An Unpleasant Experience at Yak and Yeti CS

[Elle23]

We were at WDW from 12/14-12/21.

On our last day at AK, we ate lunch at the Yak and Yeti CS.

Lines were long, but I got through it and we made our way back to the seating area.

All of the tables were taken. Unfortunately a lot of them were taken by single people with no food “saving” the table.

I was left standing and balancing a heavy tray of food and drinks, trying to find a table to sit at. By the time we pounced on one (hovering over a family that looked close to being done), our food was cold and not even worth eating.

It was an extremely unpleasant experience. I don’t understand why the CMs don’t step in in these situations and help move tables and keep people with no food from taking up tables that people with food desperately need?

 

[starry_solo]

If it were me, I would be joining the single people at tables, but I usually go in groups of 3 so we would fit at a table for 4 if there was only one person sitting there

Perhaps they were waiting for their friends who were in line for food?

 

[SandyinMonterey]

The last time we were at WDW (2014), we ate at Peco Bill's (husbands favorite). They had CM's trolling the restaurant. You weren't allowed to sit down and save a table. You had to have your food first.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don’t understand why the CMs don’t step in in these situations and help move tables and keep people with no food from taking up tables that people with food desperately need?

They often do. Maybe not at that restaurant but we’ve been kept out of the seating area (as part of a large group) until our party has food.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We were at WDW from 12/14-12/21.

On our last day at AK, we ate lunch at the Yak and Yeti CS.

Lines were long, but I got through it and we made our way back to the seating area.

All of the tables were taken. Unfortunately a lot of them were taken by single people with no food “saving” the table.

I was left standing and balancing a heavy tray of food and drinks, trying to find a table to sit at. By the time we pounced on one (hovering over a family that looked close to being done), our food was cold and not even worth eating.

It was an extremely unpleasant experience. I don’t understand why the CMs don’t step in in these situations and help move tables and keep people with no food from taking up tables that people with food desperately need?

Unfortunately, WDW CM's only "patrol" at a few QS locations. They were very strict when we went to Satul'i in August (literally a CM blocking the entrance to the seating area), which I was SO happy to see. We had this same experience at Pinocchio's a few years ago (I was alone with a 5 year old, no less, balancing a tray and trying to keep track of him). I finally found a CM and complained QUITE vociferously. She got me a table. They need to patrol at ALL QS, IMHO. If people would simply wait for their food and then sit down, the tables would naturally turn over to accommodate all who HAVE food and need to sit and eat. I would encourage you to contact WDW guest services to convey your experience. I really wish they would police this more.

 

[enchantingodin]

Looks like I'm in the minority here... to me you should only send 1 person up to the line to order and get food for others who are at the table waiting. Seems to me like it clogs up the line with all the extra people, and if there was only 1 person the line would move much faster. In fact at most places (Disney or otherwise) I will not go order food UNTIL I know I we have a place to sit.

That being said we don't linger if there are people waiting to sit down either. We also will let others who are waiting and frantically looking around know we are about to leave and purposefully give them our table. Especially if it's a single parent with little ones who is struggling.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It's pretty obvious that not each party gets a table all to themselves... our local amusement park has six tables for its very popular burger option. Yes only six tables. So everyone rotates and fills in the spaces as they are made. Thankfully they actually have to COOK the food so by the time Person B has their burger ordered, paid, cooked and fixed up on a plate, Person A is polishing off their burger at the table.

If I spot a table with enough seating for my family, I put the tray down and politely greet the others at the table. Someone with no food "holding a place" isn't currently eating at the table, which is what the restaurant seating is FOR. And usually most eateries have small signs or a policy somewhere about not "lingering in the establishment for the enjoyment of other patrons" so if the other person goes crazy and starts screaming, you are not the one in the wrong.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

I understand both sides. I hate having to stand there hoping for a table to open so I can eat my food while its hot. BUT I hate it more when people just sit down at a table when I am clearly waiting for the rest of my family members coming with my food. When I was an exhausted child and my parents told me to sit at a table so I could rest and they could get me food, multiple times another family would just come and sit with me and my younger sister! As a child, that is a very stressful situation to sit with a stranger when I was told to stay put, and I personally think it is inappropriate and rude for an adult to put a child in that kind of position. So while I understand it is annoying to not have a place to sit, to just sit with another family is also just as unacceptable. I think the only acceptable solution is for Disney to start monitoring the QS seating areas.

 

[disneyvoice]

This drives me crazy too. If we are eating at a table and see people with food searching for a table we always invite them to join us at our table. We have met some really nice and interesting people doing this. We also wave people over if they are searching for a table when are about to leave so they can take our table.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

they are darned if they do, and darned if they don't.

If they allow table saving, the people looking for a table are unhappy. If they don't, the people who prefer to have part of their party save a table are unhappy, especially those who think sharing their table with strangers is icky.

I personally come down on the side of those who already have food.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Someone with no food "holding a place" isn't currently eating at the table, which is what the restaurant seating is FOR. And usually most eateries have small signs or a policy somewhere about not "lingering in the establishment for the enjoyment of other patrons" so if the other person goes crazy and starts screaming, you are not the one in the wrong.

