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BugeyedMuggy
10-05-2007, 12:33 PM
We were wondering what is the average time it takes from being seated to paying the bill at a table service restaurant. This should include app to dessert. Last Sept we had a 2 hrs (and we had to rush the check for other plans) & a 2.75 hrs. (that did not include dessert due to lack of interest at that point) Are we being unreasonable to thik 2 hous is too long? If your relaxing it's o.k. but most Disney rest. are a bit busy.

crazeedizneefinatic
10-05-2007, 01:49 PM
I will admit the TS restaurants we visited this past trip were 50/50. Some went as fast paced as you and others we were always looking for the waiter. 2 that stick out were Coral Reef although yummy was not quick and the Garden Grill we thought our waiter went home, lol! I must add that both places were good food but a looooong drawn out process. At the garden grill we used the waiter next to us since ours always seemed too busy to help us. I guess he got aggrevated with us and told the manager who actually was quite rude. Guest services ended up giving back one of our TS credits which we actually used for CS and 2 extra snacks without us even asking. We were there for 10 days with 8 days in the parks so sometimes slow meals were okay with us, it gave us a chance to rest. If I was in a hurry and only was limited in the parks I probably would have been upset. I think it's really hit or miss.

spinnerf
10-05-2007, 05:52 PM
Thats funny, in my experience I feel like the TS restaurants try to get you out of there as quick as possible. Excepting character dining and places with shows where the staff seems to graciously let you stay as long as you want. Otherwise Id say out Ts's were about 1 hour plus or minus.

GrmGrninGost
10-05-2007, 08:24 PM
I would say our average TS visit is around 2 hours. I'm usually enjoying the food and the atmosphere so much, it seems like 15 minutes! :mickey:

KylesMom
10-06-2007, 01:22 AM
I really believe it has to do with the atmosphere and the activities of each TS location as to how long it will take you to dine.

For instance:

You can expect longer dining times for character meals - unless it is during off-season with light crowds or low character interaction.

You can expect longer dining times for places such as Whispering Canyon, where most of the staff "helps out" running the pony races and activities during dinner, hence they aren't always right there to speed you through your meal. I must say, though, that we never had an empty skillet, nor an empty glass!

We've also learned to expect longer dining times at TS restaurants which boast about their ambiance, as the servers truly are trying to do their jobs most of the time and pace each course. We were absolutely shocked to have a few different servers this past June comment on how they really enjoyed watching us eat our meal, as we weren't just trying to "get to the next attraction". I guess it was a compliment to both the servers and the chef that we were taking so long!

Places such as Tony's, Sci-Fi and Nine Dragons (one example for each park) - we expect to move on in under an hour. But for other locations where we're spending more $$$, we expect to have a much longer dining time. For a certain restaurant in Epcot, I insist on having at least 2 1/2 hours prior to Illuminations to savor the wine, appetizer and main course - there's never room for dessert! :cloud9:

MickeyandTink
10-08-2007, 05:55 PM
I will admit the TS restaurants we visited this past trip were 50/50. Some went as fast paced as you and others we were always looking for the waiter. 2 that stick out were Coral Reef although yummy was not quick and the Garden Grill we thought our waiter went home, lol! I must add that both places were good food but a looooong drawn out process.

I agree it really depends on the restaurant, but most of our meals took 1 1/2 - 2 hours and Coral Reef was about 2 1/2. To me anyway, 1 - 1 1/2 hours should be plenty UNLESS there is some special character interaction or guest interaction ala O'hana. The real killer is that by the time we left the park to go to the restaurant (for the resorts, checked in, waited, seated, ate, paid bill) and got back to a park, it could be 3 hours or more.

Next time, we will plan our meals for earlier (to leave time to go back and do rides, see fireworks, etc. ) or later (call it a day and go back to the hotel after the meal).

Mnchknbrat1982
10-08-2007, 07:13 PM
we was just there the end of September and the average for us was about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs. However, it also depends on your party's size. There was only 2 of us for most of the meals.

wendy*darling
10-08-2007, 07:30 PM
For us it depends on with whom we are dining.
If it's DH and I and our 2 sons (17 & 20), we can usually be out in just over an hour. They are not patient diners, and we do not spend time lingering and chatting. ;)

When we travel with adults only- 2 hours + is more the norm. We do linger, enjoy the wine and each course and, even though we have been together all day, we seem to have a lot to chat about. I enjoy dining like this more than rushing through a meal.

I have never found our severs to mind when we linger (except at Alfredo's, but that is no longer a concern). And when we are eating more quickly- we rarely have a problem finding our server.

Not all meals are perfect- we have encountered servers who need a little more training- but the vast majority of our WDW meals in the parks or the resorts have been terrific. :thumbsup: