New Seating Arrangements at Counter Service

[DVCJones]

I am also concerned that it is a huge safety issue to have small children in line for food. We all know how long and congested those lines are. Add small children moving around in line and take a guess how many children will bump into people carrying their food out of the massive congestion.

I for one am not looking forward to trying to hold a tray full of food and hold on to my 5 and 7 yo.

I really hope they rethink this. It is a bad idea.

 

[drakethib]

This policy was made by people without small children. If my little one needs to sit, Disney's table police won't be able to stop me.

I agree.

Again, this has to be one of the most idiotic ideas I have heard of.

I forsee some bad things happening out of this.

Some little kid is going to get trampled at the mad rush.

 

[cinderella73]

Isn't this going to solve one problem only to cause yet another?

The lines at many of the table service places can get really crowded and uncomfortable now. Add in a additional 2 to 5 (or more) people to that group per person and you have a nightmare of a line with wailing kids and people bumping into people. That seems to me to be a much bigger problem.

One a side note I know I am in the minority group here but I always have to get in line , ask to speak to a manager and view a ingredients book which requires me to either hold a entire line up ( which I dont) or do the polite thing ( which I do) and get back out of line while I look through the book and wait on the manager to come. Then I have to get back in line all over again. If my large group ( especially the younger kids) had to wait not once but twice it will not be such a good thing.

 

[dsny1mom]

We experinced this policy being tested Spring of 2008. It worked very well. Went into Cosmic Rays and I got in line with pre-teen great niece while niece and her baby in a stroller waited off to the side.

We got our food and the CM let us enter the table area. We could choose any available table we wanted. I was a bit put off at first but the CM assured me she would help us find a table that we could pull the stoller up to once we had or food. There were seberal tables avialabe that suited our nneds so we didn't need the CM's help.

We happened to sit right near where the CM was stopping people to tell them they needed to get their food first and all were pretty understanding. There was this one woman who went on and on about her kids being tired and the CM ruining their day, but the CM stood strong and the woman and her children waited until the other adult had their food and then they were allowed in the table area. They ended up sitting near us and the woman was really angry even after she was seated. We could hear her complaining about the *rude* CM and how she was saving her receipt so she could demand a refund for their meals as City Hall. We felt bad for the man she was with. He kept trying to calm her down but she just kept on moaning and complaining about how no one was going to tell her she couldn't sit down with her tired kids.

dsny1mom

 

[Pirate-Jeff]

Here is a simple solution add more Table/seating area.

If you run out of seats constantly you need to add more tables or some more CS locations.
Open the ones that are closed. Anyone ever see the terrace noodle station or the Taco stand across for the POTC open ? I have not seen them open in 3years or 5 trips.

 

[DOOM1001]

Here is a simple solution add more Table/seating area.

If you run out of seats constantly you need to add more tables or some more CS locations.
Open the ones that are closed. Anyone ever see the terrace noodle station or the Taco stand across for the POTC open ? I have not seen them open in 3years or 5 trips.

I couldn't agree more,that noodle station must be open like 40 days a year.

 

[Commando2319]

You seat 2 stroller aged kids and then go get the food and condiments. I would be apprehensive about leaving then alone at a table!

I am apprehensive about leaving my kids in a stroller too. But when you are in the parks with multiple children and 1 adult, you don't have much choice. Like when I need to use the restroom. You park them in a safe place, give them something to distract them, and go as fast as you can.

Not ideal, but you deal with the situation that you have.

 

[Madi100]

I have children, we eat a lot of counter service, and I am in favor or this policy - somewhat. I think it needs to be tweaked a little bit. But, I like the general idea.

Back on the seats. Who cares. You are there to eat, not take a nap and relax. It provides a place to eat a quick meal, which is what CS meals are intended to be. If you want to sit and visit for an hour, go to a TS meal. I get the whole idea of having those stools instead of chairs makes for more room. As long as they are sturdy stools, great. If they would have started with stools instead of chairs, no one would have cared.

The whole family waiting in line. This is the part that needs to be fixed. If your kids need to calm down before eating, make them sit on a park bench outside first. But, otherwise, there is no reason that they can't be expected to not sit down until it's time to eat. Do you have your kids come to the table at home and sit down ten minutes before you eat just to calm them down? But, I've stood in the CS lines many times, and they are small and congested. Why not allow only one person and have a spot for other people to stand.

I think the whole idea of the plan is to have people sitting at tables long enough to eat and move on. By trying this idea out, they eliminate the people saving tables, sitting down for a break and just relaxing, taking more time at the tables than the meal takes, and something I've yet to hear mentioned - people who aren't eating food from the restaurant, but instead eating their own that they've brought in.

 

[guynwdm]

I have children, we eat a lot of counter service, and I am in favor or this policy - somewhat. I think it needs to be tweaked a little bit. But, I like the general idea.

Back on the seats. Who cares. You are there to eat, not take a nap and relax. It provides a place to eat a quick meal, which is what CS meals are intended to be. If you want to sit and visit for an hour, go to a TS meal. I get the whole idea of having those stools instead of chairs makes for more room. As long as they are sturdy stools, great. If they would have started with stools instead of chairs, no one would have cared.

