Reservations and babies?

[coast2coastmickey]

I'd book for every single body. That's what we do, even though we're 2 adults and 1 toddler who is 1.5 years old. We've done this since she was 3 months old when we took her on her first trip.

Even at that age, it was nice knowing we would be seated appropriately and not chancing something where they only have a 2 top for us.

 

[marchingstar]

this thread is ridiculous. the official rule is you have to account for every body, regardless of how small.

just because some people have gotten away with breaking the rule doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. why keep discussing this?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I am not including a child who is either in a stroller, in a high chair, or on a lap on any dining reservation I make. It's hard enough to get a TS reservation on the date and time you need, for the people actually eating and sitting at the table. Why would I say I need a table for six, if one of the children/babies isn't even sitting at the table? Sorry, not going to do it.

Where does the high chair go? It takes up a spot at the table, and it is a chair. Just because the toddler's food isn't literally on the table does not exempt them from being a person at the table.

You would say you need a table for six because you are a party of six.

 

[rdaky]

They won’t. And if that is what’s best for that family. Then that’s thier business. Not ours.
That’s my point. Folks can plan and do things that’s works out best for them. It may not you. But that’s ok. Look I book tons of ADRs. We will only use maybe one. But we cancel so no penalty. We do that so we have flexibility. And of course some folks think that is bad. There is no exact way people should book. It’s what is best for a family.

So what I have learned about you in this one thread is that 1) you sneak 3 year olds into WDW without paying 2)you don't place them on the reservation so that you can get the reservations that you want 3) you hoard ADRs that you don't even want, which prevents others from booking theirs

But apparently it's ok because that's how you choose to do Disney??

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That's really quite surprising that you've witnessed that more than once, or even once, as over the many many years of visiting WDW, and the very numerous trips we've taken, there have been several occasions where we've had an unexpected guest come with us to our table service reservation, and we've always been accommodated for the extra person, and not turned away. Guess we've been supremely lucky.

I have also seen this on a number of trips esp during the busy seasons and more than once it was a young baby that parents felt they didn't count as the child was not eating

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We just returned two weeks ago, and had a 3 month old with us. He wasn't noted on any of our table service reservations, and not one restaurant cast member had a comment about it. I would not include any child that wasn't being charged for a meal on the reservation.

when we were on our last trip had a few families ask why we were being seated and they had to wait for a table if our 4 month old' should have seen them when told because we had counted her on the Ressie. most times they were ahead of us checking in but because they had not counted the baby they were still waiting and we were seated and ordering before they were finally seated. I remember one family saying they had been waiting for 40 minutes pass their time and we had just walked up for our time and we were seated right away

 

[Keeblerelf928]

I think Disney will accommodate you if they can, but as many others have said, YMMV. For our first trip with our daughter who was 2 at the time, I messed up the first two reservations not realizing she had to be included (they were buffets) and had her on all the rest of our dining reservations because I realized my mistake. The one I was able to fix, the other I couldn't and the one I couldn't was the Akershus PPO one. I was pretty devastated because it was an honest mistake. I went to the concierge desk at our hotel, and they were able to add her on so we were a party of 3. So if you do mess up, they may be able to help you, otherwise I would keep trying to rebook with the proper number. I did find that sometimes I could book a party of 4 but not a party of 3 which I thought was a bit strange.

 

[maxiesmom]

I am not including a child who is either in a stroller, in a high chair, or on a lap on any dining reservation I make. It's hard enough to get a TS reservation on the date and time you need, for the people actually eating and sitting at the table. Why would I say I need a table for six, if one of the children/babies isn't even sitting at the table? Sorry, not going to do it.

I have a question: What will you do if they turn you away because you have too many guests? Do you realize they could still penalize you and charge you the no show fee if you cannot use the table they have set for you because you under-counted?

I'm also a bit confused by saying one of the children won't be at the table? Where the heck are they going to be?

 

[bumbershoot]

when they were say 3 and under..and didn't even have a ticket for the parks

Eep!

No one is going to get turned away because they didn't add a 1 year old child to a ressie.

And. Yet. They. Have.

Why would I say I need a table for six, if one of the children/babies isn't even sitting at the table?

Highchairs and laps and strollers are at the table.

Not sure where you get the rule breaking comment.

The 3 year old without a ticket.


My son got his first AP at 3. He was so happy.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Just put the kid on the reservation. You won’t be charged for him/her.

The end.

 

[starry_solo]

Not that the Disney Parks Moms panel is always correct, but here you go, straight from Disney:

https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...ider-baby-year-old-dinner-reservation-342768/

"Do I have to consider a baby (1 year old) in a dinner reservation?”

Hi Karla!

Making sure you have your dining reservations in hand for your Walt Disney World vacation is an important part of the planning process.

