Something that irks me about Coral Reef...does it irk anyone else?

[troyseyfert]

Ok, my wife and I went to Coral Reef for lunch during free dining last August/early Sept.

Most restaurants were all booked up, and I know for a fact that Coral Reef was too...

So, we go into our lunch (which was in the earlier part of the day) and when we go into the dining room, there are a TON of tables available!

In fact, the entire time we were eating, our waitress might have had a maximum of 3 tables...and the restaurant was only half full...

So my question is: Why in the world are there so many tables open in this restaurant, especially during FREE DINING, and why do they say they are booked? I saw a ton of people sitting in the waiting area when we left.

If the excuse is because the kitchen can't support it, then they should get a smaller dining room because to the normal everyday person, they won't understand this concept...

Does anyone else notice this and what are your thoughts? Let's "vent" together

 

[Happy99]

It could also be that people just didn't show up and didn't cancel or cancelled last minute.

Last year on the day after Christmas one of the servers told us that they had 200 no shows on Christmas Day

 

[Tricia1972]

I think that you're exactly right that the kitchen can't support it, or there aren't enough servers to handle the load. Were it a case of no-shows, then the people wouldn't be sitting around waiting for a table. You'd also have servers standing around doing nothing because their tables are sitting empty.

With the current ADR system you get the first available table for your party size. You can't show up crazy early for your ADR, but generally speaking if you show up 15 minutes early, you get seated early if there isn't a back up of guests waiting for tables.

 

[MissMet]

I don't think it's that the kitchen can support it. If that was the case then shouldn't CR always be half full?? Cause I've seen it completely full with every table filled & people waiting outside.

It does make a little sense about the waitstaff, but if there are people waiting outside then those staff could be doing something. There are many people that don't make ADRs and just walk up, so IMO the staff would have work if they were there... especially Coral Reef, it's so popular!

 

[Avidchick]

I've noticed it too- but have never heard a good reason. Maybe I'll ask when we eat there in November

 

[MHSweb79]

This exact same thing happened to us on a free dining trip in 2007. The waiting are at Mama Melrose was PACKED with sweaty, hungry, impatient people but when we were seated the place was half empty. Service was EXTREMELY slow.
We noticed a lot of empty tables at a couple of other restaurants during that trip. It can't be from people not showing up, since there was an angry mob waiting to be seated. I think it was a staffing issue.

 

[AnnetteF]

We ate at Coral Reef during free dining 2 years ago, but the dining room was packed, as was the waiting area. We went for dinner and after a wait of over an hour past our ADR time and then waiting for our waitress for about 20 minutes, she then tells us she can only take our drink order right now when we wanted to give her our entire order (our 3 year old was starving by this time), I finally lost it and said to my DH let's go. She went and got the manager and he convinced us to stay and even gave us free drinks, but in talking with him, he said that they are forced to overbook by upper managment and there is nothing he can do to stop it. It seems like this particular restaurant has a lot of issues. We haven't been back since.

Not that it really makes a difference but we were not on the dining plan.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

With people doing the no show thing, it seem like that would cost Disney money. Wouldn't Disney be better off charging you for no shows? It would
reduce the number of them.

I have not noticed this being a problem before but I am going in a few weeks and kind of interested to see how it goes, especially at Le Cellier.

 

[twentysix]

It could be that some of their kitchen staff didn't show up that day, or that there was some sort of equipment failure, or that they underestimated the number of people with ADRs that would actually show up.

 

[kaybird]

There are also a crazy lot of diners that will refuse a table if it is not by the tank. They will sit and wait on the next available tank table, and glitch up the whole mess.

 

[catne]

I always wonder if those 100s waiting outside for a "tank side" table realize how small that restaurant really is...you can see the tanks from everywhere. Maybe if they knew there was only like 10 of those tables they'd give it up and just take what's available.

Mama Melrose is always mostly empty when we're there, and always a lot of people waiting. Don't know why they don't seat people...there will be clumps of waiters standing around chatting with each other so it's not because the wait staff is too busy. But you'd think it was crazy busy with how slow the service is in that place. We like the food, but wow, everything takes forever. If you're eating there -- suggest you order your drink & also get ice water so you have beverages cuz it'll take forever to get a refill if you run out.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think it is because many people make ADRs with little intention of keeping them. And then don't bother to cancel them. I wish Disney would require a credit card hold for every ADR, I think it would cut down on the no shows and make them some more money.

 

[DebbieB]

My guess is they did not schedule servers to service all the tables for that time. Another cutback so save money.

 

[Tricia1972]

Not to completely discredit the idea of double booking, but I think that it is less of an issue when the waiting room is packed with people wanting to be seated and half the restaurant is half empty, like the case the OP is referring to.

Instances like this I think have more to do with staffing. Otherwise why keep the staff waiting for customers and the guests waiting to be seated for so long.