Changes to table service dining cancellation policy - credit card requirement expands

[PolynesianPrincess]

I'm on the fence about this one... What happens to people who get sick the day of their reservation? Or if something happens and they need to return home early? Things happen beyond our control. I would like to see something more along the lines of a day of cancellation. As long as you actually CANCEL your reservation within 1-2 hours beforehand, you shouldn't be penalized. (Example: you wake up for breakfast at 9am at the Crystal Palace and you're sick. As long as you call by 7am, no penalty) I think the charge should be implemented on ressie that people just do not show up for. Having to call 24 hours prior is kind of restricting. Oh well, at least this is step in the right direction!

 

[Lunamis]

I like it...

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about that 24 hour window. It's like every hotel I've ever worked at- there's a "6pm cancelation policy" but as long as you call and cancel at some point we don't charge. I am sure those rules and a little more flexible than they sound.

 

[Master Yoda]

I am glad they have finally done this. Disney has tried every non-offensive way to combat the problem of guests making multiple reservations but guests were always able to circumvent the system. A credit card guarantee was inevitable.

 

[George]

I can also see this frustrating Guests who have legitimate reasons to cancel day of.

I've had a couple of experiences with this over the years. Twice, I've had to cancel pre-paid reservations within a 24 hour non-refundable window, but I had good reason. In both cases, Disney refunded the money. I'm sure if your party comes down with a stomach virus the day you're supposed to dine at Jiko, they'll take care of it.

I agree with the sentiment that they should do this for all sit-down meals. I don't care about pool hopper or mug multi-trip uses. But, people who make 4 sets of ADRs for dinner each day of their trip really annoy.

 

[George]

I like it...

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about that 24 hour window. It's like every hotel I've ever worked at- there's a "6pm cancelation policy" but as long as you call and cancel at some point we don't charge. I am sure those rules and a little more flexible than they sound.

Correct.

 

[xdan0920]

A huge step in the right direction. In fact, it is more like a leap in the right direction. I do agree with people about the 24 hour cancellation window being an issue. It should simply be a no show charge. Hopefully it gets tweaked.

 

[Master Yoda]

I've had a couple of experiences with this over the years. Twice, I've had to cancel pre-paid reservations within a 24 hour non-refundable window, but I had good reason. In both cases, Disney refunded the money. I'm sure if your party comes down with a stomach virus the day you're supposed to dine at Jiko, they'll take care of it.

I agree with the sentiment that they should do this for all sit-down meals. I don't care about pool hopper or mug multi-trip uses. But, people who make 4 sets of ADRs for dinner each day of their trip really annoy.

I have had similar experiences. Disney's operates in shades of gray vs black and white when it comes to cancellations. When there is a legit excuse that is out of your control they tend to wave the fees if you give them the opportunity to do so.

 

[COProgressFan]

I like it...

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about that 24 hour window. It's like every hotel I've ever worked at- there's a "6pm cancelation policy" but as long as you call and cancel at some point we don't charge. I am sure those rules and a little more flexible than they sound.

I'm hoping this is also the case with Disney.

Perhaps they are trying to deliberately make the policy seem overly restrictive, but then not charge you as long as you make that concerted effort to cancel the reservation in advance. However, I hope this would be the actual (unannounced to guests) policy for CMs, and that it wouldn't have to involve getting a manager involved to override the system, etc.

 

[plaz10]

I'm hoping Disney will be flexible with the cancelling for legit reasons...as I'd assume they would be. They understand that there are things out of one's control (sickness) that can affect eating habits. As long as you make the effort to cancel at least an hour or 2 before your ADR - I'd expect no penalty.

As for the "signature" restaurants listed - I think the list really means "signature AND really popular" list. The character buffets are very popular and expensive so thats how they earned their spots on the "signature" list. I don't believe there have been any changes to the DDP regarding these restaurants but I'm sure for sake of not having to explain signature/popular/buffet/character hoopla in the article - it lumps them all together under 'signature.'

 

[wdwmomof3]

I have a question

What if one person in the party does not show up? Would there be a fee for that one person or would they care because the others were there?

