Ridiculous wait at Mama Melrose...

[steves100]

Had ADR last week for Mama Melrose for 5:10 Fanatsmic. Got there at 5:05, HUGE line out the door for check-in.

They told me it would be 15-20 min they were running late. 20 minutes i check back they said it would be a little longer, then they say you only have been waiting 13 minutes. I told the lady i couldn't check-in on time due to their HUGE line.

Was finally given a seat at 6:05! Manager knew I was mad, gave me 1 fastpass, which made me even more mad! Couldn't make early Fantasmic which we planned, was not happy.

What would you guys have done, i never went to Guest services

 

[han22735]

I wouldn't be too upset as its Christmas week and the busiest time of the year. They do tell you to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your ADR time.

 

[kashzan]

Sorry that this happened, but things do happen !!. I would have done nothing except be happy that I was at Disney

 

[steves100]

I wouldn't be too upset as its Christmas week and the busiest time of the year. They do tell you to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your ADR time.

This was the week before Christmas, I was there 5-10 minutes early. I hate people defending them, I have to show up early but hey can make you wait 1 hour?

 

[Minnesota!]

I would have shown up by 450 to check in, to start. And then, I would have not have done anything. They can't control how long people sit and dine. I mean, I can see being antsy, but, an hour at the busiest time of the year? Eh...wouldn't have offended me much. We have waited that long at off-peak times. If they don't have the table available, they don't have the table.

 

[kamik86]

I would have shown up by 450 to check in, to start. And then, I would have not have done anything. They can't control how long people sit and dine. I mean, I can see being antsy, but, an hour at the busiest time of the year? Eh...wouldn't have offended me much. We have waited that long at off-peak times. If they don't have the table available, they don't have the table.

A place like Mama Melrose that doesn't run late normally (at least not that I have heard) I would agree with this.

The ones I always thought were ridiculous are the places that commonly run this late. I know Ohana has been well known for that. I'm not sure if they still are.

If a place runs this behind one night they likely got slammed, aren't used to it, and had people who are taking longer to dine then expected that day

If a place is habitually this late then their metrics used to calculate how many ADRs they can give out are off and need to be fixed. It can no longer be that people are taking longer to dine then expected if it happens nearly every day. At that point its disney's fault for not fixing how long they expect dinner to take.

 

[RhodyChief]

I would have shown up by 450 to check in, to start. And then, I would have not have done anything. They can't control how long people sit and dine. I mean, I can see being antsy, but, an hour at the busiest time of the year? Eh...wouldn't have offended me much. We have waited that long at off-peak times. If they don't have the table available, they don't have the table.

Exactly this. While I'm sure Disney tells their waitstaff to try and get people out after they're finished eating, they can't exactly pull the chairs out from under them and yell "NEXT!" Some people enjoy staying at their table long after they've finished eating, whether to relax, let their food digest or whatever else keeps them there longer. I know it can be frustrating, but you're really at the mercy of your fellow vacationers.

 

[disneypanda11]

I think waiting an hour beyond your ADR time is outside the window of reasonable expectation. I would have been frustrated, too. I probably wouldn't have complained, as others have said, there's only so much the restaurant can do in a situation like this, but I absolutely don't fault you for being upset.

 

[steves100]

I would have shown up by 450 to check in, to start. And then, I would have not have done anything. They can't control how long people sit and dine. I mean, I can see being antsy, but, an hour at the busiest time of the year? Eh...wouldn't have offended me much. We have waited that long at off-peak times. If they don't have the table available, they don't have the table.

So.... ALL week no issues ANYWHERE. And this is acceptable? I really hate people defending terrible service.

 

[Hopefully]

So.... ALL week no issues ANYWHERE. And this is acceptable? I really hate people defending terrible service.

It is the busiest time of the year. As stated Disney can not force quests to leave
You have stated twice in a short period of time you really hate people defending this service. Perhaps the DIS is not the venue for you. It seems to just make you madder

 

[DebbieB]

My guess is people were sitting around longer, waiting for the 6:00 start for Osborne Lights. From what you could tell, were there empty tables? What I hate is waiting when you see empty tables, no excuse for that.

