Walt Disney World General
Topic: Soda thievery (for the new teacher) & Food at WDW

#	Author	Message
1	Spirit of 74 Wed 6/6/2007 10:00p	This is my quickee food and beverage observations thread designed to go 673 posts (but the new teacher -- congrats Nikki! -- and I will NOT be battling here, I hope ... ). First, let's get the mugs out of the way. WDW has apparently decided to not even attempt to control mug use/abuse (wise in my opinion but very poor in execution) by the elimination of individual resort mugs, which at least were a decent keepsake, in favor of one Year of a Million Dreams, all purpose mug that can be bought at every resort ... oh, and bought at the theme parks for a few buck less. More homogenization of the product. FWIW, I asked at two resorts (WL and Poly) if they were preventing folks from using old mugs. The answer I got was 'No, of course not' at one and 'Well, management would like to sell more of the new mugs but we're not going to stop anyone from using any Disney World mug here ... ever.' Then there's Jiko ... always a great meal ... great service, great atmosphere. BUT ... BUT ... BUT ... they refurbished the menu this week and it just is blatant price-gouging ... I'm sorry but if $19 was very high for a veggie entree (which is terrific, I'll say) $24 is just plain disgusting and that's what the increase was. Other entrees saw $2-4 increases. Again, it's a great dining experience... but when you feel like Chef Annette has her hands in your pockets, it might be time to tell folks to head elsewhere. Ah, but a bit of magic at the Liberty Tree Tavern. No, they haven't ended the character dinner and gone back to regular dining. But if you ask your server for rolls (while bemoaning the fact they were removed to begin with as a cost-saving move) and the great apple-butter ... and she's a great server (I'll leave her name out because I'd hate to see her fired for giving me great Disney quality service!), she might go next door to the convention kitchen and rustle up some very close approximation of said apple butter. Magical. You can stick your dream lanyard ... well you know ... but that's the stuff of my dreams. Oh, and thankfully, no increase at LTT! Other morsels: Free drink refills at Epcot have spread ... from Electric Umbrella over to the also serve yourself Land Seasons food court. And, yeah, that likely means some people will come in and steal Coke. The much-rumored Pirates themed buffet is a reality. It will be coming to the shuttered since 1994 Adventureland Veranda ... good move in my opinion if just to get a blighted empty facility open again. Moving back to Epcot, Japan has some stands (likely just repuposed Food and Wine Fest booths) set up to help off-set the four-month closure of the pavillion's full-serve restaurant. I wonder how much renovation Disney will do to the menu offerings, quality and price when it reopens in late August.
2	SuperDry Wed 6/6/2007 11:01p	<<< elimination of individual resort mugs, which at least were a decent keepsake, in favor of one Year of a Million Dreams, all purpose mug that can be bought at every resort >>> The Spirit must not have received the memo: <<< Dear fellow Disney manager: Whenever possible, please consider ways within your sphere of influence where you can reduce the amount of customization in product and service deliverables. Although guests have traditionally enjoyed the high degree of specialized product that we've offered in the past, highly-targeted exit surveys have shown that "location-specific merchandise" was not one of the Top 3 options selected when guests were asked "What type of attraction do you like the most?" Therefore, it has been determined that eliminating this tradition will contribute only a tiny amount to the overall trend of declining guest satisfaction, and as a result will be implemented resort-wide. Furthermore, we have retained the advice of external consultants (all graduates of Harvard Business School) who have told us that reducing the number of inventory units will increase the bottom line, regardless of any customer (er, "guest") backlash. They tell us to ignore any temporary reduction in sales - the memory of guests is short, and in no time they will have forgotten what they once had and will return to their trend buying habits. To reinforce this message, you will in short order receive a set of "Disney Parks - Where Dreams Come True" T-Shirts for your entire family. Pay no mind to the rumor that these are taken from surplus inventory from slow-moving merchandise. In reality, the reason you don't see these T-Shirts in the parks anymore is because the message resonated so much with guests that we unexpectedly sold most of our inventory ahead of schedule. It's only because of our concern for the most important component of Walt Disney World - our cast members - that we were able to stockpile a supply of these T-Shirts to grant to your entire immediate and extended family. And remember, during the upcoming "Disney Jeopardy!" contest at the Cast Member summer picnic, if you see the answer "The best way for a merchandise manager to Increase Shareholder Value" be sure to remember the correct question: "What is 'Reduce SKU's at all costs!'?" >>>
3	demderedoseguys Thu 6/7/2007 4:51a	>WDW has apparently decided to not even attempt to control mug use/abuse< I'm going to start a self help group for this growing problem, but not for the abusers. It will be for us fairminded people who pay our way and don't abuse everything that not only Disney , but the world has to offer. It's getting old the way people try to get over at every turn and I am sick of it. Why do people think that they are so entitled these days? I've also seen people at the buffets loading up their purses and knapsacks with fruits and desserts "to go". That goes against the spirit ( no pun intended) of buffets. Heck, load up all you want when you are there, but do you really need to take a doggie bag full of goodies for later on?
