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From: Ginny Favers on 26 Oct 2009 13:11
Rudeney wrote:
> Ginny Favers wrote:
>> Thanks for the report, Alex!
>>
>> I am looking forward to more of your "data" on the attractions, but my
>> engineer husband is REALLY looking forward to hearing more.
>
> Speaking of your husband, does he have some sort of problem typing with
> that weddign ring on his finger? We *never* hear from him anymore on
> RADP! :-)
>

I have to speak for him, like Moses. He's a lurker deluxe. I am
determined to drag him to a RADP meet some day.

~Amanda
From: Caren on 26 Oct 2009 14:26
On Oct 24, 3:32 pm, BigBob <BigBob...(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote:
> On Oct 22, 4:03 pm, alex <a...(a)g-c-data-concepts.com> wrote:
>
> > (snip)
> > - Dining at WDW really sucks!  When I first starting traveling to WDW in
> > the mid 90's, I could grab a dinner or lunch almost anywhere as the
> > moment hit me.  Now, you must have a reservation days (if not weeks) in
> > advance.  It's too crowded outside a restaurant, too crowded inside a
> > restaurant, and the meals are too rushed.  If I remember right, the
> > Crystal Palace dinner was $33 each...for a freak'n buffet!  I could rant
> > for pages on this but I will leave the topic with this: Disney dining sucks.
> > - Okay, I won't leave the topic just yet.  Offsite dining was very
> > enjoyable and economical.  The restaurants we ate at were great and also
> > offered 10% discount on our next meal (hoping for repeat customers, see
> > next point).
> (snip)
> > Alex
>
> The unacceptable dining situations at WDW need to be reported and
> repeated constantly!
>
> While the "Disney" company has made it abundantly clear that they
> intend to keep pursuing their short-sighted bone-headed policies, in
> order to extract every last possible dime out of their dining
> operations (guest experience be damned), we, the knowing, need to keep
> making the facts known.
>
> This has become so bad that, it threatens to destroy my enjoyment of
> the parks altogether.
> I've been compartmentalizing the "dining/food service situation" for a
> number of years now, but it just keeps getting worse -- with no end in
> sight!
>
> I've got 13-months of an Annual Pass left.
> And, if I don't see some improvements over the next year, "Disney"
> just may lose me altogether.
>
> Enough is enough.

We plan to deal with dining in December by ordering groceries and
cooking our own. I may even bring my Pooh waffle iron.

--
Caren
TDC Queen of Adventureland
From: alex on 26 Oct 2009 17:22
Rudeney wrote:

> My problem is that I just don't like to leave property once I'm at WDW.
> It sort of diminishes the magic. However, given the ridiculously high
> prices, lack of availability and quality, I'll probably end up venturing
> off-site more and more.

What drove us off property Saturday night was our experience at the AKL
Boma buffet. Granted it was Saturday, but the wait was 2 hours. The
pager that notifies your seating is ready only works in the close
proximity of the Boma front desk. That meant I was shackled to that
miserably small and crowded waiting area. It would have been an easier
wait if I could walk around AKL enjoying the resort. Eventually, I got
frustrated with the insanity and our party left. We went to an offsite
restaurant and had a great meal (no wait, good food, good price). I
wanted the Disney experience but the cost (time, money, and patience)
was too high. Disney lost us.
Earlier in the day I had a disappointing meal at the Flame Tree BBQ at
AK. I always thought the meals there were a good value but my pork
sandwich did not meet the $12 price. I remember (late 90's maybe) that
Disney upgraded all their counter service food quality but kept about
the same price. The food was a notch better than the typical burger and
fries affair. I didn't feel robbed when I ate at the parks. Now, the
price far exceeds the quality and I grimace each time I dine at the parks.

>
> It's a combination of the economy and Disney's aggressive marketing.
> With guests perceiving great value in the dining plan and Magical
> Express, it makes the off-site hotels harder to justify. Also, many of
> those places that are now boarded up were real "flea bags" in the first
> place.

Yes, flea bags there were. Unfortunately, those abandoned properties
will be an eye-sore for many years, just like the old Splendid China
property. I assume the Splendid China property is locked up in some
bankruptcy legal problems - otherwise is seems to be prime real estate.

> Cool info! Thanks for the report, Alex!
>

I will try to add more stuff this week.
From: alex on 26 Oct 2009 17:36
BigBob wrote:

>
> This has become so bad that, it threatens to destroy my enjoyment of
> the parks altogether.
> I've been compartmentalizing the "dining/food service situation" for a
> number of years now, but it just keeps getting worse -- with no end in
> sight!
>

I would be more willing to pay a premium if the dining experience was
more enjoyable. However, in each case that weekend there was a hectic
crowd waiting outside the restaurant and the dining area was packed with
people. It just didn't look very appealing.

Of all the times I have been selected for a Disney survey not once have
they asked me about my dining experience. I guess they don't want to
know the response.

Alex
From: Ginny Favers on 26 Oct 2009 18:19
alex wrote:
>
> What drove us off property Saturday night was our experience at the AKL
> Boma buffet. Granted it was Saturday, but the wait was 2 hours. The
> pager that notifies your seating is ready only works in the close
> proximity of the Boma front desk. That meant I was shackled to that
> miserably small and crowded waiting area. It would have been an easier
> wait if I could walk around AKL enjoying the resort. Eventually, I got
> frustrated with the insanity and our party left. We went to an offsite
> restaurant and had a great meal (no wait, good food, good price). I
> wanted the Disney experience but the cost (time, money, and patience)
> was too high. Disney lost us.

And the sad thing is you didn't miss much. Boma's quality has declined
over the past few years. I would think you could find far better meals
in Dr. Phillips and Celebration, and the Swan & Dolphin, for that
matter, for the same price.

> Earlier in the day I had a disappointing meal at the Flame Tree BBQ at
> AK. I always thought the meals there were a good value but my pork
> sandwich did not meet the $12 price. I remember (late 90's maybe) that
> Disney upgraded all their counter service food quality but kept about
> the same price. The food was a notch better than the typical burger and
> fries affair. I didn't feel robbed when I ate at the parks. Now, the
> price far exceeds the quality and I grimace each time I dine at the parks.

The late 90's were evidently the golden age for Disney counter service.

~Amanda
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