Can't book a table at Cndy's for breakfast?

[vernon]

This could be the reason why.

http://orlandosentinel.com/business...la16041602apr16.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Personally I hope ( and think) that Disney will close down this particular practice. While I know a number of people have been able to get reservations for Cinderella's Castle using Howie and his friends, I think their "service" could well be the reason that people couldn't book in the first place. I'm sure it started with the best intentions but IMHO this practice is unfair to the many people who don't know about Howies services and IMHO it's now become an ego trip for him/them.

I would favour a booking service where you use a CC to reserve a table, if you don't show within an hour of your time ( to give people a little room for errors or running late) you get charged a small amount ($5). I think this would stop the practice of people multi booking PSs and only taking the one they fancy on the day. IMHO $5 isn't going to hurt anyone who does make a mistake, granted it would be annoying but it might mean people are a little more attentive on their restaurant bookings. It would stop those who systematically abuse the system.

 

[BevS97]

Personally I don' t have a problem with Howie - there are literally 1000's of people phoning every morning to get a table, and there are maybe 10 people AT THE MOST phoning for Howie and his Angels, most of them go not get though. Go into the Room any day at 7am and you will see 'Can't get through' or 'On hold' messages popping up all over the place, and then maybe 3 or 4 messages saying they managed to book a table.

Get rid of Howie, and I reckon you still wouldn't be able to get a table at Cindys.


(PS - are you going to delete this, like all the other messages that support Howie???)

Bev

 

[Muppet]

Easy Bev. Everyone is entilted to an opinion and it just wasn't veron opinion but many people if there is a article about it. I don't have kiddies and I know to please your kiddies most people will do anything so Howie is some ways is a help and in some ways is a problem.

Either way - chill.

 

[WebmasterPenny]

Well, well...this is something I'm all too familiar with from the Restaurant Board.

The bottom line is that since EE has stopped there aren't many tables available for Cindys (the Orlando Sentinel says 122, but I'm sure it's less than that because Disney definately hold a few back) then take into account that I believe there are something like 200 operators who answer the phone at WDW dine at 7am so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that Cindy's is always going to be hard to get. Infact, it's <b>always</b> been hard to get. There will NEVER be 'plenty of tables' as one person is quoted as saying.

I don't like the idea of CC bookings or fees being introduced for any PS, just because it's a popular one. If Disney wants it to stop, they should just ask for ID at the check in desk for the PS's and make sure the names match.

Penny

Ps. Bev - to my knowledge, one <i>entire</i> thread has been deleted about this topic (the others were just locked) - because it turned <b>very</b> nasty indeed - plain and simple. You are mistaken if you think there were any motives at work and I'm sorry to see that you suggest there is.

 

[BevS97]

Maybe I was wrong, It just seemed that every time howie's name came up, the thread disappeared. Sorry, if that wasn't the case.


I've just seen these figures posted on the Breakfast Club - I assume they are true, but have no way of confirming it.

Cinderella's Royal Table Availability FACTS
(According to Disney Dining Management)

There are exactly 185 seats in the restaurant.

Each seat goes through about 4 separate reservation seatings
during a character breakfast.

(185 seats) X (4 seatings) = 740 breakfasts served at Cinderella
Castle every day!

The Breakfast Club helps families find about 30 of those 740
breakfasts each morning, BY SPECIFIC REQUEST.

That means the Breakfast Club accounts for only 4 percent of the
breakfasts served each morning.

(30 / 740 = .045 or 4 %)

 

[WebmasterPenny]

Just incase there is mis-understanding I'd just like to clarify. The only thread that I know of that was deleted was from the Debate Board. The threads that were locked were on the Restaurant Board.

Penny

 

[vernon]

Bev, I have never personally deleted or locked a thread ON ANY SUBJECT and I'm insulted that you suggest that I have. Please be more careful of whom you are taking a swipe at, or put a bit more thought into how you word things. .

I find comments like "I'm more famous than Osama bin Laden," said Ditchek, a Valley Stream, N.Y., veterinarian whose volunteer group calls itself "Howie's Angels." arrogant in the extreme and I dislike the thought that someone who has nothing to do with Disney makes the choice over who gets a desired character meal distasteful (pun intended ) . IMHO everyone should be allowed a level playing field.

My comments on a fee system were a wider comment, I would put forward this as a way to stop the other practice I find really annoying, which is people booking 4,5 or 6 (more) different restaurant bookings and only showing up for one ( without cancelling the rest) depending on which park they are in and what they fancy.This is why virtually EVERY WDW restaurant you go into says they are full, or has you waiting for 30 minutes or more , while tables sit empty inside. Asking for ID wouldn't help this problem as you can't prove who it was that didn't show. It is a shame when you have to introduce draconian measure when people abuse the system, but unfortunately those abuses tend to get worse and worse until the organising company is forced to act.

 

[BevS97]

I've apologised once, but I'll apologise again. I was involved in the thread on the debate board, but fairly early on when it didn't seem to be nasty - next time I went back it was gone.

I was told (someone email me, not a mod) that all the posts re this subject were routinely deleted - so I was surprised to see it being brought up by a mod. I would delete my comment but I think that tends to cause more confusion.

I don't deny that Howie sounds arrogant - but can't see the harm in what he does - but hopefully we can agree to disagree on that.

As for the multiple PS's problem - I have always been of the understanding that the system was designed to allow for no-shows, so if there are empty tables then people without a PS would be seated, and that all a PS did was get you the next empty table. Other than for Cindys, which I think is treated more like a reservation, I can't see the problem with holding a PS and then not turning up.

Now, I can't see why people would want to book 5 or 6 meals for the same time - that seems unfair but I have certainly booked lots of PSs (all for different times) and it is quite likely that we won't make it too some of them. I wasn't too worried about this, as like I said, I thought the system was designed to cope with this.

Bev

 

[WebmasterPenny]

Disney can easily cross check names in PS's for double bookings (and do on occasion). The simple way to stop people booking 5 or 6 different restaurants at one time would be to tighten up some on that.

PS is <i>designed</i> to be flexible and to give the first available table to the person who arrives first on or around their PS times. Disney factor in no-shows and late-shows, I've very rarely seen tables sitting empty for long when there are people waiting to be seated. On the same note I've turned up at a 'fully booked' restaurant without PS and been seated quicker than when I have had a PS! And yes, I have heard of people (more than once) walk up and get in at Cindy's for breakfast as well. When there is demand, tables aren't wasted.

I still would not like to see CC's required for PS as essentially it is just a FP system for restaurants. You're not getting a table with your name on, you're getting a time bracket to turn up in order to regulate the 'flow' of diners.

Penny

 

[Manatee]

It is also interesting that Disney has made no mention of their concierge service in the article, from what i have read over the past couple of years on different boards, is that if you stay in Concierge they will arrange your PS's for you including the hard to obtain one's, i have also read over the year's that certain "Travel agency's" seem to be able to obtain these at will, therefore there never will be a level playing field for ordinary jo public who rings up first thing in the morning, and my own personnel opinion is that the people who are moaning about this are just blaming these people and using them as scapegoats for the fact they did not get through on the phone, also this has been blown out of all proportion.

 

[vernon]

I've read of people saying they'll book at least one restaurant ( more at Epcot) at each of the parks so they are covered whichever park they choose to go.

If you walk up to a WDW restaurant without booking and they have 5 tables available, and 10 PSs coming up in tyhe next 10-15 minutes you are likely to be tiold you have a 30-45 minute wait. While it does happen that people get shown to their seat quicker at times, if those bogus PSs weren't on the system , on average, more people would get the restaurant of their choice with less of a wait.

Disney has built some flexibility into the system, but at times, particularly busy times, even that flexibility doesn't cover the problems.

If I have a restaurant that I want to go to, I'll book it up. My kids are all fairly grown up so I can plan and work round things .For that reason this isn't a major inconvenmience to me , but while in the parks I often see people with upset/hungry younger kids who can't get their choice or only with a long wait. It's a shame that people get let down through others being inconsiderate and milking the system. Just because one know how to use that system so one is not affected doesn't mean one shouldn't look to improve or offer thoughts on possible improvements to a system that has some flaws. JMHO

 

[kidzmom3]

I didn't even know about this "howies angels" thing but I wanted to add a general comment. Last September we had made a PS for Tonys. We had never been there and thought it looked good. While in the lobby waiting our turn I read the menu. Yikes the prices were high and the selection small (for my family, this is my opinion). We decided to leave, I was a bit uncomfortable because I thought it would be embarassing. I went to the podium and told the lady there that we would be leaving. Fine she says, and crosses us off her list. They speak to each other, go to the next name, and another family was led in as we walked out. Cancellling the PS would definelty help another family. So, maybe it would be okay to make a couple of PS per day, if you are not positive which park you are going to, but to cancel any extras that morning before you leave for the park. Maybe this still isn't completely fair, but at least it would free up some PS's

 

[SpottyDog]

I agree with Vernon 100% on this issue.

 

[vernon]

I've got no problem with people turning up and changing their minds as you did, or even cancelling on the day. It's the people that don't even bother to call once they've made their minds up where they are going that really bug me.

 

[CarolynU]

This all makes me feel very old and rather naiive. I have made ps's, but only ever for a restaurant that I intended eating in, and never for more than one at a time. It simply hadn't dawned on me to do otherwise. In the one instance that due to illness we couldn't make the ressie we phoned from our hotel to cancel. On the other hand this now explains why when my son and I decided to book the Whispering Canyon Cafe from the MK to dine one evening we were told that the earliest that we could get a table was 9.00pm. Feeling absolutely starving we decided to go anyway at around 7.30-8.00pm, and found the place almost empty. We were seated straight away, and were amazed. I now understand why, although I must say that Disney nearly lost our original booking, because we were a bit hesitant about being told that 9.00pm was the earliest that they could take us, so I am not sure about the ethics of multiple ps's, but maybe I'm just old fashioned. Carolyn

 

[Astrid]

I wouldn't dream of making a PS and then not cancelling it unless I had good reason. My thoughts were that as they had all your details there was the possibility that they might put a 'black mark' against your name if you didn't turn up which might then jeopardise any future PSs (naive idea probably but the way my mind works!! )

We accidentally couldn't do our breakfast PS at Crystal Palace in March and I rang and cancelled even though it was a few mins after our time (see next trip report for full details: ), they seemed really pleased I did that.

I think, for the very popular ones, Vernon's idea of a small credit card deposit seems fair.

 

[jayne2]

I have 2 young children and Visit wdw every year for our main holiday
now as we live in the uk and both dh and myself are working full time
what chance have we got of getting a ps for cindys. as at 12.00 o clock bst we are both in work are you suggesting that we should take time off work just on the off chance that we may get through and may get one of these very hard to get ressies
I dont think that is a real option

so without people that are willing to help then we would have no chance what so ever of going to cindy's
try to explain that one to two little gils aged 4 & 6

 

[Astrid]

Jayne2 - I gave all the Cindy's breakfast details to my friend and she managed to get a table for the day she wanted on her first try - don't give up hope, it's certainly possible!

Try at the weekends, and, one tip I realised was to start calling before 12noon (our time) so you'll initially get the 'we're not open yet' message, then just keep pressing your last number re-dial button until their lines are open. That worked for me with the Illuminations Cruise.

Good Luck

Astrid x

 

[jimmie2daughters]

I have dealt with Howie.

I do get the impression that there are quite a few people ringing up to try and get PS at Cindys for specific people but I do not get the impression that large amounts of "angels" are ringing up on spec.
I am of the opinion that putting a CC charge on PS would drive howie out but not professional touts (or scalpers as they are called in the states) who could "buy" PS for Cindys then set up a professional sales network to sell them at inflated prices.

I took a week off work (to decorate my DDs bedroom) and rang WDW DINE every day ,day after day at exactly 11.59 and 20-40 secs using both landline and mobile. I had no chance.
I think we are on a hiding to nothing this side of the atlantic.

Jimmie L
Lancaster

 

[Hilary]

If you're doing a D-I-Y package for your trip, you could try using Dreams Unlimited for your accommodation booking with WDW - your assigned agent will make all your priority seating arrangements and will do their best to get Cindy's if that's what you want. I used DU for our New Year's trip a couple of years ago and my agent got all the times and places we wanted for PSs even at such a busy time of year.

I have also taken time off work to make those phone calls in the middle of the day (not for a Cindy's PS, but to book hard-to-get accommodation), even though I don't work full time. Yes, it's extreme but, luckily for me, it worked!

If I have made PSs which we then find we don't need, I always cancel them (I just wouldn't feel 'right' if I didn't). Like Astrid, I got the impression that Disney were very pleased that we had gone to the the trouble of letting them know.