I never got sit down dining in WDW parks...

[goodtimes5286]

Why do people do this? You don't have to flame this is a serious question. I am so crazy going from ride to ride, fastpass to fastpass, I dont have time to even think about food let alone make a lunch/dinner reservation and then be there to attend it. So why do people do it? Do you just give up on part of the park, or only go to 1 park, or what? Doesn't the saved time>the meal.

 

[wdwmagic]

Dining often becomes a big thing to guests who have been to the parks a lot of times before, and doing every single ride isnt all that important. For a lot of people, there is a lot lot more to the parks than the rides and shows. Dining is one of the things

 

[KCMO]

For me part of being on vacation is eating well, regardless of the destination. If I ate french fries and counter service food three meals a day for seven days I wouldn't be having as good a time even if it meant I could squeeze in an extra trip on space mountain. Its just a personal thing - good food is important to me - not as much to others.

 

[mousefan1972]

Why do people do this? You don't have to flame this is a serious question. I am so crazy going from ride to ride, fastpass to fastpass, I dont have time to even think about food let alone make a lunch/dinner reservation and then be there to attend it. So why do people do it? Do you just give up on part of the park, or only go to 1 park, or what? Doesn't the saved time>the meal.

Not everyone is a theme park commando.

We are fortunate to go to Disney frequently, we tour efficiently and are always at the parks before opening (thanks to our early-rising kids), and welcome a chance to sit down and enjoy a meal together in our favorite place. Throw in some Disney characters, and it's a bonus. We don't "skip" anything in order to have a TS meal. :shrug:

 

[wdwmemories]

I agree - different strokes for different folks. Some really enjoy mroe relaxing dining experiences as part of their vacation, while others want to squeeze in every ride possible. I personally like a balance - some food, some rides!

 

[MKCP 1985]

When I am in theme park commando mode on a day with extra long hours, a sit down meal is a nice break from standing in queue after queue all day long. It was good for the kids, too.

Plus, in the summer, the air conditioning is greatly appreciated.

I like going on rides as much as anybody, almost, but taking some time to enjoy the other things in the parks makes my trip complete.

 

[lilclerk]

When I am in theme park commando mode on a day with extra long hours, a sit down meal is a nice break from standing in queue after queue all day long.

This is how I feel about it too, it's nice to take that break to relax for a bit.

Also, I don't like most of the counter service offerings in WDW.

 

[blackthidot]

Most people like me go for long trips, 8-9-10 days...so by eating everyday im not missing anything because I have enough time to make up for it. Plus the food is amazing.

 

[Figment632]

Dining often becomes a big thing to guests who have been to the parks a lot of times before, and doing every single ride isnt all that important. For a lot of people, there is a lot lot more to the parks than the rides and shows. Dining is one of the things

Agreed

Also we have been so many times that we take are time in the parks, we also go for 10 days every year.

 

[the-reason14]

Its just the way some people are I guess. Im with the op, I am usually going at a pretty fast pace, burning calories, darting from one ride to the other always trying to beat the crowds. Just about everybody in my party has a hard time keeping up with me. But thats just the way I roll, lol. Of course I have my fastpasses and stuff and try to plan in my head accordingly about which one to get and all that other stuff, bla, bla lol. And its not because I rarely get there, I live in Texas and Im the only person I know from here that goes as often annually as I do.

But there are times when I slow it down for whatever reason, maybe I want to get something to eat, my feet are hurting really bad(which suprisingly rarely happens) But its rare. Im usually doing atleast 2 WDW parks a day with naps inbetween, and I have it down so well where I can hit almost every major ride lol. I honestly cant see why anyone would want to go to the sit down restuarants at WDW. To me thats like wasting valuable ride time. But I dont have kids, and usually its just me and my dad, so Im sure those same people cant see why anyone would want to dart from ride to ride lol.

But yea, its all about preference. I wouldnt worry about those people who vacation the way they do. Everyone experiences the magic of disney differently, and the way they do it makes it special to them. And its the same with me.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Dining often becomes a big thing to guests who have been to the parks a lot of times before, and doing every single ride isnt all that important. For a lot of people, there is a lot lot more to the parks than the rides and shows. Dining is one of the things

^^ Agreed 110%. I visit 'the world' 2-4x a year and I LOVE table service dining

 

[goodtimes5286]

Most people like me go for long trips, 8-9-10 days...so by eating everyday im not missing anything because I have enough time to make up for it. Plus the food is amazing.

tru tru

i guess it's different for a guy who lives in FL and goes up for a day or 2. But even when we go up for a week, we usually only go to the parks 3 days, the other 3/4 are spent lazying around, so i guess i just punish my dad for his 'chill time' by busting from park to park to park.

Its just the way some people are I guess. Im with the op, I am usually going at a pretty fast pace, burning calories, darting from one ride to the other always trying to beat the crowds. Just about everybody in my party has a hard time keeping up with me. But thats just the way I roll, lol. Of course I have my fastpasses and stuff and try to plan in my head accordingly about which one to get and all that other stuff, bla, bla lol. And its not because I rarely get there, I live in Texas and Im the only person I know from here that goes as often annually as I do.

But there are times when I slow it down for whatever reason, maybe I want to get something to eat, my feet are hurting really bad(which suprisingly rarely happens) But its rare. Im usually doing atleast 2 WDW parks a day with naps inbetween, and I have it down so well where I can hit almost every major ride lol. I honestly cant see why anyone would want to go to the sit down restuarants at WDW. To me thats like wasting valuable ride time. But I dont have kids, and usually its just me and my dad, so Im sure those same people cant see why anyone would want to dart from ride to ride lol.

