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

[Disneypro1]

Doesn't the ability to order via the app help this? I mean, send someone in your party to find a table, and then pick-up your pre-ordered food. You would be holding a table for only a couple minutes at most.

Hmm? which side you falling on?

 

[AndreaA]

I think the main reason this never even crossed my mind as something to be annoyed about is because this is how every fast food and fast casual place I've been to typically works...you see part of a party go grab a table while part of a party waits in line. As a kid, teen, adult, no matter who I was with or how busy a place was, people would do this. And sometimes it meant you couldn't immediately find a free table at those places, too. (Our local Panera can quite regularly be like this.)

So it never dawned on me to be annoyed by anyone doing the same thing at a park.

Yup, pretty much. Heck, at one local place you are given a number when you order and you go find a table and clam it and then go play arcade games until you happen to notice that your food has been delivered! Panera, absolutely, find a table and wait for your name to be called.

I mean heck, do these same people complain about those who take a little longer at a table-service restaurant? Who want a few extra pictures with Pooh? I also question the number of solo visitors and single parents with toddlers that are being advertised as the big losers in this whole table-saving-debate. Because I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s an extremely small percentage of Disney visitors overall. Not to mention the fact that singles would have a heck of a lot easier time finding a seat - even laden with food - than a family of 5, 6, 7+.

I just don’t get it. I’ve saved tables and I’ve had to look for tables while carrying food. Never once did it occur to me to blame someone else for any momentary difficulty I “suffered”. Talk about a first-world problem. Eeeesh.

 

[Disneylover99]

Think about it. They know it's going to be busy. It's Disney. They won't underbuild.

They won't underbuild? What did Woody's lunchbox get....4 umbrella tables?
They may underbuild. They may underestimate. Or it could be awesome! Nobody knows.

 

[Disneypro1]

Yup, pretty much. Heck, at one local place you are given a number when you order and you go find a table and clam it and then go play arcade games until you happen to notice that your food has been delivered! Panera, absolutely, find a table and wait for your name to be called.

I mean heck, do these same people complain about those who take a little longer at a table-service restaurant? Who want a few extra pictures with Pooh? I also question the number of solo visitors and single parents with toddlers that are being advertised as the big losers in this whole table-saving-debate. Because I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s an extremely small percentage of Disney visitors overall. Not to mention the fact that singles would have a heck of a lot easier time finding a seat - even laden with food - than a family of 5, 6, 7+.

I just don’t get it. I’ve saved tables and I’ve had to look for tables while carrying food. Never once did it occur to me to blame someone else for any momentary difficulty I “suffered”. Talk about a first-world problem. Eeeesh.

LOL its the victim mentality. They aren't savvy enough to get a table so they blame others.. Great point about the number you get.. But, yes you sit and wait for your food!!! Its ingenious. How hasn't anyone ever thought about that before!!lol
And yes..this is a first world problem..whine or whatever word you want to use...

 

[tcufrog]

Or, everybody's could be considerate of everybody else and only take a table when they have their food. Especially at WDW, where counter service restaurants don't have the type of seating described. For that matter, why should solo travelers and small parties be relegated to counter stools?

I didn't say that solo diners should only be allowed to sit there. I do solo dine quite often and I'm glad to have a variety of seating options.

 

[VFL]

We save seats because if we are paying for food we expect a place to sit. If there is none we will not eat there. Only way to guarantee a seat during busy time is have a family member save one. With that said we rarely eat during the “lunch” hours. We try to be eat when after the lunch rush is over. Also, we rarely eat quick service. We usually go in the summer months so we like to go to a sit down in the air condition with a guaranteed seat we reserved.

Before reading this thread I didn’t know this bothered people. I have always assumed everyone does it so they know they will get a seat. I guess I was wrong.

Pretty sure that everyone who is paying for food expects a place to sit. Hence the problem with people who save tables during busy times. I don't believe your time is any more valuable than mine or anyone else in the parks. Common consideration goes a long way, particularly during a "busy time".

 

[hopemax]

The solution is clearly to put in more seats.

