Cancelling ADRS

[Brittney Cornwell]

What is the penatly for cancelling ADRS and when is the lastest I can do so? I am regretting booking a lot of indoor reservations but don't want to let go of them til last minute in case we change our minds.

 

[OKW Lover]

Generally its the day before.

 

[Brittney Cornwell]

Generally its the day before.

Do you know if this is like say midnight or a whole 24 hours prior?

 

[lovin'fl]

Do you know if this is like say midnight or a whole 24 hours prior?

It's like midnight the night before.
I will PM you another tip.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

To be nice to others who might be looking for an ADR if you are going to cancel it would be great to do sooner rather than later.

 

[gharter]

Agree with cancelling as soon as you know so others can get that ADR. Otherwise, its usually by midnight the night before.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Well of course, but sometimes things come up and you don't know until the same day. There are ways around not having to pay the fee.

I agree but if you know you need to cancel it’s nice to do ASAP. Especially now with limited reservations with social distancing. Yes things do come up where you can’t cancel early but if you can that’s nice to do .

 

[sethschroeder]

To be nice to others who might be looking for an ADR if you are going to cancel it would be great to do sooner rather than later.

Agree but honestly Disney is the one creating the issue. I always make a bunch of reservations I know I will not keep. Issue is I don't know which ones I want to keep.

What Disney needs to do is a 3 fold reservation system:

• 35% of the reservations - 60 Days (up to +10 for onsite for length of stay)
• 50% of the reservations - rolling 24 hours ahead of time
• 15% of the reservations - held back for same day waitlist

The drop from 180 days to 60 days is a drastic improvement at least. Would be happy if nothing else they dropped it to 30 or 14 days out.

 

[Lilsia]

Agree but honestly Disney is the one creating the issue. I always make a bunch of reservations I know I will not keep. Issue is I don't know which ones I want to keep.

What Disney needs to do is a 3 fold reservation system:

• 35% of the reservations - 60 Days (up to +10 for onsite for length of stay)
• 50% of the reservations - rolling 24 hours ahead of time
• 15% of the reservations - held back for same day waitlist

The drop from 180 days to 60 days is a drastic improvement at least. Would be happy if nothing else they dropped it to 30 or 14 days out.

I think they made the cancellation policy for exactly people like you that "make a bunch of reservations that they know they will not keep". That really is a crappy thing to do to a restaurant, and other's that would have happily shown up to their reservation. The reservations where filled, but people where not showing up leaving the restaurant with open tables. I don't mind the system at all because I make a plan and stick to it. Plus I know that if something came up, like I got sick, that Disney would forgive the cancellation fee. It is mostly to keep people from doing what you do, make a bunch of reservations and not show up or cancel them in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[sethschroeder]

That really is a crappy thing to do to a restaurant, and other's that would have happily shown up to their reservation.

Again its their fault. Don't force me to have a reservation 60 days out (used to be 180 days out).

I never make a reservation more than 4-6 hours ahead of time when I travel anywhere else and I travel a ton for work (and its in major cities not the middle of nowhere).

If Disney just outlined they hold back 25% of reservations for same day or waitlist then I would easily opt for that and likely never make an ADR again. Thing is Disney doesn't want that they purposely want to create a system in which it makes the dining seem limited. So instead I will fall in line, make my reservations ahead of time, and then during my trip cancel 1-2 days ahead of time when I finalize what I want to do.

Even worse is things like boarding groups that you don't know until morning of or FP+ which was reserved months after Dining was already set. As an example I have 5 HS park days reserved in 2 weeks and the only reason I have them is for more chances to make sure I get to ride ROR a single time on our trip (won't even try again after we get to ride).

 

[Lilsia]

Again its their fault. Don't force me to have a reservation 60 days out (used to be 180 days out).

I never make a reservation more than 4-6 hours ahead of time when I travel anywhere else and I travel a ton for work (and its in major cities not the middle of nowhere).

If Disney just outlined they hold back 25% of reservations for same day or waitlist then I would easily opt for that and likely never make an ADR again. Thing is Disney doesn't want that they purposely want to create a system in which it makes the dining seem limited. So instead I will fall in line, make my reservations ahead of time, and then during my trip cancel 1-2 days ahead of time when I finalize what I want to do.

Even worse is things like boarding groups that you don't know until morning of or FP+ which was reserved months after Dining was already set. As an example I have 5 HS park days reserved in 2 weeks and the only reason I have them is for more chances to make sure I get to ride ROR a single time on our trip (won't even try again after we get to ride).

No one is forcing you to make a reservation 60 days out. I never do. In fact, I make most of my reservations the day before. Or if it is someplace that I know I want to eat, and I know it is popular, I will make it before my trip. There are only so many restaurants at WDW so it's not hard to make a decision about where to eat ahead of time. I have also been able to walk up to most restaurants right when they open and get in. If you are unreasonable and expect to walk up to the most popular place at peak time and expect to get in, then I don't know what to tell you about that. It is unreasonable to expect last minute reservations at a busy place at peak time, no matter where you go. And you can't compare a restaurant at WDW, which is a huge, busy, international tourist destination, to a regular restaurant in a random city. Do you not see that?

