Reservations soon required at all TS

[AndyFL]

Spoke to one of our favorite servers tonight and he mentioned to us that starting some time next week that you will no longer be able to just walk up to a TS rest, you will HAVE to have a ressi. I asked about Beaches and Cream because we love to go there IF we have time and can get there before closing. At B&C you will only be able to sit at the counter if you don't have a reservation......PERIOD, no exceptions. You will have a 15 min window and if you fail to arrive you will be charged $10 per person....PER person.

I honestly think that the higher ups at Disney have lost their minds and think that they can dictate unreasonable rules and people will just sit back and take it.

Just think how this is going to affect the servers....someone doesn't show up, Disney gets their money but the server doesn't get a tip and the table sits empty.

 

[Msmithmd]

Yeah, sounds like one to move to the rumors thread. If there is an empty table and a customer that wants to pay cash to sit and eat at that table, you're suggesting that disney is gonna tell him NO?

Is your waiter buddy also a bus driver on his days off?

 

[AndyFL]

Yeah, sounds like one to move to the rumors thread. If there is an empty table and a customer that wants to pay cash to sit and eat at that table, you're suggesting that disney is gonna tell him NO?

Is your waiter buddy also a bus driver on his days off?

No need to be such a smartbutt. Actually this came from a CM with almost 20 yrs experience with the company.

I actually asked him/her the same question you mentioned about the "empty table" scenario. They shook their head and said that they were told no reservation, no table. They said a lot of the old time CMs who have built relationships with repeat guest like us are really concerned.

 

[AndyFL]

BTW, just to reiterate, this new policy goes into effect sometime next week....think I remember Thursday being mentioned, and it will be for ALL TS restaurants.

 

[SullyC]

Maybe it is just for the Christmas rush? I wouldn't even take the word of the CEO of Disney that they are no longer going to allow walk-ins to a restaurant full of empty, unreserved tables. That just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Msmithmd]

I reserve the right to return to this thread, say a week after next Thursday, and tell the OP "no reason to be such a gullible-butt." Sorry, there is just no chance this is gonna happen. Disney has tens of thousands of hotel guests arriving to stay on property next week, several thousand of whom haven't made dining reservations, and they are simply not gonna tell them they can't have any sit down meal. I'd put money on it. A lot of money.

 

[Robo]

You will have a 15 min window and if you fail to arrive you will be charged $10 per person....PER person.

That would be a "red flag."

If true... say that you showed up 25 minutes late... 10 minutes past the cut-off. (Happens ALL the time at WDW.)
A- You get charged the "no-show fee" and don't get seated and can't eat and the table remains empty? (NO WALK-UPS ALLOWED!)
B- You get seated and not get charged the "no-show fee" at which time the 15 minute rule becomes void?
C- You get seated AND charged the "no-show fee..." and get sued.

 

[mummabear]

I could imagine that it is becoming possible to make reservations at TS places you couldnt previously (and that it would have a CC guarentee) but I doubt Disney will turn anyone away IF there is an empty table, if for no other reason than the $10 per head is till far less than would you would spend on a meal.

 

[sonofanarchy]

It's true. In fact, Disney CM's at all table service restaurants have been told to handle all walk-ups, even if the restaurant is completely empty, exactly like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLfmEZYdtrY

 

[AndyFL]

It's true. In fact, Disney CM's at all table service restaurants have been told to handle all walk-ups, even if the restaurant is completely empty, exactly like this:

This person mentioned that his fellow CMs who worked at the establishment had an informal meeting and decided they needed to come up with response because they realized that they were going to be on the front lines catching all the flak for this move. The response they came up with was "we just work here".

Like I said, this guy is known by a lot of you because I've read threads where you mention his name. And while he didn't say "don't say anything"....matter of fact he was very frank and open....I don't feel comfortable mentioning his name and causing him any issues. But like I said....he's been with Disney for almost 20 yrs.

 

[sonofanarchy]

This person mentioned that his fellow CMs who worked at the establishment had an informal meeting and decided they needed to come up with response because they realized that they were going to be on the front lines catching all the flak for this move. The response they came up with was "we just work here".

