Explain new counterservice experience please

[disneysophie]

So I heard that now you must order through the app for any and all counterservice meals. Is this true? And you cannot go inside the restaurant until you get a text on your phone saying your food is ready?
Anyone been lately who can elaborate?
Thanks

 

[soniam]

You have to do mobile ordering through the MDE app. Sometimes, if you can't get the app to work, are paying with cash, or have allergy issues, then they will let you go in; otherwise, you must order on the app and wait until it indicates that the order is ready before entering. You can order as soon as you enter the park and reserve the time, and then tell it to prepare your order when the window has arrived and you are near the restaurant.

 

[kanerf]

Most of the places I used the mobile ordering you could not enter the location until your order was ready for pickup as shown on the app. Of course it gets like the boarding gate at the airport, every one crowded around waiting for their order to come up.

 

[Moliphino]

Also, not all counter service restaurants offer mobile ordering. Most of the ones that aren't run by Disney do not (like La Cantina in Epcot).

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Our experience in August was that even after you order, you still have to check in when you get there, and that’s when they prepare your food. So it still might be 10-15 minutes of waiting. By the second day, we were checking in as soon as we got close enough that it would let us. Like when we were getting off a ride to head over, we’d start trying to check in. The range is actually pretty far and most of the time we were able to cut our wait down to about 5 minutes.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

You have to do mobile ordering through the MDE app. Sometimes, if you can't get the app to work, are paying with cash, or have allergy issues, then they will let you go in; otherwise, you must order on the app and wait until it indicates that the order is ready before entering. You can order as soon as you enter the park and reserve the time, and then tell it to prepare your order when the window has arrived and you are near the restaurant.

So if we have food allergies should we expect to need to go in? Last time I mobile ordered, before COVID, some places had an option to avoid certain allergens by clicking a button - with reduced/changed menus this option may not be current I suppose. Anyone know how allergy orders work now?

 

[LiteBrite]

So if we have food allergies should we expect to need to go in? Last time I mobile ordered, before COVID, some places had an option to avoid certain allergens by clicking a button - with reduced/changed menus this option may not be current I suppose. Anyone know how allergy orders work now?

A lot of them do have allergy menus on the app, maybe more than before. You can look on the app yourself right now - just pretend you're ordering a meal and you'll be able to see - just cancel it before you get to the payment.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

Thanks LiteBrite. I had looked but didn't see any allergy information. I've just looked again and it turns out that if you click "See All Categories" that is where allergy information shows up. I was impatient and gave up to soon when I didn't see it on the first screen

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

When I choose an allergy friendly entree, are the sides listed automatically also allergy friendly? I would hope so but unlike the entree that mentions allergy the sides sound "normal," and not talking to an allergy expert is less comforting to me. I've never needed an Epi-pen at WDW before and I don't want to start now.

 

[LiteBrite]

When I choose an allergy friendly entree, are the sides listed automatically also allergy friendly? I would hope so but unlike the entree that mentions allergy the sides sound "normal," and not talking to an allergy expert is less comforting to me. I've never needed an Epi-pen at WDW before and I don't want to start now.

Yes, everything on your plate will be safe for the allergy you've chosen. For instance, my allergy is gluten, so I know that when I order a burger from the gluten allergy menu, the bun will be gluten free and the fries will come from a dedicated fryer so they're not cross contaminated.

 

[Moliphino]

When I choose an allergy friendly entree, are the sides listed automatically also allergy friendly? I would hope so but unlike the entree that mentions allergy the sides sound "normal," and not talking to an allergy expert is less comforting to me. I've never needed an Epi-pen at WDW before and I don't want to start now.

If you're not comfortable ordering without talking to someone let the CMs outside the restaurant know. They will let you in to order with a person.

 

[LiteBrite]

If you're not comfortable ordering without talking to someone let the CMs outside the restaurant know. They will let you in to order with a person.

Agreed.

 

[empedocles]

If you're not comfortable ordering without talking to someone let the CMs outside the restaurant know. They will let you in to order with a person.

Agreed +2. There are 1 or more CMs acting as gatekeepers outside each restaurant with mobile order.
Also, as noted, ordering it a two step process. You place the order, and then tell them to start preparing it when you are "close." MDE will tell you when it is ready, and you show that screen to the gatekeepers (They also have tablets where they can check on orders). "Close" is not necessarily all that close - I could generally click on "start my order" immediately even if I was 5-10 minutes away.

 

[DharmaLou]

How does this work with paying by gift card? I know in the past we haven't been able to add GCs as payment to MDE

 

[gillep]

How does this work with paying by gift card? I know in the past we haven't been able to add GCs as payment to MDE

You can pay with a gift card now. You add it at the payment screen and you must add it each time you place your order, it does not save like a regular credit card.

 

[nkereina]

Something we started doing after our first couple of mobile order experiences was doing a lunch order to secure a window some time around park opening. At DHS especially, where the options are limited, the popular lunch time slots filled up quickly. One day, if we hadn't ordered in advance, we would have had to wait an hour before we could have placed a QS order.

I also second the suggestion of clicking "prepare my order" as you're making your way to the restaurant so that you can limit your time loitering out front waiting for the "ready" text.

 

[NC State]

Also keep in mind to place your order before you are starving. We were disappointed that it took some time for our orders but we were lucky that it would not work on our phones. They had to look at our phones to be sure it wasn't working before they allowed us in. (I did see that they gave an elderly couple a hard time for not having a smart phone.)

 

[bassgirl]

Also keep in mind to place your order before you are starving. We were disappointed that it took some time for our orders but we were lucky that it would not work on our phones. They had to look at our phones to be sure it wasn't working before they allowed us in. (I did see that they gave an elderly couple a hard time for not having a smart phone.)

That's NOT COOL that an elderly couple was given a hard time. That should NEVER happen in a Disney park EVER. I hope the rest of their day was nice.

 

[BarbLynnM]

How much in advance can you order a meal? Do they prompt you to check in when you get closer? I'm nervous about this; when the app first became available I tried ordering that way and never could make it work. I'm hoping that with smart(er) phones, and Disney having more time to fix their app, things won't be as hectic and difficult.

 

[nkereina]

How much in advance can you order a meal? Do they prompt you to check in when you get closer? I'm nervous about this; when the app first became available I tried ordering that way and never could make it work. I'm hoping that with smart(er) phones, and Disney having more time to fix their app, things won't be as hectic and difficult.

You can do it any time day of. I just checked now, at 8am EST, and could make a mobile order at the QS places that offer it in any park.

I don't think it prompts you to check in because the window it gives you is a range, so you can check in at any point during that time slot. To check in, you just need to go back to your order and click "I'm here, prepare my order" and then be prepared to wait 5-15 minutes more. They'll send you an alert when its ready, which is what you'd show the CM to be allowed inside. Its pretty intuitive, we didn't find it difficult at all. Alternatively, if you're paying cash, they'll let you in without mobile ordering but I would not expect that to be as fast or efficient, since most QS CMs are dedicated to fulfilling mobile orders.