Gripe - Food in the Parks

[maxiesmom]

Ummm, maybe you should read the whole thread. I posted early on that I agreed there should be some place for people to eat outside food. It would be nice, but what I have read seems to be that Disney does not really want you to bring food in,and is in fact just turning the other cheek to keep some guests happy. So in their view they should not have a place for people to eat outside food, lest they encourage it. They are not ripping your loaf of bread from your hands, but they really don't want you to have it either. And I highly doubt they factored in people eating outside food when they decided how many seats to place in their dining establishments. So in fact they have left people bringing in coolers high and dry as to a place to sit. Maybe that should be part of the decision making process when you decide to bring your own food or not. I still would never dream of going in to a restaurant and spreading my brought in food out. But this is yet another thing that we will all never agree on and just have to deal with. It would be so much easier if Disney actually enforced their own policies, wouldn't it?

 

[bytheblood]

One thing that bothers me is when people save a table while someone else is buying the food. I was at a CS restaurant in AK and the place was packed. After walking around for 5 minutes with our food we finally found a table. When we sat down to eat there was a group near us saving a table and waiting for there food. When we were done eating and got up to leave they were still there waiting for there food and hogging the table. I thought that was extremely rude and selfish.

I see nothing wrong with this. If you will be paying for your meals, especially if you have a larger family (and larger tables are hard to come by), you have every right to stake a spot. This to me is no different than getting a spot for the parade. If they were just sitting there while mom and dad go get the cooler, that is a different story.

We have a family of 3 and have never encountered this - from either side - but it would not bother me if they are paying patrons.

 

[bytheblood]

When we go to Epcot, I go to Tangeriene cafe to get my food while DH goes to the Liberty Inn to get food for the kids. On the way he stops and gets himself a turkey leg and a beer and then he waits at Liberty Inn for me to get there with my food then he goes in and grabs the kids something. I guess next time DH and I should stand and only the kids get to sit at the table

oh and last trip I got food from Studio catering Co and then met them at Pizza Planet. I never thought I was doing anything wrong. Learn something new every day.

I think maybe you took that out of context a little. dcgrumpy, I see nothing wrong with you doing that. You are still purchasing food on property and should have a place to sit and eat. I think the bigger gripe is over people who don't want to pay Disney prices for food so they pack their own, yet feel entitled to a seat in a restaurant where others are paying for food but have no place to sit and enjoy their meal.

My daughter is a picky eater when it comes to Mexican food, but when we go to El Fenix, we stop and pick her up a Happy Meal from McD's on the way. We are paying customers and El Fenix has no issues with this. I am sure it helps that our grandparents know the Martinez family, but not all of the restaurants (employees) know this.

 

[bytheblood]

"Originally Posted by rsackett
I have a similar complaint. When we go to DW we rent a stroller for my daughter. Quite often when we get to a popular ride all the stroller parking is taken-up by people that have brought there own stroller in the park to save some money. I feel that since I rented my stroller from Disney I should not have to park farther away or wait for these CHEAP people to finish the ride and move their stroller. Stroller parking near the entrance and exit of the rides should be only for Disney Strollers."


This was meant to be a joke, right?

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I'm tired of paying 5 bucks for a 16oz. beer in the parks. can we roll in a cooler of our own beer (no glass bottles) and grab a table?

 

[C.Ann]

Ummm, maybe you should read the whole thread. I posted early on that I agreed there should be some place for people to eat outside food. It would be nice, but what I have read seems to be that Disney does not really want you to bring food in,and is in fact just turning the other cheek to keep some guests happy. So in their view they should not have a place for people to eat outside food, lest they encourage it. They are not ripping your loaf of bread from your hands, but they really don't want you to have it either. And I highly doubt they factored in people eating outside food when they decided how many seats to place in their dining establishments. So in fact they have left people bringing in coolers high and dry as to a place to sit. Maybe that should be part of the decision making process when you decide to bring your own food or not. I still would never dream of going in to a restaurant and spreading my brought in food out. But this is yet another thing that we will all never agree on and just have to deal with. It would be so much easier if Disney actually enforced their own policies, wouldn't it?

--------------------------------
Ummmmm...I have read the whole thread.. And if you had read all of the thread and all of my responses, I never said that anyone should bring food into a restaurant and spread it out..

My responses have been in regards to CS establishments with outdoor seating.. But you still haven't answered the question as to why Disney doesn't have adequate seating even when there isn't someone taking up space that has brought in their own food.. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out - they have inadequate seating - period.. When I was there last April - and my sister later joined me in Orlando - we went to Pecos Bill's to eat and wandered around forever trying to find a seat.. Guess what? Everyone was eating food they had purchased in the restaurant - no coolers, no spread out picnics, no bologna sandwiches..

This whole problem of hordes of people bringing their own food in and taking up all the tables at WDW belongs on snopes.com with all the other urban legends associated with WDW: food from the outside being "prohibited" in the parks - thousands of people using wheelchairs to get to the front of the line - hundreds of people dragging HUGE coolers into the parks on a daily basis - and every single smoker in all of WDW smoking outside of the designated smoking areas.. I'm sure I could think of a hundred other issues if I really wanted to make the effort, but it all boils down to a handful of people have a problem in the course of a year and by blowing it out of proportion, suddenly it's an epidemic..

Your assumption is that Disney is just turning their cheek to keep customers happy (which I agree with and is why you will NEVER get a flat out "outside food is prohibited from the parks" official statement from them) but we part ways when you assume they have left people high and dry as a way of discouraging this practice.. I believe they not only assume, but expect that people will sit wherever outdoor seating is available.. So if you have a gripe about it, you need to direct it towards the management of the parks - not the people who are doing what the management is allowing..

