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

[Snurk71]

See, it's not a matter of fault, but a matter of service. Canceling within 3 hours is PLENTY of time for them to fill your spot, which is, after all, EXACTLY what this policy is targeting. As it sits now, my choices are to go and waste Disney time and money, or not show up, and be charged. Neither way lets Disney make the money their expecting, and neither way allows another family in for that spot. However, canceling, even 3 hours ahead of time, fills both needs.

HERE, HERE!!!

So many people on here tend to forget that the customer is the customer and Disney is supposed to be the service provider. So yeah, I'd like a little slack and service for the thousands of dollars I give them. That's kind of how good service-oriented businesses work.

 

[Snurk71]

Once again, if anybody has a reasonable solution for eliminating multiple bookings and no-shows without charging a fee, we - and probably Disney - are waiting to hear it.

Simple - keep the cancellation fee but reduce the time to 3 hours and 90% of those against it would probably be okay with it. You seem to keep missing that theme though - it's the 24 hour thing that has set most of us off.

 

[Snurk71]

But Disney does.

Could I ask why you think they haven't already done this - and discussed various solutions, and determined the no-show fee to be the most effective method of providing ADRs to the greatest possible number of guests who will use them?

Businesses aren't always as smart as you think. Ever hear of Quixster or whatever Netflix was naming the new service? We saw what the customer base thought of that well analyzed and discussed decision.

They're not trying to accommodate just walk-ups, but also guests and locals wanting to make same day reservations.

Curious - you ask how someone would know what Disney has or hasn't done and then make a definitive claim of what Disney is trying to do. So unless you're on the inside of Disney, you might not know what Disney's really trying to accomplish with the change either.

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

Don't ever think that the mouse managers make any decision with the guest in mind. the angle is always how to bring in more revenue.

And what's wrong with that exactly? When you make plans for you or your family, don't you have your best interests in mind? Disney has to pay 60,000 employees. Don't they deserve to know who and how many people are scheduled to be at a particular restaurant on a certain date and time? I wasn't aware that every corporation should bend steel and crush mortar to accommodate everyone's dreams and desires. Some people will have to get used to disappointment, I guess.

So many people on here tend to forget that the customer is the customer and Disney is supposed to be the service provider. So yeah, I'd like a little slack and service for the thousands of dollars I give them. That's kind of how good service-oriented businesses work.

As a customer, you can be easily replaced. Disney has done the math. If they lose you, they'll gain two more willing to comply with the rules. Your thousands mean nothing to them earning millions. It's a two-way street: Good companies deserve good customers, and not everyone who visits WDW comes close to that.

Simple - keep the cancellation fee but reduce the time to 3 hours and 90% of those against it would probably be okay with it. You seem to keep missing that theme though - it's the 24 hour thing that has set most of us off.

So Disney should just do whatever you want, however it pleases you? Three hours is good for you? How about no $10 charge at all and just a big ol' frown in your direction? What else can Disney do to appease the 10% (not 90% -- the same people keep posting the negative sentiment) who dislike this new policy? I'm glad they're enforcing this and I hope anyone who doesn't like it gets charged for disobeying the rules. You really start to find out who the adults are when Disney stops treating everyone like a child.

 

[Euphoria027]

Seriously, I realize that this is Disney World but if they had to cater to every single person's highly specific needs, they would never make any money. They already do a pretty darn good job, in my opinion. But this is a business. They need to do what they need to do. A handful of forum users may be all up in arms about this but a vast majority will hardly even though there was a change in policy.

 

[MikeSF]

The downside that I see in this policy is that you can reserve 180 days out so expect all those restaurants to be quite full all the way into April as everyone tries to beat the deadline for a non-credit reservation.

While I do have a large problem with WDW reservation window, but that's another topic and me griping about it isn't going to change anything, I really don't have any problem with having cancellation fees. If the restaurant is full and I can't get a place (because quite honestly I didn't know where I'd be in the WDW Resort on a particular day 3 months from now) I can dig it, however as mentioned if the restaurant is 2/3rds full, and I can't get a table because they're waiting for a party to arrive and they can't give me a "window" when time will be available because according to their ledger every table is supposed to be booked, then that I have a HUGE problem with.

