Percentage of Tables Held for Reservations?

[Alex336]

Hi all. I was debating this with someone, and we realized we had no idea.

Does anyone know about what percentage of tables are typically held for advanced dining reservations vs. walk-ins? I'm sure it may depend a bit based on the restaurant, too. Would love to hear any data folks might have!

 

[OKW Lover]

I've never seen any info like that. I'd be surprised if it was uniform across the property though. It would seem to me that any policy would be better based on actual dining patterns at the individual restaurant.

 

[SteveH]

Never seen any actual data either, and can't see any reason for Disney to publish it even if it was available. Any restaurant that can operate near 100% capacity is going to be more profitable then one relying on drop-in customers. For that reason I would suspect that very few are held back, maybe 3-5%. Why would they accommodate walk-ins over people that will make a reservation with a threat of a charge for a no-show? Plus, now they are holding some back for Disney resort guests, that makes it complex enough.

 

[Marthasor]

I have no clue. I will say, however, that I find many "hard-to-get" restaurants have a lot of walk-up availability since that function was introduced - I see 'Ohana and Chef Mickey's on the walk-up list frequently. I also had zero issue getting into Beaches and Cream as a walk-up in November.

 

[sponica]

Since ADRs are a function of staffing, I wouldn't be surprised if they err on the side of fewer ADRs and then add in walk ups day of when the staffing is more firmly set.

 

[HopperFan]

Hi all. I was debating this with someone, and we realized we had no idea.

Does anyone know about what percentage of tables are typically held for advanced dining reservations vs. walk-ins? I'm sure it may depend a bit based on the restaurant, too. Would love to hear any data folks might have!

I think they have only acknowledged they are holding back some for resort guests at resort restaurants. I highly doubt they are holding anything back for walk in at the park. Those openings likely occur with the night before and day of cancellations, or as day evolves if they are ahead of schedule adding times. It may even be determined based on staffing that day. If there is anything held back as a standard I imagine it is a very small percentage. I mean why hold back if you can book in advance?

 

[supersnoop]

How do you calculate "tables" in the question? Disney is making a guess based on typical table turnover and kitchen prep capacity. I doubt they hold anything back, at least not intentionally, but they allow some flexibility in their calculations which frees up some capacity as people eat more quickly or order less food.