A General Question about Resort CS About This Page:

[wvugrrrl]

Why is it that the "better" the resort, the counter service restaurant inside seems almost like an afterthought? I understand for obvious reasons that an enormous resort like Pop Century is going to have a bigger cafeteria based on the population alone, but I was kind of appalled at how terrible the Mara was at AKL. If you weren't into eating food that was a little more exotic, you were pretty much out of luck, unless you relied on the old, "chicken fingers/hamburger" standby.

I also noticed this at the Artist's Palette at Saratoga Springs. While their sandwhich choices were a lot more "palatable" to the finicky eater, they still only had one counter to order from, and SS is ginormous!

And don't even get me started on the Boardwalk - we assumed (wrongly so) that this resort would have a cafeteria. Instead, it offered about 900 bakery options, and no real quick service meals - by the end of the week, we were longing for a cheeseburger!

Is it because they assume that people staying at value resorts will have less ADR's and rely more on CS (due to money?); or the converse, that people staying in moderate-deluxe resorts would spend the money for a TS meal?

I know in our experience, although we had ADR's for every day, sometimes it would've been nice to have an afternoon CS at our resort!

[Colexis Mom]

That's my complaint as well. Although the Poly does pretty good with Captain Cooks. And in the summer, Hurricane Hanna's at BC was delicious (but I think it's seasonal). We always enjoyed the Mara, but sounds like it's gone downhill from a couple of reports now!! And that's one reason I won't stay at the Boardwalk - because of lack of CS food!

[emtpej]

My guess is that WDW tries to figure out how many people will be at a certain place at a certain time and plan for their needs (and get their $$). I think Capt Cooks was very cramped and ill-designed, where the food court / mill at POR never seemed to fill up... (and we visited at the same time of year).

[WeRDisneyFanatics]

I agree. That's one of the things I like less about a deluxe vs. a mod, especially when traveling with a little one. I thought the quick service options at WL were terrible. BC was a little better because of Hurricane Hannahs, but DD loves her Mickey waffles in the morning--couldn't get those except the morning we went to Cape May. Now when we were at POFQ and Pop she could have them every morning if she wanted.

[WDWJAMBA]

When we last went into Artist's Palette, the line for ordering was literally out the door! I definitely agree that they need a few more options there. We've also enjoyed Hanna's at BC and loved the food!

[jimmymac]

I bet their research shows that people at Values are more likely to utilize CS than those who stay the the Deluxes. Disney market researches everything

[Cam22]

As a DVC member, I have felt that often those resorts are designed for me and my family to purchase food and cook in our villa. But I'd simply rather not cook at all on vacation and though I make an ADR for a nice sit-down meal each day it would be nice to have a bigger CS available at each resort.

[Caldercup]

I always thought it was as Jim said -- that the guests staying in the deluxe hotels are more likely (statistically) to go to table service restaurants.

In the moderates, the food courts are slightly better/bigger with more food selections. At the values, the food courts are quite good, big, with tons of food options.


I would say, anecdotally, that I've seen the smallest number of guests dining at the deluxe food courts, a moderate amount at the mods, and the greatest amount dining at the values -- seems to bear out Disney's research and approach.
Eileen

[WDWfan]

I agree that it is a marketing decision. The Value resorts do not have any TS restaurants, so they have to have larger CS restaurants. The modes (except for POFQ) each have one smaller TS restaurant and good CS choices, the non-DVC Deluxe resorts have mutlitple TS restaurants and one small CS location. At one time the Deluxe resorts did not have any CS options, but they were added after Moderate and Value resorts opened. Guest who "moved up" missed that option and requested them.

The stand alone DVC locations (OKW and SSR) are very spread out and have full kitchens - or kitchettes in studios. Getting to the food locations can be quite a walk. I was just at SSR and only used the CS location to fill my mug and to get some food to take over to a villa to share with friends. Even though I was in a studio I broght instant oatmeal for breakfast and my own snacks. Most of my meals I ate in the park or at other resorts.

[GoHerdIBG]

My guess is Disney is simply forcing options on us based on how much money we spend on a resort.

