New Reservations Cancellation Policy

[Cafeen]

You can complain and whine all you want but honestly..

Disney is filling those restaurants to the limit.

But wait, they need these no show fees to make up for lost revenue, how can they be full if the no shows are costing them money? (Rhetorical...and a bit snarky* )

(*I'm overusing this word today, I really need to find a different word to use... hm...)

Ahem. Moving on.

Disney is filling those restaurants to the limit. So I don't think you whining is going to be effective here. I quit going to some restaurants because the food and service sucked. Guess what, Disney didn't care they were still FULL! And unless this policy changes the amount of money they are brining in for the negative (which I can't see happening!) then they will say "we are considering your complaint" and go happily on their way.

Sorry that you think posters are reasonable for pointing out that the complaints don't address you two current options which are live with the policy or don't make ADRs. But the facts are those are your only realistic options.

Whether or not the final result swings your way, making your voice heard is important. If not for the company, at least for yourself.

Personally, I've already mentioned that part of my issue against this is burn-out from WDW. Another part is the series of decisions (FP+ being one of them) that Disney is making that is swinging the pendulum away from guest experience and over to "Revenue at all costs!". I was also terribly against the expansion of the cc-guarantees last year (or the year before? Whenever they added the sigs and character meals) and that position hasn't changed. Only then, I was told that it was only a handful and I'd have other options. Slowly, those other options are looking like Universal, Yellowstone, Yosemite, New England, DC, etc.

Besides, there's much more to the world than The World. It's about time to go out and see it...especially before the natural places disappear.

 

[Mkrop]

Why does the line.."thank you sir may I have another?" from Animal House keep playing over and over in my mind when I read some of this thread

 

[aaarcher86]

why. See below. Unless you were there that week, I dont think you should laugh at someone else.



I am from PA so I know what cold is. The week I am talking about was in Dec 2010. Search some of those threads and you will see. It was absolutely freezing. It set records lows in FL. It was in the 30s. It was warmer in PA in the 40s than what we escaped to in sunny FL. Thank goodness we had winter clothes with us, and even then we went and bought gloves, our hands were numb. I had to wash our jeans because we didnt pack enough. We went to the CP bc I could not switch and it was brutal sitting on those cold benches and the wind was blowing. We were miserable. The next night we tried to stand on Main St to see fireworks, and it was so cold, we all looked at each other and said this is ridiculous, and we went back to BLT and watched from the TOTWL, which was pretty bitter up there with the wind. There was a young mom sitting next to us who was crying bc they had spent so much money and hers kids were little and were crying bc it was so cold all the time, they wanted to go home. She even had a little one in a front sling and she said she could not expose the baby to these temps. She brought the kids up in their jammies hoping to see the fireworks bc they had a bay view. The next night we watched the fireworks from our room once again bc it was too cold to be out. We had a lot of early nights and dinners at the resort those couple of days. Or we jumped the monorail and ate at the Poly and GF so we didnt have to go out in the cold. It was very cold once the sun went down.

And we arranged our AK to later in the week, I think we would have been miserable if we went there. Outside all day in 30 degree weather and trying to ride EE and the safari, no thanks. We rearranged and went on Fri when it was in the 70s. It was back to shorts and sweatshirts in the morning. Then Sat we were swimming, bc it was in the 80s. It was the weirdest vacation but we managed bc we were able to be flexible.

Oh yeah and we also changed our room bc we had a first floor studio at BLT with siding glass doors out to the marina. It was absolutely freezing, the wind was blowing through the glass doors. We piled the cusions from the sofa bed in from to keep the cold air out. The rooms were not built for that kind of cold.

We also had friends who were there during TS Debbie and they said they did the same thing, they rearranged their whole schedule bc of the weather and did parks with more indoor stuff and left AK for later after the rain had passed. They also spent more time at the resort enjoying the Community Hall then ever before. They cancelled several ADRs bc they didnt think it was safe at times to venture out.

I don't need to be there to think claiming 'too cold' to skip an ADR is comical. I'm sorry. That's my opinion.

I typically go to WDW in February when it can be pretty darn cold and I'm aware that the weather will be a toss up when I book. Plan accordingly.

It's one thing for someone to get sick which is in no way something you can plan for, but seriously, it's too cold is just to me. Obviously, you disagree since you're the one who said it lol. Obviously one person can feel their excuse is completely legitimate while another things it's ridiculous.

