Gripe - Food in the Parks

[salmoneous]

Just to be clear, this is one of those rules that is being made up by DISers, and not a Disney rule, right? I mean, Disney doesn't have signs anywhere saying seats are reserved for paying customers only, do they?

So for those that want to make up the rule, can you clarify exactly what the rule is.

Which tables are off-limits?

How much food are you required to buy to sit down?

Can I have my baby with me if she is eating jar food, or does she have to wait outside?

Can I have my nephew with me, who is a picky eater and won't eat any Disney food, or does he have to wait outside with the baby?

How long do I get to sit at the table? Do I have to get up the minute my food is gone, or can I linger? Can I get up and leave, or do I forfeit the table the minute I'm gone?

 

[wilderness01]

Personally if we bought Turkey Legs from a cart in MK we would never slip into Peco Bill's to eat them. We have sat on the curb to eat them. Comfortable? No. But we didn't feel right eating at a restaurant that we didn't purchase food from. Now we have purchased food many times from Peco's and found no place to sit so we took our trays by the Aladin Ride and went underneath a terrace where they have tables. This actually led to our DVC purchase as we were listening to the rep and his selling.......but that is a whole other story! This area is open to the public and although there are only maybe 5 or so tables, we managed. I have seen plenty of people eating their fries from the carts on a bench, sitting on a curb, or even standing up. So yes, if you didn't buy the food at the restaurant, then you shouldn't go sit in there to eat it. Just my opinion.

 

[lillygator]

salmoneous....I don't think OP meant as you are suggesting but as I have seen families with large coolers and full meals brought in from outside dining at a restaurants tables. Not simply, a baby eating baby food or a picky eater not eating....come on.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

Just to be clear, this is one of those rules that is being made up by DISers, and not a Disney rule, right? I mean, Disney doesn't have signs anywhere saying seats are reserved for paying customers only, do they?

So for those that want to make up the rule, can you clarify exactly what the rule is.

Which tables are off-limits?

How much food are you required to buy to sit down?

Can I have my baby with me if she is eating jar food, or does she have to wait outside?

Can I have my nephew with me, who is a picky eater and won't eat any Disney food, or does he have to wait outside with the baby?

How long do I get to sit at the table? Do I have to get up the minute my food is gone, or can I linger? Can I get up and leave, or do I forfeit the table the minute I'm gone?

I love sarcasm. so I guess my answer would be common sense and courtesy would be the way to go.

 

[mainewmn]

Let’s try another analogy, would you go to McDonalds purchase food and then go to Wendy’s to eat it because there is no sign prohibiting it? Or would you bring your own cooler filled with food to McDonald’s because you trying to save money? Same rules apply to Disney.

 

[Soprano]

Just to be clear, this is one of those rules that is being made up by DISers, and not a Disney rule, right? I mean, Disney doesn't have signs anywhere saying seats are reserved for paying customers only, do they?


So for those that want to make up the rule, can you clarify exactly what the rule is.

Since you asked....

Which tables are off-limits?

All which serve food. My money which paid for the meal(s) also goes towards the staff who will wipe down tables, pick up napkins and keep the place tidy.

How much food are you required to buy to sit down?

No minimal.

Can I have my baby with me if she is eating jar food, or does she have to wait outside?

Rhetorical question? The baby stays of course!

Can I have my nephew with me, who is a picky eater and won't eat any Disney food, or does he have to wait outside with the baby?

Won't eat ANY Disney food, eh? Well I can't see the harm in the little fella staying as he only takes up one seat.

How long do I get to sit at the table? Do I have to get up the minute my food is gone, or can I linger? Can I get up and leave, or do I forfeit the table the minute I'm gone?

You should have respect for others who are waiting for those tables. If you have finished eating, and stay there, then you are just loitering.

Hope that clears it up for you

 

[melomouse]

I'm late to the thread, but have been following with interest and quite honestly, never thought about it til now. It IS frustrating not to find a seat at a CS with your full tray, even if everyone is a paying customer. I probably do get a bit irritated with those who use CS space as their picnic grounds.

Yes, Disney should provide space if they continue to allow people to bring more in than snacks and baby food and drinks. Another "look the other way" rule.

This is my question - and indeed, I may be comparing apples and oranges....

is the discussion about "paying customers" at CS getting the tables the same as.."I paid for the (deluxe resort) and this is why pool-hopping and non-guest parking is taboo!"? These are complaints we often see here on the DIS. Just wondering....

melomouse

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My daughter is vegan, my dil is celiac. While most of the sit-down restaurants at WDW can accommodate the two of them, it's harder at the counter-service places and we can't really afford (both in money and time) to eat all meals at TS places. So - we bring in food. Our family will sit together at a CS table and most of us will have ordered from the restaurant, but two people will be eating at least part of their meals from food that we brought in with us.

I should mention that we have also done this at local restaurants, where they are not able to provide the variety of food that WDW does - and (once we've explained the situation) it has not been a problem. I can't think of a single time when the restaurant staff told us we couldn't do this.

So perhaps some of these families you see also have some special dietary needs and that's why they are bringing in food from home.

Teresa

 

[lillygator]

We go often, and take lots of day trips...and without fail we pretty much always see this...I guess now I tend to notice more than ever. My sister goes once or twice a week and she sees it as well.

BTW, I am still waiting for a response from WDW. I searched for a little while on the site last night, but then I kept getting the server is too busy message. Seems everyone is wanting to go to Disney.

