Penalty for not cancelling

[sydzach]

We have ADR's for our upcoming stay but wondered, if we for whatever reason decided we didn't want to our reservation day of, is there a penalty or fee?? Reason I ask, we are still trying to decide if we want to upgrade our tickets to park hoppers, as of now we just have a base ticket. If we upgrade, we might change parks and thus not make our sit down dinner. Having never been on the dining plan before, I don't want to pay for just not showing up. I have been told that if it is a dining meal that you have to pay extra for-like the castle meal or a fancier meal, yes you do get a penalty for just not showing up. Otherwise, if for some reason you don't show and can't cancel before your reservation, there is no penalty.

[Jen C.]

There are no monetary penalties, unless it is an establishment that charges a deposit.

However, there is a penalty to other diners, hoping for an opening, if you don't call and cancel. Especially during the times of year where free dining is offered as a pkg. deal, ressies can be quite hard to come by. Pretty please cancel as soon as you know it's a no-go.

[faline]

There are no penalties for no-shows except for those restaurants that tell you they have a cancellation policy (usually 48 hours in advance).

I agree with the other poster. As soon as you know you won't be keeping a reservation, please cancel. You can do this by calling Disney Dining from your resort or on your cell phone (I have the dining number programmed in my phone). You can also stop by the concierge desk at a resort or at Guest Relations at any park. You can even have the front desk of your newly picked restaurant cancel your unused reservation for you.

[sydzach]

Thanks, I will try to do that, even if just a few hours before we are scheduled to dine. We have never used the dining plan and are not used to stopping in the middle of day to go sit down and eat, needless to say it will be an adjustment. That being said, if you don't make a reservation, you have no shot.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

I'll 2nd everyone's comments. The polite Disney ettiquette would be to notify and cancel ADRs that won't be used.

I wish Disney did have some kind of penalty system, or require deposits on ADRs. For our trip at the end of this month I'm having great difficulty finding openings at most restaraunts that we are interested in. I would really like to know how many of these are filled with people intending to dine there or if these are "soft" reservations.

I myself am guilty of overbooking. Because we can't get what we want I am making as many lunch and dinner reservtations that I can, knowing that I will cancel at least one of them, maybe both if one of our prefered establishments opens up. It's not the way I'd prefer to do it, but the way the system is set up, it doesn't leave many of us that made our vacation package well within the 180 day dining window many choices.

I do plan on cancelling them as far in advance as I can, need to practice what I preach.

[SteveO]

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I myself am guilty of overbooking. Because we can't get what we want I am making as many lunch and dinner reservtations that I can, knowing that I will cancel at least one of them, maybe both if one of our prefered establishments opens up. It's not the way I'd prefer to do it, but the way the system is set up, it doesn't leave many of us that made our vacation package well within the 180 day dining window many choices.

I do plan on cancelling them as far in advance as I can, need to practice what I preach.

I think this is part of the problem. A lot of people do this; take something until something else more preferred shows up. The problem is someone else is just clamoring for that first ressie, and they can't get it because it's a soft reservation. I think if we all took what was available, then a lot of the lack of openings problems would go away. People here, and other fan sites, know how to work the system but that unfortunatly can mess up a lot of other people.

[WDWPrincess]

I agree with SteveO

[Gator]

After being able to get all the ressies I've wanted over the last three trips, I'm more inclined to take what I can get. I called a mere 110 days out and was still able to get most of what I wanted. The only thing I didn't get was dinner at Le Cellier...so I booked at the Garden Grill instead. I've never been there, so I'm looking forward to trying the food and seeing the characters. I thought about continuing to check back for Le Cellier, but what's the point. I may not get "the crown prince" of meals, but the meal I do get will still be free.

[MickeysEars]

I am sorry, but I book what ever I can. I hate that I have to do this but I would rather overbook and cancel later then have nothing. I really feel sorry about people who don't know how the system works. My sister-in-law thought I was CRAZY when I told her she had to know 6 months before her trip where she would what to eat that day. But she is glad she took my advice because when she tried to change a reservation 3 months before her trip there was nothing availible. I booked after the 180 day mark and had such a hard time getting anything I wanted. It is a shame