 

[sethschroeder]

No one is forcing you to make a reservation 60 days out.

If I want to make sure I have a full array of choices then yes I should be making the reservation and then later cancelling if I decide I do not want to eat there on this trip.

Or if it is someplace that I know I want to eat, and I know it is popular, I will make it before my trip.

Well right now with limited seating capacity things can fill more easily and since I am only going to Disney 1 time a year I simply make the reservations for the locations I think I might want to eat at this time around.

There are only so many restaurants at WDW so it's not hard to make a decision about where to eat ahead of time.

There are currently 60+ restaurants that take reservations and in total 200+ eating locations in the parks/DS and another 10-20 locations for festivals in Epcot (which don't publish menus until 2-4 weeks ahead of time). I do have the primary locations that I am leaning towards eating at but no guarantee I will still be wanting to eat there 1/2/4/8 weeks from the date of reservations opening.

If you are unreasonable and expect to walk up to the most popular place at peak time and expect to get in, then I don't know what to tell you about that.

Except as outlined I never have to worry in the roughly 20-25 weeks a year I travel for work (not right now because of COVID19). When I go to Disney I make the reservations because their whole system is built to make it more difficult to plan day of and lock you in further out.

So what do I do? I don't complain I simply make the reservations, play the game, and have an enjoyable trip. When I cancel reservations a couple days out someone else gets the benefit of being able to get the reservation.

 

[Brittney Cornwell]

To be nice to others who might be looking for an ADR if you are going to cancel it would be great to do sooner rather than later.

I am only planning to cancel based on my comfortability level of the time on eating inside and how difficult I find getting food without reservation. Unfortunately I won't know that til I am there. I am sure someone will still be able to take my reservation if I did cancel.

 

[nw6675]

In November I could not outright cancel (at least via the app) or at times modify unless a full 24 hours or more out. It was not midnight day prior.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I am only planning to cancel based on my comfortability level of the time on eating inside and how difficult I find getting food without reservation. Unfortunately I won't know that til I am there. I am sure someone will still be able to take my reservation if I did cancel.

Maybe now is not the time for you to go.
You are near people in line indoors for rides- socially distanced but enclosed on some rides.
You sit in ride vehicles that are not cleaned after each ride.
And you can’t decide if you feel comfortable eating indoors?
It is honestly rude to wait until last minute.

 

[Lilsia]

I guess that I don't understand why the ADR's is such a big deal for some. You have to make park reservations now so you know what park you will be in anyway. Or if you plan to leave the park to eat. I know what food I like so I book at a restaurant that I know I will enjoy. It does not matter what I am doing that day, I still have to eat. So what's the big deal with just going to your reservation? Why does it have to be a big deal to book ahead of time, you still have to eat? Go and eat. What a strange thing to stress over.

 

[kelseyledare]

Does anyone know for sure if the cancellation policy is 24-hour notice or simply by midnight the day prior? I've re-read the email and it only specifies "one day prior." It's the whole virtual boarding pass that's creating havoc for me - I never cancelled ADRs in the past.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Does anyone know for sure if the cancellation policy is 24-hour notice or simply by midnight the day prior? I've re-read the email and it only specifies "one day prior." It's the whole virtual boarding pass that's creating havoc for me - I never cancelled ADRs in the past.

Here lately, I've found that it's 24 hours (not midnight) but you can modify your reservation to a date further into the future and THEN cancel it without an issue.

If you get too close to your reservation time, you'll have to call to cancel - it won't even let you modify. My toddler spiked a fever this week literally as we were packing the car at AKL and planning to drive to Trattoria for breakfast. No way were we going anywhere with a fever (esp right now!) so I called the number my app displayed, explained to the CM what was going on, and she happily canceled us without issue.

(we hit the road and saw his pediatrician later that day! Thankfully we only live an hour away)

 

[disneygirlsng]

Here lately, I've found that it's 24 hours (not midnight) but you can modify your reservation to a date further into the future and THEN cancel it without an issue.

If you get too close to your reservation time, you'll have to call to cancel - it won't even let you modify. My toddler spiked a fever this week literally as we were packing the car at AKL and planning to drive to Trattoria for breakfast. No way were we going anywhere with a fever (esp right now!) so I called the number my app displayed, explained to the CM what was going on, and she happily canceled us without issue.

(we hit the road and saw his pediatrician later that day! Thankfully we only live an hour away)

I had posted that same tip earlier in this thread, but my post was deleted for some reason (as were 2 other posts asking why my posts continued to be deleted). But it gets posted at least weekly with no issue so that was weird, it is a great tip to keep in mind when unexpected things come up! I've been able to do it as close as about 30 minutes out, haven't tried it closer than that before.

 

[tstein12]

I am only planning to cancel based on my comfortability level of the time on eating inside and how difficult I find getting food without reservation. Unfortunately I won't know that til I am there. I am sure someone will still be able to take my reservation if I did cancel.

I believe the penalty is $10/person. I think is it midnight of the day prior, but I haven't tested this lately. There are always people looking for last minute reservations (day before or same day), so someone will scoop up your reservation if cancelled. You do what you need to do to feel comfortable. I personally don't get upset about people doing this...