New credit card guarantees. Restaurant list, policy & common questions in 1st post

[Mkrop]

I didn't say they were, or that they're wrong; I don't vote in polls that don't have an 'other' option .

I agree. Which is why I will again recommend that everyone upset with the change contact WDW Guest Communications directly. Don't just sit back and wait for the employees who monitor Internet forums to sift through this thread, make notes, pass them on to the appropriate department, and hope your voices are heard.

Nope. If you're voting against it, you'll have to find it yourself Seriously, it should be right on the first page of this (restaurant reservations) board.

Found it and voted agaisnt

 

[goofyintoronto]

It is up to the parent to see to their kids health and well being, not Disney. It is called being a responsible parent. Holding Disney accountable becasue they supposedly force you into taking your sick child into a restaurnt is a cop-out, and and a pretty lame exucse for poor parenting.

As much as some people try to ignore it, the fact is that Disney is a business, and everything they do is to make money. And apparently counting on people to do the right thing and cancel ADRs they don't want isn't working and is costing Disney money. Does anyone really think they should shrug their collective shoulders and go "Oh well, it is only money."?

clap! clap! clap! VERY well said! I totally agree. There are many who have said that Disney is doing this just to make money. The thing is, if you show up for your ADR, they dont get any extra money out of you at all. They want you to show up for the ADR which you have made. For years Disney has allowed ppl to make ADRs and cancel them when they need to....but over the years Disney has noticed that this system isnt working because more and more ppl are deciding to not show up for their ADRs (for whatever reason), which is costing the restaurant money and frustrating 'walk ups' (since theyre told the restaurant is at capacity when really its only half empty, but they say theyre full obviously because of the ADRs). Im pretty sure plenty of customers complained about that. Disney is doing this for a reason....to allow more walk ups to be seated, and to stop restaurants from losing money (because of the no-shows). There's a reason Disney has come up with this new policy.

I think customers should be accountable for no-shows no matter what the excuse is. As i've said before, if they waive the $10 for one family because of illness, they'd have to do it for everyone....pretty soon everyone will be using the sick excuse. You cant waive it for one family and not another right? If you would like more flexibility with your ADRs, simply book at the restaurants that are not on that list. Via Napoli and Kona are not on that list for example.

 

[Mkrop]

clap! clap! clap! VERY well said! I totally agree. There are many who have said that Disney is doing this just to make money. The thing is, if you show up for your ADR, they dont get any extra money out of you at all. They want you to show up for the ADR which you have made. For years Disney has allowed ppl to make ADRs and cancel them when they need to....but over the years Disney has noticed that this system isnt working because more and more ppl are deciding to not show up for their ADRs (for whatever reason), which is costing the restaurant money and frustrating 'walk ups' (since theyre told the restaurant is at capacity when really its only half empty, but they say theyre full obviously because of the ADRs). Im pretty sure plenty of customers complained about that. Disney is doing this for a reason....to allow more walk ups to be seated, and to stop restaurants from losing money (because of the no-shows). There's a reason Disney has come up with this new policy.

I think customers should be accountable for no-shows no matter what the excuse is. As i've said before, if they waive the $10 for one family because of illness, they'd have to do it for everyone....pretty soon everyone will be using the sick excuse. You cant waive it for one family and not another right? If you would like more flexibility with your ADRs, simply book at the restaurants that are not on that list. Via Napoli and Kona are not on that list for example.

But once again why cant it be more customer friendly and just charge if you are a true no show.

If a child gets sick at noon, why isnt it acceptable to call then to cancel a 7pm ADR. The family is not blowing it off, if they do then by all means charge them for their inconsideration. But if they call and cancel then they can certainly allow for walkups.

I probably wont be booking at these restaurants anymore bc I am not a gambler with my money.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

So what if I book 15 ppl and lets say at the last minute one person cant go. If I show up with 14 do you still have to pay the $10?

 

[goofyintoronto]

But once again why cant it be more customer friendly and just charge if you are a true no show.

If a child gets sick at noon, why isnt it acceptable to call then to cancel a 7pm ADR. The family is not blowing it off, if they do then by all means charge them for their inconsideration. But if they call and cancel then they can certainly allow for walkups.

I probably wont be booking at these restaurants anymore bc I am not a gambler with my money.

I hear what your saying. It wouldnt be a bad thing to change the window from 24 hours to 12 hours, or even 6 hours. And charge those customers that are a true no show. Good point.

 

[goofyintoronto]

So what if I book 15 ppl and lets say at the last minute one person cant go. If I show up with 14 do you still have to pay the $10?

Just like with Cali Grill, as long as most of your party is there, they wont charge. Its only 1 person, i really dont think they'd charge you the $10. I think that applies only if your ENTIRE party is a no show (just like at Cali Grill as i had mentioned).

