Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
p e w t e r p l a t e s
And $6.95 for kid's Prime Rib! That's from 1987. With inflation? $15.69
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Dining with characters is done
- Thread starter Ronnie Sanford
- Start date
p e w t e r p l a t e s
And $6.95 for kid's Prime Rib! That's from 1987. With inflation? $15.69
hyperflame
New Member
That hurts a lot of restaurants - I saw Akershus being mentioned which I agree with; very few people want a Norwegian breakfast without meeting a Princess. Without characters all the buffet style restaurants are pointless to me - I didn't like the buffet at Tusker House nor Crystal Palace, but the Donald Duck/Winnie the Pooh pictures got me to open my wallet.
Tusker house is good, IMO. It's basically Boma with characters.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
There was no breakfast at Akershus before the Princesses came.
And besides the cold buffet, there's nothing really Norwegian about the breakfast they serve there.
hyperflame
New Member
Perhaps I went on the wrong day, but I felt Tusker House did not do the African cuisine justice. I love all the AKL restaurants; Boma, Sanaa and Jiko; I felt Tusker House went deeper on the Indian side of African/Indian fusion: curries, naan, etc. It's still good food, but I have good Indian restaurants local to me - I don't need to fly to Disney World to get good Indian food. But I still left happy with my Tusker House experience because the family got a picture with Donald Duck and his pals. Without Donald, I don't know if I can justify a Tusker House visit.
Now you're getting me hungry for some south african BBQ from AK
Perhaps I went on the wrong day, but I felt Tusker House did not do the African cuisine justice. I love all the AKL restaurants; Boma, Sanaa and Jiko; I felt Tusker House went deeper on the Indian side of African/Indian fusion: curries, naan, etc. It's still good food, but I have good Indian restaurants local to me - I don't need to fly to Disney World to get good Indian food. But I still left happy with my Tusker House experience because the family got a picture with Donald Duck and his pals. Without Donald, I don't know if I can justify a Tusker House visit.
Now you're getting me hungry for some south african BBQ from AK
Fair enough. Last time I went I really enjoyed the food, and found it very similar to Boma. Obviously the characters were a major plus. I think it's a lot better than Crystal Palace for example.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I haven’t been since the characters but I too thought the food at Tusker House was very good and similar to Boma.
You’d still have meet n greets in more suitable environments. The restaurants would survive just fine, as they used to. Not that this is likely to be long term.
floydbeatle
Active Member
My family and I are not big character dining people primarily due to the cost, although, we do enjoy one per vacation. I don't think I am going out on a limb by speculating that Disney will use this opportunity to relook its business model and cut costs where they can. I don't know what it costs Disney for character dining, but I suspect that there will be changes once things "normalize" that will be in Disney's best interest and at the expense of the guest experience. Whether that it higher costs or less characters I don't know. I just don't have high hopes that the guest will benefit significantly over Disney's bottom line.
They were open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and always a hard reservation to come by. Before the characters you could walk up and get a table without a reservation.
Prototype82
Well-Known Member
There is just too much money in it. However, it would be wonderful to have Akershus back.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Invasion=characters and they weren’t open for breakfast prior
Disney Crazed
Active Member
With my family having 3 kiddos including me ages 13, 10, and 8 and on the dining plan almost every vacation I have been on to WDW we love the character dining. Not only for me and my younger sisters but my mom and dad just likes to see the smiles on our faces as the characters go by and meet us and get pictures. I hope that it comes back at some point even if it is done different. I love seeing the characters.
tissandtully
Well-Known Member
Not true, who do you think is gonna be serving you the food at the new buffets?
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
#thanksChappie
AugieMorosco
Well-Known Member
I don't think it should be viewed in isolation. Character dining may be one of the most desirable parts of a trip for many people. It's a huge part of the magic. Losing it permanently chips away at demand for WDW. I don't think you can look solely at the cost/expense of an offering; you have to view it in the context of the larger experience. All entertainment offerings are in the same boat. Parades are a great example. They're a lot of effort and bring in almost no direct revenue, but without them, WDW isn't the same.
That said, I also think it's financially beneficial to keep character dining. They won't be able to charge half of what they do for Chef Mickeys, Hollywood & Vine, Crystal Palace, or any other character dining with subpar buffet food.
Character meals are worth the price if you consider the alternative to being waited on in air conditioning and meeting several characters during that meal: Namely, waiting in many lines in the Florida heat totaling several hours of one's life and missing out on rides in the process. Of course, that's only if one wants to meet characters in the first place.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Trust me, I was named after the backup airport.