Read if you have someone in your party UNABLE TO EAT (Tube fed) re: dining res

[heliwife]

I just got off the phone with Disney Reservations and am very upset. I wanted to treat my family to the Wishes Dessert Buffet on May 15. One of my sons is 6, wheelchair bound, and TOTALLY dependent on tube feedings. After speaking with a supervisor, Disney insisted that we must be charged for him even though he A) wouldn't be sitting in a chair, and B) is physically unable to eat a single morsel. They said it's because they "have to have an accurate head count" but this argument is a little silly since they don't charge for age 0-2. They refused to book him as a 0-2 either. This vacation is expensive enough without having to pay for food for a child who can't eat! They said we would have to pay for him at ANY buffet or family style restaurant but could "take it up with the manager of the establishment" and hope they would refund us there when they heard the situation.

So I guess we will be skipping any Disney sit-down restaurants!!

 

[cm8]

What you have posted is something that has been DIScussed before. I understand that you are upset about having to pay for someone that can not eat, but they have stated that it was for the head count and not the food per se. I understand that you do not feel this is right. If this is something that you really have your heart set on, then you will need to decide if you will pay for him not eating and having a wonderful experience, or you will choose to forgo it and not budget it in the amount you have set aside for your trip. I think that you could also ask the manager when you get there as well and see what is suggested for you.


ps

 

[heliwife]

Thanks, I am aware of all the points you bring up, and will search for the previous discussion on this post. (I am a new member to the board, but find it full of info!) I know that the buffet is only $12, so that doesn't seem like much to pay for my other children and the adults in my party to enjoy Wishes and the desserts, right? I get that. However, it does get pricey when you figure in order to make reservations at ANY sit down establishment (the german restaurant in Epcot that my Mom wants to go to, Cinderella's Table for my daughter to see the princesses, the Fantasmic dinner package at HS) I am asked to pre-pay for everyone (including my son) and cross my fingers that I will get that money back.

As I said, I will not be making reservations at any Disney sit-down establishments. I hear the desserts at the Golden Corral nearby aren't bad.

 

[dclfun]

I do understand why this policy is in place. If exceptions were to be made, then people will try everything to get out of paying, or even get out of paying full price. Once the server *sees* that your child is not eating, then I'm almost 100% positive you won't be paying, other than for the dinner shows or character buffets where you may instead pay an entertainment charge. Are you on the DDP? Otherwise there are very few restaurants where you must pre-pay- just wondering.---Kathy

 

[SueM in MN]

I do understand why this policy is in place. If exceptions were to be made, then people will try everything to get out of paying, or even get out of paying full price. Once the server *sees* that your child is not eating, then I'm almost 100% positive you won't be paying, other than for the dinner shows or character buffets where you may instead pay an entertainment charge. Are you on the DDP? Otherwise there are very few restaurants where you must pre-pay- just wondering.---Kathy

I agree with Kathy.
It is much easier for Disney to refund you money when they can see you have someone who is not eating than it is to charge someone who lied about it and was not originally charged.
Most of the experience posted by people with a tube fed member of their family is that the server and/or manager has the ability to discount the price once you are there. People have posted that was what happened to them (although many people have posted they were charged an entertainment charge - which was much less than a meal charge).
We have had several situations where the server at a buffet observed that my DD was eating strictly off the children's buffet and lowered her charge to the child buffet charge without us asking at all. In our case, we didn't expect that at all, since DD DID eat, just not the adult food. In your case, I would explain the situation and ask the server and/or the manager when you get there.

Also, even though he will not be taking a seat, they do need a count so that they leave space for him at the table. There were situations in the past when they were not doing that and people were assigned a table with no space for the wheelchair. So, even though it doesn't sound logical to count him, it really needs to be done to make sure they leave room for him.
And the 'having to prepay' rule for some restaurants (mostly the high demand Princess meals) came about because many people were making multiple reservations for the same restaurant and then deciding which one to go to after getting to WDW (sometimes only a few hours before the reservation time and often without calling to cancel). So, high demand restaurants were expecting full houses and then were having empty tables. There were also people acting as brokers and getting reservations in high demand restaurants for other people. Requiring pre-payment (or in some cases, not prepayment, just a credit card down) stopped those practices.

Let us know how things turn out.

 

[heliwife]

Thanks for the replies! I feel much more reassured now that I might get money back so am reconsidering making the reservation. Thanks for the help from the "vets" of WDW and the board!

 

[ZPT1022]

I know it seems crazy but to add to what the others have said, I've also heard before that they need an accurate head count for both space and fire code/fire safety reasons. You definitely have my sympathies and commiseration though, we are finding that now that our newborn is here and we are a family of six, even though the baby doesn't eat, we are considered a party of six and have been hit with things like the large party auto-gratuity. It's a pain when people/places are so rigid to the point of ridiculousness

 

[ilovepooh]

I would definitely book the restaurants you want to eat in and include your son in the count for a space at the table as mentioned, BUT I would let them know you expect to be reimbursed for him when they see he can't eat anything!

I agree that when you're there and they see him not eating they will reimburse you. Like PP mentioned many people would take advantage if they didn't insist all heads be counted and paid for in advance.

 

[Chloesmom]

A few years ago we ate at Crystal Palace and a member of our party was ill... they let her in but chanrged her a $5 entertainment fee... Is this no longer done or was it an exception?

