Beak and Barrel Seating Experiences

[VGCgroupie]

How many did your table hold?

We were at this table. It only had 3 chairs but they could’ve added another I’d guess.

 

[HopperFan]

We were at this table. It only had 3 chairs but they could’ve added another I’d guess.

View attachment 1001353

Okay. Just wondering if you were at a bigger table but they only sat you there. You basically filled the table. Can't wait to YO HO this place!

 

[kylenne]

I will be going there solo next week. So I’m assuming I’ll be at the bar. Are there seats at the bar, or will I end up standing?

Standing only at the bar, no seats

 

[kylenne]

We’re going on a party night with a group of 11. From your observation, do you think we have a good chance to be seated? If not, it may be a hard sale to the parents of the kids who will be with me this trip.

As long as you have an ADR. The long tables can fit larger groups

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

We were a party of 2 who were sat with a group of 6 who were at around the 30-minute mark of their time. They were the funnest bunch and we had a great time with them albeit short-lived! We luckily bumped into them the next day too and got to share about the rest of our experience.

I'd normally avoid these kinds of interactions at all costs but we actually had a few scenarios like this happen this past weekend and I tell ya... these Disney people. They grow on you.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

We were a party of 2 who were sat with a group of 6 who were at around the 30-minute mark of their time. They were the funnest bunch and we had a great time with them albeit short-lived! We luckily bumped into them the next day too and got to share about the rest of our experience.

I'd normally avoid these kinds of interactions at all costs but we actually had a few scenarios like this happen this past weekend and I tell ya... these Disney people. They grow on you.

That’s kind of annoying tbh that they place people at the same table who are at different points of their time limits. The whole time limit thing is so tacky to me to start with. Than to just have to deal with people near you rotating out is very factory like

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

That’s kind of annoying tbh that they place people at the same table who are at different points of their time limits. The whole time limit thing is so tacky to me to start with. Than to just have to deal with people near you rotating out is very factory like

I don't mind since it lets more people come in and experience it. Our res was for 10:45pm on a MNSSHP night so by the time our time limit was coming, our server was just like you guys can stay. We're at the end of the night anyway.

I was like, "No, please. We're so tired. Please kick us out and give us the full Beak & Barrel experience."

 

[HeadNerd]

I will be going there solo next week. So I’m assuming I’ll be at the bar. Are there seats at the bar, or will I end up standing?

So I got super-lucky and got two different solo reservations for this past week. One on a normal night, the other during a Halloween Party. Halloween Party one was late and actually not crowded inside, which was weird, cause still no reservations available.

The first time I got put alongside a railing/table in the backroom, with a stool. Plus side, I got to sit, and by myself. Downside, I was basically stuck in a corner and didn't get to see most of the "show" without having to stand up and move someplace else.

Second time I got placed at the main bar, standing. Which honestly is confusing, because there's plenty of room for bar stools. I can only assume they do it to encourage turnover, because it's not for space reasons. Maybe once it calms down. Honestly, I half expected barstools that slowly raised and lowered themselves.

I loved it. Yes, parts of it were annoying, mostly the Oga's-like pack-them-in and then ship them out feel. But otherwise it was the closest I've felt to The Adventurers Club in 20 years. (*sniff*) Some small shows, the staff mostly in character, etc. Yeah the Adventurers Club was 3-4x the size and had full-out hilarious performers/shows.... but at least this was capturing some of the essential spirit. Between this and the Haunted Mansion parlor on the Treasure, maybe Disney is slowly starting to understand what made the Adventurers Club so great and that maybe it could score a ridiculous amount of alcohol $$$ by doing it right.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

I don't mind since it lets more people come in and experience it. Our res was for 10:45pm on a MNSSHP night so by the time our time limit was coming, our server was just like you guys can stay. We're at the end of the night anyway.

I was like, "No, please. We're so tired. Please kick us out and give us the full Beak & Barrel experience."

They make you walk the plank after 45 minutes?

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

So I got super-lucky and got two different solo reservations for this past week. One on a normal night, the other during a Halloween Party. Halloween Party one was late and actually not crowded inside, which was weird, cause still no reservations available.

The first time I got put alongside a railing/table in the backroom, with a stool. Plus side, I got to sit, and by myself. Downside, I was basically stuck in a corner and didn't get to see most of the "show" without having to stand up and move someplace else.

