5 people stuck in table for 4???

[divawife]

We have 5 people. 3 adults and 2 kids. I keep reading that 5 people are getting tables for 4 with an extra chair stuck on the end.
Is this true??? How uncomfortable. Is this happening all the time?

 

[MadamMim]

Wow really? I hadn't heard anything like that. But that would be really uncomfortable. Dining agents book reservations for table size, so unless they entered it wrong or something it should be impossible to reserve five people for a table of four. The restaurants themselves can do whatever they like, but that's also not a situation they would prefer either (because it makes people mad, and rightly so ) so I would assume it was a fluke or done for some kind of reason we don't know about. But... I'm a Disney optomist. Just make your reservations as usual for your party of five (you could even call back to make sure your reservations are correct, if you're worried) and don't sweat.

 

[vellamint]

If I was brought to a table for 4 when I was a party of 5 or 6 I think I would politely tell them that the table is too small and we will wait for a table of the right size......please do not hesitate to do this if they make the mistake of seating you improperly.

 

[Kanga1]

Wow, this is a common occurance for us. Our party of 5 (me, DH, DD6, my mom and dad) all go out to eat quite frequently at our local restaurants and we almost ALWAYS get put at a table of 4. And considering there is only 1 child, it is VERY uncomfortable. You mean this isn't normal???

I don't know about parties of 5 at Disney though. Maybe they would try to accommodate you at a larger table.

 

[Aliceacc]

Yes, very often (at home, I don't know about WDW) they pull a chair up to the end of a booth and call it a table for 5.

 

[Mamu]

This happened to us only once, at Crystal Palace. We were walked to a small table. We told the hostess we would wait for a larger table rather then be crowded at a small table. It only took 10 minutes extra wait time and we were seated at a much larger table.

My feeling are I'm the one paying for this meal, while I don't expect any special privileges, I do expect to sit at a table where 5 plates fit. Disney table serve restaurants are not cheap and I do leave a very good tip, always 20% sometimes more even at buffets. I expect to sit and eat my meal in comfort and not be rushed.

 

[Allison]

Now, that I think about it, this happened to us at several places. Obviously, it was no big deal for us as I didn't even think about it until now. It didn't cause any problems for us at all and my kids are in the tween and teen range so we take up some space.

 

[TwingleMum]

If the table is large enough to accomidate plates I actually don't mind when they do this with a booth. My DH is 6'8 and sitting in a chair is easier for him. I also can trap the 3 little kids in the booth. But the table has to be large enough to let everyone have room for plates etc..

 

[Aliceacc]

That's pretty much the way I see it. My 2 girls are pretty tiny, so sometimes we don't even need the chair at the end

 

[hildarumpole]

It happened to us several times. The most uncomfortable was at Rose & Crown, because of the design of the tables. There was no leg room for the end seat. It wasn't so great either at WCC with the big skillet dominating the whole table. We didn't bother complaining, because the restaurants were all packed and in some cases, we waited so long, we were just relieved to be seated.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Most of the restaurants at WDW will not try to seat five at a four top. Because of the way the tables are located, it would tend to either block access for the adjoining table or block the aisle, which is a fire code violation.

And if they try to do that, you may (politely?) decline and say you need a bigger table.

 

[photobob]

I'll let you know when I get back in June, we'll have a party of 5 for every meal with the youngest being 15 so we won't fit at a table for four..