Disneyland and Disney World lay off 28,000 employees amid pandemic struggles - OCR/SCNG

TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
George Lucas on a Bench said:
At least DLR's restaurants are mostly set up for outdoor dining in these Covidian times for when they reopen in 5 years.
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Yes. Although there's a few key ones that may never reopen again without killing people;

The Blue Bayou
Club 33
Carthay Circle

Plus a few that will be severely limited since their outdoor patio was less than half their dining space;

Lasseter's Lamplight Lounge
The Plaza Inn
Flo's V8 Cafe
Fiddler Fifer & Practical Cafe
 
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thomas998

Well-Known Member
Jefro said:
It's hard to imagine there is much hope of the opening happening at this point in the story. 7 months of paying benefits of some kind just isn't tenable, in terms of financial hit, without having to make cuts at some point. Makes me wonder what the financial situation of the AP refunds will be if this continues (I know we are due over $2400 come the middle of October).

So bummed for the CMs - here's hoping this will move the process forward.
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I wouldn't be surprised if Disney didn't have to refund anything on the AP's. I think the pandemic and the decision of the state of California to forbid amusement parks from opening would probably let Disney off the hook as it would all fall under and act of god clause in the ticket and not be anything they would have to refund and would only make a refund if they thought it was good PR for them... But if they are being closed indefinitely as they appear to be, why would they care about PR good or bad. At this point they don't really exist.
 
MarvelCharacterNerd

MarvelCharacterNerd

Well-Known Member
DavidDL said:
I know that Disney World has some incredible food options but I feel like I generally prefer the "in-park" food at Disneyland. They'd really come a long way over the years at making each location something unique and yummy, so much so that I have a hard time choosing just one or two to enjoy for the day while I'm there.

I think for Disneyland, it's an issue of something they had to do. Why would park-goers want to pay Disney prices for the same crappy burger and fries at multiple locations when there's a McDonalds (-and lots of other options) in literal walking distance? So they upped their food game. In general (again, I know there are exceptions) I felt the same couldn't be said for our in-park experiences in WDW. Once you're in one of those parks, they know they've got you locked in. Subjected to whatever they want to put on the menu, unless you want to take the long ride out of the park to a better place to eat which will cost you time.

I've heard WDW hotels have a lot of excellent dining options. -and of course plenty of places in Epcot (even if they're very expensive). But for the most part, I was un-impressed with WDW's quick service options.

One major fear I have when and if Disneyland does re-open, is the slashed budget they might have for food to try and save money. I sure hope the offerings don't suffer or revert back too many years.
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As someone who (until March at least), ate regularly at DLR, so I know where to go and what to eat there, I'd say that the best of the food choices at WDW totally beat those at DLR. When I think of best Disney places to eat - for food as well as theming - I give the nod to WDW.

Blue Bayou may be the best themed restaurant out of both coasts for the excitement of eating within a beloved attraction, but Be Our Guest and Cinderella's Castle are nearly as exquisite - and frankly far nicer restaurants. But for food I like BOG quick service lunch (when it had one) best of the three locations/meal offerings.

I LOVE getting a bread bowl on the pier at DCA, but I'd rather be sitting eating a sandwich on the second floor of Columbia Harbour House looking out at the crowds passing by.

I love beignets at the Mint Julep Bar, but I'd take a Cheshire Cat Tail at Cheshire Cafe or Mickey cinnamon bun at Main Street Bakery in a heartbeat instead.

I was unimpressed by Steakhouse 55, but Le Cellier is a can't miss (though granted it wasn't as good my last visit as previous visits).

I love Goofy's Kitchen but prefer a character meal at 1900 Park Faire.

I like some of the sandwiches at Jolly Holiday Bakery, but I'd much rather eat at Les Halles.

I love a CrazyShake at Black Tap but it isn't in the same galaxy as Beaches & Cream.

And so on.

I do love food at DLR, but I love food more at WDW.
 
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cmwade77

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Yes. Although there's a few key ones that may never reopen again without killing people;

The Blue Bayou
Club 33
Carthay Circle

Plus a few that will be severely limited since their outdoor patio was less than half their dining space;

Lasseter's Lamplight Lounge
The Plaza Inn
Flo's V8 Cafe
Fiddler Fifer & Practical Cafe
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Cathay Circle actually has a fair amount of outdoor seating, especially with the expanded lounge.

All of lamplight lounge is outdoors by California's definition, except the one hidden table.

