Dining Reservation Cancellation question

[dislmntx]

We'll be at Disney World in 19 days! Can't wait! I made all of our dining reservations (TS and a few Character meals) for our family of 5, but as it turns out my 19 year old son will have to stay behind for a new job and will not be able to come with us. Do I need to change my reservations from 5 people to 4? If I don't, will they charge my credit card a no-show fee for my son?

Thanks!

 

[jerseygal]

Yes, to the best of my knowledge you will have to change all of your dining reservations or a no show will be charged for the expected amount of guests. I believe I read some posts somewhere that there have been cases that if the rest of the party shows they haven't been charged, but I myself would cancel in advance for the person not coming to make sure. ENJOY your trip!

 

[minnie mum]

Yes, to the best of my knowledge you will have to change all of your dining reservations or a no show will be charged for the expected amount of guests. I believe I read some posts somewhere that there have been cases that if the rest of the party shows they haven't been charged, but I myself would cancel in advance for the person not coming to make sure. ENJOY your trip!

This information is incorrect.

You will not be charged a no show penalty on an ADR as long as at least one person from your party shows up. Since your reduced party size means they would now seat you at a 4 top instead of a 6 top, you could change your ADR as a courtesy to other guests looking for an ADR. BUT. Don't do this until you know that there is availability. Or you can just leave well enough alone and keep your ADRs as is. Enjoy your meals!

 

[POTCfan]

Minnie mum is correct. They only way you are penalized is if you do not cancel the reservation and no one shows up, then you are charged $10 per person on the reservation (which would be $50 if you don't change it, $40 if you do). I would check to see if a 4 person is available, and if there is change it (in the process of booking it will tell you that you already have a reservation at that time and would you like to cancel it - since you are exchanging the reservation for a new one, agree to the cancellation). Otherwise, just keep your original reservation and make sure you don't miss it.

 

[Missyrose]

You do NOT have to change the reservations to four, simply tell the CM at the host stand that there's only four of you. Disney does NOT charge a no-show fee for missing people on your ADR. The only time Disney charges the no-show fee is when no one from the reservation shows up at all (or you cancel later than 11:59 p.m. the night before).

 

[Shanti]

You won't be charged for the no-show guest, but you might end up waiting a bit longer as you'll need a different table size then they planned for as you're going from 5 to 4 guests. This happened to us on a trip last year when we went from 3 to 2 guests. All of our ressies were for 3, but we only needed a table for 2, so we had a bit of a longer wait at times, but not every time. I recommend at least trying to change your ressies to 4-person if that change is available. If not, just keep them as they are.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Do I need to change my reservations from 5 people to 4? If I don't, will they charge my credit card a no-show fee for my son?

1) No need to change the ressie.
2) You WILL NOT be charged for him. *

* The exception is prepaid meals (eg. HDDR, CRT, Luau) if not cancelled 24-hours ahead of ressie).

 

[megster1123]

Wouldn't it just be proper etiquette though to change the ADR to 4 people, thus freeing up a 5 top table for a legit party of 5?

 

[Missyrose]

Wouldn't it just be proper etiquette though to change the ADR to 4 people, thus freeing up a 5 top table for a legit party of 5?

If there is a four-person ADR available, it is a simple swap either online or by calling Disney. Or (as is the case for many of the tougher-to-get restaurants) if there isn't a four-person ADR available, the only viable solution is to keep the five-person ADR and adjust at the host stand. I've spoken to a couple of restaurant managers at Disney that says that not all canceled ADRs get cycled back into the system anyway. So it's not as simple an equation as "you should cancel that ADR so someone else can use it."

 

[megster1123]

Seems like it would at least be worth a try. Going down to 4 people may also open up different ADR times that fit their touring plans better. Sounds like a win/win!

 

[Missyrose]

Seems like it would at least be worth a try. Going down to 4 people may also open up different ADR times that fit their touring plans better. Sounds like a win/win!

Like I said, it's always worth trying. But if there isn't anything to switch to, the OP shouldn't feel like they're keeping another family from having an ADR.

 

[megster1123]

No one said they were denying another family, just figured it would speed up their seating process while potentially freeing up a larger table. I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject.