Seating capacity is typically calculated based on a complex formula that takes into account the rate at which people can be served at an establishment, how quickly people eat and a host of other things. So the traffic flow is such that people are served at a constant rate, and the people currently sitting at the tables are in varying stages of eating. The calculations find the sweet-spot (plus a bit of a buffer to account for slow eaters, CMs wiping down tables, etc) where enough people are finishing their meals and leaving, opening up tables for people who are just walking away from the counter with their food. Saving tables throws a wrench into that calculation.
And the way I look at whether it's "right" to do it is to take the issue to the (admittedly highly-unlikely) extreme: Imagine if EVERY table was being held for people who are still in line, leaving zero open tables for people who are walking away from the counter with their food.
Over time, as others have pointed out, it's gotten to the point of self-perpetuating "cascade failure" where people hold tables, making others think that they should also hold a table, leading to too many people hold tables, not allowing those with food to sit down, and you get the fast-food equivalent of gridlock. That's why at some places like Pecos Bills they've started to strictly control traffic flow on the busiest days, not allowing people to proceed to the seating area until they actually have their food.
-Rob
As you say, it is a highly unlikely scenario and, in my opinion, so theoretical that it would never really happen.
But assumming it does, then unless there is some flaw in my reasoning that I am not considering, it seems to me that the only people this would affect would be single eaters. Because, in your hypothetical example, ALL parties of two or more have the rest of their party reserve a table. So that means that everyone in line (except single eaters) have someone holding a table for them. This means that, unless you are a single eater, when you walk away from the counter, someone is holding a table for you. Unless you want to add the further unlikely scenario that this does not apply to the first batch of people in line. That, after my wife and I get in line for food, a herd of people all come rushing in and have someone hold tables for them, such that by the time my wife and I are leaving the counter, all the tables have somehow filled up in 5 minutes. On second thought though, perhaps it's not as unlikely as I think, considering that the McDonald's drive through can look empty from the highway as I approach, but by the time I get there, there is a line. :lol: Seriously though, I look at terms of logic and efficiency, and I see no logic nor efficiency in having a bunch of people needlessly clogging up the line, getting in everyone's way, potentially making the line longer and thus getting in people's way who try to go through. Just makes no sense to me.
And the problem with taking the approach of "what if everyone did it", such instances are so unlikely that it's a moot point. It reminds me of the Daffy Duck cartoon where the shady insurance salesman is trying to rip him off with an insurance policy. Finally, he signs on the line, and then the salesman reveals the fine print that it will only pay out if it is on a snowy day on the fourth of July, with a herd of pink elephants stampeding, and a baby zebra coming through the door. Of course, as all cartoons go, the scenario actually came to pass, but in reality, we can conjecture extreme scenarios like that all we want, but it just doesn't happen.
But just to continue on the "what if everyone did it" hypothetical, let's look at the opposite and ask "what if NO ONE did it?". So let's say the average vacation party is a family of 3, and perhaps the statistics actually say it's 4 or 5, but we'll just go with 3. So for every 10 families represented in line, we have 30 people in line. Not only does this clog the line, and people can only stand side by side so far, before they have to stand behind each other, lengthening the line and giving the illusion of a longer line than it really is. So how much money in sales is Disney going to lose by other parties looking for a place to eat, but deciding that the line at this place is just way too long.? I know my wife and I often pass by a restaraunt that we want to eat at because the line is too long and we don't want to stand in that line. But perhaps the line isn't really as long as it looks. Maybe there are several families of 5 making the line longer, by not having the rest of the family get a table. So Disney can lose money by having people walk away because of this.
But the reality is that it all balances out in the end because neither "what if everyone did this" scenario will ever happen. Fact is, the bigger your party is, the more food that one person has to remember. If you're the one standing in line for a family of 5, for example, you have to remember what Mom wants, and what your three kids want, and sometimes people don't want to mess with that, either. Sometimes it's easier to have everyone there to say what they want, without having to remember everything. In addition, how is one person going to carry all that food? One person cannot carry all the food single handedly for 5 people. So the reality is, there will always be people holding tables and there will always be families who do not do this, for the reasons given.
