janoimagine
Well-Known Member
Yes, I always forget about Columbia House, also Sleepy Hollow Refreshments, the Waffle Sandwiches are pretty good.
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Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres
- Thread starter WDW1974
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the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping it will lead to them getting serious about fixing WDSP. The peacemeal approach, like with DCA, is clearly not working. The problem is that this park needs A LOT more money than DCA did.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
That's a good point that I hadn't previously considered.
Food in WDW is expensive. But even more so when compared to the rest of Florida. Food is so cheap in America it is almost free, whereas in the city of Paris they charge you $40 just to look at a menu, through the window, standing outside in the rain. In that light, food in WDW is even more overpriced than you'd think. Namely not just in absolute price, but also relatively.
I blame partly the dining plan, which DLP doesn't have, and which inflates prices to give people a sense of value, and partly the insane pricing level of WDW in general.
articos
Well-Known Member
Think you need to compare quality of the product as well, though. If WDW is charging comparable prices but lessening the cut of meat bought, that definitely factors in. When BoG opened, they were using higher quality cuts, at opening prices. Per what usually happens after the turnover from development to operational teams, the prices go up and the quality came down. There's a drastic difference between BoG at pre-opening/opening and today. But it's what's served to you right now that counts.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
I read about BoG replacing the steak, because the dining planners kept chosing it because it was the most expensive item on the menu, so perceived as best value. (Really people? The best value is the meal you crave at that moment, you silly armchair accounteneers).
In general WDW serves absolute pig fodder. Gross and disgusting.
I don't really do fine dining in a theme park, because, frankly, I think that is a contradiction in terms. But I do love me some theme park fare in a theme park. But even this they can't get right. How can one even manage to mess up a burger with fries? If I let my three year old play with a bun, some slaw, ketchup and a piece of meat she manages to produce a decent burger, every single time.
My hunch is that the BOG diners are the princess crowd who are paying more for the ball room atmosphere than the food. I think @WDW1974 mentioned it in the OP, but they could serve a princess themed pile of garbage for $53.99 and you'd have to be online 180 days out to get a table. For whatever reason, the appetite for candy coated princess crap is insatiable. Disney would be silly not to see how far they can stretch those margins. The rest of us only have a short monorail ride to either Epcot or an MK resort for a real dinner.
To be fair to BoG, I really like the flex dine model for in-park restaurants.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Wow - that's really not good then.
We ate dinner there in mid-November during the soft opening, and found the food then to be only okay. Not nearly as good as The Wave, or Kona Cafe. Heck, it ranked below Cape May Cafe, 'Ohana, and Biergarten.
Four of us ordered steak, and while okay; that's all it was. Dessert was the big let-down. For those prices, I want something better than a cupcake or cream puff.
If prices have gone up and quality has gone down since opening, then you can surely count me out. Probably wouldn't have been able to get ressies anyway, from the sounds of it. On the plus side, two of my favourite TS restaurants are just a monorail ride/brief walk away.
articos
Well-Known Member
To be fair, BoG was never going to be as good as Kona or the decent hotel dining. Too many covers. And you may have gotten a bad meal, as the quality was all over the place for the first several months. I agree with you on the dessert - they were overpriced and underwhelming from the start. I wouldn't say the quality has gone down from "just ok", more from it's gone down from "fine, but nothing extraordinary". But definitely better than now.
articos
Well-Known Member
Exactly. And agreed.
flynnibus
Premium Member
I agree - if we can't get people to visit other parks to wake up to how bad WDW has gotten.. maybe we can get them on a DCL boat once to wake up.
BTW.. I was on the dream and didn't like their onboard stage show of Golden Mickeys at all. So forced, so bland. Contrast that with DCA's Aladdin which I think is a crime if people skip it while visiting DCA.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Still glad we did it. It was exciting to be one of the first to dine in a much-anticipated new venue.
My 9 year old niece loooooooved it.
My 19 year old niece got some of the "grey stuff" in honour of her birthday.
