Saving Tables....A Complaint

[webshark3]

Perhaps for you personally it is wrong. I do not and never will believe that it is wrong. Just because you say something is wrong doesn't make it so for everyone else.

Come to think of it. I've don't think I've ever seen a sign in a CS restaurant stating the the seating areas are for restaurant patrons only. Anyone know if there are?

 

[scrapbookworm]

If a family is using a table inside a CS eatery to eat their sandwiches out of the cooler, that's probably not right.

If a few family members holds a table while someone else does the ordering at the said CS eatery, I have no problem with that. We did that last week numerous times. It took 30 minutes to get pizza at MGM, and you can bet that DH, stepmom, and DD were waiting at the table while my dad and me got the food. The line outside the pizza place was horrible- how much worse would it have been if all those people PLUS the additional family members were there- all those people x3, minimum.

Do you really want a whole family waiting in line? i.e.: Mom with mega stroller, dad with backpack, couple of kids bouncing around, etc. Or you'd prefer them to be standing in the middle of the restaurant, or out in the hot sun, just b/c the food isn't ready? I'd rather the kids and extra adults be sitting at the table when I turn around to walk off with my food, than to try to fight my way thru the throng while avoiding spilling my $10 worth of drinks! It's already a good trek to make it through a crowd with the kids (and adults) who are simply getting napkins, just walking in, looking at the menu, etc. Can you imagine the congestion if the entire family must stand around?

In my mind, the tables will turn over at the basically same rate whether a family waits at the table or waits in line. If you look at one individual table, yeah, that table may be occupied longer. But if you look at the entire restaurant and the way people stagger in at different rates, there will be a table leaving every couple of minutes.

 

[daisyduck123]

I see absolutely no problem with one person finding and saving a table while someone else goes and gets the food.

I don't see a problem with this either.

My family always splits up.
The tables are there for people to use how they wish (except for changing diapers on...but that's another thread entirely!!)

 

[blueangel]

I didn't vote in your poll, because I think you left out an important aspect - courtesy. The biggest problem is not people saving tables while someone is in line, but the campers.

You know, the people who will send grandma over to grab a table while everyone else gets on Expedition: Everest. Grammy sits there for two hours with no food waiting on her family. Then, they hang out for an hour and a half discussing what they want to do next, surrounded by their garbage, with hungry people prowling around them with laden trays. If we could eliminate these folks, I don't think there would be as many problems.

Personally, we split up and someone will grab a table. Yes, even when it's busy. Nobody wants to wander around looking for a table and fighting other families when it could have been handled while one person was in line. I agree with those who have said that having a pack of tired, hungry children in line is horrible. Let them sit down.

And no, Disney does not post signs saying that tables are for restaurant customers only. I think they realize they don't want to fight that fight. Let us work it out here!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Since I'm usually traveling to the World solo, I don't have the option of saving a table while ordering food. But if I go inside a CS restaurant and it looks really busy, I either wait until later or go somewhere else.

I have to agree though that it's better to have as few people in the ordering lines as possible. Those lines are really hard to navigate, especially when you are trying to exit with your food. They should have made the exit lines about twice as wide as the order lines. I can't tell you how many people I've seen covered in soda when a tray gets knocked to the side.

ITA! As a solo, I really resent those people who have some in their party save a table while someone orders food. I'm not sure if it's fair or not, but it makes me pretty jealous since I don't have that option.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree with the majority of people who say it's ok to save a table while other family members stand in line to order. The only place my family and I ever do this is at Earl of Sandwich and if we didn't, who knows when we would have been able to sit down and enjoy our meal. I should also mention to the people who thinks wrong, there is nothing stopping any of you to do the same thing by having someone save a table while other members of your family order. So don't be mad because you had just as much as fair chance to save a table and even if you don't want to admit it, I am sure you would do things different the next time your at a counter service location that is very busy.

 

[HUFF590]

Another yes vote .

 

[oybolshoi]

I admit that I fall into the category of holding a table while DH orders. As many others have stated it seems like the practical thing to do and helps keep the chaos at the registers a bit more ... manageable.

