The Wait for a Table

[HouCuseChickie]

All of the threads regarding line cutting for rides/attractions got me thinking...how prevalent is it for people to try and cut the line when it comes to ADRs? i.e. people trying to pay off the hostess or persuade them to be seated sooner with claims that they've been waiting longer than anyone else. More importantly, have you seen people get away with it?

 

[unkadug]

I think most people feel they are paying enough for Disney food without having to grease more palms.

Not to say it hasn't happened, but I would think it would be few and far between.

 

[Andrew54]

Yeah I really doubt hostess would be getting paid very often. I'm sure people cut more often by just complaining until they get what they want.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Hmm, interesting question considering I don't think anyone would really think of doing that -- and its pretty much impossible in most restaurants that are Disney properties....

The way the system works, the ADR's get scheduled computerized times and they are assigned to a bank of tables. Walk-ins are not possible at most of the restaurants, and when they are, there is a very limited number of people who they will put on a call list...AND they will warn you that it could take up to two hours to get a standby table.

It's impossibe for someone to "cut in line" ahead of you when you have an ADR, because all of that is computer based and cast members are rewarded for sticking to that schedule. They actually have time-tables for every restaurant that estimate how long people will stay at a table at any given hour during the day -- and you will find that table service speed increases and decreases based on these time tables. That's the way the entire system works at Disney.

Non-Disney properties are a completely different entity -- but its very rare for anyone to try to do things like "grease the palms of the hosts"...that is mostly something you see on television sitcoms.

NOW, restaurants that don't have a reservation system, that is a completely different story. There, louder more obnoxious guests usually WILL get seated first to get them out of the hosts/hostesses hair, with or without a tip. There are almost no restaurants in the Disney area that have non-reservation table seating.

 

[Audrey9505]

Something like this almost happened to us at Whispering Canyon for breakfast last December. We were in the waiting area when they called our name- when we got up to the podium, another party was trying to say that was their last time (to get our table). The thing was they had about 5-6 people compared to our party of 3 so it was pretty obvious they were lying.

 

[RozFan]

To elaborate on a earlier post: The host/hostess who checks you in does not assign the tables, they simply verify your dining information and add your name to the wait list(so your greasing the wrong palm, lol). The assignor is inside the restaurant walking around with a computer tablet that has the information given outside as well as a layout of the restaurant. After check in occurs the clock starts on your wait time so they know exactly how long you have waited. If you are ever "skipped" the only reason I could fathom would be because of a special request by you or party size. Reservations and walk-ins have a different icon next to the name so the assignor knows to handle reservations promptly and feel in the gaps with walk-ins. That too could be a plausible reason for being "skipped" but is completely legitimate. The hardest party size to sit are groups of five as restaurants tables are even numbered with majority of seats being a table for four. That is the industry standard size of a typical American family.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

NOW, restaurants that don't have a reservation system, that is a completely different story. There, louder more obnoxious guests usually WILL get seated first to get them out of the hosts/hostesses hair, with or without a tip. There are almost no restaurants in the Disney area that have non-reservation table seating.

Something like this almost happened to us at Whispering Canyon for breakfast last December. We were in the waiting area when they called our name- when we got up to the podium, another party was trying to say that was their last time (to get our table). The thing was they had about 5-6 people compared to our party of 3 so it was pretty obvious they were lying.

These are the kinds of things I fear. Thankfully, it sounds uncommon, but ya never know with some people these days.

 

[Monty]

Greasing the palm of the greeter will only serve to get the greeter disciplined and possibly fired if they're caught accepting it.

As has been said, the person controlling release of tables is inside the restaurant and only enters that "Table 'X' is available". The system then prints out a slip with the next party that is in queue with a party size that fits that table, if there are no parties with ADRs that fit that table, it'll print out for any walk-up party that fits. The only way to jump the queue would be to try and claim that your party has the name of a party being called and then you'd have to have a party of the same size and hope the real party doesn't show up at the same time.

 

[Clever Name]

There is a lot of variability in walk up seating and things go in your favor when a tip is offered. I don’t think an ADR would get bumped but walk up availability is always substantially improved in my years of experience at Disney reserved dining locations. How the CM’s split the gratuities is their business. :wave:

 

[4everDory]

Another family took our table at Le Cellier a few years ago...we sat outside waiting for them to call our name (they told me we could wait outside), and waited, and waited. About 30 minutes past our ADR time, I went back to the podium to ask about our table, and was told that someone else had taken our table when they called our name. We were then sat almost immediately, and given complimentary FastPasses to use anytime, anywhere. Frustrated as we were, we appreciated what they did to try to fix the situation.

 

[wdwmomof3]

Something like this almost happened to us at Whispering Canyon for breakfast last December. We were in the waiting area when they called our name- when we got up to the podium, another party was trying to say that was their last time (to get our table). The thing was they had about 5-6 people compared to our party of 3 so it was pretty obvious they were lying.

