Taking a Chance on a Signature ADR arrival day

[Kathy Z]

My ADR date is 3 weeks away. In the past we've booked a Signature ADR on arrival day but the last one was made prior to the $10 p/p credit card guarantee. Has anyone called to cancel on the day of reservation to tell WDW that you need to cancel because you're stuck at the airport? (We're flying from Michigan in February.)

 

[TDC Nala]

I woudn't take a chance on this as there is no guarantee you will be allowed to waive the fee for cancelling the same day. Pick a restaurant with no guarantee, then you know you are safe.

 

[Kathy Z]

I woudn't take a chance on this as there is no guarantee you will be allowed to waive the fee for cancelling the same day. Pick a restaurant with no guarantee, then you know you are safe.

Yes, that was my first thought. But we will only be at WDW 4 nights this trip and after working and reworking my master plan it still comes down to wanting to eat at The Flying Fish Cafe on arrival day. We've made it in the past with no problem. If we loose $20 it's not a biggie compared to what we'll be spending on our vacation. I would still call to cancel just so that someone else might have a chance to get in.

Thanks for replying to me, Nala.

 

[Masonmj84]

I'm taking a chance on a HBD Fantasmic package on our arrival day.

We have lunch scheduled at 2:55 pm and our flight is scheduled to arrive at 10:50 am. Since it's an early direct flight, I'm hoping that there won't be major delays (although we're flying in early December out of Syracuse, the lake effect snow capital of the world, folks over on the transportation board have assured me that the Syracuse airport has the best snow removal equipment in the world and that the Jet Blue early morning direct Orlando flight is hardly ever delayed).

I also periodically call to see if I can get a somewhat later (e.g., early dinner) ADR (so far, no such luck).

Having said all that, I fully expect to have no recourse but to be out $$ if our flight is delayed such that we can't make the ADR. I'm willing to accept this risk (would still call to see if there was any chance for a later ADR as well as open the time for someone else).

 

[TDC Nala]

If you've decided to take the chance, there's nothing we on the board can say except there is no guarantee you won't have to pay the $20 even if you do call and cancel. (The OP sounds as though they are willing to take the risk.)

 

[cluvsdisney]

I don't think that would be a valid excuse since you know the risk ahead of time. Hopefully, it won't be an issue and you'll make the ADR.

 

[figment_jii]

Another thought (which is what my family is thinking of doing), is not make the ADR (because of the cancellation fee), but when we land in MCO see what comes up as available for that evening. That will give us a pretty good idea (I think) of where we can "walk-up" to when we get to WDW. There is still the risk that traffic will be bad and we won't get to WDW in time, but at least it's one less point of possible delay.

I've had pretty good luck getting "day-of" ADRs for some of the Signatures. For example, I just went on the reservation website to see if I could get a Flying Fish for tonight (Friday) around 7:00 pm for four. 6:10 and 7:20 came up, so there are openings! Hopefully this will be the case for when you go!

 

[aubriee]

I'm taking a chance on a HBD Fantasmic package on our arrival day.

We have lunch scheduled at 2:55 pm and our flight is scheduled to arrive at 10:50 am. Since it's an early direct flight, I'm hoping that there won't be major delays (although we're flying in early December out of Syracuse, the lake effect snow capital of the world,
Having said all that, I fully expect to have no recourse but to be out $$ if our flight is delayed such that we can't make the ADR. I'm willing to accept this risk (would still call to see if there was any chance for a later ADR as well as open the time for someone else).

I wouldn't risk it. I had a direct, nonstop flight from DFW to MCO this past May and should have arrived at MCO around 9:30am. A month before my trip, I got an email saying my itinerary had changed. They had moved my flight back, so I wasn't getting into MCO until that evening. They had also moved my returning flight up too, so all told, lost about eight hours of my trip. Spirit has only one flight to and from MCO and DFW per day, so there wasn't even another flight to change to and they refused to refund my money. I didn't make my lunch or dinner ADRs that first night and also had to cancel my lunch ADR for my last day. When I made them, I knew I had plenty of time to get to all three.

I'll be back down there Sept 1st-8th and will be flying Spirit again. I got an email yesterday saying they had once again changed my intinerary. As of now I'll be missing my ADR for lunch the first day and also the last day, but can still make my dinner ADR the first day. I'm just hoping they don't change the times anymore.

 

[disneychic2]

I wouldn't risk it. I had a direct, nonstop flight from DFW to MCO this past May and should have arrived at MCO around 9:30am. A month before my trip, I got an email saying my itinerary had changed. They had move my flight back, so I wasn't getting into MCO until that evening. They had also moved my returning flight up too, so all told, lost about eight hours of my trip. Spirit has only one flight to and from MCO and DFW per day, so there wasn't even another flight to change to and the refused to refund my money. I didn't make my lunch or dinner ADRs that first night and also had to cancel my lunch ADR for my last day. When I made them, I knew I had plenty of time to get to all three.

I'll be back down there Sept 1st-8th and will be flying Spirit again. I got an email yesterday saying they had once again changed my intinerary. As of now I'll be missing my ADR for lunch the first day and also the last day, but can still make my dinner ADR the first day. I'm just hoping they don't change the times anymore.

I think I would switch to another airline!

 

[dtstampz]

Well, if you don't like changes, don't switch to Delta! Just sayin'....

 

[aubriee]

Well, if you don't like changes, don't switch to Delta! Just sayin'....

Due to Southwest taking over and the Wright Ammendment not allowing Southwest to fly out of DFW, Air Tran pulled out of Dallas this past Nov. Prior to that, they were my favored airline. However, they too were notorious for switching flight times. Just about all airlines do.

 

[SonicGuy]

Due to Southwest taking over and the Wright Ammendment not allowing Southwest to fly out of DFW, Air Tran pulled out of Dallas this past Nov. Prior to that, they were my favored airline. However, they too were notorious for switching flight times. Just about all airlines do.

They were our favorite DFW to MCO airline as well.

 

[triplejen]

We had a crazy flight delay last summer. We were on a flight leaving NYC before 8am, due to land shortly after 10 at MCO. I had made a HDDR reservation for 7:15 that night. Well, we ended up getting so delayed that we didn't even LAND at MCO until after 8 pm.

It was clear by mid-morning that we would likely not be able to make the reservation, so I called the regular reservation number and explained my predicament. This was before the $10 per person cancellation fee, but HDDR has always had a 24 hour cancellation requirement, so we were actually going to be on the hook for the full cost of the 4 meals.

The regular number was totally unable to help us, and basically told us that they certainly felt bad for us, but there was nothing they could do.

As it happened we were staying club level at one of the deluxes that year, so I then called the concierge desk at our hotel. They were able to remove the reservation without any cost, easy as pie. I remember being totally relieved, but also a bit annoyed that if I hadn't been staying CL I would have been on the hook for about $240 for a meal we had to miss., but since we were it was removed with no question at all.

Anyway, that's a long-winded way of saying that they will probably be unsympathetic to your issue should you have a flight delay, and hold you on the hook for the $$, UNLESS you are staying club level somewhere, in which case maybe similar "magic" will be possible.

 

[Kathy Z]

OP here. We have a direct flight on Delta so no connection worries. I will take figment-jii's good advise into consideration though, thanks.