Dining on New Year's Day - must pay in advance

[Ziggie]

Just got off the phone with WDW DINE and made our reservations for dinner on New Year's Day. Just thought you'd like to know that you must guarantee your reservation with a credit card (whether you are staying on site or not) in advance.

If you (or one of your party) fails to show up, you are "subject" to a $10 penalty fee.

Wow, 'eh?

 

[swclark]

They did this over xmas time as well... 12/24 - 12/26 had to be guaranteed. Most of the PS had a $10 pp charge if no show (with 48 hour cancel). The xmas dinner at California Grille.. was full charge if we didnt' show. So it does depend on the day and the restaurant... guess they want to make sure if they save the table, they get their $$ as they are turning so many others away.

 

[DisneyPoly]

We had to cancel our NYE reservations for Ohana as we were unable to travel to Florida yesterday. I called today and was charged $10 per person, including children for a total of $60.00. This trip cost me a lot of money, as we rented points from a DVC member, and we didn't even get to experience the Magic.

 

[Ziggie]

I called today and was charged $10 per person, including children for a total of $60.00.

omg, I am so sorry! You know, I'm a great fan of Disney.. but often I feel that the people get gouged.

They make so much money off other things.. why charge $60? To me, they definitely had enough time to take some "walk-ins" to fill your table.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

This is not a new policy. Disney has been doing credit card guarantees for holidays and special meals (Mother's Day Food Among the Flowers Brunch) with a penalty for not cancelling with 48 hours for several years now.

It is another management response to people making PSs for several restaurants while they "decide" where they want to eat and not canceling the ones they don't want.

 

[Ziggie]

I'm hearing now that this policy is not new, but I will say that it is the first time we were ever required to pay in advance.

We've dined at WDW on all the major holidays for over a decade, but this really was a first for us. Not sure how we squeaked thru for so long...