Restaurant cutbacks/changes...

[tdpolo26]

Based on conversations I have had with a couple of the third party restaurant owners, this is incorrect.

Disney basically pays a restaurant a flat fee for a table service DDP meal. That flat fee becomes the ceiling for what a restaurant can offer. Richard Debler, the owner of La Hacienda and San Angel, tole me exactly that. He stated that they really cant put anything better than a small, low quality NY Strip on the menu. A fillet would exceed the ceiling for a 1 credit restaurant.

That leaves them with 2 options. Cut back on the quality or go to signature.

In regards to artificially inflated prices, you need to look no further then the buffets and character meals and how their prices are completely out of control. The price for an adult at Akershus can exceed $55 for dinner. Boma can exceed $42 for an adult for dinner.

You can currently dine on fillet at Jiko for what Akershus would cost you.

Either Jiko is loosing money on every guest, or the buffets prices have been jacked up to easily increase the perceived value of the DDP.

Well very good points.
However how busy would they be I wonder. Plus since my meal is paid for we have drinks with meals where they make plenty of money
If what u r saying is true maybe there needs to be a la cart menu that is not part of ddp....
Oh lastly tell ur friend we love La Hacienda

 

[Master Yoda]

Well very good points.
However how busy would they be I wonder. Plus since my meal is paid for we have drinks with meals where they make plenty of money

You are correct that the DDP does increase business. There is no doubt about that. The point I was making is that the DDP directly effects the quality of what can be served.

Prior to the current form of the DDP a restaurant could put whatever they wanted on the menu and charge accordingly for it. Now they are shoe horned into a maximum cost per meal. Because of this, quality has suffered.

 

[tdpolo26]

You are correct that the DDP does increase business. There is no doubt about that. The point I was making is that the DDP directly effects the quality of what can be served.

Prior to the current form of the DDP a restaurant could put whatever they wanted on the menu and charge accordingly for it. Now they are shoe horned into a maximum cost per meal. Because of this, quality has suffered.

Makes sense...solution might be some off ddp items

 

[flynnibus]

Makes sense...solution might be some off ddp items

It's not really a solution. The DDP user isn't going to pay twice for their meals. They know they have a pre-paid meal, so while they may order some things and pay cash for something extra.. like a drink or dessert.. they aren't going to pay for their entree "again"

 

[Communicore]

I am still ticked that Cosmic's dropped the drumettes. When I was a CM I was the chief drumette cook among other jobs and chances are during summer 1995 if you ordered a drumette I was the one that made it lol

 

[tdpolo26]

It's not really a solution. The DDP user isn't going to pay twice for their meals. They know they have a pre-paid meal, so while they may order some things and pay cash for something extra.. like a drink or dessert.. they aren't going to pay for their entree "again"

I meant for a better cut of steak, the lobster tail, things like that @Master Yoda Was Stating That's Why The Can't Have Nicer Dishes Is Cause DDP Only Gives The So Much money. It's like 2 for 20 at Applebee's if u want the bigger steak u add extra money for it

 

[flynnibus]

I am not totally sure what you are getting at here(not trying to be rude at all) unless you mean why free ddp isn't the deal everyone imagines it is... cause I agree.. but there are many people who pay full price for it with there 10 to 20 percent off room and 5 percent off theme park tickets from a discount site
many people use room rate discount and still eat at restaurants and its cheaper they cut the drink and dessert.. me personally I like going in fall for food and wine and if they are going to throw in some "free food" throw it at me. lol

The restaurant doesn't get to count the guest spending 'elsewhere' on property. It is expected to make it's revenue and margin targets within it's own 'walls'. Recognize many of the resturants are also now 3rd party.. again isolating them from the revenue guests are spending elsewhere.

since the raise the price every year they get there money.... not to mention they are guaranteed the money.... which I am sure is what they want ...plus how many snack credits and other things go unused

Disney is guaranteed the money - the restaurant is not. Instead the restaurant is pretty much guaranteed that the customer will not spend more than XX dollars if they show up. You can't plan a meal targeting $50/head revenue when a huge portion of your customers are DDP and therefore never going to spend more than XX dollars.

 

[Master Yoda]

Makes sense...solution might be some off ddp items

Which is something that I do not see Disney doing any time soon.

As it sits the DDP is brutally simple. You get and entree, desert and non alcoholic beverage. Anything else will be out of pocket.

Even with these simple rules the average guest still does not understand it. How Disney's servers keep their cool with the barrage of stupid questions they get about the DDP is beyond me.

Now imagine adding another wrinkle with entrees they can't get.

 

[tdpolo26]

Which is something that I do not see Disney doing any time soon.

As it sits the DDP is brutally simple. You get and entree, desert and non alcoholic beverage. Anything else will be out of pocket.

