Hi all - working on my touring plans and want to know how long I should schedule in for a QS meal in the park? Our kids are pretty quick and good eaters. Taking into consideration lines to order, food prep time and length of time to eat - how long should I plan for? I realize this likely differs between QS locations so if you have specific examples that would help too. The QS meals we currently have planned/would like to try include:
BOG (have ADR and will pre-order)
Peco’s Bill
Sunshine Seasons
La Hacienda de San Angel (or if I’m mixing up this one with the other one in Mexico)
Tangerine
Others in HS and AK that we haven’t picked out (suggestions???)
I definitely recommend flame tree barbecue at AK. We were there recently. The line was very long but they have an efficient system in place that got me through in about 5 minutes. And, the food is very good.
Both BOG and Tangerine, I was around 45 as a solo traveler, taking my time and checking twitter, resting my feet, etc. But i also still put an hour in my plan because I’d rather pad my time and be ahead of schedule.
I think it depends on your touring style. I love to see different resorts so I will hop on the monorail at MK and eat at Captain cook’s or another resort. Wolfgang Puck Express at DS is one of my favorite CS.
La Hacienda is not QS; it’s TS for dinner only. The Cantina is right next door and is QS; I believe that you can take your food into La Hacienda at lunch time to eat. Personally, I don’t recommend it for anything other than a margarita (if you don’t want to pay the La Cava prices).
Generally we take about 45 - 60 minutes for a QS - of the ones you’ve mentioned I would day that BOG takes the longest (but we’ve never pre-ordered) because of time spent admiring the theming. Tangerine Cafe is very quick, sometimes we are done in about 30 minutes. Sunshine Seasons takes longer than most because you have to look round at the different choices and then Q several times for meal and desert (still worth it though).
I would plan on an hour, personally. While solo, I usually took about 40 minutes, but I had planned for an hour. If there are delays, a longer-than-expected line, or a mistake in your order, I think it’s better to have built in a little extra time than to be stressed over needing to rush.
I would also plan an hour, but it will likley take only 45 mins. That would include a potty visit as well
Disney has gotten much better at handling people at QS. They direct people to the numbered lines in many places, which keeps the flow moving. That said, I would try to eat on the early side for lunch, particularly with children.
BOG is great fun. Order your meal in advance to save good time!
I always put in 60 mins for cs. It gives a bit of wiggle room if you are running late and covers extra bathroom break also. If we finish earlier its a bonus
I agree with the 45-60 minute range. It will be a bit longer if you are right at the peak of lunch or dinner hour. If you bookend the times (either earlier or later) you won’t usually have to wait near as long.
I agree Flame Tree was great at AK. There is seating behind that has a nice view of Expedition Everest. There is also a condiment area there. One thing we found when we were there (Dec 2014) was that you can line up on both sides of the register. People just seemed to stick to one side.
We ate at The Mara at AKL - we left mid-day from Epcot. It was a really great QS place and we spent some time exploring the resort and seeing the animals. It was fantastic!
At HS - we ate at both Fairfax Fare (chicken and ribs) and Backlot Express (burgers/fries). Both were good. Backlot Express had a refill station for your drinks and indoor seating.
Really comes down to crowd level and time of day. at “prime” time, on a crowded day, it’s best to plan 60 min. At an “off” time, on a low crowd day, about half that. Also depends on the location; some are better with crowds than others. For example, Cosmic Rays and CHH are relatively fast, Gaston’s always seems to be slow. Not really a QS “meal”, the Dole Whip line can be crazy-long. The EP QSs seem to generally have shorter lines than MK.