Second time I got placed at the main bar, standing. Which honestly is confusing, because there's plenty of room for bar stools. I can only assume they do it to encourage turnover, because it's not for space reasons. Maybe once it calms down. Honestly, I half expected barstools that slowly raised and lowered themselves.

I loved it. Yes, parts of it were annoying, mostly the Oga's-like pack-them-in and then ship them out feel. But otherwise it was the closest I've felt to The Adventurers Club in 20 years. (*sniff*) Some small shows, the staff mostly in character, etc. Yeah the Adventurers Club was 3-4x the size and had full-out hilarious performers/shows.... but at least this was capturing some of the essential spirit. Between this and the Haunted Mansion parlor on the Treasure, maybe Disney is slowly starting to understand what made the Adventurers Club so great and that maybe it could score a ridiculous amount of alcohol $$$ by doing it right.

I’m confident one of the reasons pleasure island was nixxed was because parents would leave their kids in the hotel rooms alone at night to go. A totally different set of standards applied to parents just 25+ years ago. Nowadays parents are all held to a ridiculously high standard

 

[HeadNerd]

I’m in

I’m confident one of the reasons pleasure island was nixxed was because parents would leave their kids in the hotel rooms alone at night to go. A totally different set of standards applied to parents just 25+ years ago. Nowadays parents are all held to a ridiculously high standard

Interesting. I’m West Coast so I only got to go every so often so I never understood the actual reasons.

I suspected it had more to do with bad behavior from rowdy young 20s people, and/or the hassle of concentrating all the drunks in one zone, especially when alcohol wasn’t as available across the parks.

I get that the Adventurers Club itself was probably expensive to operate for the return on alcohol revenue. Same reason you don’t see a lot of theme bars exist for long even in NYC.

I’m still amazed none of the Disney cruise ships have done the Adventurers Club or something similar. It’s perfect as a rolling activity plus liquor revenue. Like Haunted Mansion Lounge but with some performers.

 

[pooch]

I’m confident one of the reasons pleasure island was nixxed was because parents would leave their kids in the hotel rooms alone at night to go. A totally different set of standards applied to parents just 25+ years ago. Nowadays parents are all held to a ridiculously high standard

Yeah cuz not leaving your kids alone in a hotel room is a pretty low bar!

 

[HopperFan]

I’m in

Interesting. I’m West Coast so I only got to go every so often so I never understood the actual reasons.

I suspected it had more to do with bad behavior from rowdy young 20s people, and/or the hassle of concentrating all the drunks in one zone, especially when alcohol wasn’t as available across the parks.

I get that the Adventurers Club itself was probably expensive to operate for the return on alcohol revenue. Same reason you don’t see a lot of theme bars exist for long even in NYC.

I’m still amazed none of the Disney cruise ships have done the Adventurers Club or something similar. It’s perfect as a rolling activity plus liquor revenue. Like Haunted Mansion Lounge but with some performers.

Decline in attendance. They tried different ways to keep it open during the 2008 recession like dropping the entry fee and allowing minors in to a few clubs and cutting expenses. With the addition of Westside, more dining and shopping, it just wasn't making money. It didn't help that PI had a NYE Fireworks show every night hitting the bottom line.

And now we have lots of third party restaurants carrying the load in Disney Springs. Makes the most sense for Disney.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

I’m in

Interesting. I’m West Coast so I only got to go every so often so I never understood the actual reasons.

I suspected it had more to do with bad behavior from rowdy young 20s people, and/or the hassle of concentrating all the drunks in one zone, especially when alcohol wasn’t as available across the parks.

I get that the Adventurers Club itself was probably expensive to operate for the return on alcohol revenue. Same reason you don’t see a lot of theme bars exist for long even in NYC.

I’m still amazed none of the Disney cruise ships have done the Adventurers Club or something similar. It’s perfect as a rolling activity plus liquor revenue. Like Haunted Mansion Lounge but with some performers.

Not enough people on the ship to really get it popping these days. Even the royal carribean ships struggled with filling their clubs and got rid of most of them on the ships

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Yeah cuz not leaving your kids alone in a hotel room is a pretty low bar!

