News Disneyland Hotels Announce New Concierge Lounges, Themed Suites, and Napa Rose Renovation

[TP2000]

Or it really is a trend industry-wide to be doing away with tablecloths regardless of how fancy the restaurant is, as other people are telling you.

If a restaurant doesn't have table linens, it almost is always not Fine Dining. The Napa Rose attempted to be fine dining upon its opening in 2001. And it generally succeeded, and was a much needed bright spot for the Resort while the new theme park outside its gorgeous stained glass windows face planted and became a national punch line.

But this is a downgrade. They're trying to save money, that's all this is. The Sharp Pencil Boys told the Napa Rose reinvention team they'd have to remove the linens from their daily and annual budgets, and it saved a ton of money for TDA.

I can understand that many restaurants in the upper-middle range don't have linens on the tables, after all it is expensive to keep up. But Napa Rose isn't supposed to be upper-middle. It was supposed to be top tier fine dining. I have a couple reservations booked in Zurich at fine dining restaurants later this summer, and I just checked.... Yup. White table linens.

My sister got us all reservations for Easter Dinner this year at a new-to-us fine dining restaurant at the beach she's been wanting to try, which coincidentally has 2025 Michelin rating. It's called "Nine-Ten", so I just checked their website...

Yup, table linens at Nine-Ten too.

Folks can use the excuse "Well, my local fave Darden Company restaurant chain doesn't have tablecloths any more, it's the modern way!" all they want. But the reality is that one of the things a restaurant's management does to cut costs is to ditch the table linens and pretend it's "modern" when it's really just cost cutting and downgrading the experience.

 

[NobodyElse]

I admittedly don't know the actual reasons for losing the tablecloths. It could be that somebody's pocketing the spare change. It could be that they were given the mandate to save money, and that's what they chose to cut. It could be a purposeful style choice. It could be a give and take where they were allowed to up their food game, but not crack the overall budget, and that was the trade-off. It could be a combination of the above and other factors. We'll just have to see how it works out for them overall.

I'm sure if their food is fantastic, Service top-notch, but attendance nosedives in the next three months and exit polls and surveys say "We just couldn't get past the lack of tablecloths", they'll magically reappear.

I imagine somebody with the proper data could come up with a Venn diagram showing "Fine Dining restaurants" v. "restaurants with tablecloths". Undoubtedly, many of TP2000's favorites would show up in the intersection. Some of mine would, and some wouldn't.

Some people love the Morton's / Ruth's Chris / Fleming's route for good food and likely consistency. Others avoid them as corporate chains, preferring to steer toward one-off establishments, with or without linens. Everybody's different.

And for the (fuzzy) record, last time I dined at Napa Rose (non-lounge/bar) we ate at one of those "Chef's Table" counter spaces. I don't believe tablecloths were employed. It was a wonderful meal and dining experience.

Edit: PS: I look forward to trying out Napa Rose again a little later this year.

 

[Disney Vault]

I think tablecloths look dated. Just one of those things that will go extinct with time. Add it to the list of things that millennials killed

 

[Disney Irish]

Seriously though how much money is it actually in savings? A couple thousand bucks a year, maybe? This isn't like a regular restaurant that would send out their linens to get cleaned (which is where majority of the cost is), Disney has an onsite laundry service which is already washing for the Resort. Plus they have contracts with various linen retailers in the region and get them for pennies on the dollar for any replacements (the other bulk of costs).

I doubt the reason they cut the linens at Napa Rose was cost savings, its a rounding error in DLR annual budget.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I think tablecloths look dated. Just one of those things that will go extinct with him. Add it to the list of things that millennials killed

I agree they look dated - definitely none of the "fine dining" places I go to have them.

 

[TP2000]

Seriously though how much money is it actually in savings? A couple thousand bucks a year, maybe?

Tell us you don't send your shirts to the dry cleaner's in 2026 without actually telling us.

A couple hundred tablecloths per day, thousands per week, would be thousands of dollars per week in dry cleaning costs.

This isn't like a regular restaurant that would send out their linens to get cleaned (which is where majority of the cost is), Disney has an onsite laundry service which is already washing for the Resort. Plus they have contracts with various linen retailers in the region and get them for pennies on the dollar for any replacements (the other bulk of costs).

