Columbia Harbor House Queue?!?

[progroupie]

I trust they'll be putting a more apporpriately themed queue railing in as time goes on. The ropes really don't look great, and take up a lot of space.

Also, if/when that new queue is installed, hopefully some of the downstaris seating can be put back into place. I'm sorry, but going up two flights of stairs while trying to balance a tray filled with food and drinks is not appealing to me. I know there was never much seating downstairs to begin with, but as it stood, there was always enough there before that I was never forced upstairs.

Finally, anyone know if this is happening elsewhere on property? Cosmic Rays has a similar line system to Columbia's old double registers. Are they switching over to this new centralized system as well?

I don't really see any of the other MK restaurants switching over to this method anytime soon except for maybe Pinnochios since it's a similar size to Harbor House. Cosmics and Pecos are both big enough to handle large crowds with their dual register system. Harbor is kind of an in between size so I could see how they might have had problems with crowd control.

 

[Hurricane]

It should be pointed out that while the one line system may be more fair, it isn't faster overall. In the two line system one side orders and as soon as they are done ordering the CM can ask the other side, giving the first side time to put their change away, get situated and walk forward. In the one line system the previous guest has to put their change/card away, gather their belongings etc before the next guest can walk up to the CM. It may not seem like a lot but added up over the course of hundreds of guests and it's significant.

 

[DiPSU224]

I've never felt guilty about walking up to the other side of the register knowing full well that I was not cutting in line, but that there are two lines. I've never been ignored by the CM at the register either. I don't recall anyone in the other line ever saying that I was cutting in line, but I don't know why I've never seen anyone at the registers telling people there are two lines.

Like someone else mentioned, this occurs at the park gates. There are CMs directing you to empty turnstiles yet people will still line up where they see other people. One day I'm going to get a group of people and start a line facing a wall to see how many other people line up behind us not knowing what we're waiting for :lol:

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

It's a shame that some of the downstairs seating is gone. I love to sit downstairs and people watch. I've never sat upstairs. Maybe I'll try that this year.

 

[Tenny0317]

Though i understand why line control is needed there...taking tables out of the first floor was a poor choice. There are barely any tables there and you end up barely being able to find a table, seating is extremely frustrating there. And I love it there, the good is good,my favorite counter service in MK. And MK is lacking food options, I'm not a huge fan of my options.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Maybe some themed signage letting people know both sides are open would be helpful. (I'm thinking each register with a sign suspended overhead saying WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU ON EITHER SIDE with Mickey's hands pointing to 5:00 and 7:00, if the restaurant has a character theme. Other pointers could be substituted for less playful themes.)

Satisfying as it might feel to walk up to the empty side, not everybody on the full side is necessarily there due to a lack of common sense. They might be totally unfamiliar with a double-sided setup, or they might be waiting for some "cue" from the surroundings or CM to assure them that both sides are legitimate options.

 

[Rob562]

Maybe some themed signage letting people know both sides are open would be helpful. (I'm thinking each register with a sign suspended overhead saying WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU ON EITHER SIDE with Mickey's hands pointing to 5:00 and 7:00, if the restaurant has a character theme. Other pointers could be substituted for less playful themes.)

Satisfying as it might feel to walk up to the empty side, not everybody on the full side is necessarily there due to a lack of common sense. They might be totally unfamiliar with a double-sided setup, or they might be waiting for some "cue" from the surroundings or CM to assure them that both sides are legitimate options.

I believe at locations with this setup, the front of the cash register "podiums" all have signs that say "Please use both sides". So, I do.

What can be more annoying are people who don't understand how the Guest flow is supposed to be between the register and the counter. In a facility like CHH or Cosmic Rays, there are three "lanes" between each register podium: two "feeder" lanes and one common "exit" lane. At some locations (CHH and Electric Umbrella are the most notorius, in my experience) after people order, they walk up to the counter through the exit lane. The line of people post-register then forms behind them, up the exit lane, and every single person who exits then has to cut back through the line.
I'm such a geek that if I come across this, I actually try to "self-correct" the problem by hanging back if I can to allow those in front of me to exit, and then I re-form the line at the counter where it's supposed to be.
And while we're on the subject, what's *almost* as annoying are people waiting in the "feeder" lane after the register, but leaning against the railing and into the exit lane making it difficult or impossible to get by carrying a tray full of food...

-Rob

 

[imamouse]

It's a shame that some of the downstairs seating is gone. I love to sit downstairs and people watch. I've never sat upstairs. Maybe I'll try that this year.

I love sitting upstairs at CHH. The stairs are a bit of a pain, but the upstairs is much larger than you would expect. There are tables in the 'bridge' section that you walk under when crossing from Fantasyland to Liberty Square as well as excellent views of the riverboat and HM to name a few.

