Cancelation fee to be charged for certain dining reservations at Walt Disney World

A fee of $10 per person will be charged to guests who reserve a table at specific Walt Disney World restaurants and do not show up, or cancel their reservation a day ahead of time. Disney says this is being done because many guests were making reservations at different restaurants for the same time, causing reservations to unnecessarily fill-up.

Starting tomorrow, Oct. 26, 2011, anyone who makes a new reservation at most sit-down restaurants on Disney property will be asked for a credit card number to secure their spot. If the guest does not show up at the guaranteed time for their meal, they will be charged a $10 cancelation fee per person on the reservation. Diners have the opportunity to cancel any reservation up to 24 hours in advance to avoid the fee.

The $10 cancelation fee will apply to the following dining locations within Walt Disney World:
• 1900 Park Fare
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Artist Point
• California Grill
• Cape May Café
• Chef Mickey’s
• Cítricos
• The Crystal Palace
• Flying Fish Café
• The Garden Grill
• Hollywood & Vine
• Jiko – The Cooking Place
• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Narcoossee’s
• ‘Ohana
• Tusker House Restaurant
• The Hollywood Brown Derby
• Yachtsman Steakhouse
• Victoria & Albert’s ($25 per person)

Dining locations that require guests to pre-pay for their reservation will continue their policy of no refunds if the reservation is not canceled 24 hours in advance.

Pre-Paid locations include:
• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
• Mickey’s Backyard BBQ

Walt Disney World is adding a new phone number designed for guests wanting to cancel dining reservations, the number is 407-WDW-CNCL. In addition to calling the cancelation line, diners can stop by any table-service restaurant, call 407-WDW-DINE or ask any Disney Resort front desk, guest service or concierge staff for assistance. Reservations can also be canceled by going online at DisneyWorld.com/Dining.

Dining reservations for any Walt Disney World Resort location can still be made 180 days ahead of time.

MouseFanTravel

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One Comment

  1. This is just a horrible policy. I am a FL local so I go often. Belong the vacation club so I go 2-3 times a year. I understand they want to stop people from making a ton of reservations than not showing – but this is not the way. Its taking the fun out of a trip – you have to plan and have a schedule – jeez thats what I do for a living – thats not a vacation. I know its extreme but wait till a really PO’ed lawyer misses a reservation with a large family and gets hit with 60-70 dollars in charges but he misses the reservation because disney transport takes way to long. Now the family is upset and this “ruined” their vacation they spent 5-7k on. Now quantify in the “emotional distress” and he has a frivilous lawsuit but non the less its just another opening for them.

    The other thing Disney really didnt take into account for is the lose in revenue this can have. I am young and love to hit Ragland road and the night life. My next trip is in a few weeks and I was going to book a breakfast reservation – well I was told whispering canyon in my hotel had the same policy now as well – so here are the 2 end results:
    1 – I make the reservation and then plan to not stay late and drink (huge profit margin item) and eat breakfast
    2 – I dont make the reservation do what I want but since I dont have a reservation now I just grab something quick or well I am vacation club so my room has a kitchen I wont even spend money.

    Either 2 scenarios Diney loses potential revenue. When people plan they spend less Disney – hello….. If I was able to stay out then wake up walk up and get a table for breakfast revenue is now higher. The less people plan the more they end up spending. By forcing them to plan you also stop those hey lets grab something quick because we are not going to make the 5pm dinner and will have to wait till 8 or so situations. Its a bad policy for consumers and even worse for Disney. By trying to solve a problem they are impacting revenue and making customers unhappy – worst possible combo