BOG: Vindication for those of us against table-saving!

[aaarcher86]

That is just silly! The first consideration should be room occupancy, then how many children vs. adults will be on the dining plan, then FP, then trays you can carry at Disney CS. Obviously!

We planned for a family of 4. This would have been manageable in a CS line. However, I had twins with my last pregnancy (no fertility drugs, no family history, no way to plan for this). Should I give one away so our next trip to Disney will run more smoothly?

Shenanigans! Multiples never happen as a surprise!

 

[JimmyV]

Should I give one away so our next trip to Disney will run more smoothly?

Why give away what you can sell??

But I think the better solution is to just leave one kid at home with a relative each time you go, making sure you rotate. And be sure to come back here regularly to ask if it is OK to leave a kid behind because you are sure to get some great "advice".

 

[smiths02]

Shenanigans! Multiples never happen as a surprise!

I had one nice lady (total stranger) who insisted that I had a family history of twins and just did not know it because there is no way that twins just happen.

 

[aaarcher86]

I had one nice lady (total stranger) who insisted that I had a family history of twins and just did not know it because there is no way that twins just happen.

Next you'll start pretending you didn't choose the genders ahead of time as well!

 

[teheber]

This. Thank you for being the voice of reason.

Can't find a table? Grab a takeout box, find a bench outside, laugh with your family and enjoy your surroundings.

And for anyone who is about to say that benches are not readily available, or that eating without a table is not convenient for you, you've missed the point.

save our tables,, save our tables!!

I have saved our tables at times when our children were very small (infants). I have been to WDW about 9 times and have never ordered a meal and could not find a table. Am I just lucky??

 

[Melodious]

And most of us are promoting efficiency, getting things ready whether you have 1 or 9 kids to eat as soon as the food arrives. If that is the practice that is happening at the restaurant than I suggest you detach from the hip and go find a table. If all are "saving tables" than maybe you should give it a try instead of wandering around aimlessly trying to find a table, bc maybe you arent that good at it, if you can not manage to find one!

It's only efficient if you have two adults. What you and others are saying is that single parent families are resigned to wandering with their tray and kids trying to find a table not being saved.

 

[Megsie1000]

Disney seems to understand when the CS places are too busy to save tables. We were there last June and they were not allowing table saving for either Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's. They had a system in place to manage traffic. People had to wait in a queue for a few minutes before they got a table, but it was only a few minutes. A cast member then escorted you to your table.

I can sympathize with the small children and trying to balance a tray with drinks on them and not actually trip over your own children (or other people's) while trying to find a table. We have table saved in that scenario. And I feel no guilt about it. We needed to make sure we had a place to go before we got food because facing the restaurant with both adults holding trays and 3 small children under foot was just too much. But we tend to go off-peak, so there are usually plenty of places to sit. This past June was the first time I have seen the cast members prevent table-saving and do a system where they find a table for you. It worked. If they decide the park is too crowded and prevent table-saving, I am fine with that, too, as long as they are managing the chaos.

ETA: I think BOG has the best plan yet and I think we would eat at CS a lot more with small kids if they brought the food to you. It sounds heavenly.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Cosmic Ray's won't let you into the dining room till all of your party is with you., so you stand there waiting for the rest of them to come with their food (they are just in other lines), all the whilst every Tom, Dick and Harriet bumps continually into to you and your tray! It's a free for all and a pain!

There's nothing wrong in saving a table for someone who's in line bringing you and/ or your 12 children food, as long as they aren't still on a ride or else where in the park! And little children in heavy lines get trampled on, bumped into, having a parent head to a table in that case is perfectly acceptable!

 

[Megsie1000]

Cosmic Ray's won't let you into the dining room till all of your party is with you., so you stand there waiting for the rest of them to come with their food (they are just in other lines), all the whilst every Tom, Dick and Harriet bumps continually into to you and your tray! It's a free for all and a pain!

Yeah, Cosmic Rays was a bit bumpy for that reason. It isn't an easy place to go with kids in the first place because all of them want something different and you have to stand in different lines to do that. Too painful.

 

[Mkrop]

It's only efficient if you have two adults. What you and others are saying is that single parent families are resigned to wandering with their tray and kids trying to find a table not being saved.

I sympathize I have been in the food court at the mall solo with small kiddos trying to juggle it all but it is just a fact of life. Traveling as a single adult with kids is always going to have challenges, such as having to leave a line bc one kiddo suddenly needs to go the the bathroom, or the dilemma when one kid is taller than 40 in and wants to go on BTMRR and the other one can not.

With that said, it doesnt mean that other types of families can not start their process and be effcient even if you can not. And I really dont get the huge dilemma, like I said we have been multiple times during some busy times and I have never waitied super long for a table to open up ever!

 

[Mkrop]

I agree! I know that DH and I spent many hours debating the benefit of collecting extra FP with young children's tickets vs. how many trays we could carry at Disney CS when discussing the size of our family.

Brilliant family planning!

We went with room occupancy first as our deciding factor

 

[gtpoohbear]

Brilliant family planning!

We went with room occupancy first as our deciding factor

Actually I have to admit, the thought does cross my mind every time I get baby-fever that a 3rd kid would make Disney more difficult, for lots of reasons! Not saying it would totally determine things... but the thought is there regardless, ha!

