Originally Posted By u k fan To me anything sit down with a waiter at a theme park is "fine dining" when compared against its other offerings. It's not fine dining by usual standards (not even close). I guess I'm spoiled by having DLP as my home park where several table service restaurants could IMHO be classed as fine dining by any standards!!!
Originally Posted By SuperDry I'm hoping that this trend will carry over into merchandise. One of the souvenirs I like to buy on a vacation is a shot glass, but all they ever seem to have at the MK is toothpick holders.
Originally Posted By danyoung >To me anything sit down with a waiter at a theme park is "fine dining" when compared against its other offerings.< I understand your point. For me, there are several restaurants within Disney that I would never call "fine dining". Nothing wrong with them - they're just not up to the fine dining standard, like say the California Grill or Bistro de Paris.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt For all practical purposes U K Fan's definition works just fine for this conversation. The term fine dining seems so old fashioned and trite to me. It's an adjective that I associate with some pseudo fancy steak house in the suburbs circa 1965. I'm trying to imagine applying the term to a modern restaurant today in a cosmopolitan city like LA, New York or Miami. It just doesn't work.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I've eaten at Cindy's back when it was King Stefan's Banquet Hall. The food was certainly a step up from what is is now.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I'm not so sure your average visitor to WDW is looking for "fine dining" while visiting the MK. Perhaps upscale trendy dining. Where sushi and fancy greek yogurt are served!
Originally Posted By danyoung I can't speak for the average WDW visitor, but I am indeed looking to dine well while on vacation. That's one of the reasons the dining plan doesn't work for me - I lean toward the signature restaurants that take 2 points each. And I think it's easy to see the difference. The Liberty Tree Tavern isn't fine dining, while the Bistro de Paris is. Just because it's a sitdown doesn't make it fine.
Originally Posted By jkayjs I'm late to this party but I vote no! As The Witches said in an early post (I admit it I didn't read many) there are plenty of places to enjoy an adult beverage it just isn't needed. I too enjoy a nice glass of wine with my meal now & again but I like the idea that the one park that is geared more towards the wee ones is an ETOH free zone. It stands to reason that if they open this site to ETOH that others will follow which is where the real issue lies. There's already enough bad judgement on display without impairing it even further & nothing aides that like having "just one more" because "I'm on vacation" & thanks to the buses "I don't have to drive" mentality! Just my thoughts, and maybe after 27 years in the ER I'm a 'little' cynical but at the end of the day I would really like to see them reverse this. I know it won't happen but still...
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Is excessive drinking much of a problem at the other 3 parks? I have visited many, many times and I can probably only count on one hand the number of people I"ve seen that I would consider impaired/intoxicated. Of course I'm not counting the Boardwalk or Pleasure Island.
Originally Posted By danyoung skipper, this is indeed key to the issue, and is something that is wildly influenced by one's own experience. Some folks will say that they've been accosted by a drunk during every F&W Festival for the past 10 years, while others (like you and me) just haven't seen much of anything negative caused by alcohol. I'm on record as stating that I really do enjoy the affluence of incohol at a Disney park - them fireworks really sparkle after a martini or 3! But this in the MK isn't the same thing. As I've repeatedly said, we're not gonna see kegger kiosks in Adventureland. We're talking about a limited quantity of fine wine and fine beer - something that goes very well with fine dining. It drastically increases the number of people who will consider a meal at this restaurant, me included!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I think I've seen more situations of kids hyped up on sugar and out of control than any adult hyped up on liquor.