Whether we like the new policy or not, at this point it is what it is, so we'll all have to plan accordingly. Everyone is free to write Disney and voice their opinions, but if they aren't changing the GAC card back to the old ways with all the outrage I have a very hard time believing they will in any fashion even bat an eyelash at those complaining about a cancellation fee.

 

[lugnut33]

They should just make it a flat $50 to make a reservation (billed at the time), whether you are one person or 10. Then apply that $50 towards your bill. That'll keep people from making bogus reservations.

 

[quandrea]

Please tell me which resort restaurants finding walkups would be a problem for, the only ones I can think of is the Wave and GF Cafe? All the others like Kona, Ohana, Chef Mickey, Cape May Cafe, always have a line of people being turned away. We are always turned away at Cape May Cafe when we have tried to get in when we have stayed there if we didnt have an ADR.

And then once again CHARGE these people who are abusing the sytstem to circumvent parking. They are true NO SHOWs. Most here do not have a problem with a TRUE NO SHOW POLICY, it is the day before nonsense.

And guess what they have this nifty technology that they sank millions of dollars into, they could easily send out a msg and let people know about cancellations and availability if they wanted to. Heck they could know I am walking down Main St if I have my band on and send only me and others on Main St the msg that Ohana's has an opening. First one to respond get the ADR.



Should is the key word, there is not proof that this did change guest behavior. It could be that WDW didnt see a guest behavior change but they did see dollar$$$ signs on the income statement.

And my anecedotal evidence is different, I saw no difference getting my ADRs at 180+10. The tough ones were still tough to get.



It is called eating at your resort, or eating at a resort near by...not that difficult a concept. I dont feel like traipising in a lighting storm all the way to the restaurant when I could walk down and eat at my resort, or get room service, or go to the resort next door, a much shorter walk.

And for many families, it is not a simple throw on a poncho or a winter jacket and go, not every familiy is like yours or mine. What works for you may not work for others, maybe going out in the rain is not ideal for the family traveling with grandma in a wheelchair. Now if the time had been sunny, then venture out and go to dinner, but if this is not a passing shower, than maybe the best thing for grandma and her family is to venture down to Flying Fish or grab sandwiches from the BW Bakery than go walking all the way to GG for that evening. SO many are you are saying that family should not make the ADR at all, and Grandma should not be able to see the kiddos enjoy the characters since they might not be able to keep the ADR. Please Please put yourselves in others shoes before declaring that all should just suck it up and head out or be banished to CS bc their family is not like yours.


Listen, my family likes to vacation a certain way. WDW always appealed to our way of touring which is WHY we keep going back and WHY we bought DVC. We like planning...to a degree. We also like flexibility to a degree. We like not being stressed out about an ADR or anything else. We have made almost all are ADRs over the many years of going, but we also did not stress about it either. Now I am totally stressed bc to me $40 is not something I want to waste willy nilly. This has changed the dynamic of our vaction and we are not thrilled considering the huge investment we made in DVC. If your family likes to bundle up and go all over creation than fine, have fun. Mine does to a point and then we peter out. BOTH are ok ways to vacation.

So for YEARS WDW gave us the perfect vacation, planning with the ability to change. And now they are chaning the play book, and for us these changes are not appealing. We dont like it and are entitled to our opinion and we are entitled to express that opinion without being told to suck it up, dont make ADRs or go vacation elsewhere or even go sell my DVC. WDW had made MANY policy changes that have not worked out (no monorail during parties etc) that they wound up changing or tweaking. So in the hopes that WDW sees these posts and listens to emails and calls that have been sent...maybe they can come up with a compromise that will curb the abuse, make some of you happy, and can make us happy too.

But I am sorry just like bank fees, I see this as a money grab at 24 hours notice than a solution to a problem.

I agree with you so much what strikes me is how MEAN some people are in their replies. Mean spiritedness flies in the face of discussion and is uncalled for. If one doesn't like the policy email guest relations. I did. It may change nothing but it is important for disney to know when they anger or disappoint good customers. Those of you who don't like how we on the fly people vacation that is fine. Different strokes people. No need to get nasty.

 

[mcd2745]

I agree with you so much what strikes me is how MEAN some people are in their replies. Mean spiritedness flies in the face of discussion and is uncalled for. If one doesn't like the policy email guest relations. I did. It may change nothing but it is important for disney to know when they anger or disappoint good customers. Those of you who don't like how we on the fly people vacation that is fine. Different strokes people. No need to get nasty.

