Oh no! Adding another person to trip?!

[clarkfamily]

My mom would like to invite another family member along on our January trip. The more the merrier, I say! But...I have now idea how complicated this will be. Our full package and all of our ADRs are already booked.

I'm assuming it will be no problem to call up and add him to the room, as we're not at max. capacity. I'm guessing adding someone to the room means they'll have to have the same park ticket option and dining plan option that we do. That's what we'd want anyway, so I can't see any real problem here. BUT...will this mean that we'll lose all of our ADRs?! That's frightening to me!? Would I really have to cancel them all and attempt to rebook??? Taking only what I could get at this late date...

Anyone have experience with this? Are there other complications I'm not realizing?

 

[dzorn]

If it is an adult you will also have to pay an extra fee for another adult in the room for each night as well as be on the same package as you and yes you will need to rebook all your adrs.

Good Luck

Denise in MI

 

[clarkfamily]

you will need to rebook all your adrs

As in cancel and start over entirely? Is there any way to simply call and add one person, as a "change" say? We would be going from a party of 7 to a party of 8. My thought is: in most places we would already have had to be seated at a table for 8, right? As most places wouldn't have seating for exactly 7. So, in common sense would suggest that this might be an easy change to make...?

 

[Huff]

Yes you will have to rebook your ADR's. When doing so online it you can see availability for your extra person prior to cancelling your current ADR. When you make a new ADR it will automatically warn you that a prior ADR at similar time will be cancelled before you confirm the new one.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Don't stress. Just call and see if they can add one to your reservations. If not, don't cancel them. They will add them on the majority of the time when you show up.

 

[Ennazus8810]

Don't stress. Just call and see if they can add one to your reservations. If not, don't cancel them. They will add them on the majority of the time when you show up.

Exactly. Don't try to do it online. CALL and speak to a Dining representive. We did it in the past and lost no reservations.

 

[3princes+1princess]

We had to add an adult (my dh ended up getting the week off and could join us!!). It was no problem adding him to the reservation, like you said he just had everything the same we did (tickets and dining plan). I called to figure out the ADRs. I got him on a few (we had 7), had to move a few reservations about an hour from what I had, and he could not get on a few. For the two we could not get him on at all I am just going to bring him along and say 'pretty please'. That is what the CM told me to do. One of them was the sci fi diner, which our reservation was an odd number and their seating is by pairs so I figure he will just fit right in. I am not worrying one bit about it.

But DON"T cancel....just call and see what you can work out.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Don't stress. Just call and see if they can add one to your reservations. If not, don't cancel them. They will add them on the majority of the time when you show up.

Yes- we were told we could not add one because there was no availablility for our new number ( we were also adding 1), so we just left them, and showed up with the extra person for all 7 ADR's that week. It wasn't a problem with ANY of them.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Do NOT cancel any ADR's. If they can't add 1 person when you call, just show up and they will seat you. Have fun!

 

[Lulu'sMom]

As in cancel and start over entirely? Is there any way to simply call and add one person, as a "change" say? We would be going from a party of 7 to a party of 8. My thought is: in most places we would already have had to be seated at a table for 8, right? As most places wouldn't have seating for exactly 7. So, in common sense would suggest that this might be an easy change to make...?

You are correct!

Do NOT cancel any ADR's. If they can't add 1 person when you call, just show up and they will seat you. Have fun!

ITA! DO NOT cancel any of your ADRs!

Out of 50+ WDW trips over the years, we have done the same thing and there has never been a problem with having booked the 3, 5 or 7 person ADR and then adding one more to make it 4,6 or 8 people showing up.

Pay the extra adult fee and don't fret. Have a great trip!

 

[canopynut66]

My mom would like to invite another family member along on our January trip. The more the merrier, I say! But...I have now idea how complicated this will be. Our full package and all of our ADRs are already booked.