While that may be true for actual restaurants, that is NOT the case for WDW. QS areas also act as cooling off or rest stations for families with small children and the elderly. If I were to bring my elderly grandmother, where would I have her rest and cool off from the heat other than in the general seating areas of QS restaurants? There are not that many benches, and most air conditioned areas are either lines/rides or merchandise. I would hope someone that is using the QS area to relax would be willing to share with someone looking to eat, but I don't think they necessarily need to move for you or have to share a table with your family either. To say if you are not eating in these areas, then you are not using what the area is FOR is just an incorrect assumption. If WDW wants these areas to be used exclusively for eating then supervision is needed and it needs to be made explicit to the guests as currently there are no signs stating otherwise. They have started to have CMs monitor areas for eating but this is only during peak times, and this is when I think you can assume you may sit with another family or a person holding a seat as it would be directly against WDWs intentions, but if it is not explicitly stated to the guests I would strongly disagree with you and you should wait your turn like the other families did for a table.

 

[Dug720]

While that may be true for actual restaurants, that is NOT the case for WDW. QS areas also act as cooling off or rest stations for families with small children and the elderly. If I were to bring my elderly grandmother, where would I have her rest and cool off from the heat other than in the general seating areas of QS restaurants? There are not that many benches, and most air conditioned areas are either lines/rides or merchandise. I would hope someone that is using the QS area to relax would be willing to share with someone looking to eat, but I don't think they necessarily need to move for you or have to share a table with your family either. To say if you are not eating in these areas, then you are not using what the area is FOR is just an incorrect assumption. If WDW wants these areas to be used exclusively for eating then supervision is needed and it needs to be made explicit to the guests as currently there are no signs stating otherwise. They have started to have CMs monitor areas for eating but this is only during peak times, and this is when I think you can assume you may sit with another family or a person holding a seat as it would be directly against WDWs intentions, but if it is not explicitly stated to the guests I would strongly disagree with you and you should wait your turn like the other families did for a table.

I'm sorry... Seating at a RESTAURANT - QS or otherwise - is seating for the RESTAURANT and its patrons. It is not a "chill out zone" for people not eating.

 

[BK2014]

If I were to bring my elderly grandmother, where would I have her rest and cool off from the heat other than in the general seating areas of QS restaurants?

At the MK, this is exactly what the People Mover is good for. Usually minimal wait to get on. Nice long break from heat/standing. Shaded.

While that may be true for actual restaurants, that is NOT the case for WDW. QS areas also act as cooling off or rest stations for families with small children and the elderly.

To say if you are not eating in these areas, then you are not using what the area is FOR is just an incorrect assumption. If WDW wants these areas to be used exclusively for eating then supervision is needed and it needs to be made explicit to the guests as currently there are no signs stating otherwise.

I guess I see it as being an incorrect assumption to assume that restaurant seating areas are different just because you're at Disney. Why should they have to explicitly state that seating areas inside a restaurant are for those eating at the restaurant? If people are only looking for a place to cool off or rest, they certainly don't need a table for that.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I am afraid I agree with the previous poster. Unless it isn't busy and there's a lot of empty tables, the seating at a QS restaurant is for patrons of the restaurant, not a rest and cool off place.

 

[Fleuristic]

It’s outdoor seating, it’s randomly accessible to anyone. If someone wants a guaranteed place to sit without hassle that’s what TS are for. No need for all this back and forth arguing and negotiation. It’s in the title. Counter service ie: service ends at the counter.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

I guess I see it as being an incorrect assumption to assume that restaurant seating areas are different just because you're at Disney. Why should they have to explicitly state that seating areas inside a restaurant are for those eating at the restaurant? If people are only looking for a place to cool off or rest, they certainly don't need a table for that.

As someone who has been personally directed there by a CM when my sister was looking ill, I will continue to say that WDW does support the area for more than just eating. When they directly state otherwise to me, I will respect that. But until then, people will continue to use it as they deem fit. If you want a guaranteed table, then that is what ADRs are for to guarantee sit down service. That is my opinion and from my own experience at Disney. If I am wrong, then I will accept that, but Disney needs to make that clear as this thread would not be here if others did not use it for other purposes.

What I really do not like is when people assume you are sitting there for no reason and sit there with you. If I invite you to sit with me, then of course please sit. But to just sit down because I am one person or waiting for another family member is not right.

Do I think this system works? No! But until it is made clear, there will be two different sides thinking they are in the right. Some people look at it as a restaurant, others more like a mall food court. Both are very different than one another. One you have the right to sit and the other is a more common use area.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

An emergency is different.

But no, a busy restaurant is not a place to take a rest.

 

[disneyvoice]

My mother is elderly and doesn't walk very well but doesn't want to use a scooter, she needs frequent rest stops. In all of our years going to WDW with her we have never had to sit in a QS dining location to allow her to rest - unless we were actually eating at the restaurant. There are plenty of benches and cool locations to stop for a rest

 

[Disneylover99]

Doesn't YaknYeti also have that separate little window by the outdoor seating, where people can buy alcoholic beverages? Some people sitting there might just be drinking anyways without food.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

An emergency is different.

But no, a busy restaurant is not a place to take a rest.

I guess this is what I do not understand. I do not view QS as a restaurant, to me it is more of a food court. Yes, a majority of people sit there to eat, but it is open to the public. No one is seating you and telling you what to do, so do as you please with your table. All be it eating or resting.