Disney themed restaurant- off property

[NiarrNDisney]

Oh lord. Please not in Key West!!!

I love Disney, but not in a place like that. The conch's wouldn't allow it anyway. lol

Yeah I just dont feel like Disney belongs in places Key West, Las Vegas, Miami, or New Orleans but I would love for the Mouse to build a resort somewhere here in the Colorado mountains!

 

[tampabrad]

They tried Disneyquest in Chicago and closed it soon after it opened. There was one planned for Philadelphia and I believe Washington DC that never broke ground.

I remember in the 80s or early 90s they had quite a few Disney clubs or kids clubs. They all closed as well.

I can't really see them doing anything not attached to a park other than dvc and the locations will be carefully researched. I would be surprised to see a new dvc in the states that is not in world or land.

 

[DryerLintFan]

It would have to be done right and not just inserted into some random entertainment district in some random city.

IMO as part of a resort experience it may work. I'd rather focus on Disney Destination Resorts rather than standalone restaurants. The restaurants can be a part of the resort. I'm 20 minutes from Vero Beach and have hit DVB a few times (I have small children). The breakfast with Goofy and Pirates dinner are okay.....not really worth the cost, nor can it equal the experience I would get driving the extra hour, but booking a Saturday night room and getting some Disney type flare on the beach along with a decent pool......it's not bad for a quick family overnight. A signature or themed restaurant here wouldn't hurt.

Now while I don't think a "Disney Resort and Casino" on the Vegas strip would necessarily work, ........a Disney Resort/Lodge in Key West, Vail, Galveston, San Diego, Cancun, Whistler, or the like, might work......Since we're throwing around ideas, I'd vote for Disney to buy a piece of Mont Saint Michel (one of the coolest places on earth, the inspiration for Tangled, and would have a built in tie-in with DLP) - but I don't think the Franks would be thrilled.

I've thought about immersive themed resorts, especially in places their cruises go. I'm sure very few people on these boards would agree, but I think if done right it could be really cool. For example, on the cruise to Norway, dock overnight and guests can sleep in Elsa's castle (yes I know Arendale isn't Norway, but they've already connected the two in Epcot).

 

[rob0519]

A good 20 mins from me....
I do recall going to it when it was at the mall....It was just an additional side section adjacent to the Store as it had a small staircase with seating and you can see the customers as they shopped through the store while you ate....I remember they had unique Character shaped season fries (That nice crispy mesquite kind) but the burger was...Meh....It's a shame the concept didn't pan out as well....However I did find this picture on google on what the counter area looked like..

It's weird enough that several years later and on the other side of the mall they opened Disney's Doorway to Dreams..For the unsuspected customer thinking it was an alternative/contemporary style Disney store......Only to find out they were hooked, Lined, & Sinked to nothing but a DVC membership store featuring a full size displayed room of Kidani Village at AKL...

They also had placed a mini kiosk around the middle of the mall if you had no clue where the big store was.....

Let's just say....None of these things exist in the mall....Except for a very simplistic and much smaller Disney Store still stands...

Obviously at that point in time the honchos at Disney thought they could do anything well. Maybe it's fortunate it failed. With the exponential increase in Disney's popularity, they might not have been able to keep up with the demand at such a small location. "IU'm sorry kids, we can't afford Disney World, but we can go get Mickey fries at the mall.".

As for the DVC store. It appears Illinois is a good market for them. My elder daughter actually applied for sales job there. She is in sales and with over 24 trips to WDW, if anyone knows the resort it's her. Alas, she was not hired and again in hindsight, maybe that was fortunate as well.

 

[correcaminos]

Honestly not interested. We don't go to Disney for the food at all now so having Disney food close to home doesn't really appeal. I don't see us ever going to a place like that just for a "Disney fix"

 

[BuddyThomas]

I can't believe I'm saying this because the last thing NYC needs is more tourists clogging the streets, but if they opened some sort of big and very well themed Disney restaurant in Times Square, it would be a major, major success. Automatic built in customer base for people going to see Lion King, Aladdin, and all the new Broadway shows they are currently developing. In fact, I'm pretty surprised they haven't done it yet.

 

[Hockey89]

Outside of V&A none of the sig places would make it in Bos/NYC with those prices... Not good enough.

 

[Phonedave]

I would love to see a chain of Disney themed restaurants in major cities around the country. It would help my family get our Disney fix between visits. I wonder if Disney has considered this. Does this interest anyone else?

They already have it - dozens of them. Cheesecake Factory, Applebees, TGI Fridays, BWW, Olive Garden - any place that serves mass prepared food from a central food supplier will get you your fix. To make it super Disney like, just throw and extra $20 to $30 per person in the garbage on your way out the door, then the experience is complete.

-dave

 

[DfromATX]

Same. There's much better restaurants than Disney ones.
Disney on Ice travels around every year. That's enough imo.

Aww, you just brought back some memories for me. I took my oldest son, who is now 21, to see Little Mermaid on Ice. When Ursula came out, he said he didn't like her wanted to go home lol. Then with my second son, now 14, we took him to see The Incredibles on Ice, which, to be honest, wasn't very good. I miss those days!

 

[21stamps]

Aww, you just brought back some memories for me. I took my oldest son, who is now 21, to see Little Mermaid on Ice. When Ursula came out, he said he didn't like her wanted to go home lol. Then with my second son, now 14, we took him to see The Incredibles on Ice, which, to be honest, wasn't very good. I miss those days!

The Incredibles on ice sounds neat! Too bad it wasn't as good as it sounds.

 

[ppete1975]

Disney quest, the Disney fast food, and the original Disney stores were disneys way to make mini disneys and Disney experiences around the US.... Each was a pretty good idea but got cut from the budget, and I don't think Disney wants to go that direction again. A lot of Disney stores have closed and the ones that are left that I have seen no longer have the characters or true Disney feel they are just stores. Disney Quest was dead before it started. Mickeys kitchen didn't have the backing it needed.
I think the end of malls helped the end to some of this. Mickeys kitchen (or whatever) in my opinion could only work in a mall so that it gets the traffic. The Disney store same thing.

Honestly the fast food Disney, the Disney store, Disney quest... all prob died in the 80s-90s and with malls dying I don't see them ever happening again.

Maybe you could do a standalone well themed mickeys kitchen with characters and animatronics (think showbiz/ chucke cheese) maybe a good 4 d show, an amazing Disney store once again themed and then maybe....... add an omnimover or boat ride that lasts about 7-10 mins and maybe... just maybe it could work.

but they wont do it

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Yeah I just dont feel like Disney belongs in places Key West, Las Vegas, Miami, or New Orleans but I would love for the Mouse to build a resort somewhere here in the Colorado mountains!

Me too. Sometimes I fantasize about that.