Flo's has plenty of.places for.outdoor dining as well.

But since OC is in red tier, indoor dining is allowed.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
cmwade77 said:
Cathay Circle actually has a fair amount of outdoor seating, especially with the expanded lounge.

All of lamplight lounge is outdoors by California's definition, except the one hidden table.

Flo's has plenty of.places for.outdoor dining as well.

But since OC is in red tier, indoor dining is allowed.
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Carthay Circle used half it's outdoor upstairs dining for the Lounge; the west facing dining room patio. Plus the outdoor north facing terrace on the ground floor. The ground floor terrace had 16 seats before Social Distancing, the upstairs Lounge expansion had another 16 seats. After Social Distancing, that's probably about 16 combined seats for the outdoor bar.

20190503_190232_wm-1.jpg


IMG_0307.jpg



The other half of it's outdoor upstairs dining had 14 tables out there on the north facing patio before Social Distancing rules. About 28 seats total, before Social Distancing. After Social Distancing you could have 18 seats at best.

49a3201e065a1f0d2118c3f5cf62047c.jpg


So if I'm doing my math correctly, that's about 16 seats for Outdoor Lounge seating, and 18 seats for Outdoor Dining seating. Plus 50% of the indoor dining capacity if Orange County gets down to the Orange Tier and allows theme parks to reopen.

Those optimistic numbers for reopening Carthay Circle are assuming they don't hold theme park restaurants to a stricter standard than normal restaurants, since theme parks are inherently dirty and over-crowded and must not be allowed to reopen like safer and cleaner businesses such as WalMart or a strip mall Cannabis Shop.

This is not a winning business model for any restauranteur. Especially when you are paying the mortgage and taxes on a facility designed for 100% capacity.
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
GrandCanyonConcourse said:
Does RC have corndog nuggets?
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Even better... corn dog truck across the Main Street! (I’ve actually never tried one but they seem to be a big thing there).

I think both coasts are pretty close to equal. If we are comparing MK to DL than I think DL is the winner but you throw in animal kingdom and Epcot counter service? That starts to tip the scales.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
TrainChasers said:
If we are comparing MK to DL than I think DL is the winner but you throw in animal kingdom and Epcot counter service? That starts to tip the scales.
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Yeah, but it takes like an hour to get there from Magic Kingdom Park to Animal Kingdom Park. And you are subjected to a WDW Bus Driver who will try to entertain you by announcing to the entire bus that "Disney" is going to build it's own airport and then fly nuclear powered airplanes out of it to celebrate the opening of the Fifth Park that only he knows about but is letting you know just as a super secret.

In Anaheim, if you don't like the looks of the line at Plaza Inn you walk 8 minutes south and you can get a proper Manhattan at Carthay Circle. And no bus driver is involved.
 
DavidDL

DavidDL

Well-Known Member
To each their own! Taste is literally a matter of, well, taste. Not something I feel is worth debating and was just pointing out my observation. I will generally agree that WDW excels in some of their larger, dine-in/sit-down options (especially at the hotels and Epcot) but still prefer DLR's quick service. I'll take a Red Wagon corn dog over Casey's Corner, Rancho Del Zocalo over Pecos Bill, burger at Galactic Grill over Cosmic Rays and whatever specialty slice is being served at Alien Pizza Planet over whatever is trying to be passed as pizza over at PizzeRizzo's.

-and for what it's worth, I don't believe that all the WDW parks are just "burgers and fries", just that I feel the overall quality isn't a high across the board. -and while I do love DLR's dine-in options, I won't deny that WDW has us beat (on the whole) in terms of options with so much stuff like Monsieur Paul hanging around. That meal was incredible (-and I got engaged there)!

In any case, I'm really happy to see so many people here have so much to say and love about their parks food, from all sides. Bringing this back to the main point of the discussion and to re-iterate a previous point; I really hope all these layoffs and budget slashings don't send all our favorite food options back to the stone ages and hopefully the quality at both parks doesn't start to suffer too much. We've all got something we love and I'm sure we'd hate to see those options go and get replaced with something basic or repetitive that could be found nearby because of the companies current financial woes. :(

CMs are important in every aspect of the parks and Food and Beverage is no different. When watching videos regarding the different chefs that get moved around between some of Disney's more upscale options or larger restaurants, I was always excited to get to them and try whatever changes those new chefs would bring to the menu. My wife and I enjoyed the Lobster Truffle Mac n' Cheese at Steakhouse 55 which was apparently brought there from Club 33 by the chef who moved locations from one to the other. Sadly, I fear these folks may be on the chopping block with how much they were probably making and will be replaced with folks less experienced or cheaper. At least, that's my fear.
 
