New Be Our Guest lunch line procedure (Test?)

[Sped2424]

I can't believe or begin to understand why in the world are they doing this?!? It just makes no sense...if they would have left it alone it would have been fine...I really hope whoevers bright idea this was get fired! Being this restricted sounds crazy and doesn't make any sense business wise? I hope there is gonna be an end to this stupid thing over the course of the next few moths once they realize how much sales r down...

My fear is that they are offsetting the lack of day of guests by handing out more fastpasses to resort guests. Seriously you should have seen the line for all of the resort guests who had fastpasses to eat at the restaurant.

 

[hopemax]

Does anyone know exactly when they start handing out the return times? Is it park opening, or when the restaurant opens?

We have a party with 6 people, 4 people staying on property under 2 different reservations. We are trying to coordinate a time with the 2 resort reservations, but we don't know what will happen with the 2 locals. Old way, they'd just get in the standby line about 20 minutes before our time.

It should NOT be this hard to eat together.

 

[Mike S]

I wonder why this could be

 

[Sped2424]

Does anyone know exactly when they start handing out the return times? Is it park opening, or when the restaurant opens?

We have a party with 6 people, 4 people staying on property under 2 different reservations. We are trying to coordinate a time with the 2 resort reservations, but we don't know what will happen with the 2 locals. Old way, they'd just get in the standby line about 20 minutes before our time.

It should NOT be this hard to eat together.

10:30, which is when they start serving lunch. They usually run out 15 minutes after that.

 

[Gabe1]

Who would ever think dining at a QS restaurant could become this convoluted. I remember the bonus of MDE was to be a planned out itinerary. Now you can receive a standby return time for a not so Quick Service restaurant that conflicts with FP+?

Today all the standby allotments for QS lunch were gone before noon. Who knew you'd have to be a Disney procedure scholar when planning a vacation to WDW. Oy.

touring plans

 

[mm52200]

Actualy it pretty simple and not convoluted at all, though not to many people's liking here, I'll concede. On site guests get access to an early reservation system--a perk much like EMH or 60 day FP+ reservations. Off site guests may dine on a first come first serve basis. If it is full, eat elsewhere. Simple really.

Hmmm for a QUICK/COUNTER service lunch that's kind of complicated. Simple would be you walk up to the restaurant when you're hungry, get in line if you don't think the line's too long, and then get your lunch; which is what worked pretty well for a year and a half.

 

[Gabe1]

Actualy it pretty simple and not convoluted at all, though not to many people's liking here, I'll concede. On site guests get access to an early reservation system--a perk much like EMH or 60 day FP+ reservations. Off site guests may dine on a first come first serve basis. If it is full, eat elsewhere. Simple really.

Yep, all of us know what it is and how to accomplish it. My point was more to the vast majority of the guests vacationing in WDW that don't spend the hours annually on the forums to keep up todate will all the rule changes for BOG, standby or even FP+. Ever see how many threads are started trying to keep up with getting a Qucick Service reservation of some sort?

 

[jencor]

Actualy it pretty simple and not convoluted at all, though not to many people's liking here, I'll concede. On site guests get access to an early reservation system--a perk much like EMH or 60 day FP+ reservations. Off site guests may dine on a first come first serve basis. If it is full, eat elsewhere. Simple really.

Really, glad you are not in customer service. Wait, this is the way they are thinking.

 

[CDavid]

First come first served? Pretty simple.

I concede most here do not like it, but the concept is simple. And this is a long debate that has no answers. They will assess the data and move on. Either the higher ups like it or don't like it. But both ways are reasonable. Both ways are simple.

No, one way is far more simple (and familiar and time-tested) and reasonable than the other. Guests are accustomed to the 'first come first served' practice of getting in line and waiting your turn; If you consider the line too long, you go somewhere else (and hence the queue is self-regulating). That approach is incredibly simple, it has worked at least since the animals lined up to enter the Ark, its the most fair and reasonable, and it doesn't create new problems (including frustrated, disappointed guests) that the 'return card' approach has produced.

