New WDW Dining Reservations Policy

[OKW Lover]

I'm OK with the change for the most part. I suspect they could have just done this for the restaurants in the parks and satisfied 90% of what they were trying to accomplish. Trying to implement a policy that way probably just makes it too complicated for everybody.

Since we visit very regularly we seldom make dining reservations any more. Usually just one nice meal per trip is it.

 

[Minniesgal]

I agree with this change. I can't believe that people would book multiple reservations just so they have a few options to accomodate their changing whims while others have to keep hitting the reservation site trying to find a decent time/location (the bad side of going during 'free dining').

I like that MDE doesn't let you double book. I've been 'upgrading' an ADR prior to MVMCP over the last week and finally got a good time/location combination last night. Each time the system cancelled my old reservation once my new one was confirmed.

I will confess to originally having a few "just in case" reservations when we started planning our vacation but never double booked ones. I had an 8:30PM Chef Mickey dinner booked for a while as it was the best I could do but cancelled it once I got a 5:30PM on a different day.

I have no problem with 'reservation upgrading', it appears to be part of the "adventure" of planning a trip.....checking and rechecking to see if you can get a better time/location. It is almost a sport between my wife and I (so far I am winning with the 5:30PM Chef Mickey res).

Unfortunately it is all too easy to overbook using MDE. There was a family in the monorail talking about how each of the parents had their own MDE account and booked an ADR a night and went with the one that was closest to where they are.

For me this suits our style of touring. I know more or less where we will be and if we are starting to get to the never hungry point I will cancel a couple if ADRs a few days out. The only time it will change my plans would be arrival day I won't make any more arrival day reservations

 

[FireDancer]

I think people are looking at this totally wrong. It doesn't take away flexibility, it adds flexibility and I'm totally for it. I don't micromanage my vacations which means I make very few restaurant reservations. I'd rather decide which park I'm going to when I want and where I want to eat at the time I'm hungry.

I think this will open up walk up spots so guests can decide where they want to eat and when. You still might have to wait 15 minutes or so or pick another restaurant but I think it will make it easier to find a place you want to eat around the time you want to eat without trying to predict the future 90 or 180 days out.

I think after implementation it will change to something like 4, 6, or 8 hours but either way I like the change.

 

[pigletto]

I have a dining reservation for each night of our upcoming trip. We're paying OOP this trip and I know for a few of them we simply won't be hungry or we'll be too exhausted to make it all the way over to another park in time for example. In those situations I used to cancel that day. I always called so someone else could walk up. I can see the need for it, but it's going to change our plans a bit. I think we'll do more CS locations and only keep a few very special ADR's. Which in the end is less money out of my pocket I guess.

 

[keys2kingdom]

The double and triple booking and no shows have got to be stopped and if this is the way to accomplish it then so be it, I don't particularly like having to cancel by 11:59p the day before but I'll deal with it . This issue has irked me for years as I simply cannot fathom someone being so rude as to take up 2 or 3 reservations while they decide what they are in the mood to do. Meanwhile others are trying to get in and can't.

I hate having to make ADRs at 180 days out because inconsiderate people book up everything they can get their hands on and there's nothing left at 90 or even 60 days out. If I can book my must-do restaurants at 60 days and then go online at 11:59 the night before for some others I'll be a happy camper.

I think Disney may also be doing this as a way to placate people on the dining plan. I see a lot of walk ups complaining that they have dining credits to use up but they can't get in anywhere because they didn't make ADRs. I think everyone on these boards are the exception to the rule in planning, I honestly think many people just go down there and expect to completely wing it. My DH had a co-worker who went this summer and did exactly this. He called DH one night completely exasperated because they had shown up at a restaurant, been seated and then been told the restaurant didn't participate in the dining plan. He now had overly hungry kids and was desperate for some place to eat that accepted the dining plan, he had no idea some of the restaurants weren't included or that they would have to wait so long for a walk-up! Who spends oodles of money on the dining plan and then doesn't bother to look through the materials that explain it?? I think a lot more folks than we realize.

