Believe it or not, there are quite a few rules that you have to follow when dining at Disney World’s table service restaurants.
When you make an Advance Dining Reservation, you have to put down a credit card to hold your reservation. This is done in the event that you do not show up so Disney can charge a no-show fee. Some restaurants have higher no-show fees, and some even have a specific dress code. While all these rules are stated on Disney World’s website, there are some obscure rules that you may not think about.
The AllEars team is full of former Cast Members, and one of our team members who used to work in Food and Beverage at Disney World shared that one rule that Cast Members are begging you not to break at Disney World’s table service locations.
When you make an Advance Dining Reservation, you are asked to include the total number of people who will be dining on your reservation. This is done to ensure that there is a table big enough to accommodate your party.
For some reason, it is a trend for people to forget that their baby is, in fact, a person and needs to be included on the reservation, even if they are not eating. This is important for many reasons. Although a baby may not need their own chair at the table, they may need a high chair, or their stroller or carrier may need to be parked at the table. Cast Members assigning tables consider this and want to assign you a table with ample space to accommodate your party’s needs.
Including your baby on your reservation is also important for the servers, as the Cast Member assigning tables needs to ensure that each server gets a fair amount of tables and guests.
At the time of booking, the My Disney Experience app will not need you to specify the ages of those in your party. When it is time to check in either on the app or at the host stand, you will be asked to confirm the ages of those dining. Children under the age of three are considered an infant. Those between three and nine are considered kids. And yes, those 10 and up are considered adults.
If you choose to check in for a restaurant via Mobile Dine check-in and forget to add your infant, stop by the host stand so they can make a note and adjust the party size. In most cases, you will be asked to confirm that everyone at your party is there when your table is ready. If your baby is still not included in the reservation, the seater will need to adjust your ticket size, and you may have to wait longer for your table as the assignor may need to reassign you a table.
All in all, it is important to remember that your baby is still a person, even if they are not eating. Adding them to your dining reservation can make your dining experience easier on you as well as the Cast Members at the restaurant!
For more Disney tips like this one and to stay up to date on all the latest Disney news, stick around with us here on AllEars!
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How does this effect your reservation (and more importantly, the cost) at prix fixe restaurants?
You just want to ensure that the Cast Member is able to provide you ample room for your baby. It has no affect on the cost of a prix fixe meal since babies are not included in that.