Saving Tables....A Complaint

[mvazul]

I would like to think I am a nice person - I let people merge on the highway, open doors for anyone struggling, offer to take photos so the entire party can be in the photo at once, etc. However, I do not feel guilty for planning ahead. While I understand that sometimes a single adult won't have the option to leave their child/children at a table alone, for most everyone else, I will not feel guilty for planning ahead. Furthermore, I find it unnecessarily congested with all those extra people in the food ordering/pick up area, especially after so many people were jockeying for position at the pickup counter that I ended up wearing one family's drinks as they were trying to get out of the coral of people! Please, when possible, let your family members sit down while one person gets the food - I really believe this makes it easier for everyone and that it will all work out in the end.

This is very well said. I bolded the area that reminds me of my favorite saying:

"Your lack of planning does not make it my emergency."

However, with that said, we always try to get a table to fit just the four of us. But, if we can only find a bigger table, we have no problem inviting others to sit with us.

 

[julm26]

Sorry I have to agree with saving a seat while one parent gets the meal. I have a DD2 and I have a bad back and if I can get off my feet at meal times I am that much better to walk around the park. We always sit and have my DH go for food. Also if those poor people didn't speak english - you wasted your breathe and energy on them and probably made your entire family look foolish.

 

[CAJUNBLAZE]

ps. simbas mom if you see us ay disney you are more than welcome to sit with us. I think that would be a great way to meet more people and just maybe get info on some others things going on in the park that day!

 

[DCDisney]

We hold a table while one parent orders and I think things flow much better without all the extra people in line. If I am looking for a table though and there is someone else also looking with a full tray of food I'd always let that person have the next open table. If we are the ones sitting and it's very crowded we will always eat as fast as we can and not relax like we'd prefer to give others a chance to sit and eat. But once we have our table I wouldn't give it up to someone else because chances are slim they could sit and eat before our food came out.

Yvonne

 

[bnba2]

Actually, you're wrong about that. As I stated in the OP, I already knew this was an issue at CS. I'll say this again and this will be my last reply for awhile (too busy right now)....It's wrong for someone without food to occupy a table when someone with food needs it. Nuff said.

nopers...it is not "wrong" it may not be how you chose to operate but your opinion on this does not MAKE it "wrong". What is wrong is your expectation that everyone else should and must follow your opinions and desires with no regard for their actual situations or their wants, needs and desires. That IS wrong! Clearly you are in a very small minority and if you are unable to come to terms with the fact that it is YOU who has the problem then I don't think there is much that can be done for you. Frankly, I am rather offended by your lack of ability to see anyone's position on this topic other than your own, reiterating a stated position that very few support as the gospel according to you. I shudder to think how this sort of self centered delusional thinking must impact other parts of you and your family's life. You are creating a problem where none exists, and then refusing to accept in the face of obvious facts that it is NOT a problem.

Good luck to you and I hope you can see the larger picture rather than continuing to view things through your own little blinders.

bnba2

 

[Tink2312]

Sorry to say this but we always save the table. IMHO it also saves space around the checkout points at counter service locations because sometimes when there is a party of say 5 all queuing together, it can get pretty crowded.
However I do feel sorry for those people who are unable to split their party up (ie when there's only one adult) and I will always try to eat my food in good time and if I see people waiting, offer them the table as soon as I've finished.
One shocking thing I have seen a few times in Disney however is when a child is sat alone on a table waiting for their parents to return with some food and a family comes to the table, sits down next to the child and intimidates them away from it I'm sorry but IMO that's wrong!

 

[micksterlee]

I would much rather have people save seats than to stand behind a group that goes brain dead when they finally get to the counter.There is nothing worse than to hear the father of 5 turn to the group and say "now what does evryone want for lunch" when the counter person waits on them.

We always check out the table situation first then order if it is crowded we either get a table first or go somewhere else.

If I want to stand and eat I will go to a cart and grab a turkey leg or a hot dog. No way am I going to try to eat ribs while standing by a planter.

