Poll about banning free dining (Inspired by Geezer)

[dianeschlicht]

How do they do this with eggs, hamburgers, steaks? I agree that my food seemed freshly prepared the last time we stayed at OWK. I can see it with salads and lots of foods, but not much of the breakfast fare or meats.

Oh, I'm sure they do some of those things on site, because they would need to do that, but they don't have a full kitchen staff or chef anymore. Things like salads etc. and other dishes are there as ingredients, but things are simply put together and plated by the Olivia's staff.

 

[smjj]

Oh, I'm sure they do some of those things on site, because they would need to do that, but they don't have a full kitchen staff or chef anymore. Things like salads etc. and other dishes are there as ingredients, but things are simply put together and plated by the Olivia's staff.

Thats what we were told by the two servers we talked to. The kitchen is still entact its just used for breakfast and quick menu items. The main course items are prepared offsite and the special Olivia's dishes are just not made anymore. They do not have a chef now, they have a cook much like a Denny's or Bob Evans....smjj

 

[twinklebug]

Oh, and just to be clear. The bean counters aren't the protagonists; rather, this was a management strategy.

Not disagreeing with you as the people who put together the numbers are rarely the ones who make the decisions, but where do you get your knowledge from? Is it simply from experience, or are you close to an inside source?

Only when food quality and service once again dictate where people eat, will Disney will take a hard look at what they call free dining and tweak or remove it in order to improve quality as need be. For right now, many visitors are enjoying the mass produced food, crowded restaurants and all, simply to get the best perceived value from their money. As the economy (hopefully) improves I think more people will shuffle away from the herd and we'll see an increase in better dining options.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Not disagreeing with you as the people who put together the numbers are rarely the ones who make the decisions, but where do you get your knowledge from? Is it simply from experience, or are you close to an inside source?

Only when food quality and service once again dictate where people eat, will Disney will take a hard look at what they call free dining and tweak or remove it in order to improve quality as need be. For right now, many visitors are enjoying the mass produced food, crowded restaurants and all, simply to get the best perceived value from their money. As the economy (hopefully) improves I think more people will shuffle away from the herd and we'll see an increase in better dining options.

Absolutely, and Disney is kind of pricing itself out of the "return visitor" market, so they will rely on the new people who have no history of what was or could be.

 

[TLinden16]

I would love to see free dining go. The quality of the food has gone way downhill, and the restaurants are just too busy during free dining time.

I agree with Goofy4Tink. If Disney wants to offer a promotion, stick with the buy five nights, get two free type of promotion.

They shouldn't ever offer it as a DVC perk because it would ultimately have to be paid for by us with higher maintenance fees, and people like me who don't fill my DVC room to capacity would wind up subsidizing the cost for those people who do fill their rooms to capacity.

 

[crisi]

I aggree with all said in your post. I particulary want to comment on the above quote. I also aggree with it but it will never happen, why? The masses do not know what we know and Disney knows it. The percentage like us that know the way it was once compared to those who have no clue is small, very small. They have nothing to compare to and once again Disney knows this. They have bean counters whose job it is to take into account and look at the bottom line only and that is another change these last few years. They have lost sight what what made them Disney in the first place....smjj

I think Disney's biggest issue is that it has to compete as a vacation destination with All Inclusives. People seem to really want their vacations costs all itemized upfront without having to worry too much about being nickle and dimed on site. And I can see the appeal. When we do all inclusives, the food isn't outstanding, but its decent and it really is nice not to worry about it.

I miss the good food at Disney, and I wish they'd bring the flexibility back. But this is a great way for Disney to get people to commit to Disney (and not a Disney/Universal/Sea World/Beach) vacation. It isn't ideal for me, but I really don't think they'll get rid of the DDP. Just means that our chances of Disney as a lifelong destination drop - but I'm sure there will be more tourists behind me ready to take my place.

 

[LisaS]

DH and I are vegetarians and for us the food at WDW has improved over the past few years. More restaurants offer a vegetarian entree on their menu now and in several cases prior vegetarian selections have been replaced with healthier dishes. Our restaurant options are still somewhat limited however so my main issue with free dining is the need to book ADRs 180 days out or risk not getting in to the short list of restaurants with the better vegetarian options. To be fair, some of those restaurants (Boma, for instance) can be difficult to book within a couple months of one's stay even without free dining.

 

[Sammie]

Thats what we were told by the two servers we talked to. The kitchen is still entact its just used for breakfast and quick menu items. The main course items are prepared offsite and the special Olivia's dishes are just not made anymore. They do not have a chef now, they have a cook much like a Denny's or Bob Evans....smjj

Actually this happens at lots of Disney restaurants. Any place you order the roasted chicken, it is not cooked at the restaurant but brought in.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Actually this happens at lots of Disney restaurants. Any place you order the roasted chicken, it is not cooked at the restaurant but brought in.

Frankly, about the only place it doesn't happen is at the signatures.

 

[mvc1997]

Thats what we were told by the two servers we talked to. The kitchen is still entact its just used for breakfast and quick menu items. The main course items are prepared offsite and the special Olivia's dishes are just not made anymore. They do not have a chef now, they have a cook much like a Denny's or Bob Evans....smjj

So sad, we really use to like the different menus at each resort. Olivia's was a favorite.
Wish they got rid of ALL the DDPs, not just the free ones. Then I think the competition between all the resturants would come back. JMHO.