Another family took our table at Le Cellier a few years ago...we sat outside waiting for them to call our name (they told me we could wait outside), and waited, and waited. About 30 minutes past our ADR time, I went back to the podium to ask about our table, and was told that someone else had taken our table when they called our name. We were then sat almost immediately, and given complimentary FastPasses to use anytime, anywhere. Frustrated as we were, we appreciated what they did to try to fix the situation.

I can't believe the nerve of some people. I tell ya one thing, I will be watching out for that on our next trip.:ROFLOL: They don't want to mess with me....

 

[kverdon]

We had something similiar happen to us a Coral Reef last year... Twice. We were with friends and we had a reservation for noon at the Coral Reef for a party of 6. We showed up right before noon, checked in and were told it would just be a few minutes before we were seated. The six of us stayed near the podium. After waiting 30 minutes we inquired about our reservation and they looked at us an said they'd seated us. I showed him my ID and with name like "Verdon" its tough to make a mistake. They put us back in the queue and after another 30 minutes we inquired again and they looked abashed at us and informed us that they seated someone else in our place again. I asked to see a manager and needless to say they immediately granted our request to sit next to the aquarium.

Kevin and Mona

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Another family took our table at Le Cellier a few years ago...we sat outside waiting for them to call our name (they told me we could wait outside), and waited, and waited. About 30 minutes past our ADR time, I went back to the podium to ask about our table, and was told that someone else had taken our table when they called our name. We were then sat almost immediately, and given complimentary FastPasses to use anytime, anywhere. Frustrated as we were, we appreciated what they did to try to fix the situation.

We had something similiar happen to us a Coral Reef last year... Twice. We were with friends and we had a reservation for noon at the Coral Reef for a party of 6. We showed up right before noon, checked in and were told it would just be a few minutes before we were seated. The six of us stayed near the podium. After waiting 30 minutes we inquired about our reservation and they looked at us an said they'd seated us. I showed him my ID and with name like "Verdon" its tough to make a mistake. They put us back in the queue and after another 30 minutes we inquired again and they looked abashed at us and informed us that they seated someone else in our place again. I asked to see a manager and needless to say they immediately granted our request to sit next to the aquarium.

Kevin and Mona

And this is really what I was getting at. I'm sure people try to grease palms, but it's the really sneaky people who try to swoop in and steal your ressie that worry me.

 

[Captain Hank]

To elaborate on a earlier post: The host/hostess who checks you in does not assign the tables, they simply verify your dining information and add your name to the wait list(so your greasing the wrong palm, lol). The assignor is inside the restaurant walking around with a computer tablet that has the information given outside as well as a layout of the restaurant. After check in occurs the clock starts on your wait time so they know exactly how long you have waited. If you are ever "skipped" the only reason I could fathom would be because of a special request by you or party size. Reservations and walk-ins have a different icon next to the name so the assignor knows to handle reservations promptly and feel in the gaps with walk-ins. That too could be a plausible reason for being "skipped" but is completely legitimate. The hardest party size to sit are groups of five as restaurants tables are even numbered with majority of seats being a table for four. That is the industry standard size of a typical American family.

Yup. There are many factors that figure in to table assignment. These include party size, whether or not the party has a reservation, special requests, how long Guests are remaining seated at their tables (weather plays a big role in this), when the last time the particular server was seated, how efficient servers are in bussing their tables, etc. It's like an enormous puzzle. I loved assigning, but was always exhausted after an assignor shift.

Greasing the palm of the greeter will only serve to get the greeter disciplined and possibly fired if they're caught accepting it.

As has been said, the person controlling release of tables is inside the restaurant and only enters that "Table 'X' is available". The system then prints out a slip with the next party that is in queue with a party size that fits that table, if there are no parties with ADRs that fit that table, it'll print out for any walk-up party that fits. The only way to jump the queue would be to try and claim that your party has the name of a party being called and then you'd have to have a party of the same size and hope the real party doesn't show up at the same time.

I spent quite a while as a seating host at a WDW Table Service restaurant, and only encountered people trying to tip me to get a better/faster seating a couple times (didn't work, didn't accept the tip and depending on the demeanor of the Guest, I would sometimes slip a message into the system to ask the assignor to take their time with the party). The assignor does have complete control over what party goes to what table(s) and can and will "jump over" certain parties to ensure that the most parties possible can be seated in the fastest manner possible while sticking as close as possible to quoted wait times.

Guests claiming to be other parties, though, can be a HUGE problem. This has been somewhat diminished because of the use of pagers, but it still happens. I also used to have lots of issues when Guests would wander outside of the pager range. Our pager system would beep and tell the Guest that they had "wandered out of range, and will be unable to receive any pages." Guests would misinterpret this as having been paged, would return to the podium and demand to be sat.