4	Mr X Thu 6/7/2007 5:10a	That reminds me of the Sopranos episode where Paulie Walnuts "grabs some danish for the road (he fills a big napkin (a CLOTH one) with 12-15 items!). :p I like "park specific" stuff myself. I mean, ANYONE can get a "Disney parks" shirt right? But I kinda like my DISNEYLAND sweater (remember when I bought that, Tiggirl?), because of the lettering of course, and also because you can ONLY get it in ANAHEIM to my knowledge (stupid "Disneyland park Paris aka eurodisneyland notwithstanding).. By the way, what is SKU?
5	davewasbaloo Thu 6/7/2007 5:38a	Hmmm, I remember the days where you could get land, attraction and sometimes restaurant specific merchandise. I miss those days. Maybe I should be happy. Instead of giving the mouse enough money for 10 shirts and 10 coffee mugs, I can buy one of each and spend my money elsewhere!!!! It may be cheaper in terms of supply chain management, but it really will hit the bottom line negatively in the long term. SKU is the serial number for merchandise. It stands for Stock Keeping Unit used for inventory systems.
6	Mr X Thu 6/7/2007 6:24a	>>I remember the days where you could get land, attraction and sometimes restaurant specific merchandise. I miss those days.<< Still can, at Tokyo Disney (not sure about the "restaurant" though). I recall trying to find a great "mermaid lagoon" item for a great friend (and LP poster)...but unfortunately all of their merchandise was for kids only. Nothing cool with just the lagoon (which would be AWSOME on a t-shirt) and a "Mermaid Lagoon" logo. I'll keep looking though (to my friend who probably will read his and will probably show up in Tokyo sometime around 2050 lol). Thanks for the info, Dave. I always heard about "sku" (from my long gone days as a high school merchandise guy), but never knew what it meant.
7	NikkiLOVESMickey Thu 6/7/2007 7:24a	<<This is my quickee food and beverage observations thread designed to go 673 posts (but the new teacher -- congrats Nikki! -- and I will NOT be battling here, I hope ... ).>> You're lucky - I'm too busy making important decisions about my future this week than to kvetch over soda theft :-). <<WDW has apparently decided to not even attempt to control mug use/abuse (wise in my opinion but very poor in execution) by the elimination of individual resort mugs, which at least were a decent keepsake, in favor of one Year of a Million Dreams, all purpose mug that can be bought at every resort ... oh, and bought at the theme parks for a few buck less.>> I think this stinks, too. They could turn a blind eye to mug re-use without making one generic mug. How boring and un-Disney (or un-Disney as it used to be - I wouldn't expect anything less than boring from the bean counters in control now)!
8	999HAUNTS Thu 6/7/2007 7:38a	I used to be one of those folks who "borrowed" fruit for later off of the buffet line....however, that was BEFORE they started to offer it for sale within the parks. I'm cured now ;)
9	davewasbaloo Thu 6/7/2007 7:56a	Yep - I am aafraid I agree with Nikki - Disney sure is not what it used to be. I am seriously considering staying at Universal or Gaylord Palms next time I am in O Town. I'm more likely to get unique experiences there.
10	vbdad55 Thu 6/7/2007 8:57a	<The much-rumored Pirates themed buffet is a reality. It will be coming to the shuttered since 1994 Adventureland Veranda ... good move in my opinion if just to get a blighted empty facility open again. < any idea of a time-frame ?

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