News Artist Point to become Storybook Dining character experience

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Tusker House and Trattoria al Forno have excellent meals at their character dining.

And the other 10?

The boardwalk place “excellent”? Really?

And tusker wasn’t originally a character meal...that privilege was bestowed on the now defunct Dino McDonald’s....so great it’s now gone.

Is this the part where you play the counter?...character meals typically take on the role of “fat in vats” and autograph book for the princesses...

Or are we gonna rewrite the story in blind defense tonight?


I don’t even hate them...they certainly have a place. But just A PLACE.

Here’s what I know: the bison strip, cedar plank salmon, wild mushroom soup and berry cobbler just went away forever.

For all the Michelin critics who want to eat in volume and get a picture with dopey in their custom T-shirt.

(Too soon? Too real? Both?)
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
So how much of these at least slightly controversial decisions (toned-down experience at Whispering Canyon, conversion of Northwest-styled Artist Point into a German Snow White character meal) does WL GM Thea Sargent take responsibility? Is this the beginning of the watering down of uniqueness at all hotel restaurants, and the beginning of a ubiquitous bland experience across WDW hotels, save some architectural differences?

Since I’m here now and I spend a good portion of the day observing and listening...I attribute it to the new generation of really spoiled DVC owners...

“Daddy’s D-baguettes” I call them. Definitely a sad state of affairs as they pump money into a monster that’s going off the rails.

I see guys in seersucker shorts today talking up how they usually stay and the “grand flo” while drinking a craft grapefruit Ipa...
With a straight face 😳

Is the product the fraternity system is producing now???

The good news is since they all of a sudden are rolling with converting the campground to DVC...we’ll keep that character meal booked solid.

I was getting worried disney might miss a payment on their paper towel account or something...phew 😯
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I'm so over these character themed meals. They need to make these restaurants have the options to be character free and focus on the food. I don't mind the characters being around for those who do, but I don't want it forced down my throat. I used to love Akershus until they turned it into a character place and then the menu started to suck.

Throwing characters at the mentally weak allows them to squeeze ever cent out of overhead and reduce expenditures on skill and quality in the kitchen.

That’s what this is about...and they drink the sand.

The property lost a good restaurant for a character cafeteria...plain and simple.
Of course - we get “great idea” right away without considering the reality here. And so it goes.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I'm gambling that there will be a name change coming. The two similarly named eating locations, Artist Point (WL) & Artist Palate (SSR), always confuse folk. Good time to rename this one.

How does "Snow White's Scary Dining Adventure" sound?
Don't eat the apples.

I think they should call it the “Northern California Grill” and really confuse people
 

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
Throwing characters at the mentally weak allows them to squeeze ever cent out of overhead and reduce expenditures on skill and quality in the kitchen.

That’s what this is about...and they drink the sand.

The property lost a good restaurant for a character cafeteria...plain and simple.
Of course - we get “great idea” right away without considering the reality here. And so it goes.

Disney Dining Plan was the worst thing to ever happen to Disney restaurants. By getting suckers to prepay for way more food than they'd eat on their own, Disney can trim costs, homogenize menus and make the whole experience as bargain bin as can be. By turning every meal into a mass-produced buffet extravaganza, your profit margin increases exponentially.

Some friends really wanted a last-minute character meal, so we wound up at Chef Mickey's for dinner not too long ago. My memory of it from the mid-2000s was that the food was pretty decent. I was shocked at what it is now. Other than the carved meats, it all looked like prison slop. Just horrid all around. Even the signature stuff they had for years, like the famous parmesan mashed potatoes, were removed in favor of pre-made nonsense.

Ate at Yachtsman the other day, by comparison, it was pretty good. However the server lamented about how they're one of only three restaurants on property that are allowed to make their own bread. Everything else is procured from service vendors. This wasn't the case 10-15 years ago. Even 'Ohana, which was one of my favorite restaurants, used to have this trio of amazing homemade sauces is now relegating to serving two store-bought sauces, not to mention their menu reductions (five meats to three, removal of the side dishes, etc).
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Conversion to character dining aside, not sure why anyone would be upset that they chose Snow White. It's not like the Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Pooh and Alice units make any thematic sense at a seaside Floridian beach resort and yet, no one complains about 1900 Park Fare's character lineup matching the theme of the hotel. I'm glad a classic Disney character group was chosen instead of more Pixar junk.

There is at least a British Victoriana feel to much of the Grand Floridian that makes the “British” characters of Poppins, Pooh and Alice make sense. Cinderella is an odd fit along side the other others though!
 

LSLS

Well-Known Member
And the other 10?

The boardwalk place “excellent”? Really?

And tusker wasn’t originally a character meal...that privilege was bestowed on the now defunct Dino McDonald’s....so great it’s now gone.

Is this the part where you play the counter?...character meals typically take on the role of “fat in vats” and autograph book for the princesses...

Or are we gonna rewrite the story in blind defense tonight?


I don’t even hate them...they certainly have a place. But just A PLACE.

Here’s what I know: the bison strip, cedar plank salmon, wild mushroom soup and berry cobbler just went away forever.

For all the Michelin critics who want to eat in volume and get a picture with dopey in their custom T-shirt.