Which is what it boils down to me. This is a problem of Disney's making. For decades, people would claim tables without food. We were lucky to visit HKDL and TDL last year. Both places had multi-lingual signs indicating that people should claim seats before ordering. Old Disney understood that people in hot and humid Florida sometimes just need a place to sit and rest, and I'm pretty sure if you asked the old school Disney managers they would have said that absolutely, the tables are there for use by any guest in the park.

But modern Disney has spread-sheeted themselves into a park that doesn't have enough of anything. Not enough CMs working the restaurants so that even during crowded times, you can make it through the ordering, and pick up your food in such a short period of time, that there would barely be time for other guests to realize that a table was occupied but no food present (this was our experience in Japan, the massive amount of CMs working an area was eye-opening). They've allowed the walkways to get so crowded that they need to remove a majority of benches that are available for people simply to rest. They keep places like Tomorrowland Terrace closed, the quick service that used to be on Tom Sawyer Island. They head-shakingly designed New Fantasyland with a bunch of tables in an area far away (Storybook Circus) from the take-away restaurant (Gaston's Tavern). Disney seems more concerned about selling Dining Plans and then end up having to be "reactive" to the consequences of having a bunch of people who want to use it. They did the same thing with Fastpass+. Apparently, in the planning for FP, they were told that they needed to make capacity improvements before offering it. But instead they brought in FP+, saw the chaos that it created with Soarin and Toy Story Mania, and only then decided that, maybe, the initial recommendation was right, and got to work adding the third track and extra theaters.

But blame Disney, NO! Can't do that, nope, we have to turn it on other guests who are doing nothing more than act the way the rest of the world works.

 

[Disneylover99]

Doesn't the ability to order via the app help this? I mean, send someone in your party to find a table, and then pick-up your pre-ordered food. You would be holding a table for only a couple minutes at most.

In less busy times, yes, probably. But as more and more people use it, it does take longer.
You might be only holding the table for a minute or two, but according to this thread, many people who see you sitting at a table without a tray of food, may consider you to be a vulture or hoarder.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

This attitude comes across that you are a tad more entitled than someone saving a seat for someone ordering the food. Maybe I read it wrong and if I did I apologize.

You read it wrong.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Im a few glasses of scotch behind you apparently..let me catch up. lol But, if less folks are in line..it will move faster..even if one person is ordering for 4. Then you don't have that idiot family member that changes their mind 3 times.. You get them seated...bring their food and either they eat or starve. Its counter service...not rocket science...order and move on..VERY efficient.
Note: Curb your enthusiasm comes to mind about this thread.....

Actually, I am completely sober, so perhaps I need to catch up with you? Having your entire party in line does not mean that it will take longer to order than if your whole party was not there in line. It really would only take longer if you were not prepared to order, which frankly can happen regardless of the number of people from a party waiting in line. That family member who changes their mind while you're ordering can just as easily do so while sitting at the table and come up while your ordering and make it take longer. Them not waiting in line with you does not change their indecisiveness. If you're worried about them changing their mind and making it take longer, don't accommodate their changes once you begin ordering. It's as simple as that. We decide what we want long before we get to the register, and it takes the same amount of time to order with 4 of us up there as it does with just 1 ordering for all 4.

 

[DisneyArkie]

Pretty sure that everyone who is paying for food expects a place to sit. Hence the problem with people who save tables during busy times. I don't believe your time is any more valuable than mine or anyone else in the parks. Common consideration goes a long way, particularly during a "busy time".

You are exactly correct. I am paying for food and expect a place to sit. Hence the reason we find a table while one is ordering. Not rocket science...

I’m starting to wonder if any of y’all have ever been to a quick service before. So you really expect a family of 6 to stand in line to order? Or as some suggested stand to the side? That creates more of a jumbled up mess than it already is.

 

[Oliviaxxx]

When it directly affects me, yes.

No. We're realists.

Seriously? Needing a place to sit with one's food but being unable to find a table because many of them are occupied by parties whose food is still 15 minutes away is being table police?

