How long after reservation time do you complain?

[MarkinNM]

Its impossible for any restaurant to know exactly how long diners will take to eat and subsequently loiter at their table. Disney has to overbook to allow for maximum capacity and they turn tables over quickly because of this. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to make an ADR if they took fewer reservations to allow for shorter wait times?

Overbook or just being lazy, this is just silly talk...............

 

[nkereina]

Overbook or just being lazy, this is just silly talk...............

This is Disney World, not 5 star dining in Manhattan. Its factual, and common in the service industry (see: airlines, hotels, etc). If a restaurant has 100 tables (for example), that means they can take exactly that many guests every 90 minutes or so if they operate with true reservations. That would be a logistical nightmare for a high capacity restaurant at Disney, especially ones in a theme park. Much fewer people would be able to make a booking. This would also be detrimental to Disney's dining plan and discourage people from purchasing it, if they are having a hard time eating at TS restaurants. And, more guests would be dissatisfied with the lack of availability compared to the occasional 20+ minute wait to be seated at a TS meal. Disney restaurants need to get people in and out quickly - both so they can seat and feed more people (demand) and so guests can get back out into the park and spending more money.

If you don't like the way the Disney TS system operates, try dining at the Swan/Dolphin, Four Seasons, or many of the places nearby off property.

 

[firefly_ris]

I won't complain... I'll inquire and politely ask if they have any idea about how much longer, but I also don't really wait more than 20 minutes past a reservation time. There's no food in Disney worth waiting around with 3 small children for an hour for. There's QS and mobile ordering all over the place...

 

[MarkinNM]

This is Disney World, not 5 star dining in Manhattan. Its factual, and common in the service industry (see: airlines, hotels, etc). If a restaurant has 100 tables (for example), that means they can take exactly that many guests every 90 minutes or so if they operate with true reservations. That would be a logistical nightmare for a high capacity restaurant at Disney, especially ones in a theme park. Much fewer people would be able to make a booking. This would also be detrimental to Disney's dining plan and discourage people from purchasing it, if they are having a hard time eating at TS restaurants. And, more guests would be dissatisfied with the lack of availability compared to the occasional 20+ minute wait to be seated at a TS meal. Disney restaurants need to get people in and out quickly - both so they can seat and feed more people (demand) and so guests can get back out into the park and spending more money.

If you don't like the way the Disney TS system operates, try dining at the Swan/Dolphin, Four Seasons, or many of the places nearby off property.

NEVER said I dont like it, just is silly to wait longer then ever 15 mins for a table, and yes Disney does have a 5 star restaurant.....Again if they can schedule a time for one to eat at 1PM then by all means they need to honor their end of getting them at a table within that time frame, zero excuses, every restaurant wants to turn a table as soon as they can, this is not unique to Disney...........

 

[mcurran]

Its impossible for any restaurant to know exactly how long diners will take to eat and subsequently loiter at their table. Disney has to overbook to allow for maximum capacity and they turn tables over quickly because of this. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to make an ADR if they took fewer reservations to allow for shorter wait times?

I want to add to this that there is NO PLACE ON EARTH with MORE META DATA on dining habits and other data from:
- 6 month advance reservations
- web and app traffic to menus
- ticket admissions
- weather forecasts (more near term)
- ticket sales and turnstile traffic
- average table flow
- server performance

There’s no reason for Disney to have ROUTINE extended waits for advanced reservations.

But the realist in me thinks it’s all on purpose because
- waiting guests order alcohol in many establishments (increased revenue)
- waiting guests check gift shops in resorts (ohana etc)
- moreover: finding places to put people is Disney’s job! At any given time there are more people in the park than can fit on all of the rides/attractions and all of the seats in all of the restaurants. Disney pushes that line of irritation/satisfaction more skillfully as any company than anyone.

 

[mcurran]

I want to add to this that there is NO PLACE ON EARTH with MORE META DATA on dining habits and other data from:
- 6 month advance reservations
- web and app traffic to menus
- ticket admissions
- weather forecasts (more near term)
- ticket sales and turnstile traffic
- average table flow
- server performance

There’s no reason for Disney to have ROUTINE extended waits for advanced reservations.

But the realist in me thinks it’s all on purpose because
- waiting guests order alcohol in many establishments (increased revenue)
- waiting guests check gift shops in resorts (ohana etc)
- moreover: finding places to put people is Disney’s job! At any given time there are more people in the park than can fit on all of the rides/attractions and all of the seats in all of the restaurants. Disney pushes that line of irritation/satisfaction more skillfully as any company than anyone.

