Cancelling dining reservations

[Whistlebee]

What time do you have to cancel Disney dining reservations by, so that you're not charged the $10 per person fee?

I looked at their cancellation policy but it just says the day before. Does that mean midnight the day before? 24 hours before? Anyone know?

 

[Steven G]

I'm pretty sure it's the day before. So if your reservation is on Tuesday, you have until the end of Monday.

Also note that I was able to cancel same day without fee, I had to call and ask very nicely, and their supervisor approved it, but made sure I understood it was the only time. It probably didn't hurt that I had multiple reservations in the next couple days though.

 

[amyg1975]

Thanks for asking this. I made reservations for tomorrow night, partly because I wanted to have somewhere dry to eat dinner! However, if the park is terribly flooded, am hoping they will honor a late cancellation!

 

[RynB11]

I recently had a reservation that I had to cancel on the day of for an unexpected reason and I was worried about the charge. The cast member whom I spoke to on the phone kindly suggested I reschedule the reservation to a later date and then without directly saying it, suggested I cancel the newely rescheduled reservation to avoid the fee. I wouldn't have thought to do that otherwise, but it worked! Just a tip!

 

[Chiomaca]

I had a similar experience to RynB - the fee is really to discourage no-shows, which hurts the planning process for both the dining room (seating) and the kitchen...so if you reschedule and then cancel, you're at least giving notice that they can fill the table instead of holding it for you. I've had no troubles generally cancelling online, even the evening before a reservation.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I recently had a reservation that I had to cancel on the day of for an unexpected reason and I was worried about the charge. The cast member whom I spoke to on the phone kindly suggested I reschedule the reservation to a later date and then without directly saying it, suggested I cancel the newely rescheduled reservation to avoid the fee. I wouldn't have thought to do that otherwise, but it worked! Just a tip!

That trick also works for canceling hotel reservations if you are within the no cancelation window. 1) move the reservation (which you can do for no charge) to a date outside the reservation window then 2) cancel the reservation!

In reality Disney is generally VERY accommodating with changes and cancellations...the whole point of the system is to prevent and discourage straight up no shows.

 

[amyg1975]

We changed our reservations tonight 30 minutes before our dinner tonight because of the rain. We booked for tomorrow. Thanks for that tip, we just could not handle being wet any longer!

 

[Whistlebee]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Especially, for the amazing tip about rescheduling last minute if needed!!!

Does anyone know if you can cancel up until midnight the night before?

 

[amyg1975]

On the app, you cannot. I canceled via the website with less than 24 hours before our reservation without a problem.