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

[mom2rtk]

I would much prefer 24 hours cancellation vs 1 full day. You never know when someone will get sick or flights cancel. I have no issue giving my CC# for every reservation as long as I am not charged the $10 per person in advance. As a party of 5, it would make alot of money tied up before the trip but for guarantee purpose, I will gladly give my CC#. I doubt they will charge $10 in advance as many would drop their dining plan. I know for one that if I was getting the dinning plan and to top it off had to pay $50 for each reservation that I made, I would skip the plan all together. Yes I would probably be able to use that money toward my tip and extra stuff but still that alot of money to tie up 180 days out IMO. To us it would represent at least $700 on top of the dining plan. No thanks!

For me it's the advance notice window for cancellation as well. It compounds if you're on the DxDDP because in the case of illness you could easily miss 2 or 3. And that is ON TOP of losing the opportunity to use those credits you paid for (free dining or not).

 

[hannahdrewmom]

For me it's the advance notice window for cancellation as well. It compounds if you're on the DxDDP because in the case of illness you could easily miss 2 or 3. And that is ON TOP of losing the opportunity to use those credits you paid for (free dining or not).

I completely agree with this. Our family gets dxdp everytime. There are 7 of us staying for 10 night. We are paying a TON of money to enjoy this perk. And we do enjoy it. However in our group we have 2- 2 year olds, a 4 year old, a 85 year old, a 25 week prego lady (will be replaced with infant next trip), and one with fibermyalgia. There are ALOT of scenarios that could go wrong. Normally they don't.... but it's a crap shoot. I have a hard time justifing in my head an additional $140 a day for something that might go wrong. (When I'm already spending $$$$$ for the plan.)

My husband and I talked about it already and we were already planning on going dvc .... so it looks like we will be eating in our rooms ALOT more and learning to vacation a different way. The perk though... DVC here we come! (It won't stop us from going though... it will just save us a few $1000 dollars a year.

 

[Tricia1972]

I completely agree with this. Our family gets dxdp everytime. There are 7 of us staying for 10 night. We are paying a TON of money to enjoy this perk. And we do enjoy it. However in our group we have 2- 2 year olds, a 4 year old, a 85 year old, a 25 week prego lady (will be replaced with infant next trip), and one with fibermyalgia. There are ALOT of scenarios that could go wrong. Normally they don't.... but it's a crap shoot. I have a hard time justifing in my head an additional $140 a day for something that might go wrong. (When I'm already spending $$$$$ for the plan.)

My husband and I talked about it already and we were already planning on going dvc .... so it looks like we will be eating in our rooms ALOT more and learning to vacation a different way. The perk though... DVC here we come! (It won't stop us from going though... it will just save us a few $1000 dollars a year.

Your group sounds similar to mine. We are a group of 7. 3 kids 3, 6, 9, one 61 year old with Celiac and one 33 year old with brain cancer. My husband and I are the 'normal' ones.

We did the DxDDP last time and had my mom with Celiac missed out one one meal because she was sick (bad info from chef at Biergarten). My sister, worn down from Chemo and too much trip, missed one reservation. Then to top it off there was a a tornado one night (we all opted to stay in the room vs travel from Bay Lake Tower to Epcot when a tornado was just 3 miles west of the MK.

True, we probably wouldn't have incurred charges (partial party and major weather event), however, it does give me pause.

What annoys me about it further is that the hoarders will continue to hoard and not be penalized.

Thankfully 2012 is our 'off' year for Disney. I have until 2013 before it affects my reservation plans.

 

[Colleen27]

For me it's the advance notice window for cancellation as well. It compounds if you're on the DxDDP because in the case of illness you could easily miss 2 or 3. And that is ON TOP of losing the opportunity to use those credits you paid for (free dining or not).

That's it for me too. If my child wakes up sick on Tuesday, even if it is only a 24hr bug, we're potentially out $100+ for Tuesday's meals and $100+ for Wednesday's, plus we have to decide on Tues whether or not to cancel for Thurs before we've really had a chance to gauge how long it will last. A shorter window wouldn't worry me, but with kids and travel it can be hard to project whether something will pass quickly or linger.

 

[mom2rtk]

I also think the longer the cancellation notice required, the LESS likely it is people will indeed cancel. Once you miss the cutoff, what is the motivation to release that ADR? NONE. You're going to hold it at that point on the outside chance you might be well enough to still make it.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I also think the longer the cancellation notice required, the LESS likely it is people will indeed cancel. Once you miss the cutoff, what is the motivation to release that ADR? NONE. You're going to hold it at that point on the outside chance you might be well enough to still make it.

