Update! New restaurant reservation policy at Disneyland DELAYED

[cadisneyagent]

I agree it will stop. They had the pirate league at Disneyland very briefly. I made reservations for my son. The time I wanted was "BOOKED" so I went with another time, when I walked pass the league. NO ONE WAS in there and there was 3 chairs for the time I had requested. They saw my son in a Captain Hook outfit so they were trying to talk me into going in I said I had a reservation in an hour. I didn't go an hour early because I was actually about to change him and go on Splash Mountain first, since it is his favorite ride and he loves to get soaked. Then I changed him back to the pirate outfit and went early.

 

[Lewisc]

Actually when the policy was put into effect, there were some complaints, however once folks understood how it worked and that it would open up reservations for everyone, things settled down.

The only ones who really were not happy were the folks that fully admitted they hoarded reservations and this new policy for the most part stopped that.

AKK

or It settled down once rational people realized it was a "done deal". Disney made their decision. It doesn't mean folks who don't agree with the policy changed their minds.

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

 

[peteykirch]

The new system seems temperamental towards odd numbers, however the cases mentioned are not hurting anyone else from getting a reservation because a party of 1 will still be sitting at a two top and a party of three will still sit at a four top. Increasing the number in those cases does not eliminate another table from other people trying to obtain reservations.

Yeah it's a pain for people going solo, or in odd numbers.

You can punch in a reservation for 1, and nothing comes back, punch in 2, and wham times through the entire night.

 

[maxiesmom]

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

I don't agree with you at all. It is to keep butts in the chairs. Unwanted or extra ADRs don't make Disney money. Only butts in the chairs do. If they can keep people from making 3 ADRs when they only really intend to use 1, then it is more than fine with me! I doubt many people are victims of unanticipated circumstances when it comes to not showing up for ADRs. Rather more of wanting to have endless choices.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

or It settled down once rational people realized it was a "done deal". Disney made their decision. It doesn't mean folks who don't agree with the policy changed their minds.

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

You are indeed entitled to your opinion, however the well known habits of some guests to double book and then at the last minute decide where to eat or just blow off a reservation is the well problem. I have seen many people come right out a say this is there practice and to *hell* with other guests and hogging reservations!


If you had read the threads at the time you would have noticed over a period of time that people once they understood the policy had no problems, except of course the reservation hoggers.


I addition many folks were all for the policy because it opened up availability.

For those reasons and common sense, I do not find your reasoning holds water.


AKK

 

[dairylives]

or It settled down once rational people realized it was a "done deal". Disney made their decision. It doesn't mean folks who don't agree with the policy changed their minds.

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

I think you underestimate how much of a problem the multiple bookings were.

You're pretty off base here, though. I worked as a concierge during the policy change, and it was almost across the board positive reactions because people were getting fed up with people farming ADRs. And in regards to people "forgetting" or having "unanticipated circumstances", if you have been to WDW, you'd know that there is plenty of room to work around these fees if something truly unfortunate happens, when it comes to Guest Relations in the parks and resorts.

 

[tjkraz]

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

That will happen but intentionally booking multiple ADRs was a very real problem which has been dramatically reduced by the credit card guarantee.

Don't have much sympathy for people who forget to cancel--you can only do so much to save people from themselves. Bottom line is it's an avoidable charge.

As for the "unanticipated circumstances", a lot of that can be mitigated through realistic planning: don't schedule an ADR for arrival night when your plane is scheduled to land at 3pm; don't leave your hotel at 5pm and think Disney transportation will get you to Be Our Guest by 5:20; don't get in line for any attraction 15 minutes before an ADR.

 

[Polydweller]

This thread is like going through a time warp back to about 1.5 to 2 years ago before WDW. All the same negative arguments about money grab, customer satisfaction problems and so on. There might be some merit to this except none of the negative stuff comes true as shown by the implementation at WDW that's been in place for more than a year. People need to look at what really happened and see that it's worked well before creating scenarios that simply don't happen.

