Crazy at Counter Service?

[dulluth]

I read on another site that counter service restaurants have been crazy at DL. This person reported that many places had many cooks, but only 2 cashiers, or other personnel placement issues which were creating long lines everywhere! For any of you that have been there recently, is this true? I'm just wondering if a few additional PS's are in order, or if the problem was either blown out of proportion or has been resolved. Thanks for any input!

 

[Earstou]

I was there May 31st to June 2nd, and we did have a long wait when we did counter service for dinner. Every place seemed to be mobbed. But this was also the time the park seemed to start to really fill up, wait times for rides really increased around this same time.
We did sit-down for lunch, so don't know how counter service was then.

 

[iceskatejen]

It totally depends on what time you go to get food. If it's an off time, not much in the way of lines, if it's between 11:30 and 1 or 5-7, the lines are nuts because everyone is hungry then. And there are a lot of new CMs this summer, so they are a bit slower, but I'm sure they'll pick it up soon. Just make sure you pack some patience before you come.

 

[disneychrista]

There have been problems with their food workers. From what I have read they are doing everything that can to try to solve the problems.

The best way to get around is to eat early or late. So eat lunch before 11am or after 2pm. Dinner eat at 4pm or after 8pm.

 

[disneymommyof2]

We were there from June 6-9 and the lines were incredibly long for the park not being that crowded. We decided after the first day to eat lunch early (11:00ish), and that actually did help a lot. Although we ate dinner around 8:30ish and the lines were still pretty crowded. I agree though it should clear up soon. I felt sorry for the people working the counter, they were getting a lot of nasty comments from guests waiting to order.

 

[dewayneg]

We were there last week. The lines weren't always long, but they were always slow. For example, we went to the Hungry Bear in Critter Country at 11:10 on Thursday morning and it took over 1/2 hour to get our order in, even though there were only 8 or so people in front of us. There were many workers standing behind the counter that were talking as if they were having a meeting or something, but definitely not moving food. The same thing happened at the little pastry shop on Main Street. My advice is that the best food, prices and eating environment for fast food is at Whitewater Snacks in the Grand Californian.

By the way, DCA didn't seem to have the same service issues as Disneyland, perhaps because it wasn't as crowded.

Here is something funny. While waiting for my kids to come out of Big Thunder Mountain I went to the Westward Ho food wagon that sells McDonald's french fries. The lady told me they were out of fries. Since the only food item that they sell is fries (at $2.75!), you would think that they would be able to keep that going, but apparently not. Food service at Disneyland seems to be a real problem, but hopefully it is working itself out.

 

[Melora]

We were at Disneyland on Sunday and even though the park really wasnt that crowded considering the time of year, when we ate dinner ate Redd Rocketts it took FOREVER to get the kids meal. We were waiting and waiting and people were wandering around behind the counter carrying food here and there but not paying attention to the people waiting.

When someone finally came over it seemed like it took forever for him to dish up our food. The line just kept getting longer. When we got there there was no almost no one in line so we didnt have to wait very long but by the time we got our food there was line all the way out the door.

My 4 year old dumped his pasta on the floor before he even started so Iw ent up to get another and it was a madhouse. Still no one was being helped efficiently. I dont think there were enough people working.

 

[Karalea]

We just got back late last night after a 5 day visit and felt the lines for food were horrible. I swear the line at the Hungry Bear on Saturday around 1:00 was almost as long as the line for Splash Mountain!!

Service was so slow!!! On Monday, we waited 8 minutes (yes, I did time it) at San Andreas Shakes in DCA for a milk shake and there was only 1 person ahead of us in line. Of course, when we finally got to order, the milk shake machine was broken

 

[All Aboard]

One place that it was really noticeable a few weeks ago was at River Belle Terrace. The breakfast line each morning was unbelievable. Is that normal? There must have been 50 people in line

 

[got2travel]

I haven't been since early May. But I was told by a CM friend that there were union issues and many of the food workers were let go. DL is trying to hire new folks, but it takes a while to get everyone trained. Hopefully they'll be fully staffed when I go next month. Otherwise we might go offsite.

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

The food system at the Taste Pilot's Grill in DCA seems to be the quickest. All the order takers are automated systems. You just touch the screen to order your food. Then you swipe your credit card or stick your money into the slot to pay for your food. CMs still process the food. I found the Taste Pilot's Grill the quickest food service at Disney. Even so, I waited about 10-15 minutes during a busy lunch time to order food at that location.