New Reservations Cancellation Policy

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . We see many people on here railing against the idea that someone would be late for an ADR, but no responsibility is given for the restaurants to honor the ADR times themselves . . .

1) OK, let's review the premises.
. . . you want eateries to seat you within 15-minutes of your ADR
. . . you want compensation (maybe $10) if they are late on you ADR
2) What you suggest to get tables available for you?
. . . tell people to begin to rush their meal because they are falling behind?
. . . take people's plates during eating and tell them to pay and leave?
. . . toss people out who are done eating an enjoying a coffee afterward?
. . . pull people from their chairs because they are taking extra time relaxing from the park day?
3) As the eatery manager, would you give away profit for items not in your control?
4) What would be the plan you suggest? Can you give details?
5) Are rules only for waiting at WDW, or would these rules also apply to
. . . doctor appointments?
. . . traffic court docket?
. . . hospital emergency rooms?
. . . airplane (under 2-hr) delays?
. . . rush hour car traffic?

 

[mom2of2]

I can see it now...your 47 min are up...get out

 

[GeocacherDad]

RE: Calling in "sick" for your ADR.

With all of the technology and people tracking that mega corporations like Disney have, they probably know with reasonable certainty what exactly you are doing at any given moment.

So you call in "sick" for your ADR and expect the fee to be waved. Probably not a problem if you actually stay put at your resort or go home.

BUT...... if your Parkpass/credit card/Magicband/etc shows up at a different place for supper, you use your FPP+ reservation at some ride or enter a different park then I would assume that some 'red flag' will go off in the system to indicate that maybe you really weren't in bed sick.

If you are sick, that should be it for you and maybe your group (especially if you are a parent with a sick kid). You shouldn't show up as actively doing some other activity anywhere near your cancelled ADR time.

I can see the conversation now.....
----------------------
Guest: How come you charged me the cancellation fee for my ADR? I called in sick!

CM: Really, how come you scanned in at AK and used your FPP+ reservation at Expedition Everest at the same time as your cancelled ADR?

Guest: Well..........

BUSTED!!!
-------------

 

[Cafeen]

1) OK, let's review the premises.
. . . you want eateries to seat you within 15-minutes of your ADR
. . . you want compensation (maybe $10) if they are late on you ADR
2) What you suggest to get tables available for you?
. . . tell people to begin to rush their meal because they are falling behind?
. . . take people's plates during eating and tell them to pay and leave?
. . . toss people out who are done eating an enjoying a coffee afterward?
. . . pull people from their chairs because they are taking extra time relaxing from the park day?
3) As the eatery manager, would you give away profit for items not in your control?
4) What would be the plan you suggest? Can you give details?
5) Are rules only for waiting at WDW, or would these rules also apply to
. . . doctor appointments?
. . . traffic court docket?
. . . hospital emergency rooms?
. . . airplane (under 2-hr) delays?
. . . rush hour car traffic?

1) Pretty much. If I'm expected to adhere to their schedule or be charged, they should adhere to their own or be charged. Details are just examples, but the consequences should roll both ways.

2) None of that is needed if restaurants planned better. They already know the general rate of turnover, the staffing requirements, and the general number of who will be there. If lingering guests are consistently pushing people much later than their ADR time, you have a problem with your ADR scheduling. Overbooking, overrides, and the like also need to be taken into account. You have the data, use it.

3) Depends on what's in my control or not. If it was something within my control to prevent in the first place, then yes (and much of the issues with extensive waits CAN be controlled).

4) Basically, use the data that is available and craft more dynamic ADR schedules that what appears to be the case. Even if the current ADR schedules are more dynamic, something is obviously not working.

4a) Take note of average turnover of tables (this is from seat to bus in this case). Find any areas to speed this up (are we slow on bussing?) Find the min/max variances. Add ~10-15 minutes to the average as a cushion. In line with this, potentially add additional cushion for special cases and times (e.g. Fireworks), since you already know that people are more apt to linger during those times (this is essentially what I mean by "dynamic scheduling".)

4b) Schedule properly. You already know the staff (kitchen and serving) capacity, you have a rough head count of guests during any given time.

4c) Require restaurant approval for any and all overrides and exceptions. Require at least 1 day notice. This allows the restaurant to adjust staff/call in extras if needed.

Note: Since I do not have access to the system itself, not all adjustments may be possible as the current system sits. In those cases, enhancements need to be made to the back-end ADR scheduling system.