 

[Sammie]

Frankly, about the only place it doesn't happen is at the signatures.

Yep that is about it.

 

[Laurabearz]

I hate the dining plan and I really hate free dining

 

[dvcdisney]

I voted "Do away with it". I've been wishing this since they initiated the promotion.

It's a bit selfish, but one of our trips is the last two weeks of Aug and it used to be less busy. When they offered FD during that time, it was awful. It was not only hot, it was busy. Who wants that!

I agree that the food quality has gone down, I think FD has a lot to do with it, but not the only culprit.

Actually, I was glad to see the FD is offered later in Aug this year. We'll be there the week before and then we'll be on a cruise.

 

[smjj]

Actually this happens at lots of Disney restaurants. Any place you order the roasted chicken, it is not cooked at the restaurant but brought in.

That is one of the reasons for this thread. At signatures like Olivia's it did not happen once upon a time but does now. At one point in time, Olivia's as well as other signatures, they prepared meals onsite and made special items served just at these restaurants....smjj

 

[Brian Noble]

At signatures like Olivia's

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine ever thinking of Olivia's as a "signature" dining location. It's a nice place, with a little bit of character, and decent food. It's never been much more than that, unless you were tasting all that pixie dust that they sprinkle on everything.

 

[tjkraz]

It's a bit selfish, but one of our trips is the last two weeks of Aug and it used to be less busy. When they offered FD during that time, it was awful. It was not only hot, it was busy. Who wants that!

Uhhhh...Disney!

Whether it's "free dining" or some other promotion, Disney has made a concerted effort to maximize crowds throughout the entire calendar year. During previously slow periods they now offer incentive packages, special events (marathons, after-hours parties) and other reasons which prompt people to buy.

It costs about the same to operate the Magic Kingdom whether there are 15,000 people visiting in a day or 25,000 people. Thus Disney will bend over backward to get the higher numbers.

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine ever thinking of Olivia's as a "signature" dining location. It's a nice place, with a little bit of character, and decent food. It's never been much more than that, unless you were tasting all that pixie dust that they sprinkle on everything.

Agree.

I suspect isolated locations like Olivia's have also suffered as society's tastes changed. 15 years ago Disney didn't put noteworthy counter service dining options in its Deluxe and DVC resorts. Now places like Artist's Palette and Contempo Cafe are requirements. Some of the most frequent complaints about the BoardWalk and Kidani Village are a lack of convenient CS dining options.

Dining plan or no, I think Olivia's is one location that's been forced to evolve in response to lackluster business.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine ever thinking of Olivia's as a "signature" dining location. It's a nice place, with a little bit of character, and decent food. It's never been much more than that, unless you were tasting all that pixie dust that they sprinkle on everything.

Agreed. Olivia's has NEVER been a signature restaurant. It was a nice themed restaurant from the beginning, but I would never have considered it a "white table cloth" signature.

 

[crisi]

Agreed. Olivia's has NEVER been a signature restaurant. It was a nice themed restaurant from the beginning, but I would never have considered it a "white table cloth" signature.

Although that sort of brings up the "forced tiering." At one time Oliva's was not signature, but it was a pretty good restaurant, better than many TS places (so I understand, we never went there).

There is a place between "white table cloth" and "something like Fridays restaurants" - but not at Disney any more. Because at Disney dinner either costs $30 or $60. Not $45.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Although that sort of brings up the "forced tiering." At one time Oliva's was not signature, but it was a pretty good restaurant, better than many TS places (so I understand, we never went there).

There is a place between "white table cloth" and "something like Fridays restaurants" - but not at Disney any more. Because at Disney dinner either costs $30 or $60. Not $45.

Actually, I would have put the "old" Olivia's in that middle range. It was what I would call a good "family" restaurant. In a way, it still is, but certainly not in the way it used to be. It used to have a GREAT character breakfast. The noon meals were very unique salads and sandwich type fare, and the dinners were a bit higher quality than "family fare", but still not of the "signature" variety.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, and sadly some will STILL think the word "FREE" means they are getting some sort of good deal.

Well, they're not in practice getting anything "free" but if they are comparing the price of the free dining package to the price of a rack rate package with tickets and dining they will still be saving "some" to saving "loads" based on how many people they had on the reservation, even if they have to cough up $90 for the photobook. You don't see the savings unless you compare it to the full price package and full price dining plan.

For those who aren't really interested in dining plans and are not paying rack rate, it's not a savings at all, but the psychology of "free" and the psychology of the dining plan prepayment are very powerful things. All the time you see people posting that they can afford steak and lobster now because they have the dining plan, but they end up eating at 2 credit restaurants (effectively doubling the price of the meal), then leaving half the CS credits behind and 2/3 of the snacks. There was someone who said that it was cheaper for them to book a discounted package with paid dining, but they were disappointed because the dining wasn't "free" even though they were getting a better deal than free dining.

Olivia's, to my knowledge, was never a "signature" restaurant.