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

[Snurk71]

I guess YOU cannot see how inconsiderate you are to everyone else. Don't you think Disney reads these boards and you and others like you are the reason they are doing this. Making those of us who do not make multiple ADR's paying the price for you being inconsiderate

Ummm...could you not read the sarcasm/jest in my comment? I'm not really going to make 6 ADRs to make a point.

Can I go back on your considerate list now?

 

[MikeSF]

I think people are saying they won't even make the character meal ADR now because of the odds that their child will get sick without enough advanced warning at some point (they don't know when, but it will happen) and they don't want to risk the $40-$60 cancellation fee they know they're going to experience at some point (based on their past experience with their trips and children).

That's a reasonable position, given an individual's financial position.

Ah ok, I'll agree its somewhat reasonable. However things can happen, and $40-60 shouldn't be a horrible expense to handle, not one anyone wants to handle mind you.. heck I get upset when I can find that $5 bill I stuffed in my pocket the other day... but overall if you're that worried about illnesses or a $40 hit to your vacation budget is too much then maybe ADRs aren't for you. Finances aside, Disney is not a cheap place to go.

Or you could simply use the math-logic that people use with the Dining Plan, sure you pay $40 cancellation fee, but you saved $80-240 by not going to dinner.

 

[Colleen27]

In reading through this thread...I also don't get why it's an issue if people get sick. Ok..so let's assume a party of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) is vacationing...someone wakes up sick in the morning and they cannot make their evening ADR because of the illness.

I'm further assuming that if they cannot make their reservation, it probably means they cannot do any park touring and are probably hanging at the resort.

So...why is it an issue that they now lose $40 for the ADR that they were not able to cancel, but is not an issue that they're losing appx $50 (that's a very appx number due to the variety of tickets) x 4 people = $200 in park tickets? I don't see them pestering Disney for a refund of that money?

The 'need to cancel same day' is really a very one off and minor issue in my opinion.

Of course I'm sure now that I'll get sick on my next trip LOL but hey...losing $10 for my ressie is nothing compared to the $2000 or so I spend for the vacation.

For us it is a straw that broke the camel's back issue... If one of my kids gets sick, we're already hanging out in a $150+/night resort not able to enjoy the amenities, wasting a $50 day of tickets (and that's the last-day incremental cost x 5 tickets), and unable to use that meal's/day's pre-paid dining credits (roughly $120 value per credit for the 5 of us). Now on top of all that we'll be charged $50 for not making it to dinner.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Every trip, I've had to change some ADRs... we simply changed our park plans while there. Sometimes, that did mean canceling an ADR less than 24 hours. 24 hours is too long... things happen, plans change. As long as you do cancel, I don't understand why it's a problem.

On the other hand, you committed yourself to patronizing a certain restaurant by making the ADR. By not cancelling outside the new desognated window, you're potentially depriving Disney of revenue, a server of income, and another party of the opportunity to dine at that table. You chose to change your plans.

People (and agents) who book multiple ADRs for the same time are not acting fairly. But no need to punish everyone else. That's how management acts at my job.

Do you have a reasonable way to tell the difference? I mean, if eliza61 make six reservations in her at different places for Wednesday evening, it's easy. But if she makes one in her name, one in her daughter's name, one in her mom's name, two in her sister names... then youve got people who do only make one ADR per meal - justincase they want a sit-down meal that night. They don't, so know they just don't show up.

Example, at MK... realize we want to come back to MK the next day instead of HS. So we cancel an ADR at HS, and schedule different one for MK. Another example... we spur of the moment decide we want to stay at MK late and won't make a character breakfast the next morning... so we cancel at 7pm.

These are reasonable changes that Disney should be able to adjust to....but can't because of problems with the dining reservation system....

(1) Trying to cancel a reservation is frustratingly slow... This last trip, I tried to cancel and reschedule ADRs using my iPhone.. The Disney mobile web site and regular web site rarely worked quickly and often just backed me out. I can't take 30 minutes of my vacation time to cancel 1 ADR. Calling to cancel is a problem too. I can't stand trying to get through the lengthy automated menu and speak to a human. This last trip, the phone line did have an automated cancellation option. Maybe the new dining cancellation phone line will help.

It should. Ideally it will be etaffed with people, who will be able to give a confirmation or cancellation number.

(2) Neither the dining web site or the phone agents can make reservations less than 2 hours before. So, if at 10am, I want to make an ADR for 11:45am... it can't be done. One morning, we woke up late and tried to make the ADR later but couldn't. If people could make reservations 1 hour before the time they want, the restaurant could fill last minute cancellations.

Here's another idea... have a place in the parks where dining reservations can be made or changed. I don't want to make restaurant check-in process longer... but if someone walks up to a restaurant and can't get a walk-in, maybe the restaurant could book them for a different restaurant.