Why? You were in the right. But that is separate from the topic of this thread.

It is regrettable that some posters think this is a 'stupid thing'.

Why have four at a table when none have food yet or are ready to (and won't for 15 or so minutes)?

This is extremely different. People who already have food are being denied tables at which to eat it, because people whose food might be 10 or 15 minutes away hoard tables.

That really is the best solution. Problem is, it requires more space.

May I ask how you hold this table and wait in line at the same time?

Please provide the post number of numbers where any of us have indicated we "don't want" to. All I've seen is posts from people who can't.

Oh gosh. I can tell this post struck something in you. I don' travel alone, especially in NYC. I have someone to either stand in line or find a table. I travel to nyc often and eat at popular quick service places. It is normal to share a table with strangers. You actually have more luck to find a seat if you are solo. I would never look at a crowded seating area, order food, wait for it to be ready, and then try to find a spot while holding a tray. I don't see the logic in that. I have a very busy mall in my area. Same scenario. Food quart is packed, strangers share tables. I don't let myself be in that situation. It's not rude, it's smart.

In Disney my mom uses an ECV. She can't go through a food queue line easily or navigate crowded seating areas or walk more than 20 feet. To say that my mom should park somewhere nearby while I wait on line and order, and then get my food, then head over to get condiments... Now I'm balancing this big tray of food with very full drinks with no lids, because mom can't drive an ECV and carry a tray, but I am also keeping an eye on my disabled mother as she tries to navigate, while I'm looking for a spot to sit. No thank you!! I make sure my mother has a place to sit and is comfortable, ECV is parked and out of the way, now I can relax and do what I need to do.

Nothing about saving a table is rude. I'm a great person and saving a table isn't going to do me in. If people saving tables at Disney upsets people so much they would probably have more fun at home.

 

[Disneypro1]

I think the above post..sums up something for sure..If some folks cant handle table saving while a family member is ordering food....Then are they really able to deal with anything socially .. Yes, maybe they would have more fun staying at home. The bottom line is saving a table is SMART, its not rude...its common sense. And, as stated....SMART.
The folks complaining about table saving or whatever...is like hearing something on the radio..they don't like it so they want to ban it.....when instead, they should just change the station.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Hmm? which side you falling on?

It appears the common sense side - the one where you sit once you have your food.

I mean heck, do these same people complain about those who take a little longer at a table-service restaurant?

Not aware of any specific length of time is standard at TS vs how long is complaint-worthy, but the people who complain about having to wait (sometimes well) beyond their ADR time are, effectively, complaining about diners who take "a little longer" at TS meals. Looking at you, 'Ohana.

I also question the number of solo visitors and single parents with toddlers that are being advertised as the big losers in this whole table-saving-debate. Because I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s an extremely small percentage of Disney visitors overall. Not to mention the fact that singles would have a heck of a lot easier time finding a seat - even laden with food - than a family of 5, 6, 7+.

Based on now over 1/3 of the poll responses up now bit ding "no", I would advise staying off that limb. No, I'm not saying a third of visitors are directly affected, but it's also not aan extremely small percentage

They aren't savvy enough to get a table so they blame others.

I'm extremely intelligent. My sibling is literally a genius. None of us has yet determined a way to be in two places at once. It has nothing to do with savvy. It's so physics and common sense, and consideration.

You are exactly correct. I am paying for food and expect a place to sit.

Absolutely. Once you have your food, go get a place to sit.

starting to wonder if any of y’all have ever been to a quick service before. So you really expect a family of 6 to stand in line to order? Or as some suggested stand to the side? That creates more of a jumbled up mess than it already is.

Yes, we have been to quick service restaurants before. At Disney.

When CMs control seating access, they not only expect but direct a family of six to stand off to the side until they have their food. It is, therefore, entirely reasonable to expect a family of six to stand off to the side until they have their food.

