Missed reservation fee

[Tom P.]

No im sorry if you call and explain you had to change your plans and or need to change a location then Disney should not be that difficult, I know what the rules are, but in this day and age things arise and have to be altered sometimes. Especially when your local and cant always make the trip over the day of or need to change the schedule. After explaining to the woman she was most unhelpful and was not the least bit friendly about it. All she had to do was say your welcome to move the reservation but she didnt, until the very end after it got heated. As long as you call and explain there should be no questions asked. If you dont show up without calling then yes of course thats different.

Again, I wholeheartedly disagree.

Now, of course, no cast member should ever be rude. Even if they have to enforce rules that the guest is not going to like, they should always be pleasant about it. It sounds like the CM you got definitely wasn't, and that's a problem.

But I just fundamentally disagree with your premise that as long as you call and explain, you should have the fee waived. I don't want to see the fee waived for anyone who cancels within the 24 hour window, regardless of the reason and regardless of whether you call and explain or not. I'm not even a fan of them offering the option to move the reservation without penalty.

You mention someone being a local. But I'm not a local. When my family and I visit Disney World, it is a major event. It's not like we can run down on a weekly basis. Getting those ADR's is not an easy exercise in most cases, and we work hard to plan the experiences we value and to get reservations for them. And that's true for the vast majority of people who visit Disney World -- most of us aren't locals and are limited in how often we can come. Every reservation that someone makes but does not keep is an opportunity that a visiting family did not have for that restaurant. And that's the precise reason Disney has the cancellation fee.

I'm sorry about the experience you had, and I don't mean this as any sort of personal attack on you or your situation. But I support the cancellation fee and disagree with it being waived.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

No im sorry if you call and explain you had to change your plans and or need to change a location then Disney should not be that difficult, I know what the rules are, but in this day and age things arise and have to be altered sometimes. Especially when your local and cant always make the trip over the day of or need to change the schedule. After explaining to the woman she was most unhelpful and was not the least bit friendly about it. All she had to do was say your welcome to move the reservation but she didnt, until the very end after it got heated. As long as you call and explain there should be no questions asked. If you dont show up without calling then yes of course thats different.

By booking the ADR, you've agreed to their cancellation terms. That cancellation term specifies that if you're a no show or do not cancel within 1 day, you are subject to the noted fee. You many not like the fine print, but you agreed to it by booking.

Your whole rationale of changing plans last minute is the crux of the implementation of this policy. Too many people were changing plans last minute and it was creating major issues with dining. Now, they have been known to waive the fee for more critical cancellations reasons...i.e. someone is ill or an emergency situation is keeping you from making the ADR, but simply changing plans last minute isn't going to cut it.

EDIT- I also had to cancel last minute once. I went into the phone call to cancel knowing that they may very well tell me I'd be charged the no show fee. The difference...we were in a car accident and since it was an emergency situation...they waived the fee. Still, they have no obligation to do so. I agreed to their terms and they very well could have charged me.

As to OP's question...we've showed up with fewer people than noted on our ADR and haven't been charged, but I've never just ordered a coke and left.

 

[BuddyThomas]

We called at 7AM to cancel a Chef Mickey's reservation for 10:20. The cast member said "thanks so much for letting us know. We're going to go ahead and waive the no show fee." Didn't even ask. They just offered.