Very true! I do think that more ADR's are going to be available for the planners who like to schedule way ahead of time since I think less people in general will book if they have to give a CC for so many meals. But, the huge window is unlikely to do what many on here were hoping and give those who want same day/ day before ADRs much edge at all.

 

[housemouse]

I also think the longer the cancellation notice required, the LESS likely it is people will indeed cancel. Once you miss the cutoff, what is the motivation to release that ADR? NONE. You're going to hold it at that point on the outside chance you might be well enough to still make it.

I'll hold it with no intentions of making it if I'm going to be charged anyway. I imagine a lot of people that end up in that boat will do the same.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'll hold it with no intentions of making it if I'm going to be charged anyway. I imagine a lot of people that end up in that boat will do the same.

I feel the same way. So I think that in requiring cancellation 2 days prior, they have guaranteed they won't have any cancellations 1 day prior.

 

[Cafeen]

I agree those who book with good intentions, but can foresee life getting in the way of them making their ADR may rethink it. Those, like me, who plan to assure we make it to the restaurant (minus a serious illness or injury) won't give it a second thought. This won't be the first time I've had to enter a CC to secure a reservation for something we wanted to do on vacation. As long as they aren't charging me $10 per person at the time of making the ADR, it won't bother me to give them a CC number to hold my place. If they started charging $10/person, 6 months in advance to hold the ADR, I would think twice about giving them control of that much of my money for that long. At that time, I would have to decide if I thought it was worth it.

So, you're willing to go with a minor illness? I'll have to look again at the CM responses, but it seems that only major (read: requiring at least a doctor visit) illnesses will be waived. So if you come down with the blahs from a random bug around Disney, you'd likely be out at least 2 days worth of fees if you don't go. I know I'd be dragging my not feeling so well self to them, I guess it's good for others that I tend not to do buffets .

For me it's the advance notice window for cancellation as well. It compounds if you're on the DxDDP because in the case of illness you could easily miss 2 or 3. And that is ON TOP of losing the opportunity to use those credits you paid for (free dining or not).

With it being the "full day" issue, if you wake up not feeling well in the morning, you could be out between 4 and 6. Myself, I'd be out 4, luckily I travel alone so that would equal 1 to others. A single mom and 2 kids though, could easily be $120 for the 2 days.

Guess DxDDP isn't such a great idea to suggest to save money now. And with DDP's margin going to crap and QSDP already there, no sense in any of them.

I feel the same way. So I think that in requiring cancellation 2 days prior, they have guaranteed they won't have any cancellations 1 day prior.

Totally agree. If I'm not feeling well, or some other life reason gets in the way, I have 0 incentive to cancel a reservation if I'm within the window. Especially with the word on the street that the policy is unlikely to be waived except for extreme illness or injury.

Barring not showing up, it could be take up a table, for less than $10 per person (I'll have a Sprite please... yes, just a Sprite) and being sick to boot. Good call on this one Disney!

And the overbooking has me concerned too. As it is now, they overbook for ADRs to take the no show rate into account, added to that the fact that service has been declining over the past while (2010 I never sat for more than an hour, 2011 every time was pushing 90 minutes... and that was all due to the servers) and things aren't going to be any better at the restaurants.

We'll see, but I don't hold much hope. Disney is not known for making good decisions lately (see Monorail clusterbadword).

 

[SLJ6974]

Since the DxDDP seems to be the only one left with some value, I am sure Disney is hoping that this may also discourage people from using that plan. Thats may just be a little bonus for them in the whole scheme of things.

 

[angelmav]

As someone addicted to the dining reports on here, I can tell you the DXDDP people are going to take this in the short pants! So many trip reports where people have overbooked (based on the credits they bought) that they skip meals or go light. Keep in mind, they paid for the credits, just used them for a less valuable meal or didnt use them at all. The mouse already wins twice on many of these transactions, here comes a third time!

The thing is, so many folks find the need to change around their plans based on this after they are there. This is so unflexible for the type of system they have in place.

 

[Lewisc]

It appears one is only being open-minded, if they agree with your position. I haven't seen one person change their mind, during this discussion. Some people don't like the plan, because it affects their touring style. Others, like me, think it's about time. No one is going to change their position. The only truly open minded people are those who reserve their opinion, until the policy is fully implemented & they've experienced a trip under the new policy.

