Disney to expand cancellation fees to all table service restaurants at Walt Disney World

[fngoofy]

fngoofy said: ↑
It's about scheduling. If you don't have a booked room then why would you staff for it. Bringing in the wait and kitchen staff to accommodate some walk ups doesn't make sense, or they would do it.
There is a profitability line and the walk up demand isn't strong enough.
.

And you know this how?

Because I used to be a cast member at Walt Disney World.

 

[ddrongowski]

I've never understood this argument. The sheer complexity and size of Disney World does not lend itself to the vacation of spontaneity model and has not in a considerable period of time.

If you want spontaneity, take a trip to Hawaii or a national park. Pick and choose what you do there. No one is stopping you but you and your desires. Don't visit the top theme park resort destination in the world that operates on very strict time-tables and labor analyst forecast models and caters to millions of people every year. The type of planning that comes with having a good time there is pretty much part of the territory these days but this is nothing new.

Until this year (been going annually since 2001) we have never had ADR's, or reservations, except for the spa. That being said, we have always gotten to eat at whatever restaurant (yes table service ones), without any problems ever. So the whole everything has to be scheduled this does not have to be done. We are living proof of it.

 

[fngoofy]

It has nothing to do with either. Disney created this mess with their ADR policies and free dining promotions. Then they "fix" the mess with a policy that punishes guests for bad luck and/or planning.

Disney's motive isn't to do anything for guests. They are looking to squeeze out a few more nickles. Either in the form of fees or reduced labor costs.

This won't result in walk-ups being available. Any impact on double booking will be neglible because the fee is easily avoidable for those who do that sort of thing. This will adversely impact people who legitimately tried to play be the rules and hit a snag.

People will try to tell you that doesn't happen. That Disney customer service won't allow it. But sometimes it does happen. It happened to me. Not only did they not let me out of the cancellation fee, they charged me for a 2-year-old who wasn't even going to eat. After 30 minutes on the phone, they told me there was nothing they could do for me.

And yet, people are cheering! They see this as some kind of crack-down on cheaters that will benefit them somehow. It's not. This policy benefits Disney and no one else.

That darn Disney, always trying to run their business like a business.
You are right, they are enacting this so as to hurt their paying guests. They will want to "Squeeze out a few more nickels" by what... seating a few more Guests?....Walkup Guests....The ones everyone laments can not get a table anymore.

I'm sorry, but I can't go up to a good restaurant in our town ANY night of the week at dinner time and expect to get seated in anything less that an hour. MK averages 45k people on a non-peak day. You have to have a reservation, and if Disney can fit a few more walkups,not for Guest Relations sake, but for profitability sake, GOOD!

Everyone is acting like coming down with a sickness and missing an ADR (within 24hrs of the ADR) happens 3 or 4 times on their trip. The only time we missed an ADR in 70+ days of vacationing in WDW is when we stayed at AK all day and ate at Yak & Yeti (walkup) instead of the ADR we had at our resort.

I am amazed at how many people think Disney is a Non-profit service and not a business. It was lax business skills that almost got them taken over by RJRNabisco (the cigarette makers) back in the 80s before Eisner & Wells came in and shaped things up.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Meh. doesn't bother me. this has ALL stemmed from people abusing the system back when free dining was 1st introduced. Making a gazillion reservations and then no-showing.

 

[BaconPancakes]

I've read on the "fan forum that must not be named" of people who make 3 or 4 table ADR's per day so they can have "more options". I'm glad Disney is doing something to stop this blatant abuse.

 

[draybook]

That darn Disney, always trying to run their business like a business.
You are right, they are enacting this so as to hurt their paying guests. They will want to "Squeeze out a few more nickels" by what... seating a few more Guests?....Walkup Guests....The ones everyone laments can not get a table anymore.

I'm sorry, but I can't go up to a good restaurant in our town ANY night of the week at dinner time and expect to get seated in anything less that an hour. MK averages 45k people on a non-peak day. You have to have a reservation, and if Disney can fit a few more walkups,not for Guest Relations sake, but for profitability sake, GOOD!

Everyone is acting like coming down with a sickness and missing an ADR (within 24hrs of the ADR) happens 3 or 4 times on their trip. The only time we missed an ADR in 70+ days of vacationing in WDW is when we stayed at AK all day and ate at Yak & Yeti (walkup) instead of the ADR we had at our resort.

I am amazed at how many people think Disney is a Non-profit service and not a business. It was lax business skills that almost got them taken over by RJRNabisco (the cigarette makers) back in the 80s before Eisner & Wells came in and shaped things up.

And it's people that share your train of thought that has Disney walking a mud hole in guests and walking it dry in the name of profits for their shareholders.

