Starbucks at WDW

[KCheatle]

I got Starbucks on my trip last week and enjoyed it very much! I think it's nice to have those little luxuries on your vacation. Yes, I love a lot of things that are "Disney-made", but you can't really "top" Starbucks. As they say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" And given the line I had to wait in at park opening (i.e., not many people in the park yet) I'm pretty confident that, despite the naysayers in this forum, a lot of people appreciate the collaboration between Starbucks and Disney!

 

[cbettua]

I love the new starbucks! To each their own.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Another passionate fan weighs in, Sam Gennaway. He understands that today is not 1955 anymore and all that, but he can't help lament the further dilution of Walt's park.
http://micechat.com/44195-starbucks-on-main-street-at-disneyland/


While the masses enjoy their industrial coffeehouses, us fans of Walt's and Roy's little boutique parks sit quietly tucked away in a corner, reminiscing about the era of unique shops in a relaxed park-like setting.

 

[bebert]

This is tough for me. I am glad there is an alternative for coffee, the WDW sold stuff just wasnt great. So for a coffee lover and someone whos drinks a few cups throughtout the day this is a plus. I however dont know that I like the modern addition to Main Street.
Maybe they should have just done carts at MK and then built actual shops at the other three parks.
While I cheer for better coffee, I am humbled to see an original piece of Main Street go away.

 

[jkl2000]

I must be in the minority that is pretty excited about this as my nearest Starbucks is over an hour away by plane

I live in a decent-coffee-free zone now too, so I'll be excited to go to Starbuck's.

CTTOI, time to go make a cup of the free Keurig work coffee - blech!

 

[Dragonrider1227]

I got Starbucks on my trip last week and enjoyed it very much! I think it's nice to have those little luxuries on your vacation. Yes, I love a lot of things that are "Disney-made", but you can't really "top" Starbucks. As they say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" And given the line I had to wait in at park opening (i.e., not many people in the park yet) I'm pretty confident that, despite the naysayers in this forum, a lot of people appreciate the collaboration between Starbucks and Disney!

I feel people like the familiarity. They like being able to get something they recognize and enjoy while on their vacation.

 

[jkl2000]

I enjoy Starbuck's Little Mermaid theming.

 

[jkl2000]

Paradiso 37 is the only place you can get it....a few places have Mr. Pibb, which is ok, but not quite the same.

I love Mr. Pibb! I haven't had it in like, 40 years, though. Which places have it? Anywhere at DTD?

 

[jkl2000]

As a barista and avid coffee drinker i am THRILLED that WDW has ACTUAL COFFEE now!
I'm sorry but that black tar they serve at WDW most of the time IS NOT COFFEE. I literally will search every inch of a park to find a coffee place that actually makes coffee. I am over the moon!

Is the coffee the same as what you get at a real Starbuck's location? I only ask because for two years I worked in a building with Starbuck's coffee in the lobby, but it wasn't a true Starbuck's. The people who worked there were the same people who worked in the cafeteria, and they didn't much know what they were doing. The coffee was ok, but it wasn't quite as good as at a regular Starbuck's shop. I like Starbuck's coffee, and was never in the bakery, so I'm fine with this change, and am sure it's an improvement from my own POV. Just wondering how much of an improvement.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

The concern is that if Disney finds it's lucrative to replace their homegrown bakery shop with a Starbucks, what's to stop them from replacing Cosmic Ray's with a Pizza Hut? Pecos Bills with a Taco Bell?
When you're willing to compromise your themed space with external, homogenous commercial spaces it stands to reason you may not know where to draw the line.

Okay, I actually do get that concern. But I have trouble seeing that happening

`
I hate going to the average american mall, It's full of overpriced 'Made in Third World' clothes and fast food outlets. If Disney turns into mall with rides im no longer interested

No offense, But i'm pretty sure most of Disney's merchandise aren't exactly "made in America" products either
Heck, I don't think even their animatronics are made in America anymore

 

[Laura Ellen]

Is the coffee the same as what you get at a real Starbuck's location? I only ask because for two years I worked in a building with Starbuck's coffee in the lobby, but it wasn't a true Starbuck's. The people who worked there were the same people who worked in the cafeteria, and they didn't much know what they were doing. The coffee was ok, but it wasn't quite as good as at a regular Starbuck's shop. I like Starbuck's coffee, and was never in the bakery, so I'm fine with this change, and am sure it's an improvement from my own POV. Just wondering how much of an improvement.

I prefer proper espresso, not drip. The difference is that most coffee served at disney is drip and not actual espresso. If they do not grind/use fresh ground beans, steam the milk using A PROPER STEAMER, then its not real coffee. Starbucks uses fresh beans and grinds them on site, and steams the milk. I have had it all over the world and the quality varies on how good the barista is.