 

[steves100]

Oh, i forgot to mention, guy directly in front of me had 6 people in his party and a guy a few behind also had 6. We were a party of 3.

BOTH parties were seated WAY before us.

Yes Disney can't control getting people out of the restaurant, but, no where else were there an issue like this including BoG. THIS WAS NOT Christmas week. Yes busy but not that bad.

People bend over backwards to defend VERY poor management at Disney sometimes, im not sure w

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

So.... ALL week no issues ANYWHERE. And this is acceptable? I really hate people defending terrible service.

I totally agree with you that is crazy when you have a reservation, the last time we ate there the service was so slow it was painful. I mean you spend a lot of money to be in the parks you don't want to waste more time than you have to at a restaurant IMO.

 

[msb578]

So.... ALL week no issues ANYWHERE. And this is acceptable? I really hate people defending terrible service.

You have a right to be upset/disappointed.

What recourse do you feel would be appropriate?

 

[surran12]

I was wondering if the wait ends up to long can you cancel the reservation and not be charged the no show fee?

 

[Allison]

I wouldn't have done anything beyond being frustrated or asking to have my name removed from the list and going somewhere else. Just not worth it to me to spend time complaining to someone.

If you are going to ask what people would do, you should be okay with their answers and not be upset because they aren't in line with your thinking. People have different tolerance levels. No big deal.

 

[steves100]

I totally agree with you that is crazy when you have a reservation, the last time we ate there the service was so slow it was painful. I mean you spend a lot of money to be in the parks you don't want to waste more time than you have to at a restaurant IMO.

Thanks, its just Disney has no issue charging people for not showing up to a ADR, least they could do is get me seated within an hour!

 

[steves100]

You have a right to be upset/disappointed.

What recourse do you feel would be appropriate?

Not sure, i just thought 1 fast pass was like a slap in the face. We missed our Early Fanatsmic we wanted to see, because they were so late.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Oh, i forgot to mention, guy directly in front of me had 6 people in his party and a guy a few behind also had 6. We were a party of 3.

BOTH parties were seated WAY before us.

Yes Disney can't control getting people out of the restaurant, but, no where else were there an issue like this including BoG. THIS WAS NOT Christmas week. Yes busy but not that bad.

People bend over backwards to defend VERY poor management at Disney sometimes, im not sure w

I think think people are bending over backwards to defend anything, we just disagree that one isolated incident at a restaurant with a good on time track record constitutes poor management. The parties of 6 took a different table size than you. It is highly possible a 6 top came open before a 4 top, which your party would have needed.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Anytime it takes more than an hour to be seated for a reservation is certainly frustrating. I once had a reservation for 20 out in the real world. Even with calling three hours prior to remind them we were still coming, it took 2 1/2 hours to be seated. We were begging them for literally any configuration of tables, didn't have to be together. They insisted they had to seat us all together. It was too late to go anywhere else on a busy weekend night, so we hung tough. As we were being walked to our table, they told us at the last second that they could only fit 17 at one table and put 3 in another room. We didn't get any kind of discount or free dessert or anything for our time.

Still, in my situation and yours, what were our options? We didn't have to wait. We could have cancelled the dinner. It would have been disappointing, but we would only have been out our time and not any money. Any of us could have grabbed something to eat on our own. In your case, with a time constraint, I probably would have made a decision as to which was more important: early Fantasmic or eating at Mama Melrose. If early F! was more important, I would have asked the manager to waive the cancellation fee since they couldn't honor my reservation and gone to the show, grabbing a snack or QS meal instead.

I get your frustration, but I don't think it equates to terrible service on Disney's end in this event. You don't say what would have made the situation better for you (comped meal for three, three FP instead of one, etc.), so I think from a customer service standpoint they acknowledged their fault and at least offered a make-good, which is more than I can say for my situation.