5) The "rules" for waiting are with regards to appointments, not just waiting in general. Of these, there are only 2 that apply that I am qualified to speak on...
5a) Dr. Appointment - Yes. These are along the same lines. The timeframes may be different, and the compensation may be different, but similar theory applies. If I leave because I've been waiting an hour after my appointment time, I should not be charged a co-pay or no-show fee.

5b) Traffic Court - Not qualified (No knowledge of how it works)

5c) Emergency Room - Not applicable - These are not appointment based, so no agreement took place on when to "serve".

5d) Airplane - Again, different timeframes and different situations, but yes. Again, you made an agreement with the airline that you'd be there. In this case, you've even already paid. If something outside of weather caused an unreasonable delay, then there should be something done.

5e) Rush hour traffic - Not applicable - This is a cause of being late

One of the things is, we've seen from many people equating an ADR to an appointment with the same terminology. Why is it so wrong to expect the other party to said appointment to also have some responsibility in the matter and experience some consequence for not holding up their end of the bargain? If I'm greater than 15 minutes late to an ADR, I may lose it and be charged. However, the same restaurant can keep me waiting 45 minutes after my ADR with zero consequence. And, to add insult to injury, if I leave the line and go elsewhere, I'll still be (likely, manager discretion) charged $10pp for being a no-show. Does this REALLY make sense to people?

 

[Sugardimples]

What I hope happens is that fewer people make ADR's for every meal and many more same day ADR's will be available. That's how it was in "the old days". What I don't understand is the outrage from people who say that they can't predict when their kids will want ice cream in the afternoon, or its too hot or we might be too tired and that is a legitimate reason for an exception to be made.

Even if someone does get sick and you can't make it, the $10 per person charge is not so onerous that its worth the fuss being made.

 

[Mkrop]

Finally!!! And about time too!

We stay off site and have been going to WDW since 1992. In the beginning you could get into pretty much any restaurant you wanted to the same day - mostly with walk ups but for the popular places you had to visit Guest Relations the same morning and book. With the introduction of prior booking 90 days out, followed by the start of DDP the chances of getting a same day booking have all but disappeared.

Some people like to book every meal months in advance but some of us like spontineity...this way caters for both!

It seems to me the ones most unhappy about it are more likely to be the ones who Disney are trying to put a halt to!

Hogwash!!!! I think this policy is pure selfish greed on the part of WDW. In all the WDW trips, with all the ADRs made...we have cancelled ONE due to illness and this was before all this CC nonsense.

But we had another time where I had to rearrange the whole week of ADRs once we got there...why bc it was 30 degrees, and it was freezing and there was not way we were traipsing to Tusker House and AK for the day, it was way too cold to be outside. We rearranged the week so that we did the parks with lots of indoor stuff and then as the week warmed up to the 80s we went to AK and had a blast.

It made for a much better vacation bc we were able to be flexible and change plans.

Believe it or not, during our 2008 trip to the Beach Club, we were actually offered 2 lunch res for Crystal Palace on our arrival day (Table For 10). When we arrived for the earlier of our 2 res, we cancelled the later. But, looking at how many people were standing around, hoping to get in, I was embarrassed by what we had done.

I am totally in favor of this policy. It forces people to think about what they are going to do.

I agree the day before thing seems a little harsh. But, look at it this way...

You wake up in the morning and decide you want to have dinner at Prime Time. You call and get a res at 6:30pm because someone else had to change their mind last night and cancel their dinner res to avoid the fee.
Or, they could cancel 2 hours ahead (without paying the fee) and you either take a chance on a walk up, or spend all day calling to see if anything opens up.

I understand things happen. But, as has been said by many PPs, some exceptions will be made. And, from what Rusty posted earlier, it appears you are less likely to be charged if you show up at the podium to plead your case. I would also offer, maybe you want to cancel your res on the new 800#, maybe you want to call the restaurant direct. I am betting the restaurant may be more accommodating.

As for those of you tired of waiting an eternity to sit after your res time has passed... <SARCASM> Eat Faster!!! If you would all just eat a little faster and quit with the chit chat, my table would be ready for me sooner. While you are at it, stop enjoying the AC in the restaurant while I stand out here in the blazing sun. I know the restaurant looks totally amazing, and you want to enjoy the ambiance. However, I am stuck slowly starving while you sit at my table looking for hidden Mickey's in the table cloth. </SARCASM>

There are very few restaurants that I have eaten at where I have not had to wait for my table to be ready. My experience has been that the better the restaurant, the more people want to eat there, the longer the wait. Unless, of course, that restaurant greatly limits the number of reservations they allow or penalize people for not canceling their reservation.

