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

[dismommom]

Is anyone currently at DW? Have you tried to make a same day reservation? Did you have to hold it with a CC? Were you able to get any walkups?

 

[waynesgirl]

I am kinda curious to know if anyone is at WDW that had to make a res with a CC and been charged? I don't make too many ADRs, especially with my kids, but it is my DS's 6th bday trip and he wants a couple of special meals (he doesn't care about food too much at WDW). But, if I don't make reservations, we won't be able to get any of our choices because there are so many people that are on the DPs and that make reservations 180 days in advance.

I am going in 3 weeks and I have made 2 ADRs that I know my family will eat- Rose and Crown and Via Napoli. Neither required a credit card, though. I might make a breakfast ADR at Kouzzina's soon as well. I try to make reservations based on what my kids want when they are with me...usually they prefer CS but I want some food, darn it! We are also always OOP.

However, I was considering making ADRs at Flying Fish for our arrival night, because my DD14 wants to be a chef and having the open dining is great fun. But, having to leave my cc and potentially miss a flight or time, I don't want to be locked into that reservation. But, I also run the risk of not being able to get a walk-up on the 26th- the Sat after Thanksgiving.

I will probably call when we land at MCO to double check and see if they have something. If I don't get it, no foul.

I will let everyone know so I can report back.

 

[mom2rtk]

I imagine it will be a bit before we start hearing real feedback on this. Most of the ADR's at the new "signature" restaurants were fully booked for the next couple months for a while. Since they only started this last week, it would be sort of flukey for someone to have 1) gotten a last minute ADR and b) not cancelled on time.

 

[AWHOFAN]

Cant Disney tell if you have made more than two reservations for the same day in a three hour window? Disney should Cancel all reservations for that day. Take care of the people at the park not the double bookers. Also think about the livleyhood of the restaurant staff. Good to see the penalty is $10 per person.

 

[miprender]

Crap, I better stop my solo trips! I was seated at four tops a couple times... phew, extra $30 right there, guess I better skip that entree! And don't forget that this gets added as a bill item that you're expected to tip on, after all, the servers are missing out on that chair too and they deserve our money for specifically not serving the no one sitting there.

Or going the other way, now a party of 1 gets seated with a party of 3 at a 4 top. This way no chairs will go wasted. Communal dining for all!

Our family of 5 are almost always seated at a table for 6 I better start bring more money with me then if I am taking that extra seat.

Cant Disney tell if you have made more than two reservations for the same day in a three hour window? Disney should Cancel all reservations for that day. Take care of the people at the park not the double bookers. Also think about the livleyhood of the restaurant staff. Good to see the penalty is $10 per person.

Actually Disney can't when people book under different login in names.

 

[Cafeen]

Cant Disney tell if you have made more than two reservations for the same day in a three hour window? Disney should Cancel all reservations for that day. Take care of the people at the park not the double bookers. Also think about the livleyhood of the restaurant staff. Good to see the penalty is $10 per person.

It all depends on how you book, which is one of the issues already (plus the actual window is 3hrs, but it's 1.5hrs on each side of an ADR, so really it's 2 within 1.5hrs that matters). They could expand this window and increase their search criteria when doing them both online and over the phone.

Also, cancelling automatically is NEVER the answer (at least for this circumstance). There's too much of a chance to catch either legally multi-booked ADRs (Group splitting up) or the system to automatically match two groups with similar info (it can happen). Doesn't mean that there can't be incremental improvements (search patterns, CM/Customer Alerts, phone calls when things look fishy, etc).

I don't have time to address the 2nd half of that right now, as I'm late leaving work (something I hate to do! I'm such a slacker (also note that I wrote this post backwards. I replied to the one below this first, then typed out the above (well, after deleting a few earlier responses, and let's just see how deep my parentheticals can go!))).

Our family of 5 are almost always seated at a table for 6 I better start bring more money with me then if I am taking that extra seat.

Quick, hide that chair at the table next to you! Maybe you'll get "away" with it then! Though, I don't know what I'm going to do with the 3 around me when they seat me at a 4top. Not to mention those half (or even full) booths. That may be tricky...