 

[maxiesmom]

But once again why cant it be more customer friendly and just charge if you are a true no show.

If a child gets sick at noon, why isnt it acceptable to call then to cancel a 7pm ADR. The family is not blowing it off, if they do then by all means charge them for their inconsideration. But if they call and cancel then they can certainly allow for walkups.

I probably wont be booking at these restaurants anymore bc I am not a gambler with my money.

I think this is one of those things where no matter how many hours in advance Disney sets the cut-off time for, someone will not be happy. Say it was 7 hours, as sure as I am typing this someone would post "Hey, why is the cut-off time 7 hours? Why not something that makes sense like 4 hours?"

I still don't understand why everyone has to cancel if one person is sick. Are we the only family who splits up ever? I can't imagine making a whole family miss a character meal becasue one person was ill.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Just like with Cali Grill, as long as most of your party is there, they wont charge. Its only 1 person, i really dont think they'd charge you the $10. I think that applies only if your ENTIRE party is a no show (just like at Cali Grill as i had mentioned).

Good because the other family that we are going with doesnt know if her mother is going til last minute and I dont want that to kill our ADR's. I still wanna book at 180 days-not wait til she makes her descision. After the first time they are at Disney, they will understand why u need to plan everything far in advance!

 

[Mkrop]

I think this is one of those things where no matter how many hours in advance Disney sets the cut-off time for, someone will not be happy. Say it was 7 hours, as sure as I am typing this someone would post "Hey, why is the cut-off time 7 hours? Why not something that makes sense like 4 hours?"

I still don't understand why everyone has to cancel if one person is sick. Are we the only family who splits up ever? I can't imagine making a whole family miss a character meal becasue one person was ill.

I can only speak for us but if one of us is sick, only happened once, no one wanted to miss the "big" dinner. The point was to experience it together. We are only a party of 4, so no I dont want to take my oldest to CP to see Winnie the Pooh when the real reason I booked it was at the time my youngest could see Pooh. Or what about a party of 3, is dad really going to go and trek it all the way to MK from say Pop to sit there at a character meal by himself to avoid the fee so now they are out $30 bucks. I know for some they say that isnt a lot of money but to me it is. My priority is my sick child but my priority is not to waste money either. We are not poor but we are certainly not rolling in the dough either that I am not going to just say oh well for $30 leaving my pocket. So for me like I said I am not a gambler by nature so I wont be booking those places, so I guess that makes others happy bc they will have room for them. I dont book many prepaid things just for that reason, and when I did I made sure we toured differently, but I dont want to have to do that every day on a trip.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Another scenario has come to my mind. What if the guest wants to change to a new reservation? While I have never personally done this, I would think it would be somewhat commonplace and I'm wondering what the response would be on Disney's part.

Example 1: The Incredible family is staying at POR. (With free dining to make this easier) They have an ADR that evening at Chef Mickey's. They decide (for whatever reason, you decide) that it would be better for their family if they stay at their resort. Boatright's is able to fit them in. Their resort concierge is able to cancel their CM's ADR WITHOUT penalty and they eat at Boatright's that evening. Meanwhile, the Darling family, who has been trying unsuccessfully to get an ADR at CM's suddenly finds that their luck has changed and they are now in having scored the Incredible's canceled ADR.

The winners in this scenario:
1) The Incredible family
2) The Darling family
3) Disney - they still get their CM's $ plus they get the additional Boatright's revenue

Example 2: Same background as above, only this time, the resort concierge tells the Incredible family that there will be a $50 cancellation charge. Since they are on a tight budget, they keep the ADR in the hopes that they will be able to make it. But, they end up not being able to make it and eat their garden grocer food in the room. Upset at the loss of the $, they don't call and cancel.

The winners in this scenario:
Nobody - You could argue that Disney wins, but they really don't since they could have made more $ the other way.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think this is one of those things where no matter how many hours in advance Disney sets the cut-off time for, someone will not be happy. Say it was 7 hours, as sure as I am typing this someone would post "Hey, why is the cut-off time 7 hours? Why not something that makes sense like 4 hours?">>>ya thats a very excellent point!!! There will always be a bunch of ppl who will complain about it. So true. You cant please everyone!

I still don't understand why everyone has to cancel if one person is sick. Are we the only family who splits up ever? I can't imagine making a whole family miss a character meal becasue one person was ill.>>>I agree with you on that. I'd definitely split the family up in a case where someone was ill. Makes sense to me. And who says you have to order full meals while you are there? the party that does show up can order appetizers and dessert if they wish. For buffets thou, your obviously stuck.

 

[MELSMICE]

I think this is one of those things where no matter how many hours in advance Disney sets the cut-off time for, someone will not be happy. Say it was 7 hours, as sure as I am typing this someone would post "Hey, why is the cut-off time 7 hours? Why not something that makes sense like 4 hours?"