These tablecloths aren't cheap. They are commercial grade dining linens. You could save some money by doing it in-house, but when you are paying the CM's in the laundry $20 an hour and processing 200+ tablecloths per day, it adds up fast even in-house. Thousands of dollars per week in labor and material costs. They don't iron themselves, you know.

I doubt the reason they cut the linens at Napa Rose was cost savings, its a rounding error in DLR annual budget.

This is an organization that got rid of restaurant-specific themed trays at buffet restaurants decades ago, because Paul Pressler needed to save a few bucks. This is an organization that killed the longstanding Company Christmas Party because it cost too much money for all those lowly CM's and their silly families. This is an organization that will now let you pay an extra $20 over the already criminal $40 parking fee just for a parking space that is closer to an escalator.

And you think the costs of dry cleaning thousands of tablecloths per week at the Napa Rose is under their radar?

 

[TP2000]

Some people love the Morton's / Ruth's Chris / Fleming's route for good food and likely consistency. Others avoid them as corporate chains, preferring to steer toward one-off establishments, with or without linens. Everybody's different.

And some of us actually enjoy all of those types of restaurant experiences. Plus more. The best French Dip sandwich ever is at Philippe's near LA Union Station, and the napkins in the rare dispenser on the communal tables are barely paper.

But when I'm paying at least $200 per person in food, plus cocktails and wine that can easily add another $100 for each person, plus a 22% or higher tip to the waiter, plus valet parking fees and $10 to the kid from Fullerton who semi-jogs to get my car at the end of the night, I have a certain expectation if the restaurant tries to pass itself off as fine dining.

And cost-cutting out the linens for some TDA spreadsheet isn't on my list of excuses why those expectations can't be met.

 

[Disney Irish]

Tell us you don't send your shirts to the dry cleaner's in 2026 without actually telling us.

A couple hundred tablecloths per day, thousands per week, would be thousands of dollars per week in dry cleaning costs.



These tablecloths aren't cheap. They are commercial grade dining linens. You could save some money by doing it in-house, but when you are paying the CM's in the laundry $20 an hour and processing 200+ tablecloths per day, it adds up fast even in-house. Thousands of dollars per week in labor and material costs. They don't iron themselves, you know.



This is an organization that got rid of restaurant-specific themed trays at buffet restaurants decades ago, because Paul Pressler needed to save a few bucks. This is an organization that killed the longstanding Company Christmas Party because it cost too much money for all those lowly CM's and their silly families. This is an organization that will now let you pay an extra $20 over the already criminal $40 parking fee just for a parking space that is closer to an escalator.

And you think the costs of dry cleaning thousands of tablecloths per week at the Napa Rose is under their radar?

They aren’t sending out Napa Rose’s linens for dry cleaning, no matter how much you send out your shirts. They would keep them in-house. And again the cost savings would be minimal. As they still use cloth napkins, as does Cathay Circle and Blue Bayou. So then removing the table cloths at Napa Rose wouldn’t save much of anything since they would still have a linen bill from the napkins.

But you believe what you want.

 

[TP2000]

They aren’t sending out Napa Rose’s linens for dry cleaning, no matter how much you send out your shirts. They would keep them in-house. And again the cost savings would be minimal. As they still use cloth napkins, as does Cathay Circle and Blue Bayou. So then removing the table cloths at Napa Rose wouldn’t save much of anything since they would still have a linen bill from the napkins.

I have three sets of linens for dinner parties, in 3 different color schemes. They're all made from flax linen, and they perform and drape beautifully. I bought them at Williams-Sonoma and they were, in all honesty, expensive for a seating for 8.

The Napa Rose was not using polyester tablecloths, not even flax linen, they were using commercial-grade cotton damask, which is pricier than the residential stuff you can buy at Williams-Sonoma. Most good restaurants use 100% cotton damask.

Did you ever eat at the Napa Rose? Did you not notice this?

But you believe what you want.

I'm surprised that some people here are so quick to stand up for obvious cost cutting from TDA. Removing the expensive linens from a restaurant operation is a classic way to slash costs, and it's obvious that's what TDA did with the Napa Rose redo.

