Terrible New Reservation Policy at California Grill

[Tigger_Magic]

You could replace that with the American sense of entitlement..."I've got more money than you so I deserve it."

Not true. This is purely an issue of supply and demand. Rose & Crown has a fixed supply of desirable seating for dining and watching Illuminations. If I were managing that restaurant, I would implement this idea in a heartbeat. There are certainly plenty of people willing to pay for this advantage, just as the Contemporary is now doing with MK view rooms. You want a room with an MK view -- pay an extra $40/night and you get one guaranteed. Simple supply and demand. It has nothing to do with entitlement or deserving it.

 

[disneyvoice]

Trust me, they won't charge your card if something reasonable happens to prevent you from showing up.

My DH and I had reservations at Victoria and Albert's last year in September the night before hurrican Jeanne arrived. It had already started to get very windy and rainy and they were planning on shutting the monorail down at 7:00 that night. We were staying at the Poly so we could have just driven our rental car to the GF but I had never been in a hurricane before and was really panicked about everything. My DH and I decided that we wouldn't really enjoy our meal because we would end up hurrying through everything in order to get back to the resort before things got bad. And V&A is a A LOT of money to spend when you know you won't enjoy it. My DH called V&A and they confirmed they were still planning on staying open. When my DH explained our concerns, the CM said they completely understood, thanked us for calling and not just being a no-show, and said they would NOT charge our credit card.

We had a similar thing happen at Cindy's. We were there with my parents that year and my mom ended up not feeling very well the morning we were going to Cindy's. When we got there we explained that we were short one person because she was back at the resort not feeling well. We were never charged for her "portion" of the pre-payment.

I'll also add that even with the restaurants that don't require a credit card deposit, we always call and cancel our ADRs if we aren't going to make it. We have even called restuarants from across Epcot if we are running behind and know we won't make it in time for our ADR. The CMs are always very appreciative of that.

 

[crisi]

The only way this will stop the dessert lingerers is if they make it a person minimum as well as a cancellation amount. That would make sense and would be another idea I'd implement in a heartbeat if I were Disney (although it isn't hard at CG to spend $20 on dessert and cocktail and coffee).

As to the supply and demand, if you sell on eBay, do you sell to the first bidder? The third? No, you sell to the highest bidder. That's business. If I can sell the same thing to you for $25 that I can sell to Bob for $20 - and I only have one of it - I'd rather sell it to you. Disney is not a charity. Their goal as a business it to maximize profits by finding the price point for each thing they sell that maximizes profits and sales (price it too high and you don't sell enough of them to make a big profit, price it too low and you don't maximize profits).

 

[Tigger_Magic]

We have even called restuarants from across Epcot if we are running behind and know we won't make it in time for our ADR. The CMs are always very appreciative of that.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who's done that.

 

[Lewisc]

Restaurants expect to be serving dinner to guests, particularly during peak dining periods. It doesn't make any sense to turn away guests who want to eat dinner in favor of guests who just want to order dessert. It's worse when the guests make a reservation an hour or more before Wishes and plan to table squat. It's not a big deal if a handful of guests do it but what if half the restaurant is filled with guests who aren't eating dinner? It's not fair to the restaurant or the guests who want to eat dinner and can't get a reservation. I think the number of internet boards and guide books who suggest the strategy is forcing Disney to take action.

CRT is going to a fixed price menu. The $20/person charge at CG will discourage dessert only reservations. The next step would be implementing a fixed price menu or having a minimum.

It's a shame Disney wasn't able to come up with some type of dessert and coffee package for the observation deck. Limit the crowds to a reasonable number.

if they do this Disney needs to teach the cms to make cancellations...very few of my adrs that i canceled actually got canceled and since you don't get a cancellation number how could you prove it?

i think the comment about the desire to keep out dessert and free coffee lingerers/fireworks watchers was a little off base. you can have and keep an adr and just get dessert so don't see how makes someone who only goes for dessert less "worthy" of an adr.

and i wonder if anyone has actually gotten a refund with a medical reason like a flu. lots of families with lots of kids mean lots of upset tummies( just read the shocking thread about how many people toss cookies on the bus, on rides ,on the paths ) and not a real good likelihood of knowing that is going to happen 24 hrs out. doubt many parents would want to leave sick kids with a sitter so they could keep their adr

 

[Peter Pirate]

Sorry but what Tammy said had nothing to do with entitlement (entitlement is saying 'I deserve this such and such because I've paid such and such'). I'd say the never ending defense of 'supply and demand' supports entitlement even more (You know, the 'we can afford it and don't mind paying for it' mentality). It'll be kind of funny when those who think they have plenty come to realize they really don't. Supply and demand is a free market myth. It isn't practiced anywhere. Only government regulated derivatives that favor the 'already haves.'

