New Enhancements, Dining Options Coming to Disney’s BoardWalk

[DCBaker]

Trattoria al Forno and the Pizza Window will be closed for refurbishment from June 11-17, 2023

The refurbishment at Trattoria al Forno has been extended until late June 2023.

"Please note: Trattoria al Forno will be closed from June 11 to late June 2023 as it undergoes refurbishment. No dinner offerings will be available. However, Trattoria al Forno will provide a limited breakfast menu during those dates, with Guests who book breakfast being directed to dine in the Flying Fish dining room."

 

[castlecake2.0]

I see the latest "enhancement" is that the BoardWalk Pizza Window no longer lets you order a full pizza nor do they have a specialty pizza. Now you can just order a $10 slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza. Someone must have realized ordering a whole pizza was one of the last remaining good values at WDW. Can't have that.

I spoke with cast there, they said they the window couldn’t keep up with the demand and at night they’d regularly get up to 1-2 hour waits for whole pizzas and guests were getting angry so they switched to only offering slices (which is a quarter pizza) in an effort to reduce wait times. They said they were looking into ways to install more ovens but no timeline.

This just circles back to why the bake shop should have become a fast/casual QSR for echo lake instead. The bakery is woefully undersized for the volume it does, ice cream parlor is way too big, and half the stalls on the boardwalk are still closed. The food offerings here really are a mess.

 

[castlecake2.0]

While I don’t agree with this change, they probably did it primarily so they could more consistently have slices. There was almost always a wait.

This was why

 

[Smiley/OCD]

This looks like a nursing home dining room. Seriously.

Not a Medicaid nursing home…lol

 

[Ralph Pootawn]

It is all misses with an occasional hit... I like the chandelier, but the overall has all the character and charm of a Fairfield Inn Breakfast bar...
Why do they continue to downgrade the theme of these premium resorts? Yes it is new and looks modern, but it is supposed to be a seaside hotel in the 1940s. Disney used to really understand theme...and it was the theme decor and location that justified the popularity and price... Not sure why they cannot seem continue updates and refresh without throwing the style out the window....and doing the lazy Marriott Motel playbook.

Because the newer Imagineers were hired from Marriott and vegas hotels, plus its cheaper to use the same materials every other hotel is using rather than creating custom pieces. Plus Millenials seem to like the bland gray everything aesthetic.

 

[mattpeto]

It sure feels like Cake Bake Shop won’t make the 2023 timeframe. They don’t have walls yet.

 

[FoodRockz]

Not a Medicaid nursing home…lol

Nope, definitely not. Straight private pay, perhaps.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

Plus Millenials seem to like the bland gray everything aesthetic.

Man, I really wish people would stop blaming everything on Millennials. The average age of Millennials are in their 30s now. At 38, I absolutely hate how every refresh (even outside of Disney) is cookie cutter bland now. Companies used to have their own individual identities and aesthetics. Not anymore. I don't know who enjoys these refurbs, but it's not Millennials. At least not all of us. Why doesn't anyone ever point fingers at Gen Z?

 

[dreday3]

Because the newer Imagineers were hired from Marriott and vegas hotels, plus its cheaper to use the same materials every other hotel is using rather than creating custom pieces. Plus Millenials seem to like the bland gray everything aesthetic.

Man, I really wish people would stop blaming everything on Millennials. The average age of Millennials are in their 30s now. At 38, I absolutely hate how every refresh (even outside of Disney) is cookie cutter bland now. Companies used to have their own individual identities and aesthetics. Not anymore. I don't know who enjoys these refurbs, but it's not Millennials. At least not all of us. Why doesn't anyone ever point fingers at Gen Z?

I'm Gen-X and I love the new looks of the hotels. Contemporary being my least favorite, but the rest look great!

(Now our place is very colorful and a lot of original art pieces I buy off artists on etsy!)

 

[Ayla]

Man, I really wish people would stop blaming everything on Millennials. The average age of Millennials are in their 30s now. At 38, I absolutely hate how every refresh (even outside of Disney) is cookie cutter bland now. Companies used to have their own individual identities and aesthetics. Not anymore. I don't know who enjoys these refurbs, but it's not Millennials. At least not all of us. Why doesn't anyone ever point fingers at Gen Z?

