Be Our Guest Conundrum

[HulaMinnie]

So we were able to get a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest after multiple attempts on different days! However, I could only get a reservation for 4 adults and we have 4 adults and one baby. Will this be an issue? I'm not completely sure what DS will be eating by October so I don't know if he'd even eat anything from the restaurant. I'm guessing not, though. I'm not sure what to do; do I call and ask (I'm afraid they'll tell us we can't do)? Do I risk it an just show up? I'll keep checking for cancellations, but if I'm worried that I'll be stuck with the 4. Any thoughts?

 

[maxiesmom]

It may be an issue. Every person counts as a guest, no matter how small. If the restaurant is full they won't allow an "extra" person in, even if they are an infant. It has to do with the Fire Code so Disney won't budge on it.

The best thing to do is try to adjust your ADR to a party of 5, which is what you are in Disney's eyes. Keep checking. Call and check their web site as often as you can. If you can't change it you have the option of showing up and hoping for the best. But know if you do that that there is the chance you may be turned away, or told one person has to find somewhere else to eat.

 

[TDC Nala]

Most of the time they will just change you to a party of five when you arrive, you might possibly have to wait a bit longer now that you need a bigger table, and there won't be any other repercussion. There's the outside possibility that they won't allow any extra people due to fire codes if the restaurant is full to its official capacity. That's rare, but the possibility does exist. It really isn't relevant whether the extra person eats or not. What matters is the space at the table (high chairs take up space, and even if the child is not in a high chair they will count them as a person) and the specific number of people in the restaurant.

 

[HulaMinnie]

Thanks for the input! It's very helpful. I'll keep trying

 

[housetomouse]

I'd keep trying for the 5, but I wouldn't let it deter me from showing up to the reservation for 4. If the baby is not old enough to need a park ticket or be on the dining plan, I don't see what the issue is. You may have to wait a bit for your table if they need to find one that has room for a high chair (assuming they have those), or you could offer to hold the baby on your lap. I think you'll be able to eat there, regardless. Disney would never send you away on account of a baby, IMO.

 

[Hopefully]

I'd keep trying for the 5, but I wouldn't let it deter me from showing up to the reservation for 4. If the baby is not old enough to need a park ticket or be on the dining plan, I don't see what the issue is. You may have to wait a bit for your table if they need to find one that has room for a high chair (assuming they have those), or you could offer to hold the baby on your lap. I think you'll be able to eat there, regardless. Disney would never send you away on account of a baby, IMO.

As stated by 2 PP's the issue is capacity and fire codes. It has nothing to do with park tickets or eating food.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'd keep trying for the 5, but I wouldn't let it deter me from showing up to the reservation for 4. If the baby is not old enough to need a park ticket or be on the dining plan, I don't see what the issue is. You may have to wait a bit for your table if they need to find one that has room for a high chair (assuming they have those), or you could offer to hold the baby on your lap. I think you'll be able to eat there, regardless. Disney would never send you away on account of a baby, IMO.

The issue is the baby still counts as a person, and counts towards the total occupancy of the restaurant. And if the restaurant is booked solid, they will indeed turn an extra person away. There is no way Disney would open themselves up to being fined or sued by allowing more people in than the stated capacity.

This is not the first time this issue has been brought up. And a CM who frequently posts assured us that they will indeed turn people away if they under-count their family in order to score an ADR. Apparently it is turning into quite the issue.

 

[SteveMouse]

5, the number in your party, is greater than 4, the number in your reservation. Not to mention that the increase means going from a 4 topper to a 6 or 8 topper (table size). You not only have room capacity issues but table size issues as well

I'd plan on having someone eat somewhere else so that your party size = reservation, calling and hoping for an increase, or canceling.

 

[purple figment]

I'd keep trying for the 5, but I wouldn't let it deter me from showing up to the reservation for 4. If the baby is not old enough to need a park ticket or be on the dining plan, I don't see what the issue is. You may have to wait a bit for your table if they need to find one that has room for a high chair (assuming they have those), or you could offer to hold the baby on your lap. I think you'll be able to eat there, regardless. Disney would never send you away on account of a baby, IMO.

As others have said, it has nothing to do with age, eating, or space at the table. It's a very small possibility, but if the restaurant is at capacity, the fire and safety codes will not allow any extra people. It could also happen if the restaurant is so far behind schedule they decide not to allow any extra diners, walkups or people late to their reservation. We saw this happen once at LeCellier.

As far as turning away the baby, since the OP has a reservation for 4, the restaurant will allow 4 people, but it will be up to the OP to decide which adult will have to find someplace else to eat.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

They will not allow you to keep the infant in your lap (or under the table). A seat will be required (even if it is a high chair) and that requires a table with a higher capacity than four. They will not add a seat at the end of a table as it will either interfere with the table next to it or will partially block an aisle.

You you would have to wait standby for a six-top (no such thing as a five) or higher, as if you did not have a reservation.

 

[HulaMinnie]

Got it. I'll keep checking for cancellations. Hopefully there will be an October ADR cancellation thread in the coming weeks.

 

[Marsheliz]

The same thing happened to us last fall when we had a reservation for Tusker House... I put 4 instead of 5 but it wasnt a big deal thankfully They let us in and everything was fine!

 

[housetomouse]

As stated by 2 PP's the issue is capacity and fire codes. It has nothing to do with park tickets or eating food.

The issue is the baby still counts as a person, and counts towards the total occupancy of the restaurant. And if the restaurant is booked solid, they will indeed turn an extra person away. There is no way Disney would open themselves up to being fined or sued by allowing more people in than the stated capacity.

