Originally Posted By liveforvacations I don't think anyone said that they do not expect to pay more to eat food at Disneyland than elsewhere. The main complaint is not about price, it is about the selection offered.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Just one interesting tidbit on DL Dining ... the Head of Food and Beverage for the Resort (Mary Niven) is literally the ONLY holdover in any department of any significance from the good, old (yeah, that was sarcasm) Cynthia Harriss days. Mary was pleasant enough the few times I had dealings with her, but I have no idea just how she has managed to hold on when everyone else from that era were kicked to the curb. And, despite what any management apologists may say, DL doesn't have to charge $12.99 for the same sandwich you can walk across to Quiznos and buy for $4.99. A markup is one thing ... like $8.25 sounds about right. But this sounds like gouging ... and doing away with real plates and real silverware does only two things: saves Disney a whole lot of money on labor in bussing the tables and the cleaning the stuff and it fills landfills. Bad move all around.
Originally Posted By liveforvacations So the conclusion is that while Disney concerned about the obesity problem and therefore are offering healthier options but Disney is not concerned about the environment. ???????
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Don't forget, Disney claims to be a "green" company..... Bring back the reusable plates and silverware..... As for the price, it is a BIG joke, the food is good, but if I go to Quzino's on Harbor, I can get a complete meal for about $6, that is a 6 inch sandwich, a big of chips, and a soda. And the sanwich can have a lot more fixin's than what Disney offers at the RBT fixin' bar.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << DL doesn't have to charge $12.99 for the same sandwich you can walk across to Quiznos and buy for $4.99. >> Do you have any clue what the margins are in the fast-food franchise business? Usually less than 5%. That's why most franchisees own multiple outlets -- it's not possible to make a living on the cash flow generated by one venue. To expect Disney to operate on Quiznos-like cash flow when they don't even charge enough admission to cover 1/3 of their operating costs is a Fantasyland assessment of how the theme park business works. Would I like to pay less for food at DL? Absolutely. In fact, I wouldn't mind paying higher admission in return for lower food/merchandise prices.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Do you have any clue what the margins are in the fast-food franchise business? Usually less than 5%. That's why most franchisees own multiple outlets -- it's not possible to make a living on the cash flow generated by one venue.>> Disney isn't in the fast-food business. It is in the theme park and resort business. <<To expect Disney to operate on Quiznos-like cash flow when they don't even charge enough admission to cover 1/3 of their operating costs is a Fantasyland assessment of how the theme park business works.>> This is simple BS that you keep trumpeting in an effort to make it seem like Disney's parks barely keep their heads above water. That's Fantasyland. Their operating costs really don't go up all that much from year to year. God knows they keep running leaner and meaner and most of their workforce has become parttime making $6-7 an hour in Florida and $8-9 at DL. And they keep cutting costs and they keep raising admission prices. Disney may not be printing money from its parks, but its damn close to it. <<Would I like to pay less for food at DL? Absolutely. In fact, I wouldn't mind paying higher admission in return for lower food/merchandise prices.>> I wouldn't mind paying more ... if it meant CMs made more money and more reinvestment was done to keep the parks clean and fresh and vibrant.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Okay the sandwiches are on paper plates - Is the breakfast at least on real dishes - or have they fastfooded the whole place?
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Disney isn't in the fast-food business. It is in the theme park and resort business. >> So why do you make comparisons to retail fast food operations when you complain about prices? I don't believe I was the person who initiated this sort of ridiculous comparison.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << and doing away with real plates and real silverware does only two things: saves Disney a whole lot of money on labor in bussing the tables and the cleaning the stuff and it fills landfills. >> Actually, this isn't necessarily true. The cost of buying all of the disposable plates and dishes likely exceeds the costs of bussing/cleaning reusable items. At least that was the case in my workplace cafeteria. The accountants there used to go crazy when the dishwashers broke and they had to serve with paper and plastic -- apparently it's really expensive to do that even for a few days. I doubt there's any significant cost savings associated with a shift to disposable tableware. It sounds nice to point to this shift as an accounting trick, but it could very well be more expensive in the long run. However, there might be other considerations -- like the weight of trays that need to be carried from the serving area to tables. Do guests prefer to carry lighter dishes to heavier ones? How often do guests spill/drop/break the heavier plates/dishes? Does it take longer to turn over tables and keep capactiy up in the dining room when there are tables to be bussed? How much capacity is lost waiting for dishes to be cleared? Can extra capacity for food preparation be gained by eliminating extensive dishwashing and stowage areas in the kitchen -- and does this result in higher throughput in the serving area?
