Disney Dining Tips and Etiquette
Let's face it, we all want to be a little more Prince Charming and a little less Stinky Pete. But when in a crowded, hot theme park, we sometimes forget ourselves. This is another one of those "Don't be THAT person" posts, where I'm going to share the most valuable dining etiquette as it pertains to Disney.
And you know what? Not all of it is very obvious. Disney is a special kind of place with special circumstances around dining. From someone whose been on both sides of the quick service counter, here's my top tips so you come off like Prince Charming.
Table Service Etiquette
First, understand what it means to have an Advanced Dining Reservation at Disney. An ADR is an estimated time you can dine, not a reservation. Unlike a normal restaurant situaiton, Disney will never hold a table without seating guests because they are expecting your party. However, they are usually able to honor your ADR time within 5-15 minutes because of the magic of math (again). Disney knows how many tables they have and roughly the amount of time it takes guests to eat. An ADR is a controlled slot (kind of like a FastPass Plus for dining) that they will honor over guests without ADRs (kind of like the standby line) to make sure those with ADRs can eat. So, don't fuss if your table isn't waiting when you arrive at your ADR time. That's not how it's designed to work, but you will be seated soon.
Now that you know what an ADR is, here's the next tip: If you have a special request, show up well ahead of your ADR time and be prepared to wait until the right table opens up. Like we said, your table isn't held for you, so if you want a specific kind of table, be prepared to wait for it to open.
If your request can't be honored, don't take it out on the cast members. Not everyone dining at The Rose & Crown can have a seat on the patio for the fireworks, and pretty much everyone wants that. Your best bet is to show up earlier than others with an ADR for the same time slot and ask nicely. But even Cast Members can't guarantee everyone can always get what they want and they are trying their best.
Shifting gears from ADRs, let's talk about tips. For those from outside the United States, this may actually be a culture difference, but in America, we customarily tip our servers when dining in an establishment where servers bring the food to you. In theory, a customary tip for good service is to add 15-20% to your bill. If you feel the service was just satisfactory, 10% can be acceptable. If you feel really slighted, then you may choose not to tip. In practice, I almost always tip between 18-20% of my bill, even when I thought the service was merely satisfactory, out of respect that the job is not easy.
Even when on the dining plan, you should tip. This includes when you buy a prepaid dining plan, or when you get a free dining promotion. Your tip is not factored into this, so while your meal is free, you still got served, and if you had decent service, you should still tip the same percentage of what your bill would have been before your dining credits are used. You will get a receipt that enumerates this, so don't pretend you don't know.
Finally, American dining is a bit "efficient" compared to some other cultures. A common review I see of dining at Disney restaurants is that people felt rushed. After a trip to Europe and seeing the different pace of table service there, I think I better understand this. To be honest, in Europe, I felt the service and whole experience was agonizingly slow. When I eat my last bite, I would love for a cheerful server to appear, whisk away my plate,and ask me if I'd like anything else. The minute I say "no", I love it when they produce the bill. This is just the culture. Americans like to eat and then get on with their life quickly. So please don't feel the servers are rushing you. They don't mean to rush you. They are simply trying to keep guests moving so the guests can get back to the attractions.
Quick Service Etiquette
This is my biggest tip right here: Know the entire party's order before you get to the order window. The menu has been looking you in the face for a while because it's posted on the wall, and outside the door. You've probably stood in line for at least 5 minutes to get to the point where you can order. By the time you get to the register, you should be able to order for your whole party. Do not wait until that moment to read the menu behind the Cast Member for the first time! If you do not know what everyone in your party wants, allow the party behind you to jump the line ahead of you so you can figure it out.
Better yet, mobile order. A really nice way to avoid standing in a long line and having a hurried discussion about whether Timmy wants fries or chips and Tommy wants diet coke or root beer is to find a nice shady bench, and put in a mobile order using your MyDisneyExperience app. It's true, not all Quick Service locations are equipped with this just yet, but for those that are, this is a life changer. You order ahead, pay ahead, and then when you approach the restaurant (from wherever you ordered), you click a little button that says prepare my order. Then you get a text and a pick up window number when it's ready. No waiting in line. It's wonderful.
When it's time to pick up food, recruit whatever help you need to carry trays and send the rest of your party to find a table in a specified area so you can find them as long as you don't fear getting separated. It's not fun to carry trays all over looking for a table, so if you can have your party find one in advance while some of you get the food, this is helpful because then you can make a beeline for the table. Also, only having the people you need at the pick up window helps ease congestion.
Many places have an order line and a pick up line.. make sure you are in the correct one. I've seen more than one guest stand in the pick up line forever and get angry when nobody has taken their order. Yes, the pick up line is smaller. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean you found some super secret line that nobody else has noticed.
Pick up after yourself. At Disney Quick Service dining locations, you need to bus yourself. Yes, sometimes a friendly Cast Member happens by and will take your things, but this is not the norm. The norm is to throw away your trash and return your tray somewhere. Do not leave it. Not only is that gross and disrespectful to other guests, but it's bad for the animals at the parks as well when wind picks up trash and carries it into enclosures.
But speaking of some super secret lines: Cafeteria style places that are common at the resorts allow you to check out on either side of the cashier's podium - the cashier will alternate between sides regardless of the length on each side. Read the signs, and if that is the case, you might find that people just line up after each other and don't use the other side. In this case, you can use the other side and you'll be the next person checked out. It seems unfair, but it's your reward for reading the signs.
Bonus points if you know where the two pictures in this article were taken! (We're not sure what the points are for yet, but you know you want to prove your Disney-ness, right?). Hint: They both have to do with food!
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