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

[kimberh]

This will be interesting to see if Disney will make it work. I can't stand walking around with food and Drinks!

 

[DisneyBarlans]

I'm glad they're trying to manage the seating better-however, it will be hard for those of us with kids to take them into the food line. Usually my husband takes the kids and gets a table while I go wait in line to get the food. Who knows though, maybe this will make eating at Pinnocchio's a lot easier.....although I have discovered that if you eat around 11:00 it's not crowded yet.

 

[Simba22]

hmm sounds like a good concept but I am still skeptical....I guess I'll see it for myself in a couple months, assuming they consider my week to be a "busy time."

 

[Rock'n Robin]

If you have several small ones in the family, don't worry about the condiments bar until you have your seat. You can all sit down and THEN go to the condiments bar with one or two kids at a time.
I do have to say something about the poster who advised to park the stroller outside. While mine are all well past that stage now (anyone else miss the storage for odds and ends that the stroller basket provided?), there were times in our first couple of trips when DS was 2 or 3 when he was asleep when we ate. In that case, parking the stroller is not an option. And he was already 2 when we started--I can't imagine waking a sleeping infant just to get the stroller parked for lunch.
I will be eager to see how this works this year. Pecos Bills was a great CS place last year on our first day, but very crowded.
Robin M.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

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 attempted to argue that the practice of "saving seats" at CS restaurants wasn't fair to people with trays of food looking for a place to sit and that it was counter-productive as it lowered the number of times a table could be "turned" during a busy meal period and thus only made table shortages worse. I was told I was crazy, compared to the "mug police", people had never heard of such a notion, etc. etc. Someone started an opinion poll on the matter any my views were trounced 4 to 1 against. I eventually gave up and we started to save tables too... I decided why should my family be the ones to suffer since I'm so far in the minority and so few people seem to give a rip?

You know DIS members are hardly representative of the world at large, or even the average WDW vistor.

 

[thunderbird1]

Thanks for the heads up Grams! If they actually police it enough so that folks with trays of food are guaranteed a table, I think the system will be okay. Not perfect--I still see some issues with folks who are laden down with backpacks, diaper bags, shopping bags, kids sleeping in strollers, scooters, etc. having a tough time carrying all that plus a tray of food, but I'm sure one of the 5 or 6 CM's who are standing around directing traffic will be able to take a moment to help someone carry their tray to their table. Once this is in place for a while, I'll be curious to hear other people's impressions of how well it works.

 

[LilGMom]

Since we tend to go during off peak times I am hoping that they don't have the CM's controlling the tables when we are there. I like being able to grab a seat with my two boys, getting the youngest ds's drink ready and getting the napkins, ketchup, etc. on the table prior to my dh arriving with the food. There have only been a few times when finding a table was an issue and normally we'd wait with dh, in line, until we were close to the front and then we'd head off in search of a table.

For families that have infants that are either nursing or eating baby food I can see this new seating thing being a wee bit of a pain. I can't tell you how many times that I'd have the baby at least half way done with his jar of mush before dh would arrive with the food. Then when the food arrived I was actually able to eat it while it was hot. 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. I guess you could scarf your food down first while the baby gets fussy waiting for his/her food but that doesn't make for a very enjoyable mealtime for anyone within earshot.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Disney's policing of the seating section is what made the new system work so well. As far as some of you guys saying that it sounds good "in theory" can believe me, they've got it up and running as we speak and it honestly works better than you can imagine, especially considering that July 4th is one of the heavy crowd times at MK. There were plenty of tables for everyone eating, with roughly 5-10 left open at all times.

Another benefit that I forgot to mention is that as the guests got up with their trays and garbage, there were CMs who swiped off every table and prepared each table with 4 chairs, every time. No more grabbing extra napkins to clean up after the potentially inconsiderate guests who may have used the table before you, and no more people hawking over you as you eat your lunch, begging you for your table before you've finished eating.

And for the record, for those of you who are concerned with children and strollers getting in the way, my wife and I have 2 kids under 2 who both ride in strollers, one who's still on the bottle, and we had no problem coordinating lunch at all.

