About to call off my whole trip over the dining UNFAIRNESS

[Finally08]

So we are trying to plan a Disney cruise and the day we get off the ship I wanted to take dd into the MK. It will only be myself, my 4 year old dd and my mom. The main reason I want to go to the world at all is because of how much she loved 1900 Park Faire and the Cinderella characters there.
I called to make a ressie for that night we would be there and was told there were no tables for 3. They have tables for 4 but she can not book one for me, even if I pay for a 4th person who doesn't exist.

How UNFAIR is this??? I am seriously enraged and in tears that they would deny us the chance to dine there because we don't have a 4 person group going. So what do we do - try to find someone here and offer to buy them a meal? That's ridiculous. Disney is punishing parents of single children, and I am seriously not wanting to give them a penny of my money right now.

 

[Peapicker]

I agree that it is unfair. If they have the table available then they should give it to you plain and simple. I would call back and try again with another cm.

 

[Finally08]

I agree that it is unfair. If they have the table available then they should give it to you plain and simple. I would call back and try again with another cm.

I told her I would pay for the 4th person since I know it's a buffet type place. She said no. I said "so they would rather have an empty table than sit 3 people at a table for 4" she said "Oh no it WILL be filled (well duh)" but it may end up costing disney about 3-4k I was going to spend on a vacation there.

 

[LuvnWDW]

I would book for the 4.

 

[Leslieann1024]

So we are trying to plan a Disney cruise and the day we get off the ship I wanted to take dd into the MK. It will only be myself, my 4 year old dd and my mom. The main reason I want to go to the world at all is because of how much she loved 1900 Park Faire and the Cinderella characters there.
I called to make a ressie for that night we would be there and was told there were no tables for 3. They have tables for 4 but she can not book one for me, even if I pay for a 4th person who doesn't exist.

How UNFAIR is this??? I am seriously enraged and in tears that they would deny us the chance to dine there because we don't have a 4 person group going. So what do we do - try to find someone here and offer to buy them a meal? That's ridiculous. Disney is punishing parents of single children, and I am seriously not wanting to give them a penny of my money right now.

Try calling back one more time; if you get the same runaround, ask to speak to a supervisor. If the supervisor does not assist you adequately, just call back and make a reservation for four; upon arrival, simply state that one of your party was unable to attend. Some of the CM's who take ADR's have not learned the art of flexibility nor the art of "making the customer (the one who is spending the money!) happy". Chances are that you will be successful.

 

[Finally08]

I would book for the 4.

She told me I could be denied seating. I asked what happened if a group of 4 had a reservation and one person had gotten sick or something, would they be refused - she said, if they were seated at a table for 3 OR 4 they wouldn't, but if they had a table for 4 yes it was possible.
She was pretty snotty.

 

[tylerbug]

I totally agree with other poster I would book for 4............

 

[Skylarr29]

First I would call back because it doesn't seem that particular CM knew what they were talking about. If that CM still won't book it then I would call back and make it for 4. Just say someone got sick when you show up. It isn't a credit card guarantee... there isn't anything they can do.

 

[catne]

well, I don't think I'd call off my whole trip over a single meal! If you want to do it that bad, why not book & pay for 4? Yes, that will make it more expensive, but if it's that important to you? You're already spending quite a bit for the meal, since you have to buy park tickets to get there...

Did you try any other character places? You mentioned 1900 Park Faire...was that full too? If not, that would be less expensive to book 4 when there's only 3 of you (and would they make you pay for the 4th if you show up with just 3 at Park Faire? I know they charge in advance for the Castle, but is the same at Park Fair?) Or how about the Princess meals at Akershus (Epcot)...that seems to be very popular also.

Does it have to be princesses...the Pooh characters at Crystal Palace seem to be very popular with the little ones, too.

And also, you could just keep trying. People make reservations & cancel all the time. Especially at the castle, because if they can't go, they want their money back. Good luck.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

She told me I could be denied seating. I asked what happened if a group of 4 had a reservation and one person had gotten sick or something, would they be refused - she said, if they were seated at a table for 3 OR 4 they wouldn't, but if they had a table for 4 yes it was possible.
She was pretty snotty.

No! My DS did get sick last year. He and either myself or my DH missed 3 ADRs. At 'Ohana, CRT, and Kona, they were very nice. At CRT they refunded our money with no problem since it is a prepaid meal. We are a family of 5 so that put us at 3. I am sure we got a different table than we were supposed to.

 

[DizzDoll]

FWIW I would also call back. I happen to be a single mother of two and have never, and I repeat, never had any problems booking a table for three ANYwhere. And this includes Park Fare and Le Cellier. Give it another shot and let us know how you make out. As an alternative, would you consider the Crystal Palace? I honestly never heard of such a pile of you-know-what.

