Disney World, Food, and Competition
Entertainment
| September 12, 2007
| Tim
Usually, ABC/Disney is just another corporation which needs to compete for your attention and dollars. But inside their resorts and parks, the corporation functions as a monopoly or even as a kind of government.
On one hand, governments can do some amazing things when pressed -- such as putting a man on the moon, building Hoover Dam, defeating the Axis in WWII, or building the Great Wall of China. On the other hand, most government efforts (including the aforementioned Great Wall) are huge, ineffective wastes of time, effort, and manpower.
Similarly, Walt Disney World offers some amazingly good food (Disney World boasts Orlando's only five-star restaurant) -- and lots of amazingly expensive and/or mediocre (or even bad) food as well.
(Did I use the word "amazing" often enough yet?)
On the first night there, my girlfriend's family decided to seek nutritional sustenance in Disney's "Boardwalk" area. They were put off by $18 noodle dishes at "Spoodles", so we put in a reservation for a place which offered $11 hamburgers. Sadly, with a quarter of the tables empty and uncleared, and few signs of progress to give us hope, we waited almost a half hour before giving up, leaving, and opting for pizza and hot dogs.
Yet even this modest proposition proved to be fraught with problems. Despite the fact that there were only two varieties of pizza-by-the-slice being offered, there was a huge line, and it took the people in our party easily over twenty minutes to obtain their slice of pizza -- it seems there was only one person working the booth, and the idea of making a few slices ahead of time wasn't part of the policy.
Likewise, I ordered a corn dog (which was quite good, actually) but, once again, even though there was a steady stream of customers, they waited until a dog was ordered before dipping the dog in the batter and then oil. Not a minute beforehand -- and none of this two-dogs-at-once craziness. A completely fresh corn dog is truly delicious, but I wouldn't have been offended if it had been made as part of a larger batch, sat around for a couple of minutes waiting for my arrival. Instead, I stood there for about ten minutes.
After dinner, people were interested in ice cream (even though also vastly overpriced). But, once again, the ice cream store had a huge line snaking out the door, one employee working (on a Saturday night!) and nobody wanted to wait another half an hour. I'm fairly sure we weren't the only ones.
Lots of missed potential for profit there. And, even worse, (a) I was encouraged to do whatever I could to get some off-resort food, and (b) I'm writing this review, which will encourage other people to do the same.
The problem here is that Disney owns all their food outlets: there's no reason for the hot dog stand to compete with the noodle place or the pizza place because they're all one big restaurant being run by a distant corporation. And worse, they believe their audience is captive (and we are for this visit, but perhaps not the next one) and so there's not much incentive to do a good job.
The same was true at our Disney resort (Coronado Springs) where the whole family ate rather mediocre food in the $10-$15 per portion category. (For example, I had a $14 quesadilla which was extremely oily and not very good.)
Disney ought to take a lesson from the airports. Once upon a time, airport food was notoriously bad and overpriced. Now it's somewhat less overpriced, and can even be fairly good at times. What changed? Typically, an airport used to give an exclusive concession to a single corporation, which then did as little as possible. I remember those days -- in the early 80s, I'd be stuck in O'Hare Airport facing the prospect of a $6 (today, probably about $10-12) hot dog, which looked like it had been sitting there since the Johnson administration.
Today, they allow lots of different companies in, and while there's still a ridiculous surcharge added (thus, the airport still makes their money), at least the different kiosks compete against each other, and offer a greater variety and higher quality of food.
I don't see any reason Disney couldn't benefit from this same strategy. They would undoubtedly keep more people from going to off-resort hotels, and might even attract some of the locals. I can tolerate overpaying, but it really rankles to overpay for bad food, which happened quite a lot.
(Eventually, I got to an off-property grocery store, and we were then able to eat our own breakfasts and sandwiches -- which, sadly, were vastly superior.)
For the record, we also had a few good meals, including a reasonably-priced one at "Wolfgang Puck Cafe" in Downtown Disney (my theory is that it's better if someone else's name is at stake) and a completely delicious dinner at Fulton's Crab House, where I even met with the Sous-Chef. Nice.
