Adding people to party at last minute

[DavidNYC]

Are restaurants usually able to accomodate you if you add an additional couple to your party at the last minute? We're making a bunch of reservations for an upcomnig trip but my parents (who live in Florida) will be joining us for dinner one night - we just won't which night until that week.
(I don't want to add them to every reservation now since adding them really reduces the available times right now).

 

[CathieArms]

Are restaurants usually able to accomodate you if you add an additional couple to your party at the last minute? We're making a bunch of reservations for an upcomnig trip but my parents (who live in Florida) will be joining us for dinner one night - we just won't which night until that week.
(I don't want to add them to every reservation now since adding them really reduces the available times right now).

My guess would be no. Your best bet is to add them now, rather than to try to add them later. When are you going?

 

[cbg1027]

I think it will largely depend on the restaurant and the time of day you're eating. Places like Le Cellier, 'Ohana, California Grill, Chef Mickey's, etc, I don't see how they could or would. They are always booked solid, and even with an ADR you usually end up waiting some.

I wouldn't count on it happening. You don't want to get there and not be able to let your parents join.

Maybe when you know what day your parents are joining you could pick a restaurant that can usually accept walk-ups like Sanaa, Turf Club, or Grand Floridan Cafe. You would also increase your chances by eating at off peak times (NOT between 6-8pm).

 

[juliemcalister]

I suspect if adding them to reservations at this point limits availability, it's only going to become more difficult the closer you get to your trip.

 

[katie111]

We were there 2 weeks ago & added 2 people to our reservations several times & had no problems. We did this at Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Boatwrights, and Sci-Fi dine in. I think it definitely depends on time of year & which restaurants though. In each case we just asked nicely at the podium when we checked in & they always did it without hesitation. Also, we tended to eat at off- times, i.e. CP at 3:30 and Chef Mickeys at 5:30 so I think that probably helped as well.

 

[OhThePain]

(I don't want to add them to every reservation now since adding them really reduces the available times right now).

If adding 2 people reduces the available times right now, don't you think you would have a bigger issue adding 2 people at the last moment? Depending on when you are going, you may end up having to wait a while before getting a table, that is if the restaurant doesn't just tell you that they cannot accomodate the extra party members. You are better off making a more concrete plan as to which night they will join you or make all your ADR's for the 2 extra people.

If you are going at a historically quiet time of year, you may not have as much of an issue.

 

[goofy4tink]

I doubt it. I would just wait it out, and then once you find out when they will be joining you, you can alter your plans. You can call and see if there is availability for two more at the ADR you have already planned for that night. If it isn't possible, then you may be able to make a new ADR at a resort restaurant. Not perfect, but at least you'll be dining together.

 

[bicker]

I would think it would make more sense to factor them into your original plans, and then remove them if they cannot make it - an optimistic approach.

 

[Madhatter266]

We had a "surprise" addition of one person to a reservation last year - we did not know this individual was coming until about one hour before dinner. Yes, they were able to accommodate the extra person, but in order to do it we had to be separated into two tables. The tables were not near each other but it was the best that could be done. I was certainly not upset with the restaurant - this was our issue not theirs.

 

[bicker]

And, in your case, even if you had made the reservation including that one extra person, you still would likely have been split into two tables, not necessarily near each other. That's just the nature of many WDW restaurants with larger dining parties.

 

[FireDancer]

I suspect if adding them to reservations at this point limits availability, it's only going to become more difficult the closer you get to your trip.

Not necessarily. Many times the ADR system shows much less availability than the restaurant actually has. When I lived in FL there were a lot of times I called same day for lunch or dinner reservations and was told there is no availability at the place I wanted to eat. I would go to the restaurant at the same time and there would be plenty of open tables and I walked right in.

This is most likely down to both no-shows and the ADR system not allowing for booking 100% of capacity for most restaurants. There is always a percentage left open for walk ins with some exceptions (like LeCellier).

Of course going from 2 to 4 people or 4 to 6 will probably be easier than going from 6 to 8 or 8 to 10 because of the distribution of table sizes.

 

[donnaf516]

I added someone 2x on our last trip. Once at the castle for dinner and another time at the Cape May Cafe for dinner. I just told the greeter that we had an extra person. If I had know about it earlier I probably would have tried to add her in advance. Either way, it worked out for us.

By the way we were there last August during free dining.

 

[OhThePain]

I added someone 2x on our last trip. Once at the castle for dinner and another time at the Cape May Cafe for dinner. I just told the greeter that we had an extra person. If I had know about it earlier I probably would have tried to add her in advance. Either way, it worked out for us.

By the way we were there last August during free dining.

It also depends on how many people your ADR was for in the first place. If your ADR was for 3 and you added a fourth it isn't a big deal because it is still the same size table. Going from 2 people to 3 or 4 isn't that bad either since my girlfriend and I are sat at tables with room for 4 people just as often as a table for room for 2. Going from 5 people to 6 people is the same concept since it is still the same size table. Going from 3 to 5 or 4 to 6 means that a different table(s) is now needed. If you cannot can an ADR for the bigger table as it is, your odds of getting the bigger table by just showing up with 2 others is not very likely. Not to say that it wont happen, but the odds would not be in ones favor.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you have not booked yet, include them in all the reservations you think they might attend, even if it means you have to add them to all your reservations or you cannot book a time that you want. It is much easier to remove them later than to add them later. If you try adding them at the last minute you run the risk of being unable to do so. If the restaurant is full when you arrive the extra persons in your party will be turned away and you either have to ask them to make other arrangements or give up the entire reservation. This may not occur often, but it does occur, and you will be taking the risk that your parents won't be admitted.

 

[sarahsar]

On our trip in October my brother decided to go after I had already made all the ADRs. That changed us from a party of 7 to a party of 8, which I thought wouldn't be too much trouble since most tables that accommodate 7 will accommodate 8. I called to add him on to the ADRs and was able to add him to almost all of them, including CRT and Chef Mickey's. The time changed for some of them, but when I went online I found our original times were freed up and I could make a brand-new ADR for 8 people. It's a quirk of the Disney system that they can't just change the number of people for the ADR - they basically rebook the new ADR and cancel the old one. It was a bit of a hassle, but I got our ADRs back to what we wanted in the first place.

The one place I couldn't add a person was Le Cellier. I think this is because they couldn't cancel the reservation and book a new one because there were no others that night. I considered taking the chance of doing it online - releasing my ADR to myself basically - but it seemed like too big a chance to take if someone else swooped in and grabbed it. So the night of our dinner we just told them when we got there that we had an extra person. They were able to add him. We knew it was taking a chance, but he was okay with missing it if need be (Food & Wine was going on too so he knew he'd find something to eat!)

I think the bottom line is it's best to go ahead and make the ADR for the correct number of people if you can, because the system is strange about changes. Depending on your number of people, it can sometimes be easier to book for _more_ people. However, if you're willing to take the chance of just showing up with extra people you may be okay. Just be prepared that it may not work out.