Wait your turn!! New seating rules for CS restaurants at WDW...

[Roy Disney]

I don't get it. Why would you want to have everyone standing around in the "dead" areas instead of sitting at a table ?
It has to make the lines longer. If given the choice of standing in front of the bathrooms or waiting in line with Dad or Mom to get the food, a lot of kids will choose waiting in line with Dad or Mom. So, rather than Dad just standing in line for his entire now it's Dad and 2 kids.

Is the problem people sitting down and not ordering anything ?

 

[GoofyTraci]

well we will all just have to see how it goes. i guess too many people complained and they decided to change things.

 

[LilGMom]

My guess is that for people in wheelchairs, mothers with nursing babies, people with babies crying for their Gerber apple sauce, etc. the CMs will make allowances for your needs.

I am guessing that the CMs will not be able to make allowances for anyone because if you do for one than you have to do for all - they will set themselves up to get fussed at by someone wanting an allowance for them too regardless of if they have a nursing baby or not.

Your other statement about

My guess is they even let you go to the bathroom before you get your food trays.

sounds like you are a little testy for possibly being stopped up from walking around too long with a tray seeking a table.

Hopefully it will work out and once everyone gets used to it people will plan accordingly and things will run smoother at the popular CS locations.

 

[Geoff_M]

Anyone that's a veteran of WDW in busier times knows that the two biggest headaches at WDW CS restaurants are:
1) The prices...
2) Finding a place to sit.

When you go with your family to your local McDonald's (unless it's in DTD) and it's not busy you aren't likely to see tables occupied by people holding down a table so someone else doesn't get it first. Families wait en masse in front of the registers all of the time at their local burger joint... but somehow we're supposed to think it's an undo burden when at WDW. When many of these same families go to WDW, the first thing said to their spouse and younger kids is "Go get a table!" That's because they know that a clean table that'll seat a family of five at WDW is a rare thing. It's a reflex. Getting rid of the #2 problem at WDW CS restaurants will be a big winner for most people. For others it will be a minor inconvenience that will be partly offset by the realization that they won't have to worry about being stuck in a table-wait holding pattern.

Someone mentioned capacity. Check this out.... Let's assume a CS restaurant will 50 tables. Also assume an average "grab and hold" time of five minutes plus a 20 minute "eat once the food arrives" period. That means each table will "turn over" every 25 minutes. Now assume no "table saving"... The "turn over" period drops to every 20 minutes. That's a 20% reduction. In a restaurant with 50 tables that's the equivalent of adding 10 more tables. So, during peak periods, the restaurant can effectively increase their seating capacity by 20% for the cost of a few CMs working the floor for a couple of hours during peak meal times. The more seating capacity, the more customers you can serve. More customers, more $$$. That's a pretty good ROI in my book.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We just got home from a week at WDW this morning. While at Magic Kingdom yesterday afternoon, we had lunch at Pecos Bill's and found that Disney was trying out new seating rules for CS restaurants. In order to sit down at a table, you need to 1) have your entire party together, and 2) have your food in hand. Once the CMs manning the entrances to the seating areas (2 at every door) see that your ready to sit down, they tell you where the available tables are and where's a good place to sit.

No WAY!!!!!!!!! That is absolutely fantastic!

Wow, is this ironic. A couple of years ago I was on the losing end of a thread and poll about the issue of saving tables.

I know the feeling. I was in the same position just a couple of weeks ago

1) have your entire party together

well I have an issue right there. Having to use a scooter in those crowded areas is not only stupid but dangerous. I go sit down and find a table that does not block others with my scooter.

Now, you’ll just have to wait for them in one of the apparently-plentiful empty areas.

If you have to wait until your entire party is ready to enter the seating area then you'll be feeding/nursing a baby while your food gets cold.

Or, you could time your meals around the infant’s feeding/nursing times. If a baby eats at 8, 12, 4, 8, etc., feed the baby (plenty of benches around the parks) THEN feed the family and yourself.

If they're actually doing this now (this is the first I've heard of it), I'm pretty sure they'll abandon it prior to our December trip. It seems like a good idea now, but as soon as they get the numbers back and realize they're spending 2-3x as much money on CM paychecks, with a mixed reception from the public, they'll drop it.