 

[jkl2000]

I prefer proper espresso, not drip. The difference is that most coffee served at disney is drip and not actual espresso. If they do not grind/use fresh ground beans, steam the milk using A PROPER STEAMER, then its not real coffee. Starbucks uses fresh beans and grinds them on site, and steams the milk. I have had it all over the world and the quality varies on how good the barista is.

I definitely like fresh ground beans, but you can certainly get good coffee from a drip process - there are a lot of other types of coffee besides espresso. I only say this because I have a friend who works for a really good coffee roaster, and he gets very annoyed when people say that there's no such thing as good drip coffee. Also, lots of people like coffee without milk at all.

BUT, I'm sure you're right that the Disney "Starbucks" is lacking!

 

[luv]

I'm very happy hat the coffee drinkers can now stop telling me how much they hate WDW's coffee. I do wish they'd gone with Dunkin Donut coffee, since everyone has to comment that they'd rather have THAT, but they seem content enough with the Starbucks.

But I liked the bakery much better before. It's not as quaint now and has lost something. I didn't spend much time in there to begin with, so it isn't a huge loss. Just one more small disappointment. There are many other things that are more significant losses.

 

[Pocahontas]

I understand. It's a good way to make money, considering how many people are Starbucks obsessed. I just don't want Disney to be so commercial and advertise other brands. I don't mind the presence of Starbucks. But, I could do without it.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Get our snowspeeders ready, we're going to bring down these Imperialist invaders!

I would totally go there. And I don't even drink coffee.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You mean the cinnamon rolls which nobody at WDW liked, Now replaced by the stale nasty ones at Gaston's

If Disney had simply done 'Coffee by Starbucks' and perhaps gone as far as add a Barista station while leaving the bakery alone - it would have been a win for everyone.

At what point does one realize that Gaston's is Disney. If Disney decided to sell stale nasty ones, that is what you would be getting at the bakery as we speak. They are not going to run two recipes in one park for a silly Cinnamon roll. The problems is the type of roll, not the availability because if you wanted one, and they were like the ones that you remember, it would simply be a matter of where they were located.

Also, I never once said that nobody liked them, but apparently not enough for them to warrant the continuation. I've yet to figure out how anyone could tour a theme park and eat a Cinnamon roll anyway. Since they did away with tables and chairs how exactly were you going to manage that? Here's the course of action for everyone that misses the bigger, better rolls. Inform Disney that you notice the difference and if enough people tell them to return to the original type, then Gaston's is a perfect place for it. Tables and everything. There just plain isn't enough room in the bakery to have a bunch of people just sitting there stuffing a roll in their faces. Complain about the product to them, not the location. You might have a chance to win that battle. If the real problem is that everyone just must have them in the Bakery, then one didn't really care about it being a special Cinnamon Roll, just that it was in the Bakery.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Your commentary is appreciated (and I fully respect your view) however the shop is called the "Bakery", not the 'Coffee Shop'; what my (and some others are commenting on) is the fact that Disney threw out the "baby with the bath water". Starbucks coffee, fine, but I sure wanted to keep the present pastries. And as an example of freshness, those turnovers (apple/cheery) were never frozen (if you know a good turnover) a frozen puffed pastry wilts (and that's being kind as a description).

How about the place that's called the Emporium but is really a souvenir store. It never was a bakery it just sold pastries and coffee just as it does now. When was the last time a bakery sold coffee, but it had something that we shall laughingly call coffee there as well. The turnovers may have not been frozen, but I'm pretty sure that they weren't baked there either. Disney has a central location for all that.

 

[acishere]

I'm very happy hat the coffee drinkers can now stop telling me how much they hate WDW's coffee. I do wish they'd gone with Dunkin Donut coffee, since everyone has to comment that they'd rather have THAT, but they seem content enough with the Starbucks.

You know I think Dunkin must hate my area because I've never had coffee from them that I've really enjoyed. Its either too sweet or too watery. People the Boston area think I'm nuts, but I honestly would pick Starbucks between the two.

What I really wish they had was Wawa coffee. I drive out of my way past 2 Dunkins to get Wawa on my way to work.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I apologize, looking back on this thread it appears that I have made the same argument about a gazillion times. It has been so long ago that I had forgotten that I had done that, so if my response seems like something you have seen before...you are right.

 

[mr spalding]

Yes, and don only that you used to be able to walk down main street in the morning and smell a wonderful aroma coming from the bakery, now it is just the digusting stench of yet another

You nailed it!! They don't make their pastries fresh on site do they? I would imagine from the smell that I remember, MSB did. Does anyone know for sure?