Tired of standing in long lines to order a meal at Disneyland? Maybe, by this summer, the lines will be shorter.
Disneyland is finalizing plans to launch a new online ordering system that allows visitors to look at menus on the resort’s mobile app at any time during their day, and then order a meal for pick-up later. The new system will be available at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, but not at the hotels.
No specific locations have been announced as the first to adopt the changes, but probably about 15 will be involved in the first conversions, officials said. The popular Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland is likely to be among the first to roll out.
“It’s very quick and very easy – a convenience for our guests,” said Mike Miranda, senior manager for digital guest experience at the Disneyland Resort.
Counter service restaurant windows will be configured to create new “pick-up only” windows, similar in concept to the ones found at Costco snack bars for pizza. Disneyland employees will soon begin training on the new system.
Park visitors will still have the option of standing in line and ordering the traditional way, but they’ll also be able to plan their meals earlier in the day, by selecting a restaurant online on the Disneyland app, perusing the menu, picking their meals and paying by card in advance. Allergy-friendly menus will also be available online.
From the mobile app, potential diners will choose a time window they want to pick up their food, for example, between 11:30 and noon, at a participating restaurant.
Then, as they approach the location during the time frame, the app will send a pop-up asking if they’re ready to pick up their order. Once they give the word, cooks will actually prepare the meal and then have it available for pick-up. Visitors will get another notification when the meals are ready and, since they’ve already paid, no money changes hands. The app will tell them which window to visit to pick up their meals.
There will be no cash registers at the windows, Miranda said; all meals must be paid in advance on the app.
If a visitor decided not to pick up the meal already ordered, it could be canceled and, if desired, rescheduled for another arrival window at another location.
The new system has already succeeded at Walt Disney World in Florida, in a somewhat different format.
“This is another step toward Disneyland becoming more like Florida, where people can use the My Disney Experience app to schedule everything in advance,” said Todd Regan, who uses the pen name Dusty Sage on his popular Micechat.com forum. “Here at Disneyland, with so many more annual pass-holders, people want to be more flexible and do things last minute. I wonder if this is just going to make the waits longer for people who don’t use the app.”
If the Disneyland system works as planned, it could theoretically not only speed up the ordering process and reduce long lines, but also encourage more people to sign up for an account and use the DIsneyland app, which park officials are strongly encouraging.
In August 2015, Disneyland released its first official mobile app, with which visitors can check times and hours of attractions, parades and entertainment, see real wait times, make dining reservations for sit-down restaurants and buy extra features such as the MaxPass. Recent surveys indicated that more than 60 percent of Disneyland visitors are now using the mobile app while in the park, officials said.
By summer 2019, when the parks are expected to be swamped by visitors arriving to see the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land opening at Disneyland, Disney officials hope to have everyone using the app. Speculation has been rampant that Disney is preparing to charge extra for special access to the “Star Wars” land, perhaps at certain times or days, with guests paying for the privilege on the mobile app.
Increasing the ways that visitors use the app and getting them to create accounts will only benefit Disney in the long run, especially when it comes to managing crowds.
People who order their dinner in advance, while they’re standing in line at Space Mountain aren’t forced to stand in another long line later just to buy lunch.
“The beauty of mobile ordering is that you can go ahead and plan your day,” Miranda said.