I've been on a few Viking cruises now, and they nail it every damn time. They have excellent food and an award winning dining operation, but they do not profess to be formal. They purposely eschew the faux formality of some cruise lines that make their waiters wear white gloves and such, or pretend to be "butlers" and other such fake cringe. You don't pack a suit or tuxedo for a Viking cruise, because the dress code is always the same upscale Business Casual for every evening; just tie-less sport coats for men and pretty cocktail attire for ladies. Viking has several restaurants on Board that are casual and breezy, and those restaurants have no tablecloths.

But their Main dining room, simply called The Restaurant, has table linens for all three meals. It's just a nicer and more gracious way to do it, if only for the cleanliness and sound muffling alone. There's just some basic costs a restaurant needs to put up with in order to maintain a certain standard. Clearly, TDA needed to cut costs on the Napa Rose redo.

 

[Disney Irish]

I have three sets of linens for dinner parties, in 3 different color schemes. They're all made from flax linen, and they perform and drape beautifully. I bought them at Williams-Sonoma and they were, in all honesty, expensive for a seating for 8.

The Napa Rose was not using polyester tablecloths, not even flax linen, they were using commercial-grade cotton damask, which is pricier than the residential stuff you can buy at Williams-Sonoma. Most good restaurants use 100% cotton damask.

Did you ever eat at the Napa Rose? Did you not notice this?

I'm surprised that people here are so desperate to stand up for obvious cost cutting from TDA. Removing the expensive linens from a restaurant operation is a classic way to slash costs, and it's obvious that's what TDA did with the Napa Rose redo.

I've been on a few Viking cruises now, and they nail it every damn time. They have excellent food and an award winning dining operation, but they do not profess to be "Fine Dining". They purposely eschew the faux formality of some cruise lines that make their waiters wear white gloves and such, or pretend to be "butlers" and other such fake cringe. You don't pack a suit or tuxedo for a Viking cruise, because the dress code is always the same upscale Business Casual for every evening; just tie-less sport coats for men and pretty cocktail attire for ladies. Viking has several restaurants on Board that are casual and breezy, and those restaurants have no tablecloths.

But their Main dining room, simply called The Restaurant, has table linens for all three meals. It's just a nicer and more gracious way to do it, if only for the cleanliness and sound muffling alone. There's just some basic costs a restaurant needs to put up with in order to maintain a certain standard. Clearly, TDA needed to cut costs on the Napa Rose redo.

View attachment 913397

Tell me you've never worked in the restaurant industry without telling you've never worked in the restaurant industry.

Do you honestly think that Disney is paying retail prices like you? No of course not, they are paying heavy discounted prices by buying in bulk and by being Disney. It'll amount to pennies on the dollar while you're paying a couple hundred for your single tablecloth.

 

[britain]

I think tablecloths look dated. Just one of those things that will go extinct with time. Add it to the list of things that millennials killed

Like neck ties.

 

[Disney Irish]

I have three sets of linens for dinner parties, in 3 different color schemes. They're all made from flax linen, and they perform and drape beautifully. I bought them at Williams-Sonoma and they were, in all honesty, expensive for a seating for 8.

The Napa Rose was not using polyester tablecloths, not even flax linen, they were using commercial-grade cotton damask, which is pricier than the residential stuff you can buy at Williams-Sonoma. Most good restaurants use 100% cotton damask.

Did you ever eat at the Napa Rose? Did you not notice this?

Heck my friend, here is a restaurant supply site I found after a 8 second Google search when you can get similar ones for $33 per tablecloth in a pack of a dozen at a wholesale prices, and this isn't even Disney prices.

Cotton Blend Restaurant Quality Beauti-Damask Linen Tablecloth

Cotton blend Beauti-Damask linen tablecloth offers a classic woven pattern manufactured on state of the art jacquard looms. Available in 2 elegant, and graceful patterns: rose, and grape. It has a soil resistant finish and it is machine washable. It combines a soft, natural feel with performance...

restaurantproducts.us

Again you really think Disney is paying even these prices, no they are paying even cheaper prices.

So any cost savings by removing the tablecloths is minimal, especially since the cloth napkins are staying.

 

[TP2000]

Heck my friend, here is a restaurant supply site I found after a 8 second Google search when you can get similar ones for $33 per tablecloth in a pack of a dozen at a wholesale prices, and this isn't even Disney prices.