Our server was very earnest, and tried really hard.
The food was by no means bad; just not worth what they were charging. What Disney food is?
We actually had a few disappointing meals this trip. 'Ohana was not up to its usual high standard. I go for the bread, the salad and the dessert, so the fact that virtually everything was cold was no big deal for me. Raglan Road was horrible. Maybe even bad enough to remove it from our list for a long, long time. If our server had ever bothered to return to the table, and the decibel level were not off the charts, I would have sent three of four entrees back. The fish and chips were cold, soggy and inedible and the bread pudding was literally raw. Most disappointing.
Via Napoli and Biergarten were new for us this year and both were outstanding. CRT (breakfast) was great fun as usual. The Wave and Kona (both breakfast and dinner) have never let us down.
With so many great places to eat, I will leave the 180 day ADR fight for BoG for those who haven't tried it.
Not interested in lining up at 10:30 for lunch either. Not with CHH and Sleepy Hollw just around the corner.
Again, glad we tried it, but for us, it's a "one and done".
Let's talk a bit about show quality. It is what set Disney apart and allowed them to claim to be on a different level than anyone else when it's came to theming and show.
Well, right now, WDW is a mixed bag with some improvements, lots of stagnation and some slipping further.
Let's start with the very good. That would be Splash Mountain. The rehab looks fantastic. The attraction looks to be in the best shape it has been in since the 90s. And they aren't ignoring it. On my first ride I noticed two major issues: the projection of B'rer Bear and B'rer Fox chasing B-Rabbit wasn't working and a lantern when you first enter the final scene wasn't lit. Two days later, both had been fixed and remained working into this week.
It was a great job. But Mansion, which also had a great rehab in 2007, is now showing some issues most noticeably are the scrims that are bunched together like you'd tie off a curtain at home. There also continues to be an issue with CMs starting the stretch room before the door closes revealing the entire 'trick' ... And let's not talk about how filthy load looks at night since custodial ignores it until post park close.
Then, we have PoC, which has been a mess since it's quickee Captain Jack add in '06. The projection, which is still Blackbeard, is a messy blur. The mermaids scene never had any projection action in the water. Worse, one night the first Captain Jack AA was bent over dead (looking like he was about to puke). This would be an immediate ride closure in Anaheim. But not in Rubetopia where anything goes. When I informed the CM manning unload his answer was a pithy (in his mind) 'The captain has done a bit too much partying today'
Not acceptable.
Neither was twice having Peoplemover trains bump while trying to get or off. That should never happen and is a safety issue that replacing seating doesn't cover.
Soarin looked slightly less dirty than my last visit.
The big messes continue to be at DAK. Nothing has changed between Disco Yeti, dinos in a warehouse and a safari that has no ending at all since they removed the humping zebras.
Saw Fantastic once and only counted nine show effects not working, three of which are relatively minor. As sad as that sounds, the show is in much better shape than it was in my fall and winter visits.
What's important to note is that show quality didn't seem to be an issue at all at both UNI parks (Spidey had some new little things added recently, including more Stan Lee ... And Seuss Landing is now being painted on an almost nightly basis) SW and BGT.
If Disney wrote the book, then why does it not follow it here? And why do fans justify this (not talking bloggers and lifestyle whores who have a reason for what they say)? How does that help anyone except lousy execs and consultants?
Well, right now, WDW is a mixed bag with some improvements, lots of stagnation and some slipping further.
Let's start with the very good. That would be Splash Mountain. The rehab looks fantastic. The attraction looks to be in the best shape it has been in since the 90s. And they aren't ignoring it. On my first ride I noticed two major issues: the projection of B'rer Bear and B'rer Fox chasing B-Rabbit wasn't working and a lantern when you first enter the final scene wasn't lit. Two days later, both had been fixed and remained working into this week.
It was a great job. But Mansion, which also had a great rehab in 2007, is now showing some issues most noticeably are the scrims that are bunched together like you'd tie off a curtain at home. There also continues to be an issue with CMs starting the stretch room before the door closes revealing the entire 'trick' ... And let's not talk about how filthy load looks at night since custodial ignores it until post park close.
