Hi, Eric!
It happens to all of us. We painstakingly plan every detail of our
Walt Disney World vacation months in advance, and we even take the time to select the
Disney dining experiences we think our families will love. Then it comes time to book our
FastPass+ times, or our flight schedule changes, and the reservation we got all excited about is in jeopardy. UGH, right?
So here's the deal. The restaurants ask you to check in at the podium 15 minutes prior to your dining reservation. How long after your actual reservation time they can still seat you depends on many factors. During a very busy holiday season, they may not be able to hold your place much after your actual reservation time. For some of the busier restaurants, like
Cinderella's Royal Table, there just isn't a lot of wiggle room in there to save a table for very long.
In general, you can expect a courtesy from most restaurants of about 15 minutes after your reservation time (or 30 minutes after you were supposed to check in at the podium). Some of the less busy restaurants may still be able to seat you after that time, but again, how busy the restaurant is has a lot to do with how much of a grace period they can offer.
Whatever happens, don't forget to
cancel your reservation, if you can, no later than 11:59 PM the night before. This will avoid any penalty for not canceling.
I hope it all works out, Eric!
Anna