Changes to Walt Disney World's Restaurant Cancellation Policy

A couple of years ago Disney started requiring a credit card guarantee and charging a $10 per person cancellation fee for select restaurants.  This fee was waived if you cancelled a day ahead of time.  According to reports, Disney will now be enacting this policy for all restaurants beginning October 31, 2013.

I have mixed feelings about this, but I mostly approve of this policy.  Many people would make multiple reservations (either because they weren't sure what food they would want that day or what park they would be in) and many would fail to cancel and just not show up, which meant that some people would miss out on eating at a restaurant because they were booked.  This also meant it was possible that some restaurants were losing business because they had no-shows.  Now, many places would have stand-by lines, so Disney losing money was not as likely, but it was a possibility.  This new policy would help to prevent those issues, which I am all for.  It can be discouraging to try to get a reservation only for it to be booked, and if people were making multiple reservations, this was even more likely to happen.

My issue with this is that things happen and people may not be able to make it to their reservation.  Disney is allowing guests up until 11:59pm the night before to make cancellations, but this does not help people that have legitimate issues the day of the reservation.  A child could get sick or be too cranky to make it through a sit down meal.  There could be terrible weather and people may not want to go through a park just to eat.  Now, these things are not Disney's fault, but if there was a bit more leeway (for example, allowing people to cancel a few hours before their reservation) it would help.  In many instances Disney will still be able to fill tables, so they will not be out money.

I do admire Disney for trying to stop the multiple reservations and no-shows because it (hopefully) means that more people will be able to try the various restaurants.  I just hope that they pay attention to the affect this policy may have and make changes if needed.

Thoughts?