The last couple of times I have eaten at Pecos Bills they have had stools in part of the dining area (like over 2 yrs ago). It was easier for people to join tables together for large groups and you could get more people around the table. I think they have been working with this for a while and have just now gotten to expanding it. I can see where they would like it if there is more than one person in line to get the food. I have seen one person trying to juggle 2 plus trays of food for a group. Sometimes just having one person get the food does not work with a large group. I guess I can see advantages either way and well in the scope of the world if that is the worst thing that happens on a vacation it is still a really great vacation.

I guess I have my pollyanna on today.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

As a Dad who gets stuck lugging all the drinks and food all over the restaurant while trying to find where my wife sat all the time trying to not get hit by a stray child or adult, I cheer.


I wonder how the families that can't handle waiting to the side of the line for approx 15 min or less handle Disney at all?

 

[slapwhitey]

As a Dad who gets stuck lugging all the drinks and food all over the restaurant while trying to find where my wife sat all the time trying to not get hit by a stray child or adult, I cheer.


I wonder how the families that can't handle waiting to the side of the line for approx 15 min or less handle Disney at all?

Right on point, I'm the lugger as well. Ultimately I don't think it's that big of a deal. Like as previously stated. If a few minute wait is going to destroy an experience maybe this isn't the place to be.

This should stop people from thinking they need to leave their children unattended just to save a table. People tend to get a sense of false security in a place like Disney but when you have 70 000+ people in a park on any given day that's a small city. There could easily be people amongst that 70 000+ that may or may not be as innocent as others. Not really a place to leave children unattended. I can't even believe what people leave unattended in and on strollers.

I know sometimes Disney's decisions are unpopular and seem a little foolish. That being said I tend to believe that they do think these things through for the most part. I don't think this is going to cause chaos or human stampedes. If anything, it should make it a little less hectic than before. We wanted to try this out this last weekend but never got around to doing counter service in the park. We'll try in December. I may change my mind at that time.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

I don't think this one is going to be all that unpopular. Just the people that it will make upset will be very very very vocal.


But ya got think. When those restaurants get busy, and there's a 15-20 min wait in line. And all the people in the back of the line has sent their minions off to take up a table for the duration. There are people that do struggle to find a seat.

Do the people saving a table really feel they are more justified to have a seat that the couple that stood in line and got their food first?

 

[DaParkers]

I don't think this one is going to be all that unpopular. Just the people that it will make upset will be very very very vocal.


But ya got think. When those restaurants get busy, and there's a 15-20 min wait in line. And all the people in the back of the line has sent their minions off to take up a table for the duration. There are people that do struggle to find a seat.

Do the people saving a table really feel they are more justified to have a seat that the couple that stood in line and got their food first?

I agree 1000%

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

Also. For Disney to pay more cast members during this time when they are cutting everywhere they can, has got to say something about the problem that saving tables has caused in select restaurants during rush hours.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I don't think this one is going to be all that unpopular. Just the people that it will make upset will be very very very vocal.


But ya got think. When those restaurants get busy, and there's a 15-20 min wait in line. And all the people in the back of the line has sent their minions off to take up a table for the duration. There are people that do struggle to find a seat.

Do the people saving a table really feel they are more justified to have a seat that the couple that stood in line and got their food first?

Well the only locations where my family and I save a table is Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli, however anyone else going to those locations has the same chance to save a table and the same can be said about the other counter service locations that don't have this rule. So why should those people be at fault for saving a table when those who didn't save a table could have done the same thing?

 

[DaParkers]

Well the only locations where my family and I save a table is Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli, however anyone else going to those locations has the same chance to save a table and the same can be said about the other counter service locations that don't have this rule. So why should those people be at fault for saving a table when those who didn't save a table could have done the same thing?

That doesn't make much sense. What about the people there alone? How do they save a table?

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

Well the only locations where my family and I save a table is Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli, however anyone else going to those locations has the same chance to save a table and the same can be said about the other counter service locations that don't have this rule. So why should those people be at fault for saving a table when those who didn't save a table could have done the same thing?

If 2 unmarried people are in line to buy their food. They both need to in line to pay for their own food. They did not have the same opportunity to save a table.

Single travelers also do not have the same opportunity to save a table.



Now I'm not saying never save a table. I'm not saying I've never saved a table. And I'm not saying that I will never save a table again. But saving tables is causing trouble during peak times then it a completely reasonable thing to request.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Well obviously those who travel alone don't have someone else to save them a table, so I guess their only option is eat at an earlier time when tables won't be hard to get. However those who travel with a few people all have the same chance to save a table and if they choose not to well I don't feel sorry for them. Just because my family and I were smart enough to save one before ordering we should not feel guilty, because those same people had a chance to save a table and did not.

 

[lugnut33]

I heard Disney was going to implement a $3 butt parking fee due to guest demand.

 

[safetymom]

We were at Cosmic Ray's last weekend with my daughter and grandchildren. They weren't doing the assigned seating thankfully. My 6 month old granddaughter was very fussy because of the heat and would not have been a happy camper in the food line. We started feeding her at the table while my son in law got the food for the table. By the time he got to the table my granddaughter was feeling much better.

We didn't eat at a peak time but spent some time enjoying the a/c.