Guest Services at any park; Lobby Concierge; any CM at any open restaurant kiosk in ant park or restaurant; the reservation
Booth in Epcot - i.e. already exists.

 

[MELSMICE]

What about this for an idea.............

You make your ADR's with a few of them being for the venues that will need a credit card hold and the others for venues that don't need a hold that you can cancel at any time.

You then make your touring plan structured around your ADR's. If you know you have an ADR for a venue that has the CC hold then that will be a "light" touring day or a 1/2 day touring, with a break & nap back at the hotel & pool. After being refreshed you then head to your ADR. This would probably help with the potential meltdown of a child. Also, eat lighter that day, so you don't ruin your appetite for this special ADR.

On the days you have an ADR without the CC hold you go full force & then if your family is ready for the ADR you go for it, if not, you cancel.

As far as getting sick.........that's just a chance you'll have to take. I'd say to work the money into your "just in case" budget & if you're lucky enough for your family to be healthy the entire trip you have extra money for souvenirs or to put towards your next trip.

 

[my3tiggers]

Long time lurker- first time posting and it's like jumping into deep water to learning to swim!

Here's something that might be a fly in the ointment. This morning I called Disney to check how I could add my son to an ADR (forgot to hit 3 when I booked online) and found out that Disney's computer still had an ADR that I cancelled weeks ago. This ADR DID NOT show up on my home computer on "my reservations." I asked the cm to go over all my reservations to make sure some other cancellations didn't still appear on their computer; that was the only one.

Now obviously that was a glitch, and hopefully, not common, but if this happened under the new system, I would have been blissfully unaware that the cancellation (done weeks earlier) hadn't gone through on Disney's computer and we would have been charged $30. It makes me wonder if this happened on other trips. No way to know, but on future trips you better believe that I'll call Dining Reservations to make sure that any cancellations done on the website through my home comptuter actually are cancelled on Disney's system.

Just a head's up.

 

[Colleen27]

Are there really that many sick kids every single day??

If so...I think there are bigger issues than ADRs.

In a place that tens of thousands of people visit every day? Of course there are.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2616915

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2617918

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2615812

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2620127

And on and on... This is a commonly recurring thread on both the family and theme park boards that will pop up frequently all winter and occasionally in the summer as well.

 

[MELSMICE]

Also.....if one of my kids were sick, why does the entire family have to be "penalized", so to speak?

One year one of my DD's had strep. I took her to Urgent Care. My DH and other 2 DD's stayed at the pool to enjoy it. Another time a DD woke in the middle of the night vomiting. The next day DH stayed with her while myself, my other 2 DD's & my brother's family did what we wanted to do.

Unless it was only a set of parents and an only child why does the entire party have to hang back because of a sick child (or adult)? That sick child/adult actually is better off in the room with peace & quiet, not the rest of the family hanging around, potentially getting sick also.

 

[Joan1]

Long time lurker- first time posting and it's like jumping into deep water to learning to swim!

Here's something that might be a fly in the ointment. This morning I called Disney to check how I could add my son to an ADR (forgot to hit 3 when I booked online) and found out that Disney's computer still had an ADR that I cancelled weeks ago. This ADR DID NOT show up on my home computer on "my reservations." I asked the cm to go over all my reservations to make sure some other cancellations didn't still appear on their computer; that was the only one.

Now obviously that was a glitch, and hopefully, not common, but if this happened under the new system, I would have been blissfully unaware that the cancellation (done weeks earlier) hadn't gone through on Disney's computer and we would have been charged $30. It makes me wonder if this happened on other trips. No way to know, but on future trips you better believe that I'll call Dining Reservations to make sure that any cancellations done on the website through my home comptuter actually are cancelled on Disney's system.

Just a head's up.

If you make the reservation online and then cancel same reservation on line you receive an email confirmation showing it has been cancelled. So you do have something in writing. I wouldn't call to cancel unless I didn't have a choice because you cannot see what is done when called over the phone.

 

[Snurk71]

This is exactly right! Your chosen vacation style may be different from the militant touring plan followers, color coded spreadsheet holders, and regimented planners, but it is no less valid!

I think that some people are so worked up about this forget that a reservation is just that, a reservation. It is not an obligation. I did not sign in blood that I WILL be there at 8:00 pm for the Crystal Palace, and I think it is crazy for anyone to think that I should.

If you personally would like to treat your ADRs as life or death occurrences, that is your choice, but there are people who value spontaneity, and for whom relaxing and going with the flow IS a big part of vacation.

I have maybe completely scrapped two or three ADRs TOTAL in over 50 vacations to Walt Disney World. I don't think that is a bad percentage, but I still don't like the thought of having to fork over cash, ANY CASH, for circumstances beyond my control.