How do you figure? I bet nobody’s been hired for this procedure, that instead some Cast Members have been reassigned. Voila! No additional cost.

Frankly, if Disney is having these sorts of capacity issues, they need to do a better job with capacity

There appear to be two ways to ‘do a better job with capacity: Increase capacity (not likely, given the finite size of any given Counter Service venue), or work out a procedure by which everybody is able to find counter service seating when they’re ready to eat (that being one of the primary reasons to HAVE a counter service restaurant, with seating.

Maybe it will expand, maybe it’ll turn out not to work. But except for Laughs’ personal experience with the new process (and his/her apparent positive impression of it) everything here is just GUESSES.

 

[Tam1067]

I'm so glad Disney is doing something about this problem! We leave on Monday...I hope it's in effect next week because dealing with CS meals at the parks (and finding somewhere to sit) is one of the least enjoyable parts of my trip.

A family type place near me (you order at a counter and then they bring your food to your table, served on paper plates) has done this during peak times for years, and it works very well.

 

[LilGMom]

you could time your meals around the infant’s feeding/nursing times. If a baby eats at 8, 12, 4, 8, etc., feed the baby (plenty of benches around the parks) THEN feed the family and yourself.

That would work if you aren't dealing with an infant that has the same eating schedule as the rest of the family. I don't know about other families but we've always eaten together as a family, this includes the youngest. Sure when he was an infant he'd nurse/snack on demand but once he hit that mush in a jar he was eating the same time the rest of the family was. I guess you could have two meal times for every meal but that sorta takes away from ride/attraction time.

 

[Geoff_M]

I am guessing that the CMs will not be able to make allowances for anyone because if you do for one than you have to do for all - they will set themselves up to get fussed at by someone wanting an allowance for them too regardless of if they have a nursing baby or not.

Why wouldn't they?... they make such allowances all of the time for people with special needs at WDW. There are few hard and fast rules at WDW. CMs are often given the latitude to make judgment calls with guests.

 

[dqpowell]

How do you figure? I bet nobody’s been hired for this procedure, that instead some Cast Members have been reassigned. Voila! No additional cost.

I'm sorry, but cast members don't grow on trees, and you have to pay them. If they're reassigned from elsewhere, then they'll have to hire more people or pay for more hours for others to fill in elsewhere. Besides, the balance sheets are calculated on a per-location or per-restaurant basis. They know exactly what it costs to run everything, and if the costs at the CS restaurants rise due to the new policy, without a reduction in complaints from guests (or even with an increase in complaints), they'll abandon the policy.

David

 

[Geoff_M]

I'm sorry, but cast members don't grow on trees, and you have to pay them. If they're reassigned from elsewhere, then they'll have to hire more people or pay for more hours for others to fill in elsewhere. Besides, the balance sheets are calculated on a per-location or per-restaurant basis. They know exactly what it costs to run everything, and if the costs at the CS restaurants rise due to the new policy, without a reduction in complaints from guests (or even with an increase in complaints), they'll abandon the policy.

IIRC, CP CM's earn around $7.25/hr and they are plentiful during the peak summer months. If you're able to sell one more meal per hour per CM due to the increased ability to seat people faster, the move will probably pay for itself. There are also things that management is measured on besides the "bottom line"... one of those is called "customer satisfaction".

We had a popular national chain open up their first restaurant here a few years ago and until the novelty wore off they had people lined up to the doors every evening. They posted a sign asking people to not save tables (being compliant Midwesterners, a sign was all that was needed!) because they knew that it was the most efficient way to serve people as fast as they could. Being able to service more people per hour helped reduce the lines which without a doubt help keep some people from turning around and going someplace else if they had seen people backed up to the door.

 

[princessesrule4]

I think this is a great idea! we always have trouble finding a seat at Cosmic Rays

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Seeing that I am the only person who experienced the new policy, I can promise everyone that it works extremely well. For those of you who doubt that it will ever work...I don't know what to say. This isn't something that Disney's talking about or an idea that's on the drawing board. It's working right now. I'm not one to track down management types, but I made sure that I found one to tell them how much the new system was appreciated. He told me point blank that the feedback that he has received from guests had been overwhelmingly positive and that as far as he knew, it would continue during busy times of the year. That being said, the system will be halted during slow seasons, when the demand isn't so high, so there's no problem with paying for extra labor. The policy will only be instituted when necessary.

