Someone with boys has to agree with me!

[Lisann]

I so agree! I have two boys, and in planning our firsr vacation I was dissapointed to find very few non-princessy character meals. They aren't much into pooh, so other than Mickey and his friends...

Other than the Mickey character meal over at Contemporary, there really isn't even a lot of "Mickey"-themed meals/events/etc. now that I think about it (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe the backyard bbq. Mickey should be in much more abundance, in my opinion.

 

[jenniferma]

Other than the Mickey character meal over at Contemporary, there really isn't even a lot of "Mickey"-themed meals/events/etc. now that I think about it (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe the backyard bbq. Mickey should be in much more abundance, in my opinion.

Garden grill too

 

[Mkrop]

Other than the Mickey character meal over at Contemporary, there really isn't even a lot of "Mickey"-themed meals/events/etc. now that I think about it (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe the backyard bbq. Mickey should be in much more abundance, in my opinion.

Mickey is at Garden Grill, Tusker House and Cape May Cafe Breakfast

 

[jemgumby]

I love how there is no sexual stereotyping going on with this thread

I think everyone would love to see some new character dining experiences, however, I disagree that Disney caters more to girls. I mean it is Cinderella's castle in Magic Kingdom.....just saying. Of course it makes sense to have a princess themed dining experience there. The only places I can think of that cater specifically to girls are:

Cinderella's Royal Table
Storybook Princess in Germany
1900 Park Fare

These character meals all listed below are very gender neutral:

Chef Mickey's
Ohana's Character Breakfast
Cape May Cafe Breakfast
The Crystal Palace
Garden Grill
Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Hoop De Doo Revue
Hollywood and Vine
Tusker House-Donald's Safari Breakfast

The below listed restaurants are fun for boys and girls even though no characters:

Hoop De Doo Revue
Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Spirit of Aloha Luau
Sci Fi Dine In
Prime Time
Coral Reef (what kid doesn't like to look at all that marine life?)

I don't see a problem....just saying....

 

[Jenngoofys]

I think it's all in how you raise kids, my nephew who is 11 thinks of dining at the Castle with the princess as the be all end all of the Disney experience!! He requested it for his very first trip!! He plays baseball, football .. Etc He sees the castle at the beginning of EVERY disney movie!! He doesnt think its girly he thinks its cool!!! Really who wouldnt want to eat there? The only thing I see working as a "boy" themed place is a pirate meal!! But if you've ever been on a Disney cruise you would know that the girls totally love it too!!

 

[Caboosey]

Mickey is at Garden Grill, Tusker House and Cape May Cafe Breakfast

He is one busy mouse!

 

[SnackyStacky]

Before it was a Cinderella dinner, 1900 Park Fare hosted a villain dinner experience. It tanked. The kids were too scared.

And as for the Little Mermaid rooms? Try to find one for 2012!!!!! They're sold out from their opening date until the end of the year! So far as I can find, anyway. There's a night here or there open - but for anything more than a night, it's next to impossible to find a room.

There's also some sort of limitation with the Marvel superheros. They can't be within the parks. If you remember when Disney promoted the new Tron, the Tronorail was on the Epcot loop. When they did the Avengers overlay, it was on the Magic Kingdom loop - because it kept the monorail out of the parks. Don't remember which blog I read that on. I think it may have been MiceAge.

And I really don't think that the Fantasyland Expansion is very girl-centric. The only thing I would say is girlie is the Little Mermaid ride. Yes - a lot of what they're doing is based on princess movies - but a Be Our Guest restaurant and a mine train based on the dwarves' mine - neither of those are overtly girlie to me.

For those who think there's not enough for boys - there's rumors floating around that Carsland may be coming to Hollywood Studios to replace Lights, Motors, Action.

I think the biggest problem is tying everything to a movie. That's fine for Fantasyland. I think that's the point of Fantasyland. But why are Aladdin's carpets in Adventureland? Look at the landscape of Adventureland before the carpets landed. It was Jungle Cruise, Pirates and the Tiki Room. ALL of those were original creations. Tomorrowland before Stitch, Monsters Inc, and Buzz - it was Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, WEDWay People Mover, Mission to Mars. All attractions outside of Fantasyland were original creations. There were loose ties (Walt's True Life Adventures inspired the Jungle Cruise....) but, for the most part, it was original stuff. If you start letting the Imagineers actually imagine and stop tying everything to a movie - it may have a broader appeal for both boys and girls. You could also then market tours, recreation and merchandise.