Problem is, there is a big contradiction that is in play here.

It's not a matter that others don't like how people like you want to vacation "on the fly". However, when anyone claims to want to be spontaneous and tour "on the fly"...yet want a table waiting for them on the chance, you know, if the weather is perfect and the stars align just right, that you still want to eat at the restaurant you reserved (likely well in advance - and also likely at the expense of someone else who 100% wanted that table and almost definitely would have followed through on that ADR) . Very contradictory IMO.

 

[Mkrop]

Problem is, there is a big contradiction that is in play here.

It's not a matter that others don't like how people like you want to vacation "on the fly". However, when anyone claims to want to be spontaneous and tour "on the fly"...yet want a table waiting for them on the chance, you know, if the weather is perfect and the stars align just right, that you still want to eat at the restaurant you reserved (likely well in advance - and also likely at the expense of someone else who 100% wanted that table and almost definitely would have followed through on that ADR) . Very contradictory IMO.

Because 99.9% of the time we are going to keep that ADR and yet we dont want to be penalized if life gets in the way. The weather doesnt need to be perfect or the stars align...so we can do away with the hyperbole, no one has said that. But this is suppose to be a vacation and MOST vacations are not planned down to the nanosecond and they usually allow for flexibility both of which it seems WDW is no longer going in that direction.

And maybe just maybe if WDW would do all this logically, then no the person who wanted Ohana at 180 days out might not get it, but the person who happens to be staying at the Poly who has no clue you needed to make ADRs or the person who logged onto the app if they started listing it there, might feel they got some pixie dust when they scored my 6pm dinner that I cancelled bc a member of my family feels ill.

I will say this again, charge for the true no shows, they are the true selfish ones. But if we cancel within a reasonable timeframe, then some other family will get to enjoy the reservation. WDW wins, they get money if a person shows, my family doesnt feel screwed out of $40 when life gets in the way, and the Jones family now scores a hard to get ADR. To me this is a much better scenario all around!!!

 

[mom2of2]

I agree with you so much what strikes me is how MEAN some people are in their replies. Mean spiritedness flies in the face of discussion and is uncalled for. If one doesn't like the policy email guest relations. I did. It may change nothing but it is important for disney to know when they anger or disappoint good customers. Those of you who don't like how we on the fly people vacation that is fine. Different strokes people. No need to get nasty.

I see people disagreeing, I don't feel anyone has been mean but if that's your take on it, your entitled to your opinion.
Not everyone vacations the same way. DDP works for some, but not everyone. DVC is a good choice for some but not everyone. Some only like buffet restaurants, some only like a la carte, some it's CS only, some will only dine signature and some wouldn't step foot in one.
Email your unhappiness all you want to but did you ever stop to think that maybe it was guests complaints that led to this change? Guests using the DP who don't know you have to make ADRs 6 months in advance, or local guests who want to enjoy a restaurant but can't get in because it's always fully booked? To us here at the DIS we are informed, we know how everything works and how to do WDW. The DIS community is tiny compared to the amount of guests that are in WDW at any given time. Most have no clue how ADRs work or what they get on a DP. All they know is they paid for a meal and they can't get sat because the ADR list is full. The guests who make multiple same day ADRs, pull no shows or cancel late are the reason for the change.
Everytime something is abused, it's taken away. It was abuse of the system that led to this plain and simple.

 

[quandrea]

Because 99.9% of the time we are going to keep that ADR and yet we dont want to be penalized if life gets in the way. The weather doesnt need to be perfect or the stars align...so we can do away with the hyperbole, no one has said that. But this is suppose to be a vacation and MOST vacations are not planned down to the nanosecond and they usually allow for flexibility both of which it seems WDW is no longer going in that direction.

And maybe just maybe if WDW would do all this logically, then no the person who wanted Ohana at 180 days out might not get it, but the person who happens to be staying at the Poly who has no clue you needed to make ADRs or the person who logged onto the app if they started listing it there, might feel they got some pixie dust when they scored my 6pm dinner that I cancelled bc a member of my family feels ill.

I will say this again, charge for the true no shows, they are the true selfish ones. But if we cancel within a reasonable timeframe, then some other family will get to enjoy the reservation. WDW wins, they get money if a person shows, my family doesnt feel screwed out of $40 when life gets in the way, and the Jones family now scores a hard to get ADR. To me this is a much better scenario all around!!!

Said better than I did. Thank you.

 

[Mkrop]

I see people disagreeing, I don't feel anyone has been mean but if that's your take on it, your entitled to your opinion.
Not everyone vacations the same way. DDP works for some, but not everyone. DVC is a good choice for some but not everyone. Some only like buffet restaurants, some only like a la carte, some it's CS only, some will only dine signature and some wouldn't step foot in one.
Email your unhappiness all you want to but did you ever stop to think that maybe it was guests complaints that led to this change? Guests using the DP who don't know you have to make ADRs 6 months in advance, or local guests who want to enjoy a restaurant but can't get in because it's always fully booked? To us here at the DIS we are informed, we know how everything works and how to do WDW. The DIS community is tiny compared to the amount of guests that are in WDW at any given time. Most have no clue how ADRs work or what they get on a DP. All they know is they paid for a meal and they can't get sat because the ADR list is full. The guests who make multiple same day ADRs, pull no shows or cancel late are the reason for the change.
Everytime something is abused, it's taken away. It was abuse of the system that led to this plain and simple.

No is disputing that there was abuse of the system but this reaction is not a solution that works for everyone, it is making a lot of people unhappy. See my PP for a way WDW could solve this problem and not alienate guests who have a true need to cancel.

 

[kristenrice]

I'm ready for the bombardment, but let me throw this out for discussion...

If Disney has such a problem with no-shows, instead of charging a fee, what if they shortened the booking window back to 60-90 days out? That way, even the planners have their plans more firmly in place. I'd even go as far as say, 30 days out, but I know that most folks here on the boards would cringe.

I have come to the conclusion that, on the surface, this policy annoys me. When I look a little deeper, I realize that it really shouldn't. I can still make my ADR's 180 days in advance and if I decide to change my mind, I have until the day before to decide. Yes, an unforseen circumstance could arise, but that's life. I know that there is a risk of being charged if something comes up and I miss my ADR, but I know that going in. If I don't like it, then I don't book it.

 

[BSchaal57]

My only thing is if one of us wake up very ill in morning which has happened before, and we have a dinner reservation at 6 PM, why should we be punsihed when there are lots of people who would love to walk up to restaurant and get a table. Surely they wouldn't lose out money!

 

[jimmysmom74]

As we complain over 20+ pages, the only real way for WDW to change anything, is for the consumer to not make the ADR. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to planning a trip 180 days out. WDW knows this and exploits it.
Love WDW, but a true no show doesn't show up for their ADR at all, not calls,(with some reasonable form of notice, perhaps 4 hours) to cancel. They are a business, what they care about is the money coming in. This policy was made, because they realized they can do it. And we will pay it. I am all for a penalty for no show, but I think the night before is a little unreasonable. IMHO.
Pre kids I would have maybe sang a different tune, but life is just too unpredictable with little ones... they are tired, they puke randomly, they are overstimulated. That doesn't mean I didn't real want to go to a TS ADR. You know what they say about the best laid plans.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm ready for the bombardment, but let me throw this out for discussion...

If Disney has such a problem with no-shows, instead of charging a fee, what if they shortened the booking window back to 60-90 days out? That way, even the planners have their plans more firmly in place. I'd even go as far as say, 30 days out, but I know that most folks here on the boards would cringe.

I have come to the conclusion that, on the surface, this policy annoys me. When I look a little deeper, I realize that it really shouldn't. I can still make my ADR's 180 days in advance and if I decide to change my mind, I have until the day before to decide. Yes, an unforseen circumstance could arise, but that's life. I know that there is a risk of being charged if something comes up and I miss my ADR, but I know that going in. If I don't like it, then I don't book it.

Disney tested a shorter booking window not so long ago. They must not have liked the results as nothing came of it.

 

[disney1990]

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.

Here's the difference between you and me. I check the news the night before so I know what the weather is going to be. I would not have woke up and this discovered it was going to be cold. Of course, I over plan everything according to DH.

 

[kristenrice]

Disney tested a shorter booking window not so long ago. They must not have liked the results as nothing came of it.

Were they testing it to see if it reduced no-shows or increased restaurant attendance? If they were testing a shorter window to see if it effected the no-show rate, they may not have liked the results because they realized an opportunity to increase revenue by instituting the fee. If the shorter windows had a lower no-show rate, we may never know because now Disney has a way to charge for them.

