Reservation question

[SuJo]

My family and I are headed to WDW in a week and when I started planning our vacation it was only going to be 4 of us. Well my DD (who is studying for her nursing boards) has decided that she wants to join us which throws a big wrench in all of my planning especially dinners. I started to try and convert my 4 person meals to 5 person meals, some I have gotten to work and some I haven't. My daughter has now decided that she will join us late on Sunday so one of the meals I switched to a 5 now needs to go back to 4. So I have two questions for this group:

1) For the 5 that needs to go back to 4, I can't find any 4s so do we show up with 5 and just tell them 4? Its at Le Cellier.
2) For the 4 person reservations that I can't get to 5 (and I am really trying) do I show up at the reservation time and see if they can fit 5? We have a Cinderella Castle dinner that I haven't been able to switch and since that is payed for in advance I am worried I will have to pay for 4 people and we either have someone not eat or none of us go?

Are there any other options? I tried calling WDW to see what they said and they said it is easier to go from 5 to 4 but difficult to go from 4 to 5 but couldn't confirm what would happen if we showed up with 5 to our reservation.

I will continue to look for 5 person reservations until the day before hoping that something opens up but wanted to see what others had experienced. I am using the Reservation Finder app on Touring Plans.com so hoping that works out.

Thanks,
Susan

 

[cincystamper]

For #1, you can definitely show up with fewer people, so no worries there.

For #2, I'd suggest maybe trying to look for a reservation for 6 instead of 5. Disney's dining system doesn't really like odd numbers for some reason so it's often easier to find reservations for even numbers. For CRT specifically, I know that would be a pain because it would involve paying in advance for 6 and getting refunded for the 1 that "didn't show up" when you check in. In THAT case, could you possible look for an ADR for 1 around your same time and when you check in, let them know that you're actually together? (I think you need another MDE account for that since you can't book two ADRs for the same time frame...)

Good luck!

 

[JMommyof3]

Increasing from 4-5 throws a wrench due to the seating. A group of 4 can sit at a 4 or 6 top but a group of 5 can only be in table for 5+ and there may not be room to accommodate a 5th person at the table for your party of 4. It also puts staff in a very difficult spot to try to move your party into a bigger table that had been reserved by another guest. Just keep checking for those openings as many people cancel close to the date.

 

[starousse]

Showing up w less is definitely not a problem. Adding someone shouldn't be a problem..you will probably have to wait longer for a table. We have friends and family who live in Fl who sometimes will join us in the park. We have never had any issue adding them to our party.

 

[gharter]

As mentioned about:
1. Showing up with less is not a problem.
2. Showing up with more, they may or may let you increase your party size.. Keep checking for a reservation for 5 or 6. Try reservation finder at touringplans or call the restaurant direct if you can.
Closer to the date, you may have more luck as well.

 

[siren0119]

Speaking as a wife of a career restaurant worker and someone who's worked FOH for more years than I'd like to admit, showing up with less is NEVER a problem. Showing up with more than the people on your reservation can pose lots of logistical issues, depending on the restaurant, the flow of guests, and the planned reservations for the night. Going from 4 to 5 people means you can't sit at a standard 4-top anymore, so either two tables need to be pushed together (taking 2-3 seats out of commission unexpectedly) or you need to be put at a larger table that may already be booked for a party that reserved 6+ ahead of time.

Set up a reservation finder on Touring Plans and Mouse Dining, you may need to be flexible with the time of your meal but those services can alert you when something comes up. You have up to 48 hours before your reservation to cancel with a full refund, so if you can't get a reservation for 5 or 6 you know the window in which you won't lose money and can make other plans.

 

[Heather07438]

We've shown up to a few ADRs with a last minute extra guest and never had an issue. Not at CRT but we have done it at BoG. We showed up 15 minutes before the ADR and let them know we don't mind waiting longer if need be. Another time we stopped by the podium earlier in the day and they were able to change our reservation. Our experience were changes from 2 to 3ppl and 3 to 4ppl. I'd imagine the bigger the restaurant is, the easier it is for them to accommodate you.