Although I would prefer more no-reservation restaurants... but again another topic

 

[NLD]

An

d what's wrong with that exactly? When you make plans for you or your family, don't you have your best interests in mind? Disney has to pay 60,000 employees. Don't they deserve to know who and how many people are scheduled to be at a particular restaurant on a certain date and time? I wasn't aware that every corporation should bend steel and crush mortar to accommodate everyone's dreams and desires. Some people will have to get used to disappointment, I guess.

There's nothing wrong with a business making money. It's strange how people keep bringing this up, because no one has said Disney isn't a business, shouldn't make a profit, and shouldn't be concerned about profits.

The thing is, WDW is a hospitality industry. So, being in the hospitality business, part of HOW they make their money is by keeping guests happy.

As a customer, you can be easily replaced. Disney has done the math. If they lose you, they'll gain two more willing to comply with the rules. Your thousands mean nothing to them earning millions. It's a two-way street: Good companies deserve good customers, and not everyone who visits WDW comes close to that.

Companies never "deserve" customers. They earn them. I am willing to pay some of my hard-earned money to Disney to take trips to WDW, because it's an enjoyable experience. I feel the product they offer is worth the $$. However, if at any point in time I no longer feel what they're offering is worth the $$, I'll stop coming. This new policy certainly doesn't lessen the overall experience of a WDW vacation enough for me to not come anymore, but it IS a small step in that direction.

Now, maybe I'm in the minority on this one. And that's fine. But if Disney continues to make more and more decisions that lessen the value of their product... well...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Snurk71
Simple - keep the cancellation fee but reduce the time to 3 hours and 90% of those against it would probably be okay with it. You seem to keep missing that theme though - it's the 24 hour thing that has set most of us off.

So Disney should just do whatever you want, however it pleases you? Three hours is good for you? How about no $10 charge at all and just a big ol' frown in your direction? What else can Disney do to appease the 10% (not 90% -- the same people keep posting the negative sentiment) who dislike this new policy? I'm glad they're enforcing this and I hope anyone who doesn't like it gets charged for disobeying the rules. You really start to find out who the adults are when Disney stops treating everyone like a child.

What? Can you explain what's WRONG with the idea of a 3-hour cancellation window? Why is a 24-hour window better?

Honestly this last is pretty insulting. I don't like the new policy but have no intention of "disobeying" (talk about being treated like a child!) the new rules. It's rather insulting to presume that those of us who don't like the new policy WON'T adhere to the new rules and it's definitely insulting to imply we're children.

 

[Cafeen]

Seriously, I realize that this is Disney World but if they had to cater to every single person's highly specific needs, they would never make any money. They already do a pretty darn good job, in my opinion. But this is a business. They need to do what they need to do. A handful of forum users may be all up in arms about this but a vast majority will hardly even though there was a change in policy.

"Highly Specific Needs"? Huh?

The need for same day cancellations without fees is far from highly specific. The problem lies in the fact that bulk of the forum users only see how it benefits them, and not how it potentially harms everyone in general.

How many responses are simply "Ooh, now I can get a walk up" or "Now I can get 'Ohana 7 days out" or stuff of the like. Do you REALLY think that those are appropriate expectations? I sure don't. If they keep with those expectations, they're going to be sorely disappointed.

See, the issue that I, and (from reading their posts) several others have, is that there's no recourse for the unexpected. I don't know that I'm going to get sick 2 days before my trip (current word is that it's "full day", so to cancel a 7pm dinner on Thursday, I'd have to cancel by Tuesday night). I don't know that my (non-existant) child is going to decide to have a meltdown at noon on that day, thus changing up our entire plans. These are the people the policy is going to affect, NOT Mr. ADR Hoarder who snaps up 4-5 ADRs per meal at 180 days out.

If it were 3 hours (which I think we seem to be rallying around), then Mr. ADR Hoarder would be just as affected as the current scheme, and Ms. Oh Crap Something Happened wouldn't be nearly as much.

But, my opinion doesn't matter, since because I'm against the policy as it stands, I'm automatically someone who MUST book 15 different ADRs for the same meal and then just not show up. I guess I should just be all "Everything Disney does it right! They can do nothing wrong!"

