Update: The Walt Disney World website has now been updated and states that reservations for the Beak and Barrel will not go live today, August 14, "due to technical difficulties." A new date will be shared later.
When something new opens at Walt Disney World, you expect it to be popular and crowded. Long lines at Disney World are part of the cost of doing business. However, the newest addition to Magic Kingdom, the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Beak and Barrel Tavern, doesn’t open for another two weeks, and getting in is already a complete mess.
The Beak And Barrel Tavern Broke Disney World’s Website
The first reservations for the Beak and Barrel Tavern were supposed to go live on the Walt Disney World website this morning. Unfortunately, as of this writing, I can’t confirm that anybody has been able to make a reservation for it or any other dining location in all of Walt Disney World. Just before reservations were set to go live, the entire dining reservation system crashed, and things have yet to be resolved.
If you access the Walt Disney World dining reservation system right now, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to make any reservations. Error messages are popping up on a regular basis as one tries to select dates, times, and locations. It seems everybody must want that cool pirate skull mug as badly as I do.
Even if you’re able to get into the reservation system, The Beak and Barrel is currently showing zero availability, as if reservations are completely booked out. However, it appears that rather than all reservations being taken, they simply aren’t actually available yet. Reservations might go live at any moment, or they may get postponed to a new date. Right now it's unclear.
Disney Parks’ Website History Is A Comedy Of Errors
If this were a rare, one-time situation, then it would be frustrating and unfortunate but understandable. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If anything, this was entirely expected.
Anytime Disney World or Disneyland has tried to use the internet to let guests get access to anything, it’s a safe bet that something will go haywire. From booking space to a RunDisney event to buying tickets to a Disney After Hours event to joining a virtual queue for a brand new attraction, systems completely breaking down is the rule, not the exception.
It’s frustrating because Disney Parks have recently made upgrades to the dining reservation system that have been very welcome. They've relaxed cancellation rules, and guests can now search for availability over a range of dates and times rather than just searching one day at a time. It makes booking dining much easier than it once was, but only if it all works, of course.
The good news is that guests looking to visit the Beak and Barrel when it opens may still have a chance, though it’s unclear exactly when reservations will be made available. As somebody who really wants to check it out, hopefully this will all be worked out soon.