Because Gen Z aren't the ones making the decisions.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Because Gen Z aren't the ones making the decisions.

Neither are Millennials. It’s boomers, and Gen X’ers. always has been.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Millennials need to rizz up for their lack of drip. No cap.

 

[Ayla]

Neither are Millennials. It’s boomers, and Gen X’ers. always has been.

You think Boomers are still working? lol The majority of them aren't. The eldest Millenials are in their early 40's...I'd expect by that age, they are well ingratiated in Disney design teams.

 

[UNCgolf]

You think Boomers are still working? lol The majority of them aren't. The eldest Millenials are in their early 40's...I'd expect by that age, they are well ingratiated in Disney design teams.

The youngest Boomers are in their (very) late 50s. There could be a few millennials making final decisions, but they'd be a small minority. It's mainly Gen X and younger Boomers.

 

[Ayla]

The youngest Boomers are in their (very) late 50s. There could be a few millennials making final decisions, but they'd be a small minority. It's mainly Gen X and younger Boomers.

True boomers are 69-77. I doubt too many of them are heading up design teams.

 

[MisterPenguin]

 

[Smiley/OCD]

View attachment 724783

Yup…I was born in ‘64…@Ayla already called me a poseur boomer…

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

I'm Gen-X and I love the new looks of the hotels. Contemporary being my least favorite, but the rest look great!

My husband is also Gen X (he's on the brink of Gen X and Millennial being born in 1981...depends on the graph where he falls) and mostly likes the aesthetic. He doesn't really understand my problem with it. So maybe it's more of a Gen X thing.

In response to the now ongoing generation discussion...my point was it seems to me people tend to associate Millennials with online Tik Tok influencing 20-somethings. Nothing ever comes up about Gen Z. But I wholeheartedly agree it's mostly now Gen X and still some Boomers calling the shots. For the most part people my age are certainly not in the higher positions that are able to make final decisions.

 

[dreday3]

My husband is also Gen X (he's on the brink of Gen X and Millennial being born in 1981...depends on the graph where he falls) and mostly likes the aesthetic. He doesn't really understand my problem with it. So maybe it's more of a Gen X thing.

In response to the now ongoing generation discussion...my point was it seems to me people tend to associate Millennials with online Tik Tok influencing 20-somethings. Nothing ever comes up about Gen Z. But I wholeheartedly agree it's mostly now Gen X and still some Boomers calling the shots. For the most part people my age are certainly not in the higher positions that are able to make final decisions.

I mean, Millennials are in their early 40s at this point and Gen-X - the last of us - is about to turn 50 or close to it.

I sure hope Millennials are at this point in the positions that make management decisions or something is very wrong there. Heck, I think Michael Eisner was around 42 when he was CEO of Disney? If I'm wrong, I imagine I will be corrected shortly.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

I mean, Millennials are in their early 40s at this point and Gen-X - the last of us - is about to turn 50 or close to it.

I sure hope Millennials are at this point in the positions that make management decisions or something is very wrong there. Heck, I think Michael Eisner was around 42 when he was CEO of Disney? If I'm wrong, I imagine I will be corrected shortly.

*Some* Millennials are in their early 40s. But the majority of us are in our 30s.

From my experience (granted, it's not much) people my age are not higher level executives. Managers, maybe. But lower level. The older generations are putting off retirement longer. I work at a nationwide corporate bank and mortgage company. There are several levels of management. Upper management (the decision makers) are in their 50s and 60s. MAYBE late 40s at best. Millennials also have the added challenge of fighting the stigmas of being "entitled and lazy", which makes it even harder to move up the corporate ladder.
Eisner became Disney CEO in 1984. Times were very much different in every way. I'd say he was also an exception seeing as he was already in higher level positions prior to becoming Disney CEO. There's always those exceptions that break into upper management at younger ages through luck or connections or what have you. But for the most part, I'd be shocked if Millennials were the ones making the big decisions because that is not what I'm seeing where I work or with my school peers who are now working outside of our smaller community.