And Disney could honestly reduce advance dining reservations by HALF when they release 6 months out and simply release more tables as ticket sales, weather forecasts, and even day of table flow data comes out. They could still fill tables with walk ups and delight people who planned and were lucky to get adrs in advance if they really wanted to.

 

[nkereina]

NEVER said I dont like it, just is silly to wait longer then ever 15 mins for a table, and yes Disney does have a 5 star restaurant.....Again if they can schedule a time for one to eat at 1PM then by all means they need to honor their end of getting them at a table within that time frame, zero excuses, every restaurant wants to turn a table as soon as they can, this is not unique to Disney...........

Victoria & Albert's, the 5 star restaurant, to my knowledge DOES operate as a traditional reservation. So there shouldn't be an issue with seating there. Again, Disney overbooks to accommodate more people (and account for no shows). So your wait time will vary because you're just being seated at the next available table - not one booked for you. As for turning tables over quickly, yes all restaurants want to, but this is heightened at Disney. Its why most TS restaurants have relatively small menus, basic food items, items prepared in advance, and many family style/buffet options. It gets people in and out.

And Disney could honestly reduce advance dining reservations by HALF when they release 6 months out and simply release more tables as ticket sales, weather forecasts, and even day of table flow data comes out. They could still fill tables with walk ups and delight people who planned and were lucky to get adrs in advance if they really wanted to.

How can they "release more tables"? Their capacity is capped at the number of tables each restaurant has. If they leave X number of tables to walk-up availability and stop accepting ADRs, then they may potentially lose out on guests because people will book elsewhere. That would be like if an airline stopped selling tickets even though the plane has 20 seats left, just in case someone showed up at the airport day-of.

There’s no reason for Disney to have ROUTINE extended waits for advanced reservations.

I don't think its that extreme. Do the popular restaurants run behind sometimes? Yes. Will larger groups maybe have a longer wait? Possibly, because there are fewer tables to accommodate them. Will people have to wait longer when restaurants are packed during free dining and Christmas week? Its very possible. But to say the late seating is routine or consistent is an overstatement, IMO. I've never waited longer than 20 minutes to be seated, and I've often been seated earlier if I happened to check in earlier. Usually I am seated immediately or within a 5 minute window, which is about the time it takes for the seater to grab my ticket and menus before they call out my name. And we do eat at prime meal times. We maybe have an average one meal per trip that deviates from our typical experience, and its not even that extreme.

And I presume they DO use the data they have to project how many ADRs they can take per hour before they reach the tipping point of too many. As you mention, there are a lot of variables every day that would go into this projection - weather, ticket sales, guests who take forever to eat/loiter, etc etc. Even if they book to the exact number their analysis allows for, one of these variables skewing the wrong way can have a snowball effect, resulting in longer waits. It happens from time to time, but not ALL the time.

 

[jo-jo]

I didn't read everyone's story, but here is our's. We have waited from a few mins to I'd say 30 mins. But the worst was about 5 years ago at Boma. We checked in got pager. Waiting area was packed with people. People come, people go. After what seemed to be forever, we were the only people sitting there. We go up and check, they tell us "oh the pager's wasn't whatever correctly", it will just be a few more mins. They said we did call your name, we were sitting there the entire time, At that point we ask for a manager.

 

[Mojo’s Mom]

Regardless of whether the restaurant is inside or out of the Disney bubble, at 15 minutes past my reservation I am inquiring about how much longer I need to wait. If the answer isn’t satisfactory, I leave and follow up with an email or snail mail to management.

In 2016, we waited at Liberty Tree Tavern for 45 minutes before I spoke up — after seeing people who arrived after us being seated and hearing the cast member telling new arrivals it was over an hour wait.

Once I spoke up we had a table in 5 minutes. After being seated, I asked for a a manger — but not to rush them to the table. I shared my dismay that we weren’t told at arrival they were so backed up. Could have gone shopping or grabbed another ride.

Every restaurant can get backed up from time to time. A large table lingers longer than planned. Someone in the kitchen or waitstaff out sick can slow service. That’s all understandable.

But chronic lateness? With the amount of meta data Disney has, they could build software to better predict their needs. At the very least they could send an automated text letting you know they are running late before you rush to the restaurant. Or, you know, stop overbooking as tightly as they do. It’s a delicate balance to maximize profit while minimizing customers waiting time. Most successful restaurants outside the bubble manage this because if they don’t their patrons stop coming.

I pay $10 to secure my reservation with Disney. That’s a contract. I’ll be there and expect a table within a reasonable amount of time. Reasonable time varies greatly, depending mostly on communication, how busy the place is, and whether this tardiness is typical.