 

[SueM in MN]

A few years ago we ate at Crystal Palace and a member of our party was ill... they let her in but chanrged her a $5 entertainment fee... Is this no longer done or was it an exception?

That is an exception that the server can make.

We were at Epcot recently and ate at 2 full service restaurants where we saw "PPPP family, party of 5" where one of the party was an infant - in one group, it looked like a newborn. So, I know that they are counting heads (possibly for fire code reasons because each building has the number of people allowed listed somewhere in the dining room).

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I think the dessert party is a different then a regular dining reservation. The wishes party they assume you are going to eat since it's all in the price but regular dining if you dont want to pay you dont eat...... So since that is a special "event" kind of that is why they might charge you. And ever thought they might not able beable to eat they are still getting the special area of that show as well.

I guess it depends how you look at it.I dont think Disney is doing that to be mean.I do understand where Disney is coming from, They cant "prove" until they "see" your child that they "cant" eat. And i think if they just let people call and say that a lot of people would take advantage of it. Not that you would but some people would.

 

[WLodgeLizard]

We've had multiple experiences with this, as recent as December. On that trip we did Hoop Dee Doo and Chef Mickey's. My DS11 is completely tube-fed and his CP is pretty apparent.

For HDDR, when I made my ADR, I explained our situation. The cast member told me to just ask for a refund when I picked up my tickets. I was a little suspicious of this. So I called back a couple days later and another CM told me the same thing. So I felt pretty good about that.

When I got to the window, my DS11 was by my side and they had no problem with the refund. In fact, they said that next time to just book him as under 3.

At Chef Mickey's we were not charged for our DS11 at all. I didn't even have to ask. He was included on the reservation. That has pretty much been the case for all of the character meals we have done thru the years. I'm sure seeing us actually giving him a bolus during the meal sort of makes them realize that he really is not going to eat from the buffet/menu.

Good luck,

WLL

 

[Schmeck]

Just don't be surprised if you are charged an 'entertainment fee' at the character meals or Wishes dessert buffet, as part of the draw for these are meeting the characters and having a reserved space to view Wishes.

At buffet meals without characters, I would hope that there would be no charge if your child didn't get a thing on the buffet!

 

[kittycat9]

We've had multiple experiences with this, as recent as December. On that trip we did Hoop Dee Doo and Chef Mickey's. My DS11 is completely tube-fed and his CP is pretty apparent.

For HDDR, when I made my ADR, I explained our situation. The cast member told me to just ask for a refund when I picked up my tickets. I was a little suspicious of this. So I called back a couple days later and another CM told me the same thing. So I felt pretty good about that.

When I got to the window, my DS11 was by my side and they had no problem with the refund. In fact, they said that next time to just book him as under 3.

At Chef Mickey's we were not charged for our DS11 at all. I didn't even have to ask. He was included on the reservation. That has pretty much been the case for all of the character meals we have done thru the years. I'm sure seeing us actually giving him a bolus during the meal sort of makes them realize that he really is not going to eat from the buffet/menu.

Good luck,

WLL

See, I'm curious on this. I too have a CP Child that is tube fed. Mine will probably enjoy a good part of the show (we're seeing Mickey's Backyard BBQ), but he isn't going to eat or drink a thing - not a chance of it. It kind of rubs me a bit having to pay the full cover, knowing that it covers a good portion of the food, but I'm okay with it if that's how it's going to be (we were expecting it actually). But now I wonder if they would refund a portion off and just charge an entertainment fee for him once we get there?

As for the Character buffets, like Crystal palace - we weren't charged at all last year for him. When I made our ressies, I stated up front that I had a child on a feeding pump that wouldn't be eating. No one mentioned anything about a potential $5 charge. However this year while on the phone with a CM, I was told that the manager had the discretion to charge us the full buffet price if they wanted, and I'm not talking about CRT-type places. They specifically named Chef Mickey's, Tusker and Crystal Palace. I made them get Guest Services on to confirm because I didn't believe them. GS did confirm that, but said if I stated the same thing this year that I did last, it would be unlikely that we'd get charged. We're having IPO make our ressies, so I have to make sure they disclose it for us.

And to the OP... If you think that is bad - don't try to add dining plan to your ressie. That's when the real nightmare in planning begins

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I made them get Guest Services on to confirm because I didn't believe them. GS did confirm that, but said if I stated the same thing this year that I did last, it would be unlikely that we'd get charged. We're having IPO make our ressies, so I have to make sure they disclose it for us.

Unfortunately when you called Guest Services all you got was the Main Switchboard. They have the same access to computer information that the people at the Reservations Center have. If they tell you they are actually at a specific restaurant or a specific Park or Resort location then you have real Guest Relations people. A magic question is "Are you at the actual location or at a Call Center"?

 

[kittycat9]

Just an update on our Tube Fed child and deluxe dining family. We spoke with YC/BC IPO/XIO Friday, as they're making all of our dining and special event planning arrangements for us. In coordinating everything, they told us that they've had tube fed children on the floor in the recent past and they're booking the children as 2yr olds with a sub-notation to the servers/restaurant as child of specific age on feeding tube when the family is on dining plan.

So we will be all set when they push through our arrangements.