In relation to Disney, I don't disagree that Disney should set their levels wherever they are comfortable with setting them - If that's maximum profitability, fine. If it's maximum demand, fine. If they somehow combine the two, as it seems they're doing, good for them. But by filling their restaurants 180 days out, making walk ups practically non existent, possibly installing stringent dress codes and charging for making a reservation and failure to cancel on time tells me that fairly soon overcrowding, not only at the restaurants, but maybe the entire resort, may not be such a problem. If I were a big player in the Disney Company I'd be a bit concerned about the long tem messages we're sending our guests even amid highly profitable times. If pleasing The Street is the only goal then your Company will suffer the same fate as The Street...Big ups and big downs. This doesn't sound like a path any of us would like Disney on does it? Remember how close Disney came to being Comcast/Disney just a few short years ago.

Not everybody wants or can make ADR's this far in advance and heretofore good paying guests will eventually get mighty tired of being told the nice restaurants are all full...All of this may just be the pendulum making its widest sweep or it could be the beginning of a roll down a slippery slope...

 

[bicker]

You could replace that with the American sense of entitlement..."I've got more money than you so I deserve it."

There's a WORLD of difference between the baseless and selfish sense of entitlement ("I deserve it because I want it") and the righteous sense of entitlement ("I deserve it because it was promised to me and I paid for it").

 

[TammyJ]

Sorry but what Tammy said had nothing to do with entitlement (entitlement is saying 'I deserve this such and such because I've paid such and such'). I'd say the never ending defense of 'supply and demand' supports entitlement even more (You know, the 'we can afford it and don't mind paying for it' mentality). It'll be kind of funny when those who think they have plenty come to realize they really don't. Supply and demand is a free market myth. It isn't practiced anywhere. Only government regulated derivatives that favor the 'already haves.'

In relation to Disney, I don't disagree that Disney should set their levels wherever they are comfortable with setting them - If that's maximum profitability, fine. If it's maximum demand, fine. If they somehow combine the two, as it seems they're doing, good for them. But by filling their restaurants 180 days out, making walk ups practically non existent, possibly installing stringent dress codes and charging for making a reservation and failure to cancel on time tells me that fairly soon overcrowding, not only at the restaurants, but maybe the entire resort, may not be such a problem. If I were a big player in the Disney Company I'd be a bit concerned about the long tem messages we're sending our guests even amid highly profitable times. If pleasing The Street is the only goal then your Company will suffer the same fate as The Street...Big ups and big downs. This doesn't sound like a path any of us would like Disney on does it? Remember how close Disney came to being Comcast/Disney just a few short years ago.

Not everybody wants or can make ADR's this far in advance and heretofore good paying guests will eventually get mighty tired of being told the nice restaurants are all full...All of this may just be the pendulum making its widest sweep or it could be the beginning of a roll down a slippery slope...

Thank you Peter Pirate. I was trying to be "pithy" in my comment but apparently it needed more explanation. Disney can do whatever it likes to increase profitablity, it's their perogative. I just tire of the oft repeated suggestion that to increase one individual's pleasure, the price of certain things should be increased so that other's cannot afford it.

And I've forgotten who posted it but I love the idea of a desert and coffee package. This is not because of finances but because that is what DH and I would most enjoy.

 

[TammyJ]

There's a WORLD of difference between the baseless and selfish sense of entitlement ("I deserve it because I want it") and the righteous sense of entitlement ("I deserve it because it was promised to me and I paid for it").

But the people who do buy desert have paid for it. Sorry, seems more selfish to me to insist on up-charging things so that other people cannot afford it thereby insuring yourself a more enjoyable time.

 

[Bob NC]

Back when CG had the outdoor balcony open, we would go there occasionally to watch the fireworks. We'd buy drinks, (many drinks), at the bar and wait outside for the fireworks. On one of my trips back from the longe area I overheard 2 waitpeople talking. This was about 8:30 and the fireworks were to begin at 9. One waiter pointed at 2 people sitting at a window table and told the other that they had come in at opening. They ordered ONE glass of wine at 5:00 and had been sitting there ever since waiting for the fireworks. That's 4 HOURS, folks. LOL, it probably would have been worth it for the CG manager to offer them $50 to leave.

