How Often Do You Make (or Cancel) ADRs on the Basis of a Specific Menu Item?

[NelleBelle]

Be Our Guest is one where I’m apt to choose atmosphere over food. I’ve read reviews that state the food isn’t as good as it was previously, but I’ve never been. with my mushroom allergy, the vegetarian dish 9/10 has to be modified anyway because there is generally a mushroom in there somewhere. I’m generally fine with whatever they are able to put together in place of the ‘shroom! So hoping this trip will be the year to make into the Beast’s lair for a meal to see if it’s good or meh.

 

[Eric Graham]

Be Our Guest is one where I’m apt to choose atmosphere over food. I’ve read reviews that state the food isn’t as good as it was previously, but I’ve never been. with my mushroom allergy, the vegetarian dish 9/10 has to be modified anyway because there is generally a mushroom in there somewhere. I’m generally fine with whatever they are able to put together in place of the ‘shroom! So hoping this trip will be the year to make into the Beast’s lair for a meal to see if it’s good or meh.

The atmosphere is beautiful though. You should definitely put it on your list of places to go! Sorry about your allergy.

 

[NelleBelle]

The atmosphere is beautiful though. You should definitely put it on your list of places to go! Sorry about your allergy.

Definitely on the list, hoping for maybe our first night there after some pool time. Mushrooms are no big loss (although would be quite devastating to my DH )

 

[LeighM]

Be Our Guest is one where I’m apt to choose atmosphere over food. I’ve read reviews that state the food isn’t as good as it was previously, but I’ve never been. with my mushroom allergy, the vegetarian dish 9/10 has to be modified anyway because there is generally a mushroom in there somewhere. I’m generally fine with whatever they are able to put together in place of the ‘shroom! So hoping this trip will be the year to make into the Beast’s lair for a meal to see if it’s good or meh.

If it was my first time at Be Our Guest, I would probably go there at least once despite the menu. But I've been lucky enough to go several times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so no real reason for me to go back for a menu I don't like. I didn't like my breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table but I'm still interested in going for dinner despite the price. I really want to go to Skippers Canteen but I haven't made it yet. And I recently saw they removed the one item I was going to order during our next trip. I have to severely limit my gluten intake and most places don't have GF items that interest me (and I'm also on a low fat diet, which doesn't help) so I have limited options. It broke my heart when I was diagnosed with celiac a few years ago. Thankfully, it's not too severe so I can occasionally have a cheat meal every so often.

 

[happymom25]

Well I just learned of the lobster thermidor burger’s demise when I read your post. I’m super sad and have no desire to go back to GFC. So I guess that answers your question.

 

[Riviera Rita]

No doubt if you asked Disney why they no longer serve certain dishes from their menus they will claim customer complaints about those dishes was the reason.

 

[Weather_Lady]

No doubt if you asked Disney why they no longer serve certain dishes from their menus they will claim customer complaints about those dishes was the reason.

You are right, although I think that strategy will have diminishing returns if they keep using it. The more it happens, the more people realize that Disney is just gaslighting us: "I did the thing that hurt you because you asked me to, remember!?!?"

 

[Doberge]

We book based mostly on convenience and food and less so atmosphere. If we booked more on atmosphere we'd be at T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe for the kids. When booking for food we start with overall recommendations from trusted folks, and that's largely why we haven't yet tried places like Mama Melrose, Plaza, and Tony's Town Square. We do slowly add poorly reviewed restaurants as we can form our own opinions, but we needed to start somewhere.

We don't make decisions on specific dishes, and when making reservations to return we don't reference menus to makes sure certain dishes are still on the menu. That said, we will repeat orders of stuff we like. Prosciutto e melone pizza at Via Napoli, rigatoni at Topolino's, turkey bahn MI at Kona, tiffins bread service, Sanaa bread service, tacos de ribeye at San Angel, and fried chicken at Olivia's.

 

[vikescaper]

Yup, we frequently make reservations based on the menu items. I made reservations for Space 220 but after looking at the menu further, we decided to cancel as we didn’t feel the food was worth the price.

