Now this is a terrific idea - Magic Kingdom eateries take control of seating

[Tigerinvestigator]

As bad as I hate to, I guess I would have to be put in the complainer category here! IMHO it is a terrible idea. The last thing I want at a counter service is to be told where I have to sit. Without fail I will end up being put in a spot I don't want to sit. As a father of three girls I choose where I sit partly by who is around that area or whether or not we are going to be attacked by birds! For instance, I don't usually sit next to a bunch of unsupervised teenagers for fear they will "teach" my young girls words I don't want them to know yet. We also have our traditional favorite places to sit like the windows at Pinnochios which has been a family favorite for years. Just seems like Disney is adding alot of red tape to fix a problem that to us has never really been a problem. The part that really doesn't make sense is that they will "force" our party of 16 to stand in line together, backing the line up an additional 20-30 ft for absolutely no reason. The tables are not the problem, it is the lines for ordering and more specifically the lines for exiting after you get your food that are the problem.

[kwhitt3202]

just food for thought
If every one had to have the entire family with strollers wheelchairs and all to go though a line to order food how are they going to manage crowd controll there is not much spaces to order food. will they shut the doors til it clears then let more people in and what happens if all tables are full? What are their plans?

[valjane]

I don't like this idea either. Mostly because it's going to be annoying to have to stand in line with ALL of those extra people hanging around there too.

I also would like some choice of where I sit (I try to avoid tables with screaming kids).

I HATE the idea of stools and think that's just tacky on Disney's part.

[BrerGnat]

I don't agree with the portion of this that does not give the patrons a choice WHERE to sit. I think THAT part is tacky, and probably a waste of CM's that can be better put to use elsewhere. People are quite capable of finding their own tables.

However, I stand by my position that only allowing people to take a table who actually have purchased FOOD from said establishment, or who have a member of their party currently in LINE FOR FOOD is reasonable.

I don't expect "the masses" to bend to the will of "the few" who have extenuating circumstances. In this particular instance, however, I think Disney has actually done something that makes sense, and since they plan to implement it ONLY during really busy times, it shouldn't affect everyone.

But, lose the stools. Stools are for bars.

And let's be frank. If this "plan" ends up costing Disney ANY money, be it in extra staffing needs or whatever, it will be dropped faster than a hot potato, guest convenience be darned!

[Ian]

Alone or with your entire family, this seems unreasonable. So you are supposed to stand there with 2 or more heavy trays, drinks, and your kids and wait, or circle around looking for 15 minutes?

No. You're supposed to send someone to find a table while you wait in line.

[DVC2004]

No. You're supposed to send someone to find a table while you wait in line.

OK, OK I get it!

[SallyMcQueen]

I want to say they had the self order kiosks last December at one of the QS restaurants we went to, Pecos Bills maybe. I do remember ordering from a screen and using the DDP for it. Worked well if I remember correctly. I don't really have much of an opinion on the rest of it though. People are still going to grab tables even with the "guiding." I'm evil I guess and make my kids wait in line with me, they're young (5 & 2) and can wait just like the rest of us.

[valjane]

The problem with everyone waiting in line is that Disney uses that "doubled-up" system where the cashier has a line to either side, then when you go pick up your food, you're standing there waiting alongside the person from the other line. So if you have more than one or two people waiting with you, there's just no room!

For this reason, we always send two people through the line (it usually takes two to carry everything) while the other two go sit down, mostly just to get out of the way. (We are a party of four adults, usually).

[TheRustyScupper]

Are you ever happy about anything?

1) I am not complaining,
2) I think this is a good procedure.
3) Like the trials last year, it is not a permanent policy.
4) Just during really busy periods.
5) You can't please everyone, so during busy times, they are trying their best.

[buzznwoodysmom]

The problem with everyone waiting in line is that Disney uses that "doubled-up" system where the cashier has a line to either side, then when you go pick up your food, you're standing there waiting alongside the person from the other line. So if you have more than one or two people waiting with you, there's just no room!

For this reason, we always send two people through the line (it usually takes two to carry everything) while the other two go sit down, mostly just to get out of the way. (We are a party of four adults, usually).

This is exactly how I feel. We usually travel with my mom so that's 3 adults and 2 super excited kids, usually bouncing off the walls. That's just too many people for the little amount of space you have to wait for your food after you've ordered. The lines to order always seem so unorganized as it is. Imagine every single person in line accompanied by the rest of their party. There would be no room.

And I guess we fall into the "table hog" category too. One of the reasons we send only one or two people to order the food while the rest of the group get straws, napkins, and find a table is because it sometimes seems to be the only way to make sure we have a place to eat. I don't think of it as being a "hog" I think of it as being smart and using our time wisely. When our food is ready we already have our napkins and straws and the kids have had a chance to sit for a minute and catch their breath. We are hardly sitting at a table more than a few minutes waiting for our food. I guess we'll see how its going next month when we're there for the busy Thanksgiving holiday.

