New Table Service Cancellation Policy

[canopynut66]

I just found out this information from a friend that select table service locations will now charge you if you don't cancel your reservation. The new policy will start October 26, 2011. You will be required to provide a credit card when making a reservation and if the reservation isn't canceled at least one day in advance you will be charged $10 per person on the reservation.

The restaurants included in this new policy are:

1900 Park Fare
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Artist Point
Brown Derby
California Grill
Cape May Cafe
Chef Mickey's
Citricos
Crystal Palace
Flying Fish
Garden Grill
Hollywood & Vine
Jiko
Le Cellier
Narcoossee's
Ohana
Tusker House
Yachtsman Steakhouse

Victoria & Albert's has a $25 per person cancellation fee.


There is a new phone line that will handle dining cancellations, 407-WDW-CNCL. You can also cancel online.


Thoughts?

Knew at some point WDW would have to go to this as to many just do not show up. makes it bad for the ones who did. so many people anymore that are wanting dining and can not get in places.

 

[Jedi]

about time!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Here is a copy of the official notice:

"To provide consistent Guest service, adjustments will be made to the Walt Disney World Resort cancellation policy beginning October 26, 2011. At that time, additional table-service locations will begin using the cancellation policy already in place at select restaurants on property. When booking a reservation at these restaurants, Guests will be required to provide a credit card to hold a reservation and will be charged $10 per person if the cancellation isn’t made at least one day in advance.

Pre-paid locations will continue to retain the full, pre-paid amount if Guests are unable to honor the reservation and are unable to cancel the reservation one day in advance. Special dining events and packages such as Fantasmic! packages, New Year’s Eve dinners, Victoria & Albert’s reservations may have different cancellation requirements.

Dining locations participating in the credit card guarantee policy will be as follows:

Pre-Paid Locations

• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
• Mickey’s Backyard BBQ

Credit Card Guarantee Locations

• 1900 Park Fare
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Artist Point
• California Grill
• Cape May Café
• Chef Mickey’s
• Cítricos
• The Crystal Palace
• Flying Fish Café
• The Garden Grill
• Hollywood & Vine
• Jiko – The Cooking Place
• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Narcoossee’s
• ‘Ohana
• Tusker House Restaurant
• The Hollywood Brown Derby
• Victoria & Albert’s (cancellation policy is $25/per person)
• Yachtsman Steakhouse

A special phone line that only handles dining cancellations is available for Guest convenience: 407-WDW-CNCL. Dining reservations may be booked or canceled by visiting any table-service restaurant podium, Walt Disney World Resort Hotel front desk, concierge or Guest Relations, or by calling 407-WDW-DINE. Guests may also make and cancel reservations by visiting www.DisneyWorld.com/Dining.

Guests with questions about a cancellation policy for a dining reservation are encouraged to visit any table-service restaurant podium, Walt Disney World Resort Hotel front desk, Concierge or Guest Relations, or by call 407-WDW-DINE."

Note that it is all "signature" restaurants and all with Character Dining. With the exception of Akershus (with Characters) and Le Cellier it does not include any Epcot restaurants.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yep- all Disney-operated signature restaurants and character dining, with 'Ohana dinner and Le Cellier lunch thrown in apparently.

It would appear it includes every reservation, dining plan or no dining plan.

 

[SnackyStacky]

What a nightmare! things happen, esp with kids on vacation.

Can you imagine the angry folks who can't make it due to transportation? or my favorite, i have been inline waiting to check in, what do you mean i lost me reservation and have to pay

There are also many people that do not have and do not want credit cards. Should be interesting!

This.

We went to Disney World this past December, arriving on the 30th. It was the last night of the Candlelight Processional. I had a reservation at Marrakesh at 4:30. I had a flight that was to land at MCO at 11am. We landed at 3:30pm.

It took a lot of begging and pleading with them (while standing at the pickup area at MCO) to please not charge my card. I really wanted to be there but there was NO way I could make it. And to make matters worse, I had called from my home airport and the agent I spoke to told me to leave the reservation active and cancel it once I arrived WITHOUT PENALTY if I needed to.

It's been said on a thread on the theme parks board that was closed. Life just gets in the way. Not everyone that is canceling the day of has bad intentions. They have a delayed flight. They have a sick kid. They have one of a million issues that's a true, legit reason for not making a reservation.

I get why they're doing it. It's a good thing that they're trying to make sure people can get a reservation that want a reservation. It's bad that it's at the expense of HONEST people who do not double book.

 

[Virtucomp]

Now what we need is a text message alert system so when the ASRs get cancelled you get notified that the spot opened up in case you want to grab the ADR or try a walkup.

You could just go to the ADR web site and put your cell on alert for a particular restaurant and time range. They could blanket people who signed up and then give it first come first serve.

 

[snykymom]

One of my concerns is the physical process of cancelling reservations. I've been trying for the past week to cancel a couple of ADRs online, since my plans have changed (DD not coming for the entire trip). Every time I hit Cancel on one of my ADRs, I get an error message.

I really don't want to have to worry about cancelling while I'm there (assuming it's not one of the "life happens" issues), or hanging on the phone forever to speak to a CM.

Luckily, I'm grandfathered for this next week. Don't know what I'll do for my next trip.

I wish they'd do away with ADRs entirely, so I could again walk up to the kiosk in Epcot, hit a few buttons on the touch screen (back when touch screens were new, it was fun!) and get an ADR for that day.

