Divide and Conquer

Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth...until you are forced to eat your chicken dinner standing up or walk half the park, through crowds to find a planter to sit on, just to enjoy your meal.

Anyone who has visited a Disney park has surely encountered this problem. There are lots of seating options in the parks, but most days, there are more people than seats.

In popular non-table service restaurants such as the Plaza Inn or the Galactic Grill, you order and pay for your food then carry it to your own table. Many families cater to a slew of different eating preferences, so everyone orders something different, or they simply have a lot of people to get food for, hence needing multiple people to help carry that food to the table. Both of these examples pose a problem for my advised, "Divide and Conquer" plan.

The plan is simple, one person orders, one or more persons seek a place to sit and eat. If you can spare multiple people, that is the best because you can cover more ground. The aforementioned Plaza Inn has seating inside, on the patio and around the building giving you many options or obstacles in finding a table to accommodate your party.

When scanning for a table to open up, look for people packing up items into strollers, backpacks or just piling used napkins onto plates etc. Also be mindful of other people looking for open tables, as in this instance, they are your enemy. Now I don't condone being rude, however, just know, if you spot a sign from a table that they might leave, go straight to that table before anyone else does.

Once arriving to a table where a group is about to leave or you thing they might be leaving soon, simply ask if they are? Most people understand why you're asking and if they are they will tell you. I like to respond by thanking them and letting them know I'm going to hang out next to the table, but that they can take their time. This does a couple of things. First it let's them know what you're doing, if they have children, they may be anxious of you standing so close. Two, it lets them know you're waiting, so if another guest does approach them from the other side of the table, the party leaving can respond accordingly to let that other guest know that you already are taking it. You sort of recruited them to help you save that table as well.

If there are multiple people seeking a table, while you're waiting for the people to vacate the table, this is a good time to text, call or otherwise notify the others that they can stop looking and that you're awesome and found a table and they lost! HaHa. For multiple seekers, only one person needs to hold the table usually, so the others could also return to whomever is ordering to assist with carrying the food.

But in all seriousness, this strategy is by far the best and increases your chances of finding a table. It may sound odd to some of you, but once you're in the parks and if it's at all busy, you will immediately understand and if you haven't implemented this tactic, it may already be too late for you.

A few things to remember, there are several locations where restaurants can double as viewing areas for parades, shows or other events. The Plaza Inn gets popular for a parade and fireworks viewing so be sure to check the times for those events and plan accordingly. Furthermore, the River Belle Terrace in Frontierland has outdoor seating that people can view Fantasmic from. The catch here is that they currently offer, as of May 2018, a dining package where if you order their special meal plan, you get reserved seating for the show. What this means for everyone else is that half of the outdoor seating is unavailable unless you have this dining package. In order to get seating at any of the restaurants to view a show or parade, you must get there early and many people "camp out". Meaning they arrive any where from 2-5 hours early, and sit there holding entire tables until showtime. These people are also implementing the divide and conquer technique but in a more extreme way.

One last note, if there are only two of you total and one is ordering the food while the other searches, look for tables with open chairs, sometimes folks are willing to share the table with you and utilize it as more of a common area space rather than taking ownership of the entire table.

Happy hunting everyone! And if you do find yourself stuck without a table, remember, flower beds, curbs, some railings, and the tops of trash cans are suitable substitutions for a table and if you are visiting on a busy day, I guarantee you will see people doing these things. Good luck! We hope this helps you, and check back for more advice on navigating the parks to get the most of your Disney vacation.