Character autographs at dining to be cut

[Disorbust]

Wow. They really have lost it. This is so basic to their brand it is disturbing that this is even a consideration.

 

[Rachel S1321]

Its funny because I ran this idea by my kids, and they didn't seem to mind getting the pre-signed cards. I guess its just my hang up on change? Not sure if I would do that character dining though knowing that.

 

[ford91exploder]

Wow. They really have lost it. This is so basic to their brand it is disturbing that this is even a consideration.

Yes exactly Disney is working overtime to suck the magic out of their parks. As i noted earlier it's a BIG DEAL for a little kid to have a character PERSONALLY sign their very own autograph book. DW still has hers from first visit as a small kid.

Simply disgusting

 

[doctornick]

I commented in the other thread in the dining section, but I am strongly in favor of this change. Having the characters sign autographs greatly slows down the speed of the rotation and makes it much longer than it should to have the characters hit all the tables.

 

[wdwmagic]

As far as I know this is part of a test, and has not yet been rolled out to all locations. Crystal palace and Tusker are likely to be the initial locations.

 

[Grumpy4196]

Might as well just sell presigned autograph books if this happens.

 

[ford91exploder]

I commented in the other thread in the dining section, but I am strongly in favor of this change. Having the characters sign autographs greatly slows down the speed of the rotation and makes it much longer than it should to have the characters hit all the tables.

Or for the inflated price charged for 'Character Dining' get another CP foamhead or two into the restaurant so that the demand that Disney created can be satisfied.

 

[ford91exploder]

Might as well just sell presigned autograph books if this happens.

Sell them online no need to visit the parks anymore ...

 

[seabreezept813]

This would be an annoying change.. we enjoyed comparing the autographs in my childhood book to my stepdaughters. It's just more personal.. like the messages in the Epcot passport. I have seen adults keeping autograph books, maybe if it would take less time if they limited it to kids.

 

[ford91exploder]

Its funny because I ran this idea by my kids, and they didn't seem to mind getting the pre-signed cards. I guess its just my hang up on change? Not sure if I would do that character dining though knowing that.

This is not about change, Interaction with the characters is especially important to the 4-8 year old bracket a preprinted card does not have the impact that a personally signed autograph does.

To some type A personalities yes ensuring that they've 'collected' all the characters at a character meal is more important than having a memorable interaction with one or two of them.

Im in the quality interaction camp

 

[doctornick]

Might as well just sell presigned autograph books if this happens.

It sounds like this is only being considered for character dining, not regular M&Gs. And even then, it might only be at the larger/busier dining locations where it takes longer to rotate to all the tables. It's a pretty big leap to assume this is coming to other M&Gs.

 

[ford91exploder]

This would be an annoying change.. we enjoyed comparing the autographs in my childhood book to my stepdaughters. It's just more personal.. like the messages in the Epcot passport. I have seen adults keeping autograph books, maybe if it would take less time if they limited it to kids.

Perhaps get off the FP madness and just enjoy the food and interaction

 

[ford91exploder]

It sounds like this is only being considered for character dining, not regular M&Gs. And even then, it might only be at the larger/busier dining locations where it takes longer to rotate to all the tables. It's a pretty big leap to assume this is coming to other M&Gs.

Not really, imagine how this would speed the line in an ordinary MG experience

 

[doctornick]

Not really, imagine how this would speed the line in an ordinary MG experience

Disney doesn't have an incentive to speed up regular M&Gs. In fact, having to pre-print signature cards (as well as not selling autograph books) would actually cost the company money.

Meanwhile, moving characters along during dining experiences not only makes those more pleasant for patrons -- who wants to just sit there after you are done eating waiting for a character to arrive when you could be out riding rides in the park? -- but also helps turn over tables quicker which benefits Disney.

 

[ford91exploder]

Disney doesn't have an incentive to speed up regular M&Gs. In fact, having to pre-print signature cards (as well as not selling autograph books) would actually cost the company money.

Meanwhile, moving characters along during dining experiences not only makes those more pleasant for patrons -- who wants to just sit there after you are done eating waiting for a character to arrive when you could be out riding rides in the park? -- but also helps turn over tables quicker which benefits Disney.

Who said anything about not selling autograph books, it's just now they will come indexed so you can see what characters you are 'missing'. And printing is cheap especially if done in China

You will just slide your autograph cards into the protective covers

 

[brb1006]

AMEN!
I usually don't even bother to open threads that are so generic that you have no idea what is in them. Another thing that I consider useless is "XYZ is happening TODAY!" Well, after "today" that is pretty much useless and at worst, misinformation. Much more informative is something like "XYZ is happening Sept. 4" so you at least know whether it is current information or not.

And sometimes adding "Confirmed" loosely when the thread was originally just speculation.

 

[asianway]

Or for the inflated price charged for 'Character Dining' get another CP foamhead or two into the restaurant so that the demand that Disney created can be satisfied.

Wouldn't help. WDW guests have been conditioned to expect seeing every character every meal.

Compare this to Plaza Inn at DL where the lineup is not Back to Back and you probably won't see every one.

Management created this mess and this is the wrong way out of it

 

[ford91exploder]

Wouldn't help. WDW guests have been conditioned to expect seeing every character every meal.

Compare this to Plaza Inn at DL where the lineup is not Back to Back and you probably won't see every one.

Management created this mess and this is the wrong way out of it

What else is new at WDW ? TDO over in their aircondioned offices in Celebration and Burbank create a bad situation then SOLVE it in the most guest unfriendly manner possible. Just see that theme repeated over and over again!

 

[asianway]

What else is new at WDW ? TDO over in their aircondioned offices in Celebration and Burbank create a bad situation then SOLVE it in the most guest unfriendly manner possible. Just see that theme repeated over and over again!

This isn't on any office dwellers, squarely an ops team kerfuffle

 

[po1998]

For the price of a character meal, no perks should be cut. I don't care how long it takes a character to move from one table to another while taking photos and SIGNING autographs.

This is what guests are paying for. Not for the very average food they are served.