Disneyland and DCA really need to rethink their mobile ordering / cashless system. It's now counter effective

[midnight star]

Wait, you can’t get free cups off ice water anymore? Man, we really depend on that!

You can ask but we couldn't get near a counter or window to ask without having a Mobile Order. That was the main problem. When we got food we did ask and got cups of ice water (and some of the CMs were very snippy about it but I chalked it up to a busy, hot day and that they were tired already) but we didn't have food orders in constantly or when we ran out of water in our water bottles to ask for the cups of water to refill.

Sorry I wasn't clear initially!

Ice water is available still at QS, but as OP said you need to be at the counter. If there is a long busy line, it’s hard to get there to ask.

 

[Iceman93]

I'm sure the root of the problem is staffing issues.

I don't disagree with you that this is an issue affecting many industries right now. But Disney's problems with efficient service at QS locations predates the pandemic. I never ceased to be amazed after placing an order, watching the disorganized beehive of activity between the registers and the kitchen. The poor CMs had to run all over the place just to grab items, of course bumping into each other constantly. There was seemingly no organization, yet I remember in decades past marveling at the efficient operations that smoothly delivered food from one place to another, with every CM having their role and being able to perform their function in harmony with the others. And I know I'm not over-romanticizing the past! Even at locations with very limited menus, it was just shocking how many steps were involved in between taking an order and fulfilling it.

At In-n-Out it looks like a chaotic mess back there until you watch for a few minutes. It's an ORGANIZED beehive of activity. Chick-fil-A does the same thing, in a slightly different way. Both of them put Disney to shame, which used to be impossible when Disney was the paragon of guest service...

 

[CateinPhoenix]

Are Disney gift cards still not an eligible form of payment for Mobile Order? Just curious....for when we might get a trip later this summer....

 

[midnight star]

Are Disney gift cards still not an eligible form of payment for Mobile Order? Just curious....for when we might get a trip later this summer....

You can use a gift card with mobile order. You just have to manually type in the gift card number for each order.

 

[Evita_W]

So, what do they do if you have no phone, your phone is dead, you only have cash or you have dietary needs that can't be met on the app?

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

So weird how DLR and WDW have totally different operations when it comes to the same exact things sometimes. Mobile order has been around for A WHILE at both resorts.. literally years.. but I've always found it really awkward at DLR and like a well-oiled machine at WDW. No back up at WDW.. once it's called, you're maybe 1-2 people deep max. Show them your phone and your food is handed to you within a minute.

DLR, I have to catch someones attention. There's a crowd formed in the little waiting area. I have to get through because it says it's ready. I have to tell them what I ordered. It's mess. Maybe WDW has gotten better since a lot of venues are Mobile Order ONLY. Is DLR still doing a hybrid model?

 

[AndrewC]

I'm sure the root of the problem is staffing issues. When they are only offering $20 / hour to work food service they aren't getting a ton of applicants. My daughter works at a wine tasting room in suburban Seattle and even offering $17 to start plus about $10 an hour in tips they are struggling to attract applicants. I was shocked they can't get applicants when paying $27 an hour. We like going to a neighborhood Italian restaurant and they had 1 server and 1 food runner trying to take care of 12 tables. It was madness. We got there at 6:30p and didn't leave until 9:30p.

I'm sure Disney is the same way. They are going to have to bump their pay to $25 an hour if they are going to expect getting enough applicants.

Disney just has to wait till September 4th and labor will be back to normal.

 

[AndrewC]

I’m very curious if guests are asking for additional items or modifications to items when they reach the pickup window. Just a small percentage of guests (maybe even like 10% or 15%) that are asking to add an item at the last minute because they forgot to add it to the order (or now realize the separate item from another location is no way worth the wait) or they messed up ordering and are asking for something changed/held/etc could grind these systems to a halt. That could be what’s spawning the massive waits at the return.

It could also be that Disney wildly over estimated how many customers or food items could be served every minute and is dynamically adjusting the app return windows. The system might see 200 orders and say that takes 45 minutes to get through, but if it actually is only 3 orders a minute that takes 66 minutes… now you have guests returning and waiting 21 minutes more. At the same time, could you imagine paying for an order with a return of 45 minutes and then that return window changes to 65 minutes AFTER you order? That could cause some customer issues…

Further, almost none of these locations were built from the ground up for mobile order. When mobile order accounts for a partial volume it probably doesn’t really show the bottle necks. When it’s 100% it might. Any stand that has been designed with an order/pay side and a pickup side is wasting space now. Even if they remove registers and hand out of every available window, all the food finishing section might be biased to one side of the stand or something. Little slow downs like that per customer can really stack up fast. Finally, they probably need even simpler menus. Corn dog or hot dog. Coke or water. Done. Disney does a good job limiting options at each stand, but still they usually have a few drink options and at least a handful of food items. You mess up a handful of times over five or ten minutes and you might have huge slow downs…

These are all issues that probably would be designed away if purpose built.