As one who has lived much of her life in the Shadow of the Mouse, I can tell you that "overpriced and overrated" is a good description of Disney in general. Because locals have plenty of opportunities for tickets that are more reasonably priced, or even free, we spend a lot of time at various Disney parks as our children were growing up. Here are my brief observations.
EPCOT, which is generally considered oriented towards adults, was our children's hands-down favorite park from the time they could express their opinions.
Even EPCOT has gone markedly downhill in the last 15 years or so. Although Disney has always been about entertainment, previously the educational component was significant, especially at EPCOT. Now it is all about loud, fast, splash, and show. Worse, there has been a decided darker turn, with mocking humor and even insults to the guests, something Walt would never have countenanced.
The food has always been expensive and the lines long -- unless you are able to go at off-peak times, which is the only way any of Disney is worth seeing. In some ways it has gotten better -- there are more top-notch, fancy restaurants now. But you used to be able to get really good "fast food" with an exotic flair at the Kikkoman restaurant at the Magic Kingdom -- with its disappearance we have nowhere at that park we're willing to eat. The EPCOT World Showcase restaurants are still our favorite places to dine-- especially at Morocco -- but I don't think they're as good as they used to be.
And prices overall? When Michael Eisner took over, I think he decided to see what the market would bear, and discovered it would bear a LOT. As long as the parks are still filled to overflowing, what incentive does Disney have to keep prices down and quality up? People keep coming.
Except our own kids. I don't know if our grandchildren will ever see a Disney park. Our children, though brought up thinking Disney was a great place to go Sundays after church, and still retaining respect for what they learned there, are also good at cost/benefit analysis.
You missed out by not eating at the Rainforest Cafe.
I haven't been to Disney World in ages, but I used to live in Florida a long, long time ago. I remember once my dad wasn't able to get hot chocolate at a resturaunt... because they were "all out of hot water."
Having only been to Disney World once, as a teen, on a school trip, for a few hours I probably am not the foremost expert on the quality of anything there. But it sounds remarkably similiar to what they do at Elitch Gardens in regards to food.
I agree that Disney and many other places like them, who feel a monopoly on food vending somehow works in their favor, could take a lesson from airports and Vegas Casinos. Bringing in private vendors and creating competition results in a higher food quality as well as happier customers.
SursumCorda! (Do I say "Sursum" for short?) Thanks for the up-close personal observations from the mouse's backyard.
Although Disney has always been about entertainment, previously the educational component was significant, especially at EPCOT. Now it is all about loud, fast, splash, and show...
I agree that the educational component was higher in the past than today. But it seems to me Disney is simply tracking our society in this regard. More later on this topic, I hope.
A lot was under construction while we were there, so it'll be interesting to see which way the newer stuff goes. Spaceship Earth was utterly empty.
The EPCOT World Showcase restaurants are still our favorite places to dine-- especially at Morocco -- but I don't think they're as good as they used to be.
Funny you mention it: we ate at Morocco, and had a relatively good experience there.
China seemed to consist of reheated frozen eggrolls, like you'd buy in a grocery store.
At France, we were refused a table. The person at the front desk claimed they were "closed." The dinning room was full of people in various stages of eating. An hour later, there were still people sitting in there, eating.
I left laughing, joking to a friend that it was a very realistic simulation of Paris's treatment of Americans. :-) Refused service in a annoyed-sounding accent? Almost like being there!
You missed out by not eating at the Rainforest Cafe.
Harry! Was just thinking of you.
Actually, we avoided Rainforest Cafe because I'd been to two of them (one in Chicago and one in Mall of America in MN) and had bad experiences both times: high prices, slow (to nearly nonexistent) service, and, when all was done, the kiss of death: cold and not-so-fresh food.
Fun decor, though.
Did you have a better experience?
I've been to the Rainforest Café in London, and it was an absolutely excellent experience. That was about four years ago, though, and I won't be able to eat there again to test the service (food allergies), so caveat emptor, as they say.
-TCG
SursumCorda! (Do I say "Sursum" for short?)
If we're going to be on a first-name basis, I do occasionally answer to "Linda." :)
Spaceship Earth was utterly empty.
