How long will the restaurants hold your reservation?

[BYC]

In other words, how late can you be without risking losing it? My guess is probably 15 minutes, but is there an actual number?

 

[Cadyrose]

We were told they hold for 15 minutes by the hostesses at CRT when we were late due to early morning reservations. We were coming from WL and was told that the boat was running....never came! We ended going to Contemporary, my husband ran in August heat and I tried to keep our two moving....we were ten minutes late but got sat immediately.

 

[TDC Nala]

They usually say you need to be there by 15 minutes after your ADR time, after that you go into the "standby" queue.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) If you are late, they ressie is canceled --- at least officially.
2) In non-busy times, they usually give you 15-minutes.
3) If they cancel the ADR, you go to the Wait List.
4) If they are busy, like holidays or free dining, there is no grace period.
5) Best practice is to be on time.

{FLAME PROOF SUIT IN PLACE}
6) I can personally see no reason to be late for an ADR.
7) To me, being late for any appt is inconsiderate and rude.
(FLAME PROOF SUIT BACK ON HANGER}

 

[LilyWDW]

Normally they give you 15 minutes. However, they do not have to do that and you should not count on it. You are also told to show up 15 minutes BEFORE your ADR so really that would mean you are 30 minutes late.

 

[Cadyrose]

1) If you are late, they ressie is canceled --- at least officially.
2) In non-busy times, they usually give you 15-minutes.
3) If they cancel the ADR, you go to the Wait List.
4) If they are busy, like holidays or free dining, there is no grace period.
5) Best practice is to be on time.

{FLAME PROOF SUIT IN PLACE}
6) I can personally see no reason to be late for an ADR.
7) To me, being late for any appt is inconsiderate and rude.
(FLAME PROOF SUIT BACK ON HANGER}

Testing your flame suit...

Normally I completely agree with you. We have always added in extra time for travel with that 15 minutes prior to the actual ADR.

The one day we were late was that we were going off of info from WL concierge that told us that starting at 7 am there was a boat going to MK. Got there at 7:35 for an 8:30 reservation at CRT. We were at WL...no problem right? The boats to MK never came! Only the ones to Contemporary and FW. At the boat dock there is no way to communicate to anyone that there were no boats or to find out other modes of transportation. And then of course you deal with Murphy's Law where we felt that as soon as we left the line would be when the boat came! It was either we stayed or walked back through the resort to try to find a bus which may not get us there in time either. And there were quite a few of us that were all in the same position. We finally grabbed a boat to Contemporary at 8:10 and my husband ran as fast as he could while I kept our two moving in the heat that was already there in the morning in late August. I was so embarrassed that we could miss especially coming from WL as we have never been late for an ADR.

It happens. A lesson was learned about early morning ADRs and thankfully they could accommodate us. But I still agree with you. The one thing with ADRs is that you really want to make sure that there is plenty of travel time if the ADR is not in the same area that you are in. You never know what could happen!

 

[rainynight]

1)

{FLAME PROOF SUIT IN PLACE}
6) I can personally see no reason to be late for an ADR.
7) To me, being late for any appt is inconsiderate and rude.
(FLAME PROOF SUIT BACK ON HANGER}

I can think of many valid reasons to be late. Saying otherwise is claiming that the world is perfect and that it always runs smoothly. The fact is, real life happens and sometimes people run late. Last time we were in Disney we were on the bus to Hollywood Studios in the morning and my period got extremely heavy and I bled through my pants. Although I sometimes have hemorrhage like periods, this paticular one was very light up until that point, so I did not see that one coming. Thankfully we had a spare sweater so I wrapped that around my waist to cover and we headed back to the room for me to change. By the time we got back I had blead through the sweater as well. I continued the heavy bleeding for hours until it finally slowed down.

We didn't have a dining reservation that morning, but that's just an example of something unexpectant happening. I don't get how some people only see the world in black and white.

Also to add...why do people get so smug about the thought of someone being turned away for being a bit late for their reservations? It's almost as if some people do an internal dance to see someone else's misfortune. Yes, we know reservations can be hard to get, but why gloat when someone's day is ruined because their baby vomited on them or the bus didn't run on time and they showed up late and missed an anticipated meal?

 

[ohsnapxitsamanda]

As a former CM for a TS restaurant, I can say that yes, you get a 15 minute grace period before you are considered a no-show. However, we all understand that things happen, so if you show up to the restaurant after that grace period, you will be accommodated as quickly as possible, but there might be a wait. However, there have been a couple of times where people showed up late and we were so busy that there was no way we could get them in (keep in mind though, these guests were about an hour late).

As for the arriving 15 minutes earlier, while it's always better to be early, keep in mind that you might not get seated until your reservation time. Especially during busy times. We always told people that if they showed up 5-10 minutes before their reservation time, that was good. But I know that some guests have been told to arrive 15-30 minutes before, and that's where we would have issues.

And one last thing: the grace period is ALWAYS in effect, no matter what time of year it is.

 

[kylmac]

Myself, ds, and dd waited for a boat from the WL to get to some transfer point to get us to the GF for ds pirate boat ride. We got there 1 1/2 hours early and the boat never came. The guy waiting at the dock assured us a boat would be along within the 15-30 minute time frame. We waited at least 45 mins and then realized we would never make it. Got there finally (don't even remember how we got there) and were completely out of breath and but got her on the boat ride plus some treasure hunt. I did fell very badly for being late but I truly thought I had given it enough time. Lesson learned.
Elizabeth
Sorry off topic for restaurants-I was thinking of the being late idea.

 

[Kat in GA]

Several years ago, on our last day we had reservations at Chef Mickey's. And when I mean last day - I mean we had checked out of the hotel, were going to have breakfast and then drive home. However, after loading up my van - it wouldn't start. The security that patrols the resort couldn't get it started - and they called a AAA guy to come an help us (and they didn't charge us!) - and we got going. When we arrived at the Contemporary, we were at least 2 hours late for our reservation - and they still sat us. I was a nervous wreck that the car wouldn't start for us when we went back out

So, policy may be one thing - and I suppose they will make all attempts to seat you.

 

[disneyfans95]

You can be late, but don't complain if they give up your table.

Disney is about making money and there is no way to know you are coming, so sell that table and get it flipped again ASAP to max revenue..

If that dinner is that important, be in the part/hotel early and nearby. If not, you run the risk of losing it.