Then, we have PoC, which has been a mess since it's quickee Captain Jack add in '06. The projection, which is still Blackbeard, is a messy blur. The mermaids scene never had any projection action in the water. Worse, one night the first Captain Jack AA was bent over dead (looking like he was about to puke). This would be an immediate ride closure in Anaheim. But not in Rubetopia where anything goes. When I informed the CM manning unload his answer was a pithy (in his mind) 'The captain has done a bit too much partying today'
Not acceptable.
Neither was twice having Peoplemover trains bump while trying to get or off. That should never happen and is a safety issue that replacing seating doesn't cover.
Soarin looked slightly less dirty than my last visit.
The big messes continue to be at DAK. Nothing has changed between Disco Yeti, dinos in a warehouse and a safari that has no ending at all since they removed the humping zebras.
Saw Fantastic once and only counted nine show effects not working, three of which are relatively minor. As sad as that sounds, the show is in much better shape than it was in my fall and winter visits.
What's important to note is that show quality didn't seem to be an issue at all at both UNI parks (Spidey had some new little things added recently, including more Stan Lee ... And Seuss Landing is now being painted on an almost nightly basis) SW and BGT.
If Disney wrote the book, then why does it not follow it here? And why do fans justify this (not talking bloggers and lifestyle whores who have a reason for what they say)? How does that help anyone except lousy execs and consultants?
I had one of my best Disney trips in recent memory, although I think the person I was with had a lot to do with that. So did staying at my second favorite WDW resort ... and spending lots of time at the resort pool and water parks ... and doing special things like the Wild Africa Trek and touring the lounge at The Seas.
As to the Tangled toilets, they are nice enough on their own. BUT just dropped into MK they clash terribly with both Liberty Square as well as the tournament tent style of surrounding Fantasyland. They are a mess where they are and stick out like a toon tower would in my 'hood.
Love those relatively new Pirate potties though.
Actually, money was an issue with Mystic Manor and that resulted in entire show scenes being dropped as well as special effects.
Did you take a long Faux Top One Percent Spirited Spring Holiday too?
ThemeParks4Life
Well-Known Member
And yet it still turned out great. I wonder what the dropped scenes were....
NoChesterHester
Well-Known Member
I haven't seen it in person, but I'd take that over anything built by WDI in Orlando since Tower.
Beauty and the Beast still is being replaced with a Tangled show at some point (with Disney, this could be 2018!!!) I know of no plan whatsoever that removes the theater.
As to price increases, I am a bit surprised they haven't happened yet. My opinion is Disney is worried about the PR ramifications of raising prices at the same time both of its top O-Town competitors are rebutting major new attractions. Disney's recent earnings report could also be at play. Or something as simple as NET's ability to do whatever it may need to when prices are changed ... so what I am saying is that I have no clue. But WDW's current product isn't worthy of any increase at all.
Soarin' Over Pgh
Well-Known Member
@WDW1974 Yeah, I noticed the scrims in the HM being very visible as well as generally bad lighting throughout most of the scenes. To be honest, I'm rather disappointed by it. It's the one ride Mom and I were both PUMPED to see... and were kinda like "wait, what?" at the end of each ride.
I've never understood the "little leota" and I don't think I ever will.
I've never understood the "little leota" and I don't think I ever will.
Welcome back. I hope your trip was awesome. Are we gonna see a trip report anytime soon?
Speaking of, I'm also back from mine and have a long report on the appropriate forum. If you have a spare 4 hours, please read, I'd like to know what you think (especially of the BoG disaster).
While you were gone this place ran wild. Glad you're back!
Thanks.
I don't do trip reports. But I think my observations sorta cover some of that territory. If you have a question about anything, do not be afraid to drop it here.
I'd very much like to hear about your BoG experience as I plan on chatting with Liz (MK's head of food and beverage) next week and that likely won't be pretty.
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