Help... need to get on the Frozen Ride!

[JimmyV]

they are losing money on people who would actually pay for the food/

I don't care so much about Disney losing money but the servers are taking it in the shorts. No customer = no gratuity. Imagine being a server at Garden Grill and seeing a fully booked breakfast service on the computer only to have 30% of those people show up. Tough to pay the bills. If you skip out on your meal, add up what you would have spent had you actually eaten and stop by the restaurant later in the day and hand the manager 20% of that and tell him/her to add that to the tip pool. Remember that for PPO breakfasts, the restaurants cannot fill empty tables with walk-ins because people without ADRs aren't allowed in.

 

[WEDWDW]

JMHO,but the "no show ADR" "strategy" seems very unethical.

 

[cigar95]

Personally I have to wonder if sooner or later Disney is going to implement something to stop people from doing the "make an ADR and skip breakfast/ pay a small fee" action plan - they are losing money on people who would actually pay for the food/ experience. I suspect they will eventually do a morning experience that is similar to the one at MK - QS breakfast somewhere (Sunshine Seasons) and early access to Soarin' and FEA and something else (Living with the Land?) it would probably sell like hot cakes

The simple solution from the Disney standpoint is to use the no-show rate to adjust how many ADR bookings are offered. If your restaurant has 100 seats and your no-show rate is 10%, just offer 111 seats for ADR booking. (Yes, the numbers are over-simplified, with multiple times and table sizes, but the concept still applies.) You'll occasionally have days with higher or lower no-show rates, but things will generally work out.

 

[IrishNYC]

I don't care so much about Disney losing money but the servers are taking it in the shorts. No customer = no gratuity. Imagine being a server at Garden Grill and seeing a fully booked breakfast service on the computer only to have 30% of those people show up. Tough to pay the bills. If you skip out on your meal, add up what you would have spent had you actually eaten and stop by the restaurant later in the day and hand the manager 20% of that and tell him/her to add that to the tip pool. Remember that for PPO breakfasts, the restaurants cannot fill empty tables with walk-ins because people without ADRs aren't allowed in.

Agreed. Disney won't miss the money, but the servers do, plus people who really do want that meal miss out. My family loves BOG breakfast, and we are early risers, so we really want that PPO ADR, so it irritates me to no end to see the skip it, or order coffee and go advice. Even worse when it's from someone that advises that because they've "been there, done that" and are just racing to ride something for the 1000th time.

 

[cmdg]

We ended up getting an Askerhouse which is closer. My boys won't care much for visiting princesses, so we can eat quicker and hopefully get in line!

 

[Kelly014]

I would try to avoid making and skipping the ADR, especially if FEA has been showing a 60 minute wait at times. Not only do you short servers, but a family with a couple of princess loving little girls (or boys!) might really want that ADR. My daughter had a lovely interaction with Ariel there and it's one of my favorite Disney memories, I would have hated to miss out on that because people were snagging ADRs just to skip them and get on a ride.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

As has been pointed out elsewhere, booking PPO and skipping by paying the $10PP no show seriously hurts the servers at those dining venues. Uncool.

 

[Shanti]

The simple solution from the Disney standpoint is to use the no-show rate to adjust how many ADR bookings are offered. If your restaurant has 100 seats and your no-show rate is 10%, just offer 111 seats for ADR booking. (Yes, the numbers are over-simplified, with multiple times and table sizes, but the concept still applies.) You'll occasionally have days with higher or lower no-show rates, but things will generally work out.

The real solution will be to make these pre-pay ADRs like CRT.

 

[bit413]

I was at Epcot today. Frozen was up for the first half hour park was open and then offline until after 5. Someone told me they got in the standby line with a posted time of 2 hours plus and waited only sixty minutes. Other people with fast passes said that there were very few people in the standby line. However, I think it is important to emphasize that the ride is going offline very frequently, and no one I talked to who rode the ride thought it was exceptionally special. I would eat breakfast at Askerhaus(literally next to the line) and then get in the standby line. The wait time to actually meet Anna and Elsa wasn't ever over 30 minutes today.

 

[Accident]

There were a couple points today where the line on the app was posted at 60 minutes. I don't think if will be 5 hours by next week unless you just end up there on a really busy day.

I'm not sure on that.. I'm in a semi-touristy area and overnight this place went from cute little town to holy crap I hope the crowds in disney don't look like this.

 

[calliest]

Is that ok to do?! That seems like a great plan! So I could make an 8:20 reservation and just show up for that but head to Frozen?

Nope. Not ok to do. People actually want that reservation for dining. Servers need to make money. You abuse the system and it hurts everyone involved. We are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a hoop that never ends.

 

[OThopeful35]

So unethical to do this. Someone might really want an ADR to see the princesses.

 

[momof2n2]

Personally I have to wonder if sooner or later Disney is going to implement something to stop people from doing the "make an ADR and skip breakfast/ pay a small fee" action plan - they are losing money on people who would actually pay for the food/ experience. I suspect they will eventually do a morning experience that is similar to the one at MK - QS breakfast somewhere (Sunshine Seasons) and early access to Soarin' and FEA and something else (Living with the Land?) it would probably sell like hot cakes

I agree that it will likely lead to something like this. The people who ditch ressies for PPO's to line up early for rides (or stay but just order coffee...) are what led to Early Morning Magic at MK, and if this continues, I see it spreading to Epcot.

Not to mention that it keeps families who would have really eaten the breakfast from being able to make a reservation for that time. It also deprives the restaurant servers of their expected tips for that hour when people don't show up for their breakfast ressies.