I'm assuming it will be no problem to call up and add him to the room, as we're not at max. capacity. I'm guessing adding someone to the room means they'll have to have the same park ticket option and dining plan option that we do. That's what we'd want anyway, so I can't see any real problem here. BUT...will this mean that we'll lose all of our ADRs?! That's frightening to me!? Would I really have to cancel them all and attempt to rebook??? Taking only what I could get at this late date...

Anyone have experience with this? Are there other complications I'm not realizing?

I would call and get it done before you arrive and yes all in the same room need to have same dining plans. you will have to go over all ADR'S and add the extra person as well. The time I added my cousin I called reservations and went over them with a CM and was able to add her with no problem.. you will not have to cancel them all......

 

[myhouseofmouse]

Yes- we were told we could not add one because there was no availablility for our new number ( we were also adding 1), so we just left them, and showed up with the extra person for all 7 ADR's that week. It wasn't a problem with ANY of them.

Yeah what this post says.....

 

[maxiesmom]

Do NOT cancel any ADR's. If they can't add 1 person when you call, just show up and they will seat you. Have fun!

You should have no problems getting everyone seated, but it is not a given. If the restaurant is at capcity, they won't be able to seat an extra person. It is best to get it sorted out before the trip if you can. Usually you won't have a problem, but you don't want to end up that one time out of a thousand they say "No" if you can avoid it.

 

[tley]

Do NOT cancel any ADR's. If they can't add 1 person when you call, just show up and they will seat you. Have fun!

Be careful, Mickey Fliers, not all restaurants in WDW will just seat you if more people are in your party compared to what you booked in the ADR. We did this with Le Cellier in May (my nephew ended up coming with us) and it took some work to be able to accommodate us.

 

[clarkfamily]

Thanks so much, all! So glad, as always, for the firsthand experiences -- and the variety of opinions -- that everyone is willing to share!

 

[supernova]

Exactly. Don't try to do it online. CALL and speak to a Dining representive. We did it in the past and lost no reservations.

Bingo. I never book stuff like that online. Nor do I understand why someone would post a question here and wait a week for various responses, when a quick call at that exact moment could rectify the situation in a matter of minutes. When in doubt, power off the computer and make a call.

 

[clarkfamily]

Bingo. I never book stuff like that online. Nor do I understand why someone would post a question here and wait a week for various responses, when a quick call at that exact moment could rectify the situation in a matter of minutes. When in doubt, power off the computer and make a call.

I can't speak for others, but, in this case, there are two reasons I posted before calling to inquire:

1. The CMs to whom a caller speaks often give out incorrect information. This shocked me while planning my first trip. In fact, I was sure that the CM on the phone had to be more accurate than random posters on online boards. It took several interactions with the boards and with various CMs until I realized that I had, on multiple occasions, been given information on the phone that was blatantly wrong. I am taking a moment to mention this now so that newbies who read or see this understand that this is sometimes to case. How often, I am not sure. But for at least two very significant questions I was given information that was 100% incorrect by CMs on the phone. It took quite some time until I realized that I had been misled, but had I simply accepted their answers as factual, it would have seriously impacted our trip. The "why post when you can just call and ask" philosophy, while it seems so straightforward, has been problematic for me in the past. Now, I plan by the "be incredibly informed before you call" philosophy, and it seems to be much more effective!

2. And, of course, I'd like to understand the implications of adding an individual to our trip prior to extending the invitation. I want to understand exactly what joining us would "mandate" that the individual purchase (our dining plan and tickets, for example -- assuming I am understanding things correctly at this point) and exactly how our plans might need to change -- so that I don't promise experiences that might not actually happen! (But, based on the kind and very informative responses from others who have been in this situation, it appears that we may find ways to keep all of our ADRs even if we add another merry traveler!)

Welcome to the boards, supernova. I'm sure they will be a great resource for you, as they have for so many of us. You may very well find, after reading the wealth of information available here, that "a quick call" is not always the most effective way to get information on Disney planning!