Even with these simple rules the average guest still does not understand it. How Disney's servers keep their cool with the barrage of stupid questions they get about the DDP is beyond me.

Now imagine adding another wrinkle with entrees they can't get.

It would be pandemonium

 

[flynnibus]

I meant for a better cut of steak, the lobster tail, things like that @Master Yoda Was Stating That's Why The Can't Have Nicer Dishes Is Cause DDP Only Gives The So Much money. It's like 2 for 20 at Applebee's if u want the bigger steak u add extra money for it

Businesses need scale. If 80% of your customers won't ever order an item because it's not covered on their DDP.. you've now reduced your potential buyers to only 20% of people who come in. Lower volume means even higher cost.. so the item costs you even more, so you have to raise prices more.. further running off customers from ordering it. The restaurant can't afford to keep stocking things that don't sell.. so they drop the item from the menu.

This is the cycle that DDP influences and how it dumbs down menus. It drives up advertised prices (to justify the sold price of the DDP) while limiting the actual revenue the locations take in. It forces restaurants to reduce menus to be able to operate within their revenue caps and hinders non-DDP offerings because of the large attach rate of the program.

 

[Cesar R M]

I am still ticked that Cosmic's dropped the drumettes. When I was a CM I was the chief drumette cook among other jobs and chances are during summer 1995 if you ordered a drumette I was the one that made it lol

I had to google to find what the hell was a "drumette".
and ohh man, big fan of wings.. so bad they were removed

Which is something that I do not see Disney doing any time soon.

As it sits the DDP is brutally simple. You get and entree, desert and non alcoholic beverage. Anything else will be out of pocket.

Even with these simple rules the average guest still does not understand it. How Disney's servers keep their cool with the barrage of stupid questions they get about the DDP is beyond me.

Now imagine adding another wrinkle with entrees they can't get.

the only "solution" I would think is..
a different menu for DDP than one a la Carte.

When they enter the restaurant, they are scanned with their magicbands for "DDP" and give them the correct menu.

------------------------------------

In other news.. the mighty mods have cleaned the thread from the troll.

 

[LAKid53]

Ok, so I am currently at the world and I have had three instances now that have kind of irked me.
First, went to Ohana for dinner
Thursday night and was disappointed about the chicken being absent from the meal. (I was already prepared for this as I had read about it, but it still bothered me!) On a somewhat more positive note though, having the chicken wings still helps a little(a least there is still some chicken)
Ok, moving on to lunch Friday at Le Cellier. My favorite meal in all of WDW was the filet with mushroom risotto. Once again I sat there staring at the menu annoyed at Disney for making these changes. Haha.
Since I HATE the taste of English peas (and that is what they replaced the mushroom risotto with) I was super leery to pay $46 for something I may not like so my husband ordered it and thank goodness he did. I thought it was awful and he loved it. (So nobody take my judgement to heart to much, I seriously loathe peas)
I ended up getting the pasta. It was "meh". So I was pretty disappointed in the whole meal (except for the pretzel bread-delish!)
Ok today, dinner at Rose and Crown. I don't know how many of you guys are big bread eaters, but I almost love the bread before meals as much or more than the actual meal! Ha
Well if you are like me, you will be angry to know they no longer serve their bread anymore. That just did me in!
DISNEY, STOP MESSING WITH OUR FOOD!!!!!!

NO!!!! No bread?!! I was so looking forward to their bread.

Last time we ate at Raglan Road, I had the mushroom risotto - it was very good. Never ate at Le Cellier, so cannot compare.

Yes, I agree, I hate it when they mess with a menu, especially after you've discovered your favorite, salivate until you can get it again, and then.....it's not there any more.

 

[LAKid53]

Just curious, if you are a TiW member, do you have to inform the waiter beforehand?

That's interesting. I'm a TiW card holder, too. I haven't had bad service yet, but then I wait until the bill shows up to tell the server..

 

[LAKid53]

Soooo - nobody eats at Victoria & Albert's? They are Prix Fixe, with "add ons". And they seem to deal very nicely with food allergies .

Chefs de France also has a prix fixe menu, along with al carte. DDP is only the prix fixe.

 

[aladdin2007]

I was unaware of this... an INTELLIGENT solution, and Chefs isn't even classed as a Signature. Tell me - as with many of the Restaurants in World Showcase... is it NON Disney owned?

it is NON Disney managed I believe, like Morocco and Italy (tutto)

 

[LAKid53]

I was unaware of this... an INTELLIGENT solution, and Chefs isn't even classed as a Signature. Tell me - as with many of the Restaurants in World Showcase... is it NON Disney owned?

Probably. Can't see a bunch of snobby Frenchmen allowing Disney to own a French restaurant.....