I'm going to have to put some serious thought into this matter. BRB Smoke alarm. ... Erm, wait.

 

[LMO429]

We just got back from 8 nights at walt disney world. The new cc policy went into effect the day before we arrived...I Do not know if the new credit card hold had anything to do with it or if was just the time of year, but we did not have dining reservations going into our trip and were able to book last minute reservations at Ohana's, crystal palace and l'cellier the day of. If it is a sign of the future of getting last minute reservations due to the credit card fee I'm all for it. It was refreshing to just decide where we were eating 4 hours before instead of 4 months before hand.


also the free wi fi made it easier to get reservations with our ipad in the room..no need to sit on the phone anymore

 

[Marshay]

Just wanted to say I finally heard back from Disney re: my clarification of the new policy.

"When booking a reservation at these restaurants, Guests are required to
provide a credit card to hold a reservation and are charged $10 per
person if the cancellation isn?t made at least one day in advance." (spelling errors are Disney's, not mine).

I also called the WDW-CNCL line this afternoon and someone did answer and asked me if they could help me with my dining reservations. She told me 3 times that the "day in advance" was a 24 hour period b/c it was calculated in hours.


Regarding sick children and any other reason/excuse for missing your ADR within 24 hours, Disney wrote:

"Should extenuating circumstances occur and you are not able
to cancel within the window, we encourage you to contact us as each
situation will be reviewed on an individual basis."

So they are leaving this vague. I hope that is good news for those of us who end up with sick children, etc.


Lastly, here is their response to my comments on their new policy:

"We truly regret your disappointment with the adjustments made to our
dining cancellation policy and assure you that your remarks have been
shared with the appropriate individuals. Our Guests' impressions are
very important to us, and we appreciate the time you took to share your
thoughts."

In other words, tough cookies!

 

[figment_jii]

I asked about the partial no-shows at Narcoossee's last week (just before the new policy went into effect). The hostess didn't know, but asked the manager, who said that they would not charge a no-show fee for partial parties. This might change, but that was the answer at Narcoossee's last week...

 

[racefanof88]

As Disney continues to kill what little bit of magic is left; they are encouraging people to pick a different vacation option. Some see this as a good thing, and I have tried to see it from Disney's perspective, but I can't.

There have been those saying that it hurts the servers if tables sit empty. Well, that may be so, but does anyone really think Disney is going to give that server the $10 per person fee? I highly doubt it. If I make my ADR and I am charged $10 for each person I may be short, that fee can be considered the tip for the server because while I ALWAYS leave a tip, I won't if I am paying for something I'm not getting. Disney just took that servers tip.

I will also use a prepaid card to make any ADRs that require a CC hold because I have encountered a few not so bright workers at Disney. Case in point: We had a reservation at Kona for lunch. We arrived at the Poly and checked in at the podium. We had an early lunch ADR and had to wait as we got there about 30 minutes before our time. We waited and waited some more, all the while people were being seated all around us. They even seated some walk ups.

A manager asked us if we had checked in and we told her yes. Well, the lady that had greeted us forgot to check us in. We had waited an hour(including being there 30 minutes early)for our table while there were empty tables all over the place. Under Disney's new policy we would have been charged $50 for a no-show fee at some of the restaurants.

I know Disney would refund a fee charged by accident, but when? I may have plans for that money, likely to pay for that meal. I budget my vacation, and it is a different fund from my household budget. I don't dip into one to fund the other.

 

[SLJ6974]

I would think that Disney will eventually not allow these ressies to be made with a prepaid card. I mean cant you see people doing that with a card that has ten bucks on it. Ya I would love it too but Disney would not be able to get thier revenue in that way. And this all boils down to them needing to bring in more revenue. They have to pay for free dining somehow.

 

[Cafeen]

I would think that Disney will eventually not allow these ressies to be made with a prepaid card. I mean cant you see people doing that with a card that has ten bucks on it. Ya I would love it too but Disney would not be able to get thier revenue in that way. And this all boils down to them needing to bring in more revenue. They have to pay for free dining somehow.

If that does happen (which I can see as well), that will lead to several other issues. Most notably Disney's poor performance with regards to refunds and extra charges along with internet/phone-based security concerns and the simple fact that some people just don't have a CC to use over the phone/internet.