Oh - and save your rolleyes for a situation where you are sure that the statement you are making is correct.. How on earth would you know who has or hasn't read the entire thread?

 

[maxiesmom]

First, I was not quoting anyone when I made the statement of people spreading their food out. No quote marks, right? And second, we can guess all we want to on why Disney does not have a place for outside food to be enjoyed, and we can argue about whether there is enough seating in general, but we are just guessing. None of us knows for sure, unless someone who works at the parks is lurking here and will come forward with a for sure reason. If you had read the whole thread you would see that I had commented that it would be nice to have a place for people to eat their own food. But after reading all of the posts it does seem that Disney is NOT encouraging you to bring in your own food, so they will NOT provide you with a place to eat it. I don't think they assume you will take up space at a reasturant table. However, it would be interesting if we were to write Disney and ask them where to eat our brought in food. I wonder what they would say???

 

[plutolovr]

Just adding my 2 cents!

Perhaps Disney should add lockers OUTSIDE the gates to each park. If you bring a cooler with your own food you MUST use these lockers. There would also be a picnic area set up in this area, OUTSIDE the gates. When your party is hungry and wants to eat your own food, you have to exit the gate, go to your locker, get your cooler and sit at the picnic area OUTSIDE the gates. When you're done, put your cooler away and reenter the park.

 

[salmoneous]

Perhaps Disney should add lockers OUTSIDE the gates to each park. If you bring a cooler with your own food you MUST use these lockers. There would also be a picnic area set up in this area, OUTSIDE the gates. When your party is hungry and wants to eat your own food, you have to exit the gate, go to your locker, get your cooler and sit at the picnic area OUTSIDE the gates. When you're done, put your cooler away and reenter the park.

Just curious - why? Isn't the point of Disney to be the happies place on Earth? Should they really be in the business of shunning people to outside the park for the crime of wanting to eat one of Mom's PB&J's?

 

[maxiesmom]

C.Ann--you were not the one I was speaking of when I said someone had not read my first post on this thread. No reason to mock me.

 

[DMRick]

Why? Maybe they (Disney) don't mind people eating inside the park. I really think this thread has blown out of proportion the amount of people who bring in full meals, from the thousands who buy inside the gates. I see a problem with the amount of food they sell versus the amount of seating for the counter service places..even without the "outside" people in the mix. That's where Disney ought to add tables.

Just adding my 2 cents!

Perhaps Disney should add lockers OUTSIDE the gates to each park. If you bring a cooler with your own food you MUST use these lockers. There would also be a picnic area set up in this area, OUTSIDE the gates. When your party is hungry and wants to eat your own food, you have to exit the gate, go to your locker, get your cooler and sit at the picnic area OUTSIDE the gates. When you're done, put your cooler away and reenter the park.

 

[bytheblood]

WOW - this is out of control.

 

[88Keys]

I'm siding with mattsdragon. a lot of threads on this board would simply not exist if people had common courtesy. I'll give people credit for not knowing how the whole theme park system works, but it's typically the 'I'm going to do what I want' attitude that wrecks it for the rest of us. some of the common things you see people complaining about are:

smoking in the parks, not in the designated areas
abuse of ECV's and wheelchairs by people who clearly don't need them (near fistfights over the last ECV)
people who use strollers like the tip of a spear to push through crowds
cutting queue lines
screaming at or smacking your kids
foul language at the CM's
and yes, taking away real estate inside of restaurant if you're not patronizing it.

The diffference is (sigh) that all of the things you listed are against Disney rules/policy EXCEPT for resting or eating brought in food in a counter service area. To others that have brought it up, the Wendy's argument is NOT analogous. To me, this exhausting debate with its "angry icons" and pronouncements of selfishness is an exercise in futility.....WDW allows it. No CM will stop you (unlike smoking outside of smoking areas and line-jumping). Don't you think if WDW had a good reason to make it against the rules they would? There are tons of analogies being spouted and they are just incorrect -- line jumping is not the same thing. That is not allowed, this is. Can't everybody just be grateful that they are alive, healthy, and in WDW than yelling on a chat board that they had to wait a few extra minutes for a table. Your life must be pretty great if that is what gets you angry.

 

[skiwee1]

Can you give me the link? I tried to find it when others on this site said you couldn't bring food, but if you write guest services, they say you are welcome to bring in drinks, sandwiches and snacks, just no glass. Thanks.

The MK park map now says that outside food is allowed. That being said, I still don't think those that bring in food have any right to a CS table. Eat at a bench.

 

[88Keys]

I still don't think those that bring in food have any right to a CS table.

But Disney says I do........(well, they certainly allow it)

 

[crazyj4488]

I sorta agree....counter service patrons should have priority but, it's a park and people should have the freedom to use whatever facilities that there are available even if it's a table. Maybe Disney could simply make some extra seating areas a little further away from the counter service areas just for the purpose of people with their own food.

My .02 cents

 

[apostolic4life]

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.

What a great idea.....who can I write to get a seat reserved for the parades!!!

 

[apostolic4life]

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.

Sometimes I overlook the graphics too...... I will try better.

Mea Culpa!

 

[apostolic4life]

I mean, c'mon -- if you take the argument one step further, then we should not be allowed to crowd Disney gift shops unless we are actually intending to buy something.

Peace.

I agree, everything at WDW gets crowded! I am sure everyone in these crowded locations wishes they could buy something, but in all reality they may not have the means to do so. Many people save to make WDW a once in a lifetime trip and do not have the disposable income for shopping, park food or any of the little extras. Why can't we have enough compassion to understand these things and just allow everyone to come to WDW and have a magical time: That is why Walt built this dream!!

 

[apostolic4life]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mattsdragon
I don't give a damn where you eat your sandwich, or where you eat your breakfast.

----------------------------
That's uncalled for, don't you think?

AMEN!!!!!