I think you may be on to something. Maybe they should start being called ADCOs - Advanced Dining Customer Obligations. We probably can't call them ADOs because most of the obligations appear to fall on the customer side.

 

[Joan1]

Every trip, I've had to change some ADRs... we simply changed our park plans while there. Sometimes, that did mean canceling an ADR less than 24 hours. 24 hours is too long... things happen, plans change. As long as you do cancel, I don't understand why it's a problem.


.

The problem is that a LOT of people don't cancel it if they decide they aren't using it. This has been happing much more often than in the past, since the online booking became available.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Long time lurker- first time posting and it's like jumping into deep water to learning to swim!

Here's something that might be a fly in the ointment. This morning I called Disney to check how I could add my son to an ADR (forgot to hit 3 when I booked online) and found out that Disney's computer still had an ADR that I cancelled weeks ago. This ADR DID NOT show up on my home computer on "my reservations." I asked the cm to go over all my reservations to make sure some other cancellations didn't still appear on their computer; that was the only one.

Now obviously that was a glitch, and hopefully, not common, but if this happened under the new system, I would have been blissfully unaware that the cancellation (done weeks earlier) hadn't gone through on Disney's computer and we would have been charged $30. It makes me wonder if this happened on other trips. No way to know, but on future trips you better believe that I'll call Dining Reservations to make sure that any cancellations done on the website through my home comptuter actually are cancelled on Disney's system.

Just a head's up.

This is also something I've been meaning to bring up. We all know that Disney's computer system isn't the greatest. How many times have we heard reports of dining credit troubles and general KTTWC issues.

I know that last week we had trouble with our card. Instead of putting a $500.00 limit on our KTTWC the person at the desk mis-typed and I had a $5.00 limit. The first time I went to use the card it came up as over the limit. I had to then to go guest relations to get it fixed, which was a PITA.

So what happens now if a server doesn't check you in properly, or something goes awry in the computer system. I don't want to have to spend my vacation monitoring my card for erroneous charges, and I don't want to have to spend my time arguing about whether I was or was not at Le Cellier for dinner.

It will happen and it won't be fun!

 

[Snurk71]

If you make the reservation online and then cancel same reservation on line you receive an email confirmation showing it has been cancelled. So you do have something in writing. I wouldn't call to cancel unless I didn't have a choice because you cannot see what is done when called over the phone.

But Disney's advertised recommendation is the new cancellation line. Even a lot of people have smartphones, a lot more probably do not.

 

[Snurk71]

The problem is that a LOT of people don't cancel it if they decide they aren't using it. This has been happing much more often than in the past, since the online booking became available.

And that's why a lot of us would be ok with a more reasonable 3 hour window. You can still recoup a no-show with a fee, but still allow some flexibility and slack for your customers on vacation.

And please don't bring up the 1st hour of the non-EMH breakfast restaruants again (not you Joan, but it keeps being asked).

 

[NLD]

What about this for an idea.............

You make your ADR's with a few of them being for the venues that will need a credit card hold and the others for venues that don't need a hold that you can cancel at any time.

You then make your touring plan structured around your ADR's. If you know you have an ADR for a venue that has the CC hold then that will be a "light" touring day or a 1/2 day touring, with a break & nap back at the hotel & pool. After being refreshed you then head to your ADR. This would probably help with the potential meltdown of a child. Also, eat lighter that day, so you don't ruin your appetite for this special ADR.

On the days you have an ADR without the CC hold you go full force & then if your family is ready for the ADR you go for it, if not, you cancel.

As far as getting sick.........that's just a chance you'll have to take. I'd say to work the money into your "just in case" budget & if you're lucky enough for your family to be healthy the entire trip you have extra money for souvenirs or to put towards your next trip.

__________________

So long spontaneity at Disney...

The bottom line is that I don't want to get charged for services not rendered. Period. Can my budget absorb it? Yes. SHOULD I have to absorb it? I say no.

Perhaps there will be more availability at these restaurants. Because I know I sure won't schedule more than 1 or 2 cc-hold restaurants per trip. If enough others feel the same way, then yes, there will be more availability for people who don't mind the CC-hold.

But if the point was to make more availability by cutting down on hoarding, then the policy is still a fail. Because while there may be more availibility, it's because honest non-hoarders like me decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

And sadly, if this becomes a trend with Disney--making policies that put-off the guests who want a little more spontaneity in their trips--eventually they'll lose customers.

Is this the final nail in the coffin on Disney for me? No.

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.

I cannot imagine I'm alone.

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who would prefer to allow my dd to spend an hour playing the water sprays at Epcot if she feels like it, rather than herding her off NOW to make that Soarin' FP.

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who dislikes making ADRs at 180 days to begin with and hates scheduling vacation around eating (which is why we forego the dining plan and schedule so few ADRs to begin with).