Strictly speaking, 'return cards' is not a 'first come first served' approach at all; It's just a different type of reservation (something like paper FP's). The idea of needing a reservation for a fast-food restaurant is alien and bewildering to guests. Nor is it simple, as most people aren't familiar with the system before arriving at the restaurant, only to find all cards distributed and themselves shut out. This introduces a needlessly complicated extra-step which does nothing to address the real problem - lack of counter service dining capacity in the Magic Kingdom, partially due to the number of shuttered, seasonal, or under utilized restaurants.

 

[cw1982]

First come first served? Pretty simple.

I concede most here do not like it, but the concept is simple. And this is a long debate that has no answers. They will assess the data and move on. Either the higher ups like it or don't like it. But both ways are reasonable. Both ways are simple.

Nothing simple about the current method at all.

Firstly, not all onsite guests are getting these invitations for the FP at the same time in relation to their trip. There are discussions all over these boards that prove a lack of consistency in terms of when onsite guests can book their fp. So people who really want to eat here are spending a good chunk of their trip planning time trying to snag a FP that they can't be sure will ever be available.

For guests staying off site and those onsite without a FP, they then have to be at BoG right when they open in hopes of being told that they get to come back some time in the next four hours to eat. Forget that they may have Fastpasses in play that make getting there at ten am difficult. Forget that it's not right for only random onsite guests to know that they are going to get to eat there. Some people have to be able to plan their meals more accurately than "sometime in the next four hours, I'll eat lunch." So I guess anyone in that category is out of luck.

This couldn't be farther from simple, especially for qs.

 

[cw1982]

Of course it is first come first served. Almost by definition. The return cards are a surrogate for standing in a long line. This is not a different kind of reservation, it is a different type of line that doesn't require you to stand there. You all are really just complaining that before people were unwilling to stand in a long line that you WERE willing to stand in. Now that they don't have to stand in it, the line is so much the longer. Tough.

Anyway, I don't care anymore. I'll live with whatever system they institute. And you all will or decide to stop visiting disney world. I am done with this ridiculous thread complaining about timing to eat fast food. Eat there or don't. I don't care.

Except that the fastpass thing throws a wrench in it and makes it almost impossible for the return times to be a reasonable method. And the fastpasses are not first come, first serve. They are pretty much exclusionary, and even shut out people who, by description of the very system, should be able to get them. The whole thing is illogical. There shouldn't be that many hoops to jump through for what amounts to glorified fast food.

 

[jencor]

No reason to be insulting. Can't we discus the pros and cons without resorting to that?!?

Sorry if you felt it was insulting. In reality all I said was you thought like customer service. They seem happy with it. All I can do is hope they feel insulted, not you. My biggest problem with all this is really two fold. How they did this and where will it stop. They are pushing the boundaries to see how far they can go. What's next? For some now to eat at BOG it will cost the price of a hotel room and that is still not a guarantee. Just does not feel right.

 

[dadddio]

Except that the fastpass thing throws a wrench in it and makes it almost impossible for the return times to be a reasonable method. And the fastpasses are not first come, first serve. They are pretty much exclusionary, and even shut out people who, by description of the very system, should be able to get them. The whole thing is illogical. There shouldn't be that many hoops to jump through for what amounts to glorified fast food.

If your FP conflicts with the BoG time, ask for a later BoG time or swap your FP (or eat somewhere else).

 

[CDavid]

If you FP conflists with the BoG time, ask for a later BoG time or swap your FP (or eat somewhere else).

Why would you have both a FP and a 'return time' for BOG? Not many people that eat lunch twice...

You all are really just complaining that before people were unwilling to stand in a long line that you WERE willing to stand in. Now that they don't have to stand in it, the line is so much the longer

If you really believe this is just about anyone's willingness to stand in line, you have completely missed the point of the entire thread.

 

[dadddio]

Why would you have both a FP and a 'return time' for BOG? Not many people that eat lunch twice...

You missed my point.

Some have decried the return times because they could conflict with FP+ return times for other attractions. My post gave three alternatives for when this happens.

 

[wdisney9000]

Of course it is first come first served. Almost by definition. The return cards are a surrogate for standing in a long line. This is not a different kind of reservation, it is a different type of line that doesn't require you to stand there. You all are really just complaining that before people were unwilling to stand in a long line that you WERE willing to stand in. Now that they don't have to stand in it, the line is so much the longer. Tough.

