Has anyone ever had this experience at Rainforest Cafe?

[TiggerInNY]

Rainforest Cafe....

What a joke. We were just there Saturday, Oct. 16th. We asked how long the wait was and was told 20 minutes. OK, we could do that. BUT, when they call your name, you have to wait in a line that's about 40 minutes long. Very deceptive. My DH was so mad that we got out of line and went to Fulton's. If they would've just said that the wait was more like 45-60 minutes, it could have saved us 25 minutes of waiting. It was so loud in there, I don't think I would've enjoyed it anyway. DTD was SOOOO crowded, you'd think they were giving the stuff away. I was there Friday night also, to do some shopping and smartly enough, I left the kids and husband home. It was crazy! The Wonders of Disney store was so crowded that you couldn't even turn around without bumping into someone. I read on another post that people from the hurricane that had to rescedule their vacations picked October to go back. Just my luck.

We were at WDW last October at the same time and the crowds were less.

I was just curious to see if anyone else felt the same way about Rainforest Cafe.

TTFN,
Tigger

 

[DisneyKidds]

BUT, when they call your name, you have to wait in a line that's about 40 minutes long. Very deceptive. My DH was so mad that we got out of line and went to Fulton's.

How did you know the line was 40 minutes if you didn't wait in it?

That practice is standard at all Rainforest locations. However, they don't call you to the podium until a table is available. The line is just for those waiting to be taken to their tables. The longest we've waited on that line has been about 10 minutes. That's been our experience, but maybe the DTD location is different.

 

[sha_lyn]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds

That practice is standard at all Rainforest locations. However, they don't call you to the podium until a table is available. The line is just for those waiting to be taken to their tables. The longest we've waited on that line has been about 10 minutes. That's been our experience, but maybe the DTD location is different.

This has been our experience at DTD and AK RFC. We've eaten at DTD 2x and AK 1.

 

[Kaycee]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds

That practice is standard at all Rainforest locations. However, they don't call you to the podium until a table is available. The line is just for those waiting to be taken to their tables. The longest we've waited on that line has been about 10 minutes. That's been our experience, but maybe the DTD location is different.

We've had dinner at RFC at DTD three times, and our wait once we've joined the line of those being seated has never been more than 10 minutes from that point.

 

[sanilacjack]

It has been our experience that they do not call your name unless a table has been cleared and assigned to you. The second line is just a holding area for the hostess to take one party at a time to their tables. We have never waited (at the most) more than 10 minutes.

I would say.....When you walked out, there was a cleared table waiting for you.

RFC:
DTD 1x
AK 3x
Chicago 1x
GreatlakesMI 3x

It's sad that you left....I think you would have liked it....as you can see.....We do!!!!!!

 

[Princess Michelle]

My experience at RFC has been the same as what the others have said for both the AK and DTD locations. Once our name was called we were asked to get in line and were at our table in only a few minutes.

 

[HopperFan]

We have eaten at AK, DD and Ft Lauderdale numerous times and it was all the same. Once we have gotten in the line by the podium it was only a couple minutes before we were seated.

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

I didn't have any problem with the one in AK but the one DT seems too busy. When we were there last time, there was a super long line and they told us the wait was about 60 mins when we asked. NOT worth it!! I do feel the same way

 

[TiggerInNY]

I've never been to a RFC before. The line after thay called your name was very long, and didn't move. There were at least 10 people in front of us and they didn't look like they were together. I feel the same way that Tinkerbellmom33 feels, this location is too busy.

I think all the hurricane people were there. Way more crowded this year compared to last year.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Maybe in a different location I would venture at a RFC again. NOT DTD!!!

TTFN,
Tigger

 

[delilah]

We didn't have that happen, but, we did have a reservation for 3:30. We had a discount coupon for 20% off for "lunch", until 4pm. We arrived and checked in a 3pm. We were not seated until after 4, and of course, couldn't use our coupon.

 

[Chicago526]

I worked at RFC at Woodfield Mall, IL in '97. I'm assuming that RFC in DTD works about the same way as the one here.

Basicly, how it works is this. They take your name and quote you a wait time (in your case, 20 minutes). There is a person at the entry to the restaurant portion who is told by other hosts how many tables are open. The person then calls to the name taker "I nedd X number of parties sent back". The name taker then calls the next few names on the list. Those parties then head back and wait in a short line while seaters come by to pick them up and show them to their tables. The wait in the line should be less than 5 minutes.

That's how it works when the hosts are doing their jobs the right way. Sometimes, the person in charge of the line has the name taker send back too many parties, either because they think they have more table than they do, or because there is presure to keep the wait "on time" by calling parties when they are due, rather than when a table is really open (this can happen when the name taker doesn't quote an accuerate wait time, or tables just don't break as fast as anticipated). Chances are, that the OP encountered the long line because the person in charge felt a big "break" of tables was due, and all the people in line would be sat shortly. The line should not have been that long, though, it looks bad.

If I were the OP, I would have waited at least 5 minutes or so, just to see if the line started to move (and maybe they did!). If after 5 minutes of not moving, I'd be worried. In a place as big as RFC, a table should open up every minute or so, and if the line isn't moving then there must be a problem of some sort.

 

[helenk]

We went to the RFC in DTD in late June, what a mob scene! But we had a reservation and we were called within 5 minutes of our reserved time. We waited in the line for out table just about 10 minutes. There were alot of large groups, and I think that caused a bit of a jam up once we were in line.
It was very noisy though, it did not bother me, but my mother who has a hearing problem hated it because she had a hard time "filtering out" the background noise in order to hear the conversation at the table.
We are going back to WDW in December and her only request was not to eat at the RFC this time.

 

[FOTM_Ring_Bearer]

The RFC is noisy but it is a neat place to try. Like others have said, after they call your name, you only have to wait a few minutes until you're seated. One year during the summer, I was given a 3 hour wait time. We went somewhere else. I've found the weekends to be very crowded at DTD, especially at night. I prefer to go there first thing in the morning, eat lunch and head back to our resort.

 

[Meagansmom]

We have been to the DTD RFC and seen the wait 1 and 1/2 hour long. Now that is long! The funny thing is that people will wait that long!!! Unbelievable!!!

 

[angielynn10]

Members of my family love the RFC & eat at the ones in Disney whenever we're there. Since we have one in Northern Virginia we invested in their "Safari Club". For an initial fee of $15 you get discounts on meals, merchandise and most important -- Priority Seating, which in everytime we've used it means skipping the wait time they are announcing and you go directly to the "second" line where they'll have a table for you after about a 5-10 minute wait. We've used this repeatedly at the DTD location on nights when the official wait time is 90 minutes and we're given a place in line and are seated in no time.

This is well worth it IMO even if you only plan on eating there once or twice. Who has time to wait while you're in Disney?

 

[sha_lyn]

Originally posted by Meagansmom
We have been to the DTD RFC and seen the wait 1 and 1/2 hour long. Now that is long! The funny thing is that people will wait that long!!! Unbelievable!!!

We've waited that long before. we went shopping for the first hr, then spent the last 30 min looking around the gift shop. So big deal, since we would have looked around DTD and the gift shop anyway.