Oga's Cantina--are you required to order something?

[marikujawa]

It’s not just BOG. Every character or prix fixe meal now requires payment of a fixed fee for every guest regardless of whether they choose to eat and what they choose to eat (e.g. adult ordering from kids menu still pays adult price; kid ordering counter service mac n cheese at Ohana's still paying table service price). Disney does not want people finding ways around paying at high-demand locations. That is just common sense.

It’s like the individual shampoo bottles at resorts—Disney may claim it is to be eco friendly, but then why still supply them at deluxe resorts if it is about saving the environment and not about cost? I bet Disney looked at the numbers and a not insignificant part of the cost was from guests requiring a full set of new bottles each day as people stocked up to take them home.

That's true but it's not inconsistent with J-Dog's point. I don't think Disney changed BOG to a set-price dinner experience because a few people were ordering just cupcakes. It went to a set-price experience because that is what Disney is doing with virtually all of its high-demand locations. Why take a chance on people ordering a salad or light dinner when they can charge $60 per person for a prix fixe dinner and still have the place filled every night. If Disney changes Oga's, it won't be because a few people aren't ordering anything - I bet that doesn't happen very often. It will be because they decide to operate the place in a way that ensures maximum profit. In the meantime, people should feel free to do what they like as long as it does not violate any of Disney's rules. I have no comment on people stealing toiletries

 

[GrtDisGuy]

Just ask the cast up front for a tour. You don’t need a table if you aren’t ordering anything.

We didn't have reservation and just asked to see the inside. They gave us a quick tour. Worked out very well.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

No.

I’m sure they would love it if someone took up space of paying customers.

Order a drink and don’t drink it. At least spend some money.

was this really necessary? geez

 

[bimiller0720]

Part of a group not ordering, especially children in a place with a limited non-alcohol menu, is different from no one in a group ordering. I’m a local who visits HS frequently. While I would love to go into Oga’s every visit, I can’t afford it. So we’ve (Mom and I) been just three times and once only one of us ordered. I think we’re going to take turns ordering so we can visit more often.

But the OP was going with others and everyone on this thread still said she needed to order if she wanted to go. She was asking if she could do the exact thing you are planning to do and people said it would be rude. She never once said the people she was with wouldn’t be ordering, just that nothing on the menu appealed to her.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We thought we would just people watch. Ending up spending 80 bucks (4 drinks plus the bits) trying things. Typical Disney liqour pricing but not really worth a reservation. Too bad there's no real cantina band in there. They kick you out after 45 minutes too which is strange to us.

 

[leebee]

It is very likely that someone in a Disney office is monitoring and tracking amount of reservations V amount of drinks sold. It is very likely that there is a daily tally, a weekly tally and a monthly tally. It is very likely that someone in a Disney office knows the number of drinks sold and the number of people who had reservations for any given day. This is a data driven world world now, everything is tracked and monitored and analysed. It makes no difference what the CM's at Ogas allow, what matters is the numbers, the figures on someones spreed sheet, the graph and trend created from the numbers on a spreadsheet in a Disney office, probably in Burbank.

They most likely have a cut off point. They most likely know at what stage they will start enforcing a minimum spend just like with Be Our Guest in Florida. These decisions are planned months in advance. Its not an if its a when. For example, if there are 2000 people who have entered Ogas that means there should be in theory 4000 drinks sold. But if they see only 1000 drinks sold, it means that 50% of people who have been in Ogas did not make a purchase. This is where the number crunching starts.

They would then monitor and track for a specific time period, to see if this is an emerging trend, or a once off.

I am pretty sure that data mining is a LOT of what those magic bands are about...

I'll add to the discussion and point out that you can't go to Narcoosee's or California Grill just to see the fireworks. You have to have an ADR to do so, even if it means you come back after your meal (with your receipt) to see the show. Would you honestly make an ADR at one of these spots, ordering nothing, just to look around and see the fireworks?

 

[BadPinkTink]

I am pretty sure that data mining is a LOT of what those magic bands are about...

Most defiantly. I do data analysis as part of my job, and the geek in me would LOVE to have access to the Magic Bands Admin Dashboard. Part of my job is to track and monitor and look at trends and graphs and to advise my clients on marketing decisions and business decisions based on the my data analysis reports. It would be magical to me to spend an afternoon in a Disney corporate office going through the Magic Band data and seeing how the data analysis reports affect Disney's decisions in the park.

 

[leebee]

Most defiantly. I do data analysis as part of my job, and the geek in me would LOVE to have access to the Magic Bands Admin Dashboard. Part of my job is to track and monitor and look at trends and graphs and to advise my clients on marketing decisions and business decisions based on the my data analysis reports. It would be magical to me to spend an afternoon in a Disney corporate office going through the Magic Band data and seeing how the data analysis reports affect Disney's decisions in the park.

Also the reason why DH won't wear a magic band, and keeps it in an RFID-proof pouch. He says the last thing he needs is some car insurance company getting the data of how many bars he enters in a given day on vacation. Paranoid? Maybe... and I know Disney has said they won't sell data, but I also know Disney once said that a paid day's admission is good forever, right?

 

[Denniluvsdisney]

We were excited to visit, on our last trip, and had planned to order drinks and a snack, before our ADR at 50's. We were 15 minutes early for our reservation, and guided to this long line of others, who had reservations. I asked how long the wait might be, and she said not long, and told us of the time limitations, and rules. We ended up deciding to hit the lounge at Prime Time, instead. We just wanted to experience the atmosphere, but with my arthritis, it wasn't worth rolling the dice on getting a table. I am fine waiting until another trip....