 

[prberk]

True. I wouldn't have such a sour taste in my mouth if it was simply if you did not show up or did not cancel. The buffets or character dining restaurants typically have people waiting at the restaurant with no reservation hoping to get in. There really is no loss of money for Disney from that standpoint. And with the exception of CA Grille (which has required a credit card guarantee for years) the other signature restaurants do not fill up their reservation spots unless it is a peak season (and even then you can usually get in somewhere if you are flexible with time). It may be me being cynical, but I think this is just a way for Disney to make an extra $10-50 every night. And they will make a ton of money every night from it. Otherwise, it would only apply to no shows - not to people who would make a concerted effort to cancel even within the 24 hour period.

I cannot agree more. This is over-reaching. The resort is super-huge, and sometimes things come up (like an opportunity to spend more time at another park or land that I had not realized someone would enjoy so much), and for things like that, Disney should be courteous enough to let me (the GUEST) call and cancel my reservation -- or maybe even use this billion-dollar hi-tech next-gen technology to text in or automatically cancel my reservation for dinner tonight, say, after at lunchtime, if I realize that I would rather enjoy the area where I am already for a lot longer.

This may also be the fate of people who (unlike us on these boards) have looked forward to and planned out their first WDW vacation, only to realize that the Brown Derby in the studios takes so long to get to (using WDW transportation) from World Showcase, when it looks so close on a map! Not to mention how long it might take to get from Africa in DAK to your 5:00 reservation at Chef Mickey's after the 3:00 storm caused you to have to go back to your hotel and change so that you would not spend the evening chaffed!

I say you should be able to cancel anytime before the reservation.

 

[Master Yoda]

I cannot agree more. This is over-reaching. The resort is super-huge, and sometimes things come up (like an opportunity to spend more time at another park or land that I had not realized someone would enjoy so much), and for things like that, Disney should be courteous enough to let me (the GUEST) call and cancel my reservation -- or maybe even use this billion-dollar hi-tech next-gen technology to text in or automatically cancel my reservation for dinner tonight, say, after at lunchtime, if I realize that I would rather enjoy the area where I am already for a lot longer.

This may also be the fate of people who (unlike us on these boards) have looked forward to and planned out their first WDW vacation, only to realize that the Brown Derby in the studios takes so long to get to (using WDW transportation) from World Showcase, when it looks so close on a map! Not to mention how long it might take to get from Africa in DAK to your 5:00 reservation at Chef Mickey's after the 3:00 storm caused you to have to go back to your hotel and change so that you would not spend the evening chaffed!

I say you should be able to cancel anytime before the reservation.

Nice in theory but it just opens up another loophole. If you can do that there is nothing to stop someone from making 3 reservations and just canceling 2 an hour prior. That just puts us right back where we started at.

 

[COProgressFan]

What if one person in the party does not show up? Would there be a fee for that one person or would they care because the others were there?

Good point. I would hope they would not charge the fee for that person, since the others arrived for the reservation. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[DocMcHulk]

I can also see this frustrating Guests who have legitimate reasons to cancel day of.

However, you got to start somewhere.

I can share an experience with regards to this. We were there in 2009 and my daughter got sick during the night and was running a 103 degree fever in the morning. We basically canceled our entire day at the park, and "blew off" our dinning reservation at the Prime Time. We had a legit reason, but I would have hated to be charged $40-80 if that policy was in place for that restaurant at that time.

 

[COProgressFan]

Nice in theory but it just opens up another loophole. If you can do that there is nothing to stop someone from making 3 reservations and just canceling 2 an hour prior. That just puts us right back where we started at.

Does it though? It means that the reservations list will still show the restaurant as booked, but Disney will now know that a table is free (once it is cancelled). This gives the opportunity to a lucky family to take the spot on a walk-up basis (you know, those "casual visitors" we hear about so much about Disney wanting to cater to, who are much less inclined to call for reservations 6 months before they decide what to eat for dinner, and might actually enjoy having a sit-down meal during their trip).

Again, this will all depend on the how the policy is actually implemented, and whether the officially stated policy will be what happens in practice.

 

[NewfieFan]

I'm hoping Disney will be flexible with the cancelling for legit reasons...as I'd assume they would be. They understand that there are things out of one's control (sickness) that can affect eating habits. As long as you make the effort to cancel at least an hour or 2 before your ADR - I'd expect no penalty.