Cotton Blend Restaurant Quality Beauti-Damask Linen Tablecloth

Cotton blend Beauti-Damask linen tablecloth offers a classic woven pattern manufactured on state of the art jacquard looms. Available in 2 elegant, and graceful patterns: rose, and grape. It has a soil resistant finish and it is machine washable. It combines a soft, natural feel with performance...

restaurantproducts.us

Again you really think Disney is paying even these prices, no they are paying even cheaper prices.

So any cost savings by removing the tablecloths is minimal, especially since the cloth napkins are staying.

A restaurant with 30 tables would need at least a dozen tablecloths per table, if you are cycling each table three times per night, and have half your tablecloths at the laundry each day, plus an extra set in reserve. With that sort of heavy use, let's be conservative and say that each tablecloth lasts six months of daily use/laundering. The wholesale costs on that is about $12,000 every six months.

30 X 12 = 360 tablecloths. 360 tablecloths X $33 = $11,880. Or, $24,000 per year in tablecloths.

If it takes one laundry CM a 6 hour shift to launder and press 180 tablecloths, and that CM has a labor cost of $35 per hour to Disneyland ($20 wage, benefits, payroll taxes, laundry equipment, supplies), that's about $1.17 per tablecloth each day, or $210 per day in labor/supplies. Or $76,660 per year in tablecloth laundry costs, all done in-house in the basement.

We just spent over $100,000 per year to get 30 tablecloths in use for dinner-service only at the Napa Rose. Or a million dollars per decade at current prices, before the next Napa Rose redo happens in 2051.

Knowing it's Disney, and how high volume it is, it is likely more than that. The above equation is very conservative.

 

[Disney Irish]

A restaurant with 30 tables would need at least a dozen tablecloths per table, if you are cycling each table three times per night, and have half your tablecloths at the laundry each day, plus an extra set in reserve. With that sort of heavy use, let's be conservative and say that each tablecloth lasts six months of daily use/laundering. The wholesale costs on that is about $12,000 every six months.

30 X 12 = 360 tablecloths. 360 tablecloths X $33 = $11,880. Or, $24,000 per year in tablecloths.

If it takes one laundry CM a 6 hour shift to launder and press 180 tablecloths, and that CM has a labor cost of $35 per hour to Disneyland ($20 wage, benefits, payroll taxes, laundry equipment, supplies), that's about $1.17 per tablecloth each day, or $210 per day in labor/supplies. Or $76,660 per year in tablecloth laundry costs, all done in-house in the basement.

We just spent over $100,000 per year to get 30 tablecloths in use for dinner-service only at the Napa Rose. Or a million dollars per decade at current prices, before the next Napa Rose redo happens in 2051.

Knowing it's Disney, and how high volume it is, it is likely more than that. The above equation is very conservative.

Again that is assuming they are paying that price, which we can pretty much guarantee THEY ARE NOT. They are likely not even paying half of that or even a third.

Again this shows you know nothing about the restaurant industry. Even a Google search will tell you that even an average high end restaurant is not paying those prices.

 

[Disney Irish]

Also as someone said this is a trend in many high end restaurants, its not universal but its a trend nonetheless -

Some want to call it cost cutting, but as someone said if there are lots of complaints about lack of tablecloths they will return in short order.

 

[TP2000]

We went from this...

Seriously though how much money is it actually in savings? A couple thousand bucks a year, maybe?

To this...

Heck my friend, here is a restaurant supply site I found after a 8 second Google search when you can get similar ones for $33 per tablecloth in a pack of a dozen at a wholesale prices, and this isn't even Disney prices.

To learning they'd spend at least $75,000 a year just in labor, on top of tens of thousands of dollars in procurement...

A restaurant with 30 tables would need at least a dozen tablecloths per table, if you are cycling each table three times per night, and have half your tablecloths at the laundry each day, plus an extra set in reserve. With that sort of heavy use, let's be conservative and say that each tablecloth lasts six months of daily use/laundering. The wholesale costs on that is about $12,000 every six months.

30 X 12 = 360 tablecloths. 360 tablecloths X $33 = $11,880. Or, $24,000 per year in tablecloths.

If it takes one laundry CM a 6 hour shift to launder and press 180 tablecloths, and that CM has a labor cost of $35 per hour to Disneyland ($20 wage, benefits, payroll taxes, laundry equipment, supplies), that's about $1.17 per tablecloth each day, or $210 per day in labor/supplies. Or $76,660 per year in tablecloth laundry costs, all done in-house in the basement.