All you have to do is show up for your ADR, not even on time, and there is no charge. Or call letting them know you won't be there. No charge. If you are trapped on a ride, no charge because its Disney's fault. All of your party doesn't have to show for the ADR, the only requirement is at least 1 person and then no one in the party is charged the $10. No money grab at all since almost all make their ADR or cancel.

So, what's been found is that there is really no down side at all. The upside is that ADR hoarders aren't doing that anymore, unless they figure its worth $10 to them. Bottom line, its working well at WDW and will at DLR.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~It's a good policy & fair, too. The year before the credit card guarantee -- right at the 180 day mark, a lot of ADR's were impossible to get. So, I was expecting all the restaurants to be packed, but this just wasn't the case, they were all half empty. I knew something was wrong when we arrived for our Saturday night ADR at Ohana's and seated within five minutes! I had just ordered a Pina Colada at the Tambu Lounge, so the waitress brought the drinks over to our table. I had a wonderful window seat on the fire pit side with a clear view of EMP & Wishes, but the place was empty and the waitstaff was bored!

~We had a cancelled flight one year and it created massive delays causing us to miss lunch and arrive three hours late for dinner and Disney was very accommodating.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I'm waiting for Disney to charge the $10 fee to people who try to circumvent the Reservation System in terms of odd numbers of diners. I.E 1 diner making a reservation for 2, 3 for 4, etc.

The no show policy is only for true no shows. If 5 people show up for an ADR of 6, they will not be charged. If no one shows up they will be charged $60.

 

[mcd2745]

or It settled down once rational people realized it was a "done deal". Disney made their decision. It doesn't mean folks who don't agree with the policy changed their minds.

The fee is nothing more then a money grab designed to grab money from guests who forget about the fee or are the victim of unanticipated circumstances.

I also completely disagree with this. I can't speak for Disneyland, but at WDW there was a definite problem that they needed to address, and this policy did just that. The ADR hoarding and subsequent no-shows were completely out of hand. It is now much, much better since the policy was instituted.

 

[Rumors Rocks]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/priorityseating.htm

DELAYED!!!
(Update 05/06/13)

The implementation of the new policy has been delayed indefinitely.


New Cancellation Policy

Beginning May 9th for reservations after June 24th, guests will be required to provide a credit card to make a reservation at all Disney owned and operated restaurants in the Disneyland Resort.

Guests must cancel within 24 hours or face a $10 per person charge for failing to show up for the reservation.

This new policy also applies to Bibbidi Boddidi Boutique, Studio Disney 365 and cabanas.

 

[jennynoel]

While, in general, I agree with a cancellation fee since it keeps more reservations available. I had a situation just over a year ago where a $10 cancellation fee would have been adding insult to injury. We arrived 4 MINUTES late for a reservation at DLR and were not accommodated.

I am relieved that they are delaying this new rule.

The full story:

I made a reservation for 7:30pm at Storyteller's Cafe. I am an AP holder and lived about 90 minutes from Disneyland at the time.

As can often happen in Southern California, we hit a bit of traffic on the way and arrived at the Restaurant later than expected - at about 7:34pm.

The place was unexpectedly swamped due to some special event that I didn't know about. There was a line of about 15 people at the hostess stand outside the restaurant.

I went inside and told the cast member at the inside host station that I had a 7:30pm reservation. They directed me to the line outside.

When we finally made it to the front of the line it was 7:48pm by my iPhone and 7:50pm by the digital clock on the host station. We were TURNED AWAY. The hostess said that since it was so busy they were not accepting people more than 15 minutes late. I explained that we had been in line for 15 minutes but she said there was nothing she could do! I was shocked.

We left and had a perfectly lovely dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney.

As it was my feathers were ruffled, but if I had also been charged a fee I would have been very angry.

 

[TheShea's]

While, in general, I agree with a cancellation fee since it keeps more reservations available. I had a situation just over a year ago where a $10 cancellation fee would have been adding insult to injury. We arrived 4 MINUTES late for a reservation at DLR and were not accommodated.

