Welcome back to Disney Parks Moms Panel, DonUlecia!
You have planned a fantastic trip to
Walt Disney World, with your
Advanced Dining Reservations already secured and waiting for you to enjoy. Well done!
If you will have a party that is smaller by one person than when you booked your ADRs, I would check back from time to see if you can change your reservation from 9 to 8. Simply go onto My Disney Experience, select "My Reservations and Tickets" and scroll down to your Dining Reservations. You can adjust the number of guests there. You can also call Disney Dining at (407) WDW-DINE, as they are able to secure some things that are not possible online. As you get closer to the date you plan to dine, other guests' plans may have changed, resulting in cancellations, so try to adjust a bit later.
Should this not work, not to worry. As long as your party shows up for your reservation, the smaller number of folks dining will not result in any additional charges. That $10 per person cancellation fee applies only if none of you show up to your reservation or if you cancel within 24 hours of your reservation.
When I need to adjust our number down a bit, I'll head to the check-in desk at the restaurant as early as possible that day, letting the host or hostess know that we are now a smaller party. I like to let the restaurant know of our changes as early as possible so that if another guest can secure a reservation, or if this results in our party moving from a larger table to a smaller one, that change is made early in the day.
Be sure that everyone is present at check-in, though, because most restaurants will not seat you until everyone dining has arrived at the location.
Send more questions as you think of them; we love to help!
Andrea H