Amazing. We almost always went there last to avoid what was one of the longest lines in the park. Of course, that was a few incarnations ago -- the ride has changed a bit, and not for the better. Am I showing myself to be a grumpy old lady?
China seemed to consist of reheated frozen eggrolls, like you'd buy in a grocery store.
It was China I was especially thinking about when I wrote that the restaurants had gone downhill. It used to be fantastic, probably the best Chinese restaurant in Central Florida. Based on our last experience a few years ago, I'm not surprised at your description.
I left [the French restaurant] laughing, joking to a friend that it was a very realistic simulation of Paris's treatment of Americans.
Having recently eaten in Paris, I must come to its defense. Our experience with the Parisians was entirely positive, except for one rude taxi driver. Everyone we dealt with was friendly, helpful, patient with my exceedingly broken French, and willing to attempt English when needed. (Most Parisians are much better at English than most Americans are at French.) Our happy restaurant experiences were probably due to following the advice of a Paris-dwelling American friend: Whatever you do, avoid cafes that have big menus in English. This is where tourists get their ideas that Parisians are rude. Parisians are lovely...tourist waiters are rude (same as anywhere). So, if you have an amazing view of a monument, a big menu in English, and the sodas are 6€ each, you're in the wrong cafe.
[Spaceship Earth being empty:] Amazing. We almost always went there last to avoid what was one of the longest lines in the park.
Actually, the ride itself is out of commission. They're making it better. Or worse. Or something. But the main building -- the round area -- was this big empty area with a few game consoles (half broken) in it. It was surprising that the first area Epcot visitors would see would be like that.
It used to be fantastic, probably the best Chinese restaurant in Central Florida.
Oh, how sad! My friend's mom ordered the $4.50 TV dinner eggroll. My reaction was like: What was she thinking? (Not like you can't get much better Chinese, by the scoop, in almost any urban neighborhood in the US.)
Having recently eaten in Paris, I must come to its defense. Our experience with the Parisians was entirely positive, except for one rude taxi driver...
I have no permanent dislike for the French (even had a French semi-girlfriend, once), but my mom recently returned with stories of being incessantly lied to, so that was on my mind.
So, if you have an amazing view of a monument, a big menu in English, and the sodas are 6€ each, you're in the wrong cafe.
Guess I was in the wrong cafe!
Best to you Linda, and thanks again.
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As one who has lived much of her life in the Shadow of the Mouse, I can tell you that "overpriced and overrated" is a good description of Disney in general. Because locals have plenty of opportunities for tickets that are more reasonably priced, or even free, we spend a lot of time at various Disney parks as our children were growing up. Here are my brief observations.
EPCOT, which is generally considered oriented towards adults, was our children's hands-down favorite park from the time they could express their opinions.
Even EPCOT has gone markedly downhill in the last 15 years or so. Although Disney has always been about entertainment, previously the educational component was significant, especially at EPCOT. Now it is all about loud, fast, splash, and show. Worse, there has been a decided darker turn, with mocking humor and even insults to the guests, something Walt would never have countenanced.
The food has always been expensive and the lines long -- unless you are able to go at off-peak times, which is the only way any of Disney is worth seeing. In some ways it has gotten better -- there are more top-notch, fancy restaurants now. But you used to be able to get really good "fast food" with an exotic flair at the Kikkoman restaurant at the Magic Kingdom -- with its disappearance we have nowhere at that park we're willing to eat. The EPCOT World Showcase restaurants are still our favorite places to dine-- especially at Morocco -- but I don't think they're as good as they used to be.
And prices overall? When Michael Eisner took over, I think he decided to see what the market would bear, and discovered it would bear a LOT. As long as the parks are still filled to overflowing, what incentive does Disney have to keep prices down and quality up? People keep coming.
Except our own kids. I don't know if our grandchildren will ever see a Disney park. Our children, though brought up thinking Disney was a great place to go Sundays after church, and still retaining respect for what they learned there, are also good at cost/benefit analysis.
Posted by: SursumCorda on September 12, 2007 06:02 AM