Magic Kingdom takes control of seating

[_Scar]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney-restaurants-seating-100609,0,1099425.story

What do you think? I kinda like it!

 

[WDW Vacationer]

Already a thread...

 

[DisneyWall-E]

lol!!!!!!!!!!!! thats the same day that my family and i was there. i was joking around with the sherriff. we were sitting right on the other side of the trash can on the left. the guy took some other pics while we were there. i wonder what he did with those? lol.:lol:

 

[panther726]

This is a wonderful idea. Pecos is a MESS at noon!

I'm sure someone will overanalyze this and point out its flaws.:lookaroun

 

[Studios Fan]

This could be good during peak season.

 

[danv3]

Not a bad idea.

 

[_Scar]

Already a thread...

Really? I checked first page and didn't see it and I thouht it was fairly new.


And ITA about Pecos Bill's seating.

 

[kcnole]

God, trying to find a table at Cosmic Rays the last time I was there was a nightmare. This would have been wonderful.

 

[Exprcoofto]

This could be good during peak season.

During peak season, maybe. I always like choosing my own seat, but that's just me. I can see the purpose and why this will help out.

 

[MissM]

They've been working on this for awhile actually. I can't remember how many months ago it was that we went into Cosmic Ray's and they had very specific IN and OUT doors - so much so that the OUT doors did NOT have outside handles. You went in the door and hit a queue - an actual corral to herd you in a specific direction so there was a controlled path you had to walk. It was really odd actually. No one helped us sit but we have seen CM's handing out the menus at many locations and a CM was pointing towards tables in Pinocchio Haus once as well.

The chairs have been the useless stools at Pecos though since last year at least. Mouse Surplus was selling old chairs back in 2008 or so. Problem is that it's tough to "relax" without a back on your chair.

 

[Main Street USA]

so we no longer have the freedom to pick where we sit? I fear the day when Disney will dictate every little nuance of our vacation from when we arrive to when we sleep, buy, eat, play, ride, etc.

Welcome back. I see it took less than 24 hours for you to rejoin us.

 

[ChrisFL]

The chairs have been the useless stools at Pecos though since last year at least. Mouse Surplus was selling old chairs back in 2008 or so. Problem is that it's tough to "relax" without a back on your chair.

You aren't supposed to relax, you're supposed to get in, eat and get out

 

[jakeman]

Welcome back. I see it took less than 24 hours for you to rejoin us.

You're kidding...no, it couldn't be...:lookaroun

I am a big fan of this. Hopefully this will curtail entire tour groups taking up quite literally whole sections of the restaurant's seating.

 

[a2grafix]

This is a wonderful idea. Pecos is a MESS at noon!

Well high noon in any frontier town is fighting time. It's good to have a sheriff around.

 

[Main Street USA]

You're kidding...no, it couldn't be...:lookaroun

I am a big fan of this. Hopefully this will curtail entire tour groups taking up quite literally whole sections of the restaurant's seating.

Yeah, I think I like it, too. As long as it's only during busy times, I don't see a problem.

 

[magicfan]

I work at Pecos and have participated in putting this stuff in action, so let me clarify a few things.

This 'assigned seating' stuff only happens during peak season. The parks were unusually busy a few days ago which I'm guessing happens to be the day this reporter was in the park, but other than that we haven't used it but maybe two or three times since the end of July. When we aren't busy there are no directions on where to sit or when to grab a table. But to the poster worried about your freedom of choice - believe me when we do this stuff it is necessary. It's not like you have much of a choice then either because it is so busy there are very few tables open. One of the major points of this process is so there are tables open for people who already have their food and we don't have people with no food holding tables. It allows us to help people find tables faster, which in turn keeps the hallways (which can get very crowded at times) less chaotic.

It's amazing for me to compare operation of the restaurant today to when I first started working part-time there three years ago. In fact, it's not even a comparison. Things are run so much more efficient today it's not even funny. I can personally attest to the emphasis being put on customer service now as well. I can't really speak to the dining experience, but at least my job has been revolutionized by the reforms that have been made.

 

[miles1]

I think it's a good idea, but why can't they bring capacity up to what it was just a few years ago so that the CS restaurants aren't as overwhelmed as they are? El Pirata is closed most of the year. The Adventureland Veranda closed years ago. The Noodle Station seems to have odd hours. Reopening these eateries may cause less than peak efficiency in the system for Disney, but it would sure make meals less stressful for guests without having to herd us like cattle. JMHO.

 

[pixiedust629]

I wonder who told them that the seating only after food initiative is called The Basics...

 

[MissM]

You aren't supposed to relax, you're supposed to get in, eat and get out

Oh really? That's not what Disney says about it. Direct from the article:

"It wasn't really a good way to decompress or relax. So we've been really focusing on how we can enhance the whole dining experience," Clark said. {Liz Clark, general manager of food and beverage in the Magic Kingdom.}
​

and

Clark said the results have been overwhelmingly positive, both in terms of praise from guests who report a more-relaxed dining experience...​

 

[TP2000]

This is how Tokyo Disneyland has operated it's buffeteria and casual restaurants for years. It works really well.