Decreasing # people for ADRs

[Kerrio929]

Both my parents and my ILs have been invited to our 11/28-12/4 trip. Both sets are dragging their feet about going. I have 6ADRs made and all but 1 are for 8 people. (DH and are are taking our 2DDs to CRT ourselves whether grandparents come or not).
So my question is...is it possible to decrease the number of people in an ADR or am I screwing myself by having them booked to include the grandparents who may or may not come? Is there a penalty if less people than booked show up?

Ugh...they need to make a freaking decision.

 

[disnut8]

Both my parents and my ILs have been invited to our 11/28-12/4 trip. Both sets are dragging their feet about going. I have 6ADRs made and all but 1 are for 8 people. (DH and are are taking our 2DDs to CRT ourselves whether grandparents come or not).
So my question is...is it possible to decrease the number of people in an ADR or am I screwing myself by having them booked to include the grandparents who may or may not come? Is there a penalty if less people than booked show up?

Ugh...they need to make a freaking decision.

It depends on if the reservations required a prepayment. If that's the case, they have to let you know 24 hours prior to the seating. If there's not a prepayment, there's no penalty and you did the correct thing. It's much easier to downsize a reservation than to add people. I wouldn't stress too much about this.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would handle it at the restaurant's Podium. Downgrading from an 8-top to a 6- or even a 4 will free up a hard to get table.

And the forfeiture is only if you do not show up at all, not if all of the party does not show up.

 

[kddisney502]

I agree with PP. During our last trip, we just informed the resturant at the podium that we had one less person. We did this at le cellier twice and it wasn't a problem at all. For resturants that have a credit card cancelation fee ($10 per person), as long as you show up for the reservation you will not be charged.

Here's an excerpt from the cancelation policy faqs here: here:http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/dining/#subCategory16

"I have a dinner reservation for 10 Guests at a restaurant that uses the credit card guarantee policy. Only 8 Guests are able to make it to dinner. Will I still be charged $10 each for the 2 Guests who were unable to attend? No. As long as you honor the reservation, then there will be no charge to your credit card."

Just make sure you're not doing this at restaurants that require payment in full ahead of time (such as CRT or dinner shows). They require notice ahead of time for a refund.

 

[jimmytammy]

I agree with 2 posters above, keep your ressies intact, you will know soon enough if your other folks are going or not. It is easy enough to fix at restaurant. We have had to do the same thing. Ressies just guarantee you seating, they will make it work for you, we have even added 2 at restaurants and they make it work. Try and fix it now, you may lose what you really wanted. This way, you stress less between now and trip. I know how its difficult trying to get others to commit, but dont sweat it, if they go, great if not, their hearts werent in it.

 

[Kerrio929]

Thank you so much everyone! The only place I paid in advance was CRT but that's just the 4 of us anyway so that doesn't matter. I was getting so annoyed that they haven't decided but mostly bc of our ADRs. So now I will stop stressing! Lol

 

[GoldieLocks5]

We had to make ADRs smaller when my niece was throwing up the night we arrived in WDW... my mom stayed at the hotel with her that first day - so our ADRs went from 7 to 5 - and there were no issues at all.

 

[carobear]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I had a quick relevant question. What about Fantasmic packages? I'm booked for a party of 4 but 1 person could possibly back out. Would there be any penalty for showing up with only 3?

 

[kddisney502]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I had a quick relevant question. What about Fantasmic packages? I'm booked for a party of 4 but 1 person could possibly back out. Would there be any penalty for showing up with only 3?

Based on the information on the wdw website for fantasmic packages:

"There is a 2-day cancellation policy and a $10 per-person fee will be charged if you cancel within 2 days of the reservation or are a "no show" for the reservation."

So as long as you show up for the reservation you should be fine.

 

[carobear]

Based on the information on the wdw website for fantasmic packages:

"There is a 2-day cancellation policy and a $10 per-person fee will be charged if you cancel within 2 days of the reservation or are a "no show" for the reservation."

So as long as you show up for the reservation you should be fine.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure

 

[virge]

Piggybacking on this question, I just found out my parents aren't going to join us in Disney so my group is definitely going from 7 to 5. Can I call & change the number of people for my ADRs or will they make me cancel & rebook? I want to be fair to other families & possibly open up another table but I don't want my boys to miss out on the character meals we've already booked because there's no more availability for a group of 5.

 

[janjandis]

I would handle it at the restaurant's Podium. Downgrading from an 8-top to a 6- or even a 4 will free up a hard to get table.

And the forfeiture is only if you do not show up at all, not if all of the party does not show up.

Thanks Mike, it was fun dining with you back during D23. Is going from 2 people to 1 people the same scenario? No charge for the 1 person who is a no-show?

 

[Forensicmom]

I'm so happy to hear this. We have a similiar situation for our November trip and i just finished making all the ADR's for 10 people. At least now I know that if they the group of 4 decides NOT to dine with us, it's not going to be a problem.

 

[Cafeen]

Piggybacking on this question, I just found out my parents aren't going to join us in Disney so my group is definitely going from 7 to 5. Can I call & change the number of people for my ADRs or will they make me cancel & rebook? I want to be fair to other families & possibly open up another table but I don't want my boys to miss out on the character meals we've already booked because there's no more availability for a group of 5.

Unless you have a prepaid reservation (CRT or the dinner shows), just keep it the same. They aren't going to ding you for having 2 people short if you show up with your 5.

Thanks Mike, it was fun dining with you back during D23. Is going from 2 people to 1 people the same scenario? No charge for the 1 person who is a no-show?

Same deal as the above, as long as you show up to "honor" your reservation, they shouldn't be charging you the no show fee at all.