 

[MonocularVision]

I have to interrupt slightly to point out the somewhat amusing use of “counter effective” in the title of a thread discussing mobile ordering.

 

[califlorican]

Disney just has to wait till September 4th and labor will be back to normal.

If you’re referring to unemployment benefits, that’s not causing the shortage. Low pay is, among other things.

 

[AndrewC]

what is special about that day?

The extra $300/week unemployment goes away. Plus the pandemic unemployment whatever thing so gig workers and stuff won’t qualify any more and likely everyone will have exhausted their weeks of unemployment. Unless the state extends it longer or the feds do…

 

[califlorican]

The extra $300/week unemployment goes away. Plus the pandemic unemployment whatever thing so gig workers and stuff won’t qualify any more and likely everyone will have exhausted their weeks of unemployment. Unless the state extends it longer or the feds do…

Yes I realized what you’re referring to. It’s not just the benefits that have caused these lower paying jobs to have not enough applicants. It’s the lower pay combined with dealing with not wanting to deal with horrible customers. People are tired of it, and I don’t blame them.

A lot of people also took the opportunity during the pandemic to look into other jobs, to go to school, to move elsewhere, etc. Blaming the job shortage just on the unemployment benefits isn’t the whole story.

 

[AndrewC]

Yes I realized what you’re referring to. It’s not just the benefits that have caused these lower paying jobs to have not enough applicants. It’s the lower pay combined with dealing with not wanting to deal with horrible customers. People are tired of it, and I don’t blame them.

A lot of people also took the opportunity during the pandemic to look into other jobs, to go to school, to move elsewhere, etc. Blaming the job shortage just on the unemployment benefits isn’t the whole story.

100%
But money is better than no money…

 

[PirateBrigade]

This was a problem during A Touch of Disney and it sounds like it hasn't gotten better. My friend wanted a soda and every place had multiple hour waits. She finally got Award Weiners with a 30 minute wait but then we had to wait an additional 20 minutes in line - just for a Coke!

It was also super warm that day (90+) and while we had brought water bottles filled with water and ice, we went through them very fast and were running into the dehydrated zone. You used to be able to ask for cups of ice water (or even just cups of ice) at any QS location whether you were ordering anything else or not (or even fill up your water bottle - Pizza Port) and it wouldn't be a problem but now with Mobile Order, you can't get near a QS place to do so which is awful and something that I am going to have to figure out when we go in June.

I’m hoping for everyone’s sake the mask mandates and food/drink order restrictions are rescinded before the heart of summer weather sets in. It was about 88 degrees Monday, and I had to consciously pull over to the shade and rehydrate me + kid, whereas before we’d be constantly drinking water while walking/in-line/etc… I couldn’t handle some of the lines in the sun and had to wait for a good moment to drink water.

We were staying at VGC, so I did refill at the ice machine + water dispenser at the fitness center, but it was annoying having to reclear security with a stroller and a bag of stuff. Hydroflasks (or other equally insulated brands like Yeti) full of ice are a must. I think the only other water dispenser at DL is at SWGE near the restrooms/shops.

Our next trip is slated for November, as much fun was had this past week, I didn’t want to commit DVC points + paying full fare tickets to a visit with these restrictions.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I’m hoping for everyone’s sake the mask mandates and food/drink order restrictions are rescinded before the heart of summer weather sets in. It was about 88 degrees Monday, and I had to consciously pull over to the shade and rehydrate me + kid, whereas before we’d be constantly drinking water while walking/in-line/etc… I couldn’t handle some of the lines in the sun and had to wait for a good moment to drink water.

We were staying at VGC, so I did refill at the ice machine + water dispenser at the fitness center, but it was annoying having to reclear security with a stroller and a bag of stuff. Hydroflasks (or other equally insulated brands like Yeti) full of ice are a must. I think the only other water dispenser at DL is at SWGE near the restrooms/shops.

Our next trip is slated for November, as much fun was had this past week, I didn’t want to commit DVC points + paying full fare tickets to a visit with these restrictions.