Like I said, this guy is known by a lot of you because I've read threads where you mention his name. And while he didn't say "don't say anything"....matter of fact he was very frank and open....I don't feel comfortable mentioning his name and causing him any issues. But like I said....he's been with Disney for almost 20 yrs.

I spoke with a bus driver a few years ago who had been there for 25 years who said we'd see the construction of the monorail to DHS and AK by the year 2012. Time at the company means very little.

I think you may have simply misunderstood what he said. I mean, do you honestly believe if a family walks up to Marrakesh at Epcot and the restaurant is only 1/4 full they will be denied a table? Think about how ridiculous that sounds.

 

[kaytieeldr]

BTW, just to reiterate, this new policy goes into effect sometime next week....think I remember Thursday being mentioned, and it will be for ALL TS restaurants.

Too odd/coincidental... The last big change to dining "reservations" ($10 PP no-show charge at all TS locations) just went into effect exactly one month before this new, more restrictive change starts.aubethe CMs misunderstood?

There's no information about this from any other source: WDWInfo, Mousesavers, AllEars...

[QUOTEAndyFL]This person mentioned that his fellow CMs who worked at the establishment had an informal meeting and decided they needed to come up with response because they realized that they were going to be on the front lines catching all the flak for this move. The response they came up with was "we just work here".[/QUOTE]

Bad, bad response. Is this really what they're going to be telling the guests? "don't blame me, blame Disney"?

 

[seashoreCM]

Now just a cotton pickin' minute! If the restaurant looks kinda empty, can't you go away, perhaps 50 feet to some bushes or 100 feet to the next building outside, and call on your cell phone and make a reservation, say, half an hour from "now"?

Disney may well have a system in place taking into account average no-shows and planned overbookings, and openings for last minute reservations could pop up at random times.

 

[HookdonWDW]

I could see Disney stating that everyone must have a reservation to dine at the TS restaurants. The key is in implementation. You go to the Coral Reef and want to eat. There are 3 openings for 60 minutes from now. The CM tells you they have availability in 60 minutes. You accept. You now have a reservation. You walk over to the Living Seas, and find out they have availability there in 30 minutes and decide to blow off your reservations at Coral Reef and eat at your new reservation. You are no a no show for at Coral Reef, and can be charged the no show fee.

 

[bedogged]

It seems to me that if Disney wants to charge $10.00 a head as a no show fee, they need to show some sort of loss of revenue. If the table is immediately filled by a walk in, what is Disney's loss? It is really hard to legally justify this fee if the table is filled. Just a thought.

 

[HookdonWDW]

It seems to me that if Disney wants to charge $10.00 a head as a no show fee, they need to show some sort of loss of revenue. If the table is immediately filled by a walk in, what is Disney's loss? It is really hard to legally justify this fee if the table is filled. Just a thought.

Why would Disney have to show a loss? They agreed to hold a spot in line for you. You agreed to show up. They said that if you didn't show up for your spot in line (or tell them you had other plans the day before), would charge each person they are holding a spot for $10. You signed off on it and gave them a resource to charge the funds to. Sounds pretty straight forward to me. If you don't want to worry about getting charged $10/person you have 3 choices: 1) Show up 2) Cancel at least the day before 3) Don't have them hold a spot for you in the first place.

If I make a hotel reservation, buy a plane ticket, or rent a car and don't show up, I'm out the cancellation fee or non-refundable portion. It doesn't matter if they found someone else to sleep in the hotel room, fly stand-by or rent the car. You broke your promise, they have a right to charge you.

 

[bedogged]

Why would Disney have to show a loss? They agreed to hold a spot in line for you. You agreed to show up. They said that if you didn't show up for your spot in line (or tell them you had other plans the day before), would charge each person they are holding a spot for $10. You signed off on it and gave them a resource to charge the funds to. Sounds pretty straight forward to me. If you don't want to worry about getting charged $10/person you have 3 choices: 1) Show up 2) Cancel at least the day before 3) Don't have them hold a spot for you in the first place.

If I make a hotel reservation, buy a plane ticket, or rent a car and don't show up, I'm out the cancellation fee or non-refundable portion. It doesn't matter if they found someone else to sleep in the hotel room, fly stand-by or rent the car. You broke your promise, they have a right to charge you.

