I don't even like coffee!
Starbucks does have awful tea, though. It could have changed in the last two or three years because I quit trying it, but in the past all their tea had a weird plastic/chemical taste.
Did you have the typical bagged tea, or the Teavana tea? Loose leaf is always better. But no matter what, any tea can taste bad if you steep it for too long.
It's interesting (to me anyway) that Starbucks got so close to world showcase, but not actually in the ring. May be contractual, maybe not. Are the other 3 major coffee kiosks in world showcase all Joffreys? (on the way to mexico, between US + Italy, between UK + Canada - not counting the one next to Energy and the monorail station). And has it been determined the new Starbucks is temporary and will be moved "back" to former Future World in the next decade when everything's built back up again?
I think its location makes a lot of sense, being as close to the center as possible. I haven’t seen anything about the current pop-up staying after the new location opens, but it would certainly be frustrating to get a bunch of construction walls down to then just put up more of them after.
This is the heart of the issue, isn’t it? For Disney parks, they’ve always operated as though there was an unavoidable tension between thematic integrity and maximizing profits. People seem to think that Disney needs to concede to including corporate logos in order to stay in business and make money.
This is why people look back in history and say, “Walt allowed Monsanto to sponsor attractions-that’s the only way he could have built Tomorrowland!” But that’s not the whole story. Walt relied on Monsanto, General Electric, GoodYear, Frito-Lay, etc. not just for the money they gave, but also for the credibility they brought. Early in the life of the parks, the endorsement of these trusted brands actually built confidence in the minds of the public. People who weren’t comfortable jumping on the PeopleMover (a train with no driver!) were actually convinced to do so because “well, GoodYear made the tires and endorsed the ride, so it must be safe.”
Disney has long since passed the need for endorsement by other brands. In fact, Disney is much more trusted than any of the brands that might sponsor an attraction. Rather than Disney needing the brands, the brands actually need Disney.
Those early partnerships were mutually beneficial, but tipped in favor of Disney. These days, it’s just about money. Like auto racing teams selling advertising on their cars by the square inch to completely unrelated bands who just want some visibility with a certain audience, Disney gladly takes all the money FedEx, General Motors, or HP wants to give them. But because those brands have little to do with the theming of the parks, it always results in a compromise.
Notable exceptions (in my mind), would be those instances where inclusion of the brands actually help with the theming of an area: Coca-Cola on Main Street, GM in World of Motion, etc. I’d be open to Pendleton Wools or Levi Denim sponsorships in Frontierland or Land Rover or GH Bass in Adventureland, because these would fit the themes.
Thematic integrity is important, but with Starbucks, it comes down to the customer. People are
very particular when it comes to coffee, and when Disney was just offering generic coffee on their own at the parks, it was considered a lesser offering. You couldn’t customize your order. Heck, it wasn’t even a guarantee that you could even get it cold! Guests absolutely lost it for the short amount of time it wasn’t available at EPCOT when construction began. It might not be the absolute best coffee in the world, but people know that they have options, they know it’s reliable, and they know what they’re getting. And since Disney must give the location some sort of clever name to fit in-theme, both Disney
and Starbucks need to place the Starbucks logo in plain view so that customers know where to go. Making it harder for the tired guest that desperately needs their caffeine can cause that much more irritability and issues later on. In this instance, I think the partnership between Disney and Starbucks is mutually beneficial, and the logo placement is something that they can agree upon, because ultimately it’s about guest satisfaction.
Side note, but Pendelton shirts have been sold at Disneyland in Frontierland since it opened (they’ve come and gone over the years, but last I saw the other year, they were selling them.) I will admit that I haven’t thoroughly looked through Magic Kingdom’s shops to see if they have them, but that would be a great sponsorship!
The best sponsorship for theming, though, goes to Otterbox sponsoring the otter habitat at Animal Kingdom
I think they’ll manage to get the new Starbucks, Club Cool incarnation and MouseGear open by summer. Disney may take forever building quite a lot at the parks, but not when it comes to shops or dining.
