Popular Disney World Restaurant Denies Frustrated Guests' Service After Keeping Them Waiting

If you have ever taken a Walt Disney World Resort vacation, then you know that there is A LOT of planning that goes into it. You have to figure out when you want to go, what discounts you can take advantage of, what amazing resort hotel you want to stay at, what your budget is for things like souvenirs, and, perhaps most importantly, where you want to eat.

Picking which restaurants to eat at and managing to snag reservations can be one of the most stressful parts of your trip. There are more than 400 dining spots around the resort, including the ones in the theme parks, at the hotels, and in Disney Springs.

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Guests must follow certain guidelines when making a Walt Disney World dining reservation and when arriving at the restaurant for their reservations.

But what happens if the guest tries to do everything right, but things go wrong, and Disney cast members make it worse? What should you do, and how do you handle it?

According to one Redditor, this nightmare experience is exactly what happened when they attempted to dine at the Plaza Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom earlier this year.

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According to Reddit user Atheist_Redditor, he and his family arrived on time for their reservation at the popular restaurant. They had not eaten in a while, as they were saving room for their dinner. Unfortunately, their table was not ready, so they waited.

The OP (Original Poster) says that his family waited more than half an hour. During that time, they were worried that they would not be able to get the child the toy they were promised, as the store might close before they left the restaurant.

So, OP decided to quickly return to the store so he could make the purchase before the store closed. But when he got back to the Plaza Restaurant, things went from bad to worse.

Here is OP’s frustrating tale:

I waited a while to share this because I was sure I would get downvoted to hell but I’ll post it anyway.

A few weeks ago we were at Magic Kingdom. We had reservations at 7:00 at the Plaza. We had waited to eat and denied all snack requests from our younger kids because we knew we were going to eat soon.

We showed up and the table wasn’t ready…okay. I get it, they were busy. So we waited…..we waited 45 mins.

My son really wanted something from Memento Mori and I told him we would go back for it later in the day. I was worried it would close early and we wouldn’t be able to go back and get it, so I basically jogged to go get it leaving my wife and 3 kids to wait for the table.

I get back, huffing and puffing, hungry as hell.

Here’s the kicker. They wouldn’t seat my wife because my whole party wasn’t there. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?

It’s one thing if you got a part of 20 and only half the people are there. But I can’t believe they made my wife wait longer and juggle all 3 kids after already making us wait 45 minutes.

I was upset. I ended up speaking firmly to the manager…I know, I know. I didn’t outright yell. But I was upset. I just wanted them to understand my frustration. It was an active choice she was making to not seat us. Whether it was her policy or not…it needs to change to allow some flexibility because good God. Walking around all day, exhausted at Magic Kingdom, ready to finally sit down and eat only to be denied for some arbitrary reason is ridiculous.

Frustrated with Disney's reservation policies
byu/Atheist_Redditor inWaltDisneyWorld

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Now, Disney does have a policy of not seating guests until their entire party is present. This is most likely done so the restaurant can turn over tables as quickly as possible. However, after making the OP and his family wait for almost an hour after their reservation time and then not seating his three young children, even though he was on his way back, it does seem a little extreme.

While OP thought he might have caught a lot of heat for his post, many commenters agreed with him. Some even thought that Disney should have gone above and beyond after making them wait so long.

I understand not seating the party until everyone is there, at least as a policy… buuuuut, I would say that, in this instance, they probably should’ve just given them a table, considering the 45 minute wait past the reservation time. Heck, at that point, they probably should’ve gotten the table, some drinks AND a couple of apps as a “we’re sorry”.

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One commenter, who said they own a restaurant, also supported the frustrated father. They said that while they agree with a seating policy overall, they didn’t think Disney did the right thing in this situation. The only reason the father left the restaurant in the first place was that Disney’s error made his family wait for almost an hour.

As a restauranteur I agree with the policy.

But if I’m delivering the table 45 minutes late I’m going to be very flexible because the guest is already frustrated and it’s my job to do provide a pleasant dining experience. If someone told me they had to run to a store before it closed because WE the restaurant made them wait more than 15 minutes I would sit the incomplete party with my apologies

Unfortunately, the OP’s experience does not seem to be an isolated incident. Many commenters chimed in with their own exasperating tales about similar experiences they had, not only at The Plaza but also at Trattoria al Forno and Oga’s Cantina.

One commenter even said that Disney could help alleviate that problem by bringing back hotel package delivery. The service allowed guests to make purchases throughout the resort and have the items sent back to their hotel, where they could pick them up the next day. The service was discontinued when Disney shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has not returned.

Have you ever had to wait to be seated long past your reservation while dining at a Disney theme park? Which restaurant was it, and what happened? Share your story with us in the comments!