So, with this line of thinking it would be acceptable for Disney to charge for unused fast passes?

If it is true regarding no more walk ups, it was my thought that this might be the reason. The no show fees seem to be quite a hard sell with a lot of people. Personally, I have no opinion whether Disney should or should not do this. Sorry I hit a nerve.

 

[HookdonWDW]

So, with this line of thinking it would be acceptable for Disney to charge for unused fast passes?

If it is true regarding no more walk ups, it was my thought that this might be the reason. The no show fees seem to be quite a hard sell with a lot of people. Personally, I have no opinion whether Disney should or should not do this. Sorry I hit a nerve.

You didn't hit a nerve... I just think your thought process on this is flawed. As to charging for unused fast passes, do I think Disney could legally charge for this? Sure, as long as they disclosed it ahead of time, and people were willing to agree to the terms of service. Do I think it would be a smart business decision? No. Being legal and being what people want are two different things. Disney has a right to decide how to conduct their business, and customers have a right to decline to participate.

Judging by the responses I've read on all of the boards, I've noticed at least as many (actually more) people who are happy about the no show fees than those who are upset. If everyone decides not to make ADRs and the restaurants sit empty, I'm sure Disney will rethink the policy. Something tells me this won't be necessary...

 

[AndyFL]

I think you may have simply misunderstood what he said. I mean, do you honestly believe if a family walks up to Marrakesh at Epcot and the restaurant is only 1/4 full they will be denied a table? Think about how ridiculous that sounds.

Believe you me....I'm in FULL agreement with you on it being ridiculous. We were the last ones at B&C when this conversation was started. We are regulars and most of the staff recognizes us as soon as we walk in. We were asked when we might be back next and I said probably Jan or Feb and that's when they said that we would have to have a reservation. I've owned my own business for right at 30 yrs and my FIRST question/statement was "what if we show up and there are empty tables not because of no-shows but because NOBODY made a ressie?" They sadly shook their heads and said that the decision from the top was "no reservation, no table". We were told that the counter area WOULD be available to walk-ins. Now since most TS places don't have a counter like B&C I would venture to guess that you would simply be told no. We discussed this topic, with the manager working just a few feet away and well within earshot, for about 30 minutes at least....if not longer. I was simply STUNNED at the stupidity.


One of the servers mentioned that he/she had many locals who were regulars who went there 2-4 times a month. I quickly asked what would happen to them. They said that they will have to have a reservation starting the end of next week. The HUGE problem with this is that a lot of the locals stop by WHEN they have a chance....if they have to work late or something comes up they simply either don't go at all or maybe go the next day.

I pondered all this info as my brain was spinning and then asked that if we walked up and there were available tables and no upcoming reservations, could we call and place a reservation for immediate seating. They shrugged their shoulders and said that they simply didn't know.

I can't impress enough how depressed the staff got when discussing this topic.

I just hope I don't get anyone in trouble with this thread. But like I said, I wasn't told to keep this hush-hush....they seemed perfectly comfortable discussing it openly.

I couldn't help but make the statement that since WE had no idea of this upcoming policy that it would be safe to assume that there are a lot of other folks who will be equally clueless. That being said, I said that they very well could have a room FULL of unused tables the first few days. That's when they told me about the line they plan on using "We just work here". If they said "don't blame us, blame Disney" I'm sure that would be a fireable offense because they would be openly criticizing the company.

One thing's for sure, we'll all find out real soon.

 

[AndyFL]

If everyone decides not to make ADRs and the restaurants sit empty, I'm sure Disney will rethink the policy.

YOU might rethink.....I might rethink, but I wouldn't be too quick to believe that a modern day company would. I deal with a lot of companies and the past few years I've noticed that the mentality is that those who sit on the board have gotten insanely vain. Vanity is a very dangerous quality because it blinds you to the truth. I've had reps sit right across the table from me and quote the company line. I'll try me best to inform them of the REAL world....does no good. The mentality is that since they are the CEOs and you aren't, that you OBVIOUSLY aren't anywhere NEAR as smart as they are and therefore your opinion isn't worth the time of day.

If you tie this thread in with the thread about the shareholder call...the picture begins to become pretty clear. They will NEVER admit they are or were wrong. Arrogance seems to be all the rage these days.