 

[Geoff_M]

For all of the people fretting over this reported change, let me give you some comfort. 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. My guess is they even let you go to the bathroom before you get your food trays. You folks aren't the target of the reported policy change. What they're looking to stop are the families that simply plop down a family member for the purposes of saving a table so they won't have to wander around with food in-hand looking for a place to sit. You know the ones... the same ones that will glare at you as you approach their tables with that "don't get any ideas!" look.

The OP said they saw the new scheme in action. It's peak time at WDW now and I doubt the crowd in PB's that day would have been any less representative of the mix of people and families you'd find in there on any other day. No problems were noted with excess crowding in the ordering area... and available seating was easy to be had. It's a cliche, but it sounds like a "win-win" to me.

 

[simonkodousek]

I'm glad they have started doing this! The CS restaurants are chaotic with people "saving" tables, people running about, etc. This makes the dining experience actually enjoyable!

 

[Hannathy]

I'm glad to see this being done! I was one of the ones who got their head handed to them on the other thread when I defended waiting until you had your food to get a table. CS rest.'s are designed to have people not get their tables until they have their food. this is how they figure out the number of needed seats , when you save tables before your food then you totally screw up this equation and of course the rest. doesn't have enough seats. I hope they do this everywhere at Disney, when we were there at busy times people would be sitting for 10 minutes without food while others walked around with their trays,very rude.

 

[dqpowell]

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

 

[Hannathy]

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

How do you know they will get a mixed reception from the public. the person that was there said it was easy to find a seat and if that is so they will get glowing reports. I know I will make a point of telling them how much I like it.
And your point of it making more sense isn't true. Like I said it makes more sense to wait until you have your food because this is how the restaurants were designed. Your way messes up the seating flow and timing, they need twice as much seating as they really do and real estate is expensive.

 

[daisyduck123]

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

ITA with this.

The new system may sound good in theory, but I don't think it's something that will last.

 

[Lewisc]

I think it's a good policy. It wasn't up to member of DIS to make up this policy. Prior to Disney coming up with this policy it was wrong for posters to insist others follow an imaginary rule.

I'm glad to see this being done! I was one of the ones who got their head handed to them on the other thread when I defended waiting until you had your food to get a table. CS rest.'s are designed to have people not get their tables until they have their food. this is how they figure out the number of needed seats , when you save tables before your food then you totally screw up this equation and of course the rest. doesn't have enough seats. I hope they do this everywhere at Disney, when we were there at busy times people would be sitting for 10 minutes without food while others walked around with their trays,very rude.

 

[Andy B]

I think it's probably a good idea but might be a hurdle for me and my kids. I have gone to the parks alone with my three young kids and no DH (or any other helper). I imagine this would make lunch a bit harder for me since I would be carrying everything lol, but well worth it to reduce the overall chaos factor.

Who would carry the stuff otherwise?

 

[crisi]

I agree, bad policy for people with little kids. I too suspect this will be one that they only use during busy times.

Frankly, if Disney is having these sorts of capacity issues, they need to do a better job with capacity - and that isn't not letting your "guests" sit down when its 100 degrees out in the Florida humidity because "they haven't gotten their food yet." Put in more restaurants, limit the sales of the DDP, limit park capacity - either change supply or change demand.

 

[dqpowell]

How do you know they will get a mixed reception from the public.

Did you read the comments from the 83% of people on the other thread about why they split up/saved tables? Many of those people -- myself included -- will resent being told they can't seat the majority of their family while one person orders the food. Kids are easier to manage at a table than standing in a line or in a waiting area.

the person that was there said it was easy to find a seat and if that is so they will get glowing reports. I know I will make a point of telling them how much I like it.

And they will also get unhappy reports from people who don't like it -- including me, if it's still in effect when we visit in December.

And your point of it making more sense isn't true.

I'll be the judge of what makes more sense for my family, thank you.

David

 

[graygables]

Won't work for my family, either. I have 2 DDs with non-obvious special needs that I will not make stand around waiting for the "entire party". It's much easier for everyone for them to find a seat, gather the acoutrements, and wait. I can imagine the number of manager call-outs that this policy is going to require. What are they going to do next? Run people off who are finished eating, but are spending some time with their park maps?

 

[dqpowell]

Bingo, Dawn. This policy won't last more than a couple months.

David