WARNING: few minutes late to ADR where they charge a no-show fee you may be charged

[Mkrop]

The OP clearly stated this was a problem in the reservation system and she wasn't "supposed" to be charged. So no, they are NOT charging you if you are 5 mins late. I'm sure there's a pretty flexible policy in place for the charging. Since this is new, her tip is a good one - check your CC statements carefully as obviously there are some bugs.

I'm fine with this policy as long as they are flexible. If I call 4 hrs before saying my kids are sick, I would expect them to give me a pass. like others said, maybe more walkups will be possible after this as people will likely be more careful with their planning.

This is the point most of us are arguing. It has been stated that unless it is a documented illness the fee will not be waived. So if your little one wakes up with a tummy bug and needs to just rest and maybe no food for 24 hours, you will be charged. If you take him to Urgent Care, and have a note they will waive the fee. I dont know about you but I dont need a doctor's visit for every little thing, but I do know that rest instead of traipsing to a restaurant is most likely the thing.

Just this past trip, was glad I didnt have an ADR that night, I was the one not feeling well, my chest felt really tight and I was coughing and had no voice. It was raining. The rest of the family was exhausted. We all stayed in and ordered pizza and went to bed early. This is what we needed, not to be running around trying to get to a meal. But if I had cancelled to get better I would have been charged $40.

 

[kristenrice]

Wow...

Now I am really worried about making our reservations on Monday.

We are traveling with 15 people (6 adults and 9 children, ages 7 months-10). We have a group dinner planned at Chef Mickey's for all 15 of us. The kids/grandkids are all going to eat dinner at O'Hana while grandpa and grandma enjoy the luau. We only have 1 or 2 TS meals where we will be eating as individual families. Most of our meals will be two families dining together.

With this new policy, I am worried what will happen if any part of our party (i.e. our newest addition) gets fussy/sick and has to miss the meal. Not only am I worried about the fee, I'm worried about not being seated if our entire party isn't present. Because we are such a large group, we certainly cannot rely on any walk-up reservations. If a someone gets sick and has to miss the meal, do they charge the $10 no-show fee for just the people that missed the meal? Or would the computer be automatically be applying it to the entire party?

I totally agree with this policy, in spirit. It seems like a good idea to deter people from making random reservations and then skipping out with no notice. I know that one year, we had a breakfast ADR at WCC and my mother woke up with a terrible stomach bug. She insisted that the rest of the group go without her. These things can happen, especially with the amount of children the visit WDW, and Disney needs to be forgiving. I know, it would be very easy for someone to "fake" an illness excuse to get out of their ADR, but who cares? If a guest calls (in advance...1 hour or 24-hours) and says they are unable to make their meal because of illness, isn't it better to give the guest the benefit of the doubt rather than hit them with a no-show fee if they are legitimately ill? I certainly do not want people dragging themselves or their children to a meal when they are sick, just to avoid a no-show charge.

 

[TDC Nala]

If a someone gets sick and has to miss the meal, do they charge the $10 no-show fee for just the people that missed the meal? Or would the computer be automatically be applying it to the entire party?

As with everything else about the new policy, we currently have only conflicting information on this. So there really isn't any way to answer it yes or no accurately at this time.

 

[TheRealDrDisney]

1) If you are in line, then tell the podium you are there.
2) They have no way to know if you just stand around.
3) CHECK-IN AT PODIUM at/before ADR time, you are in good shape.

NOTE: I am glad they started the penalty. Too many people do not
have enough courtesy to be on time. Or cancel if they won't make it.
It seems money is the only way to reach some folks.

What an incredibly arrogant point of view. If I am in line at a reasonable time before my ADR (more on that in a second) then you don't have a right to bypass me to go straight to the podium. The problem lies with the process, not with the users. And this is from someone who is FOR the new credit card guarantees!

And not to confuse you with facts, but below is from the Disney website - something to ponder while you wait 30-45 minutes to check in at Ohana, knowing you are past your time and being charged even though you showed.

Are reservations available at Walt Disney World Resort restaurants?

Yes, reservations are available—and highly recommended—at many Walt Disney World Resort restaurants. You may make reservations online at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/, or by calling (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463. Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call. It is recommended that you arrive at restaurants 5 minutes prior to your seating time. You will be seated at the next available table that can accommodate your party.

 

[Snurk71]

I'm re-entering the fray...

