How long to wait for a reservation

[over50visits]

Well, in my experience, it hasn't been frequently. In fact, other than that one time at Sci-Fi, I have never waited any more than a couple of minutes after my ADR time, and usually am seated early (though I tend to show up extra early). I know that's just my experience, but I'd be willing to bet that most of the time the system works just fine.

I wonder of showing up 20 minutes early, then being seated at your reservation time, counts as a 20 minute wait? I expect Disney to seat me on time, but not early, so any wait you have before the is self-imposed.

So why arrive early? Solely to help Disney. Why does Desney want you to arrive ahead of time? Again, to make more money. Empty tables don’t generate revenue, so they want a constant supply of guests. One way is to tell us to arrive early. Disney do this for their benefit, and it’s not right. It just as much for our benefit as the DDP is.

I will go through hoops to keep my word and arrive on time. I just wish they would do the same.

 

[BrianL]

I wonder of showing up 20 minutes early, then being seated at your reservation time, counts as a 20 minute wait? I expect Disney to seat me on time, but not early, so any wait you have before the is self-imposed.

So why arrive early? Solely to help Disney. Why does Desney want you to arrive ahead of time? Again, to make more money. Empty tables don’t generate revenue, so they want a constant supply of guests. One way is to tell us to arrive early. Disney do this for their benefit, and it’s not right. It just as much for our benefit as the DDP is.

I will go through hoops to keep my word and arrive on time. I just wish they would do the same.

My understanding is that they would like you to arrive 15 minutes early, but that it is not strictly required. In my experience, arriving early usually got me seated early. In fact, usually I have been seated practically immediately with only a few exceptions. Again, that's anecdotal, but so is every complaint. The system seems to work pretty well in general, though of course there are always issues.

 

[disneysteve]

In my experience, arriving early usually got me seated early.

That makes sense.
If you and I both have a 7:00 ADR for party of 4 and you show up at 6:45 and I show up at 6:59, you're going to be seated before me, as you should.

 

[Louis morrell]

Well, did you get seated?

 

[nkereina]

On top of points previously made, can anyone confirm the 'official' policy, in terms of how early you are supposed to arrive prior to your ADR? I thought it was 15-20 minutes in years past?

There's no hard and fast rule on this. I think they ask you to arrive 15 minutes early to check-in, but you can arrive any time up to and including your ADR time and you'll be fine.

Sure, but it's also sort of like the airlines. If they have 150 seats on the plane but sell 165 tickets, there's going to be a problem. If Disney frequently has 30 or 40 or 60 minute waits, it sounds like they are overbooking.

The airlines overbook to help with cost because inevitably there will be no-shows. By overbooking, they drive the cost down for consumers and cover themselves for when people don't show. If they were booked to the exact number of seats on the plane and then someone cancelled/changed, they may not re-sell that seat. Overbooking helps to offset that.

I think its the same for Disney. If Disney held a table for each person that booked an ADR, all ADRs would be MUCH harder to get. And if someone didn't show, there's no guarantee Disney would get a walk-up to take that table. So, they book more people than they have tables, operating under the assumption that people will cancel last minute or not show up. But when they DO show up, especially at the more popular places, the restaurants will run behind because they simply have more people to accommodate. Similar to when everyone shows up for a flight and the airline looks for volunteers to get bumped.

 

[TeresaWen]

One reason to arrive before your actual ADR time is because at some places the line to check in can be long!

 

[disneysteve]

Similar to when everyone shows up for a flight and the airline looks for volunteers to get bumped.

Maybe Disney should start offering to "bump" people from their ADRs when they are overbooked. "If anyone is willing to give up their spot, we'll give you a $50 dining voucher good for a year at any restaurant on property."

 

[DisBuckMan]

Maybe Disney should start offering to "bump" people from their ADRs when they are overbooked. "If anyone is willing to give up their spot, we'll give you a $50 dining voucher good for a year at any restaurant on property."

Was going to mention that at least with the airlines, you're offered compensation if they overbook a flight and you offer to give up your seat.

At Disney or the doctor's office, you get squat other than wasted time.

 

[karrit2000]

They want you to show up early. But, when I show up early I'm told invariably "You are early, your reservation isn't until XX:XX. We'll try to seat you at your reserved time but we are running behind." Sometimes I get seated before but that's rare. If I have to wait 30 minutes beyond my ADR I'm out of there.