Any way to book CRT without having to pay full amount?

[tracipierce]

Hi all,

my 180 days is fast approaching and all of my family have decided that they want to go to CRT, trouble is when we have gone in the past I've only had to leave a credit card as a deposit. Now it seems I have to pay in full 6 months out, which is ridiculous.
There are 5 of us for dinner and I just can't cover the full cost right now as we are still saving up our spending money. Is there any way that anyone knows of that I could book and pay a deposit?

Sorry if this has been asked before, but the search feature doesn't seem to want to work for me.

TIA

 

[vicki_c]

Not unless you are the on the DDP and book using that connected to your reservation.

We went to CRT for the first time in January 2010 and it was pay in advance at that time, and I know it was for some time prior to that as well, so it's nothing new.

 

[JL2002]

I actually sent an email regarding this, and unfortunately they said there is no other way around this, and they'll refund you the money when you arrive at CRT if you have a DDP.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I actually sent an email regarding this, and unfortunately they said there is no other way around this, and they'll refund you the money when you arrive at CRT if you have a DDP.

If you have a resort reservation with the DDP when you make the ADR, you only have to give a credit card as a guarantee. You shouldn't be charged the full amount for the ADR at that time. However, there have been some glitches in the system that have people with the DDP paying in full up front. If the online ADR system is asking for full payment, call into the (407) WDW-DINE line and make the ADR that way.

I know when I went in 2007, CRT required full payment at the time you made the ADR unless you had the DDP. So it's been this way since at least September 2006 when I made that ADR.

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, unless you have the DDP and use that to book, you will be charged the full amount at the time of booking.

 

[TDC Nala]

Only if you have a dining plan on your room reservation at the time you book. Anyone else has to pay in full at booking.

 

[maxiesmom]

It has been pay in full at time of booking for a looong time. It does kind of stink, but it is what it is.

Have you given any thought to booking the princess meal in Norway at Epcot? You don't get the same wow eating in that castle as you do the one in the Magic Kingdom, but the food is better and so is the character interaction. The princesses are not as rushed at Akershus as they are in The Castle.

You also only give your credit card number to hold the reservation, they don't charge it at the time.

 

[Caitriona]

I had the DDP when I booked our CRT reservation, so I only left a credit card guarantee when I made the reservation. I even booked online without having any problems, by just making sure I signed into my account by using my resort reservation beforehand.

We've since decided that we don't want to do any sit down meals, but because the CRT meal is a gift for DD's Birthday, that's the only ADR we want to keep. So I canceled the DDP and all of our ADRs, but we kept our CRT ADR and it's still there.

I'm really nervous about it and keep checking on it to make sure that it wasn't canceled on me, but I guess it's okay, because they still have my credit card information on file and we'll just pay for the meal when we get there.

I might call to see if I can prepay it, but if it's okay as it is, I might be okay with that. I feel kind of bad because it feels as though I tricked the system, but we're just really indecisive about the whole DDP vs OOP thing.... and there are days when I want to add it back on...

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I had the DDP when I booked our CRT reservation, so I only left a credit card guarantee when I made the reservation. I even booked online without having any problems, by just making sure I signed into my account by using my resort reservation beforehand.

We've since decided that we don't want to do any sit down meals, but because the CRT meal is a gift for DD's Birthday, that's the only ADR we want to keep. So I canceled the DDP and all of our ADRs, but we kept our CRT ADR and it's still there.

I'm really nervous about it and keep checking on it to make sure that it wasn't canceled on me, but I guess it's okay, because they still have my credit card information on file and we'll just pay for the meal when we get there.

I might call to see if I can prepay it, but if it's okay as it is, I might be okay with that. I feel kind of bad because it feels as though I tricked the system, but we're just really indecisive about the whole DDP vs OOP thing.... and there are days when I want to add it back on...

We did something similar. Booked on free dining, booked CRT, ended up getting a villa at BC through our timeshare, cancelled the free dining reservation, and ended up adding the dining plan to our timeshare reservation about a week before our trip. It was no problem.

 

[TLSnell1981]

So I canceled the DDP and all of our ADRs, but we kept our CRT ADR and it's still there.

..

Lucky you! I've had CRT auto-cancel, even though I'd paid in full. It took three CM's to reinstate the ressie. The first one had no clue, the second said, "sorry we're full"....but I insisted. The third one was the charm.