As far as paying for free dining, the ~$200 per night I spend staying at a slightly upscale Motel 6 should help...

 

[mom2rtk]

They have to pay for free dining somehow.

They pay for free dining by requiring people pay full rack rate for their room in leiu of the big discounts others get.

 

[waynesgirl]

WOW...after reading this WHOLE thread and really evaluating what everyone has posted, I will now say it is starting to fall apart rapidly. There are many posts on here that are shocking in what they have said...bluntly, I might add. Now, in order to buck the system that you don't like, many on here are not using courtesy and common sense, but mean-spirited ideas. Many people are forgetting that Disney is a business- they pay for the gas in the buses that people use (as a convenience) as a small example. At an average of $4 per gallon, let's try to understand this.

And I'm sorry, but if you're going to do this, you need free wi-fi in ALL levels of resort rooms. I really don't want to invest the half hour so many of my calls to Disney take.......... to cancel an ADR. Online is far better, but not at $10 a day, thank you very much.

It wouldn't take 100% involvement to make it worthwhile. And even though that 2007 flip phone is usually buried at the bottom of my backpack, I would like the option of pulling it out to cancel if it made MY life more convenient and I had a decent signal.

You have a choice- you always have a choice- to stay somewhere where they offer free wi-fi. Thereby, you hurt Disney's wallet but you don't have the vacation that you expected. But YOU win overall by not feeding the WDW bean-counters. However, most major hotels charge for wi-fi. Mid-scale brands do not, but stay at the Omni in Atlanta, or the Wyndham Viva Resorts, the 200.00 per night Hilton without and Honors Reward- you are paying for it or you do not use it. Or you do not stay there and miss out on what it was you were desiring from the hotel in the first place. And your convenience isn't just a factor to Disney- it is also their concern about the 2-6 other people who wanted a walk-up or tried to get YOUR ADR online before they arrived and couldn't- when you do not cancel or you wait until the last minute, that is a lot of money they just watched walk by on the off-chance they might not get another walk-up. It is also about the family of 4 that books an ADR of 7:00 PM and gets seated promtly and is done eating by 8 to 8:30 but they stay in their seats to watch the fireworks that don't start until 10PM. Disney has lost that table for another ADR, and caused a lot of late ADRs to happen-

As Disney continues to kill what little bit of magic is left; they are encouraging people to pick a different vacation option. Some see this as a good thing, and I have tried to see it from Disney's perspective, but I can't.

There have been those saying that it hurts the servers if tables sit empty. Well, that may be so, but does anyone really think Disney is going to give that server the $10 per person fee?

I think it might- I eat OOP. I also tip VERY well, being a former server and I have children that the server has to clean up after. I tip, based on the cost of the bill and the service I receive. At a TS place, this does mean a lot to the servers- that guest that does not show for your table has to be replaced. Example: I am a walk up at San Angel at 4:55. No tables available- I don't go back to see later. You don't cancel you 5PM ADR- they hold that table for 20 minutes. That table sits empty.
I will also use a prepaid card to make any ADRs that require a CC hold because I have encountered a few not so bright workers at Disney.

THIS is what has really rankled me- we do not accept pre-paid cards where I work for this reason. We are trained to be able to tell in person, and our system is specific enough to tell us it is a pre-paid card and will refuse it as a vaild card for reservations. By stating you will do this, for whatever reason, you have thereby made yourself, by your own words, look like a cheat. I am on the fence about the ADR policy but THIS will ultimately make this a concrete policy and you, and the others who are planning this, will make it so, not the other people on this thread.

I know Disney would refund a fee charged by accident, but when? I may have plans for that money, likely to pay for that meal. I budget my vacation, and it is a different fund from my household budget. I don't dip into one to fund the other.

Then maybe the ADR plan isn't for you.

Again, I am still on the fence about the ADR plan. It really doesn't affect me at all, but I can see the pros and cons for it. But I do see why, after reading some of these posts, that Disney would have to go to these drastic measures. There have been a lot of selfish posts- both for and against the plan- and I am really surprised. It is like the FP threads, except where food is concerned. Sad, really.

