Just the two of you?!

[pjweaver]

I don’t know if this is just our bad luck, or a trend at WDW, but it seems that parties of two get the shaft.

Over the past few years I notice that when it is only my wife and me dining we tend to get a less than stellar experience. This was confirmed in June when we went with my in-laws. As a party of four we were treated much better by servers, and had a better experience all around, including the food.

At 50’s Prime Time our group of four had a great time and great interactions with the servers. Four months later as a party of two, we were put in the corner and had no interaction with any cast members. My wife’s pork chops were so over cooked she barely ate any, but no one ever checked to see how our meal was until our check arrived.

At Liberty Tree Tavern we didn’t even get a platter. Parties of two are only brought plates of meats, stuffing, etc and a gravy boat. This may be because the two top tables are so small, but we had to wait until a server came close enough to flag down in order to get more turkey and pot roast. I asked for more iced tea, and 20 minutes later it showed up...with our bill. This was the day after thanksgiving, but they are always busy so I assume it wasn’t a one off.

At Momma Melrose my wife and I were seated 40 minutes after our ADR. To add insult to the delay we were taken to a booth meant for six people. My wife was in a wheel chair and the table was just about eye level for her. It was off time and the restaurant was maybe 30% full, but the hostess needed 10 minutes to switch up the computer and get us a table. The food was good, but anagain the servers barely slow down to deliver the food and just seem to want us to eat and leave.

BOG at dinner seems to seat parties of two in the full library along with any screaming children (we now call it the forgotten room). Three times in a row we got to eat ther, unless we came with another couple. I like the food enough, but the service just plain sucks.

At Art Smiths we showed up 15 minutes before our ADR, but were put on hold. Parties of four were seated ahead of us even without an ADR. Apparently there are only a few two tops and parties of two can’t sit at a booth or four top table.

At Hoop Dee Do we always pay for tier one, and get put up against the stage. It’s a great view (I can tell you the men wear boxers) but you never see your server for refills.

Buffetts and AYCTE as a whole have horrid service when we go as a couple, but in groups of four or more we see our servers more. At Tusker House I saw characters more than a server. I would rather they set up a self service drink station than wait for a coffee (I never did get that cream or sugar Cindy).

I will say our best experiences are at the higher end places like California Grill. I suppose these places are more of a date night experience, so couples are more common.

I also find that it is easier to get an ADR on the app if I make it for 3 or more. Maybe two people just don’t spend enough. These are all taken from our visits in the past three years. It started when we came for the dis unplugged 10th anniversary. Let me know if you have any similar experiences, or if I just have bad luck. Hopefully our April trip will be different.

 

[Lisa F]

I travel solo with my son and have never experienced any of what you are describing. My son ordered the aycte option at lunch at LTT as a 9 year old and got a huge adult size platter. Our server was lovely even though we basically ordered 2 kid meals and nothing else.

I have had no complaints about wait times to be seated or inattentive servers as a party of 2 and since one is a kid you'd think if it was anticipated tip driven we'd have a big problem with lower bills. I had weight loss surgery so often order an app or a kid meal or outright split with my son... Again no issues.

I'm sorry you had such a string of poor luck but ime this is not a trend.

 

[Jennasis]

Nope. It might be just your bad luck. DH and I are ROUTINELY treated like royalty and sprinkled with pixie dust. Just last month we had breakfast at Garden Grill pre-park opening. They sat us and all of the characters came over and hung out and played with us at the same time for like 10 minutes! The server told us it was because we were the family of the day.

 

[focusondisney]

We are a party of 2 & have not noticed this many issues either. I do occasionally need to make ADRs for 3 to get decent times, but this is only at certain restaurants, like Tutto Italia for example.

My DH drinks a lot of Coke & he always gets refills without asking, so I think our service is fine. We have been seated in the music box room at BOG too, but I much prefer that room over the chaos in the main dining hall. We eat at LTT every trip & have only had a small 2 seat table maybe twice in well over 20 reservations. We don’t eat at MM very often, but as far as I know that place is notorious for seating you late. Last time we were there was Dec 2017. We were past our ADR time, but we did not notice anyone getting seated before us, especially not walk ups with no ADR. Sorry you’re not getting great service.

