About Those Dining Reservations and Park Capacity

MikeScopa

New Member
Original Poster
So about a week ago I posed this question to the Walt Disney World Resort:

"Good morning.

My question is the following:

Let's assume I have a park reservation for The Magic Kingdom this morning. Also, my plan is to park hop to EPCOT later in the day as I have an early dinner reservation at Le Cellier.

However, when it comes to later in the day there is a chance EPCOT may be at capacity and therefore I am not able to enter the theme park.
Since I cannot enter the theme park I would be unable to make my reservation at Le Cellier. Is there a provision for this? Of course the other issue is would my credit card (used to hold the reservation) be charged even though this was out of my hands?
Thank you for clearing up this question for me.
"

**********************************************
I just received a response and for those interested read below:
***********************************************

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort!

We are excited you are investigating the Park Hopper® option for your Theme Park ticket or Annual Pass.

As per the Walt Disney World website about Park Hopper® News: "Reservations for dining experiences, Droid Depot, Savi's Workshop and other pre-booked experiences do not guarantee access to a park, and Park Hopper availability may change daily. We recommend Guests book in-park dining and other experiences at the park where they have a Disney Park Pass reservation. Guests can make dining reservations or add their party to the walk-up list at select table-service restaurants via the My Disney Experience app after they enter the second park, subject to availability." This ensures that Guests using their Park Hopper® options do not face no show cancellation fees due to Theme Parks reaching capacity.

If you do choose to book an Advance Dining Reservation and are not able to go due to Theme Park capacity you will want to go to the closest Guest Relations location in person. Or you can contact the Walt Disney World® Resort Dining Department directly at 407-824-1391 before your dining reservation start time. Dining Department Cast Members will be happy to discuss your situation with you, including the no show dining fees, between 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time, seven days a week.

We are happy to hear that you are coming to see us!


******************************************

When I read, "Dining Department Cast Members will be happy to discuss your situation with you, including the no show dining fees, between 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time, seven days a week." I thought the statement to still leave me hanging. Why not say something like the Cast Members will "...insure that through no fault of your own, you are unable to make your reservation and thus will not be charged."

I say this because earlier in the note it reads, "We recommend Guests book in-park dining and other experiences at the park where they have a Disney Park Pass reservation. Guests can make dining reservations or add their party to the walk-up list at select table-service restaurants via the My Disney Experience app after they enter the second park, subject to availability. This ensures that Guests using their Park Hopper® options do not face no show cancellation fees due to Theme Parks reaching capacity."

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I was hoping for a response that would say dining reservations made at least 24 hours in advance would be honored regardless of the park capacity issues. If not that, at least some indication that guests would not be charged a fee because they could not make their reservations due to a park capacity issue.

So let's assume that if you are in this situation then you contact Disney Dining and let them know ASAP that you are locked out of your park-hopping park and request you do not get charged.

Thoughts?
 

nickys

Premium Member
First of all, there hasn’t been a single day since the 2pm park hopping was introduced that any park has been closed for park hopping.

Second, they are covering themselves. I’m sure somewhere, be it the Disney Parks Blog (which is official) that Guest Services will cancel the no show charge and assist you in finding somewhere to eat.


When we booked for a Christmas trip I was worried about not being able to get back into MK on Christmas Eve for dinner if we took a break and it reached capacity. The chance of it happening was minuscule given we were staying onsite, but I was still worried about it. Needlessly, of course.
 

MikeScopa

New Member
Original Poster
First of all, there hasn’t been a single day since the 2pm park hopping was introduced that any park has been closed for park hopping.

Second, they are covering themselves. I’m sure somewhere, be it the Disney Parks Blog (which is official) that Guest Services will cancel the no show charge and assist you in finding somewhere to eat.


When we booked for a Christmas trip I was worried about not being able to get back into MK on Christmas Eve for dinner if we took a break and it reached capacity. The chance of it happening was minuscule given we were staying onsite, but I was still worried about it. Needlessly, of course.
I guess the concern may inch up as more resorts open up in May, June, and July and if capacity closures do begin to occur. of course, the assumption is that if/when these rooms open up that park capacity levels will most likely go up.
 

DoleWhipDrea

Well-Known Member
I have a tip that's a work-around, but you must have a smartphone with you and be able to use the WDW app from wherever you are. As long as it's still a few hours before your reservation time and you know that you will be unable to make your dining reservation:

1. Open the app
2. Select the icon with the bars on the bottom right corner
3. Select My Plans
4. Select the dining reservation you can't make
5. Select the pencil icon that says Modify
6. Re-schedule your dining reservation for another date and time at least a few days away (you may have to look further out if it's a popular place), and confirm your re-booking. This ensures that you will not be charged for missing a reservation, as you're just re-scheduling.
7. If you don't want this new reservation, just cancel it before the less-than-24 hours timeframe.


Don't try to do this less than a few hours before your reservation, as the app will glitch and you won't be able to change the reservation. I once tried to just push back a reservation due to a delay with park-hopping and knew that my party would be very late. I called Disney Dining and they were very understanding - they connected me directly to the restaurant and I was able to give them an ETA. They were still perfectly able to accommodate us when we finally arrive.
 

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