Originally Posted By Expo_Seeker40 Yesterday I had the pleasure of eating at the Brown Derby in Albany, NY. Hands down one of the best restaurants I ate at. It got me thinking....I've never been to the Hollywood Brown Derby at DHS, how is it? Is it chuck full of kids and the aroma of sunscreen or can you grab a nice meal at a nice place?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip It is a very nice place. It probably attracts fewer kids than 90% of the Disney restaurants. Since it's a theme park restaurant you are going to see theme park attire... shorts and T-shirts. For many years I saw it as a "must do" and considered it one of WDW's best restaurants. Not so much anymore. The menu selections have decreased and the prices have increased. You used to be able to diner there a little more economically at lunch than at dinner. No more... the menus are the same. When Ann and I dined there during our honeymoon, the bill for lunch came to well over $100. That was for one shared appetizer, two entrees (not the most or least expensive), two deserts and soft drinks... no alcohol. With tax it came to just under $100. A 20% tip brought it close to $120. Frankly, it just wasn't worth it.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I used to love the Brown Derby at Disney-MGM. And yes, I meant Disney-MGM. It is today pretty much the shell of what it used to be. I will go back for the Cobb Salad, but that's about the only draw for me any more. The Brown Derby is almost emblematic of what is wrong with Disney Hollywood Studios.
Originally Posted By ChiMike I agree. Was way more attractive in mid 90s. Especially when they had the full patio. One of the biggest shames when it comes to dining.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Remember the live piano player... and the trolley they would wheel out to prepare dishes table side... and taking a phone call at your booth...? All little touches that fell away, one by one.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 The shame of it is that as more theme parks move more and more towards Disney type quality, Disney moves more and more away from it.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>Remember the live piano player... and the trolley they would wheel out to prepare dishes table side... and taking a phone call at your booth...? All little touches that fell away, one by one.<< They did. It's sad too because I think Disney does not give its guests enough credit for noticing. Disney thinks the only way to plus something where the guests take notice would be to add more synergy. See Remy at Chefs. Maybe at 4:30p every afternoon they can have Carl come in and sit down at the Brown Derby for his early bird special.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 So lets say for a moment that I am a mgr at Brown Derby. I need to cut costs so I get rid of the piano player and the trolley and my reservations and my revenue dont change. I look pretty smart dont I? I cut costs without affecting the revenue. Disney corporate doesnt care about the small stuff. The problem most of us have is that we grew up thinking that Disney was a company with a heart (thanks to Walt)but today Disney is for the most part a heartless corporation. And what you are seeing all over is the result of that reality.
Originally Posted By ChiMike And I think we all understand that Sjhym. We get why the change has occurred and why anything not tied to a direct generation of revenue is constantly under attack.. I find it fun as fans to bring it up and I find it helpful for folks who have only been visiting for 10-15 years to know. I think you bring up a good point in that the old company was highly successful at associating themselves with those unique differences. Allowing an entire generation to grow up with that being a 'given' when thinking of Disney. The new company continues to try to posture (at least did) with the same notion, they just skip the part where they have to deliver on it.
Originally Posted By MousDad ^ Bingo ChiMike. Bamboozling trumps delivering. That's one of the new Keys to the Kingdom. But every time I hear the "they are a business" argument, I just take a look at the quarterly earning sheets, and gasp in amazement at the staggering amount of cash that the company and the parks generate. There are a lot of companies out there that accept a slightly lower profit margin at the expense of going above and beyond in some aspect of their business that defines them. So it could be done. Especially with Disney having the history, and general public good will that they have. They just choose not to.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>There are a lot of companies out there that accept a slightly lower profit margin at the expense of going above and beyond in some aspect of their business that defines them.<< Costco.
Originally Posted By ChiMike ^^ Agreed. Sure its a customer cycle. ...So then someone who wants to be #1 tries to replicate what #1 did in the past, to get to where they are, and before you know it, #2 starts taking customers away from #1 because the customer just wants the service/product. But in this case, there is a crazy religious like loyalty to Disney as #1 and it makes it harder for the hard working #2 to win customers over by just replicating the service/product that everyone knows the customer wants. This then gets into Spirit's and everyone elses point about the blog trying to help preserve the #1 benefit without the worrying about the hard work of #2.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Disney doesnt because they dont have to. Its the downside to being #1.<<< They aren't going to be #1 for much longer if they keep slipping.
Originally Posted By MousDad Agreed. It can't be sustained over time. Eventually it will catch up, if it hasn't already.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Eventually #1 falls to the wayside. It is hard for #1 to stay #1. I think to paraphrase Lincoln in one of the HOP shows. If distruction be out lot it will come from within. Most companies fall from their own stupid actions or in most inaction. Look at Blockbuster as a smaller example. Once they were everywhere. They were #1 in their field and then Red Box and Netflix comes along. It seemed like forever for Blockbuster to respond. It was as if someone in their corporate office said there is no way people will buy into this. Today I dont think there are more than 1 Blockbuster store in our area. The more Disney looks like every other entertainment company the more they run the risk of becoming a second ran in the industry. Look at MGM, once the premier studio in the world and today just a shell of itself having been sold and stripped several times. That can happen to Disney. Do I forsee a time when the parks will be closed? Not really, but Disney is definately going down the path that because of their lack of uniqueness can hurt them. I also foresee a day when Disney is sold and a new company strips parts of it off.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Agreed. It can't be sustained over time. Eventually it will catch up, if it hasn't already.<<< WWOHP has already caught up... just a matter of time before everything goes over like that.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Eventually #1 falls to the wayside. It is hard for #1 to stay #1. I think to paraphrase Lincoln in one of the HOP shows. If distruction be out lot it will come from within. Most companies fall from their own stupid actions or in most inaction. Look at Blockbuster as a smaller example. Once they were everywhere. They were #1 in their field and then Red Box and Netflix comes along. It seemed like forever for Blockbuster to respond. It was as if someone in their corporate office said there is no way people will buy into this. Today I dont think there are more than 1 Blockbuster store in our area. <<<< Of course. But I also think it's incredibly easy to fix the problems, internally. Revert back to old quality and practices when building new things. All it takes, really.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>WWOHP has already caught up... just a matter of time before everything goes over like that.<< I think it's too early to say. WWoHP may be an anomaly-- one driven not so much by Uni's desire to do things right, as J.K. Rowling's close interest in any aspect of the world of Harry Potter. To put it more simply-- she gets it: Quality is the best business plan.