Every person in your family group must be included in the reservation number. Children under three will not be charged for dining but they must be included. Restaurants need this so they are able to set tables that will best be comfortable and safe for you and the dining room servers. Most of the table service restaurants will not allow strollers as they take up too much room in the aisles. But they will have high chairs and infant carrier seats available for the guests.

Your one year old will need to be included in the reservation number. If it is a dinner show they will see the age and know that there is no charge for the infant. If you have not included the child then its best to not try to alter your reservation on your own. You can call the Central Dining Reservation number and have them change it or you can always stop by the restaurant entry kiosk desk and alert them you have an infant that you were not aware you had to include in the reservation number. You might have to wait a few extra minutes while they set up a new table but they will accommodate you.

Also another one, asked several months later:
https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...servation-booking-table-service-meals-351162/

“Does a child under 3 require a reservation when booking table service meals?”

Hi Shelby!

This is a very common question that we receive concerning dining with young children. Since children under the age of three do not require park tickets and also don't need a Fastpass many guests think that they also don't need to include them in dining reservations.

Every member of your party does indeed need to be included as the restaurant will need to know exactly how large of a table to reserve for you. Even infants will need a space and they understand that they won't be eating or eating something small but they do need to make the space available for the high chair or booster.

So the answer is YES, please include anyone under the age of three when making a Dining Reservation so you will be seated promptly at a table that can accommodate your group. Enjoy some of the great restaurants in the parks and the resorts during your vacation!

 

[DisneyCAL]

Wow never expected one question to create a debate. My SIL joined us on our next trip in August and has two under two. She actually had to create a fake birthday in order to book as one her two under twos isn’t even born yet. She was told directly by restaurant reservations that all persons on MDE account who will be in the restaurant needs to be accounted for on the reservation regardless of age but for big groups you can split it up and book within 15 minutes and they will put you together. I’m sure it has worked out for some not to account for under 3 but this booking wasn’t one we wanted to make a mistake with so we played by the rules on this one. We will probably have to wait a little for large group accommodation though which is fine.

 

[kaytieeldr]

but for big groups you can split it up and book within 15 minutes and they will put you together.

They will do their absolute best, but sometimes it's simply not possible (e.g. Garden Grill, Teppan Edo, Sci-Fi, Biergarten...)

 

[ellbell]

Did you mean under 3?

I meant what I said. We all have our own way to plan and execute our Disney vacations. Ymmv[/QUOTE]
Children 3 and over need a ticket. By stating you didn't use one that is cheating the system. You would have had to say your child was 2.

 

[anneboleyn]

They won’t. And if that is what’s best for that family. Then that’s thier business. Not ours.
That’s my point. Folks can plan and do things that’s works out best for them. It may not you. But that’s ok. Look I book tons of ADRs. We will only use maybe one. But we cancel so no penalty. We do that so we have flexibility. And of course some folks think that is bad. There is no exact way people should book. It’s what is best for a family.

But it is possible for a family to plan in a way that doesn't negatively effect other families' planning, which is what you are essentially doing. Hoarding ADRs could possibly make it more difficult for others to get a reservation, and showing up at a restaurant with more people than are listed in the reservation could take a table away from a family who DID have the correct number of people on the reservation, causing their wait to be longer.

 

[FSU Girl]

You definitely need to include babies on the reservation. I've witness people turned away because they forgot to include the baby and they couldn't add one more person. So you can get turned away and you might be charged the no-show fee because of this. When I helped my coworker plan his first trip with a baby he thought he wouldn't need to include him since he was under 3, so it was good I had helped him book everything. He told me how he had witnessed a family have to pick to leave someone out of the restaurant or all not get to eat because they didn't include the baby. It's always better to follow to the rules instead of hoping they make an exception for you.

 

[Minnesota!]

All this over a table? Wow.

Use the number of breathing bodies at the table, whether they are 60 or 6 months, and there is no issue.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

That's really quite surprising that you've witnessed that more than once, or even once, as over the many many years of visiting WDW, and the very numerous trips we've taken, there have been several occasions where we've had an unexpected guest come with us to our table service reservation, and we've always been accommodated for the extra person, and not turned away. Guess we've been supremely lucky.

I believe we're up to 3 people not including myself who have actually been turned away. But sure, they won't.

A friend of mine did not include her baby on many of their ADRs Christmas week one year. They couldn’t get the right number for everyone and decided to just wing it and adjust the number at the podium. Most places accommodated but a couple could not - CRT being one of them. The rest of the restaurants were able to accommodate.

So, yeah, if you don’t add someone to your reservation, you absolutely could be turned away.

ETA: I do believe they try to accommodate but as other people’s experiences show, it is not guaranteed. People have been told they cannot add another person.