ADR CANCELATION PENALTY A SCAM?

Oh those two people would have been on their own if I were with them. If it was lunch or dinner, at least. I love Tusker; it’s the one character meal I’m still happy to do.

We thought about it, but since the trip was only possible because they let us share their timeshare for free....we figured we could let an ADR go :rolleyes1 and we ended up doing the Tiffin's chef special for $35, so it wasn't a total waste! But yeah, Disney let us cancel for THAT reason without charging us $10 since we called instead of just no-showing, so I definitely think "scam" is a stretch.
 
Another fan of the fee for no shows.
It does make getting ADRs easier for those of us who want them. It also frees up ADRs a day or 2 ahead of time as that is when people frequently cancel.
IMO, Disney has really moved away from walk up at most of their restaurants and seem to prefer the tables filled by ADRs. Probably easier to plan for them.
 
We still book like crazy....you just have to remember to cancel.....Thats what iPhone reminders are for...
We may book 5-8 but only actually use 1. Which is fine..we just cancel.

Actually, that’s still obnoxious. Because you having 5 reservations that you’re not going to cancel until 2 days prior means I can’t plan ahead.

Still selfish behaviour, IMO.
 


Actually, that’s still obnoxious. Because you having 5 reservations that you’re not going to cancel until 2 days prior means I can’t plan ahead.

Still selfish behaviour, IMO.

I agree.........You're still holding onto multiple reservations that people are unable to access. Your strategy isn't against the rules but that doesn't make it right either.
 
So if you dont show for an ADR that you made with a credit card you will incur a penalty; correct?

So lets say I can't make a resie for lunch today at BOG or Cali Grill; after Disney charges me my no show fee do you really think my table will sit empty? I think not. So they cash in on the bill for the party that took my table and on my no show fee. Win Win Disney. Am I missing something?
Definitely not a scam and if you have a legitimate reason for not being able to make it, for example if you get sick and let the restaurant know they will usually waive the fee.

The problem isn't about empty tables, it really is more about ensuring more availability, as others have said many people would make reservations for the same meal at multiple restaurants and only show up for the one they wanted. This still happens, to a lesser degree though, but people have to cancel at least a day in advance now. This is actually cause by the insane idea of getting people to book ADRs at 180 days in advance, 8 mean how many of us know what we want to eat tomorrow, let alone 6 months from now? Add in the fact that menus can change dramatically in 6 months and the 180 days becomes even more insane.

So really the reason we see credit card guarantees is because of the 180 day ADR policy, make it something more manageable like day of only and it wouldn't be necessary.
 
I agree.........You're still holding onto multiple reservations that people are unable to access. Your strategy isn't against the rules but that doesn't make it right either.
That is the problem with having to book at 180 days out, many people don't know what they are going to want, so what do you do?
 


Personally that is what I do, but I can understand why others may book multiple ADRs, so I don't judge.

I do judge. Nothing about a Disney trip is set in stone prior. Park hours change, sometimes they even change during your trip. Disney can close attractions or parts of your resort with little to no warning. Heck they can even walk you to a totally different resort from the one you have booked.

Saying you don't know where you will want to eat that far ahead is a cop out. Book your best guess, and then switch it around later if you need to.
 
As I said, I don't judge, I don't know people's personal circumstances.

Now personally we usually have places we want to eat to try different places or repeat favorites, but my point is you would see far less of this problem if things were limited to same day reservations or at least a more reasonable 30 to 60 days out rather than 6 months and there would be less of a need for credit card guarantees.

The system could also prevent multiple reservations at the same time, but Disney hasn't done that yet, which means they consider it within the rules, so again I won't judge the people that book multiple ADRs.
 
The system does prevent multiple reservations at the same time.

I'm not sure how changing the time frame would make things better either. Same day would be a mess--imagine walking up to be told to wait 2 hours. What if that is the only place in that park you wanted to eat? And do people somehow know 30 or 60 days out what they will want the day of? How is the somehow clearer than 180 days out? A few years back Disney did a test and shortened the time frame. They must not have seen any improvement as they never made it part of the day to day.
 
The system does prevent multiple reservations at the same time.