I mean nowadays people won’t even leave a 15 year old alone………back in the day people regularly left 9-10 year olds alone at home.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Decline in attendance. They tried different ways to keep it open during the 2008 recession like dropping the entry fee and allowing minors in to a few clubs and cutting expenses. With the addition of Westside, more dining and shopping, it just wasn't making money. It didn't help that PI had a NYE Fireworks show every night hitting the bottom line.

And now we have lots of third party restaurants carrying the load in Disney Springs. Makes the most sense for Disney.

I’m mostly annoyed that I never got to experience it. I remember seeing it as a kid thinking when I get older I get to go there and welp that didn’t happen

 

[pooch]

I mean nowadays people won’t even leave a 15 year old alone………back in the day people regularly left 9-10 year olds alone at home.

Yeah my kids are 40 and 35 I don’t know anyone that regularly left their 9-10 year old alone, maybe latchkey kids for an hour or two after school during the day. Heck I’m 70 and we were never left home alone. At night? In a hotel room? I don’t think so.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Yeah my kids are 40 and 35 I don’t know anyone that regularly left their 9-10 year old alone, maybe latchkey kids for an hour or two after school during the day. Heck I’m 70 and we were never left home alone. At night? In a hotel room? I don’t think so.

I was regularly left home alone for hours at a time at 9-10 years old and even ordered pizza at that age. I even rode my bike to school which was over a mile away at 8ish years old! It was another time, nowadays the same people who left their kids alone and gave their kids more responsibility are the most vocal critics of parents today doing the same with their kids!

 

[pooch]

Well I wouldn’t blame anyone for not doing that now. This is a very different world from then. (First of all, there was no pizza delivery!!!). Back then, we watched out for each other. Many mom’s were able to stay home. Heck if I got into trouble, I had 5 moms calling mine to tell her! But we don’t do that anymore. We aren’t villages, we’re islands. It’s a scary world we send our kids and grandkids out in. I suppose our parent’s & grandparents said that too. But if Opie Taylor moseyed down to the fishin’ hole today, he’d end up kidnapped or dead.

But even your childhood experience is far different from the scenario you posted about leaving children alone in a hotel room in a place far from home while their parents went out for the evening.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Well I wouldn’t blame anyone for not doing that now. This is a very different world from then. (First of all, there was no pizza delivery!!!). Back then, we watched out for each other. Many mom’s were able to stay home. Heck if I got into trouble, I had 5 moms calling mine to tell her! But we don’t do that anymore. We aren’t villages, we’re islands. It’s a scary world we send our kids and grandkids out in. I suppose our parent’s & grandparents said that too. But if Opie Taylor moseyed down to the fishin’ hole today, he’d end up kidnapped or dead.

But even your childhood experience is far different from the scenario you posted about leaving children alone in a hotel room in a place far from home while their parents went out for the evening.

That’s the thing, the world is actually safer now than it was before like when your kids were kids. Just with social media and everyone’s ability to access the 24 hours news cycle people perceive it differently. Cell phones and overbearing parents have also caused children to be less independent than previously and increased parents ability to helicopter. Just look at the rate of 16 year olds getting their license nowadays compared to previous generations. It’s way less.
Social media and the internet has also given people the ability to communicate heinous views together, where else previously they wouldn’t have had that ability, like the KKK but in this case they don’t even have to meet in person to express their views.

Despite the above, it is currently safer now than previous generations, we are just bombarded with information previous generations didn’t get, which changes how people, especially once’s who lived before the smartphone internet era perceive the safety level. Also the leaded gasoline had a pretty big impact on violence

There was no pizza delivery when your kids were younger? You had to call the pizza joint, there might not have been an app but you could order pizza.

No kid is getting snatched up for going fishing at any rate higher than in previous generations, it’s just your perception. Leaving an age appropriate kid in a hotel room isn’t an issue. A 9-10 year old should be able to sleep in a hotel room by themselves and if an emergency arises know how to call 911.

Unfortunately your perception is becoming the reality/expectation. You also hinted at both parents having to work which again is a more recent issue. This all explains why the birth rate is dropping and (connecting this back to Disney) why Disney has to focus more on Adults now more than ever, such as opening up this bar in Magic Kingdom. I wonder if Disney knew about the 08-09 drop in birth rates if they still would have scraped this.