"Go Find a Table and I'll wait in line"

[kaytieeldr]

Where would you like parents like me to park our kids where they won't inconvenience other guests?

Where a CM you ask recommends; or outside; or in an area away from the order lines but not at the tables....

when we order at a counter serve..Restaurant. YES, i sit the kids and the wife and i order. My son 13 and daughter 11..hold a table for 4. nothing at all wrong with that.
Never been an issue...as just about everyone does it. We choose to eat at 1 pm and about 7. Never any fuss or anything.

It is never an issue for the diners who do it. It is absolutely an issue for the diners who cant, or choose not to, do it. Not being visually aware of a situation doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

One PM and 7 PM are still peak dining times - remember, not every visitor is from the Eastern time zone.

 

[Dug720]

Exactly what so you expect people to do? Not eat because the restaurant is packed?

Probably. I mean, how dare those of us who are single want to take a vacation in a place that makes us happy AND want to eat. If it’s QS, we struggle to find a place to sit and if we complain, “Well, you should have other people with you so they can hold a table.” But if we go to TS - especially if it’s a character meal - “How dare you take a table from a child who might want to meet the characters.”

 

[kaytieeldr]

2/3 according to this poll. It just isn't the big problem people want to make it out to be. But as is typical here, things get very exaggerated.

One third do not (plus, the approximately 1/10 who said it depends, cannot be included in either of the other categories), so yes, it's a big enough problem.

It never even crossed my mind that this would be considered rude or inconsiderate. We are paying customers, why shouldn't we have a table?

Technically nobody is a paying customer until they order and, well, pay.

Now if it looks like the line is 45min, you may have a point (and I’d never, ever eat at such a place because I value my sanity), but not if the wait is ~15 or less.

Using that approximately 15 minute number:

• I enter Pecos Bill's at 12:45 and get in line.
• Party of four enters at 1:00 with one person getting in line and the other three grabbing a table.
• I order and pay at 12:59.
• I wander around looking for a table, which reasonable would have been available were there not foodless persons holding it.
• Food buyer from party of four arrives with just-prepared food at 1:15.

This is never a problem for the people doing it, but frequently a problem for those who can't or won't.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

This is definitely one of my pet peeves, and I appreciate it so much when they have CMs escorting parties to a table after they get food on busy days. If the restaurant isn't crowded, by all means, send your family to a table, but don't keep people who have their food from being able to sit and eat. Not everyone has a party where they can send someone to get a table.

The worst experience I have had at Disney - Christmas week 2010 - was over this situation. I had been in line almost 30 minutes, and I was having trouble managing a heavy tray. My DD had her arm in a cast that trip, so she was limited in how much she could help, and exH had the other tray. Everywhere I looked, tables were taken up by people waiting on someone in that 30 minute line, including one family who sat down at a table that became empty before I could get there. It was AWFUL. We ended up finding the last piece of brick around a tree while everyone around us chatted at tables, and most of the families taking up tables were still waiting when we finished eating. The next time I went during a busy time, Disney had CMs directing people to seats when they got their food, but we never saw that happen during this trip.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

2/3 according to this poll. It just isn't the big problem people want to make it out to be. But as is typical here, things get very exaggerated.

First, the Dis boards are not representative of Disney visitors as a whole
Secondly, you have it backwards. The more people that do it, the bigger the potential issue created, not the smaller. Think about it. If 1% of the people did it and it didn't affect anyone, would this discussion have grown to 10 pages so far? It's precisely because more people are doing it that it is an issue.

 

[NJlauren]

We mobile order and usually get the table while one of us picks up the food the other waits with the kid/kids.

However when it’s just the two of us we didn’t do this.

When it’s really busy as soon as we are done eating we get up and leave, I don’t like when people sit at a table chatting after they are done for a long time when other people are looking for places to sit and eat.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Technically nobody is a paying customer until they order and, well, pay.

And as such people who do Mobile Orders are actually 'paying customers' well before the people who are waiting in line to order. They've already ordered and paid potentially hours ago.

 

[Allison]

(plus, the approximately 1/10 who said it depends, cannot be included in either of the other categories

Sure, they can. If you decide not to include them in whatever you are doing, fine.

 

[Allison]

First, the Dis boards are not representative of Disney visitors as a whole
Secondly, you have it backwards. The more people that do it, the bigger the potential issue created, not the smaller. Think about it. If 1% of the people did it and it didn't affect anyone, would this discussion have grown to 10 pages so far? It's precisely because more people are doing it that it is an issue.

I disagree but that's okay. We all get to have an opinion.

 

[kaytieeldr]

busy days.

Exactly. Many days, or times of day, or times of year, or even depending on the venue, do whatever you want.

And as such people who do Mobile Orders are actually 'paying customers' well before the people who are waiting in line to order. They've already ordered and paid potentially hours ago.

Yes, they are. Mobile order customers are not having part of their parties hold tables for upwards of 15 minutes before brining the food.

Sure, they can. If you decide not to include them in whatever you are doing, fine.