We just spent over $100,000 per year to get 30 tablecloths in use for dinner-service only at the Napa Rose. Or a million dollars per decade at current prices, before the next Napa Rose redo happens in 2051.

Knowing it's Disney, and how high volume it is, it is likely more than that. The above equation is very conservative.

To finally get here...

Again this shows you know nothing about the restaurant industry.

I've never been a restauranteur, nor have I pretended to be. I've invested in a restaurant, and had a few sales pitches for others over the years, but that's it. I do have first hand experience in eating on tablecloths though, often in a nice restaurant.

TDA told the Napa Rose redo team to cut the budget, and the table cloths are suddenly now gone. Because they're expensive.

 

[Disney Irish]

We went from this...



To this...


To learning they'd spend at least $75,000 a year just in labor, on top of tens of thousands of dollars in procurement...



To finally get here...



I've never been a restauranteur, nor have I pretended to be. I've invested in a restaurant, and had a few sales pitches for others over the years, but that's it. I do have first hand experience in eating on tablecloths though, often in a nice restaurant.

TDA told the Napa Rose redo team to cut the budget, and the table cloths are suddenly now gone. Because they're expensive.

I gave an example of what a restaurateur MIGHT pay, not what Disney actually pays, so NO they are not paying $75k a year in labor just to launder some tablecloths. We know that Disney is not going to pay what some average restaurateur pays. they are going to pay much much much less.

So again you believe what you want, but reality tells us that is not the case.

 

[TP2000]

I gave an example of what a restaurateur MIGHT pay, not what Disney actually pays, so NO they are not paying $75k a year in labor just to launder some tablecloths.

How much per hour do you think Disney spends on a laundry CM with a $20 per hour starting wage?

When you add in Medical benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead for a high-value employer like Disneyland in a very high tax state like California, what do you think that hourly cost would be? I said $35 per hour, which seems rather conservative but perhaps doable if the CM never gets a raise above their $20 wage.

For about 6 hours of work from 1 CM per day to launder n' press 150+ tablecloths, that's about $76,000 per year in labor costs.

What's your assumption on the hourly wage costs to the business for an entry-level $20 gig in the laundry room?

 

[Disney Irish]

How much per hour do you think Disney spends on a laundry CM with a $20 per hour starting wage? When you add in Medical benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead for a high-value employer like Disneyland, what do you think that hourly cost would be? I said $35 per hour, which seems rather conservative but perhaps doable if the CM never gets a raise above their $20 wage.

For about 6 hours of work from 1 CM per day to launder n' press 150+ tablecloths, that's about $76,000 per year in labor costs.

What's your assumption on the hourly wage costs to the business for an entry-level $20 gig in the laundry room?

My friend you believe whatever you want, you always do anyways no matter what anyone here tells you. So lets end this with just agreeing to disagree. You think its cost cutting, I and others don't, no big deal if we don't agree.

Its about cocktail time for you, so pour yourself a nice glass of something and just move on.

 

[TP2000]

For the record, I just checked the Disneyland Casting site, and they don't have any laundry positions available now. The lowest paid non-tipped CM I could find was a fast food cashier in the parks that starts at $24 an hour; it requires you to be at least 18, but they do not require a high school diploma.

Something tells me the $20 an hour our pretend laundress is making to no longer clean Napa Rose tablecloths is not gonna happen in 2026. That job is likely starting north of $20.

They've got a bartender position open at Napa Rose, and it starts at $21.13 but includes tips. A good bartender can make $100-$150 an hour in tips, especially at a high end touristy place like Napa Rose, so that guy is making great money! And now he doesn't have to pay income tax on those tips either! Win-win!

They've got some Electrician spots open, and they start between $40 and $48 an hour based on experience. It's "preferred" that you attended trade school, but not required. $40 an hour to start?!? More kids need to be going to trade school ASAP instead of getting a useless Communications or Business degree from a 4 year college.

A shrub pruner for the Horticulture team (no diploma or trade school needed) starts at $31 an hour. A CNC Operator that starts at $42 an hour. They need people in the Bakery to start at $29 an hour. They've currently got wallpaper hanging jobs that start at $37 an hour.

Disneyland has really upped their game on the pay scale front!