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who'll be annoyed if, for one of those few scheduled ADRs, I can't make it and get charged anyway.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

On the other hand, you committed yourself to patronizing a certain restaurant by making the ADR. By not cancelling outside the new desognated window, you're potentially depriving Disney of revenue, a server of income, and another party of the opportunity to dine at that table. You chose to change your plans..

For me, if I cancelled an ADR, we usually spent money elsewhere on a different ADR or having QS breakfast at the resort. We go during the slower times of year, and I always see walk-ups being turned away... I'm not sure Disney has a problem filling those restaurants. I'm sure they overbook anyway a little to account for no-shows. Unfortunately, I'm sure people will not take the time to cancel and just not show up.

Guest Services at any park; Lobby Concierge; any CM at any open restaurant kiosk in ant park or restaurant; the reservation Booth in Epcot - i.e. already exists.

That's good news! Wish I knew that before... I could have saved some of my battery life on my phone!

 

[Snurk71]

On the other hand, you committed yourself to patronizing a certain restaurant by making the ADR. By not cancelling outside the new desognated window, you're potentially depriving Disney of revenue, a server of income, and another party of the opportunity to dine at that table. You chose to change your plans.

You apparently have a much stricter view/belief of what a dining reservation is. A lot of us don't view them as strict contracts, as you appear to.

Maybe I'm just not high-fallutin as others here dining at all the fancy NYC hot spots, but I don't dine at a single restaurant in the real world that has this kind of a cancellation penalty. And again, most everyone else in the world seems to survive without the penalty. I don't understand why Disney, with a captive audience, can't. It points to poor management to me.

 

[NLD]

The problem is that a LOT of people don't cancel it if they decide they aren't using it. This has been happing much more often than in the past, since the online booking became available.

With a 24-hour window I've now got an incentive NOT to cancel and to just no-show instead.

If I cancel under 24-hours, I get charged.
If I no-show, I get charged.

Seems to me if my plans have changed less than 24-hours out, I just won't cancel now. Because I'm going to get charged anyway.... no reason to spend time on the phone or online.

 

[Snurk71]

What about this for an idea.............

You make your ADR's with a few of them being for the venues that will need a credit card hold and the others for venues that don't need a hold that you can cancel at any time.

You then make your touring plan structured around your ADR's. If you know you have an ADR for a venue that has the CC hold then that will be a "light" touring day or a 1/2 day touring, with a break & nap back at the hotel & pool. After being refreshed you then head to your ADR. This would probably help with the potential meltdown of a child. Also, eat lighter that day, so you don't ruin your appetite for this special ADR.

On the days you have an ADR without the CC hold you go full force & then if your family is ready for the ADR you go for it, if not, you cancel.

As far as getting sick.........that's just a chance you'll have to take. I'd say to work the money into your "just in case" budget & if you're lucky enough for your family to be healthy the entire trip you have extra money for souvenirs or to put towards your next trip.

I think a lot of people will start to plan just as you've indicated. The issue is the fear that this is just the first step and all restaurants will be following suit in the future. It's okay to special plan the odd day or two. It's another thing when it will be every day with no let-ups.

 

[Snurk71]

__________________

So long spontaneity at Disney...

The bottom line is that I don't want to get charged for services not rendered. Period. Can my budget absorb it? Yes. SHOULD I have to absorb it? I say no.

Perhaps there will be more availability at these restaurants. Because I know I sure won't schedule more than 1 or 2 cc-hold restaurants per trip. If enough others feel the same way, then yes, there will be more availability for people who don't mind the CC-hold.

But if the point was to make more availability by cutting down on hoarding, then the policy is still a fail. Because while there may be more availibility, it's because honest non-hoarders like me decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

And sadly, if this becomes a trend with Disney--making policies that put-off the guests who want a little more spontaneity in their trips--eventually they'll lose customers.

Is this the final nail in the coffin on Disney for me? No.

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.

I cannot imagine I'm alone.

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who would prefer to allow my dd to spend an hour playing the water sprays at Epcot if she feels like it, rather than herding her off NOW to make that Soarin' FP.

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who dislikes making ADRs at 180 days to begin with and hates scheduling vacation around eating (which is why we forego the dining plan and schedule so few ADRs to begin with).

I cannot imagine I'm the only person who'll be annoyed if, for one of those few scheduled ADRs, I can't make it and get charged anyway.

You're not alone. That doesn't sound like a fun vacation to me either. I think Katie will love it though.

I felt bad on our last trip - we were at TL and DD was having a blast in the wave pool. I had to pull her out though because we had an ADR over at WCC for dinner. I considered just canceling the dinner at the time. No way I would do that under the new policy (I don't know if WCC is on the list or not - it's just an example/illustration before someone jumps on that).