(Too soon? Too real? Both?)

Yeah I'm with you. Trat is really good (probably the best food wise I have had for a character meal), and for breakfast it is quite good, but if characters weren't there, it'd be tough for me to stomach paying over $15-$20.

I will say though, from everything I had read on Artist Point, it had gone REALLY down hill in the last couple years. It needed something done, though not sure this is it.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Disney Dining Plan was the worst thing to ever happen to Disney restaurants. By getting suckers to prepay for way more food than they'd eat on their own, Disney can trim costs, homogenize menus and make the whole experience as bargain bin as can be. By turning every meal into a mass-produced buffet extravaganza, your profit margin increases exponentially.

Some friends really wanted a last-minute character meal, so we wound up at Chef Mickey's for dinner not too long ago. My memory of it from the mid-2000s was that the food was pretty decent. I was shocked at what it is now. Other than the carved meats, it all looked like prison slop. Just horrid all around. Even the signature stuff they had for years, like the famous parmesan mashed potatoes, were removed in favor of pre-made nonsense.

Ate at Yachtsman the other day, by comparison, it was pretty good. However the server lamented about how they're one of only three restaurants on property that are allowed to make their own bread. Everything else is procured from service vendors. This wasn't the case 10-15 years ago. Even 'Ohana, which was one of my favorite restaurants, used to have this trio of amazing homemade sauces is now relegating to serving two store-bought sauces, not to mention their menu reductions (five meats to three, removal of the side dishes, etc).

No argument on the dining plan...that was a calculated “slide” that everyone just went ahead and bought.

“How many credits?”...”when is free dining gonna be announced?”

The net result is we all now pay more for lesser quality food.

My stomach will forever be grateful...as will my lower GI tract.
 
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HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
The removal of the parmesan mashed potatoes at Chef Mickey's meant the removal of my dining dollars there. DDP has taken dining and food quality at Disney to new lows while taking prices to new highs.

"Prison slop" - Funny, because that's kind of the mentality Disney has taken with customers.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
The removal of the parmesan mashed potatoes at Chef Mickey's meant the removal of my dining dollars there. DDP has taken dining and food quality at Disney to new lows while taking prices to new highs.

"Prison slop" - Funny, because that's kind of the mentality Disney has taken with customers.
Wait, they don't have cheesy mashed potatoes at Chef Mickey's anymore?
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
So how much of these at least slightly controversial decisions (toned-down experience at Whispering Canyon, conversion of Northwest-styled Artist Point into a German Snow White character meal) does WL GM Thea Sargent take responsibility? Is this the beginning of the watering down of uniqueness at all hotel restaurants, and the beginning of a ubiquitous bland experience across WDW hotels, save some architectural differences?
Blame whoever asked "Why aren't there more character experiences at Wilderness Lodge?".

It's as if whoever approves these crazy ideas has no concept of theme.

"Cinderella, Alice, and Mary Poppins wear dresses. Many of our GF guests wear dresses. APPROVED!!!"

"The Pacific Northwest has trees. Snow White was based in a forest. APPROVED!!!"

I just cannot connect those dots. :confused:
The theme is "Disney Resort Hotel." Includes any Disney character.

Wait, they don't have cheesy mashed potatoes at Chef Mickey's anymore?
Just grab a side of shredded cheese at the salad bar and mix it in at the table...
 
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Tom P.

Well-Known Member
Disney Dining Plan was the worst thing to ever happen to Disney restaurants. By getting suckers to prepay for way more food than they'd eat on their own, Disney can trim costs, homogenize menus and make the whole experience as bargain bin as can be. By turning every meal into a mass-produced buffet extravaganza, your profit margin increases exponentially.
As someone whose family uses the dining plan, has done the math, benefits from it financially, and find that it fits our dining needs well, I have just about had it with folks around here proclaiming that anyone who gets the dining plan is "sucker" or doesn't know how to do math or is otherwise stupid.
 

Tom P.

Well-Known Member
Please, let's not turn this thread into a debate over the dining plan.
I am not starting a debate about the dining plan. I have no desire to engage in such a debate, and certainly won't do so in this thread. I was making a point about the characterization of people who choose to use the dining plan. Regardless of what one thinks of the dining plan, such characterizations are rude and also unfair.
 
My wife is a Disney travel agent and she just got the official release from her company about the changeover. She actually hadn't heard anything about it until today, and she perfectly summed up our feelings on it.

We love Disney. We love Disney World. We love the Disney experience. But sometimes it's nice to break away after a long day in the Parks and have a relaxing, "non-Disneyfied" dinner. Now there's one fewer place to do that.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
I know a good deal of people here had issues with AP but I wish they would've just did a refurb and improved the service/quality instead of a "stick character X here so we can turn a bigger profit" move (or whatever the reason was). I guess when you run out of ideas, you just stick a character in there and hope for the best?

Between this and mentioning the (distant) rumor about HDDR, I'll quote my parents as saying "It sucks to ruin AP like this but if HDDR goes, then they can just have our WL timeshare back". Yeah, they aren't too happy.

The whole character thing feels like an attempt at a quick fix.
 

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