So you want me to drag either my sick self or children, or my cranky kids all the way to the podium to cancel Or have us venture out in a thunderstorm instead of giving WDW my money at a restaurant at the resort.


I am totally for this policy if it is a true no show...charge away. But if I give you notice that I cant make my reservation and you have a lobby full of walkups that you are turning away, or you have this nifty little app that we are all sporting, you could easily send out a noticification about an opening at Kona at 6pm.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Hogwash!!!! I think this policy is pure selfish greed on the part of WDW. In all the WDW trips, with all the ADRs made...we have cancelled ONE due to illness and this was before all this CC nonsense.

But we had another time where I had to rearrange the whole week of ADRs once we got there...why bc it was 30 degrees, and it was freezing and there was not way we were traipsing to Tusker House and AK for the day, it was way too cold to be outside. We rearranged the week so that we did the parks with lots of indoor stuff and then as the week warmed up to the 80s we went to AK and had a blast.

It made for a much better vacation bc we were able to be flexible and change plans.

So what's the problem then? If you've only had to cancel once for illness this would haver only cost you one lot of $10 per person even IF they didn't let you off for illness.

In your second scenario you say you had to change a weeks worth of ADR's...unless you did this on a 'on the day' basis again I don't see the problem. Surely the fact that people aren't block booking dozens of double ADR's would make it easier for you to make that sort of change much more easily.

I still maintain that 'the lady doth protest too much' is pertinent on this thread!

 

[Colleen27]

But we had another time where I had to rearrange the whole week of ADRs once we got there...why bc it was 30 degrees, and it was freezing and there was not way we were traipsing to Tusker House and AK for the day, it was way too cold to be outside. We rearranged the week so that we did the parks with lots of indoor stuff and then as the week warmed up to the 80s we went to AK and had a blast..

This got me thinking... Perhaps they should approach the ADR fees the same way they do reservations - that is, charge for cancellations within the window but forgive the fees for those who are rescheduling. So that way, those who are holding "just in case" reservations/double bookings would be hit with the fee, but those of us have occasion to want to change a reservation from Teppan Edo to The Wave rather than run through all of Epcot in a thunderstorm could do so without penalty. That would serve the purpose of deterring double booking while remaining more guest-friendly than the current policy.

 

[Mkrop]

1) At this moment, the Signatures with penalty fees don't honor weather excuses.
2) As an example, one day last week it was monstrous rain.
3) Two eateries, of which I personally know, were less than one-half full.
4) There were LOTS of missed ressies.5) Everyone who didn't show got the no-show penalty.
6) Once again,
. . . it may be your vacation
. . . but, it is Disney's business
. . . and the idea is to maximize revenues

And these people probably ate at their resort...so WDW did not lose ANY money...they were charging people twice...disgraceful!

 

[Granny square]

And these people probably ate at their resort...so WDW did not lose ANY money...they were charging people twice...disgraceful!

That is assuming everyone stays on property.

 

[Mkrop]

So what's the problem then? If you've only had to cancel once for illness this would haver only cost you one lot of $10 per person even IF they didn't let you off for illness.

In your second scenario you say you had to change a weeks worth of ADR's...unless you did this on a 'on the day' basis again I don't see the problem. Surely the fact that people aren't block booking dozens of double ADR's would make it easier for you to make that sort of change much more easily.
I still maintain that 'the lady doth protest too much' is pertinent on this thread!

A) I dont have $40 to blow on this if they dont excsue for illness that is why...you have $40 to just willy nilly give WDW

B) One again I would have been slammed with a $40 fee in my 2nd scenario, bc we woke up and realized that it was way too cold to go to AK all day so we cancelled Tusker House at 6am for a 11am ADR, 5 hours notice, than I played the reschedule game while everyone else showered so we could somewhere warm.

I dont have $40 to gamble on places like this...when they made this rule we stopped booking at those places. Now I guess we are going to have to eat CS.

This LADY will continue to protest very loud and way too much over a policy that is absolutely ridiculous even though I have never double booked a ADR in my life and could always commit to a cuisine at 180 days with no problem.

But life happens and I will protest again again that this policy is pure selfishness on the part of WDW.

 

[gdrj]

We usually have a combination of ADR's and walk-up for dining plans during our vacation. I will probably make less ADR's since we are not schedule rigid. We may have reservations in MK for Dinner but the Park is packed when we arrive earlier in the day, so we "hop" over to EPCOT. Normally we would cancel those reservations and try to book something at EPCOT or just do casual, instead of traveling back.