Not at all. Kay....is an example of a poster who has a different opinion but accuratley states (and understands) the opposing view. Sorry but many of the posters who like the new policy distort and misstate the opposing side.

At first I thought the new policy made sense. I don't think I posted. After giving it thought I realized it did nothing to stop guests from overbooking and does nothing to make released tables available to most guests. I'm not going to be checking dining on a web enabled phone constantly looking for last minute openings. Now if Disney had some kind of "wait list" or was going to release those openings for walk ups I might benefit.

The truth is none of us know for sure what they're trying to accomplish. We can offer speculation, but can we really debate something we have no clue about?

Correct. After giving it thought the only thing we know for sure is Disney will now be getting $$$ from guests who through no fault of theirs are unable to make their ADR. The only thing we know for sure is Disney has found a new revenue source.

We don't know if they're trying to prevent guests from booking on "spec". It will fail if that's what they're trying to do. If anything Disney is now telling guests it's OK as long as you cancel in time.

People keep using Southwest as a comparison. Why is that? Is it because SW is the only airline with this policy? (For anyone who was going to answer, I already know the answer. ) SW has much more competition to fill seats. They're trying something different to try to get an edge up on the competition. WDW doesn't have that competition.

Maybe because Southwest has a reputation for putting the customer first. Maybe because Disney goal used to be offer the best experience. Southwest, like most airlines, overbooks. No reason why a restaurant can't overbook. Certainly no reason why Disney couldn't have a system to accommodate walk ups.

Since you've apparently never been a no-show, rain must not have stopped you from going to an ADR. Do you think another family is better than yours?

I've been in the kind of rain that would have caused by to skip an ADR. It was so bad CMs opened the exit doors and both Hydrolator doors so guests could rapidly re-enter the Living Seas. It's one thing to know the hydorlators don't go between floors. It's another thing to see both doors open so you can walk through.

Disney is now telling guests to allow 90 minutes to get to their restaurant. That's crazy. Transferring the consequences of bad transportation from Disney to the guest.

She was replying to a PP who said doctors don't charge no shows.

Call most doctors with a no-show policy with an excuse and it the fee will be waived. A little harder with a doctor who blocked specific time for you such as a dentist or therapist.

Comparing the need for a doctor to charge for no-shows with a restaurant is crazy.

JMO but what's needed is a way to stop guests from making reservations on "spec".

 

[mom2rtk]

Since the DxDDP seems to be the only one left with some value, I am sure Disney is hoping that this may also discourage people from using that plan. Thats may just be a little bonus for them in the whole scheme of things.

LOL! Disney doesn't need to find ways to discourage people from using a given plan. All they really need to do is nudge up the price is that's what they have in mind. The truth is that they think they can have their cake and eat it too. I doubt they think this will affect sales of any of the dining plans. I'd go so far as to say they are doing it in hopes of selling MORE of their dining plans.

Disney is now telling guests to allow 90 minutes to get to their restaurant. That's crazy. Transferring the consequences of bad transportation from Disney to the guest.

Well, I could always just rent a car to make sure I make it to my ADR in time with no fear of being penalized. No wait....... if I have a car, I could just eat offsite and pay far less........... if I'm eating offsite and paying for a car, maybe I should check out how much I could save by staying offsite.......... Hmmmmm.......... I could save enough to PAY for the car............. I could save even more........ Hmmmmmmm.............

 

[Marshay]

I'll hold it with no intentions of making it if I'm going to be charged anyway. I imagine a lot of people that end up in that boat will do the same.

yeah, if I'm still going to be charged the $40 then I won't cancel it at all. I guess there is always the possibility that we could make it. If I knew for sure I wasn't going to be charged $40 if I cancel, then OF COURSE I would.

Sheesh, Disney, you totally dropped the ball on this one...

I feel the same way. So I think that in requiring cancellation 2 days prior, they have guaranteed they won't have any cancellations 1 day prior.

Yup!

Totally agree. If I'm not feeling well, or some other life reason gets in the way, I have 0 incentive to cancel a reservation if I'm within the window. Especially with the word on the street that the policy is unlikely to be waived except for extreme illness or injury.

Barring not showing up, it could be take up a table, for less than $10 per person (I'll have a Sprite please... yes, just a Sprite) and being sick to boot. Good call on this one Disney!

We'll see, but I don't hold much hope. Disney is not known for making good decisions lately (see Monorail clusterbadword).

