King crab legs are gone from Coral Reef?

[undertheseas]

I don't see it listed on the updated dinner menu showing on All Ears, is it really gone?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Yes, thanks to the DDP. All restaurants have lost or are losing their best foods. Under DDP a restaurant will receive a fixed dollar amount for each meal sold, whether it is the highest or lowest costing items ordered. The restaurants have to make a profit. They cannot make money with high quality/cost ingredients and have to cut back.

If Basic DDP is eliminated within six months you will find almost all of the restaurants will have brought back their high end items.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I was a long time advocate for the DDP but now have to agree with Cheshire Figment. We found on our last trip the menus were very stripped down. Coral Reef's crab legs being just one of many places to do this. I found that if we really wanted a nice, varied menu, we had to either go to a buffet, one of the more ethnic places in the World Showcase, or a two ts place. Everything else seemed the same, with a very limited menu. Not to say we didn't enjoy our food, but we did find a lot of our old favorites axed. Too bad Disney couldn't find a way to make their almighty dollar but still keep things varied and special.

 

[ElizabethB]

This is disappointing. I was looking forward to the crag legs. Oh well. DDP strikes again.

 

[jjohnson]

I was just going to post this news too. It's probably also tied into the free dining promotion starting in August.

 

[ransom]

This is all so silly! Disney decided to increase profits at their resorts by giving away food, but like most modern corporations, they demand that every division make profits. So this leaves the restaurants in a bad situation, and all they can do is give their customers -- including the ones paying cash! -- an inferior experience. So the overall experience for the customer is a high-priced hotel room and overpriced, uninspiring food.

Disney needs to fix this problem they've created before it spirals any further down the drain. Either operate the restaurants at a loss for DDP guests in return for them paying full price for their hotel rooms, radically change the DDP in either price or offerings, or scrap the DDP entirely.

 

[Chkysbak]

I can't believe it!! I purposely booked the Coral Reef for the King Crab Legs. I am leaving for WDW in 10 days. I am SO disappointed that I might cancel my DDP all together. I can't believe that a NY Strip is $34 dollars

I just got a 22 oz porterhouse from Longhorn and it was $22

Is there anywhere else that has Crab legs?

 

[lilyv]

Yes, thanks to the DDP. All restaurants have lost or are losing their best foods. Under DDP a restaurant will receive a fixed dollar amount for each meal sold, whether it is the highest or lowest costing items ordered. The restaurants have to make a profit. They cannot make money with high quality/cost ingredients and have to cut back.

If Basic DDP is eliminated within six months you will find almost all of the restaurants will have brought back their high end items.

I wish they would just offer the DDP patrons a separate menu.
For the rest of us, it would keep all the choices available.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I wish they would just offer the DDP patrons a separate menu.
For the rest of us, it would keep all the choices available.

I just wish they would have a different menu for free dining patrons. I mean no offense but if its free, it should reflect that. I realize they are all paying rack rate for their rooms, but if the food is free, why should the paying guest have to pay for that promo, before, during and after it runs. I mean if I am eating for free, even with a high priced room, I am okay with limited choices, because of the deal I am getting. It won't happen but I think in a perfect "Disney run by Disboards" world it would!

Fulton's has crab legs or at least they did the last time I checked! Its not part of the DDP so that probably bodes well for crab leg lovers!

 

[psu1978]

I must say that I am not happy. We are going in less than one week and I was looking forward to the crab legs. For a seafood place, they seem to have as much non-seafood as seafood. Since free dining doesn't start until later in August, I wonder why they would make the change now???????

Does anyone know if you can get the lobster salad/soup from lunch at dinner time?? That would ease my pain.

 

[mom2aiden]

I'm really disappointed to hear this too. We're going in October and I so wanted to get those crab legs for our dinner at Coral Reef.

So, has this been definitely confirmed? It's just the first that I'm hearing of it.

 

[psu1978]

I just wanted to see if anyone who had been there recently could confirm the change. The same website has the cheese potatoes back at Ohanas and they are not there yet...it is just being considered according to recent posts.

Can anyone confirm that crab legs are officially not on the menu right now????