 

[wilderness01]

Our family will sit together at a CS table and most of us will have ordered from the restaurant, but two people will be eating at least part of their meals from food that we brought in with us.

The difference here being that there are other people in your party who have purchased from the restaurant and are now using their facilities. I think that is a big difference.

 

[robinb]

salmoneous....I don't think OP meant as you are suggesting but as I have seen families with large coolers and full meals brought in from outside dining at a restaurants tables. Not simply, a baby eating baby food or a picky eater not eating....come on.

I think salmoneous' point was: Where does the DIS draw the line? Is it OK to feed your baby food you brought in, or do you have to go to the Childcare Center and buy it from Disney? Is it OK for some members of the family to order from the menu and some to eat what they brought in? Is it OK to feed my DD a PB&J because she's a vegetarian (at 6!) and doesn't eat the ubiquitous hot dogs, burgers and chicken fingers? Is it OK to eat the CS meals, but drink your own beverages (Crystal Light, water, etc) chilled with free cups ice? Is it OK to order just a drink and eat your own food? Is it OK to eat and drink only your own food and beverages?

Different people think different things are OK. I am in the minority and I think as long as Disney allows people in the door with small coolers full of food, those people should be comfortable when they eat: out of the sun, rain, heat or cold. Since Disney does not supply a picnic area I can only assume that they agree with me. I've never seen a CM ask someone to leave and make room for a "paying customer".

 

[lillygator]

yeah - they were a tad sarcastic.

 

[C.Ann]

yeah - they were a tad sarcastic.

------------------------------

Any response from Disney yet? I even tried googling it yesterday and going through ask jeeves and all I found was what "other" peoples assumptions were - absolutely no official word directly from Disney.. Tried to do the search here too - for the emails that people have received directly from Disney when posed with this question -but the search was down..

I've never seen anyone hauling a "big" cooler, but I do know they provide lockers in all of the parks for small coolers and the only restriction is no glass containers..

 

[lillygator]

no response except that they recieved it and will be back with me shortly.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen a large cooler being pushed in a stroller. It's quite funny!

 

[blondemom]

When my family went to Pecos Bill's for lunch, the two mom's stayed behind with the kids while the dad's went to get the food. One particular family (with a large cooler) came to the table, and without asking took the two empty chairs away (the ones for the dad's) - I watched with my jaw dropped. They pushed the chairs next to the cooler (a few feet away from our table) and were about to eat. I walked over to them and requested the chairs back - firmly but politely telling them that it was impolite to just grab chairs without asking and that our spouses were returning shortly with our lunch. These two suggested that they "keep the seats warm" until our spouses returned. Fortunately for me, a cast member who worked there stated, "I'm sorry, folks. The seating in Pecos Bill's is reserved for paying guests. You'll have to have your lunch elsewhere." These two hemmed and hawed about it not being fair. The cast member simply stated that although the restaurant was large and afforded many tables, the tables were for the customers. He said that when you purchase a meal at Pecos Bill's, part of your purchase price entitles you to a place to sit. He then said that if this couple wished to occupy a table, there were plenty of food choices on the menu...



Personally, that is the first time I have witnessed something like that. My family and I dine in the restaurants - both sit-down and counter service. We just assumed that since we are paying for our meals, we should have preferred seating over someone who does not purchase food from that establishment, but feels it necessary to sit down. However, I also feel that Disney should provide more seating opportunities simply because it is a HUGE park, and people just get tired and need to sit sometimes.

 

[lillygator]

I'm going to start counting benches.....my sister and I can be on a mission to see who can find them all first.

 

[DMRick]

How can it be the same. One thing Disney allows and one they don't (without prior permission).

We go often to Disney, logged in over 40 park trips this past year. I have to say, that seeing large coolers doesn't seem to happen when I am there. In fact, I can only remember once noticing one..and that was because I almost tripped over it. I have seen people with small coolers in strollers bring out sandwiches, baby formula, bottles, etc. I do see those people taking up tables, but to my best recollection, it seems to be a very small amount, and it doesn't bother me. At the resorts, I'll be one of them, as I bring in my own oatmeal. I DO often see lots of tables being taken while people are waiting for the part of their party still in line getting the food. That's been discussed here, and most believe that is fine. But perhaps that is a main reason it's hard to find a table. If the line is long, it could be 15 - 20 minutes before the party comes to join the people saving tables (and I understand some have kids who need to be out of line, etc)..just commenting on why it's so hard to find a table. It's not just because a few people bring their P&J sandwiches in.

This is my question - and indeed, I may be comparing apples and oranges....

is the discussion about "paying customers" at CS getting the tables the same as.."I paid for the (deluxe resort) and this is why pool-hopping and non-guest parking is taboo!"? These are complaints we often see here on the DIS. Just wondering....

melomouse

 

[lillygator]

How many seats would be enough? I don't think I have ever not had a place to sit when I needed to rest.....and the year before I was pregnant and towards the end of the pregnancy I needed to sit down quite a bit. This was at all parks....AK seems to have tons of benches around....

Next thing people will be asking WDW to put out chairs for the parades.

 

[Karnak]

Hoo Ha! I did not know that the little smilies had hidden meanings. I tend to ignore the little round fellows, and read the posts considering only the written script.

Sorry about that. However, I did not mean to sound critical, I really do think that the strollers rented at the parks are not as handy as most of them sold elsewhere.

Enjoy.

 

[lillygator]

DMRick, it must only be me, DH and my sis spotting them all. But then most people aren't on the lookout for such odd things.