New Enhancements, Dining Options Coming to Disney’s BoardWalk

monothingie

monothingie

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Premium Member
lentesta said:
Went yesterday around 4:30. There was no line - I walked in, no wait, ordered, and went outside to eat.
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Not a good indication.

Terrible strategic move to release the menu pricing ahead of time like they did. The negative word of mouth, social media buzz, and legacy media press may have likely doomed this place, even if the product they put out is solid.
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Indy_UK said:
They'll have an initial rush because its new and will probably close down in a years time.

This is the NBA Experience of Cakes at Disney
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Here are both:
Fail San Antonio Spurs GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
 
Indy_UK

Indy_UK

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
Not a good indication.

Terrible strategic move to release the menu pricing ahead of time like they did. The negative word of mouth, social media buzz, and legacy media press may have likely doomed this place, even if the product they put out is solid.
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No idea how true but apparently they reduced the pricing on quite a few items because Disney got onto them for overcharging.

Now that would be something.....
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Indy_UK said:
Agreed but if Disney really did tell them to drop the prices then that is the highest order of 'Pot calling the kettle black'
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Disney does not price gouge to this level. There's expected theme park pricing mark-up (that every theme park is guilty of, many to a worse degree than Disney, honestly), but this goes beyond the pale. It feels strongly of, "this is fancy because we say it is," which certainly works for some people, but I question the long-term viability.
 
LSLS

LSLS

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
Since it's a third party restaurant, profit isn't their concern, but the reputational damage caused by the negative PR is.
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That's the thing. We always hear about how those of us on here are not a majority so our opinions don't matter. So, to turn it a bit, how many people that visit Disney will know this is not a Disney run restaurant? A lot here think this will be a huge fail at the Boardwalk, but it could step further and hurt Disney as well.
 
monothingie

monothingie

The Most Positive Member on the Forum ™
Premium Member
LSLS said:
That's the thing. We always hear about how those of us on here are not a majority so our opinions don't matter. So, to turn it a bit, how many people that visit Disney will know this is not a Disney run restaurant? A lot here think this will be a huge fail at the Boardwalk, but it could step further and hurt Disney as well.
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It’s open season for Disney in the legacy media. These type of occurrences just help feed that.

You can see the net effect with lower attendance and negative word of mouth.
 
Trueblood

Trueblood

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
Both the cakes were baked very well. Tasty vanilla sponge. Buttercream icings were generous and uniform. Nothing too sweet. Slices big enough for two people. Technically very solid bakes, done by professionals.
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I could see splitting a slice of the Raspberry Champagne Cake since they're big enough.

The Cake Bake Shop's other locations have an afternoon tea, which I'm frankly more interested in. The other locations are in the $65/adult range for afternoon tea, which is more or less what you would pay at one of the luxury hotels around me.

The Garden View tea room in The Grand used to be great, then it wasn't, then it was slightly better, then it closed.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

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I think the biggest issue for cake Bake Shop, beyond the pricing, is during the daytime. Despite its location by EPCOT, it has been proven by every other restaurant that has tried to make it on the BoardWalk, that most EPCOT guests are not willing to leave the park to go there.
 
Trueblood

Trueblood

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
Agreed. It was better than a lot of tea service I've been to in the US.

Harrods is the best tea service I've ever had, hands down.
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I'm disappointed at how quickly and dramatically Garden View went downhill. It used to be loose teas, served by tea masters, with sweet and savory courses. Then it became Twinings, cut fruit, and scones. I had high hopes when Scott Hunnell took over the entire resort, but alas.

Looking at the Harrods tea menu, I can see why you feel that way. I would absolutely drop £75 (~$98) for that experience.
 
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monothingie

monothingie

The Most Positive Member on the Forum ™
Premium Member
wdwmagic said:
I think the biggest issue for cake Bake Shop, beyond the pricing, is during the daytime. Despite its location by EPCOT, it has been proven by every other restaurant that has tried to make it on the BoardWalk, that most EPCOT guests are not willing to leave the park to go there.
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Which is a shame because the Boardwalk offers a great venue for shopping, dining, and entertainment.

I think the major problem is that it is everything closes at 10, so with the exception of the bars and Jelly Rolls, there is little reason to go there.

But in fairness I wonder how many of the MK monorail resorts draw their guests from the park as well?
 
RememberWhen

RememberWhen

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
Went yesterday around 4:30. There was no line - I walked in, no wait, ordered, and went outside to eat.

As a unit of measure, my place in Manhattan is a couple blocks from a Magnolia Bakery, with $10 slices, and I'm within walking distance there of probably half a dozen excellent pastry places. The best cake place I've ever been to is probably Maxie B's in North Carolina. You'd hip-check meemaw for a slice, which currently runs around $9.

I got the Birthday Cake ($23), the Raspberry Champagne Cake ($23), and a decaf Americano ($6), which was ~$55 with tax and excluding gratuity.

Both the cakes were baked very well. Tasty vanilla sponge. Buttercream icings were generous and uniform. Nothing too sweet. Slices big enough for two people. Technically very solid bakes, done by professionals.

I ended up with an espresso instead of an Americano, but hey, everyone has a first day on the new coffee machine.

"Birthday" is my favorite cake flavor, so I tried this one first. Again, technically this cake is well done. I just can't see paying $23 for it. And that's because you can't make a big-enough jump in quality from Magnolia or Maxie B's to justify the price difference. The $10 slices are already at 80-90% of everything you want in cake. There's just not that much to improve on in the "vanilla cake" category.

The Raspberry Champagne Cake is something special. They soak the sponge in champagne syrup. And they mix a delightful raspberry jam between layers. I wish I had more of that. Really good cake. Didn't eat all of the icing around the sides and top - there was a lot. But over tea and dinner, yeah, finished that slice of cake. I'm not going to go out of my way to pay $23 for cake, but if I did, I'd order that again.

I think the challenge for Cake Bake Shop is that everything they serve at those prices has to have that kind of 'wow' moment. And as I said with the Birthday Cake, that's really hard with cake.
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Well, I’ll say this makes me slightly more inclined to consider stopping by for a slice to share on our upcoming December trip. Assuming there’s no line when we’re walking by. And the kids aren’t cranky from 10 miles of walking.
If we can grab a slice on the way to our room at Boardwalk and split it up then maybe.
As a BWV person I’d so love to see a reasonably priced place to grab regular food. Not fancy cake or fancy fish or fancy corndogs. Maybe they’ll do something down the other end in a couple years…
 

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