[Goes4FastPass]

This is simply 100% about shoving as many paying "guests" though these CS restaurants as quickly as possible in the way that is most convenient for the restaurant and 0% about improving the experience for the "guests".

If these idiots think our toddler is going to stand in line until the food is on the trays and a CM says, "Now you may sit down." then they can well expect my wife to go off - and that will not be a magical experience.

I must be confused. I thought a visit to Walt Disney World was supposed to be a vacation.

[potzie]

This is simply 100% about shoving as many paying "guests" though these CS restaurants as quickly as possible in the way that is most convenient for the restaurant and 0% about improving the experience for the "guests".

If these idiots think our toddler is going to stand in line until the food is on the trays and a CM says, "Now you may sit down." then they can well expect my wife to go off - and that will not be a magical experience.

I must be confused. I thought a visit to Walt Disney World was supposed to be a vacation.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Kathy Jetson]

I am not happy about this either. We are 2 adults and 1 child. I don't mind just the 3 of us standing in line together to order but I want to pick our own tables we have our favorite spots at each cs.

[ERJDriver]

I don't really know how I feel about this, we only go during non busy times, and tend to eat early so we haven't experienced a time when we couldn't find a table, or had a time when we held a table when there were none available. I can see where this would be advantageous to Disney, because it smoothes the flow, and it keeps people from tying up a table for 15-20 min waitting for there food that someone else could be using. As far as the horrors of having your child wait in line with you for food, if you're there during a time of year that this would be in effect, didn't you just wait in line 2 hours to ride Dumbo? How is this different?

[seanyred]

I don't really know how I feel about this, we only go during non busy times, and tend to eat early so we haven't experienced a time when we couldn't find a table, or had a time when we held a table when there were none available. I can see where this would be advantageous to Disney, because it smoothes the flow, and it keeps people from tying up a table for 15-20 min waitting for there food that someone else could be using. As far as the horrors of having your child wait in line with you for food, if you're there during a time of year that this would be in effect, didn't you just wait in line 2 hours to ride Dumbo? How is this different?

Excellent question. I'm sure there are those who can justify one and not the other. But I know this much when we are at WDW we don't hold ourselves to a schedule and having that flexibility makes everything easier.

[Ian]

This is simply 100% about shoving as many paying "guests" though these CS restaurants as quickly as possible in the way that is most convenient for the restaurant and 0% about improving the experience for the "guests".

Yeah, that's pretty obvious ... they make virtually all of their decisions this way now. Typically, they're preceded by some "survey results" that explain to everyone how their guests were really just dying to be led around their counter service restaurants like cattle.

As far as the horrors of having your child wait in line with you for food, if you're there during a time of year that this would be in effect, didn't you just wait in line 2 hours to ride Dumbo? How is this different?

Easy ... my kids can stand in the Dumbo line because, at some point, they're allowed to sit down and cool off in a counter service restaurant while I'm up getting the food.

And just to be clear ... I'm not really worried about my kids. They're troopers. If they had to stand in line they would and they'd behave just fine. My point was more, why make 6 people stand in a line and clog up what is already a very, very crowded area? That just seems like it's making a bad situation worse.

[VWL Mom]

The problem with everyone waiting in line is that Disney uses that "doubled-up" system where the cashier has a line to either side, then when you go pick up your food, you're standing there waiting alongside the person from the other line. So if you have more than one or two people waiting with you, there's just no room!

For this reason, we always send two people through the line (it usually takes two to carry everything) while the other two go sit down, mostly just to get out of the way. (We are a party of four adults, usually).

The very thought of 3 or 4 families of 4 going into the pickup area at Pecos Bill's brings thoughts of the marching band at the end of Animal House.

[Seasonscraps]

Other then the bottleneck of people on the food ordering line, I think it's a decent idea. People that have purchased food and are ready to sit down to eat should have some table priority over people that are about to purchase food.

Disney is an expert at crowd control - if this program is successful they will find away to diffuse the crowds on line to make them easier to navigate. Maybe they will insitute some sort of stroller parking requirement or create some sort of staging area for guests that don't have food but have other travel partners on line ordering.

I am not sure why it's table hogging to linger after you eat - you are at that point a paying customer. But it's common sense to sit at/save a table in an establishment you have not technically made a purchase from.

[Goes4FastPass]

One adult standing in line while another takes the cubs and gets seated isn't table hogging, it's having lunch. What's shuffling along in a queue waiting to be seated by a CM, table sheeping?

The Dumbo ride is an attraction and Pecos Bill is a restaurant, a break from the attraction queues.

What's next, going to get a FastPass to see when our Dole Whip return window will be?

[DizNee143]

What's shuffling along in a queue waiting to be seated by a CM, table sheeping?

What's next, going to get a FastPass to see when our Dole Whip return window will be?

LMAO!!!!