 

[Supertech65]

I love the Grand Floridian Cafe but not for the burger but mainly for the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I hope there never get rid of that. The only reservation I cancelled because of the recent menu change was for the Sci-fi Dine In. Though Im not jazzed about the menu, one thing I loved was the glazed donut with apples and ice cream. Specifically made the reservation just for that dessert but they removed it just prior to our trip

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Our first breakfast is always at CP because I love, love, LOVE Pooh’s puffed French Toast!! If that was removed, that would be it for us…if the Mac & cheese and fried chicken were to be dropped from Chef Art Smith’s, that would be a game changer for us, too.
OP, just because a dish is off the menu, ASK!!
IMHO, the BEST breakfast meal on property was King Triton’s Shipwreck Al Forno, a breakfast calzone that was on the menu at Trattoria Al Forno…post pandemic, when they dropped the characters, the item disappeared…I was DEVASTATED!
We were staying at the BW and happened to see the restaurant manager standing outside and asked him why it was dropped. He said he wasn’t sure, but we can order even though it’s no longer on the menu!! We immediately made reservations and I asked VERY nicely, the chef was kind enough to make it and IT WAS THE BEST!!! Don’t give up hope!! Stop by there and ask!! If they can make it, make reservations and don’t forget the email to guest relations with compliments to the staff!! Good luck! The worst they can say is no… but you won’t know that if you don’t ask…

 

[Club Cooloholic]

This is just a light-hearted curiosity question. Yesterday, I realized that with the recent departure of the Lobster Thermidor Burger from the menus at the Grand Floridian Cafe, I was no longer interested in eating there at all. It occurs to me that in many cases, my family's ADR choices are made based on their love of (or curiosity about) a particular dish, such that they'd rather go somewhere else if it's no longer offered.

For example, Skipper Canteen lost all appeal for us when the whole fried fish and seafood stew were removed from the menu as part of an overall dumbing-down/blandifying regime. Our tradition of having dinner at 'Ohana on the last night of every Disney vacation - something we'd done for years - was abandoned forever with the loss of meat skewers (and for a time, their signature noodles) during the COVID era. On the other hand, we return to Yak & Yeti time and time again, because my son is in love with the Bhaktapur duck and my husband and I have developed an addiction to their Ahi Tuna Nachos: we'd never feel the same if those items disappeared. The pull of an Irish egg will bring us all the way to Raglan Road, even if we had no plans to go to Disney Springs otherwise.

Are we just oddly fixated on particular foods, or is this something others do, too? What's the "dealbreaker" menu item that brings you back to a particular restaurant, that might cause you to go elsewhere if it went away?

I get it(and agree about Skippers, that whole fish was a big pull). For us, we always go back to the Brown Derby for the Cobb salad.

 

[LeighM]

We book based mostly on convenience and food and less so atmosphere. If we booked more on atmosphere we'd be at T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe for the kids. When booking for food we start with overall recommendations from trusted folks, and that's largely why we haven't yet tried places like Mama Melrose, Plaza, and Tony's Town Square. We do slowly add poorly reviewed restaurants as we can form our own opinions, but we needed to start somewhere.

We don't make decisions on specific dishes, and when making reservations to return we don't reference menus to makes sure certain dishes are still on the menu. That said, we will repeat orders of stuff we like. Prosciutto e melone pizza at Via Napoli, rigatoni at Topolino's, turkey bahn MI at Kona, tiffins bread service, Sanaa bread service, tacos de ribeye at San Angel, and fried chicken at Olivia's.

Back in 2019, we had breakfast at The Plaza and really enjoyed it. We had a view of the castle and it was just really nice. It's hard to mess up breakfast though Everything was cooked and seasoned well. The staff was great. We would definitely book there for breakfast again (if/when its added back to the schedule) because it was a lot more affordable than Be Our Guest and Crystal Palace.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Be Our Guest is one where I’m apt to choose atmosphere over food. I’ve read reviews that state the food isn’t as good as it was previously, but I’ve never been. with my mushroom allergy, the vegetarian dish 9/10 has to be modified anyway because there is generally a mushroom in there somewhere. I’m generally fine with whatever they are able to put together in place of the ‘shroom! So hoping this trip will be the year to make into the Beast’s lair for a meal to see if it’s good or meh.

You are correct…BoG is one of those restaurants like CRT & Chef Mickey’s $ T-Rex…atmosphere over the meal since it opened, we ate at BoG 3 times. When it first opened, all 4 of us thoroughly enjoyed it; atmosphere AND food…unfortunately, the menu changed and the quality diminished as well. The last time was about 10 years ago because we were with friends who wanted to take their daughters. Same with CRT…once for breakfast and once for dinner. Great atmosphere, meh food and out of control prices…

 

[NelleBelle]

You are correct…BoG is one of those restaurants like CRT & Chef Mickey’s $ T-Rex…atmosphere over the meal since it opened, we ate at BoG 3 times. When it first opened, all 4 of us thoroughly enjoyed it; atmosphere AND food…unfortunately, the menu changed and the quality diminished as well. The last time was about 10 years ago because we were with friends who wanted to take their daughters. Same with CRT…once for breakfast and once for dinner. Great atmosphere, meh food and out of control prices…

Yeah, not real thrilled about the menu prices but figure better do this while it’s just my mom and me (and not my teen boys or DH with me)!Dh would be ok with dining at BoG or CRT but my boys definitely would NOT!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Yeah, not real thrilled about the menu prices but figure better do this while it’s just my mom and me (and not my teen boys or DH with me)!Dh would be ok with dining at BoG or CRT but my boys definitely would NOT!

Yes if you go with that mindset, expect the worst and hope for the best, you just may be pleasantly surprised…when/if you go, get the reservation in the rose gallery room…best ambiance out of the three rooms and be sure to order the “grey stuff” for dessert!
At the very least, experience it once!

 

[LeighM]

Yes if you go with that mindset, expect the worst and hope for the best, you just may be pleasantly surprised…when/if you go, get the reservation in the rose gallery room…best ambiance out of the three rooms and be sure to order the “grey stuff” for dessert!
At the very least, experience it once!

The Rose Gallery is also the quietest of the 3 rooms lol. When we had breakfast and lunch there, we would look for a table there in the corner. It made for really relaxing dining. The ballroom is definitely the prettiest especially if you get a table by the windows but sound really echoes in that room. The West Wing was really cool and a great atmosphere but I didn't like people hovering by my table to get pictures of the rose or portrait.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Our first breakfast is always at CP because I love, love, LOVE Pooh’s puffed French Toast!! If that was removed, that would be it for us…if the Mac & cheese and fried chicken were to be dropped from Chef Art Smith’s, that would be a game changer for us, too.
OP, just because a dish is off the menu, ASK!!
IMHO, the BEST breakfast meal on property was King Triton’s Shipwreck Al Forno, a breakfast calzone that was on the menu at Trattoria Al Forno…post pandemic, when they dropped the characters, the item disappeared…I was DEVASTATED!
We were staying at the BW and happened to see the restaurant manager standing outside and asked him why it was dropped. He said he wasn’t sure, but we can order even though it’s no longer on the menu!! We immediately made reservations and I asked VERY nicely, the chef was kind enough to make it and IT WAS THE BEST!!! Don’t give up hope!! Stop by there and ask!! If they can make it, make reservations and don’t forget the email to guest relations with compliments to the staff!! Good luck! The worst they can say is no… but you won’t know that if you don’t ask…

For those who care, my good friend is there with his family now, had breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno this morning,took my advice, asked AND ordered the breakfast calzone…I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

 

[Phonedave]

Having spoken to a few different waiters, they said it was the most ordered dished and they have no clue why it was off the menu.... Happened during covid,.... Booooooo

Maybe price point and availability? I was just up in Wood's Hole / Martha's Vineyard this weekend. I talked with quite a few people about seafood in general and lobster in specific. The lobster catch in and around the Cape Cod area is WAY down. Meanwhile the lobster population is going gangbusters up around the northern coast of Nova Scotia. Water temps are changing and driving the lobsters further north, and changing the pricing. I had some really good lobster this weekend, but it was a higher than normal price.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

For those who care, my good friend is there with his family now, had breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno this morning,took my advice, asked AND ordered the breakfast calzone…I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

I got heartburn just looking at those photos.