 

[SLJ6974]

They pay for free dining by requiring people pay full rack rate for their room in leiu of the big discounts others get.

I know that. But it seems to me that free dining is becoming a year round event now. I love it. Done it three times and I am hoping to go back next year with it.

 

[MELSMICE]

Lastly, here is their response to my comments on their new policy:

"We truly regret your disappointment with the adjustments made to our
dining cancellation policy and assure you that your remarks have been
shared with the appropriate individuals. Our Guests' impressions are
very important to us, and we appreciate the time you took to share your
thoughts."

In other words, tough cookies!

I don't see it as tough cookies. I'm sure it's an automated response, but I also think that Disney does review the input & responses they get.

Even though I'm a supporter of the policy, I also don't think everything is ever written in stone. I believe things can be "tweaked" and policies can change over time. So, for those of you that aren't supporters of it, things can possibly change. (although Disney doesn't do anything quick, so it may take time).

A manager asked us if we had checked in and we told her yes. Well, the lady that had greeted us forgot to check us in. We had waited an hour(including being there 30 minutes early)for our table while there were empty tables all over the place. Under Disney's new policy we would have been charged $50 for a no-show fee at some of the restaurants.

I probably would have asked well before an hour, especially when I saw others being seated the way you described.

They pay for free dining by requiring people pay full rack rate for their room in leiu of the big discounts others get.

I agree.

This is just my opinion, but I have never understand why guests think they're getting such a great deal when they are paying rack rate for a room. I guess if you work the numbers you might be paying a bit less if you're paying rack rate & then getting free dining, but I, personally, don't think it's an awesome deal. Again, JMO!

 

[Lewisc]

Sure there is - someone who decides to eat elsewhere can cancel, but there's no way to modify ADRs. I know there's been some disagreement on that point and that sometimes if you call when the planets are properly aligned and you get the mythical well-informed dining CM it can be done, but 9 times out of 10 if you call to ask about reducing the number of people on an ADR you'll be told you have to cancel and rebook. Until that changes and people have the option to do the right thing and adjust their ADRs, there's very good reason not to charge guests for their inability to do anything about correcting their ADRs.

Using the logic of the "pro fee" people. Let's say you booked a table for 6 and want to drop down to 4. Disney might not have any 4 top tables available. Disney could have offered the 6 table to another guest but you booked it. There is some logic to tell such a guest either keep your commitment or cancel.

Maybe the right thing is to delay booking ADRs until you know how many people will be joining you.

I think the 180 day policy is where the problem starts. People are making ADRs before they make hotel reservations. Before they make plane reservations. Before they even know how many family members and friends will be making the trip.

edited to add--Disney claims Dining can save guests 20% (I think that's the current claim). These fees might be a way to recover some of that. Families who have 4 people in a moderate resort get a far better discount with free dining then with a room discount. Probably true for a family of 4 in a moderate. I don't know if the restaurant division is sharing in the loss, only being given a "wholesale" rate for free dining guests.

JMO but it's not really fair to start making exceptions, other then a guest in a hospital. Is a possible contagious sickness good enough? Bad case of sunburn at Blizzard Beach? Diabetic who needed to eat early (CS?) due to low blood sugars?

Is it OK if a group of 7 drops to 6? A group of 6 that drops to 1? That one orders a soda and an appetizer? A cup of coffee and dessert? Salad and water?

I think the worse thing Disney can do is start making an exceptions.

 

[MELSMICE]

WOW...after reading this WHOLE thread and really evaluating what everyone has posted, I will now say it is starting to fall apart rapidly. There are many posts on here that are shocking in what they have said...bluntly, I might add. Now, in order to buck the system that you don't like, many on here are not using courtesy and common sense, but mean-spirited ideas. Many people are forgetting that Disney is a business- they pay for the gas in the buses that people use (as a convenience) as a small example. At an average of $4 per gallon, let's try to understand this.