I understand the policy but like others wish dinner resv cancellations were same day. Looks like more burgers and fries for me! At the same time this policy may be tweaked in the future as Disney see's the impact + or -. For the can't get in places this may be good, but for some of the Marketplace and resort/park less demand locations this may cause less ADR's.

I'll survive either way.

 

[Cafeen]

At the same time this policy may be tweaked in the future as Disney see's the impact + or -. For the can't get in places this may be good, but for some of the Marketplace and resort/park less demand locations this may cause less ADR's.

And my guess for the next tweak is eliminating the loophole of at least 1 person showing up.

I don't expect it for another year or so, but that will likely be the next step (e.g. so if only 1 shows up for a party of 4, you'd be charged ~$30). After all, now they're going to complain about losing revenue by serving a table for 1 when it should have been 4! Since they're so broke, they obviously need to make that up!

(Seriously, no snark involved in that post at all . We should feel bad for the Disney restaurants who can only charge $25 for a burger. Obviously their bottom line is pretty thin...)

 

[Granny square]

All restaurants have markups. They cover more than the cost of food. No difference. Businesses are in the business of making money.

 

[maxiesmom]

A)


But life happens and I will protest again again that this policy is pure selfishness on the part of WDW.

The policy make perfect business sense. Note too that a business cannot be selfish. They can set terms of purchase, and you can decide if you wish to meet those terms or not. No business owes anyone any good or service. Especially not on the terms of the person doing the purchase.

No one likes to give up $40 for no good reason but let's be honest. If anyone is taking multiple trips to WDW they are not broke, and can afford to pay the fee if charged. None of us may like it, but it is not going to send us to the food bank for our next meal.

Which is kind of the whole point. Make it hurt a little. Keep people from double booking or deciding at the last minute that it is too cold/too hot/to rainy/to sunny to make their ADRs.

 

[Eastern]

The policy make perfect business sense. Note too that a business cannot be selfish. They can set terms of purchase, and you can decide if you wish to meet those terms or not. No business owes anyone any good or service. Especially not on the terms of the person doing the purchase.

No one likes to give up $40 for no good reason but let's be honest. If anyone is taking multiple trips to WDW they are not broke, and can afford to pay the fee if charged. None of us may like it, but it is not going to send us to the food bank for our next meal.

Which is kind of the whole point. Make it hurt a little. Keep people from double booking or deciding at the last minute that it is too cold/too hot/to rainy/to sunny to make their ADRs.

nah, it's a ridiculous money grab.

 

[aaarcher86]

The excuse that's it's too cold to go to an ADR or park makes me giggle.

 

[luvmy3]

The excuse that's it's too cold to go to an ADR or park makes me giggle.

I wonder what too cold in Florida is?

 

[gamerlovesdisney]

What happens when the Disney transportation is the cause for you missing your ADR? Last year I had an ADR at HS. We were staying at AS Music. We had a 6:30 reservation. We (and a number of other people) were at the bus stop at 5:00. Because of the Holloween parties at MK, all the buses were for that park. We waited and waited. No buses ever came. We went to the front desk and explained that we had dinner ressies in less than 1/2 hour - a bus will come they would say. Needless to say, at 6:30 we were still at the ASMu bus stop waiting. A bus finally came at 6:45. What happens in this case? If I was charged for not making this ressie, I would be so mad! (FYI - the restaurant was very understanding and were able to seat us quickly.)

Currently, I always get the normal dining plan. However, now if I don't make it to a reservation, not only am I out the money that I have already paid for the dining plan, I'm charged $10 for each person in my party. Man, that's a lot of money to be losing. With this change, I will no longer get the dining plan - I will pay OOP as I go. I'm getting old and on some days just too tired or not feeling well enough to eat. In the previous years, I would guess we would miss one ADR per trip due to illness or the like. I've always cancelled as soon as I knew that we weren't going. But that's happened like 3 to 4 hours before the ressie, not 24 hours!

No more dining plan or ADRs for me! Too expensive!

It sure is getting harder to enjoy Disney vacations!

 

[maxiesmom]

nah, it's a ridiculous money grab.

Even if I agreed, so? Is it really that shocking that any business would be looking for ways to get extra money in their pockets?

Disney can only grab your money if you agree to allow them to.

As I stated before, I love the new policy. It has been so much easier to get ADRS than it was before they had the no show fee.

I have to say too that I'm a little shocked that so many posters miss or chose to skip ADRs as a matter of course. I have missed 2 ADRs total, and I have been going to WDW for almost 20 years. If it is cold, I bundle up. If it rains, I put on my rain poncho. The only time I haven't gone is for illness. And now that the kids are all older, we can divide up easier and at least part of the family make the ADR.