Is This Really True?

[KAK]

We will be headed to WDW in 2 weeks and will be doing the DDP. Is it true that at TS restaurants you have to order your app. entre & desert all at the begining of your meal and that they bring it to you quite close together?

Thanks
KAK

 

[Cindy's Mom]

No - its not true.

 

[kimberh]

We were treated as in any other restaurant that we have eaten at. It is a very nice meal. Have fun!!!

 

[dmslush]

We were there last week. I only had one instance (Restaurant Marrakesh) where we felt pressure to order our appetizer and entree at the same time. But, I think it was a crappy server, nothing more/nothing less. At all of the other restaurants, we were treated the same as if we were paying cash.

 

[n2mm]

That has happened to us a couple of times but don't think it's normal. I find that when our dining party is larger (more than 4) it happens more often. It has happened twice now at the Concourse Steakhouse and once at Coral Reef. I think Kona's did it to us once too when we had a party of 8.

 

[ZekeKelso]

On our recent trip we (often a party of 6-7) ordered apps and entress together, then desert at the end of the meal. We never felt rushed. If anything, we needed to push the servers to hurry things up a bit.

 

[bicker]

Also, keep in mind that, with minor exception*, if the server asks for your dessert order before you've had your entree, you can just say, "We'd rather take our time and enjoy our meal before ordering dessert." If the server gives you trouble about that, just politely ask for the manager to come over and explain it to you.

* There are exceptions! (1) Some desserts take time to prepare and therefore must be ordered long in advance. This is typically noted right on the menu. (2) Sometimes some more popular desserts are in short supply, and so ordering early helps secure that dessert for you. We've noted this especially at Rose and Crown with the blackberry crumble.

 

[MaeDaisy]

I think at all of our TS restaurants, they took the appetizer order first, then came back for entree and dessert together. I figured the reason they asked for your dessert order at that time was, since you're on the plan there's a very good chance you ARE going to order dessert, and you've already got the menu there in front of you.

If someone is not on the plan, they might be more likely to wait until after their entree to decide whether to get dessert or not. Then, they'd have to bring a dessert menu out and wait for you to look it over and decide.

I never felt rushed, and it never occurred to me that I was being slighted or somehow given inferior service because they took our dessert order while we had the menu right there in front of us. If you know you're getting dessert, and you know what you want (and don't pretend we haven't all studied the menus for 3 months and know EXACTLY what we're getting!!) why not order it then? And if you really haven't decided, I'm sure they'd have no problem at all bringing a menu back out after your entree is finished. Even though we ordered dessert at the same time as our entree, the servers always asked "are you ready for me to bring dessert out?" so it's not like they just shoved it in front of us.

... No need to take offense at what is almost certainly an issue of practicality.

 

[SassyLassy]

We never had an issue with this at any of our TS restaurant. If you do come across this just ask for more time, as previously suggested and the server should comply!

Have fun!

 

[themudd4]

I never felt rushed...matter of fact my DD12 was so picky they even let her wait until I had my app, to taste it before she ordered hers. I think we did oder the app and meal together so there was no long wait times but always order the dessert after dinner

 

[akrake]

We will be headed to WDW in 2 weeks and will be doing the DDP. Is it true that at TS restaurants you have to order your app. entre & desert all at the begining of your meal and that they bring it to you quite close together?

Thanks
KAK

KAK,
I have 4 children...so when I order, at wdw or home, I order the app & entree at the same time....usually when they ask what I want to drink....now if I were there by myself I wouldn't do that.

don't worry...no one will force you...just tell them you need a minute but would like xyz to start (think OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE...they are famous for pushing starters)

 

[MagicMe]

We were on the dining plan on our last trip and we ate at TS restaurants every night. At the restaurants that did not have a preset menu (i.e. O'Hanas and Liberty Tree have set dinner menus), we were treated like any other restaurant. We often ordered a drink while we looked over the menu to decide what we wanted. Often times we ordered the appetizer and entree at the same time but there were times when one person was not quite ready on their entree and the server would go to put in our appetizer order and then come back for the entree order. At the five regular restaurants, we were never asked for our dessert selection until after we ate. There is so much food that several times we took dessert to go!

BTW - we were never rushed at O'Hanas or LTT either.

All in all, the dining plan was a great option for us (since we always had a TS every night anyway). We loved it and will definitely use it again.

 

[Rlbren]

We just came back from 6 days for the DDP and most of the servers asked us if we knew what we wanted for dessert at the time they got the orders for the apps and entree. Sometimes we did and we ordered at that time other times we didn't and it wasn't a problem, they just came back with a dessert menu. The service in most of the resturants was very slow with the exception of the Sci-Fi which we felt rushed. I believe this is related to the DDP and more people in the resturants. The servers are just overworked. I felt bad for some of them.


Laura