It did not sound from Bob Chapek's comments earlier in that week, that there would be a lot of changes at Disneyland until the 3rd quarter, which would be July-Sept. As Disney has made no comment on the state guidelines, it really does seem like they're holding off on changes, at least for a little bit.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I think we're in a weird hard to predict limbo right now too. Everyone was convinced outdoor masks rules at WDW weren't going away anytime soon and then BAM it was gone overnight. WDW has done a complete 180 these past few weeks... just this morning they started combining parties on the Skyliner gondolas again! I think that's a clear indication that Disney wants normalcy and we might see it sooner than we think at DL... once the state allows it.

I feel like when we think they're going to zig, they'll zag. Hopefully it's a 'zag' to a better experience!

Either way, I think we'll be booking a lot of restaurant reservations on our trip! I could eat Cafe Orleans more than once if I had to.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I think we're in a weird hard to predict limbo right now too. Everyone was convinced outdoor masks rules at WDW weren't going away anytime soon and then BAM it was gone overnight. WDW has done a complete 180 these past few weeks... just this morning they started combining parties on the Skyliner gondolas again! I think that's a clear indication that Disney wants normalcy and we might see it sooner than we think at DL... once the state allows it.

I feel like when we think they're going to zig, they'll zag. Hopefully it's a 'zag' to a better experience!

Either way, I think we'll be booking a lot of restaurant reservations on our trip! I could eat Cafe Orleans more than once if I had to.

Normally, I'd agree with you. But then I don't think Chapek would have said anything about the 3rd quarter. As much as I do think they want the parks to align, we also have to remember the density of the DLR parks compared to WDW.

That said, I could see them loading ride vehicles more. And I would hope they'd allow for indoor queuing again to alleviate the crowds in the walkways. If they're going to keep masks, those two things could still be done safely. (I wonder if they'll bring back the extra room on RotR, since they won't have the 15 min indoor ride rule?) And of course, the OOS issue, which is bordering on silly right now. There is zero reason they can't announce a date for that now.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Normally, I'd agree with you. But then I don't think Chapek would have said anything about the 3rd quarter. As much as I do think they want the parks to align, we also have to remember the density of the DLR parks compared to WDW.

That said, I could see them loading ride vehicles more. And I would hope they'd allow for indoor queuing again to alleviate the crowds in the walkways. If they're going to keep masks, those two things could still be done safely. (I wonder if they'll bring back the extra room on RotR, since they won't have the 15 min indoor ride rule?) And of course, the OOS issue, which is bordering on silly right now. There is zero reason they can't announce a date for that now.

Well, he was quoted saying the relaxation of "full guidelines" by 4th quarter- I take that to mean no restrictions at all. I'm saying whatever we see happening at WDW is fair game for what will happen at DLR if the state doesn't get in the way. And that's a happy place to be I think! A switch to 3 feet distancing will help greatly for a lot of issues there now and plus no outdoor masks at DLR would be lovely for guests and CMs that have to enforce mask policies.

Agree on the OOS thing. Although it is likely coming soon because I've read on multiple forums now that travel agents are being instructed to tell guests to book after 6/15 while Disney IT tries to fix the website. Come on Disney IT, we believe in you! Kinda...

 

[DLgal]

I don't disagree with you that this is an issue affecting many industries right now. But Disney's problems with efficient service at QS locations predates the pandemic. I never ceased to be amazed after placing an order, watching the disorganized beehive of activity between the registers and the kitchen. The poor CMs had to run all over the place just to grab items, of course bumping into each other constantly. There was seemingly no organization, yet I remember in decades past marveling at the efficient operations that smoothly delivered food from one place to another, with every CM having their role and being able to perform their function in harmony with the others. And I know I'm not over-romanticizing the past! Even at locations with very limited menus, it was just shocking how many steps were involved in between taking an order and fulfilling it.

At In-n-Out it looks like a chaotic mess back there until you watch for a few minutes. It's an ORGANIZED beehive of activity. Chick-fil-A does the same thing, in a slightly different way. Both of them put Disney to shame, which used to be impossible when Disney was the paragon of guest service...

This is SO TRUE. I worked fast food in high school and even with my limited experience doing that over 20 years ago, I can tell you that the management of quick service places at Disneyland is TERRIBLE. I often want to jump the counter and start organizing people into specific roles, because it seems like it is such a free for all. I have no idea what they are doing, but it hasn't been working for a long time.

 

[DLgal]

So, what do they do if you have no phone, your phone is dead, you only have cash or you have dietary needs that can't be met on the app?

So, basically they will send you to one of the few options that allows walk ups. Otherwise, you're SOL.