I still don't understand why everyone has to cancel if one person is sick. Are we the only family who splits up ever? I can't imagine making a whole family miss a character meal becasue one person was ill.

LOL......I said the exact same 2 things a few pages back. Someone will complain regardless of the amount of time prior the cancellation has to be made.

With the exception of a party of 2 or 3, I don't understand not sending the rest of the party to the ADR while the sick child & parent or just the adult stays back at the resort.

 

[Tricia1972]

Yes, we are going to have one thread for general discussion on this topic, and this is going to be it. Otherwise we will likely end up with multiple threads just on this topic.

Just a heads up, per Nala's statement on the first page, this is it for the discussion about the topic on the restaurant board. All other threads, including the poll, will be closed.

 

[mcd2745]

Just a heads up, per Nala's statement on the first page, this is it for the discussion about the topic on the restaurant board. All other threads, including the poll, will be closed.

Why? It was an attempt to guage exactly how many people were on each side of this issue, and therefore very relevant. The intent wasn't to have a second discussion thread specifically about the new policy. In fact, I went out of my to try and create an alternate "discussion" in the thread by asking people to instead post what they believe would be the ideal system rather than discuss/comment/complain about the new policy. I think, a simple reminder in the poll thread to keep discussion of the new policy here in this thread would have been a more rational course of action.


(BTW...I give this post a shelf-life of about 8.5 minutes befoore it's deleted)

 

[Tricia1972]

The request to keep it all in one thread is on the first page. It is what it is and all other threads up to and including the poll have been closed for now.

There is no reason that this thread can't be a discussion as to how to fix it and cease to be a debate and attack on others who have different viewpoints than your own.

 

[mom2rtk]

ya thats a very excellent point!!! There will always be a bunch of ppl who will complain about it. So true. You cant please everyone!

I know there would still be some who disagree, but I think the numbers would be far less if they had a 3 hour, or even 6 hour cancellation. I know I'd feel a lot better about it.

I agree with you on that. I'd definitely split the family up in a case where someone was ill. Makes sense to me. And who says you have to order full meals while you are there? the party that does show up can order appetizers and dessert if they wish. For buffets thou, your obviously stuck.

Except that MOST of the desirable character meals are indeed buffets.

 

[Lewisc]

I quoted you, although my post isn't just directed to your point.
As a guest:

1. Disney no longer has an reason to overbook. I'll complain, and expect compensation, if I have to wait more then 10 minutes. You don't have to wait at the Lua. Disney books as many people as it has seats for each showing.
2. I'll now blame Disney, not the parents, for screaming kids. Again I'll be complaining and looking for compensation if I'm bothered by a screaming kid.

I don't know in what world posters live in but in my world a store doesn't typically charge a customer who accidentally breaks something in the store. Goodwill. The cost of doing business. In my world a company helps a customer who breaks a part in assembling an item. Generally offers a replacement part. Sometimes only charging for shipping but usually no charge. Assemble furniture and you'll find an 800 number. Call and they don't care if the part is missing, if you lost it or broke it. They'll send you what you need. They want a satisfied customer.

People are on vacation. Sleep late. Lines longer then anticipated. Not feeling well. Soaking wet from rain. Stinky sweaty from the heat. Reasons not to dine. Most companies wouldn't look at those guests as a new revenue source but want them to enjoy their vacation.

People want ideas. Allocate a % for walk ups. That will offer an option to people who don't want to make plans 6 months out. More importantly it will ensure a pool of "standby diners". Hold an ADR for 10-15 minutes then release it. The only issue might be park restaurants, prior to park opening.

Many people are wondering how Disney will replace a missing diner for breakfast. The current price (Cape May) is $29 A, $16 C and free under 3. The cancellation fee for a family of 4 (2A1C1free) is $40, more then half the cost of the meal. In my world that's an excessive penalty, particularly if there is as shot the restaurant will be able to fill the table with another guest. Take the opposite case. Slow time of year. Restaurant is half empty. The guest who didn't show didn't cost Disney additional revenue.

Too many guests are no-show.

Is the problem with the guests? Silly guests who don't want do dine soaking wet. Sweaty and smelly. Screaming kids. Guests who decided to allow 45-60 minutes rather then the 90 minutes Disney is now suggesting for transportation.

OR

Is the problem with Disney thinking it's appropriate for guests to commit to a real reservation for these kinds of meals?

If Disney can't project a "no-show", and overbook accordingly, then maybe Disney shouldn't be taking reservations. Restaurants like Outback don't generally take reservations. They might let you call ahead and put your name on a list.

