date and at the time that you want. There is a fee for this! Obviously, everyone knows about this, but no one at DWD is doing anything about it. Maybe a ticket number needs to be linked when a reservations is made. I'm glad there is a credit card needed to make a reservation. This has discouraged people from making multiple reservations.

Suggestion one would make it difficult for people who are buying their tickets at the gate or are using military hoppers.

very well thought out. good article.

The free market at work. You call it unscrupulous, I call it clever. But I'm a big planner and make m u ADRs 180+ days in advance.

If you implemented #1 every Wish family would be cut out of any dinner bookings. We are not given park tickets until arrival at "Give Kids the World". We have no idea what tickets we'll get.
Wish parent have to book dinners just like everybody else - often we don't get much because they're full by the time we know we'really going.
Calling Disney doesn't help.
That's over 200 families a week with sick & terminally I'll kids who would not be able to book a single dinner at the parks.

Another solution would be to use a travel agent. Travel agents are free and many,like myself, will wake up early to get those reservations for you. Plus there is no law saying you both can't be up to get reservations. Two heads are better than one! And you're helping a small business succeed.