Here is a thought on how Disney can fill more tables...

[JerseyJanice]

What about just decreasing prices?

So Annual Pass holders were given 20% off at 45 restaurants from 10/1/16 through 9/30/17. Then the discount some of these restaurants was upped to 30% off dinner during non-peak hours. Now I see Florida residents are being offered free appetizers and parking.

All these discounts are making me think that Disney needs to fill more tables.

Silly me is thinking that the problem was jacking up prices too high in the first place. And don't even get me started on what I think about "all day" menus where the price is the same at lunch and dinner.

 

[bladiator]

It's like Pete said in a recent DIS Unplugged, they finally got the price up where they want and they're just going to give you a "discount" on it until they start bringing in hoards of people when SWL opens up. They'll take a bit of a low right now while they wait for their ridiculous prices to really fill their pockets in a couple years.

 

[DLgal]

It seems so obvious.

This is what happens when companies get greedy.

Disney overvalued itself and now people are putting their foot down.

 

[wilkeliza]

These are restaurants though that are not struggling because of price. They are struggling because people think they are too exotic.

The list is Jinko, Citricos, Flying Fish, and Artist Point also all are at the hotels. Many people on their once in a lifetime Disney trip are not going to lose upwards of 5 park hours to eat at any of these places. Throw in the fact all of them have more "adult" offerings and even the two more normal dinner places are more upscale than theme park food and people just don't go. Jinko and Artist Point are worth every penny they charge especially for the quality of product they use. I haven't been to Citricos or Flying Fish but I imagine it could be the same.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Obviously, there are certain restaurants that must be struggling, one being the Flying Fish.

No surprise since the new menu at the Flying Fish doesn't sound appealing to me, and the prices are insane. For the heck of it, I added up what I would be inclined to order, and even at 30% off, it's more than I want to pay at a place with such mixed reviews.

However, if they had the same menu that we were offered in 2012, I'd be there every night for just the 20% discount.

 

[Vylette Rose]

I think the bigger issue is the number of people that use the standard DDP. There is a negative incentive to use DDP toward signatures, two credits for one meal. As more and more guests use DDP, fewer are going to the signatures. We eat almost exclusively at signature restaurants and they are always busy, but not as much so as the regular sit-downs.

 

[hakepb]

I imagine Disney Springs is also part of the reason... guests are now spending similiar amounts of money at Boathouse, STK and Morimoto instead of some resort dining.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

What about just decreasing prices?

So Annual Pass holders were given 20% off at 45 restaurants from 10/1/16 through 9/30/17. Then the discount some of these restaurants was upped to 30% off dinner during non-peak hours. Now I see Florida residents are being offered free appetizers and parking.

All these discounts are making me think that Disney needs to fill more tables.

Silly me is thinking that the problem was jacking up prices too high in the first place. And don't even get me started on what I think about "all day" menus where the price is the same at lunch and dinner.

My guess, and this is only a guess, is that the timing of the discounts has something to do with resort capacity during these timeframes. If there aren't a lot of people staying at the resorts, there isn't a "captive audience", so to speak, to eat at the restaurants. Therefore, they reach out to the locals (and AP holders, most of whom, are probably local), to incentivize them to drive to the resort and eat at the restaurants. That's just my guess. It may also incentivize people to buy AP's, therefore creating a cycle of people visiting parks more and eating at the restaurants more . . . ? I don't know if it really has anything to do with the pricing at the signatures. They are pretty on par with pricing I see at our local, higher-end restaurants (I think in the NYC metropolitan area). And, as PP pointed out, even if they lowered prices, that wouldn't incentivize people on the DDP to eat there as they would still be 2 credit TS. I don't know. Just speculation. But I am looking forward to our 30% AP discount at Artist Point in a few weeks!

 

[JerseyJanice]

@DisneyWishes14 If you like mushrooms, you must order the mushroom soup at Artist Point. Food for the gods!

 

[rebelbuddhist]

These are restaurants though that are not struggling because of price. They are struggling because people think they are too exotic.

The list is Jinko, Citricos, Flying Fish, and Artist Point also all are at the hotels. Many people on their once in a lifetime Disney trip are not going to lose upwards of 5 park hours to eat at any of these places. Throw in the fact all of them have more "adult" offerings and even the two more normal dinner places are more upscale than theme park food and people just don't go. Jinko and Artist Point are worth every penny they charge especially for the quality of product they use. I haven't been to Citricos or Flying Fish but I imagine it could be the same.

People might benefit from developing the mindset that the restaurants are a fifth "gate". Enjoying a relaxing, well prepared meal in a comfortable setting can be as "magical" as a thrill ride with a mindset. I doubt anyone actually spends five hours at a meal.

 

[jdisnut]

Disney restaurant prices, particularly at the signature locations, are so high it's hilarious at this point. I have spent virtually my entire life living in and around New York. I'm fortunate to have access to literally hundreds of the world's best dining establishments and have partook in quite a few over the years. For the most part, they are more reasonable than Disney's restaurants, and that's in a city where the rent can practically bankrupt a person.

Flying Fish, which by all accounts is a good restaurant, is currently offering a octopus, shrimp and Chilean sea bass dish for $49. Where I live, the only dishes that cost that much are high-end steaks, lobster and other dishes with exotic or rare ingredients, like truffles. There is literally a gastropub near my office in Times Square, one of the most expensive pieces of real estate on Earth, that sells Chilean sea bass for $27. It's utter nonsense.

 

[JerseyJanice]

@rebelbuddhist I'm not Wilkeliza, but I can see 4-5 hours easily if you go back to your room, shower and dress for dinner, and then you count the travel time.

