POLL - Should Starbucks be at Walt Disney World?

[Planogirl]

~But, what if Starbucks were to abandon their ideals & commitment to using quality & natural ingredients to adopt Disney's cheap homogenized dining model, dumb down their menus, cheapen the napkins and get rid of all the cute seasonal stuff?

Disney had better not ruin my Starbucks! What a thought!

 

[nkereina]

I didn't vote, because I need an "other" option. I think Starbucks certainly should be offered at Walt Disney World, but they shouldn't take over an entire coffee shop. It should be a Disney owned shop and offer the coffee as an *option*.

This is what is going to happen.... the coffee will be an option, it's not taking over anything...

 

[Disney_Princess83]

~But, what if Starbucks were to abandon their ideals & commitment to using quality & natural ingredients to adopt Disney's cheap homogenized dining model, dumb down their menus, cheapen the napkins and get rid of all the cute seasonal stuff?

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!



Not my beloved Starbucks! Just the idea of it......

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

I wouldn't mind Starbucks in the parks as long as the theming is done well.

~I don't mind if Starbucks is in "the parks." I don't normally listen to the podcast, but this week's ~DIS Unplugged Podcast was excellent. Pete was just amazing! He asks the hard hitting question -- why the Magic Kingdom bakery? Why isn't this Starbucks thing happening at the Disneyland bakery? You can't help but notice that Disney did not put the Starbucks in their "flagship" park. The Starbucks is in DCA. Why? And, I totally agree with his reasoning for it! Unfortunately, I'm in the "I don't care camp", but I think it would have been awesome to have the Starbucks in the new Fantasyland Storybook Treats area.

I will take it. I love their fries, I also prefer their buns to those new and "improved" buns Disney offers now.

~LOL!

Disney had better not ruin my Starbucks! What a thought!

~This isn't a good thing, is it? Somebody please help me!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!



Not my beloved Starbucks! Just the idea of it......

~LOL. This Starbucks deal is a two way street, be careful what you wish for! I'm just kidding, I don't think that will ever happen.

 

[mattsdragon]

Starbucks makes the worst coffee for people like me who love coffee, and drink it black. They over roast their beans so that people can still taste coffee flavor when they add all the crap to it.

That having been said, the NesCrappee that they've been serving for years is garbage as well, so it's really a zero gain for black coffee drinkers.

For the people, like my wife, who like to overpay for their coffee, it's a win I guess. I really don't care, from all I've read since the announcement, the changes aren't going to be too radical, certainly not bad enough for the level of insanity and over-reactions seen on this board.

 

[I Love Pluto]

If they had to add a coffee shop to MK - they should have gone with Dunkin' Donuts. DD has great coffee! I do NOT LIKE Starbucks coffee. I feel that it has a bitter taste.

I am already out-voted! I lose!

 

[stindall]

If they had to add a coffee shop to MK - they should have gone with Dunkin' Donuts. DD has great coffee! I do NOT LIKE Starbucks coffee. I feel that it has a bitter taste.

I am already out-voted! I lose!

Blech no, dd coffee is horrendous As are their 'speciality' coffee drinks.

 

[WedgieSock]

Blech no, dd coffee is horrendous As are their 'speciality' coffee drinks.

Completely agree. Its weak and tasteless. Starbucks isn't exactly the creme de la creme of coffee but its about the best you're gonna get on the 'high st'.

 

[stindall]

Completely agree. Its weak and tasteless. Starbucks isn't exactly the creme de la creme of coffee but its about the best you're gonna get on the 'high st'.

I admit I don't drink regular coffee&cream at Starbucks (if I wanted that, I'd make it at home in my hipster french press) but their specialty drinks are very tasty. Every time I've been to Dunkin' in recent years everything I've bought has been pretty awful, even the donuts.

 

[WedgieSock]

I admit I don't drink regular coffee&cream at Starbucks (if I wanted that, I'd make it at home in my hipster french press) but their specialty drinks are very tasty. Every time I've been to Dunkin' in recent years everything I've bought has been pretty awful, even the donuts.

Agreed If you add an extra shot of espresso to an SB specialty drink, I find that works .... if you have a good barista.

 

[I Love Pluto]

I admit I don't drink regular coffee&cream at Starbucks (if I wanted that, I'd make it at home in my hipster french press) but their specialty drinks are very tasty. Every time I've been to Dunkin' in recent years everything I've bought has been pretty awful, even the donuts.

I'm glad I don't live near your DD!

 

[stindall]

I'm glad I don't live near your DD!

It's not just mine though, I've been to several in Ohio and Chicago. Maybe it's the midwest?