 

[Cherinva]

Unfortunately it is all too easy to overbook using MDE. There was a family in the monorail talking about how each of the parents had their own MDE account and booked an ADR a night and went with the one that was closest to where they are.

This is the very thing that the new policy is going to stop (or slow down at least)...its unfortunate that Disney "has" to implement such a policy, but I can fully understand why. For us, we are going more with the QS plan now....but when we do want to have a special meal, we make the ADR and stick to it.

 

[49rt67]

i think it's a good idea. It will put a stop to those that double book and then no show to one of them....

bingo!

 

[keys2kingdom]

I can't wait for next weeks podcast! I feel a rant coming on!!

 

[WaltD4Me]

I am so sick of Disney's new rules for the first time I have no desire to plan a trip. Instead of doing more to correct a problem they basically created, they are just going to penalize everyone. A day's notice to cancel an ADR without getting charged is ridiculous. I even think 4-6 hours is ridiculous, I think 2 hours would be acceptable. That gives them plenty of time to open up the reservation for walk ups and people using MDE or whatever. I get the whole overbooking thing, but I think Disney has done a lot to help curb it by just not allowing you to double book on online anymore. Making this effective for ALL restaurants with a day's notice is a pure money grab.

 

[DisneyDaddy-O]

I think people are looking at this totally wrong. It doesn't take away flexibility, it adds flexibility and I'm totally for it. I don't micromanage my vacations which means I make very few restaurant reservations. I'd rather decide which park I'm going to when I want and where I want to eat at the time I'm hungry.

I think this will open up walk up spots so guests can decide where they want to eat and when. You still might have to wait 15 minutes or so or pick another restaurant but I think it will make it easier to find a place you want to eat around the time you want to eat without trying to predict the future 90 or 180 days out.

I think after implementation it will change to something like 4, 6, or 8 hours but either way I like the change.

Couldn't agree more.
We have booked many ADR's on the same day and I hope this change creates more openings!!

 

[dixiegirl]

This is a total non-issue for me. If I book an ADR, I plan my day based on that meal - if something comes up and I have to cancel too close, I know I will get charged the fee. That's pretty much it.

It's Disney's park, it's their restaurants, it's their rules - period. If I make the choice to pay to visit their parks and eat at their restaurants then I have to follow their rules and I really don't see them as being all that difficult to follow.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I have no problem with this at all. I can see the reason they are implementing this plan - to stop the double/triple/quadruple bookers who are no-shows which causes the restuarant to lose money by keeping a table/slot available. I think it's a great policy!

However, I do not think that every party will be charged if they do not cancel a day in advance. I would bet that the people who truly call several hours in advance of an ADR will be canceled without incident or charge. I think this plan is being rolled out to simply dissuade the rude idiots (my words) who like to double book and have no intention of canceling. By having a policy like this to hide behind, the guest service agents can simply say "this is our policy" to cover Disney's tush when the charge policy is implemented. Maybe I'm giving Disney too much credit, but my guess is that some common sense will be used with regard to who is charged and who isn't. I would bet that if an apologetic parent of an ill child called Guest Services hours in advance and explained why they had to cancel later than the specified time, Guest Services would likely work with the guest.

It's just too bad that it is necessary to have a severe policy like this to make people do the right thing.

 

[sayhello]

I have no problem with this at all. I can see the reason they are implementing this plan - to stop the double/triple/quadruple bookers who are no-shows which causes the restuarant to lose money by keeping a table/slot available. I think it's a great policy!

However, I do not think that every party will be charged if they do not cancel a day in advance. I would bet that the people who truly call several hours in advance of an ADR will be canceled without incident or charge. I think this plan is being rolled out to simply dissuade the rude idiots (my words) who like to double book and have no intention of canceling. By having a policy like this to hide behind, the guest service agents can simply say "this is our policy" to cover Disney's tush when the charge policy is implemented. Maybe I'm giving Disney too much credit, but my guess is that some common sense will be used with regard to who is charged and who isn't. I would bet that if an apologetic parent of an ill child called Guest Services hours in advance and explained why they had to cancel later than the specified time, Guest Services would likely work with the guest.

