What a total disappointment!
I did send this to Kevin, but wanted to share with everyone else.
My boyfriend and I had a very bad experience at CRT last December and did not even get to eat there! This was during our Christmas trip (12/26-1/1). My reservation was made at 7 AM exactly 180 days out. This was a challenge for me to make as it was because I am a teacher and have limited time to make phone calls during the week.
Onto the trip....
This was our first experience in WDW during the Christmas season. I had been dreaming of it for years and was absolutely ecstatic about going. Unfortunately, severe fog put a dent into our plans. Our fllight was delayed in Newark and we arrived in Orlando quite a few hours late. I called Disney Dining from Magical Express on our way to POFQ. I explained the situation and how I was concerned we would be late for our ADR to Cindy's. I had been looking forward to eating inside the castle for years. The person over the phone said that she contacted the restaurant directly and as long as we get there by a certain time (I believe it was 3 or 3:30 pm) it would not be a problem and our credit card would not be charged as a no-show. I was happy.
We got to POFQ and I explained the situation to the front desk cast member and she also called over to the restaurant saying we were on our way. We raced from POFQ (without going to our room, I might add), to the Disney buses, and flew through Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, the castle show was about to go on so we had to navigate not only the crowds, but an entirely different way to the restaurant. We tried to go up the left side of the castle knowing there was at least 15 minutes before the show started, but were greeted by a very rude cast member who refused to let us through. He was also very snippy about it. This was a horrible way to begin a vacation and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.
After finally getting to the restaurant podium, it was about five minutes after the time we were told would be the last we could get into the restaurant. I made an attempt to check-in and was treated, again, very harshly. I explained the situation and was told there was absolutely no way we were going to be let in because they were shutting the restaurant down to prepare for dinner. I did witness other guests in the restaurant including one couple who was let in right as we were walking up to the podium.
To put a long story short, I became very upset and nearly teary-eyed until three cast members were dealing with me. I was told my credit card was already charged for not showing up and my dining credits from the dining plan were already taken away as well. Again, I voiced my complaint and was told that there was no way this could be reversed. This was an odd experience for me. I had never received such rude and unkind treatment from a cast member before. Little did I know, the experience was about to get a lot odder.
After nearly a half hour of arguing, an older female cast member came out, said everything had been taken care of with both my credit card and dining plan credits, hugged me, and said, "Welcome to Disney, honey! Have a great day."
I was appalled and disgusted. Disney should be 100% ashamed of themselves for this experience. I agree that until people stop going to this sad excuse for a restaurant nothing will change.
Thanks for the review, Kevin. It has helped ease the pain of this experience. We have been very disappointed and sad about not having the opportunity to eat in the castle. We have discussed making an attempt to get there again. However, after hearing your review, we definitely are glad we didn't miss anything and won't go back until changes happen.
Seems like you handled yourself well though. Question: When the woman came out and said 'everything is taken care of, welcome to Disney' what did she mean? Did they credit your card? Were you able to get back those dining credits? I sure hope so!
You are absolutely right..Disney should be ashamed of themselves. There is no way you should be penalized by something clearly out of your control. 