Oh gosh. I can tell this post struck something in you. I don' travel alone, especially in NYC. I have someone to either stand in line or find a table. I travel to nyc often and eat at popular quick service places. It is normal to share a table with strangers. You actually have more luck to find a seat if you are solo. I would never look at a crowded seating area, order food, wait for it to be ready, and then try to find a spot while holding a tray. I don't see the logic in that. I have a very busy mall in my area. Same scenario. Food quart is packed, strangers share tables. I don't let myself be in that situation. It's not rude, it's smart

Apologies. The use of "I travel to..." and " I eat... " gave me the impression these activities were engaged in alone.

Anyway, it doesn't seem smart, it seems lacking in consideration of others. While I think actual community tables are great, the vast, vast majority of WDW diners would appear to disagree.

 

[kaytieeldr]

In Disney my mom uses an ECV. She can't go through a food queue line easily or navigate crowded seating areas or walk more than 20 feet. To say that my mom should park somewhere nearby while I wait on line and order, and then get my food, then head over to get condiments

Now imagine your mom without you to run interference. Navigate through the line, order and obtain the food, carry the tray and maneuver the ECV...Now keep circling the dining room, steering with one hand and carrying that tray.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

You are exactly correct. I am paying for food and expect a place to sit. Hence the reason we find a table while one is ordering. Not rocket science...

I’m starting to wonder if any of y’all have ever been to a quick service before. So you really expect a family of 6 to stand in line to order? Or as some suggested stand to the side? That creates more of a jumbled up mess than it already is.

The problem is that at busy times, there are simply not enough tables for everyone to grab one and wait while the rest of their party orders. If literally everyone did this during busy times, and didn't get in line if they couldn't first save a table, then it would severely reduce the number of people that can be served. As it is, saving tables reduces the number of people that can eat their meal while sitting during busy times. It also creates the jumbled mess of people wandering throughout the room with trays of food or standing and blocking the aisles while trying to eat because they have no place to sit.

If people did not save tables, then there would be more tables available for those who have their food, thus eliminating the "need" to save a table ahead of time.

I think the above post..sums up something for sure..If some folks cant handle table saving while a family member is ordering food....Then are they really able to deal with anything socially? Especially a tactically adverse situation..? Yes, maybe they would have more fun staying at home. The bottom line is saving a table is SMART, its not rude...its common sense. And, as stated....SMART.
The folks complaining about table saving or whatever...is like hearing something on the radio..they don't like it so they want to ban it.....when instead, they should just change the station.

Wow, so you have now resorted to insinuating that people who don't save tables can't function in society and should stay home. If everyone displayed common courtesy, then this entire discussion would not be an issue.

I'm genuinely curious: Let's say you personally are looking for a table while someone else in your party is ordering. You walk around and around and all the tables are full. Eventually, whoever in your party who ordered approaches you with the food, but you still don't have a table. You keep walking around and finally see a table being emptied. You quickly walk towards it, but someone else rushes in first, without food, and claims the table. That same thing continues to happen, your food gets cold, and you have no where to sit. Would you still not care that half the tables are taken up by people without food while meanwhile your food has gone cold and you still have nowhere to sit to eat it?

I'd like to know how you'd handle another situation: If you were saving a table, could clearly see that your food was going to be a little while still, and saw several other people carrying trays of food but no tables were available, would you keep claiming your table or get up and let others use it?

 

[sweetpeama]

For me it depends on how crowded the place looks. Only one trip to Disney which was in January 2010 CS places we ate at were

CBR Market after 7 PM ordered pizza for the kids nothing I could eat there due to being allergic to tomatoes DH got something from there and waited for the food while I went and got myself a nice fish meal from another stand paid for our order and then found a table

Pinochios Village Haus during the noon hour because brother's family and dad were hungry plus it sounded like a good place to wait for mom, sister, and aunt as they were on their way back from church. Our youngest is special needs and was using a stroller as a wheel chair went to get in line and a lovely cast member directed us to a table and then came back to help me get to the table instead of our trying to balance a tray on top of the stroller while hanging onto a preschooler. She even brought us extra napkins when she discovered that our special needs child wanted to feed herself and had it everywhere (thankfully I had packed the full size cover the entire top size bib).

