Columbia Harbour House - geez, those stairs...

NWOhiogal

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 21, 2018
Just wondering, after going to MK last week and eating at Columbia Harbour House, has anybody ever taken a tumble down those stairs? I mean, I almost did because when you're carrying a tray with both hands there's no way to take the railing, but fortunately I managed to right myself before I went down.

It got to me to thinking, though, between carrying a full tray in both hands AND that tray holding at least one tall cup full of pop with NO lid on it, how many spectacular falls have happened on those stairs?

So, anybody? Or am I the only almost-klutz?
 
DH and I were discussing the same thing on our last trip. There was a small spill on one of the stairs, so we told a CM. Having people walk up those stairs with no lids on the drinks is asking for trouble. It's clearly foreseeable by Disney that someone could fall, and you could argue that not providing lids under those circumstances is negligent. Spills can happen anywhere, that's true, but climbing with a tray and not being able to hold the handrails makes it an even more dangerous scenario.
 
Stairs and an open drink container equals one person brings up the drinks on one tray and the other brings the food up on another tray if neither can hold a tray w/o using the handrail.

Long ago when I took a required college class called "The Law and Hospitality Industry" a term called "reasonable care" was drummed into our heads. By the time I entered the university level and the law classes became more in depth, arguments were made for customers to use reasonable care as well ie the provided handrail.

People have been carrying trays with one hand for quite a long time but I could see Disney removing the seating upstairs, and raising the prices at that venue in order to maintain the same profit level as an answer to any perceived or actual problem, short term.
 
Stairs and an open drink container equals one person brings up the drinks on one tray and the other brings the food up on another tray if neither can hold a tray w/o using the handrail.

That's great if someone can carry a tray full of open-topped cups brimming with liquid up two flights of stairs, with no hand free to grab the handrail, with no spilling or other issues. I don't think I could do it.

I wonder why CHH doesn't just have one level and outdoor seating/more seating downstairs? That would remove the hazard entirely. How many other restaurants at MK have two stories and require diners to go up a staircase to get to the second story?
 


I view the second floor as just a bonus space. If you are able to access it, then great, and if not, then you just treat CHH as any other restaurant with one floor of seating and hope you can nab a table. :)

I figure if I can't go up, then I don't. :) But I think it's a nice option for those with no issue navigating the stairs. I think individual guests need to exercise personal responsibility in determining whether they can make it up and down, tray in hand or not. Right now, a knee *injury* (originally I wrote "energy", LOL!) makes it difficult for me on stairs with nothing in hand, so, as a grown woman with some degree of common sense, I would opt not to sit upstairs if I were to visit right now. :) And if there was not any open seating on ground level, then I'd opt for someplace else to eat entirely. I know the view from upstairs is lovely and I think it would be a shame if WDW had to close that area because people didn't realize or heed their own limitations.
Disney offers many places to eat with a variety of seating. I feel it's up to me to choose the best fit for my needs.
 
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That's great if someone can carry a tray full of open-topped cups brimming with liquid up two flights of stairs, with no hand free to grab the handrail, with no spilling or other issues. I don't think I could do it.

I wonder why CHH doesn't just have one level and outdoor seating/more seating downstairs? That would remove the hazard entirely. How many other restaurants at MK have two stories and require diners to go up a staircase to get to the second story?

I'm thinking it was built at a different time when cup covers and filling cups to the brim were not the norm and people were fine walking up a flight of stairs. And I agree that removing the second floor for eating purposes would take care of any slip and fall problems as it relates to walking vertically. No idea how much land exists around the eatery to have a patio though.
 


I'm thinking it was built at a different time when cup covers and filling cups to the brim were not the norm and people were fine walking up a flight of stairs. And I agree that removing the second floor for eating purposes would take care of any slip and fall problems as it relates to walking vertically. No idea how much land exists around the eatery to have a patio though.

I believe when the restaurant opened, they served upstairs as well as downstairs. So you wouldn't have had to carry stuff up the stairs.


EDIT: Yep, up until the 1990's

http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-day-at-columbia-harbour-house.html
 
That's great if someone can carry a tray full of open-topped cups brimming with liquid up two flights of stairs, with no hand free to grab the handrail, with no spilling or other issues. I don't think I could do it.

I wonder why CHH doesn't just have one level and outdoor seating/more seating downstairs? That would remove the hazard entirely. How many other restaurants at MK have two stories and require diners to go up a staircase to get to the second story?
I seriously doubt that anybody reading this knows anyone who could carry a tray full of food up those two flights of stairs with one hand while holding the handrail with the other. That would be unreasonable to expect of anyone. We've never been at CHH at a time when seating was available downstairs - always had to go upstairs.
 
I seriously doubt that anybody reading this knows anyone who could carry a tray full of food up those two flights of stairs with one hand while holding the handrail with the other. That would be unreasonable to expect of anyone. We've never been at CHH at a time when seating was available downstairs - always had to go upstairs.