I'm not sure how changing the time frame would make things better either. Same day would be a mess--imagine walking up to be told to wait 2 hours. What if that is the only place in that park you wanted to eat? And do people somehow know 30 or 60 days out what they will want the day of? How is the somehow clearer than 180 days out? A few years back Disney did a test and shortened the time frame. They must not have seen any improvement as they never made it part of the day to day.
The shorter time frame would make it easier for people booking because Disney doesn't release all the info you need to decide your plans at 180 days out. Last year we were going during party season and wanted to attend one, problem was they didn't release party dates until after our 180 days. I had to completely rearrange my plans (and I booked multiple adr's based on which days the party should be) because they changed the Hallowe'en party dates for my week to days that they have never put them on before. If they made the adr booking window for 60 days same as fp we would know much more about the park hours etc. than 180 days out. That said, that year was the first time I have ever booked multiple adr's and the first time I actually had to completely change my plans based on park hours.
 
This is a good thing. Discourages most people from making several reservations that they may not plan to use when they arrive. It's stated upfront so to avoid the fee then don't make reservations you have no intention of honoring. I haven't any problem with this at all.
 
The system does prevent multiple reservations at the same time.

I'm not sure how changing the time frame would make things better either. Same day would be a mess--imagine walking up to be told to wait 2 hours. What if that is the only place in that park you wanted to eat? And do people somehow know 30 or 60 days out what they will want the day of? How is the somehow clearer than 180 days out? A few years back Disney did a test and shortened the time frame. They must not have seen any improvement as they never made it part of the day to day.
Actually it doesn't prevent it, I had two at the same time while I was in the process of changing something around because I accidentally said no to having them cancel one for me, so it is quite possible to hold two, they were 10 minutes apart from each other and and for the same restaurant, oneoa dining package, one wasn't obviously I cancelled the one I didn't want.

And yes people know more at 30 to 60 days out, because park hours are more firmed up, heck we are going at the beginning of June and they just changed which parks have EMH on which days a couple days ago, not to mention when they announce after hours events, etc.

Same day (or close to it) would work just fine as well, they could either do you pick a time beginning at say 8 PM the night before or they could treat it more like traditional FP (i.e. how Disneyland does FP for rides) where when you are ready you login or go to a kiosk and see what return times are available for each restaurant and pick from that. Either way could work and eliminate a lot of this problem and you wouldn't have two hour waits, in fact you would end up with shorter wait times at restaurants when you show up for your ADR/return time because you would only have the people who wanted that restaurant that day and not the people who are going there because they didn't change it the day before and are now stuck going there or have to pay a fee and yes, that happens frequently, I hear at least 3-4 parties talking about it every time I go to a restaurant at Disney World.
 
Actually it doesn't prevent it, I had two at the same time while I was in the process of changing something around because I accidentally said no to having them cancel one for me, so it is quite possible to hold two, they were 10 minutes apart from each other and and for the same restaurant, oneoa dining package, one wasn't obviously I cancelled the one I didn't want.

And yes people know more at 30 to 60 days out, because park hours are more firmed up, heck we are going at the beginning of June and they just changed which parks have EMH on which days a couple days ago, not to mention when they announce after hours events, etc.

Same day (or close to it) would work just fine as well, they could either do you pick a time beginning at say 8 PM the night before or they could treat it more like traditional FP (i.e. how Disneyland does FP for rides) where when you are ready you login or go to a kiosk and see what return times are available for each restaurant and pick from that. Either way could work and eliminate a lot of this problem and you wouldn't have two hour waits, in fact you would end up with shorter wait times at restaurants when you show up for your ADR/return time because you would only have the people who wanted that restaurant that day and not the people who are going there because they didn't change it the day before and are now stuck going there or have to pay a fee and yes, that happens frequently, I hear at least 3-4 parties talking about it every time I go to a restaurant at Disney World.

For what dates did they change EMH in June? I looked at the calendar and it looks the same for the week of June 9th.
 
For what dates did they change EMH in June? I looked at the calendar and it looks the same for the week of June 9th.
Specifically June 12th was EPCOT a week or so ago and is now Magic Kingdom for evening EMH.....I only know that one for sure because it is my birthday so I have been watching park hours closely for that date.
 
Specifically June 12th was EPCOT a week or so ago and is now Magic Kingdom for evening EMH.....I only know that one for sure because it is my birthday so I have been watching park hours closely for that date.

I’ve had June 12th as MK evening EMH in my plans for months. I planned HDD around it when I booked ADR’s at 180 days. We arrive June 9th.
 
Being charged for not showing up is a good thing to have in place. Too many people would overbook and hoard the restaurants and choose at park day. It still doesn't stop the greedy people that will book hard to get ADR's 3 or 4 times a day and for every day of their trip and then cancel the day before. We book meals we intend on showing up for so others may have a chance to book that special meal too.
 

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