Yak and Yeti counter during the noon hour ordered our food than found a picnic table that we were able to crowd most of our party of 12 around either sitting or standing. Special needs child kept in stroller and handed items to eat.

Yakatori House which has changed names but it is the quick service in Japan. late lunch around 2 PM (early for us since we normally at eat around 3-3:30 before DH leaves for work) started to head up to order after discussing with preschooler do you want beef, or chicken again intercepted by a cast member who found us a table helped DH get the kids settled and entertained them with some napkin origami and then asked if we would rather have the stroller parked or push it under the edge of the table on the end not against the wall. We said we could park it now that we had our child transfered to the special booster seat (trust me to experience putting a child with severe hypotonia and stiffness into a high chair with sides go get a large board and try to put it in a sitting position) that we brought with us (normal booster seat would not work as child would be flopped over onto the table or if chair not close enough the floor). Cast member told us not to worry about it they would happily go park it so we could eat and when we were done to just signal and she would bring it to us.

CBR Market for Dinner around 5:30-6 PM DH took the kids over special needs child was having a good day and it was much cooler so left the stroller in the room with plans that he could carry her if needed. Got a burger and fries for everyone with the kids ones being in sand pails headed back across the bridge to barefoot bay and had a picnic on the island and then the girls had sand bucket to play with in a sand pit they found interesting (we told them they would have to stay when we went home but surprisingly we found room for them in the box of stuff we shipped home. Sadly they broke after 6 years)

Eat around the world QS and Snack Style between 1 and 3 PM (Yorkshire Fish Shoppe, Counter Service in Morocco, Crepes De France, the port just as you come into World Showcase on the Canadian Side. Had Fried Plantains, Fish and Chips, Strawberry and Chocolate Crepes, and a traditional Moroccan dish with lamb and chicken and couscous along with sharing a large lemon-aid.

Cosmic Rays 2-3 PM went into order. Place was crowded didn't think we would get a table so went outside and found a wall nearby to sit at if needed. I held the low wall spot with both girls while DH went in and ordered he called me and told me that he would have to go to another line to get my half rib and half chicken which he would go back and get if that is what I really wanted (as I had heard a lot about that of course that is what I wanted and I would have gone in myself and told him thus) told DH we were still at the wall as no table had opened up another party said that they were done and would let us have the table which they did as soon as my DH got there. After we were done eating and got sticky fingers and messy faces wiped off and our trash taken care of we moved on so someone else could have the table.

normal at home fast food type place we are that family going between 10-11 for breakfast, 2-4 for lunch and after 8 PM for dinner usually mid week now that our kids are preteen and teenage we typically go and have everyone order including having our special needs daughter order on her ipad using an app for speaking (Yes this takes longer but we are working on being able to independently carry on a conversation and order food-btw the new screen scrolling menus and McDs are impossible for her to read and I think they are terrible-I hope that Disney never does these). Once we have ordered teenager takes preteen to fill their drinks and get the napkins and condiments then if the food is not ready they go and find a place while I fill my drink and come to the table and we wait for our name or number to be called which can take a while especially if the drive thru is busy as those take priority (having worked for several places in the fast food industry when there was a district or regional management inspection only drive thru order times counted and the clock runs from the time the vehicle hits the under ground marker in front of the speaker to order out the window and they drive away-it is an average time by number of cars in a period of time usually 30-45 minutes but you wished up on stars, begged the universe, and prayed that it would be nice neat sandwich, simple side, drink and no ice cream products on the orders salads were even better because it was grab a pre assembled place in beg with a fork some napkins and a dressing). If it is crowded (all tables being used we order go fill our drinks and then stand and wait against the wall doing the are you in line no waiting on my order conversation with everyone (hence why we started filling our drinks and standing there sipping on them). Places like Dairy Queen that give you a number and deliver your food we fill drinks and go and sit, places like Fudruckers that give you a buzzer again we fill our drinks and go and sit then get our food usually DH or my oldest will bring mine so I can hold the table while the rest get their toppings from the toppings bar and then I go up and get mine.

