Reservations for sit down- credit card to guarantee. Ouch!

[BluBayou]

Im on hold (right now) to find out the details.
I cant find where it says the fine print details of cancellation policy.
We've missed reservations a few times due to crowds or monorail issues (before this was a policy).
Anyone know the details?
Thanks!

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

I also have never been able to find the cancellation policy, only the statement that reservations must be cancelled within the cancellation policy.
However, I believe reservations must be cancelled before the end of the day the day prior to the reservation

 

[BluBayou]

They finally answered. Whew! That was a LONG hold time!
Anyway, yes, 24 hours policy, and they give you a 15 minute grace period (you can be 15 minutes late) after that, its a $10 charge.
Yuck. I dont like this new policy :-(

 

[SMD]

It's $10 per person if you don't cancel the day before. The policy should be displayed online when you're promoted to enter a credit card.

 

[figment_jii]

As SMD said, the information about the cancellation policy is displayed online when making the reservation (before you confirm the reservation). This was what was listed in my last round of ADRs.

There is a 1 Day cancellation policy. $10 per person will be charged/forfeited if canceling within 1 Day or no show of the reservation.

There is nothing about a grace period. My guess is that the grace period is one of those unofficial things. Most places will give guests some grace period, but it depends on the crowds, how busy the restaurant is, and the individual CM.

 

[SMD]

There is nothing about a grace period. My guess is that the grace period is one of those unofficial things. Most places will give guests some grace period, but it depends on the crowds, how busy the restaurant is, and the individual CM.

I think this is probably pretty true. I wouldn't, for example, leave DL at 12:55 for a 1pm reservation at Goofy's and expect that a grace period will be honored if the monorail is busy or parade control delays you on Main St. If the $10 is important, I'd stop when I'm doing around 12:30 and plan to check in early, with the buffer time occurring before the reservation time. Anything that could happen to me that would force me to take 30-45 extra minutes to get there would have to be a major emergency that would probably make me not worry about $30-50.

 

[Malcon10t]

I like the new policy. It has made getting stand by seating easier. And reservations. They don't have reservations clogged with "just in case" reservations."

 

[tarheelalum]

The current policy of charging 10 dollars has been around a while now and they really mean it. Last year I was stuck on a Splash Mountain for about 45 minutes and was charged the 10 dollars for missing our reservation at Cafe Orleans.

After much discussion with the folks at the town hall and quite a few Facebook posts, they later removed the charge from my visa.

 

[whoever]

Do they guarantee a table at the specified time? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

[CassieScraps]

Just a little FYI - be sure to hang on to your receipt and check your credit card when you meet your reservation. I was charged for a no show even though we were there early. Turns out, the person at the kiosk didn't actually check us off the list or whatever. They reversed the charges, but only because I had my receipt.

 

[helenb]

They can make exceptions to the policy. Last time we were at DL we had a lunch reservation at Storytellers. My DD was feeling ill and we decided just to grab some counter service to everyone else and go back to the hotel room to rest for a couple of hours. I called dining services and explained and they cancelled the reservation with no charge. So there is some leeway for a valid reason to cancel.

 

[disneychrista]

Do they guarantee a table at the specified time? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

It still remains Priority Seating. Not we are holding a table, that we can not use for 30 minutes, so you can have it when you get it here. We have never experienced more than a few minutes wait, even at Blue Bayou.

 

[tarheelalum]

Do they guarantee a table at the specified time? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

No. They say you will be seated within 10 minutes but we've waited more than that, with a reservation. I've seen walk ups, after I've checked in with my reservation, get seated before us. That is why I've pretty much given up on reservations unless I make them the day before or the day of. That extended wait could have been due to the staff at Cafe Orleans and not necessarily Disney policy. We stopped going to Cafe Orleans after that and have experienced better times with Carnation Cafe.

But overall its a one way street with disney.

 

[Pinocchio #1 Fan]

They are also understanding about things happening. I called about 4 hours before our reservation because of a small family emergency, and I changed the reservation to the next day. Because I made a new reservation, it was considered "rescheduled" instead of "cancelled" and I wasn't charged. For the record, I did not tell them it was any kind of emergency, I just told them I needed to cancel, and when I told them I wanted to do it the next day instead, the CM jumped on that and told me it was fine.