Been using the dining plan with Disney transportation for years with ADR's for parties ranging from 3 to 9 people and never been late to an ADR. Have certainly waited more than 30 minutes at certain restaurants, O'hana and Le Cellier are usually running late. It is about time Disney has instituted a policy to make those that have no concern for others or make multiple ADR's for the same time with no intention of cancelling those that they chose not to attend pay a penalty. I'm all for this new policy! Bravo!

The intent of the new policy and OP's experience are far from related, so why beat the dead horse on mulitple booking? The OP showed up, just a few minutes late is all. It was a terrible system design to flag the ADRs to charge if someone's 1 minute late checking in - that's not the new policy. They should have coded the program to run the no-show and late cancellation fees in batch overnight.

If Disney never seated anyone late I might be ever slightly shifted to seeing the sanity in charging the no-show fee 1 minute after the ADR time.

Here's the thing. If people actually showed up when they were supposed to and were not late, or early and hoping to get a table early, they wouldn't be backed up.

The first thing that popped into my head was the Soup Nazi episode. Your comment reads as though you have your one minute window in which to check in, or you're out. That's not the kind of place I want to vacation or spend $100 on dinner.

 

[TDC Nala]

If Disney never seated anyone late I might be ever slightly shifted to seeing the sanity in charging the no-show fee 1 minute after the ADR time.

WDW did not intend to charge a no-show fee one minute after the ADR time, it's a computer error. As for how long it might take to fix the error and how many guests will be inconvenienced by being charged and having to have the charge removed before they do, we don't know that yet.

 

[Tink415]

Glad you caught it and good warning to others to double check their ressies

I personally hate this policy and will make very few if any adr's under this policy. Sorry, vacation is not about stressing about dining reservations

If you are in love with this policy, good for you , hope it all works out

If you are not, vote with your $$

be interesting to see how long this goes before changes come into play

Exactly! We just had a last minute long weekend at Disney World. For the 1st time since 1994 we didn't have any meal ressies. I refuse to pay a fee for someone getting sick on vacation and wanting to skip a meal, or for being late.
I'll wait until the policy is changed, and if its not, oh well, we'll live.

Oh, and it took us over an hour an a half to get to the MK gate from GF one of those days. The monorail was 'broken' (or shutdown for Beiber), the bus area was a hot mess, and the line for the boat was backed up unbelievably. Took 3 boats and a very long wait for us to get on a boat. The crowds were not happy..and there we no CMs around to let us know what was going on.

I also think so many people having a dining plan comes into play with this change. There must have been tons of angry people that couldn't get meals at the better places, or any place in a park, because they didn't plan far ahead and everything was 'booked' up, what with many people making multiple ressies so they had options.

Any anyone that has been going to Disney for years and never been late for a meal or had someone get sick during vacation is very very lucky. We've been to the Celebration ER 3 times and had more episodes of vomiting than I care to remember. And I have 2 healthy kids!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Wow...

Now I am really worried about making our reservations on Monday.

We are traveling with 15 people (6 adults and 9 children, ages 7 months-10). We have a group dinner planned at Chef Mickey's for all 15 of us. The kids/grandkids are all going to eat dinner at O'Hana while grandpa and grandma enjoy the luau. We only have 1 or 2 TS meals where we will be eating as individual families. Most of our meals will be two families dining together.

With this new policy, I am worried what will happen if any part of our party (i.e. our newest addition) gets fussy/sick and has to miss the meal. Not only am I worried about the fee, I'm worried about not being seated if our entire party isn't present. Because we are such a large group, we certainly cannot rely on any walk-up reservations. If a someone gets sick and has to miss the meal, do they charge the $10 no-show fee for just the people that missed the meal? Or would the computer be automatically be applying it to the entire party?

I totally agree with this policy, in spirit. It seems like a good idea to deter people from making random reservations and then skipping out with no notice. I know that one year, we had a breakfast ADR at WCC and my mother woke up with a terrible stomach bug. She insisted that the rest of the group go without her. These things can happen, especially with the amount of children the visit WDW, and Disney needs to be forgiving. I know, it would be very easy for someone to "fake" an illness excuse to get out of their ADR, but who cares? If a guest calls (in advance...1 hour or 24-hours) and says they are unable to make their meal because of illness, isn't it better to give the guest the benefit of the doubt rather than hit them with a no-show fee if they are legitimately ill? I certainly do not want people dragging themselves or their children to a meal when they are sick, just to avoid a no-show charge.