 

[drogerstn]

It is selfish to sit at a table without food while others with food do not have a seat. Unfortunately, there is no system set up at WDW to handle this and a family pretty much has to do what everybody else is doing if they want to have a seat when their food is ready. This is my way of saying we are table-grabbers as well, but will delay the grabbing if appropriate. The problem is, many others aren't as considerate.

Another point, if there is a long wait for getting food, everyone in the party does not have to wait in line as many suggest, nor do they have to occupy a table. They can wait outside or inside out of the way.

We were at Cosmic Ray's during a rain shower and we couldn't get a seat when it appeared that many people were just using the tables to wait out the rain.

 

[madalex]

nopers...it is not "wrong" it may not be how you chose to operate but your opinion on this does not MAKE it "wrong". What is wrong is your expectation that everyone else should and must follow your opinions and desires with no regard for their actual situations or their wants, needs and desires. That IS wrong! Clearly you are in a very small minority and if you are unable to come to terms with the fact that it is YOU who has the problem then I don't think there is much that can be done for you. Frankly, I am rather offended by your lack of ability to see anyone's position on this topic other than your own, reiterating a stated position that very few support as the gospel according to you. I shudder to think how this sort of self centered delusional thinking must impact other parts of you and your family's life. You are creating a problem where none exists, and then refusing to accept in the face of obvious facts that it is NOT a problem.

Good luck to you and I hope you can see the larger picture rather than continuing to view things through your own little blinders.

bnba2

Bravo on this post!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I save a table on occasion. Although normally we eat lunch as early as 10:30 or 11:00. And even during busier times, I don't see hoardes of people wandering around with trays of food. If I do and my food hasn't arrived yet, I have been known to give them some of our chairs or offer to let them use my table, I think that happened once. It seems to me, the majority of people save the table ahead of time. If this was so much a Disney No No, they would probably police the tables more. In the end OP, you can't beat them, so join them. If you had done this, you wouldn't have had to post this poll and still be angry that back at home after your trip you are still mad at about your lunch at ABC Commissary. You took the higher road I guess. But in the process, you won the battle and lost the war.

And while it might increase the seating capacity, the line capacity would be at its uppermost limit. Then people would post "why don't familie's split up at cs places so the lines aren't so insane?" In the end, WDW is just more crowded these days and the inconveniences that incurs are limitless.

 

[vpalmer]

We split up, but in our case I alone get the food while my family sits. I think it is less about "saving a table" and more about giving kids a break. Touring an amusement park takes a lot of energy and sitting at a table and relaxing is a better use of our time than all waiting in line for our food together.

 

[wendy46001]

I have to say this topic goes under
"When in Rome"

its just how it is....and after going to disney with four small children (no they’re not mine) i'm a firm believer in me sitting with the kids while DH gets our food.....its a lot easier to have all the kids sit and cool down while he gets food...then for us all to stand hot and hungry in line....

but saying that when DH and I just go we dont take up a table....we order together and wander around.....its a lot easier to get a table for two then a table for six.

Sorry to the OP for thinking its rude….but if I walked in and saw a bunch of people settling into tables then I would have found one as well….

 

[bzzymom]

When DH and I travel on our own, we usually stay together in the line and find a table when we are done. When it is DH, DS, DD and I, I look at the line. If it is long, we come back later or go somewhere else. If it isn't busy, we split up and DH or I will get the food while the other gets a table. My kids would not stand still in line without running around, getting into arguments and so on. When we travel with my mom, she has to use and ecv and she can't stand for more than 5 minutes without excruciating pain. Most of the TS aren't easy to navigate with the ecv, so we find a table, she parks the ecv outside and she sits with the kids while we order. It we have extra seats at our table, we will offer others with no seat to sit there. We have done that at electric umbrella a couple of times.

I don't think it is an absolute right or wrong. It depends on what works best for the family. I personally would rather not stand in line with other my kids and/or peoples kids causing a ruckus.

 

[theparsons]

If you're worried you'll lose your table, by all means, stand guard over it if you must but let that family quickly eat and be on their way. If that day was any example, they'll be gone before your food arrives.

Ummm, gee, don't get up for me...because frankly, I'd rather stand and eat my lunch with a little privacy than to have someone standing guard over the table watching me eat....so much for any conversation, lol.