Just my $.02.

 

[2BoysMomma]

Totally agree! I wish they wouldn't be like the stores. If you look down the toys, clothes, shoes, etc. aisles there are always more girlie things! I have a house full of males! I am the only female here besides the cat, so you can imagine what I get to search "manly" things I get to search for. LOL I was a little disappointed though when AOA announced that the only basics were Little Mermaid :O/ Grrrr...... Life is tough enough raising boys... Really would have been cool to see Phineas and Ferb!!!

 

[fla4fun]

I don't think the Little Mermaid rooms are all that "girly" - at least from the photos I've seen. In fact, they remind me a lot of the Nemo rooms. There's a lot of ocean theme going on, with fish and such, and Prince Eric is represented as well. In fact, the only place I saw Ariel was on the shower curtain (and who's going to sit staring at a shower curtain?). So I don't think the LM rooms are going to be a "no go" if you have boys in the family. Besides, there is plenty of boy stuff outside the room to make the stay at AOA enjoyable for them.

 

[Caboosey]

I wish there were standard rooms in all sections - I don't need a suite, but I'd love to stay in Lion King and Cars someday!

 

[kanderson89]

I think it's all in how you raise kids, my nephew who is 11 thinks of dining at the Castle with the princess as the be all end all of the Disney experience!! He requested it for his very first trip!! He plays baseball, football .. Etc He sees the castle at the beginning of EVERY disney movie!! He doesnt think its girly he thinks its cool!!! Really who wouldnt want to eat there? The only thing I see working as a "boy" themed place is a pirate meal!! But if you've ever been on a Disney cruise you would know that the girls totally love it too!!

Thank you! I have shied away from chiming in because this topic drives me completely wild. Why must everything be gendered?? It seems like what we're really talking about is merchandise, not really the experience. The only place I can think of in the MK that is the least bit feminine is Cinderella's castle and Fantasyland. Adventureland? Boy. Tomorrowland? Boy. Frontierland? Boy. And what about all of HS? VERY Boy. Epcot? Boy. AK? Hard to say - they're animals.

Personally, I, too, would like to see more options than boys with guns and girls with pink lace. But it starts with us as individuals and parents.

 

[Tebrown96]

Coming from a poster with a daughter, even I agree with you as I know she would love seeing the villains/pinocchio/etc. just as much as the princesses.

Our DD (almost 5) loves the princess stuff, but she also loves the 'boy stuff' (or, maybe, more neutral stuff) like Cars, Lion King, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Peter Pan, Pinnocchio, Toy Story - she loves all of it!

In fact, when we were in Norway doing some shopping after our Princess lunch (which was fantastic!) the only thing my daughter wanted as a souvenir was a sword. She wore it proudly the rest of the day tucked into her princess dress apron and brought it back to the parks with her every day (she loved riding the carousel with her sword, 'storming into battle' as she put it).

I think what's tough is that 'boy stuff' is 'cool' for girls, too, while 'girl stuff' certainly is not cool for boys. Disney would certainly not lose any money by offering a pirate character meal or a Toy Story themed meal or a Cars meal - I have a feeling they'd rake in the bucks!!

 

[HANDYMOM]

I'm starting to get frustrated that Disney World continues to cater more to girls. First of all, no villain character meals, the Fantasyland expansion and now I'm reading that the only standard rooms at AoA are in the Little Mermaid section. Don't they think about these things at all? I mean why couldn't the only standard rooms be something gender neutral, like Nemo? It doesnt make sense to me.

Thanks just venting!

Disney's focus is always on the mass market sure thing, which is economically wise. Here's my opinion on your list:

1. Villain Character Meals - one word...SCARY. I don't think this is as much gender driven as much as it is to avoid child panic. Lots of kids are scared to meet Pooh and Chip and Dale, I can imagine lots would be petrified of the villains. Disney can't invest in a physical location, menu, staff and marketing if they think the max potential audience is maybe 50%

2. AOA - This one may be gender related, but almost all of Disney's Theme Park decisions are. The bottom line is, parents and grandparents spend small fortunes keeping little girls looking like and playing with princesses. Every time they push a "female" intensive character or attraction, there are hundreds of thousands of merchandising opportunities because the parents of little girls will pay for it. The fact that the Little Mermaid rooms are poised to sell out immediately says it's a good decision.