I know it's not going to happen, at least not as long as there's a DDP, but that was one of the things about a Disney vacation that I miss most - the flexibility.

 

[jlwhitney]

I think it is a step in the right direction, but I think they have to cancel a week before the reservation personally, since 24 hours isnt going to do a whole lot.

 

[tmgandolph]

The fee is per person so I wonder what will happen if the reservation is changed from let's say from 6 to 4 for whatever reason you have on the day of the reservation.
Do you think you will get charged $20?
Under the new system is this considered a change to the reservation or a cancellation of 2 people?

 

[Ozzie]

Thank goodness this is going to happen. I know from talking to CM's that people have been found to making ADR's for a estaurant in every park so that they do not have to decide where they want to be before arriving in WDW.
My wife and I make a ADR and then that day is the park we go to, it is not hard.
These multiple ADR's that people do have been making it alittle hard at times to get a reservation because of their multiple bookings.
Maybe this will make it easier now for the ones who want to play by the rules.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

about time!!

♫ Hal-le-lu----jah ♫

 

[Lewisc]

Yes, just like you can charge Disney when you have to wait 45 minutes in line for a ride and 30 minutes for a bus.

Not the same. An ADR is for a specific time. There is no published time standard for rides or buses. Disney no longer has an excuse to overbook restaurants.

Posters want to make a comparison with airlines. Passengers are entitled to compensation if they're bumped from a flight. How about if a guest isn't seated with 15 minutes of his ADR the meal is free.

 

[tjkraz]

There are both good aspects and bad aspects to the change but overall it's a move in the right direction.

Personally I'm not going to let worst case scenarios hamper our acceptance of the policy. In 10+ years worth of trips to WDW we've never had to miss an ADR due to illness. And in situations where there were transportation delays, Disney has always been good about accommodating us. One time we were late of our own accord and they still got us into a busy restaurant.

If / when the time comes that we cannot cancel on 24 hours' notice, I'll trust Disney to act accordingly. I doubt this is designed to be be a "gotcha!" to extort an extra $40 out of a family who cancels 4 hours out due to a sick child.

Overall it may alter our approach to dining reservations but that's our challenge to deal with. Booking signature ADRs on an arrival day now seems incredibly unwise given the possibility for travel delays. We'll either pick another day for those meals, arrive a day earlier, etc.

It's certainly a policy that people can work around.

 

[mcd2745]

I think this is a great step taken by Disney. Now, if they would just roll back the ADR window down to 45 days, we'll really have a good system in place.

There's no doubt there has been rampant abuse of the system. Far too many people booking ADRs with little or no intention of using them. Whether it was making a dinner ADR in each park for every night of their trip, or early morning ADRs in the parks just to get in before rope drop, it is clear the powers that be realized the high percentage of no-shows was a huge problem that needed to be addressed.

I also hope they don't waive the fee for every lame excuse people give for no-showing. Otherwise, there will be no improvement.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I don't like this idea. We've had to miss a meal at Crystal Palace due to illness. We wouldn't have made the 24 hour cut off. We've also made ADR's for a couple of places and the morning of decided we didn't want the hassle of having to be there at a certain time.

I think it would be a much better idea to go back to making morning of reservations when you walk into the park.

 

[mcd2745]

I don't like this idea. We've had to miss a meal at Crystal Palace due to illness. We wouldn't have made the 24 hour cut off. We've also made ADR's for a couple of places and the morning of decided we didn't want the hassle of having to be there at a certain time.

I think it would be a much better idea to go back to making morning of reservations when you walk into the park.

And if people think the "running of the bulls" for TSMM is bad...the stampede to make reservations would be a lot worse and take place at all 4 parks.

 

[Lewisc]

Credit Card Guarantee Locations


• The Garden Grill
Note that it is all "signature" restaurants and all with Character Dining. With the exception of Akershus (with Characters) and Le Cellier it does not include any Epcot restaurants.

Unless the restaurant has recently moved the Garden Grill is located in EPCOT.

 

[tjkraz]

I don't like this idea. We've had to miss a meal at Crystal Palace due to illness. We wouldn't have made the 24 hour cut off.

Again, I'm quite certain Disney has policies to handle situations like this. I am quite certain they will waive the no-show fees in the event of illness or injury.

However, what they won't do is waive no-show fees at three parks because one guest made 4 simultaneous reservations and only planned to keep one of them. THAT is what this policy is designed to prevent.

We've also made ADR's for a couple of places and the morning of decided we didn't want the hassle of having to be there at a certain time.

I'm sure this change will have many of us re-thinking our attitudes toward ADRs. Overall that's a GOOD thing.

I think it would be a much better idea to go back to making morning of reservations when you walk into the park.

Really?? Do you really think it would be an improvement to be stuck with a group of hundreds--perhaps thousands--of guests trying to book ADRs first thing in the morning...EVERY morning?

I'd rather be enjoying the park.

 

[mcd2745]

I'm sure this change will have many of us re-thinking our attitudes toward ADRs. Overall that's a GOOD thing.

Agreed 1000%

Although, it really won't change my attitude as I've never been no-show for any of my ADRs. And I believe I've only once cancelled an ADR inside of 24 hours.

 

[Bob NC]

I don't like this idea. We've also made ADR's for a couple of places and the morning of decided we didn't want the hassle of having to be there at a certain time.

Well, of course you don't like this idea, you like making ADR's that you don't want or need.