Dining at CRT & going to the Halloween Party

[tmbowers]

I am in the midst of planning my family's first trip to WDW. We are going Oct 17 - 22. We have tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the 18th. I have also made an ADR at CRT for that same night at 7:00. My thought was to have dinner with the princesses and then let the girls go trick or treating afterwards and hopefully catch the parade/fireworks afterwards. My dd's are 6 and 3 1/2 - they are pretty energetic but I worry that I might have us overbooked for that night. Anyone have thoughts/suggestions?

 

[deakam]

The party starts at 7 you might want to up the ADR to 6 or so. Make sure to hit at least one of the dance parties---we did the time warp with Chip and Dale. Just go slow and enjoy everything. The party is a great place to see characters that are not normaly around. Cinderella's stepmother and Ugly stepsisters are a stitch and a half.

 

[smitch425]

I am in the midst of planning my family's first trip to WDW. We are going Oct 17 - 22. We have tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the 18th. I have also made an ADR at CRT for that same night at 7:00. My thought was to have dinner with the princesses and then let the girls go trick or treating afterwards and hopefully catch the parade/fireworks afterwards. My dd's are 6 and 3 1/2 - they are pretty energetic but I worry that I might have us overbooked for that night. Anyone have thoughts/suggestions?

I would cancel the ADR. You can officially enter MK as early as 4pm with your MNSSHP ticket, even though the party does not officially begin until 7pm. I personally would not spend ANY of the party time eating in a restaurant. Say your meal takes 90 minutes to complete...it is now 8:30. By that time, you will be wanting to grab a spot for the parade, and then the fireworks. You could stay in the same spot, but either way, you would not be doing trick-or-treating or riding rides during that time. If I were you, I would reschedule your meal, but again, that's just my opinion. Good luck with your decision and happy planning!

 

[tmbowers]

Thanks for the tips. I think you are right that I should cancel the ADR - because I would have to move it up to 4:05 and I think that is a little too early for my kids.

But, that raises another question. I can get an ADR there for 8:00 for the night that we arrive. Our plan lands at 4:00 and then we are taking the magical express to Disney. I am little hesitant to book CRT for the night we arrive in case of flight/transportation delays. I know there is a cancellation policy but does anyone know if they will give you a break if your flight is delayed?

 

[Nadjalu]

Even though the arrival day is doable....I would not schedule an adr for a prepay meal.

If you are delayed they will charge you as the cancellation will not be within policy.
Even if your plane is late. They base it on "it isn't their fault, the plane is late".

Of course I am sure that if that scenario were to occur if you complain enough they may not charge you...however is that how you want to start a WDW vacation? Fighting with them over being charged for an adr that you are late too?

Not me...not worth it.

 

[herb102211]

MNSSHP starts at 7 so you will probably miss about an hour and half to 2 hours of the party with the CRT reservations. We're also eating at CRT and then going to the party. Our reservation is for 5:20 so that should buy us enough time to get be at the party for 7. The good news, like the PP said, is that you can get into MK at 4pm with a MNSSHP party ticket. The party won't have started yet, but you can still take advantage of all of the rides, characters, etc before hand. Is it possible for you to change your CRT time for before 7, that way you don't miss so much of the party?

 

[purple figment]

I would not schedule CRT on your arrival night. It's a prepaid dinner and the cancellation penalty is the entire amount you paid. Disney is not responsible if you fail to show up because your plane is delayed. Also, the deadline for cancelling is 2 days in advance, so if you're sitting at the airport or in the plane and a delay is announced, it'll be too late to cancel.

Having experienced 2 long delays on recent flights, I would not do it. It's not worth the frustration and anxiety it causes.

 

[TDC Nala]

Thanks for the tips. I think you are right that I should cancel the ADR - because I would have to move it up to 4:05 and I think that is a little too early for my kids.

But, that raises another question. I can get an ADR there for 8:00 for the night that we arrive. Our plan lands at 4:00 and then we are taking the magical express to Disney. I am little hesitant to book CRT for the night we arrive in case of flight/transportation delays. I know there is a cancellation policy but does anyone know if they will give you a break if your flight is delayed?

No they won't. If you don't show up and don't cancel, they will charge you. I generally suggest not booking a prepaid meal on an arrival day if arriving by air, unless the reservation is at least five or six hours after the scheduled arrival time.

It appears those are your only choices of times and dates for CRT...and you do have to consider that, after paying for the party ticket, that you will be spending a good amount of party time sitting in a restaurant unless you have lunch or an early dinner there.

 

[tmbowers]

Thanks for the responses. I called reservations today and asked about the cancellation policy. I was told that if you can't make it because of an unavodiable issue - flight delay, illness were the examples used - that they will not charge me. After seeing these recent posts, I think I will call back and verify that with a second person.

 

[TDC Nala]

Unfortunately you can't really trust the phone agents to give you accurate information. The best I can say is don't risk it on your arrival day, especially if you will be using Magical Express and Disney transportation.

 

[Nadjalu]

Unfortunately you can't really trust the phone agents to give you accurate information. The best I can say is don't risk it on your arrival day, especially if you will be using Magical Express and Disney transportation.

This is SO correct. Unfortunately the person that you talk to on the phone has no control, or knowledge of how the restaurant is ACTUALLY run.

Policy is policy, and the restaurants enforce them. The person you speak with on the phone is in customer service, they don't really know each restaurant or other venue.