 

[cooleo]

Seating was generally pretty tight @ CHH to begin with. I think this might turn into a big problem, especially on busy days. :shrug:

 

[righttrack]

I've always found CHH to be a well-managed and placid queue. People do endup there around lunchtime, but not as many that endup at Pecos Bills. The entire park seems to be in front of Pecos Bills at lunchtime!

 

[bgraham34]

I have never eaten upstairs either. I am also a people watcher but who knows maybe if i get there early enough i can still sit downstairs.

 

[celestia]

more staffing

They also have to provide more staffing now for a castmember to stand at the other doors directingp eople to the main entrance of the building, telling them the other doors are 'exit only' during busier parts of the day. Does not seem very beneficial to me.

 

[Lucky]

Not so much as the cashier being slow but the guests standing there for half hr. trying to decide what everyone in their party wants after seeing the menu in front of their faces for half hr. while they are waiting.......:hammer:

Actually you can't see the menus unless you're standing real close. That's a problem at many of the CS places in WDW.

 

[RiversideBunny]

This used to be such a nice restaurant.
One of our favorites for lunch.

Now it has lost that 'quaint' look and feel to some degree.
Seems to be turning into McColumbiaHarborHouse.

 

[Phonedave]

To Answer the "fair" question lets look at it this way-

You, and I enter the resturant at the same time. There are 4 registers open at this time. Two have 3 people in line, and two have 4. You get in your line and I get in mine (Each with the 3 people). Now, each register CM takes 1 guest, there are now 2 guest in line ahead of each of us. The person at the reigster before you has an order for 6 people who are not with them. The one at mine is just 2. This person's order is quick and painless. My line goes forward. The Next person in line orders quickly and it's my turn. Your line moves ahead 1 peson. The person in your line speaks a lanuage that is not well known in this country, as aresult his order takes longer then normal because he wants to make sure everything is correct. (I have my food and head to the fixing bar) You get to the front of the line, and low and behold the glory that is a register, (Point of Sale, is not the only thing POS can stand for) it crashes and needs a reboot. It takes 5 minutes to reboot.I'm done eating when you get your food. The other 2 lines that had more people got done quicker too.

Now, if they had a queue for all registers, a guest taking a long time would only stop 1 register from pulling from the line, while the other 3 were moving quicker. The line would never stop for as long as it would if they were seprate lines. This actually does cut down on the average wait time by about 30 percent.

It's the same way the bank works.

Pedantic man must point out that your AVERAGE wait time will remain the same. What will happen is that you will have a smaller distribution of individual wait times, and those wait times will cluster about the average.

Take your example.

If you wait 10 minutes and I wait 50, we have an average wait time of 30 minutes

If you wait 30 and I wait 30, we still have an average wait time of 30 minutes.

If you move 60 people an hour though the queue, no matter how it's arranged, you are still moving one person per minute on average.


But I do agree with you. Even though I am one of those "observant" people who have no problem jumping on the empty left hand line when there are 10 people on the right, this was is "fairer"

I also take the short queue on pirates, and walk right up to open turnstiles.

-dave

 

[Ashitaka]

I love sitting upstairs at CHH. The stairs are a bit of a pain, but the upstairs is much larger than you would expect. There are tables in the 'bridge' section that you walk under when crossing from Fantasyland to Liberty Square as well as excellent views of the riverboat and HM to name a few.

I love sitting up there too. It's nice and quiet. Very few people seem to either realize there is upstairs seating or care to climb the stairs. Almost every time I've gone up there I've been able to get a window seat in the bridge section. Great of people watching.

So I really don't want there to be less downstairs seating as that will force more people to come up to my quiet lunch-time oasis.

 

[WildLodgeFan]

Usually the line on the left has far fewer guests in line. Is it fair...sure is in my book. We're the ones paying attention.

As a trade show coordinator - I can tell you that you should always place your booth on the right side - the majority of people go to the right as they enter a room. Keeping that in mind, you are smart to go left - I do the same! :animwink:

 

[MissM]

NO SINGLE QUEUE TODAY. I peeked in this afternoon (er, technically Saturday the 10th, I just got home) and it was just normal, dual-sided registers. They had the white poles in the space but they were wrapped up. Normal line prevailed.

Just an FYI.
-m

 

[MadMax11]

I don't get why the old system was anything other than fair. Two open registers. Line up behind whichever you wish. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I didn't realize that system was so difficult to understand.

I've always enjoyed CHH...probably my favorite counter service experience.

 

[NadieMasK2]

Using the elevator is really no big deal. It's not like you have to be led through a special place or really go out of your way, it's just off to the side. We used it a few times when my daughter was young due to her being terrified of heights and refusing to use the stairs.

If you haven't sat upstairs I highly recommend it, when we've been the place is fairly empty up there and the views are neat. Provides a somewhat quiet break in the day.