The times I’ve been there I had a family of 3 and we had two trays between us. I’m perfectly capable of carrying a tray in one hand.

But I don’t drink soda so I’m not carrying soda. I’m generally carrying cups of water, though. Still capable of it.

BUT if you slip it doesn’t matter if there’s a kid on that cup. It’s going to spill.
 
The times I’ve been there I had a family of 3 and we had two trays between us. I’m perfectly capable of carrying a tray in one hand.

But I don’t drink soda so I’m not carrying soda. I’m generally carrying cups of water, though. Still capable of it.

BUT if you slip it doesn’t matter if there’s a kid on that cup. It’s going to spill.
:rotfl2:
 
I view the second floor as just a bonus space. If you are able to access it, then great, and if not, then you just treat CHH as any other restaurant with one floor of seating and hope you can nab a table. :)

I figure if I can't go up, then I don't. :) But I think it's a nice option for those with no issue navigating the stairs. I think individual guests need to exercise personal responsibility in determining whether they can make it up and down, tray in hand or not. Right now, a knee energy makes it difficult for me on stairs with nothing in hand, so, as a grown woman with some degree of common sense, I would opt not to sit upstairs if I were to visit right now. :) And if there was not any open seating on ground level, then I'd opt for someplace else to eat entirely. I know the view from upstairs is lovely and I think it would be a shame if WDW had to close that area because people didn't realize or heed their own limitations.
Disney offers many places to eat with a variety of seating. I feel it's up to me to choose the best fit for my needs.

Yes. That’s kind of how I look at it. Bonus space.
We always head upstairs, and we generally dine there at non-peak times.
It’s peaceful. :goodvibes
 
That's great if someone can carry a tray full of open-topped cups brimming with liquid up two flights of stairs, with no hand free to grab the handrail, with no spilling or other issues. I don't think I could do it.

I wonder why CHH doesn't just have one level and outdoor seating/more seating downstairs? That would remove the hazard entirely. How many other restaurants at MK have two stories and require diners to go up a staircase to get to the second story?
Obvious then, a reasonable thing to do is not walk upstairs. Rather find/ wait for a table on the first floor. No one is required to climb stairs carrying trays.
 
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Obvious then, a reasonable thing to do is not walk upstairs. Rather find/ wait for a table on the first floor. No one is required to climb stairs carrying trays.
People don’t have to climb stairs at CHH don’t have to eat there at all, don’t have to go to Disney, don’t have to express opinions on absolutely everything, etc., but in fact they do all those things. If Disney designs a restaurant with food service downstairs and most of the seating upstairs, people will go upstairs carrying a tray. No one does it expecting to fall, but it’s certainly not unreasonable behavior. It’s not even primarily about liability. Disney wants to keep people safe. Maybe they could provide beverage stations upstairs if they don’t want to provide lids. Just telling people not to do something clearly anticipated by the restaurant’s design is not helpful.
 
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Just wondering, after going to MK last week and eating at Columbia Harbour House, has anybody ever taken a tumble down those stairs? I mean, I almost did because when you're carrying a tray with both hands there's no way to take the railing, but fortunately I managed to right myself before I went down.

It got to me to thinking, though, between carrying a full tray in both hands AND that tray holding at least one tall cup full of pop with NO lid on it, how many spectacular falls have happened on those stairs?

So, anybody? Or am I the only almost-klutz?

It is NOT just you! My last time at CHH, I didn't fall, but I lost my iced tea off the tray trying to climb the stairs with no free hand and it spilled all down the stairs. I've written off CHH for that reason. I AM a total klutz, and climbing stairs with no hands is not a good idea for me. (ETA, this was a few years ago and my drink had a lid.)

I wish they had a way to have a drink station upstairs, where you could show a receipt to a CM and get your drink there. I could carry a plate of food in one hand (no tray) and get my drink upstairs and be OK.

OR - a dumbwaiter for food and CMs upstairs, so you place your order downstairs, walk upstairs empty handed, and a CM upstairs gives you your food/drink.

Also ETA: When this happened - I looked for a seat downstairs first. And I really didn't know I was going to drop stuff going upstairs until I did it.
 
Sounds like an upstairs beverage station would be a good idea. They could probably implant chips in the cups much like they do at some movie theaters and all the WDW resorts' food courts. Would be less expensive than hiring staff and if the experiment worked they could place them in all the QS eateries in the parks. This would allow most parties of two or more to divide the work load ( one gets food the other gets drinks) and create less loggerheads at spots with less floor space such as Pecos Bill and Casey's Corner (depise just passing those places; so congested). 'Course it would depend in part how much revenue loss is incurred with the dining plan's refillable mugs but there is always someone out there attempting to get something for nothing.
 

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