 

[SteveH]

@pjweaver I'm sorry, but from your experience its hard to deny that you've had that type of service. My wife and I went last January and we had great interactions Rose & Crown and Yak & Yeti. I'd say Trader Sam's was the best hands down. I didn't feel the "love" at Whispering Canyon at all, while other tables had a lot of interaction our server was pretty 'serious' overall, and didn't really play along even though we tried. While at Restaurant Marrakesh we had great service, very attentive but not much interaction, but I still felt we got very good service.

My non-Disney dining experience I do notice a change in service is if we skip drinks and an appetizer, I can usually tell right away too. Not to derail the thread but in Washington State it's gotten worse as our minimum wage has increased to $12 on the way to $13.50 next year. I don't see it getting any better any time soon.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS11 and I travel as a party of 2 to WDW multiple times a year and I've never experienced what you have except at Mama Melrose, but, from what I've read, ADR delays there are very common for many regardless of party size. We've had great service in many places and always seem to strike up conversations with our servers. The worst table we've ever had was actually as a party of 3 at O'hana. It was so dark and in such an awkward place, we ended up downloading a candle app on our phones and put them on our table to try to add some ambience, LOL! I'm so sorry you've had these experiences.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We are usually a party of 2 and I have found similar service issues but honestly, think it's more just poor service and less about our party size. The times when we have good service at a Disney restaurant are becoming so infrequent that they are actually more memorable than the poor service Our answer to this is to simply not eat on site as much these days. We were at the parks ~50 times last year and our on site dining has diminished to almost nothing (or sticking to non-Disney run spots). I realize our semi-local status allows us freedom to come and go more than people who are on vacation with limited time and transportation.

Being a party of 2 HAS gotten us tables quickly, though. For instance, we were reserved for a table of 4 at Plaza but ended up just being the 2 of us. She rattled off that they were running 45 minutes behind but when I told her we were just 2, it changed to 5 minutes.

Definitely not questioning your service issues because I've encountered the same - but it's often been poor even with a larger group.

 

[Elle23]

We have eaten at BOG for dinner 3 times. The one time we were placed in the “alternate” room, we had the best, most attentive server we have ever had at WDW and one of the best meals.

I don’t think anyone had it in for us by seating us in that room. It was truly a wonderful experience (there are 3 of us, but I honestly don’t get the disdain for that room...it is very nice).

 

[SirDis]

My wife and I were a party of 2 in August (for the first time ever at DW) - the service we received at Jiko was outstanding! Our experience was so good, we went again two nights later and the service was even better. It is a signature restaurant, so it seems more likely that couples are more common - but honestly, there were more families there than couples on both nights.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Speak up!
if there's an issue with your table type, location, etc., request a different table. If there's an issue with the food, don't just not eat it, say something - even if you have to go looking for someone in authority.

50's PT: Let the host/ess know you want the interaction.
LTT: Okay, the serving plates instead of the platter probably was due to the table size. But being ignored by your server? Nope. Again, it stinks that you have to be proactive.
MM: While you saw many empty tables, the hostess needed to replace your bad table with one where a server was available.
BOG and Art Smith's; Again, be assertive. Request a specific room at BOG; even if they can't accommodate, you tried. Homecomin', well, there's can't, and then there's won't. Politely demand to be seated at a "too large" table.
HDDR: I believe they assign tables in the order they're booked. Maybe don't book as far in advance as you have bee n?

ANY time you have a service issue that isn't resolved rapidly by your server, move up. Speak with someone in charge.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I don't think it's your party size. We are a party of 5 and have had many of the issues you mentioned at some of the same places. We've been seated in the music box room at BOG (I like the quiet though - we didn't have any screaming children). We also find at Disney that it's very common for servers to disappear after serving your food. To the point that I think it's cultural. Being from the Midwest, I'm used to fast service. I think maybe the servers at Disney don't want to 'rush' you. I've had to ask someone to find our server at Sci-Fi, 50's PT, CP, and BOG to name a few. It drives me nuts. There are rides to go on, shows to see.