 

[copper0426]

A few thoughts for the "Disney should do their own special thing..." camp:

Disney did do their own special version of a coffee shop. It was called the Fountainview Espresso and Bakery.

It opened in November of 1993 as an annex of the Sunrise Terrace in Epcot (the remainder of which was converted into Pasta Piazza by May of 1994.)

It was a full on "coffee shop" with bakery items and froofy drinks. It served Nescafe products as well as Disney food items. It had/has a show kitchen bakery in the rear and is entirely setup akin to a modern Starbucks but with two-sided ordering. There was even ridiculous "coffee" theme items covering the walls.

It never did well. It failed to attract guests and by 2001 it was on seasonal operation. The adjacent Pasta Piazza also failed to attract guests. Pasta Piazza became Character Connection as a test and due to the success of that test it was closed, torn down, and then finally became Character Spot.

Fountainview lingered on as a seasonal offering, until finally in 2007 they tore out the bakery case and put in ice cream as a menu offering. It has remained open as merely The Fountainview Cafe since then.

Disney's own conceptualization of a modern coffee shop failed to attract guests in one of the busiest theme parks in the world at one of the heaviest foot traffic areas. It simply wasn't good and it was a failure.

Now do any of us really think Starbucks is going to fail at that same location?

If you consider that factually, you can see why they're not going to attempt to make yet another Disney version of a Starbucks but rather just put a proper Starbucks offering in place at Fountainview and the Main Street Bakery.

I really have no idea what you are talking about there was never a time when we were at EPCOT and Fountainview didn't have lines out the door. It was a great place to grab a bite.

Having been there at least three to four times a year for the past 20 years. It had been a regular stop for us. We were disappointed when Edy's went in.

Well to each their own. Getting back on topic. My DH loves Starbucks has got our son into it. They hate the coffee at Disney. As long as they don't take away the Cinnamon buns, Croissant Sandwiches and the yogurt parfait, I will be ok with it.

 

[stindall]

I really have no idea what you are talking about there was never a time when we were at EPCOT and Fountainview didn't have lines out the door. It was a great place to grab a bite.

Having been there at least three to four times a year for the past 20 years. It had been a regular stop for us. We were disappointed when Edy's went in.

Well to each their own. Getting back on topic. My DH loves Starbucks has got our son into it. They hate the coffee at Disney. As long as they don't take away the Cinnamon buns, Croissant Sandwiches and the yogurt parfait, I will be ok with it.

Yeah I remember it being pretty busy as well. Actually I think that's the same place I got to see NSYNC and touch their hands!

 

[vacationer1954]

They over roast their beans

They stopped doing that years ago. Well, they still do sell some over roasted coffee, but their everyday drip coffee is no longer one of the over roasted ones.

 

[OrangeCat04]

I couldn't be happier, what Disney passes off as coffee is the most putrid drink I have ever had. I have no sentimental attachment to a bakery located in one of the busiest theme parks in the world. They should have done this sooner, and I hope the resorts follow suit.

 

[MichVick]

I don't drink coffee so it doesn't really matter much to me, but I will be travelling with huge Starbucks fans so they are happy about it

 

[WedgieSock]

It's not just mine though, I've been to several in Ohio and Chicago. Maybe it's the midwest?

Nope, they are terrible here in GA too!

 

[jvptravels]

It isn't surprising that Disney is bringing in one of the most popular and fastest growing coffees in the country to replace the horrible coffee that has been complained about for at least the few years I've been here. For those who don't know about why people like Starbucks besides just how good their coffee is, you should know that Starbucks consistently does right by its employees. For example, they closed all their stores well before the transit system shut down before Hurricane Sandy, so their staff could get home safely. And doing good by their employees forces their competitors to do good too. After Starbucks announced that they were closing their stores, their biggest competitor had to do the same.

Thank for pointing this out. I've been a manager for SBUX and TDS. I was working at TDS inSF on 9/11/01. After it became obvious that out country was attacked, my DM made me keep my team in the store, unloading boxes until she said otherwise. When I received direction from the Disney corporate office to send my team home, my DM wrote me up when we returned to work for not following her instructions.

Starbucks is a truly great company. They care about their employees, and are one of the most responsible corporations I know of. I respect Starbucks as a company, much more than I will ever respect Disney.

 

[luvthemouse71]

It's not just mine though, I've been to several in Ohio and Chicago. Maybe it's the midwest?

It could be..Here in RI, we have a Dunkin' Donuts practically on every street corner. I drink their iced coffee year round. I also like their donuts and specialty drinks.

We had a Krispy Kreme here for a couple of years- it tanked. The only good donuts there were the plain glazed, and even then they had to be warm. Their coffee also sucked. It saw big crowds when it first opened, because of the curiosity factor. Once that died down, they didn't do so well.