Arriving late for reservation

[DreamDisneyGirl]

If I arrive 10-15 mins late for a reservation, will I lose it?

 

[Polydweller]

Not normally no. That’s not excessive. But it is up to the manager if they will have dropped your reservation so it’s not 100% certain. It’s always best to be a bit early rather than late.

 

[Bjkandma]

If you are late, your table might be gone. You may have to wait, a while but they will try to accommodate you. Please note, Disney recommends checking in early. (Also, your entire party must be present in order to be seated.)

 

[Nancyg56]

You might. I think it is best not to plan an itinerary that is so tight you run late

 

[RealBlast3]

If I arrive 10-15 mins late for a reservation, will I lose it?

I have arrived this late for a ressie several times, once at Le Cellier, in particular, I remember, for sure it was 15 minutes late, at least, and it was no problem at all. Another time, more like a half hour late, albeit it was for the Kona Cafe and only breakfast, they still accommodated me.

 

[Meglen]

Why are you assuming your going to be late ? If it's planned that your late other things can happen and make you even more late. I would move things around so your early .

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It is possible.

 

[sullyfam]

No, chances are you will be fine. As others have said though, I wouldn't plan on being late for any ADR. If things in your plans are making it that tight, it's honestly not worth the stress of rushing around. I would adjust your plans so you have more flexibility.

However, an ADR simply means you have made a reservation and are put in the restaurant's queue for that time period. If you're not there, they just keep seating people that are there and move through the queue as such. They plan for a certain number of ADRs (every 15-20 minutes for example) based on restaurant capacity.

Now, that's not to encourage people to show up late by any means, but I think people get confused about what an ADR actually is. It doesn't mean they have set aside a certain table for the Smith Family and it sits empty until you arrive.

Disney's "official" policy allows a 15 minute grace period and after that, it's up to the restaurant's discretion (aka how busy they are) as to whether or not they will accommodate you.

We have showed up both really early and kind of late to ADRs and never had an issue. But again, I would not plan on or encourage others to be late. Early (or on time) is always best!

 

[KenHutch]

The only time I have every seen it be an issue was last year while waiting on BoG I saw them refuse someone who as they put it loudly its only 20 minutes. I was well trained by the Marines if your not 15 minutes early YOUR LATE. The girls hate this.

 

[ColonialMouse]

10-15 minutes late is never a problem. *Planning* to be 10-15 minutes late might be, though, as plans often run late

Bruce

 

[verleniahall]

The only time I have every seen it be an issue was last year while waiting on BoG I saw them refuse someone who as they put it loudly its only 20 minutes. I was well trained by the Marines if your not 15 minutes early YOUR LATE. The girls hate this.

Our drama teacher had a saying:

If you are Early - You are On Time
If you are On Time - You are Late
If you are Late.... - You better have a REALLY GOOD reason!

 

[gharter]

It may be worth calling the restaurant before your ADR time if you know you will be late to let them know youare on the way.
But as others have said, how do you know you will already be late? And can you change any times to fix this?

 

[Disneypro1]

No , not 15 min late. We have been 30- 40 late on many occasions and have always got seated with no issues. I don't know what the actual cut off is..if there is one officially.
We dont do a lot of ADR's and cancel even more...but sometimes you have fun doing the attractions and FP is more important than an ADR as far as being on time...so, We would rather make the FP time and be late for an ADR. Again, never more than say 40 min late...but we never had an issue with that.

 

[TeresaWen]

Our drama teacher had a saying:

If you are Early - You are On Time
If you are On Time - You are Late
If you are Late.... - You better have a REALLY GOOD reason!

There is an HVAC service company that uses this. I do not agree. Early is not on time. Early is early. On time is on time. If I am expecting a workman at 1:30 and he shows up at 1:15 I might not be ready for him. It is not my job to be ready early. I know off topic. Disney asks guests to check in 15 minutes prior to their ADR time. This is a good policy as sometimes the line to check in is long.

I would not make plans so tightly that I thought I might be late. That to me causes stress. And it is not that easy to call and let the restaurant know you are running late.

 

[sharonabe]

Disney's "official" policy allows a 15 minute grace period and after that, it's up to the restaurant's discretion (aka how busy they are) as to whether or not they will accommodate you.

Where do you find this "official" policy? I've never seen anything in writing from Disney other than their request that you show up to your ADR 15 min BEFORE.

If I arrive 10-15 mins late for a reservation, will I lose it?

It's doubtful you will lose it, but if they are really busy or really far behind, you could. You could, and probably will, have to wait longer to be seated, depending on who else has ADRs around that time and who has shown up ahead of you.

 

[sullyfam]

That’s why “official” is in quotations. A quick google search will result in multiple references stating the 15 minute grace period.

Where do you find this "official" policy? I've never seen anything in writing from Disney other than their request that you show up to your ADR 15 min BEFORE.



It's doubtful you will lose it, but if they are really busy or really far behind, you could. You could, and probably will, have to wait longer to be seated, depending on who else has ADRs around that time and who has shown up ahead of you.

 

[DisneyRobin]

15 mins is the standard grace period.

 

[LilyWDW]

There is no official grace period. It is up to the individual restaurant to decide based on what is going on at that time.

 

[maxiesmom]

If I arrive 10-15 mins late for a reservation, will I lose it?

No one here can tell you for 100% sure. It is up to the restaurant at that point in time. They won't turn away paying guests if they can help it at all. But, if they are busy you will either be fine, be seated late, or not be seated at all.

There is no official grace period. Disney does ask that you show up 5-10 minutes before your ADR time. So if you are planning on being 10-15 minutes past the ADR time you are really 15-20 minutes late.

 

[verleniahall]

There is an HVAC service company that uses this. I do not agree. Early is not on time. Early is early. On time is on time. If I am expecting a workman at 1:30 and he shows up at 1:15 I might not be ready for him. It is not my job to be ready early. I know off topic. Disney asks guests to check in 15 minutes prior to their ADR time. This is a good policy as sometimes the line to check in is long.

I would not make plans so tightly that I thought I might be late. That to me causes stress. And it is not that easy to call and let the restaurant know you are running late.

If you are expecting a workman - its always good to be ready ahead of time - this way in case another job gets done early or is cancelled you are prepared for that

(I know - off topic - LOL)