 

[wilkeliza]

People might benefit from developing the mindset that the restaurants are a fifth "gate". Enjoying a relaxing, well prepared meal in a comfortable setting can be as "magical" as a thrill ride with a mindset. I doubt anyone actually spends five hours at a meal.

5 hours was travel time that Disney tells you to take (90 minutes each way) and then at a signature preparing from anywhere form 2 to 3 hours for the actual meal. All of the restaurants on the list are signature dinning experiences. Top it off with if you want to meet the stated dress code so figure you have to go back to your room shower and change and it can easily get to be 5 or more hours out of the park. While people here often say they don't follow the dress code I imagine there are a lot of regular visitors who say I don't want to go there because I would have to go back to the room, change, and go back.

 

[hakepb]

@DisneyWishes14 i could believe capacity at some of the restaurants ... but with F&W starting later this month, I have a hard time believing the Epcot resorts have low bookings (for Flying Fish).
For FL residents, a free appetizer and free Valet parking at BW during F&W seems to be a crazy good promo

 

[DLgal]

Disney restaurant prices, particularly at the signature locations, are so high it's hilarious at this point. I have spent virtually my entire life living in and around New York. I'm fortunate to have access to literally hundreds of the world's best dining establishments and have partook in quite a few over the years. For the most part, they are more reasonable than Disney's restaurants, and that's in a city where the rent can practically bankrupt a person.

Flying Fish, which by all accounts is a good restaurant, is currently offering a octopus, shrimp and Chilean sea bass dish for $49. There is literally a gastropub near my office in Times Square, one of the most expensive pieces of real estate on Earth, that sells Chilean sea bass for $27. It's utter nonsense.

I completely agree with you. Even in San Francisco you don't often see Disney Signature prices for comparable items at mid-high end restaurants. It's madness that they think they can get away with pricing like that in central Florida.

 

[wilkeliza]

Disney restaurant prices, particularly at the signature locations, are so high it's hilarious at this point. I have spent virtually my entire life living in and around New York. I'm fortunate to have access to literally hundreds of the world's best dining establishments and have partook in quite a few over the years. For the most part, they are more reasonable than Disney's restaurants, and that's in a city where the rent can practically bankrupt a person.

Flying Fish, which by all accounts is a good restaurant, is currently offering a octopus, shrimp and Chilean sea bass dish for $49. There is literally a gastropub near my office in Times Square, one of the most expensive pieces of real estate on Earth, that sells Chilean sea bass for $27. It's utter nonsense.

There is no way that gastropub is using quality Chilean Sea bass in NYC at a price point of 27 bucks. They are either getting the cheapest cut of chilean sea bass known to man or are barely making a buck or two a dish. Also a gastropub is very different than a signature dinning. The quality of the ingredients are going to be night and day at those price points as well.

 

[jdisnut]

I completely agree with you. Even in San Francisco you don't often see Disney Signature prices for comparable items at mid-high end restaurants. It's madness that they think they can get away with pricing like that in central Florida.

The beauty of San Francisco is the ability to find top-notch, high-quality food at reasonable prices. There are chefs all over the Bay Area serving high-end ingredients at diners at taquerias and coffee shops. I don't expect Disney to be New York or San Francisco, but I do expect sanity.

 

[jdisnut]

There is no way that gastropub is using quality Chilean Sea bass in NYC at a price point of 27 bucks. They are either getting the cheapest cut of chilean sea bass known to man or are barely making a buck or two a dish. Also a gastropub is very different than a signature dinning. The quality of the ingredients are going to be night and day at those price points as well.

You actually stumbled upon the answer here: Yes, the restaurant is probably making very little per dish. That's literally how the restaurant industry works. Profit margins are razor-thin. It's a brutal business, especially in a city like New York or Chicago or San Francisco where the competition is fierce.

We are in a food revolution in this country. People are more discerning and have higher expectations for what restaurants serve. Disney doesn't have to worry about competition, but its inability to fill its tables is an indication that customers are reacting to the pricing.

By the way, there are gastropubs all around this city that use far, far superior ingredients to literally anything Disney is serving anywhere. That's my point: In 2017, it's easier to find chef-prepared food at reasonable prices than ever before in history.

 

[wilkeliza]

You actually stumbled upon the answer here: Yes, the restaurant is probably making very little per dish. That's literally how the restaurant industry works. Profit margins are razor-thin. It's a brutal business, especially in a city like New York or Chicago or San Francisco where the competition is fierce.

We are in a food revolution in this country. People are more discerning and have higher expectations for what restaurants serve. Disney doesn't have to worry about competition, but its inability to fill its tables is an indication that customers are reacting to the pricing.

By the way, there are gastropubs all around this city that use far, far superior ingredients to literally anything Disney is serving anywhere. That's my point: In 2017, it's easier to find chef-prepared food at reasonable prices than ever before in history.

Eh my mother in law owns a restaurant in the city so I see it every day. While yes you can find okay food cooked by someone over NYC at varying prices but you also will find 80-90% of NYC restaurants closed with in 5 years of opening. Some say it is as high as 50% the first year alone. So the pricing structure doesn't work for success.

 

[DLgal]

There is no way that gastropub is using quality Chilean Sea bass in NYC at a price point of 27 bucks. They are either getting the cheapest cut of chilean sea bass known to man or are barely making a buck or two a dish. Also a gastropub is very different than a signature dinning. The quality of the ingredients are going to be night and day at those price points as well.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you there. Chefs in NYC and other large cities often shop for ingredients every morning at local markets. They aren't buying mass quantities from Sysco (or whatever supplier WDW uses). They don't keep large amounts of meat and fish in freezers. I guarantee you the chef at Flying Fish isn't having the Chilean Sea Bass flown in every morning directly from Chile. He is getting it from the same supplier that other local restaurants use.