So, I'm wondering...those of you who don't think a table should be saved....do you ever linger at the table for a few minutes after the last of the food is chewed and swallowed....you know finishing up the conversation you were having....maybe figuring out where you are going to go next? I think I have more objections to the people who have finished eating...piled up their trash on a tray to the side of the table and are sitting back talking...and talking....and talking. Even though I used them as examples, I'm not meaning just a "ok, what do we want to do next, pull out the map and let's see which way to go".....I'm talking about people who, like your table savers who haven't gotten their food by the time you leave.....there are people who finished before we sat down near them, and are still chatting when we leave....that's another table that could have been used by you wanderers to eat but was occupied long past the eating stage.

Of course, in TS restaurants this is even worse....like the TS where the CM's acutally encourage people to relax and enjoy waiting for the fireworks while people with ADR's from an hour ago sit and relax.

I don't think there is a solution....so long as everyone around me is saving tables while someone else is ordering, I'll do it as well, because I too want to have a seat while I eat a hot meal.

Of course, that's also part of the reason that we never take vacations during holidays or summers.....homeschooling makes it possible for us to go while the rest of you can't, lol...so the crowds are lower. It works for shopping, for the library, and for vacations!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Whenever we eat at a CS, DH stands in line, I grab condiments, folks, napkins, etc., and scout out a table. I don't feel bad about it because everyone else in line has the option to do it, too. I also don't feel bad about getting on a ride ahead of everyone else because I have a Fastpass and they do not.

 

[Princess Stitch]

Ok, I concede. After reading all the comments on here it really doesn't seem all that bad any more lol. I guess it's just at the moment when you're looking for a seat it seems rude that all these people are just sitting around without food. Everything you guys said makes sense though.

The ONLY thing I have to say is that if it's ok for you to take up a table for 20 minutes before your meal so you can rest and get situated, then I think you have to cut some slack to those who stay at their table after a meal. Maybe they didn't get to sit ahead of time and would like to rest as well. If it's ok for you to take up a table when you don't have food, it shoudlnt' matter whether it's before or after you've enjoyed your meal.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I don't mind people saving seats. I would much rather not have kids crowding the line area, and have them seated at a table.

Also, as a usually solo traveler, and therefore not able to save seats, I've rarely had a problem finding a table.

 

[theparsons]

Ok....so some think saving a table is wrong....what about the family that sends mom to stand/sit at the parade route saving a whole section of curb while the rest of her family is off on a ride or seeing a show or shopping. Is that fair? I bring my kids an hour before the parade to get a good spot and she's got 10 feet of curb saved? Why should my kids have to sit for an hour twiddling thumb while her kids get to have fun?

Ok, truth, I don't begrudge her....I did sometimes wish that my kids were old enough that I could have let them wander off and shop or ride a last ride and then meet me and our saved wonderful spots (by that time my feet were grateful to be off them, so I'm cool with it). And by the time we go to WDW next January, maybe they will be old enough.....haven't decided yet, lol.

The difference between the parade and the CS of course is the temp of the food, but the fact is that at both events someone planned ahead and someone didn't....and this board makes it pretty obvious that in ALL aspects of a WDW vacation, advance planning will make for a more enjoyable trip (or at least a less frustrated one).

Makes you wonder how people managed to go to WDW and the like before the Internet and still have fun

 

[guyzmom]

We always split up and save a table, but we have never done so when there is a "capacity" crowd. I also like to take my time.
I hate situations just like the ones described in this post, so I go out of my way to avoid them (I feel guilty about things WAY to easily). We try to go places in low seasons and eat on off-times.
I would honestly rather stay home than deal with people being mean or rude (even if it's not intentional) on vacation.

 

[theparsons]

Quite honestly, I've never heard people complain about this until I read it on the disboards.

I figure that's because no one complains about it unless they didn't plan ahead and get a table


In the courthouse where I used to work was a sign by the Judge's clerk...."Your failure to plan does not constitute an emergency on my part". She used to just point at her sign every time a lawyer was trying to push her to go above and beyond because they hadn't planned ahead. You learned quick that she was never going to budge from that sign.