We have stayed at WL the last 2 trips and opted for the DDP both times. During our last trip, even though the breakfast food at Roaring Fork (CS) was decent, we opted to pay out of pocket 2 times instead of using a TS credit to eat a decent breakfast at Whispering Canyon (also due to the fact our TS credits were all reserved for dinners). The cost of the breakfast for those 2 times was not cheap, in my opion, especially after spending a decent amount of money on the DDP.

Not to offend anyone, but we ate at Whispering Canyon because we wanted to enjoy our trip and did not really care about the extra cost. OTOH, could someone staying at a value resort, using the DDP, spend out-of-pocket money on breakfast when the DDP takes care of most meals already? I really hope that came out in the correct tone.

[Pax]

Sounds to me, like maybe Disney should open a grocery store for those spread-out DVC locations ...

[Pax]

Originally Posted by GoHerdIBG

Not to offend anyone, but we ate at Whispering Canyon because we wanted to enjoy our trip and did not really care about the extra cost. OTOH, could someone staying at a value resort, using the DDP, spend out-of-pocket money on breakfast when the DDP takes care of most meals already? I really hope that came out in the correct tone.

<-- staying in a value, and not at all offended by what you've said. Because it's pretty true: if you're in a Value resort, then money IS a factor and concern. Otherwise, you'd probably be in a Moderate or Deluxe. I know I would be!

Having there be a very poor CS selection at a moderate or deluxe, yes, would definitely irk me. Sometimes, I'm hungry, I want food ASAP - just something quick, no waiting to be seated, then waiting for my order to be taken, THEN waiting for my food.

Which isn't to say I don't enjoy a nice sit-down meal with good service; really, I do. But sometimes ... well, sometimes a guy is just HUNGRY, you know? And CS is supposed to be quick-service, after all. So, let me step up to the counter, make my order, and a minute or two later walk away with my tray of food!





As a total aside: because our group needs three separate sleeping areas, I'm finding that the step up from Value to even Deluxe might not be as steep a price increase as we'd've thought. I priced, just for giggles, a Concierge-level stay in a three-bedroom suite at AKL during Value season; it came out to just under 14K, with basic DDP and park tickets included, for three adults. Our stay at POP century, same season, same people, with deluxe DDP and tickets included? A little over $5K. And yes, a $9K difference is significant ... but not insurmountable. The DDP dropped from deluxe to basic, due to the essentially free breakfast at concierge level. Other savings came from being able to do ONE suite, instead of THREE rooms. (Two of us snore like lumberjacks at the World Championship Chainsaw Competition ...)

[Caldercup]

Many DVC properties have an "expanded" grocery area in their gift shop (I'm thinking of WL for instance.)

While I don't blame Disney for trying to make a buck (they *are* a publicly-traded company and have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders), I really don't see them as "milking" their customers at the deluxes. Truthfully, there aren't crowds of people dining at the CS locations in the deluxe hotels -- not enough to warrant expanding the footprint of their current CS locations.

Now... the values are quite crowded, even at less busy seasons. They need to have counter services of that size to handle the crowds of people who book these rooms.

I see your point of view, but I don't (personally) think that Disney is trying to steer deluxe guests to table service -- I (personally) think that Disney is reacting to actual statistics and responding accordingly.

If, in the future, deluxe guests start clamoring for more and more counter service options, I'm sure Disney will consider the numbers/research and will act appropriately.
Eileen

PS - there was nothing to apologize for. We all welcome discussion and like to hear others' opinions. Feel free to express yourself (within the PassPorter guidelines, of course. )

[GoHerdIBG]

To piggyback on what PAX said.....I love a good sit down meal as much as the next guy but when I am in WDW I want to maximize my park time and eating at a CS restaurant is the best way. When we ate at Roaring Fork we spent around 15-25 minutes from the time we entered the restaurant to the time we left to go to the parks (depending on if it was early in our trip or later . However, when we ate at Whispering Canyon it was at least an hour - sometimes 90 minutes. That extra time means a lot to a 4 year old and a 7 year old .

The question is, if Disney built a bigger, better CS restaurant at WL would more people eat there. I defintely would and I would guess most others would too.\

[wvugrrrl]

I guess "statistically" speaking though, if Disney builds it, will they come?