Disney's "Whispering Canyon Cafe" at WDW's Wilderness Lodge

[NADisney]

Begining Dec. the 5th thru Dec. 11th , me and my partner went to WDW for an early Christmas getaway before the big rush. On our last night at the resort, we decided to have a nice dinner at Disney's Wilderness Lodge "Whispering Canyon Cafe". After being seated at our table in the corner of the main room ,our host "Cowboy Rob ' introduced himself very loudly ,we kindly told him since we do not have children he did not have to go into his spiel.
Well after we made our selection ,and the meal arrived at the table .The staff started to play games with the kids in the room , we had no problem with them entertaining the children ,as long as we were left alone to attend with our meal.The staff instead of ignoring us , started calling us names and hitting us with napkins in order to force us into participating with the rest of the crowd. After we kindly refuse , they started once again making fun of us as we dined.
We asked to see the manager , and explained to him that we did not have children ,we did not enjoyed being hit and degraded in front of the room,that all we wanted was to have a nice meal before traveling home in the morning. The manager just sat there with this look on his face like "duh". He explained that there was a sign at the entrence to the eatery saying that they do get loud.
We told him that was no problem for us if the other patrons wanted to participate in there activity, but we should not be degraded because we want to eat instead of playing the games. Again the manager just sat there with this look. We dismissed him at once, payed our bill and left to fine the hotel manger,who replyed that - they have no control of Disney restaurants in the hotels.
We will not be eating there no more ,unless they change the rules.We also sent a bad report to Eisner about the "Bad Magic" experience.

 

[Maria]

:sohappy: well done! I totally agree with you! I have stated that in other posts... I don´t like being "the fun" of others in a restaurant... if other people want to participate and enjoy being so interactive with the waiters, that´s fine with me, but I hate when they get too "friendly" with me. There is a limit for everything and some people just don´t understand it.
I hope you get a nice reply from Mr.Eisner about it.

 

[NowInc]

If only I wasnt so agasint CM abuse...id tell you to smack em...but o well...there are tons of other places you can go and eat...and in my opinion...most of em are better

 

[The Mom]

I agree that you should be warned prior to arriving at the restaurant if it is an audience participation expected sort of place or not. It would depend upon my mood, and also the people I'm with. If I were with a large group. I wouldn't mind. If I were alone with my husband or wanted a quiet evening, I would be upset. NowInc is right; there are better places to eat.

 

[disneycentral]

I respectfully disagree

Going to Whispering Canyon, or 50's Prime Time Cafe for that matter, and expecting a nice, quiet meal is like going on Splash Mountain and getting mad because you get wet. Disney features more than 75 sit down restaurants in the Disney World complex. Out of all of those, I know of only 3 that require some sort of participation in addition to eating and paying the bill. You can't even walk through the lobby without hearing the noise coming from Whispering Canyon, so don't tell us you didn't know it was coming. Next time, walk down the hall about 10 steps and eat at Artist's Point. The food is infinitesimally better, no one asks you to make a fool of yourself, and the prices aren't very different. When we take our kids to WDW, we always visit Prime Time and Whispering Canyon, because they love it. When we are by ourselves, you can find us at Flying Fish or Spoodles. The CMs may have gone out of their way and were a bit overboard, but that is their job, and that is what people pay for at Whispering Canyon, because it is not the food.

Don't go on the ride if you don't want to get wet.

 

[Maria]

Originally posted by NADisney

we had no problem with them entertaining the children ,as long as we were left alone to attend with our meal.The staff instead of ignoring us , started calling us names and hitting us with napkins in order to force us into participating with the rest of the crowd. After we kindly refuse , they started once again making fun of us as we dined.

Disneycentral,
I think she/he made clear that they had no problem with the noise and environment, they just didn´t want to participate, just observe and eat. I would probably not go and eat there, but if I ever have the mood to do it, I would probably request the same. I would laugh of others who enjoy participating, but I would request just to eat, pay and leave.

I agree Artist Point is a A LOT quieter, and I had dinner there, but you should be respected at all times, and the waiters didn´t respect them specially when they hit them with the napkins! Come on... everything has a limit and if they said "no thank you", the attitude of the waiters was childish and a clear invitation to leave the place immediately.

Just my opinion...

 

[disneycentral]

Point taken...

In theory, you should be able to say "no thank you", and be the end of it. But think about Whispering Canyon. The layout of the restaurant, etc... Everyone is seated in long tables, and food is served family style. You are seated with other families and share food with them. People are singing and "whopin it up". I would have no problem with not participating if you are sitting at your own table, in the corner, then they would have no problem leaving you alone. But, you are in the middle of a larger group. Everyone goes to Whispering Canyon to make noise and eat with their hands. It is in no way a refined, or even nice restaurant. There are so many other choices. I wasn't there, and I don't know what happened, but it can't be that bad. I have been there several times, and there is always someone who doesn't want to participate. The waiter usually tries for a couple of minutes, and then moves on if they see that it isn't working. I have never been there when everyone is participating. If you are a whiner, they tend to bug you more.

Let us know how your complaint goes. I may also complain. Everytime I go on the Haunted Mansion, those guys come up and scare me, or they say spooky things when you enter the expaning room. That ride is totally scary from start to finish, and no matter what I do, I get scared. I just want to go on it and not be scared by anyone or the ride, and just watch others be scared. That would be great. :fork:

 

[tednvon]

WOW.......hard to believe one would go into a Disney restaurant packed with kids and with a bunch of cowboy clad CM,s clunking around on the floor and say " I just want a quiet meal"............I am afraid I agree with the poster who says if you don't want to get wet then stay off the water rides.........or next time go to these boards and ask where you can have a quiet adult meal at Disney.....and don't whine afterwards to the same boards...

 

[NADisney]

Thanks for the reply

I should explain that we made the reservations based on the info given to us at the Disney resort and the Birnbaum's 2002 guide book.

the American Express WDW Guidebook , handed at the resort say's.

Enjoy the taste of regional barbecue in a family-style fun-filled setting.Cusine:American;Meals served:B,L,D
Specialties:All-you-care-to-eat,Canyon skillet featuring wood-smoked barbecued meats,a' la carte selections ect....

Birnbaum's :
This family-friendly restaurant is open for all day dining.(then lists food options).

Neither one of these said they get loud or play games. Family- style means it is for the entire family not a childs restaurant or an adult formal dining. As for family-style "setting" .The decore,layout , or viewing of gardens and such ,to complament the resort is what most guests think of when it comes to Disney dining.

 

[Worldphile]

Originally posted by NADisney
... and left to fine the hotel manger,who replyed that - they have no control of Disney restaurants in the hotels.

WHAT?? Is this true? So then, who IS responsible for the restaurants?

Maybe the second Manager you talked to didn't have direct responsibility for the restaurant, but surely there is someone at the WL who is responsible for what happens at that resort. As a side note, whenever I get the "not my job" spiel from someone, I ask them if they won the lottery this second, who would they call and tell that they were quitting. Then I tell them that I want to talk to that guy/gal.

My opinion on this is that ulitmately, your wishes should have been respected. There are many international guests who stay at Disney that may not be able to read that sign (which is in English I suppose), or maybe they just didn't see it , or just picked the wrong restaurant by accident. Should those people have to pay to suffer through an unpleasant meal? Once you made your wishes known to the waiter, they should have been respected. That is just plain and simple common courtesy.