Having said that, we also tend to visit WDW during October and May when the crowds aren't as heavy so this isn't as much of an issue.

One thing I'd like to point out, just for the heck of it, is that none of us can judge the situation of another person / family just by what we see when we walk into a crowded CS establishment. I think all of us make a lot of assumptions and snap judgements (I include myself - I'm not pointing fingers!) and they're not always the right ones.

I'll use myself as an example. Last October we went to WDW about 6 weeks after I had surgery. I'd been cleared to return to work and all that good stuff, but I was still taking pain medication and still tired easily. One afternoon we stopped at a CS location in Epoct to grab a snack and I was actually feeling very unwell. I sat down at an empty table to wait for the hubby and by the time he came back with some food and drinks I was starting to feel much better. Would it have been better for me to stand in line with DH and risk fainting and creating a huge distraction and mess for everyone or was it better for me to just sit down and hold a table since we were planning on eating there anyway?

Now apply that same sort of scenario to... a pregnant woman, an elderly guest, someone with a terminal disease, someone with parkinsons, a diabetic, etc... Would you begrudge them a table while someone else in their party is ordering? Would your answer be the same if you couldn't tell just from looking that the person had an issue?

If we expect others to be considerate of us, we have to be considerate of them and sometimes that means we've got to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Anyhoo, do I save a table? Yep.

Would I be willing to share if someone asked? Sure, although we usually only sit at tables for two.

Do I get upset with other guests for saving tables? Nope.

Would I knock down an old lady with a walker and trample a toddler to get to an empty table?

Maybe.

 

[englishrose47]

We always split up one saves a seat while the other gets the food , always take a runner to the line to run back with the ???. What I don't get is why didn't the op do this. You can always go look at menu and then split . I do agree with the poster about holding a table for absent family that is wrong and Granny should get up for the diners ! At a local amusement park I had a very rude family who came and sat doen at one section of our table where we wer eating and then when the rest came proceeded to move our stuff. DD was not polite but they still did not move now that was wrong!!

 

[LakeAriel]

I haven't read all posts and in the poll said it was OK to save a table but....there is a caveat. If the line is very long and I know I will be waiting 30 minutes I don't send family members to find a seat until I am near the front of the line. I have sat next to one person holding a table for 4 for 40 minutes while others couldn't eat their food. I think a little common sense is in order.

 

[GC&S]

And here I thought I was being courteous by not subjecting people to my 4 year old swinging and dancing and generally having a good time in line. I thought I was doing people a favor by stepping out of line with her and getting her seated at a table. I really didn't want to be the subject of a disboard discussion about how people can't control their kids while waiting in a CS line .

Last year there was 12 of us eating at Backlot at MGM. It was the only CS we all ate together. Believe me, if the OP was behind us, I bet he would have been glad if the majority of us sat down while a couple of us ordered the food.

 

[MrsToad]

Clearly, I'm in the minority on this topic. But let me ask you this....what do you do as you look around and see folks with food struggling to find somewhere to sit down and there's table after table occupied by folks such as yourself...with no food. Do you feel sorry for them? Ignore them? Do you just not care? Or do you feel guilty because you know that you're sitting at a table that they could be using to eat their lunch? Seriously. I couldn't help but wonder what all of those people were thinking as they watched folks walk around with their trays of food in search of a vacant table. If it were me, I would give it up. I just couldn't sit there and ignore them. Clearly, their need is greater than my comfort.

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.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

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.

That was very well said and I agree with all your comments 100%.

 

[kimberh]

We have actually done it both ways, I can't stand walking around the CS restaurant, with a tray of food and drinks, that I can spill, now to say that, I will now go and get a table. When it is the two of us, I have gladly shared our table at Ak and MGM, with another family,( I don't just set and stare at them, I invite them to join us) didn't mind in the least. When we go as a family of 9, it is very hard to get a table, You bet we are going to look for a table. We want to set together.

I didn't vote in your poll.