I have no problem with a credit card guarantee on this ADR. For heavens sake people, if you can decide where you want to eat 6 MONTHS from now and make an ADR, surely you can show up for it or cancel 24 hours in advance.

Why assume this has anything to do with Disney's bottom line? I'd rather assume that they want to have available ADR's and tables for people that WANT to eat there.

 

[bicker]

However, TammyJ, those people haven't been promised or paid for the right to make a reservation just for dessert, so if the restaurant decides to adopt a policy that discourages such reservations, such as prix fixe, then they'd be justified in doing so. I do agree with you though that if the restaurant takes the reservation and provides no indication on their menu that folks aren't to patronize the restaurant just for dessert, then they are justified in making such a reservation and using it just for dessert.

 

[Cynt]

I think this is great! I'm new to the whole ADR and I couldn't understand for the life of me why reservations were opened 180 days out. I was doing good to BOOK my vacation w/in 180 days of the date I'm vacationing but to have my mind made up as to where I wanted to dine 180 days out was beyond me. Hopefully, this $20 rule will stop some people from double/triple booking, which is also crazy to me. I guess to sum it up, it all goes back to the Golden Rule...do unto others as you would have them do onto you.

 

[TammyJ]

Yep, back to the original topic. I have no problem with the guarantee charge. Makes a lot of sense to me. My doctor's office charges me if I don't show up for an appointment as scheduled. As long as people are aware of this in advance (and it seems to me they've been good about warning people), it seems perfectly acceptable.

And as said, Disney can do what it likes for profits, it is a business. I just think it would be a shame if they price out another magical moment and I hope they don't. That's all. It may not sound like it but I am a free-market kind of girl. I just also believe that sometimes there's some room to take into consideration that not everything needs to go to he with the most money.

 

[lillygator]

i think the comment about the desire to keep out dessert and free coffee lingerers/fireworks watchers was a little off base. you can have and keep an adr and just get dessert so don't see how makes someone who only goes for dessert less "worthy" of an adr.

There is a huge difference of a meal at CG and just ordering dessert and coffee...dessert would come right out...a meal takes a while as it is ordered and served in courses...at least everytime we go our waiter does it that way. You can have an ADR and get dessert but then extending that dessert without ordering anything else over a 2 hour period is what I think that poster may have been referring to.

 

[Lewisc]

There is a huge difference of a meal at CG and just ordering dessert and coffee...dessert would come right out...a meal takes a while as it is ordered and served in courses...at least everytime we go our waiter does it that way. You can have an ADR and get dessert but then extending that dessert without ordering anything else over a 2 hour period is what I think that poster may have been referring to.

Exactly. I thought my reference to free coffee refills and table squatting made that clear.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Maybe MK could just cancel the fireworks???

 

[lillygator]

We will be there tomorrow night!! and get to see the special holiday fireworks!! Well providing there aren't too many squatters!!! I can't wait!! Ready for that green goddess dressing, some sushi, a nice wine!!

 

[snowbunny]

I agree with TammyJ in that it is a shame and a loss - for everyone - as more and more places become, in one way or another, "gated communities" where the super affluent are not forced to rub shoulders with the masses.

However we are talking about a restaurant here. It's not as if the CG is the only restaurant in WDW, and those who cannot afford it will have to go hungry. Everyone who goes to the World has abundant choices as to whether to dine at expensive upscale restaurants, food courts, and literally everything in between.

Nor is Wishes a fireworks extravaganza put on nightly for the sole benefit of the denizens of the California Grill. There are numerous vantage points from which to see Wishes, many of which are closer than the CG.

As Sammie so succintly pointed out, these policies are not put into place to reduce patronage at the CG. Just the opposite. This is a response to people feeling entitled to make reservations that they not at all certain they will use, reducing the opportunity for others -- who may have saved their whole lives for a WDW vacation, how do we know? -- to have the experience.

 

[tlbwriter]

I agree..you should have maybe until 3pm day of reservation to cancel if there is a problem. That leaves plenty of time for a reservation book update

But as others pointed out, having those reservations available first thing in the morning allows concierge CMs to get them for their guests before they leave for the parks. It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Perfectly reasonable if you're a concierge guest but why can't the regular park Joe just get the chance first???