We are in the same boat. Maybe these feelings will be common among DVCers who bring extended family. We also have a big group going with us in 2012 and after reading through this and the other thread on the subject I've decided to play it safe and skip every place that requires a CC. I'm bummed about it though. We had planned 'Ohana for our arrival night. But now with the new policy I'm scared that someone will be late/sick etc and I'm going to get charged $140 for our party. So instead we are going to WCC. We've also decided to skip Chef Mickey's and Le Cellier. For 2013 we are only brining one extra person and our toddler will be over 3 so we'll take the chance at those locations. But then in 2014 we have another big group going with us. But maybe by then they'll have dropped the policy idk.

 

[Colleen27]

This is the point most of us are arguing. It has been stated that unless it is a documented illness the fee will not be waived. So if your little one wakes up with a tummy bug and needs to just rest and maybe no food for 24 hours, you will be charged. If you take him to Urgent Care, and have a note they will waive the fee. I dont know about you but I dont need a doctor's visit for every little thing, but I do know that rest instead of traipsing to a restaurant is most likely the thing.

And even that appears doubtful... One poster reported being told that if they'd booked under the new policy they would be charged even though they were waiting on transportation (likely arranged by the resort concierge) to CentraCare. Fortunately she'd booked before the CC guarantee went into effect, but that certainly makes it sound like even documented medical issues won't be reason enough for an exception.

 

[mom2ee]

I have several ADR that were made prior to the new policy. I am not planning on ditching them or even being late, but there are some things that are quite possibly out of my control. We don't have a CC attached to any of the signature/character dining experiences but they do appear on "my reservations" page. If I am late by 5 minutes, will they charge me?

 

[Snurk71]

WDW did not intend to charge a no-show fee one minute after the ADR time, it's a computer error. As for how long it might take to fix the error and how many guests will be inconvenienced by being charged and having to have the charge removed before they do, we don't know that yet.

To be fair, you don't know that WDW didn't intend to charge the no-show fee for being one minute late. Someone coded the program that way intentionally - computer programs only do as they're told. It would have been much easier to code/process all non-checked in ADRs in batch at the end of the day than what they're apparently doing now.

A cynic might think they intentionally coded this way to test for people that don't scan their CC statements that well, with a fallback plan to eat the charge when pressed. Reading OP's experience, Disney hasn't made the credit process that easy to maneuver.

 

[TDC Nala]

To be fair, you don't know that WDW didn't intend to charge the no-show fee for being one minute late.

Yes, we do, because the OP got their money back and was told that there should be a "grace period" for no-shows, but it wasn't working. What we don't know is how long it will take to fix it. You can be a cynic if you want, but if that's the way it was supposed to work and all of this is about a cash grab so they can get extra money from guests who are one minute late and also end up paying for the meal, then Disney would not have given the OP their money back.

Granted, it's going to be terribly inconvenient for guests to ask for their money back after they've been a minute late, and maybe some won't think to check their credit card statements, but there's no indication that it's intentional. I guess what youi're thinking is that Disney programmed it this way on purpose just because they know some people won't check, and then they get the extra $40 for being late plus the payment on the meal for four guests. I'm not ready to go there because I know Disney's generally pretty incompetent with the IT stuff and don't take simple things like this into account, but I will be if they don't fix it now that they've been alerted to it.

 

[kamik86]

Yes, we do, because the OP got their money back and was told that there should be a "grace period" for no-shows, but it wasn't working. What we don't know is how long it will take to fix it. You can be a cynic if you want, but if that's the way it was supposed to work and all of this is about a cash grab so they can get extra money from guests who are one minute late and also end up paying for the meal, then Disney would not have given the OP their money back.

Granted, it's going to be terribly inconvenient for guests to ask for their money back after they've been a minute late, and maybe some won't think to check their credit card statements, but there's no indication that it's intentional. I guess what youi're thinking is that Disney programmed it this way on purpose just because they know some people won't check, and then they get the extra $40 for being late plus the payment on the meal for four guests. I'm not ready to go there because I know Disney's generally pretty incompetent with the IT stuff and don't take simple things like this into account, but I will be if they don't fix it now that they've been alerted to it.

Honestly is sounds like that didn't do a good job defining the system. The above poster is right that you can't accidentally program the system to do something earlier then it should. However you can fail to point out to your programers that you need a grace period. You could just say "If they don't show up to a 5:00 reservation they should be charged a fee" So the programmers don't think to put in a grace period.

Still means some group of people are extremely incompetent at their jobs though.

 

[coopersmom]

Honestly is sounds like that didn't do a good job defining the system. The above poster is right that you can't accidentally program the system to do something earlier then it should. However you can fail to point out to your programers that you need a grace period. You could just say "If they don't show up to a 5:00 reservation they should be charged a fee" So the programmers don't think to put in a grace period.

Still means some group of people are extremely incompetent at their jobs though.

Based on recent reports here of charges showing up for those (moderately) late to their reservation, early to their reservation or even those that arrived one time but just weren't properly checked in ... This new policy is turning out pretty much like I expected based on my recent experiences with Disney efficiency, competence and customer service.

The worst is that many, MANY people will not go over their credit card charges line-by-line and lots of $30, $40 and $50 fees with the generic "WDW DINE" descriptor that are charged erroneously will go uncontested. With a system (apparently) set to issue an automatic charge within minutes of a reservation being "missed" (i.e. at 8:05 if you haven't been checked in for an 8:00 seating), it's hard NOT to cynically wonder if this wasn't the plan all along.

Just like how companies issue "rebates" instead of coupons, knowing that a certain percentage of consumers will never take the time and effort necessary to send it in, even if that's what encouraged them to buy. Here, many, even if they do notice, won't take the time and effort to get the charge refunded. When I was double-charged for valet one day it took me more than eight weeks, multiple phone calls and emails and three promises of "it will be done today" before the credit was ACTUALLY issued. Many people would have just given up long before that.

On the other hand, increased customer service costs--righting all those wronged charges and paying folks to do it--could wipe out any "profit" Disney makes. So, they're either incompetent or greedy, or just plain incompetent at being greedy.

 

[TDC Nala]

If Disney programmed their computers purposely to get guests to pay no-show fees for restaurants even if they do show up and purchase the meal, then I'm going to stop patronizing them. Which I hope they didn't and it's just their usual incompetence, since I just renewed my AP.

 

[YankeePrincess]

How can there be a 45 minute line JUST to check in? I have never seen that at O'hana. I mean all you do is give a name. Now the line to get in after you check in, that is long.

 

[Mkrop]

How can there be a 45 minute line JUST to check in? I have never seen that at O'hana. I mean all you do is give a name. Now the line to get in after you check in, that is long.

It took DH 20 minutes to check in at Mama Melrose on 12/5. When we got there it was a looooonnnnggg line, and then bc the place was running an hour late, they had to explain when to come back to everyone, people were complaining. Although they did would not check people in until the hour was up. This is not a cc place, so I am just using an example of it taking a long time to check in. Maybe if they didnt have to explain the delay over and over. But we were outside and he took forever!

 

[Anthony1971]

I have been to WDW over 20 times and can only recall once there was a situation out of my control on a bus and that was when a car in front of the bus had a probelm and the bus driver stopped to help. Not saying it never happens.. use a cell phone to call and explian.. ok then borrow one from someone near you they will understand and help you out....

 

[bookworm75]

How can there be a 45 minute line JUST to check in? I have never seen that at O'hana. I mean all you do is give a name. Now the line to get in after you check in, that is long.

We went to Ohana for the first time on our last trip, and I had no idea how it worked. We arrived 15 mins before our 5:00 ADR, only to find a line at the podium that stretched across the room and around the corner. I guess we were in the first "group" for the evening, and they didn't start taking check-ins until 5:00 (or some time close to that). I don't think we were able to reach the podium to check in until at least 5:15-5:20. I just remember being stressed about it because we were going to MVMCP after and it wasn't working out on the time schedule I had planned.

I only have the one experience with Ohana, but I assume that is how it always works and plan to arrive much earlier for our ADR in May since it is now guaranteed with my cc.

 

[bookwormde]

Most CC merchant agreements do not allow charges for missed reservations (except hotel rooms).

I suspect that anyone who is aware of this is likelly to get the charge refunded even if they were culpable.

I have avoided posting this since reducing double booking and intentionally not bothering to call when you are not going to keep a reservation is a problem, which needed to delt with somehow, but now that WDW IT had made another "mess" I figure I should mention it.