I am relieved that they are delaying this new rule.

The full story:

I made a reservation for 7:30pm at Storyteller's Cafe. I am an AP holder and lived about 90 minutes from Disneyland at the time.

As can often happen in Southern California, we hit a bit of traffic on the way and arrived at the Restaurant later than expected - at about 7:34pm.

The place was unexpectedly swamped due to some special event that I didn't know about. There was a line of about 15 people at the hostess stand outside the restaurant.

I went inside and told the cast member at the inside host station that I had a 7:30pm reservation. They directed me to the line outside.

When we finally made it to the front of the line it was 7:48pm by my iPhone and 7:50pm by the digital clock on the host station. We were TURNED AWAY. The hostess said that since it was so busy they were not accepting people more than 15 minutes late. I explained that we had been in line for 15 minutes but she said there was nothing she could do! I was shocked.

We left and had a perfectly lovely dinner at Naples in Downtown Disney.

As it was my feathers were ruffled, but if I had also been charged a fee I would have been very angry.

Why not ask to speak with the restaurant manager if only 4 minutes late? Certainly they would have seen that the hostess was being unreasonable.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I'm pleased that this has been delayed at Disneyland for the time being. WDW and Disneyland are very different. WDW is more of a vacation destination where people often travel interstate or from around the world to visit. Disneyland however has most of their visitors as locals so it's impossible for them to be able to book so far in advance and then have to pay the $10 fee if something came up.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I am afraid I disagree, it doesn't really matter if your booking 6 months or a week early, all the rule asks is you cancel before 24 hours, not a hard thing to do.

Not to mention at WDW the reports are they have been very reasonable about folks being late and not a all the folks showing up.

If anything, I would think you would be happy with this rule as it has shown it opens up more reservations, making it easier for locals to get a table.

JMHO


AKK

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Dining Reservations at amusement parks geared towards not just children...but the youngest of children are counter-intuitive and will be till this space rock we all live on goes supernova....

That's just the way it is. Disney had a good system with priority seating...but they decided to go in a different direction to lower overheads and squeeze more juice outta the oranges.

This move is another example of it.

I am not disputing the business value of this or necessarily disagreeing with the merits of it...but it is a soulless move.

Anyone remember the kiosks at the front of epcot when it opened? Where you walked up and could plan your day - including what you wanted to eat...right there. Where it was fresh and you had some freedom.

At the time the thought of "booking windows" for every detail (i mean...fireworks viewing fastpasses?) probably seemed ridiculous because everyone was on VACATION!!! I doubt the Disney Board of Directors would have seen any real appropriateness to doing that.

Now its being implemented across the board with a hammer...like this is Tianamen Square or something...

They were right then.
Let it breathe

 

[tjkraz]

Anyone remember the kiosks at the front of epcot when it opened? Where you walked up and could plan your day - including what you wanted to eat...right there. Where it was fresh and you had some freedom.

At the time the thought of "booking windows" for every detail (i mean...fireworks viewing fastpasses?) probably seemed ridiculous because everyone was on VACATION!!! I doubt the Disney Board of Directors would have seen any real appropriateness to doing that.

Now its being implemented across the board with a hammer...like this is Tianamen Square or something...

IMO, it's a sign of the times.

People have shown an increasing desire to pre-plan Disney vacations in order to get their money's worth. Guidebooks like Passporter and the Unofficial Guide...websites like TouringPlans which will map out your entire day...websites like this where guests share tips and tricks.

My wife and I spent most of our honeymoon at WDW about 15 years ago and we were completely lost. Didn't see a fraction of what was available. I believe we ate exactly one Table Service meal at a Disney restaurant the entire week.

A few years later we started making regular trips with our kids. For the first half-dozen stays I would plan out every detail: where to spend each day, restaurant visits and even the order for visiting attractions. When you're spending $3-4k for a trip, you want to get your money's worth.

