Need to add 1 more to ADR's!

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I know I've seen this question answered before, but since it didn't pertain to me, I didn't pay much attention. Now that we have the same problem, I hope someone can give us some advice.
We originally booked 7 people for ADR's at the following restaurants (& we need to increase each table by 1 adult since our 14 year old nephew will be joining us):

CRT BKFST
HDDR
Yachtsman Dinner
Narcoossee's Dinner
TH Bkfst
Le Cellier Dinner

1. I already know that it will be nearly impossible to reserve another bkfst at CRT, and we're travelling with 3 teenage boys - so, I'll just delete them, as they really don't care anyway. The rest of us will keep our ADR. Hopefully, they'll let us reduce our party size!
2. I'm hoping against hope to be able to increase our table size by 1 at HDDR (Cat II, 5:30 show on Apr 15). If that's not possible, what are the chances we'd be able to show up anyway? I will of course pay for the extra person - I'm just worried they won't have a table for us. I would even be willing to hold my 4 year old grand-daughter on my lap the entire time, if they'd just let us in!
3. We scheduled Narcooseesse's & Yachtsman's especially for our other 2 nephews who will be celebrating their birthdays - would hope they could accommodate us - tho we haven't had any luck increasing the # of people for the ADR's. Again, what would you advise as to arriving with an extra person?
4. TH bkfst is not all that important, but we'll keep trying.
5. I'm pretty sure LC will NOT be able to accommodate us, but I'll keep trying - especially on our 45 day mark - as I understand some people back out of their reservations then.

Do you have any advice or suggestions to offer us?

TIA!

Gretchen

 

[java]

Le cellier will probably split you all up. I am surprised that moving from 7 to 8 is such a big deal. I would assume you would need an 8 top table for the 7 anyway.
Good luck and I hope you get what you want.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks, I thought the same, Java...
We'll keep trying & hope for the best...

 

[angelmav]

The problem is, even if that 7 top accomodates 8, your holding that reservation, so the only way to free it up is to cancel/rebook, a risky proposition!

Best of luck, had a similar situation going from 7 to 8 on ADR's a couple of years ago, some we were able to rebook, some we couldnt get in at 8. I would keep checking online and if what you want comes available book/cancel.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks, Angelmav.
I agree - I'm not going to cancel and rebook!
Just wish I knew if there was the slightest chance they'd let us in anyway.
This is really wierd - I'd NEVER obsess over reservations anyplace else other than WDW!
Guess it's just cuz I spent so much time analyzing which park to go to on which day, which restaurants would be the best for us, etc - that I hate to give up any of our coveted ADR's!!!.
Sick, I know!
Thanks for posting your experience

 

[BigTex71]

You could call the ADR number and tell them what you are looking to do. Maybe they can modify the reservation for you without cancelling and rebooking it.

 

[iheartdolewhips]

Have you tried rebooking the reservations with 8 people? I bet you'd stand a chance at getting a new reservation for at least some of those. Also try calling the Disney dining line - they might be able to modify your reservations?

I definitely would NOT do what you're suggesting at CRT! It is a prepaid event and according to Disney "Pre-payment is required. A cancellation policy applies and may result in charges if you cancel with insufficient notice." Showing up with fewer people here may be like a cancellation without notice - you're most likely still going to be charged the dining credits or money for those two fewer people. Hoop-De-Doo is also a prepaid event. What if you get there and they can't accommodate your 8th guest? If you send your teenagers away again, you've got the same issue as at CRT. If you all walk away, you're going to lose all of that money or dining credits.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

You could call the ADR number and tell them what you are looking to do. Maybe they can modify the reservation for you without cancelling and rebooking it.

Yes, I actually did do that. We had a few other ADR's they were able to change (eg Kona Cafe bkfst, TH lunch, 50's Prime Time, etc.) Thanks for bringing that up - I should have mentioned that in my post.

Have you tried rebooking the reservations with 8 people? I bet you'd stand a chance at getting a new reservation for at least some of those. Also try calling the Disney dining line - they might be able to modify your reservations?

I definitely would NOT do what you're suggesting at CRT! It is a prepaid event and according to Disney "Pre-payment is required. A cancellation policy applies and may result in charges if you cancel with insufficient notice." Showing up with fewer people here may be like a cancellation without notice - you're most likely still going to be charged the dining credits or money for those two fewer people. Hoop-De-Doo is also a prepaid event. What if you get there and they can't accommodate your 8th guest? If you send your teenagers away again, you've got the same issue as at CRT. If you all walk away, you're going to lose all of that money or dining credits.

You're right about CRT - I'd definitely change the ADR to reflect fewer people within the 24 hour window if I couldn't add the extra person on. I guess I'll just have to keep trying every week - maybe more often as the time draws closer.

Thank you all for your answers!

Gretchen

 

[angelmav]

Well its not pre-paid if you had already booked the DDP before making the ADR's, so at this point there is some flexibility without penalty (assuming of course thats how these particular ADR's were booked). I would go easy with the dining line, they are notorious for cancelling ADR's when your looking for something else or to make a change. IMO the safest thing is to keep checking online, if your logged in it will tell you that your double booked but then you can immediately cancel what you dont need. If it never comes up then youll know that its not available, but by calling unless they have another table, even if your present table can accomodate 8, they have to cancel before they can rebook. Too many horror stories on here about that happeneing so I would avoid going that route with the dining line.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks for the excellent advice, Angelmav - I'll do just that & let you all know what happens.
This will teach me to pay more attention when I read about things that may pertain to me down the road...