 

[gogo]

There's an important and oft-overlooked point here. People who "linger" after eating are, in my experience, far more of the problem than the table wiping, kid cleaning, condiment gathering "savers". At least the latter are moving the process along. After all, the time it takes to do the pre-dining ritual is a constant, and can either be done while waiting for the food, (in which case, the eating begins immediately), or it will have to be tacked on the beginning of the meal before the food gets consumed. Either way, the time that one vacates the table will be the same. As long as there is no lingering.

I was reading for entertainment purposes because I actually don't have a strong opinion on this subject. I don't see anything wrong with a family sitting at a table with young ones, or the elderly or really anyone for that matter while other family members are getting food. Like someone else said, if they are in line for food and not out riding a ride this just seems like the normal thing to do. Do people actually circle cs restaurants and watch if others are lingering after finishing their meal? What if you finish your meal but have a half full beverage? Do you have to immediately jump up because others are waiting for a table?

My goodness, we all pay enough for Disney vacations, if we want to rest our feet and linger over our meal or drink, I wouldn't feel guilty doing so. This is up to Disney to provide enough tables for their restaurant guests or put a system in place that avoids this particular problem. In all situations there are extremes, but has it really come to the point where we police others to this degree?

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Brilliant family planning!

We went with room occupancy first as our deciding factor

You laugh but our decision to have 2 children had something to do with Disney. We love to go on vacation and take trips throughout the year Disney being one of them and we knew having more than 2 kids would put a burden on that financially not just with having one extra child to pay for on vacation but all the other things throughout the year.

What I don’t understand is why some families think they are entitled to so much more while at Disney. I just don’t get that whole notion that just because you have kids you are more entitled to a table at CS restaurant or a hard to get reservation at a Character meal then those that are not traveling with kids.

 

[JimmyV]

In all situations there are extremes, but has it really come to the point where we police others to this degree?

I wasn't suggesting that we police one another. Indeed, I would hope my posts come off exactly the opposite. Not sure if you read it that way, since you quoted my post. In any event, I was simply pointing out that when weighed against people who are occupying tables after finishing their meals, people who are "saving" tables (for all of 5-7 minutes in most cases) are a very, very small sliver. And the lingering time is often more than the 5-7 minutes that people take up in the "saving" process. "Saving" is not nearly enough of a problem to cause such a stir. No one needs to be policing anyone else. Disney is sophisticated and can take whatever steps it thinks are needed.

 

[gogo]

I wasn't suggesting that we police one another. Indeed, I would hope my posts come off exactly the opposite. Not sure if you read it that way, since you quoted my post. In any event, I was simply pointing out that when weighed against people who are occupying tables after finishing their meals, people who are "saving" tables (for all of 5-7 minutes in most cases) are a very, very small sliver. And the lingering time is often more than the 5-7 minutes that people take up in the "saving" process. "Saving" is not nearly enough of a problem to cause such a stir. No one needs to be policing anyone else. Disney is sophisticated and can take whatever steps it thinks are needed.

Still don't get it....were you saying lingering is just as bad as saving tables or that neither one is a problem and the whole saving of tables is ridiculous which is what I think. The major problem of a lack of tables is not the fault of other guests. Why bicker at each other which gets no one anywhere. Write complaints to Disney or better, get all of your friends, etc., to do the same.

I'm sure that anyone who saw a child get scalding food/drinks dropped on them would realize how unimportant that saved table was in the big picture of things. Just something to think about.

 

[freshmanjs]

You laugh but our decision to have 2 children had something to do with Disney. We love to go on vacation and take trips throughout the year Disney being one of them and we knew having more than 2 kids would put a burden on that financially not just with having one extra child to pay for on vacation but all the other things throughout the year.

What I don’t understand is why some families think they are entitled to so much more while at Disney. I just don’t get that whole notion that just because you have kids you are more entitled to a table at CS restaurant or a hard to get reservation at a Character meal then those that are not traveling with kids.

who said they were more entitled to anything? that is absurd. no one is arguing that.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

who said they were more entitled to anything? that is absurd. no one is arguing that.

I have read countless post on the Dis where posters use the argument that they have kids and it is too hard to stand in line with them so it is only natural that they take a table before they ever get their food. Search a little you will see it all for yourself.

 

[tiffjoy]

I have read countless post on the Dis where posters use the argument that they have kids and it is too hard to stand in line with them so it is only natural that they take a table before they ever get their food. Search a little you will see it all for yourself.

Did anyone in this post say that? Not another post, but this one. If so, call that person out on it. Don't lump all of us saying this isn't a big deal into that category.

I cannot imagine why something so minor is worth such a fuss. Waiting is a way of life at a theme park, be it for a ride or a table.

 

[JimmyV]

Still don't get it....were you saying lingering is just as bad as saving tables or that neither one is a problem and the whole saving of tables is ridiculous which is what I think.

• Saving tables is not a cause of concern. The vast majority of people who are at a table before their food arrives are using the table productively.
• There are more people who linger after finishing their meal than there are people who are "saving" tables. So to the extend that anyone wants to make an issue about any of this, they should look in that direction. I am not such a person and have no problem with this, within some bounds of reason.
• Personally, none of this upsets me in the least. People are entitled to use tables for whatever lawful purpose unless and until Disney puts in rules otherwise.