Southwest gives "no show" passengers a 100% credit.

clap! clap! clap! VERY well said! I totally agree. There are many who have said that Disney is doing this just to make money. The thing is, if you show up for your ADR, they dont get any extra money out of you at all. They want you to show up for the ADR which you have made. For years Disney has allowed ppl to make ADRs and cancel them when they need to....but over the years Disney has noticed that this system isnt working because more and more ppl are deciding to not show up for their ADRs (for whatever reason), which is costing the restaurant money and frustrating 'walk ups' (since theyre told the restaurant is at capacity when really its only half empty, but they say theyre full obviously because of the ADRs). Im pretty sure plenty of customers complained about that. Disney is doing this for a reason....to allow more walk ups to be seated, and to stop restaurants from losing money (because of the no-shows). There's a reason Disney has come up with this new policy.

I think customers should be accountable for no-shows no matter what the excuse is. As i've said before, if they waive the $10 for one family because of illness, they'd have to do it for everyone....pretty soon everyone will be using the sick excuse. You cant waive it for one family and not another right? If you would like more flexibility with your ADRs, simply book at the restaurants that are not on that list. Via Napoli and Kona are not on that list for example.

 

[housemouse]

__________________

But if all restaurants become cc-hold, and if FPasses don't allow flexibility beyond the return time, and NextGen means I have to schedule a TSM ride before even leaving for vacation..... well, you put it all together, and it becomes a vacation that I don't want.

Really. I kinda expect them to announce at any moment that effective such and such a date they'll be charging 5 bucks for each fastpass you pull and don't use.

 

[MSLRAC]

clap! clap! clap! VERY well said! I totally agree. There are many who have said that Disney is doing this just to make money. The thing is, if you show up for your ADR, they dont get any extra money out of you at all. They want you to show up for the ADR which you have made. For years Disney has allowed ppl to make ADRs and cancel them when they need to....but over the years Disney has noticed that this system isnt working because more and more ppl are deciding to not show up for their ADRs (for whatever reason), which is costing the restaurant money and frustrating 'walk ups' (since theyre told the restaurant is at capacity when really its only half empty, but they say theyre full obviously because of the ADRs). Im pretty sure plenty of customers complained about that. Disney is doing this for a reason....to allow more walk ups to be seated, and to stop restaurants from losing money (because of the no-shows). There's a reason Disney has come up with this new policy.

I think customers should be accountable for no-shows no matter what the excuse is. As i've said before, if they waive the $10 for one family because of illness, they'd have to do it for everyone....pretty soon everyone will be using the sick excuse. You cant waive it for one family and not another right? If you would like more flexibility with your ADRs, simply book at the restaurants that are not on that list. Via Napoli and Kona are not on that list for example.

The first bold statement is not always true. The ADR that we missed (I called to cancel just not 24 hours before), we still ate breakfast but it was at a different location and a few hours later than intended. I also suspect that they filled our seats at CP since the ADR was after the park opened on EMH day.

Also, if you have a truly sick incident then I suspect that you are going to spend extra money at Disney that you never expected. We bought two bottles of fever reducing meds (I brought chewables but they were the incorrect dosage for DS) and tons of juice and Sprite at our resort for DS. He also got a couple of extra stuffed guys while we were buying those things.

I think this is one of those things where no matter how many hours in advance Disney sets the cut-off time for, someone will not be happy. Say it was 7 hours, as sure as I am typing this someone would post "Hey, why is the cut-off time 7 hours? Why not something that makes sense like 4 hours?"

I still don't understand why everyone has to cancel if one person is sick. Are we the only family who splits up ever? I can't imagine making a whole family miss a character meal becasue one person was ill.

I agree that you can't make everyone happy with a cut off time but 24 hours just seems excessive for a family oriented vacation resort.

Also, in our case of a canceled ADR for illness, DH and I were both exhausted from dealing with DS all night. He had not really slept, we had been taking turns being up with him, DD had been woken up a few times because of his crying...so yes, I called and canceled the entire family for breakfast at CP. If it had been a lunch or dinner then we would have done a partial party but it just did not work out that way for us.

Just like with Cali Grill, as long as most of your party is there, they wont charge. Its only 1 person, i really dont think they'd charge you the $10. I think that applies only if your ENTIRE party is a no show (just like at Cali Grill as i had mentioned).

That is not how it works now. I've seen numerous threads where people were charged for one person missing a meal at Cali Grill or Askershus. I was also told we booked them that if part of our party would not be able to attend that we needed to call by the cut off to change the ADR.

 

[housemouse]

I've been thinking about it some and there is a totally different way to view the policy. We travel as a party of 2(as I'm sure there are many that do). Basically I could view it as paying $20/day to have all the flexibility I want when making ADR's. So this policy could encourage me or others to make as many ADR's as we want to because we are paying to do so if we don't want to bother canceling.
$100 extra a week for flexibility could induce me to start making multiple reservations. Just saying.