 

[siren0119]

We've shown up to a few ADRs with a last minute extra guest and never had an issue. Not at CRT but we have done it at BoG. We showed up 15 minutes before the ADR and let them know we don't mind waiting longer if need be. Another time we stopped by the podium earlier in the day and they were able to change our reservation. Our experience were changes from 2 to 3ppl and 3 to 4ppl. I'd imagine the bigger the restaurant is, the easier it is for them to accommodate you.

It's different going from 4 to 5 vs 3 to 4 though. If you reserve 3 and show up with 4, you'd be seated at the same table regardless. And if the restaurant has few or no 2-seater tables ,then even your party of 2 would have been sat at the same table whether it was 2,3 or 4 people. Going from 4 people to 5 requires a totally different table, which is where it gets sticky.

 

[Heather07438]

Speaking as a wife of a career restaurant worker and someone who's worked FOH for more years than I'd like to admit, showing up with less is NEVER a problem. Showing up with more than the people on your reservation can pose lots of logistical issues, depending on the restaurant, the flow of guests, and the planned reservations for the night. Going from 4 to 5 people means you can't sit at a standard 4-top anymore, so either two tables need to be pushed together (taking 2-3 seats out of commission unexpectedly) or you need to be put at a larger table that may already be booked for a party that reserved 6+ ahead of time.

Set up a reservation finder on Touring Plans and Mouse Dining, you may need to be flexible with the time of your meal but those services can alert you when something comes up. You have up to 48 hours before your reservation to cancel with a full refund, so if you can't get a reservation for 5 or 6 you know the window in which you won't lose money and can make other plans.

That is true and good advice but I think it's works a little different at WDW. Their reservation system isn't set up like most restaurants. Normal ADRs don't hold tables, the system is intentionally left very flexible. Their capacity is much larger than average. Most restaurants generally have 2 main seatings each for lunch and dinner where WDW is running the whole time through. It's a different beast, lol.

CRT and other ADRs that need to be paid in advance are closer to the rest of the industry. Those will be more of a problem on the house and likely why advance payment is used.

 

[Heather07438]

It's different going from 4 to 5 vs 3 to 4 though. If you reserve 3 and show up with 4, you'd be seated at the same table regardless. And if the restaurant has few or no 2-seater tables ,then even your party of 2 would have been sat at the same table whether it was 2,3 or 4 people. Going from 4 people to 5 requires a totally different table, which is where it gets sticky.

Absolutely. It's different there though. They're not holding tables, they fit them as they come. It's a dynamic system where they expect a certain number of guests and fit them as they come because there is such large capacity and the constant need to adjust. That system absorbs fluxuations and the dining rooms are very versatile to change table sizes on the fly. Cheesecake Factory has this kind of efficient seating as well, where party sizes can be accommodated in a range of ways on demand.

 

[maxiesmom]

Disney won't turn away an extra guest if they can help it. But showing up with an extra not on the reservation should be the last thing you try. There is always a chance they will be turned away.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think CRT is going to be a somewhat unique issue. It is a very small restaurant and there are only so many tables that can fit 6. And more importantly, I've noticed they tend to have seating rotations rather than continuously having guests leave and come. When arrive early and linger late, so have observed this several times. At the start, the dining room is empty or close to empty and then fills up over about 15-20 minutes, then the princesses come out while the food is served, then the dining room empties out, and then they repeat that cycle with another batch of guests. I think they do this because if the dining was more continuous seating, people might miss certain princesses or the wishing star. So it is not the case at CRT that you could just wait for a table of 5 to open up like you could at another restaurant.

Why not switch to another princess meal with more flexibility and more last-minute ADRs? I've found that if you check regularly in the days before a trip, there is usually something at 1900 Park Fare, sometimes Akershus, or the breakfast at trattoria.