 

[disney1990]

Because EVERY TIME we have tried this we have been turned away, even with the new policy implemented. We have been turn away for lunch at LTT, we walked right up to GS when we were at DHS and they laughed when we asked if there was any availablity in any restaurant in the park that day. We wound up at Big River Grill which doesnt take ADRs. We have been turned away at Chef Mickey's. Where are these spur of the moment ADRs that are so abundant?????





See above, we have not seen this with the places that have CC reservations. Can you do a walkup at Chef Mickey, or the Cape May Cafe NO! I really dont understand why people will think that all of these people who double booked wont do it and than cancel either the day before or maybe before their trip once everything is settled.



Business make money buy providing a good or service, not by just throwing fees at their customers. Charge for a true no show, that will recoup the money lost for not being able to fill that time slot. But is is a money grab and pooe customer service, when you charge me for a cancellation at 8am for 6pm Chef Mickey when you could fill that table and earn that money in a heartbeat. That is not necessary and sticking it to the customer.






Well there where are these supposed walkups you all keep talking about. "Oh dont worry, there will be walkups" which is it, your above statement or will there be walkups



This is why we can afford to go so much, because we dont WASTE or gamble money on things. I guess I am cheap or frugal bc I am not wasting my money like that.



why. See below. Unless you were there that week, I dont think you should laugh at someone else.



I am from PA so I know what cold is. The week I am talking about was in Dec 2010. Search some of those threads and you will see. It was absolutely freezing. It set records lows in FL. It was in the 30s. It was warmer in PA in the 40s than what we escaped to in sunny FL. Thank goodness we had winter clothes with us, and even then we went and bought gloves, our hands were numb. I had to wash our jeans because we didnt pack enough. We went to the CP bc I could not switch and it was brutal sitting on those cold benches and the wind was blowing. We were miserable. The next night we tried to stand on Main St to see fireworks, and it was so cold, we all looked at each other and said this is ridiculous, and we went back to BLT and watched from the TOTWL, which was pretty bitter up there with the wind. There was a young mom sitting next to us who was crying bc they had spent so much money and hers kids were little and were crying bc it was so cold all the time, they wanted to go home. She even had a little one in a front sling and she said she could not expose the baby to these temps. She brought the kids up in their jammies hoping to see the fireworks bc they had a bay view. The next night we watched the fireworks from our room once again bc it was too cold to be out. We had a lot of early nights and dinners at the resort those couple of days. Or we jumped the monorail and ate at the Poly and GF so we didnt have to go out in the cold. It was very cold once the sun went down.

And we arranged our AK to later in the week, I think we would have been miserable if we went there. Outside all day in 30 degree weather and trying to ride EE and the safari, no thanks. We rearranged and went on Fri when it was in the 70s. It was back to shorts and sweatshirts in the morning. Then Sat we were swimming, bc it was in the 80s. It was the weirdest vacation but we managed bc we were able to be flexible.

Oh yeah and we also changed our room bc we had a first floor studio at BLT with siding glass doors out to the marina. It was absolutely freezing, the wind was blowing through the glass doors. We piled the cusions from the sofa bed in from to keep the cold air out. The rooms were not built for that kind of cold.

We also had friends who were there during TS Debbie and they said they did the same thing, they rearranged their whole schedule bc of the weather and did parks with more indoor stuff and left AK for later after the rain had passed. They also spent more time at the resort enjoying the Community Hall then ever before. They cancelled several ADRs bc they didnt think it was safe at times to venture out.

Go back and ready everything, I said there would probably be walkups under the new policy. Somebody said there were not any walkups. I only conjectured as to why that might be at CC reserved restaurants -- people don't want to lose their money so they show up no matter what.

 

[mcd2745]

I'm ready for the bombardment, but let me throw this out for discussion...

If Disney has such a problem with no-shows, instead of charging a fee, what if they shortened the booking window back to 60-90 days out? That way, even the planners have their plans more firmly in place. I'd even go as far as say, 30 days out, but I know that most folks here on the boards would cringe.

I have come to the conclusion that, on the surface, this policy annoys me. When I look a little deeper, I realize that it really shouldn't. I can still make my ADR's 180 days in advance and if I decide to change my mind, I have until the day before to decide. Yes, an unforseen circumstance could arise, but that's life. I know that there is a risk of being charged if something comes up and I miss my ADR, but I know that going in. If I don't like it, then I don't book it.

