If no reservation can we wait for a table?

[disney1sttimer]

question, if we cant get a reservation for say chef mickeys, is it possible to just sit and wait until a table becomes available?

[simonwebb74]

It is possible, but you may have to wait quite a while.

When we were at Whispering Canyon last time, the people in front of us at the entrance were told it would be roughly a 1 hour wait.

You might get lucky and get a table quite quickly though.

[uscwest]

Not all of the restaurants will accept a walk up. For those that do however, just be prepared to wait a bit.

[Dawn]

People in front of us at 1900 Park Fare were turned away as walk ups as the restaurant was fully booked all evening. Best to book if you really want to eat at a particular place.

[Slowhand]

Yep thanks to those pesky dining plans, the days of walk in dining are sadly now over at the majority of the on site restaurants. :hopmad:

[foreverducky]

I attempted to walk up and wait for Mama's in DHS. They basically laughed at me and stated that they were completely booked.

[Slowhand]

I attempted to walk up and wait for Mama's in DHS. They basically laughed at me and stated that they were completely booked.
Yeah and it makes it far worse when you can see loads of empty tables.
I am told by the CM fraternity that many folks make ADR`s and then don`t bother to show up and more importantly they don`t cancel their ADR`s.
Although "on paper" some of the restaurants are "full" with ADR`s there have been occasions when only a handful of folks have turned up at the YSH for example and many of the serving staff had hardly any work to do.

[foreverducky]

I liked being able to walk up. Why should we 'have' to make an ADR?

[uscwest]

Yeah and it makes it far worse when you can see loads of empty tables.
I am told by the CM fraternity that many folks make ADR`s and then don`t bother to show up and more importantly they don`t cancel their ADR`s.
Although "on paper" some of the restaurants are "full" with ADR`s there have been occasions when only a handful of folks have turned up at the YSH for example and many of the serving staff had hardly any work to do.
And that Terry, is the very reason I think that more of the signature dining places should place a credit card hold. Maybe then a lot of those empty tables wouldn't go empty.

[catrancher]

And that Terry, is the very reason I think that more of the signature dining places should place a credit card hold. Maybe then a lot of those empty tables wouldn't go empty.

:yeahthat:

Except I'd extend it to everywhere. You either supply a Disney resort reservation number or a credit card number to guarantee your reservation.

Don't show? $20 charge. :toetap:

That'll stop a lot of that nonsense! :mad:

Tom (:macwave:... I wanna go back to walk up too!)

[gwennie81]

I think you have to think of the circumstances of no-shows.

#1. They're stuck on a ride.
#2. They're stuck in line for a ride.
#3. Maybe they forget they have the rez.
#4. An unruly or sick child forces them to leave the park.
#5. They realize they don't want to eat at the restaurant but don't know how to cancel (some people don't read instructions).

Of course these are some pretty lame excuses because all you have to do is go to Guest Relations and they'll do it for you but, I'm just saying there are extenuating circumstances.

Also, I like being able to make reservations on the computer. I prefer reservations to walk-ups. If I want to do walk-up dining, I'll do a quick-serve.

[BUTTERHEAD1]

I like the idea of a 20 dollar hold on all reservations. It really is frustrating that you have to make reservations so far in advance. Before the free dining I used to make our hotel reservations 2-3 months out and would be able to eat at almost all of my favorite restaurants, not any more.

[Slowhand]

I like the idea of a 20 dollar hold on all reservations. It really is frustrating that you have to make reservations so far in advance. Before the free dining I used to make our hotel reservations 2-3 months out and would be able to eat at almost all of my favorite restaurants, not any more.
I`m definitely with you on this one. :thumbsup:

[Slowhand]

If I want to do walk-up dining, I'll do a quick-serve.
That`s fine until something similar to what happened to us a couple of years ago at the GF may make you feel different.
As many already know, we are regular visitors at the GF and on our first night there on that trip, having had a very traumatic day due to personal reasons, we didn`t want to venture far from the resort and so decided to take a simple dinner at the GF cafe.
We were amazed to find that they were only accepting guests who had made a reservation, despite the fact that we were staying at the resort, and this of all places was among the few that I expected this action.
Fortunately we knew one of the CM`s on the podium who did manage to "squeeze us in" so all was fine in the end.

This raises another question. Why should folks who pay good money to stay at any particular resort have to make a reservation 6 months in advance in order to guarantee dining at any of the restaurants there? This seems crazy to me. :thumbsdown:

[Johnie]

I think there should be a credit card hold. It would certainly make people more responsible. You already get some leeway for being late to your reservation. It's just rude not to cancel.

[foreverducky]

I can't get on board with the excuses. While at WDW you can be kid, which is great and I love it, but that doesn't mean the adult responsibilities that we have should go out the window. And as Johnie said, it's just rude.

I'm totally up for the credit card hold.

[gwennie81]

What if you're on the DD plan? Aren't your meals already pre-paid? How would a cc hold work with that?

[Johnie]

Exactly the same way it works now with a cc hold for CRT, the dinner shows, etc. If you don't cancel (usually 48 hours prior), they charge your cc.