But if we want to talk about all of WDW's potential daily dining customers, wouldn't we have to include the 200,000+ Orlando and 66,500+ Kissimmee residents?
True but the majority of WDW visitors are not local (The opposite is the case for Disneyland). The issue is with regards to why people are turned away when there are empty tables. I stated its because staff is set for X number of customers for a given time based on predictions. When person number X+1 walks up they may be turned away. This happens at ALL restaurants, not just Disney. This is the balance between extremes you asked about. A small number of people may be turned away in some cases. It's a balance between how many are turned away vs. how many extra staff you have doing very little. Is it your view that nobody should ever be turned away?