 

[goofy4tink]

I am a table saver...plain and simple. Wrong? Not according to the CS CM's I've talked to. I've asked at several different spots if it's okay to have part of the family sit and wait for 'dad' to get the food out to them. The CMs have actually told me they prefer to have people sitting at the foodless tables rather than in the line. So...with that said...
I never sit at a table and eat food I have not purchased at that restaurant.
If I see a hugely long line at the counter, I pass it by in favor of a different spot.
I try to eat at off-times so it's less crowded.
I have invited a solo person to join our table on occasion. It was very pleasant meeting someone new and they got to sit down and eat.

Sorry the OP feels it's wrong to have part of a group save a table, but it would seem that Disney thinks it's okay. In all my trips, I have only had an issue finding a spot to eat once or twice...and those times were pretty much because it was so humid/hot that I didn't want to sit outside, and neither did anyone else.

 

[stagemomx3]

And here I thought I was being courteous by not subjecting people to my 4 year old swinging and dancing and generally having a good time in line. I thought I was doing people a favor by stepping out of line with her and getting her seated at a table. I really didn't want to be the subject of a disboard discussion about how people can't control their kids while waiting in a CS line .

 

[kittythepoohbear]

The quick response - I chose yes, save a table, especially if you have a large party.

True story - a couple of years ago I went to WDW on a solo trip and decided to get lunch at Cosmic Ray's. There was a very large group (at least 8 people tweens to adults) in line in front of me. First it took them forever to place their order and pay. Then they clogged up the area where you wait for your food. My little veggie burger was done before their mammoth order yet I couldn't get to my tray without many "pardon me's", "excuse me please's" and finally just shoving through. I finally have my tray in hand as some of their party starts to grab their trays and leave. I quietly rejoice as I head towards the condiment bar. I grab some pickles and napkins then go to get some ketchup. Would you believe I am stuck behind THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE as they stand there discussing Space Mountain calm as can be while filling up about a dozen of those little paper cups while a small line of people formed behind them. I couldn't take it anymore. I just grabbed my little paper cup, took a few squirts of ketchup while they so carefully placed their dozen cups on a tray and walked away. I found an empty table in about one minute far, far away from them. If this party had split up and saved a table with some people getting the condiments, I would have started enjoying my meal quicker and with a lot less aggrivation.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I think CMs should patrol these areas during busy times and insist folks vacate a table if they don't have food so others WITH food can sit down to eat.

How'd you like the be the CM who has that job? "Hi Dad--yeah, I got hired at Disney! Well, no, I'm not in the parade...no, I'm not at Tower of Terror...no, I'm not working at the Main Street Bakery...Dad...I'm the 'Table Sheriff' at Pecos Bills. I herd away people who are sitting at tables without food."

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The quick response - I chose yes, save a table, especially if you have a large party.

True story - a couple of years ago I went to WDW on a solo trip and decided to get lunch at Cosmic Ray's. There was a very large group (at least 8 people tweens to adults) in line in front of me. First it took them forever to place their order and pay. Then they clogged up the area where you wait for your food. My little veggie burger was done before their mammoth order yet I couldn't get to my tray without many "pardon me's", "excuse me please's" and finally just shoving through. I finally have my tray in hand as some of their party starts to grab their trays and leave. I quietly rejoice as I head towards the condiment bar. I grab some pickles and napkins then go to get some ketchup. Would you believe I am stuck behind THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE as they stand there discussing Space Mountain calm as can be while filling up about a dozen of those little paper cups while a small line of people formed behind them. I couldn't take it anymore. I just grabbed my little paper cup, took a few squirts of ketchup while they so carefully placed their dozen cups on a tray and walked away. I found an empty table in about one minute far, far away from them. If this party had split up and saved a table with some people getting the condiments, I would have started enjoying my meal quicker and with a lot less aggrivation.

I would agree with that what you went threw was aggravating and it's a great example of how in some cases it's better that not all members of one group should stand in line and should get a table, if there is a lot of them.

 

[asianway]

To answer the OPs question of what do those saving the seats do when other people with food come walking around looking for a table?

I for one do not make eye contact as I lounge around waiting for the chow to come in much the same manner as I dont make eye contact with panhandlers downtown when they ask for money.