As for the "signature" restaurants listed - I think the list really means "signature AND really popular" list. The character buffets are very popular and expensive so thats how they earned their spots on the "signature" list. I don't believe there have been any changes to the DDP regarding these restaurants but I'm sure for sake of not having to explain signature/popular/buffet/character hoopla in the article - it lumps them all together under 'signature.'

Yes, I think you're correct there! It's the signature plus the places that tend to book up around the 180 day mark!

What if one person in the party does not show up? Would there be a fee for that one person or would they care because the others were there?

Good question... I wonder this as well. We usually travel with other people and this happens quite a lot actually. Other people's plans change, we keep the ADR and go to it, but we're usually one or two people short!

I do hope Disney is flexible, though! I would hate to be charged (even after calling to cancel) b/c someone got sick last minute and I couldn't call 24hrs. before. A lot can happen in 24hrs on a Disney vacation!

 

[mousefreak]

This is good news. I wish they would charge for no shows for every restaurant that requires reservations.

 

[Master Yoda]

Does it though? It means that the reservations list will still show the restaurant as booked, but Disney will now know that a table is free (once it is cancelled). This gives the opportunity to a lucky family to take the spot on a walk-up basis (you know, those "casual visitors" we hear about so much about Disney wanting to cater to, who are much less inclined to call for reservations 6 months before they decide what to eat for dinner, and might actually enjoy having a sit-down meal during their trip).

Again, this will all depend on the how the policy is actually implemented, and whether the officially stated policy will be what happens in practice.

Yes. The whole purpose of this new rule it to stop guests from making multiple reservations of just not showing up to ADR's on a whim. It has nothing to do with walk ups. Disney's primary concern is to have the restaurants at max capacity 24/7. Disney sees a missed ADR as lost revenue as there is no guarantee that a walk up will be there to replace it. The fact that it should make hard to get ADR's a bit easier to get for guests is more of a happy accident than anything else.

In the past Disney has tried the obvious methods of linking ADR's to email addresses, names and conformation numbers to detect multiple reservations but all are easy to get around. This is pretty much the last thing Disney can do to stop the problem it also creates a good deal of work for Disney making me think that the problem is larger than we thought.

Actions must have consequences. It is a simple but hard fact. Up until now there was no consequence for a dining no show and that resulted in lost revenue. Disney has just added a little smack on the bottom for bailing on them at the last minute.

 

[COProgressFan]

Yes. The whole purpose of this new rule it to stop guests from making multiple reservations of just not showing up to ADR's on a whim. It has nothing to do with walk ups. Disney's primary concern is to have the restaurants at max capacity 24/7. Disney sees a missed ADR as lost revenue as there is no guarantee that a walk up will be there to replace it. The fact that it should make hard to get ADR's a bit easier to get for guests is more of a happy accident than anything else.

Of course Disney wants its restaurants at max capacity. But I guarantee you, 99% of the time in the restaurants this is being implemented at there will be a walk-up guest to take the place of the no-shows or recently cancelled reservations. So there is no lost revenue. Have you ever heard the upset families who show up at restaurant podiums for dinner only to be told there are no tables available for months? Or specifically asked if there were any cancelled reservations or ways they could squeeze in another group only to be told it was impossible. These places are at capacity even during the off-seasons.

I unfortunately agree something needs to be done, but I think the advanced reservation system could use a complete overhaul that is more fair to more guests, rather than just those who have the luxury and or willingness to book 6 months out.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I'm a bit upset about this change. I didn't take advantage of double booking, but sometimes we simply changed our minds about where we wanted to eat within 24 hours of a reservation (for example, this past August, we had such a great meal at Jiko, we decided we wanted to eat there the following night, even though it meant simultaneously canceling our booking at Flying Fish).

I just don't see why this was necessary (for the signature restaurants). A lot of the signature restaurants are never booked out (Jiko, Artist Point, Flying Fish, Citricos, and usually Yachtsman). I guess this change just means we won't make reservations and will try walk-ups more often, since our top restaurants usually aren't booked out anyway.