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TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Captn EO said:
That is correct. The corn dog nuggets and fry options are awesome. When I went 2 years ago we got "Philly Cheese Steak Fries" and Corn Dog Nuggets. After a week of eating at upscale places it was a really fun meal.
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Fair enough. I’ve never eaten at either just surprised that one was considered better than the other. I’ve enjoyed many hours of Ragtime piano at both!
 
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cmwade77

Well-Known Member
thomas998 said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Disney didn't have to refund anything on the AP's. I think the pandemic and the decision of the state of California to forbid amusement parks from opening would probably let Disney off the hook as it would all fall under and act of god clause in the ticket and not be anything they would have to refund and would only make a refund if they thought it was good PR for them... But if they are being closed indefinitely as they appear to be, why would they care about PR good or bad. At this point they don't really exist.
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TP2000 said:
Carthay Circle used half it's outdoor upstairs dining for the Lounge; the west facing dining room patio. Plus the outdoor north facing terrace on the ground floor. The ground floor terrace had 16 seats before Social Distancing, the upstairs Lounge expansion had another 16 seats. After Social Distancing, that's probably about 16 combined seats for the outdoor bar.

20190503_190232_wm-1.jpg


View attachment 503397


The other half of it's outdoor upstairs dining had 14 tables out there on the north facing patio before Social Distancing rules. About 28 seats total, before Social Distancing. After Social Distancing you could have 18 seats at best.

49a3201e065a1f0d2118c3f5cf62047c.jpg


So if I'm doing my math correctly, that's about 16 seats for Outdoor Lounge seating, and 18 seats for Outdoor Dining seating. Plus 50% of the indoor dining capacity if Orange County gets down to the Orange Tier and allows theme parks to reopen.

Those optimistic numbers for reopening Carthay Circle are assuming they don't hold theme park restaurants to a stricter standard than normal restaurants, since theme parks are inherently dirty and over-crowded and must not be allowed to reopen like safer and cleaner businesses such as WalMart or a strip mall Cannabis Shop.

This is not a winning business model for any restauranteur. Especially when you are paying the mortgage and taxes on a facility designed for 100% capacity.
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Considering Carthay Circle is rarely more than half full anyway (although no reservations available would seem to indicate staffing issues more than anything else), it really wouldn't matter. Luckily in Disney's case, they don't have to pay for rent.
 
C

cmwade77

Well-Known Member
Lilofan said:
Layoffs are speeding up at WDW.
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That one isn't unexpected since they aren't doing baggage service now. Honestly, I am not sure if this is good or bad that the baggage service isn't being included. On the one hand, I really liked being able to fly into MCO and go to my resort without stopping at baggage claim. On the other hand, this now gives me flexibility of other nearby airports that may be smaller and easier to deal with, as one of the biggest advantages of Magical Express is gone.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Carthay Circle used half it's outdoor upstairs dining for the Lounge; the west facing dining room patio. Plus the outdoor north facing terrace on the ground floor. The ground floor terrace had 16 seats before Social Distancing, the upstairs Lounge expansion had another 16 seats. After Social Distancing, that's probably about 16 combined seats for the outdoor bar.

20190503_190232_wm-1.jpg


View attachment 503397


The other half of it's outdoor upstairs dining had 14 tables out there on the north facing patio before Social Distancing rules. About 28 seats total, before Social Distancing. After Social Distancing you could have 18 seats at best.

49a3201e065a1f0d2118c3f5cf62047c.jpg


So if I'm doing my math correctly, that's about 16 seats for Outdoor Lounge seating, and 18 seats for Outdoor Dining seating. Plus 50% of the indoor dining capacity if Orange County gets down to the Orange Tier and allows theme parks to reopen.

Those optimistic numbers for reopening Carthay Circle are assuming they don't hold theme park restaurants to a stricter standard than normal restaurants, since theme parks are inherently dirty and over-crowded and must not be allowed to reopen like safer and cleaner businesses such as WalMart or a strip mall Cannabis Shop.

This is not a winning business model for any restauranteur. Especially when you are paying the mortgage and taxes on a facility designed for 100% capacity.
Click to expand...


Why have I never had a lovely lunch on that balcony?
 

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