But yea, its all about preference. I wouldnt worry about those people who vacation the way they do. Everyone experiences the magic of disney differently, and the way they do it makes it special to them. And its the same with me.

yeah thats the way i roll 2, i go so fast people get lost in crowds behind me even when im not running. lol i dont take naps though, ima lil too young for that, but i can def hit 2 parks in a day and get EVERYTHING i want in (even if it's MK and DHS which is the worst combination in my experience if you want to 'do it all', lines at DHS amount of rides at MK).

I'm not worried about those people lol im just curious, like what does table service dinning offer at the parks that they dont offer at counter service? I mean the bill has got to be more n your wasting park time after you paid major jack to get into the park, that was from the point of view that i saw it, but i knew there was the other side and thats what i wanted to hear from. like what does table service 'do' better? Like we go to sit down on our non park days (like my dad LOVES chef mickies, his fave restaurant in all of disney), but i can sit down and eat at cosmic rays just fine (if i time it right). Like i was wondering if they did something that enhanced peoples magic while in the restaurant too

 

[WIX]

We always fit all the rides in at every park and two sit downs a day. DH and I sit down for a meal at breakfast and dinner. He will snack occasionally in between, me not so much. The secret is the breakfast sit down has to be early-ish, 8a-9:30a. The dinner around 7p-8:30p. This works GREAT for the two of us.

 

[minnie64]

I think the dining in Disney is part of the magic, and the experience for me. Resturants in Disney just aren't like the ones at home, you get top of the line service and the themeing is just wonderful. You should give it a try sometime! You'll wonder why you ever went without it

 

[goodtimes5286]

I think the dining in Disney is part of the magic, and the experience for me. Resturants in Disney just aren't like the ones at home, you get top of the line service and the themeing is just wonderful. You should give it a try sometime! You'll wonder why you ever went without it

whats the best one from your experience/best one at each park?

1 time, YEARS ago, we went to the sci fi diner, it was alright and all, but they only showed trailers and it REALLY ed me off. even if i jumped in the middle of one movie, and half way through the next, i wouldnt care. I just want to FEEL like im at a sci fi drive in, not the sci fi trailer reel

 

[disneychic71]

I can speak from both sides, also. I am like you, happy to go on ride after ride and grab a bite of anything in between. Then I met my husband, who is accustomed to the finer things in life! On our honeymoon at WDW (our first trip together) we stayed on property (a first for me) and ate at a nice restaurant every night. It was great! I thought this was just a honeymoon "thing," so when we took our son a few years later, I happy to stay on property (already a luxury!) and was content to eat any counter-service food. After a couple of days, however, Mike had had it and wanted a sit-down meal. These days, the dining has definitely become part of the experience for us, but I do still balk at the cost of it, both in dollars and time!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Why do people do this? You don't have to flame this is a serious question. I am so crazy going from ride to ride, fastpass to fastpass, I dont have time to even think about food let alone make a lunch/dinner reservation and then be there to attend it. So why do people do it? Do you just give up on part of the park, or only go to 1 park, or what? Doesn't the saved time>the meal.

:wave:
I understand where you're coming from, but different people do their vacations in different ways.
To many people, when it comes to WDW, it's all about the whole "world", not just rides and attractions.
Experiencing Disney restaurants is part of the magic of WDW.
Plus, eating a sit-down meal doesn't take so long that you have to sacrifice going to a park or only doing a half day...

 

[goodtimes5286]

I can speak from both sides, also. I am like you, happy to go on ride after ride and grab a bite of anything in between. Then I met my husband, who is accustomed to the finer things in life! On our honeymoon at WDW (our first trip together) we stayed on property (a first for me) and ate at a nice restaurant every night. It was great! I thought this was just a honeymoon "thing," so when we took our son a few years later, I happy to stay on property (already a luxury!) and was content to eat any counter-service food. After a couple of days, however, Mike had had it and wanted a sit-down meal. These days, the dining has definitely become part of the experience for us, but I do still balk at the cost of it, both in dollars and time!

lol im sorry but that's sorta refreshing to hear. i always hear horror stories how guys always want to wallow in the mud and the ladies are all about the "finer things in life":lol:. Maybe it's just the town i live in that all of the girls are diamond diggers :shrug:

 

[SleepingMonk]

The restaurants are an equal part of the experience, and every bit as important and enjoyable as the rides, themes, architecture, etc...



ETA: I think this also has quite a bit to do with a person's age. When I was a teenager I would run through things and be done in record time. I saw everything but I didn't really SEE a single thing. Now that I'm older I actually take the time to enjoy the experience without being so concerned with checking off a list.

 

[minnie64]

I agree about the sci fi I really wasn't a fan of it either, I was exspecting to see a whole movie rather than cheesy trailors ( not to bash the resturant or anything cause I'm sure there are people out there that enjoy it:wave But the CMs at the resturants really go out of thier way to accomodate people, I have a relative with special needs and when we went to eat at the Storybook princess meal in Epcot to watch her interact with the princesses she had ony dreamed about meeting was truely magical for me. I guess it is a different experience for everyone and everyone has a different prefrence as to what they enjoy doing while at the parks.The meals have just always been apart of the vacation for me, and it allows me to take a break from the huge crowds/heat and take a moment to relax/ soak in the atmosphere. I think it keeps me from loosing my mind in the park haha!:hammer: