I've stopped making ADRs because of the credit card policy, anyone else?

[VikingInMouseEars]

sigh... if your ADR needs to be cancelled day of, instead of cancelling or no-showing... simply modify/reschedule for a later date... then cancel later if you need to. There is never a reason to pay a no show fee...

This!

 

[Crystal824]

I have no issue with the policy. The cc is only to hold the reservation. They don't charge you unless you don't show up. I've never had an issue calling even within the time period and cancelling an ADR with a legitimate excuse- ie my kid got sick once, and my mom got sick another time. They waived the fee.

 

[holden]

It doesn't bother me. Plenty of restaurants around here require a credit card to hold a dinner reservation.

 

[bluejasmine]

I guess we look at it differently I have heard ppl say they dont like being tied down on vacation but we enjoy the restaurants we enjoy getting out the heat and being able to sit and relax and eat take a little time away from attractions and lines and things.. Then again we also take daily swim breaks in the afternoon so for us vacation is more about relaxation, youd be surprised tho with the way we do the parks we still do all the attractions..OF course we stay atleast 7 to 9 days or more so that may help too

 

[Minnesota!]

We have the opposite problem - we are sometimes too early. I generally overestimate how long things take, be it FP returns, ride queues, bus commutes, walking, etc. So we typically show up early to our ADRs. I'd rather have time for something unforeseen like stopping for a bathroom break or stopping to buy something, and not be rushed. I'd say about 75-80% of the time, we wait less than 10 minutes to be seated at our ADR even when showing up early.

That is us, too. For everything in life. We end up at the airport 4 hours before our flights because we enjoy being early vs. on time, ha!

We typically do not make a ton of ADR's...fly by whatever sounds good that day. However, upcoming trip is a special one - celebrating a graduation and a birthday, and I know the celebrant has some favorites, so I wanted to ensure we could get there... so ADR's made for Boma, Cape May, and Biergarten..

 

[gharter]

i have no issue withe this policy at all. They don't charge my card or put a hold on it. Its simply there to charge in case I don't show up for my ADR. If this stops others from getting an ADR which they may no show for and opens it up for me, I'm all for it. I still have the option to cancel the day before and not get charged. We were at Sci Fi last week and the person in front of me was cancelling his ADR for 2 hours from then. They cancelled it and said he would not be charged since he told them. They figured that was enough time for someone else to get the ADR.
We have never had a problem with that policy since they started it. I had to call and cancel one ADR the day of because of flight issues. They even offered to move our ADR to a later time to try and help us.

 

[StageTek]

I must confess something—we always had trouble making ADRs on time. I’ve been to WDW with many different groups over the years, and no matter who I travel with, it’s always a hassle to arrive at a Disney restaurant at the designated ADR time.

So that is one big reason that I am not making many ADRs anymore. It’s too stressful to get there on time so that I don’t get whacked with a no-show fee.

Perfectly understandable. If you routinely can't get to your reservation then it makes sense to not make reservations.

We really look forward to our Disney World meals and more often than not actually arrive too early.

 

[GeorgeG]

We live an hour away so we don't book vacations like we used to. We do stay over a night or two just for convenience, though, and on our day trips we often like to have a nice meal. At least one other poster mentioned that better food is available without the credit card hold and we like the Swan and Dolphin for that. We do make ADRs for the eat to the beat series since there are a few decent restaurants left in Epcot. There are no slow periods left, but a party of two can sometimes manage a walk-in. I believe the credit card deposit came about because too many people were loading up on the favorite restaurants in every park, effectively blocking others from getting on the list. That seemed to work to some extent, but a lot of people will take the loss to get what they want. You just can't force folks to have proper manners. For the times we want a decent restaurant we still okay with the credit card since we do intend to make our reserved meals. I suppose it would be better for everyone if they made improvements to the food quality at the quick service restaurants.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not knocking the food and service at Disney - but I just don't feel a need to pay more for what I can have at home for less.

Sure, but you still gotta eat. If you’re happy with counter service or whatever table service is available that’s fine. If your family can wait, that’s fine. But for some that doesn’t work.

I have heard ppl say they dont like being tied down on vacation but we enjoy the restaurants we enjoy getting out the heat and being able to sit and relax and eat take a little time away from attractions and lines and things.

Same.

 

[AntJulie]

I've been accidentally dinged for being a no show once at Via Napoli even though we ate there. And I still think it's a great policy!

Us too at BOG. They reversed the charge after I called and they saw that we kept our reservation!

 

[DisneyHardin]

We have the opposite problem - we are sometimes too early. I generally overestimate how long things take, be it FP returns, ride queues, bus commutes, walking, etc. So we typically show up early to our ADRs. I'd rather have time for something unforeseen like stopping for a bathroom break or stopping to buy something, and not be rushed. I'd say about 75-80% of the time, we wait less than 10 minutes to be seated at our ADR even when showing up early.

This is us too!!! I grossly overestimate how long it is going to take to do anything at Disney and we end up being super early for everything.

 

[KrazeeK120]

This is us too!!! I grossly overestimate how long it is going to take to do anything at Disney and we end up being super early for everything.

Add me to that list...I’m often pleasantly surprised by the “extra” stuff we are able to do (a few more rides or a show or something) because I’ve grossly overestimated how long it will take us to get through our “must dos.”

 

[rwdavis2]

I don’t think this thread went the way you wanted.

No hassle for me either...

Really. The OP has not come back.

 

[KellyHonos]

OP, just curious, what about this policy bothers you? Are you wary to put your card number onto a reservation in the fear of fraudulent activity, or you just don't like the idea of having to pay a fee if you change your mind later than the allotted time to cancel? I saw a PP say to modify--what a GENIUS idea. I knew there was a reason I stuck around here

I myself don't mind the cc policy because I think it keeps guests accountable for their reservations as well as guarantees me and my family a spot in the restaurant. Really I never put any thought into it, so no, it doesn't bother me at all.

 

[JimmyBean42]

I wish more people were like OP and didn't book ADR's. Would be much easier for me to book those harder-to-get reservations!

 

[jodifla]

Really. The OP has not come back.

Here I am. I have been reading, just not responding.

 

[WDW_Ding]

It's not a hassle...I have no idea why anyone could be against this policy.

Before this policy, people would make several ADRs for every night of their trip. Then they would pick one and simply not show up to the others. That completely messed up the whole ADR system.

Of all of the WDW policies to get upset about, this is not the one!

 

[goodeats]

I like having set plans. I really hate the "where should we eat?" "where do you want to eat?" "no,where do *you* want to eat?" conversation.

I also feel that guest services would be pretty lenient about reversing the penalty charge depending on what caused the no-show. And really the penalty charge is very small in the grand scheme of a WDW vacation budget.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

This is one policy that doesn't bother me. I've had to reserve tables at home using a credit card as well and it's fine. Heck, at home we've gotten Open Table "you've missed your reservation" notifications while we were actually at the meal in question, so that system's not foolproof either.

 

[KSR0330]

I also think it's a good policy. I have no issue with it at all.