Will I be allowed to my dining reservation if park is at capacity?

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Do you have a link to where this is reference on the Disney site?

Besides that Cheshire Figment is actually a Disney CM, you can find the phases of park closings all over the various Disney sites - All Ears, mouseplanet, orlandounited, wdwmagic, etc. Disney's site is not so easy to search, so if you find it there, I'd love to read what they say about it. I'm sure there is plenty of internal documentation. Consensus is that no one is getting in during a phase 4 closure, in case you don't believe what is posted here.

You may very well get your credit card company to agree that you shouldn't be charged - it still won't get you into your meal.

If you actually read the back of your ticket, it states "Parks, attractions or entertainment may change operating hours; close due to refurbishing, capacity, weather or special events; and may otherwise change or be discontinued without notice and without liability to the owners of the Walt Disney World Resort." Just having a ticket in your hand doesn't mean they have to let you in, just as if they closed due to a hurricane or other event.

 

[fla4fun]

EPCOT almost never reaches capacity. In fact...I don't recall that they ever have. Their "streets" are so wide and the park area is so big that it's nearly impossible. I was there on NYE 2005-2006 and at one point there were 80,000+ people in the park, but they never closed the gates. Of course...it was miserably crowded, haha.

Epcot has reached capacity before - usually during the week between Christmas and New Year's. I remember a few years back, three of the four parks were closed due to capacity at the same time (I think AK was the only one still open - which seemed odd to me) and one of them was definitely Epcot.

I would not want to be there when it's at capacity!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Do you have a link to where this is reference on the Disney site?

I cannot give you a link. If I did, when you clicked on it you would get a screen which asks for your User ID and Password as my source is the official Disney Internal Cast site. But StitchandPooh'sMom has it right.

And over this past winter I have been working the gates at DHS. Next week I go back to Typhoon Lagoon where I work in Guest Services and Tickets. I think I know what I am talking about.

 

[disneysnob]

That said, we have been for the 4th before (10 years ago though), and always end up going in July when we do go, so we are used to the crowds. As you DISers know already, it is very doable with some planning!

This will be our 5th visit during 4th of July..We love to go as soon as the kids get out of school for the summer. Yes it's hot, yes it's crowded, but it's Disney!!! I believe only once MK closed for capacity, and we had gone early, left for the afternoon, but we were able to return later in the evening. Also, remember, they do the same '4th of July' fireworks on the 3rd, too! They are AWESOME!!!! Looking forward to seeing them again!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I think I know what I am talking about.

No doubt!

 

[DebbieB]

If you can't get in, I would call Disney Dining to cancel the reservation and explain the reason. That way they are not holding a table for you and you have a better case for a refund.

 

[MissionMouse]

I cannot give you a link. If I did, when you clicked on it you would get a screen which asks for your User ID and Password as my source is the official Disney Internal Cast site. ... I think I know what I am talking about.

Please do not get defensive, I did not doubt what you are saying, since I am also aware that Disney closes due to crowds. Not sure of the frequency in the past, but I personally read the initial valid theme park admission on the confirmation to simply mean -park ticket required. We always go to CRT breakfast, so this is a non-issue for us. We also enjoyed the on-line ADR booking this year but found the wording at the time of a financial transaction for future CRT service to be lacking. Maybe because Disney wants to keep things on the positive side, since as some others have noted, who also live in the Orlando area, that closure is a rare event normally experience around a few holiday seasons.

 

[TDC Nala]

It DOES mention capacity on the back of your admission ticket. My annual pass has that language on it, exactly as was previously quoted. I think the previous poster is looking for the fact that a capacity closure (a rare event, and one that will result in monetary loss only if you booked CRT or a restaurant with a no-show fee) will bar you from your reservation inside a park to be mentioned on a restaurant reservation confirmation, not just on the theme park ticket. You need park admission to get into the restaurant, and park admission is never guaranteed in a capacity closing, so Disney's covered the legal bases by putting the disclaimer on the park ticket.

"Nobody told me when I booked this restaurant that if the park was at capacity I couldn't get in" might be true, but you WERE told you would need park admission, and your park ticket sets out the conditions under which its validity for park admission might be changed.

Whether that would assist anyone in contesting a CRT prepayment with a credit card company when they didn't anticipate a capacity park closing is going to depend on how the credit card company sees it.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Please do not get defensive, I did not doubt what you are saying, since I am also aware that Disney closes due to crowds. Not sure of the frequency in the past, but I personally read the initial valid theme park admission on the confirmation to simply mean -park ticket required. We always go to CRT breakfast, so this is a non-issue for us. We also enjoyed the on-line ADR booking this year but found the wording at the time of a financial transaction for future CRT service to be lacking. Maybe because Disney wants to keep things on the positive side, since as some others have noted, who also live in the Orlando area, that closure is a rare event normally experience around a few holiday seasons.

Hi Mission!

I think that you pose a very interesting question. Just FYI.... I ran into a problem of a different nature in January around park admission and Cheshire was ON THE MONEY with advice. I was very upset with how I interpreted the rules, but unfortunately, it's not my interpretation that counts . I know I know, it should always be my interpretation, but it's not. Without coming across as "taking sides", please don't necessarily take Cheshire's answer as defensive. Cheshire gave me some amazing advice in January and really did save my sanity for the last 2 days of my trip. I didn't necessarily like the advice, but it did help.

Either way, I really hope you have a great 4th!!

 

[NEV2OLD4DIS]

I can understand why they could not make exceptions for those with restaurant reservations to enter a closed park. Okay, so the 4th maybe we better not plan on going back for an afternoon swim and just stay at the parks. I think the schedule says that MK has emh that evening, and I'm guessing that due to the holiday, it will stay crowded later. I think seeing the fireworks on the 3rd is a good idea since the fireworks are the same, as another MA poster said.

Also, without knowing at the moment if a dinner package is still available for Fantasmic on the 4th, I'm thinking that we would have to line up for the show extra early? Not sure if I could handle larger than normal summer crowds here.

Epcot would probably be easiet to spend the whole day in. It would be the best place to escape the heat with all the countries to browse at, and the many beverages (especially those frozen kind in the stand all the way across the lake) to cool us down. I think of one of the other threads where someone mentioned falling asleep during a movie in one of the countries! That will be me about 3:00. Knowing that we should expect to stay in the park for the day if we want to see any firework extras that night, I'll have to pick a good TS for a break too! Okay, back to the boards for Epcot dining suggestions. Biergarten looks fun, but I'm not if we would all enjoy the food. It is one that still has openings though. Suggestions?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Capacity closure is pretty rare, it's usually only Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, the 4th of July, maybe around Easter that one has to really think about it. MK is usually the only park affected.

And October 18 - either 2003 or 1997. Don't ask me why, or why I remember.

 

[kaytieeldr]

requires valid theme park admission

When a Park is at Stage 4 Closing there is no valid admission to that park

but I personally read the initial valid theme park admission on the confirmation to simply mean -park ticket required

Nope. That would be valid theme park admission media. There's a difference. Theme park admission is the actual action of allowing a Guest entry into the park. Theme park admission media is the ticket itself.