How late can you be?

[yorkieteacher]

I know you should arrive 15 minutes early for advance dining reservations, but what if you hit a snag and are later than that? Say, your reservations are for noon or another popular dining time, just how late can you be before you are outaluck?

 

[FSU Girl]

It's up to the cast member you are checking in with. They can decided to charge you the no show fee or they can be nice and seat you. There is no grace period officially.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I know you should arrive 15 minutes early for advance dining reservations, but what if you hit a snag and are later than that? Say, your reservations are for noon or another popular dining time, just how late can you be before you are outaluck?

I wouldn't chance it by being late if I can be there on time. They normally tell you 15 minutes ahead of your reservation, so why would 15 minutes after it be okay?

 

[GillianP1301]

I think it really comes down to how busy any given restaurant is on any given day as to how much grace period they can allow. In many cases, I'm sure they do their best to accommodate, but for the super popular places, I doubt there is much wiggle room at all. I certainly wouldn't plan on being late, but if you find yourself in a situation where you are stuck somewhere (like a ride that is broken down or waiting on transportation) then call if you can to let them know you are running late.

Also, you don't have to check in 15 minutes early, that is just a recommendation and something that they do likely to try and help those who normally run a bit late to actually get there on time. All that checking in a bit early does is get you ahead of all the other ADRs scheduled for the same time, but you don't risk losing your table if you don't check in early. I almost always check-in 5 to 10 minutes before with no issues.

 

[yorkieteacher]

I wouldn't chance it by being late if I can be there on time. They normally tell you 15 minutes ahead of your reservation, so why would 15 minutes after it be okay?

I wouldn't chance it by being late if I can be there on time. They normally tell you 15 minutes ahead of your reservation, so why would 15 minutes after it be okay?

We always try to be early, but with preschoolers its hard to anticipate everything!

 

[my2lovedisney]

Disney is pretty understanding..on the chance you are late I'd say I probably wouldn't attempt to go in any later than 10 minutes. We've been late before and been seated. Things happen.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Also, you don't have to check in 15 minutes early, that is just a recommendation and something that they do likely to try and help those who normally run a bit late to actually get there on time. All that checking in a bit early does is get you ahead of all the other ADRs scheduled for the same time, but you don't risk losing your table if you don't check in early. I almost always check-in 5 to 10 minutes before with no issues.

I've actually run into the situation where I arrive the recommended 15 minutes early and when I try to check in, I'm told to come back in 15 minutes to check in. That always frustrates me because I'm trying to follow WDW's recommendations about when to arrive.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, I think that in most cases it's 15 minutes late. At least that's what I figure. I don't think anyone wants to be late, but sometimes transportation just doesn't go as planned.

 

[bebec22]

We always try to be early, but with preschoolers its hard to anticipate everything!

My last trip was with my (then) 2.5 year old and my 11 month old. We ran into a few issues with our ADR's. My DS was sick throwing up the entire first night. It threw off our whole trip. I tried so hard to plan my ADR's around my kids schedules but when you lose a night of sleep, all bets are off. There were 2 times when I went to the restaurant and asked if we could come back later because my kids had either JUST fallen asleep in the stroller or were having a meltdown. One time I was told, "sure just come back whenever you're ready to eat." I was like what??? I couldn't believe how nice accommodating the CM's were. Of course, I made sure I was super nice and apologetic! I think as long as you're not showing up super late and demanding to still be seated, you should be fine.

 

[Punkrockbebop]

We have been VERY late to our ADRs a couple of times because of transportation SNAFUs, and the hosts were very understanding. Even if they can't seat you (hasn't happened to us), we figure it's worth showing up if only to avoid the fee for a missed reservation.

 

[jdisnut]

There's no blanket policy for late arrivals. It seems to depend on how busy the restaurant is and the volume of upcoming reservations. In most cases, I've found Cast Members to be understanding and accommodating. But at a particularly busy spot, you could unfortunately be out of luck.

 

[GillianP1301]

I've actually run into the situation where I arrive the recommended 15 minutes early and when I try to check in, I'm told to come back in 15 minutes to check in. That always frustrates me because I'm trying to follow WDW's recommendations about when to arrive.

Not quite the same, but I arrived at 50s PTC 30 minutes early and wasn't allowed to check-in. They did allow me to come back 15 minutes early though, so not horrible. I would be frustrated to get refused 15 minutes prior.

 

[LilyWDW]

I have seen people turned away for being late (like 15 minutes late so not super late). I have seen people who were accommodated, but as a walk up and they were not sat until we were nearly done with our meal. I have also seen people who were accommodated and were only sat a few minutes after us.

Just don't be late. Plan to arrive quite a bit early and you should be okay.

 

[Cinderella94]

I don't think anyone wants to be late, but sometimes transportation just doesn't go as planned.

You'd be surprised. I know OP hasn't said this, but I've seen posts on this board and others where people know in advance that they will be X minutes late because of their fastpass timing, or they want to see the end of the fireworks, or they're coming from such and such that's far away, the list goes on....