You have a choice- you always have a choice- to stay somewhere where they offer free wi-fi. Thereby, you hurt Disney's wallet but you don't have the vacation that you expected. But YOU win overall by not feeding the WDW bean-counters. However, most major hotels charge for wi-fi. Mid-scale brands do not, but stay at the Omni in Atlanta, or the Wyndham Viva Resorts, the 200.00 per night Hilton without and Honors Reward- you are paying for it or you do not use it. Or you do not stay there and miss out on what it was you were desiring from the hotel in the first place. And your convenience isn't just a factor to Disney- it is also their concern about the 2-6 other people who wanted a walk-up or tried to get YOUR ADR online before they arrived and couldn't- when you do not cancel or you wait until the last minute, that is a lot of money they just watched walk by on the off-chance they might not get another walk-up. It is also about the family of 4 that books an ADR of 7:00 PM and gets seated promtly and is done eating by 8 to 8:30 but they stay in their seats to watch the fireworks that don't start until 10PM. Disney has lost that table for another ADR, and caused a lot of late ADRs to happen-




Then maybe the ADR plan isn't for you.

Again, I am still on the fence about the ADR plan. It really doesn't affect me at all, but I can see the pros and cons for it. But I do see why, after reading some of these posts, that Disney would have to go to these drastic measures. There have been a lot of selfish posts- both for and against the plan- and I am really surprised. It is like the FP threads, except where food is concerned. Sad, really.

I was actually going to post that there is a lot of "sarcastic speculation" about what "might" happen.

 

[mom2rtk]

I know that. But it seems to me that free dining is becoming a year round event now. I love it. Done it three times and I am hoping to go back next year with it.

When Disney wants to move the needle on resort occupancy, Free Dining has clearly done the trick. So they keep going back to it. Can't blame them for that really if it meets their goal.

You have a choice- you always have a choice- to stay somewhere where they offer free wi-fi. Thereby, you hurt Disney's wallet but you don't have the vacation that you expected. But YOU win overall by not feeding the WDW bean-counters. However, most major hotels charge for wi-fi. Mid-scale brands do not, but stay at the Omni in Atlanta, or the Wyndham Viva Resorts, the 200.00 per night Hilton without and Honors Reward- you are paying for it or you do not use it. Or you do not stay there and miss out on what it was you were desiring from the hotel in the first place. And your convenience isn't just a factor to Disney- it is also their concern about the 2-6 other people who wanted a walk-up or tried to get YOUR ADR online before they arrived and couldn't- when you do not cancel or you wait until the last minute, that is a lot of money they just watched walk by on the off-chance they might not get another walk-up. It is also about the family of 4 that books an ADR of 7:00 PM and gets seated promtly and is done eating by 8 to 8:30 but they stay in their seats to watch the fireworks that don't start until 10PM. Disney has lost that table for another ADR, and caused a lot of late ADRs to happen-

I understand all of that. I've never been one to fuss about how Disney needs to give me free wi-fi. But when they require a CC hold for all the popular TS restaurants, then provide terrible phone and computer systerms, THEY put me in a bad spot if I DO need to cancel. I'm just saying that if they are going to require the CC hold, they need to AT LEAST do what is within their control to make it as easy as possible. That is, unless their goal really IS to maximize the $10 fees they collect.

And honestly. If my only complaint is the $10 a day fee for wi-fi........ why would I upgrade to a $200 a night hotel from my $100 a night value? Not very good math.

 

[MELSMICE]

I understand all of that. I've never been one to fuss about how Disney needs to give me free wi-fi. But when they require a CC hold for all the popular TS restaurants, then provide terrible phone and computer systerms, THEY put me in a bad spot if I DO need to cancel. I'm just saying that if they are going to require the CC hold, they need to AT LEAST do what is within their control to make it as easy as possible. That is, unless their goal really IS to maximize the $10 fees they collect.

And honestly. If my only complaint is the $10 a day fee for wi-fi........ why would I upgrade to a $200 a night hotel from my $100 a night value? Not very good math.

I'm confused about the terrible phone & computer systems? I know they don't have a great website. Honestly, I don't even like using it, although I have made & cancelled ADR's on it.

When I'm at Disney, however, & want to make or cancel an ADR I usually do it from my room on the resort phone or at the pool from the courtesy phone. I usually get through to dining with no problems at all. Are you talking about wait times on the phone sometimes?