What do I do if I will miss or am late for my Dining Reservation at WDW?

Some of the Disney restaurants require a credit card to hold your reservation and their policy states if you are a no show or fail to cancel 24 hrs in advance your card will be charged. But what if you are unable to make it due to weather/flight issues or your Disney bus is delayed or your are stuck on the monorail?--are you charged a penalty? It depends...

If you are not going to keep your reservation or are going to be late... try and call ahead as soon as you know you won't make it in time. Call 407-WDW DINE.

Sometimes they will make an exception but there are no guarantees. Depending on the restaurant, go to the check in desk and asked if you could cancel (especially if it's in advance of your reservation. Disney may say as long as you showed up and canceled there would be no penalty...because they easily can fill your vacancy. (There is a massive waiting list for Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table, as an example)

TIP 1: When planning your trip it is a good idea to give yourself at least 90 mins (especially if using Disney transportation) to travel to your dining location. You need to have leeway when you are making dining reservations to account for travel time as part of your daily plan.

TIP 2: You can modify online up until 20 min prior. Just modify it to another day and then cancel it.

TIP 3: But, Always call, don't rely on the the app or on-line for cancellations. The systems don't synch in real time. If it is a particularly expensive deposit (which usually requires a 48 hr notice) you definitely want to call.

What if you are Late for your reservation? Will Disney give away your table? If you are 5-10 minutes late, then no. If you are more than 15 minutes late, then unfortunately, the reservation system will show you as a "no show". Cast members will try to do their best, but you may have to wait a little for them to work their magic.

Personally, I try not to stress myself out and do not book dining reservations with this no-show-charge policy on the day I am flying into WDW. It is vacation, and I prefer not to start it with this stress of meeting a deadline.

Be sure when you book your reservation online or on the app to read the policy - it covers cancellation, dress code, etc. It also highlights the Disney Dining Plan credits that apply. And program this number too into your phone: 407-WDW DINE. (TIP 4).