 

[secretpantssam]

Does anyone know if you can get the lobster salad/soup from lunch at dinner time?? That would ease my pain.

i hope they don't get rid of that next...the lobster salad was the reason I made the reservation there!!

 

[Disney Ron]

Another DISappointed DISer. We have an ADR for Sept. during the free dining period, however we are not taking part in the free dining offer. We were both looking forward to the crab leg meal.

Why can't Disney keep the same menu but limit items available with the promotion by marking their menus with astericks. It is just not fair to all.

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[Jenvenza]

Ahhh!! That is so depressing! I dont even want to tell my DH about this. He is going to be so disappointed.

 

[n2mm]

i hope they don't get rid of that next...the lobster salad was the reason I made the reservation there!!

Have you had the lobster salad? Did you like it?

 

[Henlady]

I notice some blaming "Free Dining" for the downfall of the menu selections.
Free Dining is limited to approximately 1 month a year - during the least visited time of year. That should not figure into the other 11 months a year for the dining program "losses". Also Disney limits the number of Free Dining packages so that should not figure into a loss to Disney. It is merely a tool to get a certain number of rooms filled so that you spend your money on Disney property. Most people will spend close to a comperable amount of money on extras since they aren't spending on food. Disney gets your money either way. Wether the profit is from meals or from golf fees, water park fees, marina rentals, tours, souviners, etc.... They are not loosing anything or they wouldn't offer the Free dining opportunity.
When the alloted number of rooms for "free dining" were filled, Disney evidently decided they needed more rooms filled so they offered a discount on room only ressies. Those people will most likely be eating on Disney property and paying the full price of their meals.

I just don't buy that the menu's are downsizing due to several weeks of free dining.
Downsizing menu's in general, means that Disney can purchase a specified amount of steaks, chicken, salmon, pork chops, etc....at a lower price. The more you purchase, the more you can negotiate a price. These items seem to be available on every menu in some form. A more varied menu means purchasing smaller amounts of ingredients at a higher cost. If 3 restaurants offer strip steaks, they may only be able to negotiate a price of say $7 a pound, if 25 of their restaurants offer a strip steak they may be able to negotiate that price down to say $5 a pound. So they are going with the more popular cuts of meat/fish/poultry at every restaurant thus generating the least purchase price to them but the maximum cost that they can charge the public.

 

[secretpantssam]

Have you had the lobster salad? Did you like it?

I haven't actually had it yet...it just sounded so good when I read the menu online!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I think its the DDP in general. And I have often defended the DDP and have also purchased it, the most recent being 15 nights for our June trip. But you cannot deny the correlation between when the DDP got so popular and when restaurants started stripping down the menus. I used to think, "well chefs change menus all the time". But often they haven't put something else in place of what they have taken away. We ate all around the World last month. It just seemed like that except for the 2TS places and the buffets, it was all sort of the same and in a very limited way.

Free Dining is just a small part of the puzzle. But I don't think its out of the ordinary for those of us who pay for the DDP or pay OOP to want something more than what is currently being offered.

And the servers at WDW hate the DDP, they hate what its done to their livlihood, their menus and how much time they have to spend explaining things, getting managers to put out fires from angry guests and other fallout from it.

I love WDW, we enjoy the dining and its certainly not so bad we won't vacation there and eat onsite for 99% of our meals. But I do have to agree with others (and I was a slow convert) that the DDP has changed a lot of things. And not for the better. They are supposedly going to tweak it for 2009, raise the prices to once again include the gratuity, bring back the appetizer and maybe they will also beef up the menu. With more than the strip steaks!

 

[Praying Colonel]

This is all so silly! Disney decided to increase profits at their resorts by giving away food, but like most modern corporations, they demand that every division make profits. So this leaves the restaurants in a bad situation, and all they can do is give their customers -- including the ones paying cash! -- an inferior experience. So the overall experience for the customer is a high-priced hotel room and overpriced, uninspiring food.

Disney needs to fix this problem they've created before it spirals any further down the drain. Either operate the restaurants at a loss for DDP guests in return for them paying full price for their hotel rooms, radically change the DDP in either price or offerings, or scrap the DDP entirely.

My guess is that Disney doesn't see it as a problem as long as the $$$$ keeps rolling in. Any indicator that restaurant attendance is slipping?