 

[MommySiobhan]

Wonderful idea! This should make it a lot easier to find tables...but I can't help but wonder how families who have to juggle diaper bags, toddlers, strollers, and wheelchairs will manage juggling a tray along with all that? Hope they have a contingency plan to cover these.

Do they just have one parent/caregiver stay with the children/other while the other parent tries to handle 3/4/5 meals? Or does the food-fetcher have to make several trips?

it sounds like a good idea, but like the previous poster said, i think this would make the lines horrendous with kids getting impatient just standing around waiting for their food and playing on the rails that keep the lines separated. i wonder if it will be like this in December when we go.

It does sound like a good idea especially for those ready to eat but I have to agree, having a 1, 2, 4 & 5 year old and two strollers, it's so much easier to handle trays of food without the two strollers and all the kids. Usually I'd have dh sit down with the kids and I'd tray along and run all the food out.
Besides my monkey 3 year old and those darn ropes last year almost killed me.

I'm sure it's been thought out though. If anything, I'm surea nice CM would offer help if they saw it needed.

 

[dqpowell]

IIRC, CP CM's earn around $7.25/hr and they are plentiful during the peak summer months. If you're able to sell one more meal per hour per CM due to the increased ability to seat people faster, the move will probably pay for itself.

This isn't going to benefit them monetarily. During very busy times, the "revenue bottleneck" is the line in front of the registers, not the people wandering around looking for tables. Having extra CMs policing the dining area costs money they're not getting back at the registers. During non-busy times it's even worse... they'll have CMs that won't really be serving a function other than making guests angry when they tell them they can't go sit down without a tray of food in their hands, when there will clearly be abundant available tables.

There are also things that management is measured on besides the "bottom line"... one of those is called "customer satisfaction".

Right, which is why I said the additional cost of CMs to implement the plan must be offset by a reduction in guest complaints for the policy to remain in effect. I believe they'll see no reduction in complaints at all -- possibly even an increase. I've never complained before but you can bet your bippy I will be next time, if this policy is in place when my family is there.

David

 

[Tink3Belle]

Now that's progress!

 

[BethR]

Thanks for the report Laugh O. Grams.

Being from the "table savers" camp, I will be anxious to see how this works when we go in a few weeks. We are fortunate (in THIS respect) that we no longer have young children that we have to juggle. Everyone can now help to carry trays and no one needs to be attended to while the food is being ordered and then carried to the table.

If things work as well as the OP say (and I have no reason to believe that they do not), then this may well be a good answer for everyone involved.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

If they're actually doing this now (this is the first I've heard of it), I'm pretty sure they'll abandon it prior to our December trip. It seems like a good idea now, but as soon as they get the numbers back and realize they're spending 2-3x as much money on CM paychecks, with a mixed reception from the public, they'll drop it.

There is no question whatsoever that this will be a very bad thing for many families. It will hurt as many as it helps, if not more. It makes much more sense for me to take orders from my family prior to getting in line and for them to go find a table while I gather the food, perhaps with the assistance of my oldest child.

David

I don't get where you're thinking that labor costs will rise 2-3x? They only need an extra 5-6 front of the house CMs to mantain the flow of the guests. How many people are working in PB at any given time total? 30? 40?

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I believe they'll see no reduction in complaints at all -- possibly even an increase. I've never complained before but you can bet your bippy I will be next time, if this policy is in place when my family is there.

David

All I can say is that I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[dqpowell]

All I can say is that I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I'll be as clear as I can be about this.

If a CM tells my wife and children they can't find a table and sit down while I order the food, I will be angry and I will complain to a manager. There's no way that I could possibly be "pleasantly surprised" if the policy is in effect when I'm there. Two of my three children have non-obvious (i.e., not visible at first glance) special needs. They will be allowed to enter the seating area and get situated or the manager will get an earful.

David

 

[Hannathy]

I think it will help their bottom line because I know the times I have been there with a group or my family if we walk in and see we won't be able to sit down we walk out and keep looking. If I know I will have a seat I'll stand in line. College CM's are cheap and plentiful especially for an un-trained position.