I don't care so much about Disney losing money but the servers are taking it in the shorts. No customer = no gratuity. Imagine being a server at Garden Grill and seeing a fully booked breakfast service on the computer only to have 30% of those people show up. Tough to pay the bills. If you skip out on your meal, add up what you would have spent had you actually eaten and stop by the restaurant later in the day and hand the manager 20% of that and tell him/her to add that to the tip pool. Remember that for PPO breakfasts, the restaurants cannot fill empty tables with walk-ins because people without ADRs aren't allowed in.

JMHO,but the "no show ADR" "strategy" seems very unethical.

The simple solution from the Disney standpoint is to use the no-show rate to adjust how many ADR bookings are offered. If your restaurant has 100 seats and your no-show rate is 10%, just offer 111 seats for ADR booking. (Yes, the numbers are over-simplified, with multiple times and table sizes, but the concept still applies.) You'll occasionally have days with higher or lower no-show rates, but things will generally work out.

Agreed. Disney won't miss the money, but the servers do, plus people who really do want that meal miss out. My family loves BOG breakfast, and we are early risers, so we really want that PPO ADR, so it irritates me to no end to see the skip it, or order coffee and go advice. Even worse when it's from someone that advises that because they've "been there, done that" and are just racing to ride something for the 1000th time.

I would try to avoid making and skipping the ADR, especially if FEA has been showing a 60 minute wait at times. Not only do you short servers, but a family with a couple of princess loving little girls (or boys!) might really want that ADR. My daughter had a lovely interaction with Ariel there and it's one of my favorite Disney memories, I would have hated to miss out on that because people were snagging ADRs just to skip them and get on a ride.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, booking PPO and skipping by paying the $10PP no show seriously hurts the servers at those dining venues. Uncool.

Nope. Not ok to do. People actually want that reservation for dining. Servers need to make money. You abuse the system and it hurts everyone involved. We are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a hoop that never ends.

So unethical to do this. Someone might really want an ADR to see the princesses.

When WDW implemented FP+ they created a market for this and other hacks. IMO the onus rests solely on WDW execs. Families paying thousands of dollars overall are likely not going to blink over a $10/pp sacrifice to get on their much-anticipated rides.

OP do what you need to do to have a good trip. WDW created this beast. ❤

 

[Turn the Page]

So is booking PPO ADR and then skipping it in order to get right on rides because people are too good to follow the rules like everyone else the new version of throwaway rooms?

Wonderful.

 

[maxiesmom]

I honestly would have no problem with Disney going to pre-paid breakfasts, just to stop people from booking an ADR and then skipping out on it. I've booked an early one at the Garden Grill so that we can quickly hop on Soarin, but it didn't dawn on me, nor will we, skip out just to get in line.

 

[momof2n2]

So is booking PPO ADR and then skipping it in order to get right on rides because people are too good to follow the rules like everyone else the new version of throwaway rooms?

Wonderful.

I don't think it is new all together. I think we may have seen a little of it for 7DMT. And I don't think there will really be much of it for Akershus, either, just like there likely aren't that many throwaway rooms in the grand scheme of reservations. But yes. I think as long as people are trying to navigate great experiences, not enough capacity on attractions, not enough attractions, and FP+ we will see guests exploring their options.

 

[Missyrose]

Personally I have to wonder if sooner or later Disney is going to implement something to stop people from doing the "make an ADR and skip breakfast/ pay a small fee" action plan - they are losing money on people who would actually pay for the food/ experience. I suspect they will eventually do a morning experience that is similar to the one at MK - QS breakfast somewhere (Sunshine Seasons) and early access to Soarin' and FEA and something else (Living with the Land?) it would probably sell like hot cakes

So is booking PPO ADR and then skipping it in order to get right on rides because people are too good to follow the rules like everyone else the new version of throwaway rooms?

Wonderful.

I don't think this is as widespread a problem as the posts in this thread seem to make it out to be. Do people skip ADRs? Sure, I'm sure that was the thought behind the Early Morning Magic event at MK -- Disney realized there were people who were willing to pay for early access to attractions (which is the principle behind skipping PPO ADRs). It's horrible for the servers and frustrating for folks who genuinely want an ADR and have been shut out. But I really don't think it's anything Disney is going to rush to change.

 

[HopperFan]

I honestly would have no problem with Disney going to pre-paid breakfasts, just to stop people from booking an ADR and then skipping out on it. I've booked an early one at the Garden Grill so that we can quickly hop on Soarin, but it didn't dawn on me, nor will we, skip out just to get in line.

And as a Disney stockholder it would mean BOG is finally bringing in the kind of income it should instead of running that cavernous restaurant while folks sit around using the pastries for their meals or ordering a cupcake and coffee. * Making any restaurant that is a PPO location pre-pay will cut down on working the system and make ADRs easier to get for those who want them.

BOG is the cluster Disney continues to ignore, but Epcot is going to create a whole new scenario and just a minor practice run for what will come with AK and DHS. Always thought the Morning Magic at MK was just the beginning, and practice for the future. Disney knows folks are more than willing to pay for FP+ in a round about way - so fold in the restaurants that offer it with pre-pay.

* Had BOG opened a legit Prix Fixe and everyone paid ...... the price would have never needed to be raised. They keep raising it due to all the non-eaters sitting in chairs.

 

[JimmyV]

The real solution will be to make these pre-pay ADRs like CRT.

...and make sure that the gratuity is included!

 

[HopperFan]

...and make sure that the gratuity is included!

Agree but then again I don't think they'll have folks no-showing for $25-45 per person, at least until Star Wars opens.