Making ADR's and then not using them

[brown eyed girl]

Have you ever made ADR's and then some and then for whatever reason you don't use them and don't officially cancel them? I am getting the feeling some people do this. Of course things happen, people get sick, kids have emergencies, but maybe sometimes people "overbook" or have two plans in place. Like say you wanted to do Universal while you were there and planned on going on a Wednesday and Thursday you had a special ADR but due to bad weather or whatever you switch dates and don't use the ADR - I bet this happens a lot.

 

[RMulieri]

No.I have always cancelled mine ahead of time.

 

[tigergrad]

It's happened to us before. Last Aug, we had late breasfast PSs @ Chef Mickey's. We went to EPCOT to ride Test Track and Soarin. When we go on the monorail to go to the CR, it was delayed. We missed our ADR by 15 minutes and were denied our PS. Several trips ago we had PSs for 50's PTC and my child got sick. I did not call and cancel. I think most of us have had things happen that are out of our control.

 

[lilyv]

When you consider all the work/preparation that goes into planning a nice Disney vacation it's well worth taking 2 seconds more to program Disney dining # into your cell phone so you can cancel should the need arise.
I called last year when we were running late, and wanted to see if I could change the reservation that day to an hour later. They were able to do that for us-I realize they can't always, but things worked out great in that situation!

 

[Haley]

I think as a courtesy you are supposed to cancel-- BUT I have heard that the ADR system is set up so that no shows don't really matter.

They are not holding a table for you. When you check in, then you wait for the next available table. So, say a party of 4 doesn't show up-- they simply aren't put in the computer so you won't see an empty table of 4 sitting there with a CM calling "Jones, party of 4" kwim?

That said, it's best to cancel them in case someone else is trying to make a reservation. But I wouldn't lose sleep over it if an emergency comes up and you can't call in time to cancel it.

 

[simonkodousek]

If an issue conflicting with my ADR occurs, I always cancel no matter what the reasons may be, so that someone else is able to get my table (either ADR's or walk-up) and have a great meal in my place. It makes no sense not to call, especially if you have an ADR booked for either a very large, or small group, which most tables are unable to accommodate.

 

[jeremyleo]

We had an emergency on our last family trip and had to cancel at the last minute. We were at EPCOT and DD got sick so DD and DW headed back to the hotel. I simply walked up to the check-in desk at Rose&Crown and asked the hostess if she could help me cancel an ADR at Teppan Edo. Quick and easy as they all seem to have access to the Dining Reservation system.

It's not always easy to get to Guest Relations or use your cell to call (I live in Canada and to roaming charges with my carrier are crazy), but any restaurant host/hostess should hopefully be able to help cancel ADRs for you. That said sometimes the lineups at the checkin desks are 20 minutes long themselves...

 

[Maxamuus]

When you consider all the work/preparation that goes into planning a nice Disney vacation it's well worth taking 2 seconds more to program Disney dining # into your cell phone so you can cancel should the need arise.

407 WDW Dine isnt too hard to remember.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We make sure to always cancel our reservations is we are not going to use them.

 

[Brian Noble]

I cancel mine, even if it is last minute, to give someone else a shot.

 

[shadowryter]

Happened only once. We were on Test Track one evening in Nov 06 and a major storm came over. We flew through the que and onto the ride but had to wait for the rain to clear. You might of thought they would have let everyone off the ride but no. We slammed through those curves at about 10 feet every 3 minutes and finally went outside in a downpour. Needless to say we missed our ressie for Alfredo's and I'm kind of sad that we did, considering it is no longer there.

 

[vellamint]

I try to cancel.

Last family trip we had to switch which parks we were going to one day....which messed up two days of ADRs....

I called to cancel....

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

A few years ago my family and I had to two ADR's for dinner at Boma. We used the 1st one, however later that night when we returned I got sick. Thinking it was from something I had there the very next morning we cancelled the 2nd ADR at Boma, which was for the day after. I have no idea if a guest was able to call WDW-Dining and get the ADR or someone at WDW was able to get it threw Guest Relations, because we did our part by cancelling the ADR.

 

[rt2dz]

Things happen and at the last minute we'll decide not to use an ADR. We try and call Disney Dining or stop by guest services so it can be canceled, but sometimes it doesn't happen. It doesn't hold up those that show and when it does happen, it is so usually last minute that canceling doesn't generally free up the spot for someone else. BUT we do try and cancel and are successful at canceling ADRs that will go unused 98% of the time. Especially since 99% of the time we keep our ADRs.