We have certainly also had great service at Disney. CMs at Coral Reef have really stood out the 2x we've been there. But in general I expect slower and less attentive service at Disney than at home.

 

[TeresaWen]

As a party of two we almost always get amazing service. This past trip to WDW in October we had some of our best dining experiences all year.

Sorry this was not the case for you OP but I do not believe it has anything to do with party size, especially when they order a lot of wine

 

[rajak73]

We've been a party of 2 the last 4 trips, never had any bad experiences. 50's prime time, I would guess it's a lot easier to work with a party of 4 or more than with a party of 2. That has been our experience. Hoop de doo had servers all over the place, your server only serves like 2-3 rows. We never had a problem getting refills for anything.

 

[nkereina]

We're also a party of two and don't typically have a series of bad experiences like the OP describes. In fact, its usually the opposite because they can be flexible with parties of two. There's often many two-top tables, since they are small. But ironically, at LTT we have been sat at the exact same two-top table our last three visits. LOL!

I do think that as two adults, we're more self-sufficient. We don't need as many refills, we have fewer issues, and with no kids, we're fine with less character interaction or less antics at places like WCC or 50s PT.

 

[Moliphino]

We didn't mind the individual plates at LTT as it was too much food to eat, anyway. Service was slow, but I think that was for everyone. I'm not sure how it can take so long for food to come out when every table is eating the same thing. That meal took at least an hour and a half.

I'm usually just traveling with my sister and haven't really had any issues as a party of two. We were seated in the ballroom twice for BOG dinner (same exact table) and the West Wing once over the years as a party of two. We've also been in the ballroom as a party of 4 and the West Wing as a party of 5. We had one awful server there, but the rest were fine.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

My daughter and I are a party of two. We generally have good service, although at times we’ve had an unreasonably long wait. At 1900 Park Fare (this was a few years ago), we waited 45 minutes after our reservation time while several parties of 4 were seated with a short wait. My DD was quite young then, and the waiting experience made her not want to return there until just recently. We went in October and had a much better (faster) experience.

At BOG, recently (since the menu switch) we have only been seated in the main ballroom, which is our least favorite place to sit as it’s so noisy. We really like the quieter room with the music box, although our favorite place to sit is in the west wing.

 

[KPeterso]

I go with just my Mom each year and we have never had a problem as a party of 2. We are always treated well and at many restaurants, we have been seated at a four top even as a party of 2. Also no issues typically booking the ADRs for the party of 2.

 

[Mrs. W]

I’ve only visited WDW in my adult years as a party of 2 and I go regularly. I’ve experienced 2 minor instances of slow service in many dining experiences at WDW: Boatwright’s and Be Our Guest, when it first opened. Otherwise, our dining experiences, many of which include character meals, are always very good.

However, I do not doubt that you’ve had poor service in Disney restaurants. I’ve read enough reviews online to know Disney dining is not always a positive experience for guests. With that said, I’m shocked you’ve experienced poor service with what seems like regularity. That is unacceptable. I don’t believe the poor service is related to your party size, but regardless, the service you’ve received was not good, and I would urge you to complain in the future each time you receive such service.

 

[Lisa F]

although at times we’ve had an unreasonably long wait. At 1900 Park Fare (this was a few years ago), we waited 45 minutes after our reservation time while several parties of 4 were seated with a short wait.

I think that is luck of the flow though. I bet for every time you have seen a larger party get seated before you, there has been time when you have been seated before a larger party because the 2-top opened up more quickly. They try to judge flow but of course people do what they do and take the time they take.

That said, my son is on the spectrum and has a tough time with waiting - I try to time as many meals as possible at restaurant opening so there isn't a huge wait (you at least take out the factor of table turnover from the wait time) or at off times. Just for our own sanity. It works pretty well most of the time! Only thing is if you get there 15 minutes before opening you will be waiting at least 15 or 20 minutes, which also is tough for the kiddo but at least it's a known quantity and not more like 45+.

 

[aml3679]

Not the same, but, they like to sit us near the bathroom or serve station.