It's just too bad that it is necessary to have a severe policy like this to make people do the right thing.

This!

Sayhello

 

[dansyr2514]

This to me is a huge pain! I cancel any reservations we don't plan to attend99.9% of the time. However, it's usually an hour or 2 before. There have been times when you just don't feel well. You may not know that by 11:59 the previous evening.
Also. my opinion is that the people who spend the time with their spreadsheet booking a reservation at every park just in case, will also still have the spreadsheet with the times scheduled that they need to cancel 3 of 4 reservations they are still making.
I completely understand being charged if you don't cancel....but let's make it a reasonable amount of time. A one hour window would give the restaurant plenty of time to still be able to accept walk ups.

 

[GAN]

This to me is a huge pain! I cancel any reservations we don't plan to attend99.9% of the time. However, it's usually an hour or 2 before. There have been times when you just don't feel well. You may not know that by 11:59 the previous evening.
Also. my opinion is that the people who spend the time with their spreadsheet booking a reservation at every park just in case, will also still have the spreadsheet with the times scheduled that they need to cancel 3 of 4 reservations they are still making.
I completely understand being charged if you don't cancel....but let's make it a reasonable amount of time. A one hour window would give the restaurant plenty of time to still be able to accept walk ups.

Obviously, Disney doesn't want walk-ups anymore. They are pushing for people to use the My Disney Experience app to manage their vacation -by someone canceling an hour or two prior, I think it limits the functionality of the app. If you cancel the day before, a person on their way to Epcot in the AM could check the app and see there is availability at The Plaza in MK and fill that spot. The app worked really well on our trip last year -I would imagine it will probably evolve/improve over time.

 

[basketlacey]

But the app doesn't work on the credit card guarantee places does it? We are here now and I was looking for a flying fish reservation for tonight. When I tried from the app, it said I had to call.

 

[dalt01]

i always get a kick out of the, "we dont like this because we dont do this" group. actually its about time. i cant count how many times i have heard a kiosk cast member turn someone away, many someones, and then we sit down and there are many empty tables throughout our whole meal. no shows for sure. i have heard people talking about getting two and deciding at the last minute depending on where they find themselves on property at the designated time, heck, i have, over the years, seen that very thing discussed on these boards. i myself was guilty of it a couple years ago. we were very late and knew we would not make it to Sci Fi anywhere near the time and just went in to Olivia's..........i did not call..............i still feel ashamed.........

 

[GAN]

But the app doesn't work on the credit card guarantee places does it? We are here now and I was looking for a flying fish reservation for tonight. When I tried from the app, it said I had to call.

Good point. I figured they had added a way to tie your CC/Room Charge to your account -maybe not? Doesn't seem like it would be such a hard thing to do -unless same day ressies out of MDE will be excluded. Not sure if they clarified that in the new policy.

 

[buckeev]

But the app doesn't work on the credit card guarantee places does it? We are here now and I was looking for a flying fish reservation for tonight. When I tried from the app, it said I had to call.

Hmmm...since you're there now-(are you still there?)-.....are you showing an option to CANCEL any credit card guaranteed reservation?

Our "touring plans" are subject to change based on meltdowns.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

This is a total non-issue for me. If I book an ADR, I plan my day based on that meal - if something comes up and I have to cancel too close, I know I will get charged the fee. That's pretty much it.

It's Disney's park, it's their restaurants, it's their rules - period. If I make the choice to pay to visit their parks and eat at their restaurants then I have to follow their rules and I really don't see them as being all that difficult to follow.

I agree

I wonder how many people will now use the excuses of cars breaking down now or children being sick just so they don't have to pay