(I'm also against the "Guest Recovery" line that's gone relatively ignored, as we don't know what future consequences come from that.)

So Disney should just do whatever you want, however it pleases you? Three hours is good for you? How about no $10 charge at all and just a big ol' frown in your direction? What else can Disney do to appease the 10% (not 90% -- the same people keep posting the negative sentiment) who dislike this new policy? I'm glad they're enforcing this and I hope anyone who doesn't like it gets charged for disobeying the rules. You really start to find out who the adults are when Disney stops treating everyone like a child.

There's lots and lots of judgement in your whole post. That I'm a whiner, that I'm a bad customer, that I plan on breaking/disobeying the rules, and that I'm a child.

Sorry, that's not the case.

Everything I've typed beyond this point has likely been infraction-worthy, so I'll just leave it there. Suffice to say, that some responses are truly showing just how cold, unsympathetic, and judgmental many people are. At least it keeps the thread entertaining (and bumped, so that more people become aware of it in the first place!)

--
As a point of note: Over the past 3 years that I've been traveling to Disney, I have missed 2 out of 33 ADRs. One of which would have fallen under this policy, and that same one is NOT anywhere near a popular place that refuses walk-ups 90% of the time. I have also NEVER held multiple reservations for longer than 2-3 days (had to verify something), and that was at ~150 days out. But yes, I'm totally an abuser of the system and fully intend to completely game it to my own benefit at the expense of others! (That was a touch of sarcasm for those deficient in that sense...)

 

[Liandro]

I don't think Disney places a hold. I think it's just a credit card guarantee, which means they will charge you if you don't show, but I don't think they pre-authorize anything to verify the card. I could be wrong about the second part, but I'm pretty sure they don't hold anything.

Also, if they aren't going to allow prepaid cards, then what do people who don't have credit cards do? They still exist in this world and isolates them from being able to book a lot of restaurants.

There is no hold on your CC but they check every reservation and every card.
We got a call from Visa that we had a lot of "ghost" transactions.
Every time I made a reservation Disney took 1 Dollar out of our account and within a few minutes booked it back. The same as the fees they take when you are pumping gas.
I had to make 30 reservations so Visa noticed it and called what was going on.

 

[SmallWorld71]

So Disney should just do whatever you want, however it pleases you? Three hours is good for you? How about no $10 charge at all and just a big ol' frown in your direction? What else can Disney do to appease the 10% (not 90% -- the same people keep posting the negative sentiment) who dislike this new policy? I'm glad they're enforcing this and I hope anyone who doesn't like it gets charged for disobeying the rules. You really start to find out who the adults are when Disney stops treating everyone like a child.

Slinging unnecessary insults at someone.

I also think you are WAY off in your percentage guesses. Anyone want to start a poll? I would be curious to see who is for it the way it stands, against it, for it if it was tweaked etc... If nobody wants to, I'll try tonight or tomorrow when I have more time.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

There is no hold on your CC but they check every reservation and every card.
We got a call from Visa that we had a lot of "ghost" transactions.
Every time I made a reservation Disney took 1 Dollar out of our account and within a few minutes booked it back. The same as the fees they take when you are pumping gas.
I had to make 30 reservations so Visa noticed it and called what was going on.

Quick question - were your 30 reservations for restaurants that currently require the CC or were they already asking for your CC for the new list, which I thought didn't go into effect until 10/26? Thanks for clarifying - our ADR date is up next week so I want to be prepared.

ETA: I did read the first post about the effective date, this just caught my eye because of the number of reservations I wondered if it might've been more than what was on the current list!

 

[Snurk71]

And what's wrong with that exactly? When you make plans for you or your family, don't you have your best interests in mind? Disney has to pay 60,000 employees. Don't they deserve to know who and how many people are scheduled to be at a particular restaurant on a certain date and time?

Curious how DL (60 day reservation window, no cancellation fee) and other them parks (US) are able to survive without knowing the exact number of heads for a given night at a restaurant. To take it broader, how do 99% of restaurants outside of Disney survive when they don't have an exact headcount for every night of operation. Let's be reasonable if we're going to debate.

I wasn't aware that every corporation should bend steel and crush mortar to accommodate everyone's dreams and desires. Some people will have to get used to disappointment, I guess.

Wow, why so dramatic?

You also might not be aware of what Disney's vision statement is (or was) - to make every guest's experience magical. I think the intent was make the guest's experience magical and the profits will flow as a result. This new policy is not in line with that vision.

As a customer, you can be easily replaced. Disney has done the math. If they lose you, they'll gain two more willing to comply with the rules. Your thousands mean nothing to them earning millions. It's a two-way street: Good companies deserve good customers, and not everyone who visits WDW comes close to that.

This is currently true. I and others can either shut up and take what's served or vote with our feet and be replaced. However, if you look back through time there have been other companies that thought they had an endless number of backfill customers too - and are no longer in business. Every business determines an acceptable level of customer retention/turnover. My company's current retention is 85%. While that's a good number, that also means I lose $1M in business every year that I have to backfill before I'm actually growing. When I look at it that way, not so good.

So Disney should just do whatever you want, however it pleases you? Three hours is good for you? How about no $10 charge at all and just a big ol' frown in your direction? What else can Disney do to appease the 10% (not 90% -- the same people keep posting the negative sentiment) who dislike this new policy?

Ummmm...maybe you missed the part where I was answering a question another poster asked - asking for a reasonable alternative to the current policy. So I offered one in response. Maybe you should have taken the entire scope into consideration before going off on your rant. Just a thought...

I'm glad they're enforcing this and I hope anyone who doesn't like it gets charged for disobeying the rules. You really start to find out who the adults are when Disney stops treating everyone like a child.

Wow - where have any of us critical of the 24 hour part said we're planning on disobeying the rules? You seem very angry towards a group of people you don't know and apparently don't understand.

 

[Colleen27]

Seriously, I realize that this is Disney World but if they had to cater to every single person's highly specific needs, they would never make any money. They already do a pretty darn good job, in my opinion. But this is a business. They need to do what they need to do. A handful of forum users may be all up in arms about this but a vast majority will hardly even though there was a change in policy.

Highly specific needs? I don't think it is exactly "highly specific" for a travel brand that caters to FAMILIES to have policies that accommodate the realities of family travel. We're not talking about French Laundry here, no matter how much people have tried to draw parallels to the fact that very high-end, adults-only restaurants in the real world sometimes have similar policies. We're talking about a family-oriented brand instituting penalties for common family vacation problems, like being too ill or too tired to make it to a dinner ADR that sounded great in theory 6 months before the trip.

 

[poohfriend]

I will be interested to see how the process goes online. I am wondering if I'm making reservations online, will I have to re-enter the card number every time or will it pre-fill after I do one like it does for your name and ph#. I kind of doubt it will assume you want to use the same number though.

Before I have only had Akershus that I had to enter my card for, but of the 9 I am hoping to do on our 10 day trip next June, 8 are on the list that now require a CC. I'm wondering if I will have to enter it for every reservation I make in a session. I've seen how even seconds can make a difference when going through the process online.

Give me a cart to put several reservations in and 1 credit card entry or I am going to call in. It takes several minutes to input credit card info on the disney online dining.
It's reasonable to want a guest to book 1 reservation per meal and to show for that reservation.

 

[Colleen27]

I will be interested to see how the process goes online. I am wondering if I'm making reservations online, will I have to re-enter the card number every time or will it pre-fill after I do one like it does for your name and ph#. I kind of doubt it will assume you want to use the same number though.

Before I have only had Akershus that I had to enter my card for, but of the 9 I am hoping to do on our 10 day trip next June, 8 are on the list that now require a CC. I'm wondering if I will have to enter it for every reservation I make in a session. I've seen how even seconds can make a difference when going through the process online.

As of right now, yes, you have to reenter the CC info for each reservation. I've booked Akershus or CRT and California Grill in the same session for each of our last three trips and all three times I had to enter the CC# from scratch for the second guarantee reservation. I don't think it'll make much difference in getting those ADRs, though, because everyone will have that same delay involved now.

 

[Liandro]

Quick question - were your 30 reservations for restaurants that currently require the CC or were they already asking for your CC for the new list, which I thought didn't go into effect until 10/26? Thanks for clarifying - our ADR date is up next week so I want to be prepared.

ETA: I did read the first post about the effective date, this just caught my eye because of the number of reservations I wondered if it might've been more than what was on the current list!

It was last May but I hardly believe they will change the policy of just checking your CC.

 

[MikeSF]

How many responses are simply "Ooh, now I can get a walk up" or "Now I can get 'Ohana 7 days out" or stuff of the like. Do you REALLY think that those are appropriate expectations? I sure don't. If they keep with those expectations, they're going to be sorely disappointed.

I don't know, I think I an appropriate expectation is you could call that morning the ADR line and find out if there are any spaces left for a particular restaurant. That way if its a restaurant inside a park, you can plan to go to that park if you don't have a park hopper/annual pass, obviously something like Ohana doesn't apply in this scenario. However, with a 3 hour window this is not possible, since one would presumably already be in a park and be stuck with those choices.

I do think 24 hours is unreasonable, or at the very least before the start of the day the ADR is for. Yeah, it does stink for someone who all of a sudden doesn't feel well.

Also I don't think anyone is accusing you of being an ADR hoarder, probably just people fed up with the whole ADR system that caters to those who micromanage their vacation.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Curious how DL (60 day reservation window, no cancellation fee) and other them parks (US) are able to survive without knowing the exact number of heads for a given night at a restaurant. To take it broader, how do 99% of restaurants outside of Disney survive when they don't have an exact headcount for every night of operation. Let's be reasonable if we're going to debate.

That's a very key word. Walt Disney World is twice the size of Manhattan, and reasonably self-contained. Disneyland, and 99% of the restaurants in the outside world are in the outside world. It's easy for people to go to the next restaurant. At DLR, people can just walk down the street and have a wide variety of choices.

Wow - where have any of us critical of the 24 hour part said we're planning on disobeying the rules? You seem very angry towards a group of people you don't know and apparently don't understand.

I don't think it's anger. I think it's frustration.

 

[connie254]

How about ADRs on free dining?

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Not so sure about this, we had the fantasmic diniing package this August and my youngest son got sick about 10 hours prior. we called and tried to cancel the one person (he's 17 and would have hung out in the room by himself). they were definitely not willing to overlook the charge. I thought it was ridiculous. How was I supposed to know 48 hours prior that he'd be sick!!

This is what I'm worried about as they don't always refund for illness on the prepaid ones. We were at Hoop Dee Doo for our anniversary with the kids and extended family. My preschooler actually threw up without warning on the floor at the table. I was apologizing to everyone as I felt bad. Luckily it was before the food was served so not as much in his stomach. My DH promptly left with him back to the hotel and no we didn't get a refund for those 2 and it was Cat 1 seating so pricey. Since we were a group of 12 down to 10 (so they made enough off of us anyway and couldn't have seated us at a smaller table to fit in 2 more people if we had canceled 2 of us. I was put off that they couldn't have least refunded half the amount. )

It does pose a problem as we may have had one kid with an adult at the room while the rest of us still go and now we'll still be charged a cancel fee for a kid getting sick? Even if the rest of us show and still use the ADR. That seems silly. I can see some people dragging their sick kiddos to the restaurant just to avoid the cancel fee. I wouldn't do this as that's not good for the sickie as well as the others but I could see some doing it.

What about other problems we plan ahead for transportation issues but we have a DS with autism (another with similar problems not yet officially diagnosed) if he is having a meltdown then usually out of politeness to others I may take him to a nearby CS ,after sitting on a bench until we're calm, while DH takes the others to the ADR. So now I would either be charged $20 on top of the $15 to feed us at CS. I'm sorry but our family is not so wealthy as to throw away money for nothing. So now everyone at the restaurant will have to put up with my DS's problems if Disney isn't flexible enough. And I will feel bad about it but once again I think Disney had a choice. I am sorry with all the technology today there is a way to prevent multiple ADR's without this. We don't make ADR's that we don't plan to keep and we plan for transportation and don't care if it's raining etc. We'll sit in the Hall of Presidents to wait til our ADR. We only cancel for illness or DS's problems and I don't think we should be penalized for that.