Add a person to a dinner reservation as a walk-up?

[JimmyV]

It's just rare that it happens.

So rare that it isn't worth accounting for, unless you are trying to add a person to a reservation on Easter Sunday, or Ragland Road on March 17. The point is that every time this topic comes up, people bring up fire codes as if the sky is falling and suggest to unknowng posters that this will likely be a reason for denying an extra person admission. For a look at how fire code capacity meshes with normal occupancy, go to Ragland Road this Thursday and see how crowded it is (and yet it stays within fire code regs.) Once you have that picture in your mind, imagine a hostess telling you on any other day of the year at 7:00 that "one more person will put us over the fire code limit." Likewise, next time you are at the California Grill during the fireworks show, make a mental note of how many people are in the restaurant. Now imagine a hostess telling a customer at 6:00 on a night with no fireworks that "one more person will put us over the fire code limit." Bottom line is that fire code capacity far exceeds normal "full" capacity. So let's not let theory get in the way of practice.

 

[sabrecmc]

We've always been able to add a person at any restaurant that isn't Cinderella's Royal Table, lol. Just walk up in plenty of time and nicely request to see if it is possible. We've even been able to do it at Le Cellier when my brother joined us unexpectedly. I wouldn't stress about it at all.

 

[maxiesmom]

So rare that it isn't worth accounting for, unless you are trying to add a person to a reservation on Easter Sunday, or Ragland Road on March 17. The point is that every time this topic comes up, people bring up fire codes as if the sky is falling and suggest to unknowng posters that this will likely be a reason for denying an extra person admission. For a look at how fire code capacity meshes with normal occupancy, go to Ragland Road this Thursday and see how crowded it is (and yet it stays within fire code regs.) Once you have that picture in your mind, imagine a hostess telling you on any other day of the year at 7:00 that "one more person will put us over the fire code limit." Likewise, next time you are at the California Grill during the fireworks show, make a mental note of how many people are in the restaurant. Now imagine a hostess telling a customer at 6:00 on a night with no fireworks that "one more person will put us over the fire code limit." Bottom line is that fire code capacity far exceeds normal "full" capacity. So let's not let theory get in the way of practice.

I would rather know there is a chance of not being able to get in, then be assured there will not be a problem, and be one of the unlucky few to be turned away.

People make the same statement about the whole connecting rooms are not guaranteed thing. Usually you do get them, but if you are someone who has the misfortune of not getting them (which has happened to me!) then it sucks.

Best to know the worst and prepare for it, but hope for the best and keep your fingers crossed!

 

[Lehuaann]

We were successful in adding one person to our reservation at LC (this was going from 4 to 5 top). However at BD, we were not...but I'm sure it had to do with the fact that we had a couple of people to add. They will do the best they can to accomodate you, but it's no guarantee.

 

[LilyWDW]

I would rather know there is a chance of not being able to get in, then be assured there will not be a problem, and be one of the unlucky few to be turned away.

People make the same statement about the whole connecting rooms are not guaranteed thing. Usually you do get them, but if you are someone who has the misfortune of not getting them (which has happened to me!) then it sucks.

Best to know the worst and prepare for it, but hope for the best and keep your fingers crossed!

Agreed.

My thinking when giving advice is to give the worse case while still telling someone you never know what might happen. I believe it is better to tell them about what the worse possible outcome could be so that they are prepared for what COULD happen. Thus, if the better situation is what ends up happening, you can be happy about it... but at least you were prepared with a plan "B".

It is not guaranteed that they will be allowed to add any number people to the reservation when they arrive. As such, we would not be doing our jobs of giving information if we say "No worries, it will be fine. They always allow it to happen." because it is NOT always allowed to happen. Does it happen a good number of times? Yes... but a good number does not guarantee it will happen for a specific poster.