Originally Posted By Dabob2 I've been to a Rainforest Cafe just once, in Anaheim. Have no desire to go back. <it's too loud, the animatronics are cheesy, and the food is non-remarkable.> Yes, yes, and yes. You might have added "overpriced, even for DTD."
Originally Posted By leemac WP Express is an oddity for the Village as it replaced virtually exactly the same concept - Minnie Mia's was a sweet little pizzeria that WDW Co. operated. However WDW Co. didn't want to be in the operating business and leased the location to Levy who also had the Empress Lily and Portbello Yacht Club who bought a franchise for WP (they also own and operate the West Side location - it isn'ta WP-owned property).
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Levy also owned and operated the short-lived Wildhorse Saloon too.>> Speaking of the late Pleasure Island... is anything actually happening with Hyperion Wharf?
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "My brain must be scrambled as I thought it was in the upper lot and only accessible by park admission. I meant soundstage as in a Disney way - - i.e. just an anonymous box." You're right, it was on the upper lot. Right by the front entrance. The restaurant was half in, half out. So they had people on the park side making sure guests only exited who had tickets. It's funny, because when it was Victoria's Station, it certainly wasn't a soundstage box. But, Marvel Mania turned it into one...albeit with fun set dressing. I worked at Universal Studios during it's transformation and even closing. It was kind of fun to watch it all happen...well, the opening part that is. It wasn't fun seeing it close down. "Yes, yes, and yes. You might have added "overpriced, even for DTD."" Also, for being right next to a Disney park, the animatronics looked especially bad. Why didn't they get at least the Disney property restaurants to maybe partner with Disney on the AA's?
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Ok, I went to the only Earl of Sandwich in NYC today for lunch. I had the holiday turkey sandwich and it was pretty amazing. Not that I would become a rabid follower of the chain, but it was better than the same kinds of sandwiches I've had from other places in my area. So, yes, the sandwiches are very good, and fairly reasonable. I had the sandwich, a fountain drink, and a brownie for $10 in NYC...
Originally Posted By leemac <<Speaking of the late Pleasure Island... is anything actually happening with Hyperion Wharf?>> Sadly not. There are plans but no commitment from management to build it out. There are some interested parties to operate RDE in the venue though so I suspect we will see something at some point. Flamingo Crossing has a raft of tenants too now so at some point that will get pushed on. There are 4-5 hotel operators already.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo touringplans.com is reporting that the Earl is in soft opening mode. Wait, that need some exclamation points: !!!!!
Originally Posted By ksargen Yep - according to folks on MouseWait, the soft opening started this week, and they're discounting as well. Dunno how long that's supposed to last, so get there while the getting is good.
Originally Posted By TP2000 Thank goodness this place has finally opened! Now, people will finally, mercifully, thanks be to God in heaven, be able to get a sandwich in Anaheim. A really good sandwich. With chips and a Coke. Although I hear the pasta salad isn't very good. But the sandwiches, MY GOD, they are the best sandwiches in the world! On bread! Toasted bread! With your choice of meat and cheese! And mustard too! Maybe even mayonaise! Did I mention the chips and a Coke??? It's true! Sandwiches with chips are now available in Downtown Disney, and they've got Coca-Cola on tap! In other Resort news, there are a half dozen new benches to sit on near the Ghiradelli soda fountain in DCA. Made of wood and wrought iron. With a slightly angled back. ;-)
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Now that the construction is complete, do we still think that the kiosk was removed for Earl? Or was it possibly to make it easier to see/access the Tink ice rink? Given how long the kiosk remained in place while they were doing the patio work for Earl of Sandwich, I think that the two may be unrelated. If there's space for the kiosk, the patio, and construction walls in between, why couldn't the kiosk stay after the walls went down? Granted, the kiosk never seemed like a successful business through its countless incarnations, so maybe they just realized it was time for it to go
Originally Posted By mawnck They should've relocated it to several different locations before selling it to some garden shop in Corona Del Mar. Where's their sense of tradition? <a href="http://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/magnolia-park-bandstand.html" target="_blank">http://davelandblog.blogspot.c...and.html</a>
Originally Posted By TP2000 Ha! Good one mawnck! I think the kiosk thing was just a waste of space, and they used Earl as an excuse to finally demo it. It was supposed to be a newsstand, as it was for the first few years and operated by Compass selling newspapers and magazines. And then the digital revolution took over and killed off the newspapers and diminished the magazine trade towards extinction too. Then they just spent the last 5+ years letting anyone set up shop there, with mixed results. Some of the artsy-craftsy things they had there were cute, and some were just tacky and downscale. The open area is better, and allows them to do seasonal things like the ice rink. And no one will miss not being able to buy a newspaper or a bedazzled t-shirt on their way into Disneyland.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo Eating there now. The chipotle/chicken/avocado is quite good. The price is good (especially compared to he parks) and the line moved fast. It is a day with light crowds (yes, they do exist), so the line might be quite worse when it is crowded. But it was definitely worth it. Thumbs up.