Originally Posted By JeffG From an environmental standpoint, it is also sometimes a case that biodegradable disposables are actually more healthy environmentally than the detergents and energy usage involved with frequent washing of non-disposable dishes. I have no idea if that is the case here, but it isn't correct to automatically say that disposable is less environmentally responsible. -Jeff
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<More and more people are choosing other options than the over priced and under whelming food choices that DLR now offers.>> Yup. During our last trip we ate most of our meals off property. It was a 7 day trip and we only ate dinner twice and breakfast once on property.
Originally Posted By karlg DWB, I wish you a good time at DL. In 2007, I happen to visit Tokyo DS for 1 day, WDW for 8 days, 2 Days (one full day and two nights) at DL within a few weeks of each other in May and June. I must say I liked DL so much better that I took a second trip to DL for 3.5 days in November with one of my sons. Frankly, I have almost given up on WDW. I didn't like the way they were running the theme parks (my biggest complaint was that in Pirates people were constantly taking flash pictures and the cast members did nothing to stop it). We did the dining plan and the only really good meal we had was at the Rose and Crown. The dining plan forces you to plan months in advance where you are going to go and where you are going to eat for an entire week. By the end we were tired of all the appetizers and desserts to get our money's worth. I like the newest changes they made to the WDW Dining Plan but maybe for the wrong reason, they made it such a non-deal that I wouldn't use it again. Still I have no plans to go back to WDW any time soon. I like you have been to Disney parks many times and after my last trip to WDW, I was wondering if all the magic was gone. But getting to DL while on a business trip reminded me of why I like DL so much more than WDW (or TDS or TDL). Its just amazing how much you can do with at DL and how much there is to see at night with the much better fireworks and Fantasmic. Food wise at DL, I’m with you. I live in Texas and so we are looking at airfare and hotel rooms to get there. The food options are pretty limited in the parks. We did enjoy Zocalo and the Story Teller Café the most as well as the Blue Bayou. The Plaza Inn is usually my favorite, but I am getting pretty tired of the same choices. We are not real upscale eaters, but would like to have something other than burgers and fries and pizza. The merchandize as sunk to a new low that I have not seen since the mid to last 1990’s. I made two trips to DL in a period of 6 months and did not find 1 T-Shirt I wanted. There is too much emphasis on Pirates at the expense of everything else. Then there is too much generic stuff. I would like to see more attraction specific merchandise. On the second trip, I really tried shopping and there was nothing I could find I liked.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Thanks karlg for chiming in. At first I thought I was going nuts. Thankfully I am not. And I am glad to hear that DL has not totally lost it's way. This is great to hear. I cannot wait!
Originally Posted By kdladyj Lets be honest here... I love Disneyland Ive always loved its food.. not to say that a $15 sandwich is steep it wouldnt seem so steep if it was GOOD! .. Disney food has gone downhill as far as TASTE is concerned. Yes you can still find some good eats here and there but there are just GOOD not great.. I know that they just brought in a new cafeteria company to overrun the employee end of eateries... they should do the same with the park.. EVERY SINGLE restraunt should be quality ENOUGH.. at least for the $.. I know that there is a sandwich at quiznos across the street for less and there is a sandwich in front of me at riverbelle for more.. i will not leave majority of the time if the sandwich tastes as good as the one further.. if it doesnt my taste buds WILL take over the convienience. Disneyland needs to understand that their consumers are foodies as well (well i am, I just love food) and they would bring in even more revenue in foods if they gave us more quality...
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<Disneyland needs to understand that their consumers are foodies as well (well i am, I just love food) and they would bring in even more revenue in foods if they gave us more quality...>> I think that that there is a non trivial number of guests who fall under this category. But the reality is that most guests are day trippers who are content with pizza, hot dogs and burgers.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Just popping back in to say that I finally got back for a Mickey Mouse pancake. Mickey is now cooked and placed on a plastic plate and set under a warming light with other Mickeys. He is not only stiff and no where near fluffy but his ears have also shrunk to mere nubs. In order to fit the configuration of an oval plastic plate Mickey is now a mere shadow of his former self, poor guy. At $6.99 and not even an orange wedge garnish I'll pass next time. The "Mark Twain" held up nicely It was great to be out on the patio with the Twain going by
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I saw those pancakes on my trip and passed too - I think after seeing them the blueberry muffin from the bakery seemed much more filling! When I saw the plates I had imediate McDonald's flashes!! So sad!
Originally Posted By dlkozy That's so sad-having fluffy Mickey pancakes used to be a family favorite. >>>"...but his ears have also shrunk to mere nubs..."<<< Sooo, he looks more like a beaver now?