 

[Dorisk3]

Maybe you've already done this- but call back- get another CM- and make a reservation for 4. Don't make a big deal out of it- just reserve it and don't tell the CM anything about a party of 3. They will not deny you when you are there for one less person in your party. Tell them whatever you need to when you physically get there- like the other posters said "another member of my party got sick" or whatever. I'm sure when you get there it will be no big deal- and you won't need to pay for another person. That CM you got was rude and I'm sure you'll have better luck with someone else. Good luck!

 

[Finally08]

well, I don't think I'd call off my whole trip over a single meal! If you want to do it that bad, why not book & pay for 4? Yes, that will make it more expensive, but if it's that important to you? You're already spending quite a bit for the meal, since you have to buy park tickets to get there...

Did you try any other character places? You mentioned 1900 Park Faire...was that full too? If not, that would be less expensive to book 4 when there's only 3 of you (and would they make you pay for the 4th if you show up with just 3 at Park Faire? I know they charge in advance for the Castle, but is the same at Park Fair?) Or how about the Princess meals at Akershus (Epcot)...that seems to be very popular also.

Does it have to be princesses...the Pooh characters at Crystal Palace seem to be very popular with the little ones, too.

And also, you could just keep trying. People make reservations & cancel all the time. Especially at the castle, because if they can't go, they want their money back. Good luck.

We went in Feb, and they didn't require a CC or deposit for Park Faire (only CRT). We are only there one day, and this is THE place my dd wants to go -she loves the stepsisters almost as much as Cinderella and the dinner there is the only place to really see them. So yes we would be doing MK that day and paying a lot of money for that meal (no free dining for us, you think they'd like that!), but this is what she loves.
And the reason I say I want to cancel the whole trip is because of how stupid I think this policy is. We aren't asking to hog an enormous table of 12 or anything, we want 3 chairs - that's it, and I'll pay for the 4th if that's what they want. Since most everyone else there that day will be eating free, you think they'd want to fill a few chairs with customers paying cash.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Honestly I would book it for four people, then just say the other person got sick. I really can't imagine they'd turn you away, and I agree they do have a ridiculous dining policy. I've never known any dining establishment outside of Disney have this rule, it's pure greed on their part.

 

[jewelshouse]

Honestly I would book it for four people, then just say the other person got sick. I really can't imagine they'd turn you away, and I agree they do have a ridiculous dining policy. I've never known any dining establishment outside of Disney have this rule, it's pure greed on their part.

I agree.

 

[Finally08]

I've never known any dining establishment outside of Disney have this rule, it's pure greed on their part.

Yes, this. This is why I'm not feeling any disney love right now. better to make an extra $34.99 (or whatever it is) than to make a little child happy.

 

[ajh88]

And the reason I say I want to cancel the whole trip is because of how stupid I think this policy is. We aren't asking to hog an enormous table of 12 or anything, we want 3 chairs - that's it, and I'll pay for the 4th if that's what they want. Since most everyone else there that day will be eating free, you think they'd want to fill a few chairs with customers paying cash.

Sorry you got a "bad" CM - but I am not sure that this is actually "policy" - it doesn't make any sense at all. There aren't tables that seat only 3 people - there are 2 tops and 4 tops, and more (to the best of my knowledge). At least I've never seen a table designed specifically for 3 patrons.

I agree with the other PPs - call back and talk to a different CM. I'm sure you'll have better luck!

**Edited to add that I may not be entirely clear on the policy here - perhaps that they only hold a certain number of 4-top tables for parties of 3? Anyway, if that is the case, it would definitely be aggravating and annoying. Sorry for your frustration, but I'm sure you can get it worked out! Good luck!

 

[kelleigh1]

It sounds like you got the evil stepmother for a CM. Most of the CM's would book you as 4 when they discovered that they had no seats for 3 left, but did have them for 4. And I've never heard of anyone being turned away.

But hopefully you can relax and realize that everything will work out just fine if you follow the advice of everyone here and just call back and request a table for 4. It's really not worth getting worked up over since there is an easy solution. 1900 doesn't require a deposit, so it won't really matter anyway and even if it did, it seems that you would have been willing to pay for the 4th if necessary.

And I hate to say it, but if you cancelled the whole trip, the only person who would be hurt would be your little girl. She wouldn't understand why you cancelled. That's not worth it.

 

[Subrbnmommy]

We're a family of three and never had any problems. We always get a a table for four. Call back! Maybe the CM was just clueless.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would at least call back to speak with a different Cast Member and maybe you will get lucky that a table for 3 people opened up. Also I can say from past experiences when my family and I have had ADR's at Chef Mickey's or Boma they put us at table for 4 people and there was only 3 of us listed on the ADR, so I agree that WDW should change this rule because it is not fair.