Wonder if Disney's next 'smart' move will be to have a minimum dining charge instead of just revamping this policy to just "cancel prior" not 24-48 hrs prior?

Like you, we'll just order soup which we enjoy but never order when we eat a regular entree. Then we'll leave. It's the servers, the restaurants and Disney that will lose b/c they could have had a table with apps, entree, dessert, drinks ... instead they got a $10 bill for 2 soups ... oh, and I still want my bread and rolls with that!

As someone addicted to the dining reports on here, I can tell you the DXDDP people are going to take this in the short pants! So many trip reports where people have overbooked (based on the credits they bought) that they skip meals or go light. Keep in mind, they paid for the credits, just used them for a less valuable meal or didnt use them at all. The mouse already wins twice on many of these transactions, here comes a third time!

The thing is, so many folks find the need to change around their plans based on this after they are there. This is so unflexible for the type of system they have in place.

I hear ya!

 

[Marshay]

Well, I could always just rent a car to make sure I make it to my ADR in time with no fear of being penalized. No wait....... if I have a car, I could just eat offsite and pay far less........... if I'm eating offsite and paying for a car, maybe I should check out how much I could save by staying offsite.......... Hmmmmm.......... I could save enough to PAY for the car............. I could save even more........ Hmmmmmmm.............

thanks for the this morning!!

 

[Mkrop]

I can not find the post where the poster diminshed a record low in FL as "just a bit chilly". She claimed this was not a good reason to cancel...well what about just your average thunder/lightning storm. Do they really want guests venturing out in that weather....that doesnt seem safe!

I mean if a family does not have to venture out to stand at a not covered bus stop at their Value resort in the thunderstorm but instead decideds to cancel and eats at their resort instead...where is the harm?

I really do no think Disney thought this through.

I had mentioned this to DH and the 24 hour did not bother him when I first started posting but Dh doesnt always look at money the way I do. I just told him the clarification of a FULL day, and now all of sudden he is saying...hey that is so not family friendly!

 

[Lewisc]

Well, I could always just rent a car to make sure I make it to my ADR in time with no fear of being penalized. No wait....... if I have a car, I could just eat offsite and pay far less........... if I'm eating offsite and paying for a car, maybe I should check out how much I could save by staying offsite.......... Hmmmmm.......... I could save enough to PAY for the car............. I could save even more........ Hmmmmmmm.............

I can't argue with that logic. Allowing an hour for a 15-20 minute ride seems like a lot of time. Telling guests to allow 90 minutes is over the top.

Wonder if Disney's next 'smart' move will be to have a minimum dining charge instead of just revamping this policy to just "cancel prior" not 24-48 hrs prior?

I hear ya!

Years ago some posters were make "dessert reservations" at Cinderellas, and other restaurants. Obviously they weren't telling reservations they only intended on having dessert.

Character meals are now buffet or all you care to eat.

I wouldn't have a problem if Disney imposed some kind of minimum dining requirement. Restaurants have a right to assume people who make a reservation at dinner time intend to eat dinner.

Possibly accommodate walkup guests who want coffee and dessert, after the dinner rush, assuming there are enough empty tables and staff available.

 

[twinklebug]

I really do no think Disney thought this through.

The group that pushes the financial numbers to the execs did.

The group (if there is one) regarding customer satisfaction had no say, and may not have even been aware of this new policy before we were.

 

[Lewisc]

The group that pushes the financial numbers to the execs did.

The group (if there is one) regarding customer satisfaction had no say, and may not have even been aware of this new policy before we were.

+ 1

Probably the same group which came up with the peak surcharges.

 

[Colleen27]

And for most other people out there who like to do the DxDP, I doubt most of them share the same gloomy outlook that has been displayed here. Most of them probably don't think it's a given that their flight in to MCO will be delayed 36 hours, at least half their family will get violently ill, three of the buses they end up on will break down and/or get flat tires, they will get stranded on the monorail halfway between MK and Epcot, and a freak blizzard will hit Orlando all during their week at the World.

I agree. I wouldn't call it a gloomy outlook - I'm generally an optimist by nature but all it takes is one or two illnesses when vacationing to impress that "what if" firmly on your travel planning - but I do believe that most people (uber-planners and DISers excluded) won't give much thought to this policy prior to booking, particularly with the vague wording on the Disney site that gives the impression that calling today to cancel tomorrow's dinner is fine. They'll only take issue with it if something does arise to get them penalized. It is the people who have already had "life happen" that are going to think about the problem.