Wonder why WDWs growth is stale while Universal's is rocketing? Does Universal not run their company like a company? The difference is that Universal/Comcast puts their money back into the parks for the enjoyment of their guests. And that hurts to say because I loathe Comcast.

 

[menamechris]

I am amazed at how many people think Disney is a Non-profit service and not a business. It was lax business skills that almost got them taken over by RJRNabisco (the cigarette makers) back in the 80s before Eisner & Wells came in and shaped things up.

It was also the philosophy of instituting irrational and illogical fees and consequences, lack of response or indifference to customer feedback, and blatantly treating customers like profit generators by nickeling and diming them that was the ultimate crash of such companies as Blockbuster and Sears. It is not worth the internal strategic planning benefits or profit margins to make your customer feel less valued and used. Big, huge companies have fallen under this type of corporate culture.

 

[MRGEFF]

Its about time. I love this idea. I am pretty tired of guests booking several ADRs and then just not showing up for any but the one they want. I've known several self-righteous people that have done this. They actually think it is well within their rights to horde as many ADRs as they want.

so true. we totally agree!

 

[Bigcityblues]

While I can certainly understand this move from a business point of view, as an honest guest of WDW, this can be a potential pain-in-the-bum...picture a morning, and this has happened once or twice in our many visits, that we've awoken and felt that the long trek from the GF to, say, the Cape May Cafe for an 8 am breakfast just seems like too much trouble this time around. It's 6:30 am, way too late to cancel without a $30 penalty...we're screwed. We, the honest folk, are the ones who will be stuck paying the penalty, or just not make that ADR anymore - the schemers and scammers will be just fine, I'll bet...

 

[MichWolv]

A policy that charges for not cancelling a reservation in advance is OK by me. But requiring 24 hours is way excessive. 2 hours advance is plenty for Disney to fill the table with no loss in efficiency. For a reservation that isn't canceled at all, I can understand the $10/person charge, because there is a loss in efficiency as Disney tries to jockey tables around to accommodate ADRs (even though they don't literally hold a table empty waiting for you).

 

[G00fyDad]

It was also the philosophy of instituting irrational and illogical fees and consequences, lack of response or indifference to customer feedback, and blatantly treating customers like profit generators by nickeling and diming them that was the ultimate crash of such companies as Blockbuster and Sears. It is not worth the internal strategic planning benefits or profit margins to make your customer feel less valued and used. Big, huge companies have fallen under this type of corporate culture.

Yet AT&T does this on a daily basis (has for years) and is still in business.

 

[G00fyDad]

A policy that charges for not cancelling a reservation in advance is OK by me. But requiring 24 hours is way excessive. 2 hours advance is plenty for Disney to fill the table with no loss in efficiency. For a reservation that isn't canceled at all, I can understand the $10/person charge, because there is a loss in efficiency as Disney tries to jockey tables around to accommodate ADRs (even though they don't literally hold a table empty waiting for you).

I can agree with the 2 hour window. 24 hours advance is a tad excessive.

 

[WDWmazprty]

While I can certainly understand this move from a business point of view, as an honest guest of WDW, this can be a potential pain-in-the-bum...picture a morning, and this has happened once or twice in our many visits, that we've awoken and felt that the long trek from the GF to, say, the Cape May Cafe for an 8 am breakfast just seems like too much trouble this time around. It's 6:30 am, way too late to cancel without a $30 penalty...we're screwed. We, the honest folk, are the ones who will be stuck paying the penalty, or just make that ADR anymore - the schemers and scammers will be just fine, I'll bet...

I see what you're saying, it just means the honest people like us will have to commit to the choice we've made ahead of time with our ADR's. I guess its a preference thing.
Personally I'd rather have all my plans done and know exactly where we're eating on a certain day. That way we don't have to worry about choosing a place last minute and we can concentrate on having fun in the parks more.

 

[JimboJones123]

We have also abandoned reservations because of menu changes.

Jiko used to be my favorite stop on site.

One visit, they dumped the Filet and Tanglewood Chicken.

When spenfing over $100 for two on dinner, it better damn well bww what we want. After it took 15+ minutes to be seated (yes, at Jiko?) we bailed because of the menu change that happened days before our visit.

Now the guest gets punished?