Now for the typical visit I'll schedule a couple ADRs and map out some recommended days to visit each park based upon operating hours, nighttime shows (often to avoid), etc. But all of that is flexible.

Still, I think that approach probably leaves me in the minority. Many guests are ready, willing and able to plan 6 months in advance. Those who choose to wait risk suffering the consequences.

Does an ADR no-show policy benefit Disney? Sure. But it's also the only way to police abuse of the system. Without some financial penalty, folks will continue to book unneeded duplicate reservations just as they have in the past.

I can't see many folks being nostalgic for queuing up at a computer terminal to try and get dinner reservations day-of.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Dining Reservations at amusement parks geared towards not just children...but the youngest of children are counter-intuitive and will be till this space rock we all live on goes supernova....

That's just the way it is. Disney had a good system with priority seating...but they decided to go in a different direction to lower overheads and squeeze more juice outta the oranges.

This move is another example of it.

I am not disputing the business value of this or necessarily disagreeing with the merits of it...but it is a soulless move.

Anyone remember the kiosks at the front of epcot when it opened? Where you walked up and could plan your day - including what you wanted to eat...right there. Where it was fresh and you had some freedom.
At the time the thought of "booking windows" for every detail (i mean...fireworks viewing fastpasses?) probably seemed ridiculous because everyone was on VACATION!!! I doubt the Disney Board of Directors would have seen any real appropriateness to doing that.

Now its being implemented across the board with a hammer...like this is Tianamen Square or something...

They were right then.
Let it breathe

I remember those days and you are indeed right..........a much better way!

AKK

 

[lockedoutlogic]

IMO, it's a sign of the times.

People have shown an increasing desire to pre-plan Disney vacations in order to get their money's worth. Guidebooks like Passporter and the Unofficial Guide...websites like TouringPlans which will map out your entire day...websites like this where guests share tips and tricks.

My wife and I spent most of our honeymoon at WDW about 15 years ago and we were completely lost. Didn't see a fraction of what was available. I believe we ate exactly one Table Service meal at a Disney restaurant the entire week.

A few years later we started making regular trips with our kids. For the first half-dozen stays I would plan out every detail: where to spend each day, restaurant visits and even the order for visiting attractions. When you're spending $3-4k for a trip, you want to get your money's worth.

Now for the typical visit I'll schedule a couple ADRs and map out some recommended days to visit each park based upon operating hours, nighttime shows (often to avoid), etc. But all of that is flexible.

Still, I think that approach probably leaves me in the minority. Many guests are ready, willing and able to plan 6 months in advance. Those who choose to wait risk suffering the consequences.

Does an ADR no-show policy benefit Disney? Sure. But it's also the only way to police abuse of the system. Without some financial penalty, folks will continue to book unneeded duplicate reservations just as they have in the past.

I can't see many folks being nostalgic for queuing up at a computer terminal to try and get dinner reservations day-of.

LOL...i love it when people say they "can't find the sitdowns"...

It's not that hard...what's wrong with you, man?

put as far as policing duplicates...i have always been in favor of that...

But from my own personal experience last week...it may be counter productive to put in policies to do so. My kids don't have a refined sense of clock management...so i juggled/cancelled/rebooked ressies in real time (thankfully the crowds were delightfully light and i could do that)...but if this policy were in place - i would have been subject to dozens of "cancellation fees". I didn't double book or be discourteous and not cancel reservations...but its a vacation, dammit, so ease off me!

out last trip back in august...we decided that we weren't going to brown derby on a particular night (we had gone for lunch the day before instead)...but it was within 24 hours...so i had to "move" it to two days later. Which i promptly hung up...called back in 5 minutes and cancelled that reservation 48 hours out.

Stop wasting my time with these shenanigans...you greedy basta...oh nevermind

but i also hate how the DDP/reservation system has all but eliminated walkups in all but the least crowded times. That's just employee laziness at the restaurants. there are no shows every meal period...but management has allowed or even encouraged turning people away. Not right...like you have to beg them to take $120 dollars for $50 worth of food.

here endeth the rant.