Anyway, I don't care anymore. I'll live with whatever system they institute. And you all will or decide to stop visiting disney world. I am done with this ridiculous thread complaining about timing to eat fast food. Eat there or don't. I don't care.

For me, its not in any way about BoG or any willingness to wait in line. Its more about Disney willing to try random "tests" of how they can improve efficiency for THEMSELVES, not the guest, but at the same time tell us that "its for guest enhancement". Instead of opening/creating more unique dining experiences, which are obviously in high demand and would be a true enhancement for guest experience, they choose to rearrange the system to shuffle guests out of line and back into a possible position of spending more money elsewhere before returning, and at the same time eliminating any chance for other guests to dine there if they arrive after 11:00 am because all the return times are gone. Any claims that this new system is possibly due to guests complaining about long lines doesnt exactly work either because now you have just as many upset guests that they didnt even have a chance to get in or that they were denied because their party was only 2 people. If this new system is Disneys was of alleviating anything, its poor (IMO)

BoG is pretty much full all day every day so its making the same amount of money whether guests wait in line or use the return cards or make an ADR. I think its safe to say that the return card system is more of an attempt to just guests out of line and back in the park to spend more. We have seen an onslaught of upcharge and hard ticket events in the last several months and I dont think thats because some genius at Disney suddenly thought it up. Im sure the idea of more upcharging has been around for quite some time but the need to show more profits has never been as dire until now thanks to the oh so beloved MM+ system. The very system that was touted as the next era way of solving issues like what we are seeing at BoG but now they have reverted back to using paper FP in some cases and in this case, paper return times for dining. I think the writing is on the wall and shows how badly they are trying anything to increase revenue to not look foolish after dumping over 1 billion dollars into a system that only partially works, and we the guests suffer because of it.

 

[natatomic]

Wait, so is this horrid procedure permanent now? If it's a test, it sure is a long one!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Of course it is first come first served. Almost by definition. The return cards are a surrogate for standing in a long line. This is not a different kind of reservation, it is a different type of line that doesn't require you to stand there. You all are really just complaining that before people were unwilling to stand in a long line that you WERE willing to stand in. Now that they don't have to stand in it, the line is so much the longer. Tough.

Anyway, I don't care anymore. I'll live with whatever system they institute. And you all will or decide to stop visiting disney world. I am done with this ridiculous thread complaining about timing to eat fast food. Eat there or don't. I don't care.

Ahhhh diddums.

 

[cw1982]

If you FP conflists with the BoG time, ask for a later BoG time or swap your FP (or eat somewhere else).

Okay, but that's only part of the issue I addressed in that post. Even so, that may not be possible if all other return times are gone.

 

[hopemax]

I think the writing is on the wall and shows how badly they are trying anything to increase revenue to not look foolish after dumping over 1 billion dollars into a system that only partially works, and we the guests suffer because of it.

The problem is for a guest, like me it's backfiring spectacularly. I already posted about my annoyance about trying to plan to arrange lunch for 6 people, 4 resort guests and 2 non. All of the new changes, and learning how impossible it is to make sure that the 4 resort guests can actually USE their resort benefits, while at the same time actually being able to tour with the 2 locals is turning into a logistical nightmare. The end result is that I'm so furious that not only am I looking at ways I can cut my spending during the WDW vacation, but I'm dropping plans to make a return visit to Aulani, skip seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, skip planning a trip to WDW with my 2 year old nephew whose parents (non-Disney fans) wanted us to take, so he wouldn't miss out on Disney just because they don't like it, and other non-WDW related purchases. Everytime I think about buying something Disney related, I just start seething over the hoops we're going to attempt just so the locals can eat a counter service lunch with the first time WDW visitor who really wants to eat there. Us frequent guests are keeping "the hoops" a secret as well from her, because we really don't want to spoil her trip with how hard it is for the rest of us to participate.

The manager responsible for adding the cards at BOG cares about none of those additional lost revenues, he only cares that his restaurant is full. But somebody at Disney should care, because in my family's case they are literally losing thousands of dollars.