This is not the first time this issue has been brought up. And a CM who frequently posts assured us that they will indeed turn people away if they under-count their family in order to score an ADR. Apparently it is turning into quite the issue.

I posted before I read those posts (and I never saw a previous thread about it). I can understand the fire code thing, I hadn't thought of that when I posted. I didn't know people were under-counting their parties intentionally, either. I guess I need to remember that BoG is not like a regular restaurant, which would probably not be filled to capacity and which would probably not turn away a party of 5 with an infant when they have a reservation for 4.

But as to Disney not wanting to open themselves up to being fined/sued for allowing more people than capacity, I've been in what I thought were some dangerously crowded situations at Magic Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and I thought Disney Quest was a nightmare when I was there. If they had had to evacuate Disney Quest in a hurry, it wouldn't have ended well with 5 stories of crowds evacuating. I couldn't walk without bumping into somebody there. At Blizzard Beach, we were in the wave pool in the deep end bumping into someone non-stop. I don't know how a lifeguard could even see if anyone was trapped underneath that crowd. Technically, I'm sure Disney followed the rules in place, but the reality of it didn't feel that way. So I'm glad BoG is following the capacity rules, but it seems like Disney could make some improvements in this regard in other parts of their properties.

 

[JimmyV]

I posted before I read those posts (and I never saw a previous thread about it). I can understand the fire code thing, I hadn't thought of that when I posted.

Not that this changes the outcome, because what others have said about space is true, but the fire code issue is a red herring. Sort of an urban myth around here. TDC Nala is correct when she posts: "That's rare, but the possibility does exist." Yes, fire codes do account for "full capacity" such that no additional people would be let in. But, (and here is the big BUT), at any given time, it is almost mathematically impossible for the restaurant to be full. If a table for 4 is occupied by 3 people, there is room for another person. If a table for 6 is occupied by 4 or 5 people, there is room for more people. And so on. This is almost always the case. In order for the restaurant manager to know if the restaurant is at or in excess of fire code limits, s/he would have to stand at the entrance with a hand clicker and count each and every person who comes in, and then balance that against every person who leaves. Have you ever seen anyone do that?

And if you still don't get it, consider the fact that at lunch, there is a steady stream of people coming in to BoG, using up as many chairs and tables as possible in all three dining rooms, and no one gets turned away because of fire code issues, and no one is counting heads to see what the grand total is. Now, fast forward to dinner. They only use two of the three dining rooms, and you don't have people wandering around the way you do at lunch. So how, pray tell, could there be a fire code violation at dinner time, when just a few hours earlier, the restaurant held 30%-50% more people, and no one was turned away? If BoG is every going to butt up against the fire code maximum, it will be at lunch time, and not dinner.

 

[JZCubed]

If your child needs a high chair, then it is likely you'd have no problem placing their chair on the corner - Disney is great at adding people where possible.

Even if you need an adult size chair, Disney really does their best to accommodate.

Just check-in at the 15 minutes before your ADR (the maximum I have ever seen suggested) and make your case. They'd rather find a way to add 1 person than lose 4.

 

[housetomouse]

Not that this changes the outcome, because what others have said about space is true, but the fire code issue is a red herring. Sort of an urban myth around here. TDC Nala is correct when she posts: "That's rare, but the possibility does exist." Yes, fire codes do account for "full capacity" such that no additional people would be let in. But, (and here is the big BUT), at any given time, it is almost mathematically impossible for the restaurant to be full. If a table for 4 is occupied by 3 people, there is room for another person. If a table for 6 is occupied by 4 or 5 people, there is room for more people. And so on. This is almost always the case. In order for the restaurant manager to know if the restaurant is at or in excess of fire code limits, s/he would have to stand at the entrance with a hand clicker and count each and every person who comes in, and then balance that against every person who leaves. Have you ever seen anyone do that?

And if you still don't get it, consider the fact that at lunch, there is a steady stream of people coming in to BoG, using up as many chairs and tables as possible in all three dining rooms, and no one gets turned away because of fire code issues, and no one is counting heads to see what the grand total is. Now, fast forward to dinner. They only use two of the three dining rooms, and you don't have people wandering around the way you do at lunch. So how, pray tell, could there be a fire code violation at dinner time, when just a few hours earlier, the restaurant held 30%-50% more people, and no one was turned away? If BoG is every going to butt up against the fire code maximum, it will be at lunch time, and not dinner.

Great points!

 

[TDC Nala]

If your child needs a high chair, then it is likely you'd have no problem placing their chair on the corner - Disney is great at adding people where possible.

But...maybe not at Be Our Guest, where the food is served on wheeled carts that need to be pushed through the aisles. It would all depend on where the table ends up being.

There HAVE been reports of extra guests who are not on reservations being turned away at times. Not at Be Our Guest to my knowledge. For whatever reason, it CAN happen, but most likely it will not.

 

[disney_bob]

5, the number in your party, is greater than 4, the number in your reservation. Not to mention that the increase means going from a 4 topper to a 6 or 8 topper (table size). You not only have room capacity issues but table size issues as well

I'd plan on having someone eat somewhere else so that your party size = reservation, calling and hoping for an increase, or canceling.

Bit snarky for an innocent question, eh?

 

[dp911]

Bit snarky for an innocent question, eh?

No just truthful and accurate

 

[samacita]

I had read on another thread that the online ADR system was not handling odd party numbers well. Has this been fixed? Posters were recommending to make reservations for 6 if you had 5 in your party...Anyone know if this is still an issue?