We shouldn't forget that the first "themed" moderate rooms were the Caribbean Beach Pirate Rooms, not the Royal Refurb rooms.

As a mom of boys I see your point,kind of, but AllStar Sports is an entire resort dedicated to sports that are almost exclusively (except tennis) male dominated. Keeping Disney flowing cash keeps the parks kept well, new resorts built and hopefully more expansion in the future after Fantasyland.

 

[mkdreams]

You have to pay EXTRA for the pirate rooms CBR, and you can get a nemo room at no extra cost. You do NOT have to pay extra for the little mermaid rooms, and there is no other option unless you pay for a suite. They should have went with something more neutral for both boys and girls for the standard room.

 

[WantToGoNow]

I would love to stay at AoA but probably won't. Dh hsd decided to stay home again on our next trip. I just can't justify the cost of the suites when we could stay elsewhere for less. I asked ds11 if he would object to staying in the Little Mermaid rooms and showed him the pictures. He said he would just stay home with his dad. Not happening cause I don't want to stay there that badly.

He tolerates the princess meals because of his little sister but I think staying a week in a room made for girls is just too much.

 

[6disneykids]

I have 4 boys, and they all still love to go to Walt Disney World, but my older 2 (now 14 & 13) grew out of wearing Disney things out in public when they were about 8. I worked at the Disney Stores for a long time and every time there was a a lauch of boy stuff--most of it stayed around until it was deeply marked down. Any boy clothes/costumes would sell out in sizes that would fit up to about a 7 yr old, and the bigger sizes would only go once they were really on sale! I am not sure how the Advengers characters are doing because I haven't worked there for a while. Unfortuatley, the "boy" market just doesn't seem to be as large as the "girl" market. As a mom to 6 kids (DS14, DS13, DD9, DS7, DS3, & DD 22mo) I have seen the difference with respect to wanting to do character meals at different ages. It is all about the $. I have pictures of us with our oldest DS when he was 1 yr at the Villian dinner when it was at 1900 park fare, it was not crowed at all! I do think all my 6 would like a Pixar character meal, it could have Merida as well as the Toy Story characters.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Seven Dwarfs, Pirates, all of the princes - are BOYS! Walt Disney was a boy also.

Nope - I don't agree.

 

[Lolsmum]

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Seven Dwarfs, Pirates, all of the princes - are BOYS! Walt Disney was a boy also.

Nope - I don't agree.

Yes, they were/are all boys.

Then again, most of the princes don't even have names. They are mostly interchangeable. Peter Pan? A Peter Pan meal would be awesome. Pinnochio is a boy, but to be fair he started out as wood. The Seven Dwarfs are companions to yet another princess. The others? Well, my 6 1/2 year old considers himself a bit old for them. I think putting Mickey and co in a show for preschoolers has had a big role in that. The characters are seen as preschool characters and he's beyond that. He still likes Chip and Dale, based in part on the old Rescue Rangers show.

I never thought of Mickey and co as being primarily for little kids when I was growing up, but then the Mouseketeers were aimed older than little kids. Aim the characters at a higher age and the boys (and girls) are likely to like them for longer.

I do think the boy market is smaller, but I think a big part of that is the marketing over the last oh, 20 years. It's not a shock that boys like action heroes and superheroes, but what is Disney offering them? Stitch is cool, but he hangs out with a little girl. Flynn Rider is good, but you can't pretend that movie isn't really about Rapunzel. Old princess movies are still marketed heavily. Snow White is how old now? Boy movies were largely ignored.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they haven't added either a pirate meal or a Pixar meal. The Pixar meal could feature Buzz, Woody, Jessie, the Incredibles, Sully, just to name a few. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't have kids myself, but I know my nephew would love it, especially a pirate meal. Girls would even enjoy them as well. Come on, Disney! You have to know they'd be popular.

 

[richkaryn]

I agree. But, then again, it also drives me crazy that the ratio of girl's clothing racks to boys is 10:1 when I go shopping! I'm assuming people just spend more money on girls, as much as I hate to say it.

Amen!! It's hard to find stuff anywhere for boys whether itbe clothing in a store or at Disney. We are debating letting DS5 do the Pirate Adventure cruise from CBR when we go in June since we are doing CRT just for the experience of eating in the castle. (although he does kind of like Ariel )