Not how statistics work. You can't arbitrarily claim a categor y to support a finding, argument, result, etc. Splitting the tire curl up rationally, five to to yes and four go to no. That's 3/5 yes, 2/5 no. So, led than the 2/3 claimed.

 

[AndreaA]

Making up timelines and scenarios to fit your perceived slight does not actually make it anymore true.

There absolutely are “off” times. Follow any Disney blogger and you will find someone (often a single someone) who is in the parks virtually every day, and usually eating something, and they don’t have any trouble finding a spot to sit.

It’s just all such a bunch of whining.

 

[robinb]

It’s just all such a bunch of whining.

That’s exactly what I think when I see someone circling looking for a table amoung all the table savers to eat their quickly cooling food, “Take a look at that whiner!”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yes, they are. Mobile order customers are not having part of their parties hold tables for upwards of 15 minutes before brining the food.

Your earlier comments suggest you have the opinion that every patron should wait until they have food in hand. I would assume that includes Mobile Orderers but maybe it doesn't?

 

[Disneylover99]

Yes, they are. Mobile order customers are not having part of their parties hold tables for upwards of 15 minutes before brining the food.

You might be suprised at the number of people who get to the restaurant, grab a table and then spend 5-10 minutes with family members deciding what they want on their device. For some people it’s like standing in line, except they get to sit at a table at their leisure and figure it out. Not everyone makes efficient use out of mobile order.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

This is definitely one of my pet peeves, and I appreciate it so much when they have CMs escorting parties to a table after they get food on busy days. If the restaurant isn't crowded, by all means, send your family to a table, but don't keep people who have their food from being able to sit and eat. Not everyone has a party where they can send someone to get a table.

The worst experience I have had at Disney - Christmas week 2010 - was over this situation. I had been in line almost 30 minutes, and I was having trouble managing a heavy tray. My DD had her arm in a cast that trip, so she was limited in how much she could help, and exH had the other tray. Everywhere I looked, tables were taken up by people waiting on someone in that 30 minute line, including one family who sat down at a table that became empty before I could get there. It was AWFUL. We ended up finding the last piece of brick around a tree while everyone around us chatted at tables, and most of the families taking up tables were still waiting when we finished eating. The next time I went during a busy time, Disney had CMs directing people to seats when they got their food, but we never saw that happen during this trip.

Full disclosure. It really hasn't been an issue for us most of the time because we hit the counters early. But during these super busy times, we have had occasions where it fills up very rapidly after we get our food. So we have on occasion observed it going on. Once we ran just a little late and got in and got our food barely before the rush. We easily got a table but they very quickly filled up. We had a table hawk decide that we were far enough along in eating that she was going to stand there while we ate. I finished first and the rest of my family was just finishing up. So I went and retrieved a family with their food and gave them the table..... Table hawk was busy lecturing us about how we can't do that with some choice words thrown in. My response was, Oh YES we can and oh YES we did. Have a nice day. I got an ovation.

 

[Megsmachine]

Probably. I mean, how dare those of us who are single want to take a vacation in a place that makes us happy AND want to eat. If it’s QS, we struggle to find a place to sit and if we complain, “Well, you should have other people with you so they can hold a table.” But if we go to TS - especially if it’s a character meal - “How dare you take a table from a child who might want to meet the characters.”

I promise you most people don’t feel that way. It’s a load of crap and people are ignorant if they choose to act and feel that way!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Making up timelines and scenarios to fit your perceived slight does not actually make it anymore true.

Example, not "made up" scenarios. Give me a bit of time, I will be able to recreate and report my actual experiences. It appears that the actual experiences already reported in this thread aren't being believed or else don't seem to matter to many.

There absolutely are “off” times. Follow any Disney blogger and you will find someone (often a single someone) who is in the parks virtually every day, and usually eating something, and they don’t have any trouble finding a spot to sit.

As far as I know, nobody in this thread is a Disney food blogger and none of us are in the parks virtually every day.

You are saying that solo/small parties should visit all the time like the food bloggers do, and you are this implying that we need to follow a different procedure than parties capable of holding tables. Instead of everybody simply being considerate of everybody else.

It’s just all such a bunch of whining.

It's fact. It's regrettable that some apparently consider a legitimate issue, to instead be "whining."

Your earlier comments suggest you have the opinion that every patron should wait until they have food in hand. I would assume that includes Mobile Orderers but maybe it doesn't?

Apologies for the confusion. No, (most) Mobile Order aren't in the table saver category. I would have said none, but then I read post # 194 .

 

[Zozobear]

When is this alleged "off season"? LOL.

Ha! You got me there! Lol! I do miss the good old days of “value” season. Off season to me is not xmas week or spring break. I’m not brave enough to go to WDW at those times.

 

[VFL]

No, because it is incredibly rude to people who already have their food. I have walked around countless times holding a tray of food to discover the "table hoarders" leaving no where to sit. Many times they are still sitting there, without their food still, when we have finished. I really wish CMs would take more control over this situation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Apologies for the confusion. No, (most) Mobile Order aren't in the table saver category. I would have said none, but then I read post # 194 .

Ah ok I gotcha now