A Review Of Mobile Food Ordering

On this trip (which we are still on for at least another couple of days), we used the mobile food ordering service that is inside the My Disney Experience App. This feature allows you to preorder and pay for food at various counter services at the 4 theme parks, and one in DS. Supposedly, it will expand even more as they add more counter service.

The take home review of this feature is: IT IS FREAKING AWESOME!

Say you want to order food from Flame Tree BBQ. You tap on "Order Food" section in the App. It will then list all the quick service restaurants that are able to prepare your order. Under Animal Kingdom theme park, you'll find Flame Tree BBQ. Tap on that, and you will be shown the menu that are available for mobile app ordering (for Flame Tree, it is identical to the one you get standing in line at the counter. For Sunshine Season, there are items that are not listed in the current menu list for that establishment).

You then pick the item you want, ADD to your selection, and add as many as you want. Also note that you may have the ability to customize, as in the type of side dishes if the item comes with it. So you may want to keep the default fries, or maybe change it to a fruit cup.

You also may add drinks, desserts, side dishes, etc., anything that is on the listed menu.

Then, once you are done with your selection, you place your order. This is where it will be processed to be paid. Then you will be presented with a button that said "I"m here, process my order now", or something to that effect. It is only THEN will they start preparing your order. Once your order is ready, the app will refresh that page and will tell you that your order is ready to be picked up.

Picking up the order is simple. You either give the name of the person who ordered it, or the order number that is displayed on your app. At each counter service that accept mobile order, there is a location denoted by a sign on where you should go to pick it up.

Having used it MANY times on this trip, this is one of the most convenient feature that we have come across with. It saves time standing in line, or the aggravation of standing behind a group of people who seem to only start to figure out what they want when they get to the cashier. Many times, we often start the order even before we got to the place we want to eat. When we get there, I would indicate that they should start the order while we look for a place to sit. Often times, it takes less than 5 minutes before we get the notice that our order is ready.

From what I can see, there are still not many guests who are making use of this feature, so the efficiency of this service may change as more and more people use it. But as of now, I can't think of any sane reason for anyone not to use this. Unless of course, you enjoy standing in long lines that crawl.

Zz.