 

[maxiesmom]

On here thats the poll. Thats not a real reflection of what actually happens. Just look next time...EVERYONE holds a table. Its s non issue. Complete non issue.
Now we have table saving police....talk about a nanny state...lol I think the anti table saving people used to be hall monitors..
Folks ..just save the table like you always have...seriously..
The real problem is the folks that don't save a table.....they gum everything up. Like left lane slow drivers...

Again Disney did a study and found if people waited to get their food before sitting tables turned over faster. The left lane drivers are the table hoarders.

 

[Dug720]

Some restaurants have a long counter against a wall or against windows with stools or chairs for people eating alone. The CS places could offer this sort of seating.

Wrong answer. My adult ticket or AP cost the same as yours. I have just as much right to sit at a table as you. Relegating solos to the counter or bar is 100% NOT ok.

 

[Nancyg56]

Which is what it boils down to me. This is a problem of Disney's making. For decades, people would claim tables without food. We were lucky to visit HKDL and TDL last year. Both places had multi-lingual signs indicating that people should claim seats before ordering. Old Disney understood that people in hot and humid Florida sometimes just need a place to sit and rest, and I'm pretty sure if you asked the old school Disney managers they would have said that absolutely, the tables are there for use by any guest in the park.

But modern Disney has spread-sheeted themselves into a park that doesn't have enough of anything. Not enough CMs working the restaurants so that even during crowded times, you can make it through the ordering, and pick up your food in such a short period of time, that there would barely be time for other guests to realize that a table was occupied but no food present (this was our experience in Japan, the massive amount of CMs working an area was eye-opening). They've allowed the walkways to get so crowded that they need to remove a majority of benches that are available for people simply to rest. They keep places like Tomorrowland Terrace closed, the quick service that used to be on Tom Sawyer Island. They head-shakingly designed New Fantasyland with a bunch of tables in an area far away (Storybook Circus) from the take-away restaurant (Gaston's Tavern). Disney seems more concerned about selling Dining Plans and then end up having to be "reactive" to the consequences of having a bunch of people who want to use it. They did the same thing with Fastpass+. Apparently, in the planning for FP, they were told that they needed to make capacity improvements before offering it. But instead they brought in FP+, saw the chaos that it created with Soarin and Toy Story Mania, and only then decided that, maybe, the initial recommendation was right, and got to work adding the third track and extra theaters.

But blame Disney, NO! Can't do that, nope, we have to turn it on other guests who are doing nothing more than act the way the rest of the world works.

I absolutely agree. Disney is the only place I go that a shortage of seating in a restaurant causes people to blame other people. I cannot grasp the mindset that places the burden of a corporation's greed on the backs of people sho are simply trying to eat or rest. I have never once entered any restaurant to eat and was left wandering around searching for a place to land my tray. Disney? Holy chaos. It is common sense to have enough seating to handle your clientele, yet Disney gets the pass and the rest of us are held accountable.

I think the above post..sums up something for sure..If some folks cant handle table saving while a family member is ordering food....Then are they really able to deal with anything socially .. Yes, maybe they would have more fun staying at home. The bottom line is saving a table is SMART, its not rude...its common sense. And, as stated....SMART.
The folks complaining about table saving or whatever...is like hearing something on the radio..they don't like it so they want to ban it.....when instead, they should just change the station.

I am always amused that a group of people have determined that only their way is the right way. If a restaurant has determined that no one can sit until they have food in hand, I will decide if I want to go or find another eatery, but I will adhere to tht policy if I enter. I see no reason to adhere to a policy that does nto exist, and that a handful of people on a message board has decided to implement on their own.
Eat the way you want, stand sit, wander. Whatever. But I will make decisions that work for my family and will manage the way every other restaurant manages until Disney puts that policy in place.

Wrong answer. My adult ticket or AP cost the same as yours. I have just as much right to sit at a table as you. Relegating solos to the counter or bar is 100% NOT ok.

I know! That was the most rediculous admonishment I have heard here in a long time.