If the parks are full and you have an ADR, is it true you won't be let in?

[Sammie]

Sammie--The OP is asking about an offsite guest who has a (prepaid) ADR at CRT. The question, assumming the guest could even get to the MK gate, is if that guest is in a higher stage category than other offsite guests. A second question is how early the MK closes to such a guest and how long would the guest have to wait before they'd be allowed to enter.

Tbrink asked this question; Does anyone know around what time parks start not letting people in? I answered based on our experiences.

Originally Posted by Deb & Bill
To me it would be their fault for not planning appropriately.

the OP responded:That was a response I did not want to see on this thread because it would be unfair to say why a family would not plan appropriately. Do you think when making ADR's for a busy day in the Magic Kingdom the Cast Member tells them be sure to get there early before the Magic Kingdom closes the gates? I would highly doubt that. Plus what if they do not read Disboards or any other WDW message board site, they might not know about the parks closing on major holidays because of to many guests, or it could a families very 1st trip to WDW and do not know much about it. Finally if they were staying offsite they would not have the benefit of having the Cast Members checking if the Magic Kingdom gates were still open which can make a huge difference.

LewisC I responded to the question asked by Tbrink and the comment above made by the OP to Deb and Bill.

I don't get your point? I was not aware one was limited in which questions can be answered.

 

[clkelley]

Honestly, I don't think an off-site guest that knew so little about WDW and did not know that they would need to be in the park when it might get full to capacity would know to call 180 days in advance at 7am ET to get a reservation at CRT.

So I doubt that it ever happens at all.

Does that make sense????

 

[bavaria]

excellent point, Carol!

whatever happened to personal responsibility? this thread seems to highlight how people don't take responsibility for themselves. If I want to celebrate on New Years Eve in a major city, I know to allow extra time for traffic, etc. Why should a WDW vacation be any different?

 

[bavaria]

That was a response I did not want to see on this thread because it would be unfair to say why a family would not plan appropriately.

why would you not want to see someone pointing out the need for personal responsibility?

if someone books an airline ticket, they are responsible for getting to the airport on time. They need to do their research and find out what the guidelines are for arriving on time to avoid missing their flight.

Every time I call WDW dining, they reaffirm that a reservation in a park location requires theme park admission. I am fairly certain that they also advise one about park capacity on those few very busy days (ie if one calls 180 out to book CRT for Christmas Day)

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

why would you not want to see someone pointing out the need for personal responsibility?

if someone books an airline ticket, they are responsible for getting to the airport on time. They need to do their research and find out what the guidelines are for arriving on time to avoid missing their flight.

Every time I call WDW dining, they reaffirm that a reservation in a park location requires theme park admission. I am fairly certain that they also advise one about park capacity on those few very busy days (ie if one calls 180 out to book CRT for Christmas Day)

There is a difference with booking an airline ticket and making an ADR in the parks on a major holiday. With an airline ticket your confirmation says to be there 2-3 hours before departure no matter what day you are flying. If you book an ADR in the parks on a busy holiday you are never told to be there early before the parks close since they will be very busy with a lot of other guests. I agree that it is the guests responsibilty to make sure they get to the park way before any closing, however not every guest might not know that.

 

[bavaria]

If you book an ADR in the parks on a busy holiday you are never told to be there early before the parks close since they will be very busy with a lot of other guests.

Actually, I HAVE been told that park admission is subject to capacity and entry is not guaranteed.

 

[Katiebell]

Honestly, I don't think an off-site guest that knew so little about WDW and did not know that they would need to be in the park when it might get full to capacity would know to call 180 days in advance at 7am ET to get a reservation at CRT.

So I doubt that it ever happens at all.

Does that make sense????

Hmm...it's an interesting point. Do you think that the vast majority of people attending shows like HDDR, the Luau, and eating at CRT are people who read Disney boards? That most of the public doesn't go because they don't know the tricks for getting an ADR? That would be interesting to find out...although I'm not sure how we could. Maybe if we had an ADR there, and walked around counting LGMHPC's? But that is a good point -- if you don't know about calling 7 am 180 days in advance, how could you possibly get in, unless it was just a freak accident? Or a miracle

But...whether or not it's a guests responsibility to know in advance if the park might be so busy they could be denied admission, so they need to be in the park at opening and stay until they've had their meal or forfeit the $50 per person or whatever CRT costs...looks like Disney Guest services understands that's a very unusual situation, and they would gladly issue a refund for a meal a family can't even attend. They even said if you had an ADR in the park you could try giving your reservation number at the gate and you may be allowed in (obviously if the park wasn't truly at maximum capacity). AFAIC, Disney has once again lived up to their reputation for excellent customer relations.

 

[Lewisc]

Of course not, I was hoping, based on your experience, you might also address the original question regarding when the parks might close under lower stage numbers.

LewisC I responded to the question asked by Tbrink and the comment above made by the OP to Deb and Bill.

I don't get your point? I was not aware one was limited in which questions can be answered.

 

[Sammie]

Of course not, I was hoping, based on your experience, you might also address the original question regarding when the parks might close under lower stage numbers.

Ok, sorry that went right over my head.

I truly would only be able to say in our experiences with 4th of July that I have seen the MK close as early as 10am to non Disney resort guests and never clear out enough that day to allow any but Disney resort guests.

By fireworks time the park was at Stage 4 and if you were not in, you were not going in. They did not open back up to Disney guests until after the fireworks and then it was only MK monorail resort guests, as even Disney buses were in a leave the park only mode and the main parking lot had been closed all day.

So on a major holiday I would say be there at opening and prepare to stay if you have an ADR, of course personally you could not pay me enough money to go.

Our 4th of July experience was observed by the sane adults from the beach of the Polynesian and first hand reports by the teens in our group, who were determined to go over and see first hand how bad it was.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

The first trip we went on we hadn't even heard of ADR's or PS, we knew nothing more than Disney was a theme park with Miockey mouse and the internet wasn't around to look up the information. The guide books over here had 5-10 pages of info but nothing more. So its perfectly possible for someone to not know what they are doing.
Some TA book ADRs for you and just give out a print out of numbers, times and where the meal is. The 4th of July and Thanksgiving mean nothing to most europeans as does spring break and if you don't know then how do you know to look it up.

 

[bicker]

Hmm...it's an interesting point. Do you think that the vast majority of people attending shows like HDDR, the Luau, and eating at CRT are people who read Disney boards?

Indeed. Instead, the vast majority of people hopefully recognize their personal responsibility to arrive early when attempting to visit someplace on a major holiday.

 

[Babyboo]

I have been reading this thread with interest over the last few days.

We have been to WDW a number of times and I am aware that you need to plan well in advance to get a ressie for CRT. (although I have just booked a trip for June and mannaged to get all my adr's, with the exception of Le Cellier, within 15 mins of our requested time including CRT).

This year will be our 1st visit in Dec and we were hopping to book CRT for Christmas Day dinner I was aware that the parks often reach capacity on Christmas Day but it never occured to me that I wouldn't be allowed in for my ADR

Of course it makes perfect sense after reading this thread.

So we have now changed our plans as there would be nothing that would make me want to spend a full day in a park at full capacity just to eat there.