[ADVISORY] Cancellation Policy at All Table-Service Restaurants Beginning 11/19/13

[The Hub]

To provide consistency across our operation, adjustments will be made to the cancellation policy beginning November 19. At that time, all table-service locations at Walt Disney World Resort (including Operating Participants) will begin using the cancellation policy already in place at select restaurants on property.

Beginning November 19, when booking a reservation at any table-service restaurant, Guests will be required to provide a credit card to hold the reservation. A charge of $10 per person will be applied if the cancellation isn’t made at least one day in advance.

 

[Planogirl]

OK, so this will go into effect now. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Networth]

Thank god. Now maybe people won't "horde" reservations and there will actually be reservations available for everybody.

 

[Minniekins]

Thank you for the heads up! And, just to be clear, does that in any way effect any dining ressies made before Nov 19? Thx again!

 

[The Hub]

Thank you for the heads up! And, just to be clear, does that in any way effect any dining ressies made before Nov 19? Thx again!

Any reservation made on November 18 or earlier will follow the cancellation policy that you agreed to. If you made a reservation that does not require a Credit Card Guarantee, you are free to not show up or not cancel and not be worried about getting charged on or after November 19.

 

[curemyreed]

@TheHub---Thanks for sharing with us what you can. I, for one, sure do appreciate it.

 

[Maleficent53]

Thank god. Now maybe people won't "horde" reservations and there will actually be reservations available for everybody.

Agree with you. One reason we preferred the counter service dining plan was the consistent inability to get decent times (if any at all) at a sit down place. I hate eating "dinner" at 3:00pm or at 830pm.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thank god. Now maybe people won't "horde" reservations and there will actually be reservations available for everybody.

The high-demand ADRs that people tend to hoard have required a CC hold for some time already (all signature dining and all character meals).

 

[baileybrad]

Seems fair to me. If you make a reservation to eat somewhere, you should show up. Curious how they will handle late arrivals. And there is the always the occasional....kid wakes up sick as a dog in the morning....it is too late to cancel then.

 

[minniebeth]

Thanks so much for the information! Just to understand the policy, what is considered 1 day for cancellation?

 

[freckles04]

And there is the always the occasional....kid wakes up sick as a dog in the morning....it is too late to cancel then.

Don't know if this helps, but I'm a big reader of trip reports, and in that scenario, it's always been reported (so far as I've read) that the restaurant is very understanding and waives the fee.

 

[jo-jo]

I made ADRs a few weeks ago, so only a few needed the CC. I asked the CM what happens if only 4 or 5 out of the party of 6 shows up. Would we still be charged the $10? She said yes. That's the first time I heard that rule. I thought if any in the party showed up, it waved the fee.

Anyone know which rule is valid?

 

[mom2rtk]

I made ADRs a few weeks ago, so only a few needed the CC. I asked the CM what happens if only 4 or 5 out of the party of 6 shows up. Would we still be charged the $10? She said yes. That's the first time I heard that rule. I thought if any in the party showed up, it waved the fee.

Anyone know which rule is valid?

I've seen lots of reports of people showing up missing 1 or 2 out of their party and not being charged. I haven't seen a single report of someone being charged as long as part of their party shows up.

 

[Colleen27]

Seems fair to me. If you make a reservation to eat somewhere, you should show up. Curious how they will handle late arrivals. And there is the always the occasional....kid wakes up sick as a dog in the morning....it is too late to cancel then.

At the restaurants where this is in place already a sick kid or other issues that effect a single party tend to get an exception. Large-scale events that effect many people, like foul weather, don't. It is up to CM discretion so there's a bit of the usual "cast member roulette" factor involved as well.

I'm not pleased because we have had a negative experience with the existing policy - checking in at a restaurant that was running over an hour behind, so backed up that it took 15-20min in line just to get to the check-in desk, only to be be told that if we left we'd be penalized - but at this point at least they are making limited exceptions in certain circumstances. Of course, if/how long that continues remains to be seen - abuse of the sick kid "loophole" could mean we end up with "no exceptions" rules eventually.

 

[Colleen27]

I've seen lots of reports of people showing up missing 1 or 2 out of their party and not being charged. I haven't seen a single report of someone being charged as long as part of their party shows up.

Same here. I'd take that one as the usual CM confusion/misinformation. Call center CMs are notoriously unreliable - in fact, one told me yesterday that I could do something that is clearly impossible (buy MVMCP tickets online using Disney gift cards).

With the current reservations system and it's aversion to odd-numbered parties, I think Disney would have a problem on their hands if they started imposing the fee for partial parties. Families of 3 or 5 and solo travelers would be paying that fee all over the place or eating far fewer TS meals because the system will often turn up no availability for those groups but plenty for tables for 2, 4, or 6.

 

[Missyrose]

Thank god. Now maybe people won't "horde" reservations and there will actually be reservations available for everybody.

The rule has already been in practice for a year for the high demand restaurants and there hasn't been a remarkable shift in availability. You're just adding less in-demand restaurants to the rule now, but many of them you could get on short notice anyway.

Thanks so much for the information! Just to understand the policy, what is considered 1 day for cancellation?

You have to cancel by 11:59 p.m. the day before your ADR. So if you wanted to cancel a Via Napoli dinner for Monday evening, you'd have to cancel by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night.

I made ADRs a few weeks ago, so only a few needed the CC. I asked the CM what happens if only 4 or 5 out of the party of 6 shows up. Would we still be charged the $10? She said yes. That's the first time I heard that rule. I thought if any in the party showed up, it waved the fee.

Anyone know which rule is valid?

They do not charge for missing people. If you have an ADR for 6 and only 2 show up, you will not be charged the no-show fee.

 

[AmyB2006]

@TheHub---Thanks for sharing with us what you can. I, for one, sure do appreciate it.

Absolutely!!! Thank you!!

 

[Fire14]

I made ADRs a few weeks ago, so only a few needed the CC. I asked the CM what happens if only 4 or 5 out of the party of 6 shows up. Would we still be charged the $10? She said yes. That's the first time I heard that rule. I thought if any in the party showed up, it waved the fee.

Anyone know which rule is valid?

I had this happen to me and we were never charged for missing person, we just told them at check in podium our party had decreased in size. In our case it made no difference in table as we went from 4 down to 3.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Thank god. Now maybe people won't "horde" reservations and there will actually be reservations available for everybody.

I agree!

Its a shame that some folks took advantage of the system and made this necessary!

AKK

 

[rebbyparker]

90% of my ADR's were CC guarantee anyways, so it doesn't change anything for me. I think it's a pretty fair policy.

And darn it, I missed the Hub.