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Point understood, but in my opinion - naive. If your opinion is that this policy is in an effort to make your vacation planning easier and restaurants more accessible to you - that's simply incorrect. Disney could care less about whether you get into your favorite restaurant - they are banking you will spend roughly the same amount at a different sub-par restaurant on their property. (And thanks to DDP, you WILL pay about the same amount, whether you are dining at Trail's End or Grand Floridian Cafe). This is about them being able to offer LESS to guests. They can forecast and schedule fewer waiters for locations, and thereby. cutting down on the chances of being able to "walk up" to a restaurant and get seated. This is just the next step in Disney forcing all guests to meticulously plan every minute of their vacation, so the resort does not have to spend any more money on cast members than they absolutely have to. And now, if a guest's change of plans or emergency cuts into the profit generating formula, Disney will be billing that charge directly to their credit card.

I fully believe Disney is a corporation and wants to make as much money as possible.

However Disney is not the usual Corporation and they live or die by giving the best service and product as possible. The very fact that they are going out of their way to not charge guests with reasonable reasons for late cancelling (which has been reported many times here and on other boards) proves the $10.00 is not what Disney is looking for.

In this case by making the reservation system fairer and more available, they are making it better for everyone, stopping the abuse by some and still filling the restaurants. The occasional $10.00 per person doesn't amount to much in Disney's pocket, but it does stop the abuse as much as possible.

Its in my opinion very easy and naïve to just attack Disney and say its only to make more money, where the facts do not support your position.

AKK

 

[draybook]

Yet AT&T does this on a daily basis (has for years) and is still in business.

The world will never run out of sheep.


So why can't Disney simply make it so that you must create an MDE account and every reservation made must be tied to a package number. Hopefully this would take care of any scheming by resort guests.

 

[Bigcityblues]

I see what you're saying, it just means the honest people like us will have to commit to the choice we've made ahead of time with our ADR's. I guess its a preference thing.
Personally I'd rather have all my plans done and know exactly where we're eating on a certain day. That way we don't have to worry about choosing a place last minute and we can concentrate on having fun in the parks more.

Our family vacations at WDW the same way...I make all ADR's at 180 + 10 days out because I enjoy doing it and we have certain favorites and new places at which to dine for every trip. Sometimes, though, life happens and my husband and/or daughter just won't feel like eating at the planned location...it happens rarely, but it does happen. Like I said before...SCREWED.

From now on, except for our Boma breakfast on AK day, I won't make breakfast ADR's at any faraway resorts because I'm not willing to shell out $30 if someone wakes up too tired to hoof it all that way.

Bummer.

 

[menamechris]

Yet AT&T does this on a daily basis (has for years) and is still in business.

So that makes it right? I dare say AT&T gets away with this due to lack of alternatives - or the alternatives have the same policies. If Universal makes vacationing on their property less of a hassle for a family of 5 - with more flexibility, great options, and an environment that makes the guest feel valued (the way Disney used to be), we will be seeing huge changes in the coming years. Will people always go to Disney? Yes. Will Disney always beat Universal numbers-wise? Naturally. Will Universal cut massively into Central Florida tourism? Absolutely. Will this hurt Disney? Without a doubt.

 

[Bigcityblues]

In this case by making the reservation system fairer and more available, they are making it better for everyone, stopping the abuse by some and still filling the restaurants. The occasional $10.00 per person doesn't amount to much in Disney's pocket, but it does stop the abuse as much as possible.


AKK

But it's not better for everyone, as I posted above. I am an honest person, and if my family awakens too tired to trek from my resort to a faraway resort for the early breakfast we had planned 6 months before, we are screwed out of $30...how is that better for everyone?

 

[menamechris]

I fully believe Disney is a corporation and wants to make as much money as possible.

However Disney is not the usual Corporation and they live or die by giving the best service and product as possible. The very fact that they are going out of their way to not charge guests with reasonable reasons for late cancelling (which has been reported many times here and on other boards) proves the $10.00 is not what Disney is looking for.

In this case by making the reservation system fairer and more available, they are making it better for everyone, stopping the abuse by some and still filling the restaurants. The occasional $10.00 per person doesn't amount to much in Disney's pocket, but it does stop the abuse as much as possible.

Its in my opinion very easy and naïve to just attack Disney and say its only to make more money, where the facts do not support your position.

I am not sure how to respond to this. It's the same argument I commented on, just stated differently. However, I think you are misguided on a couple things - there have been several people on these boards who have NOT been waived fees due to a conflict or emergency. Apparently, Disney is leaving this to the sole discretion of the call center and it's minimum wage call operators (not even on Disney property - btw - they hardly have any connection to Disney at all - they just take your call and deal with you). You can't hear a couple happy, no-problems cancelling stories and ASSUME that is the rule. They just got a good "cast member" who didn't want to argue. In addition, there is HUGE potential profit in this. $10 per reservation. Disney is COUNTING on these fees. Make no mistake, this is a new profit stream for the resort...