I'm completely on board with a shorter booking window. 45 days makes the most sense to me - aligning with the pay in full date for packages. I firmly believe the ridiculousness of 180 days is the primary reason for all the ADR abuse that did, and to lesser extent still does, take place. And I agree 100% with the PP that said those abuses are what brought about this policy.

I've stated my disdain for the the 180-day rule ad nauseam on here. However, I've accepted that those are the rules I must play by and plan accordingly. Otherwise, I'd never get to eat at my preferred restaurants. So, contrary to how it seems, I can empathize with those who have a strong dislike for a certain policy. I also tend to agree with the overall rising sentiment that a WDW vacation is becoming too "scripted" if you will. Just not to the point where I refuse to keep going...yet.

 

[Mkrop]

Here's the difference between you and me. I check the news the night before so I know what the weather is going to be. I would not have woke up and this discovered it was going to be cold. Of course, I over plan everything according to DH.

Sigh! we did check...we thought we could do it, we thought oh we will just bundle up but when our room was ice cold all night bc the wind and cold was blowing through the glass door even with the cushions and blankets piled against it and the addl blankets we asked for, we knew that a day in 30 degree weather at AK was out of the question. This was BLT studio room, first floor viewing the marina. Also to add insult to injury, DS10, he was 7 at the time, yakked all over the sofa bed bc my DH thought chocolate cake at 10pm while waiting for the maintenance people was the way to go. So then at 2am, we had to call housekeeping and get all new blankets. It was a heck of a week that week. So I can tell you know if we had also been charged some ridiculous fee after all that, our DVC would have been on the market before we got on the plane at MCO. oh yeah we also got stuck on the monorail TWICE that week due to cold, the doors would not shut nc of the cold, the sensor did not work, but they would not let us off, even though we were at the GF. We had to wait and we were extremely late for our ADR at Tutto Italia. DH was very unhappy with how that trip unfolded if we were charged, his blood pressure would have gone thru the roof)

We even had maintenance there to see what they could do to the door, nothing, it wasnt built to handle cold like that in FL. They set a record low that week. And they could not move us until 4pm the next day to a higher floor.

But whatever, you all live these perfect lives where weather and illness never mess up your plans. You never have cranky kids that need to be back at the resort chilling out instead of having dinner even though you thought you could swing it etc. You are all probably the ones who have the kids who are whining and misbehaving at the restaurants that threads are posted about here all the time, since you heaven forbid would never miss an ADR. Just like I must be one of the ones that cancels all the time since I protest this ridiculous new policy.

 

[sndral]

Here are some questions and answers:
...
Why have you expanded your cancellation policy?

Our policy reduces the number of no shows at our restaurants and ensures all of our Guests will have more opportunity to dine at our table service locations.
...

ADR "NO-SHOW" CANCELLATION FEES:
...
5) Trial Period Backstory
. . . this was done on a trial-basis for 4-weeks in Epcot
. . . cut down no-shows by over 75% at Epcot eateries
. . . Le Cellier cut daily no-shows to 1-page from 2-3 pages
. . . now a policy, as no-shows greatly can reduce eatery revenue
. . . a no-show takes a ressie someone else might have kept
. . . the policy was then trialed for charcter meals and signature meals
. . . being so successful, it is no[w] across-the-property for all table
... [/i]

I do not recall a 4 wk trial at Epcot before they instituted the cc guarantee at signature and character meals, however, the fact that no shows were reduced by 75% says a lot. For whatever reason from Disney's perspective too many of Disney's customers have fallen into a pattern of making reservations to dine which they don't honor. This costs Disney lost revenue because people who are able to actually keep a reservation are unable to make one because too many people make reservations and then don't keep them. Disney tested this and it reduces the no show problem by 75%. If the goal was to encourage people to book reservations they intend to keep then a 75% reduction in no shows is a great result.
Some venues are 48 hr. cancellations, some you can't cancel at all, midnight the night before is what Disney chose probably relating to their internal numbers and staffing procedures.
I do like the 90 or even 45 day booking window idea (I went during 90 day booking.) In fact why not 45 days for those staying onsite (w/ payment in full) and 30 off site? I have to wonder how many of those ADR no shows are people who canceled their vacations months before but didn't bother to go through and cancel their ADRs.