Possible reason for no Counter Service at AKV????

[Hunclemarco]

Taken from The 2009 Yacht & Beach Club FAQ Thread post #520:

I talked to one of the Market Place managers today regarding the Beaches & Cream breakfast and apparently it is going to end this week. She said they have had lots of positive comments but quite a few negative ones too, mainly from vacation club members that don't want to walk to B&C to get the stuff they had previously purchased in the Market Place. So, we have no idea of whether it is going to return or not. The minute I hear anything definitely, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

(I added underlining)
Not trying to start anything, and this is pure speculation on my part, but if Disney hears stuff like this, could this be a reason why they don't have counter service at AKV.

 

[Tara]

I can't imagine why people would complain about breakfast at B&C - it's not like the Marketplace served eggs, pancakes, etc. I for one would love to see this breakfast option become permanent for our future stays. I think I could even manage the loooong walk to B&C, but I'd have to rest up first.

I don't think complaints of that nature have anything to do with why there's no CS at Kidani, though.

 

[Cmbar]

That is silly! I can't imagine that being a problem and shame on the DVC'ers that complained. Ok... wait I haven't been in on the loop. Did they close the market place and move breakfast to B&C? Because I thought the Market place stuff was pretty skimpy. One of my main complaint for the BCV and BWV --- no counter service. Do DVC'er really not eat as much as other resort guests??


Oh and Tara, where did you get that beautiful BLT siggy.... I want one!!

 

[DebbieB]

I think DVC thinks of Jambo & Kidani as one resort and figured Mara was enough to serve both. I stayed there in June and was surprised how far they are apart. I also think the bakery at BW is too small to serve a resort of that size, the line is usually out the door. At BCV, why couldn't they have both the Marketplace and B & C open?

 

[Hunclemarco]

I don't know....
I read the thread above and as a DVC member, i felt kinda hurt that it seems DVC is getting a bad rap about this.... but then i thought and i guess that it hurt even more that sometimes it's the DVC members that could cause the closure of some events, or in this situation, a meal of sorts. I was taking a long shot on my speculation, but didn't know how to word what i was thinking at the time, and thought we DVC'rs should see what management sees through some of their surveys. It's late at night, and i may be a little emotional, but all the same, this is what they see.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I think there's some misinformation going on. I don't recall the marketplace ever serving hot food so the items at b&c breakfast were new. Now if they closed the marketplace during the breakfast and DVCers had to walk to Bc to get coffee and muffins I can see where that would be a problem.
That is not an enhancement for those staying in the villas on points or cash.

 

[disneynutz]

We all know why there isn't counter service at Kidani. Money.

Disney decided to cut costs by having everyone go over to the Jambo House.

Same holds true for BLT. Everything that supports BLT is at the Contemporary.

 

[Tiger926]

We had the CS breakfast @ Beaches & Cream last month, and it's great! It was very convenient to eat it while swimming at SAB. Here is my problem with the above statement:

Not sure this is fair to DVC members - you mean to tell me that they've heard from a few DVC members in a few weeks (the breakfast has been running for all of 3.5 weeks), and they are cancelling it for that fact. How many DVC members have they heard from about point reallocation or charging the $90.00 booking fee? Probably thousands....Yet, no changes. Why? Because Disney does what Disney wants. They are cancelling this breakfast for reasons unknown to us, period. I think this manager, if indeed this conversation even happened, was irresponsible in these comments. You can't take a few weeks, and extrapolate that onto all DVC guests, and then use that info to cancel the event. That is horrible business management, IMHO.

There is no CS at Kidani because it's cheaper not to have one. You can have guests walk to Mara, just like guests have to walk from Yacht Club to Beach Clu, and from BLT to Contemporary. As said above, it's all about money.

That whole statement is silly! Tiger

 

[PatMcDuck]

After staying at Kidaini, it really needs a "Roaring Forks" or some sort of additional food option. The distance to Jambo is too far to get food and bring it back to our room. IMHO. The walk to the Contemporary looks WAY shorter to me. Esp in the summer heat of WDW.

 

[Hunclemarco]

We had the CS breakfast @ Beaches & Cream last month, and it's great! It was very convenient to eat it while swimming at SAB. Here is my problem with the above statement:

Not sure this is fair to DVC members - you mean to tell me that they've heard from a few DVC members in a few weeks (the breakfast has been running for all of 3.5 weeks), and they are cancelling it for that fact. How many DVC members have they heard from about point reallocation or charging the $90.00 booking fee? Probably thousands....Yet, no changes. Why? Because Disney does what Disney wants. They are cancelling this breakfast for reasons unknown to us, period. I think this manager, if indeed this conversation even happened, was irresponsible in these comments. You can't take a few weeks, and extrapolate that onto all DVC guests, and then use that info to cancel the event. That is horrible business management, IMHO.

There is no CS at Kidani because it's cheaper not to have one. You can have guests walk to Mara, just like guests have to walk from Yacht Club to Beach Clu, and from BLT to Contemporary. As said above, it's all about money.

That whole statement is silly! Tiger

Thanks for posting this..... I agree with these thoughts too.....
Like i said earilier, i was probably just overtired and not thinking straight.

 

[LIFERBABE]

After staying at Kidaini, it really needs a "Roaring Forks" or some sort of additional food option. The distance to Jambo is too far to get food and bring it back to our room. IMHO. The walk to the Contemporary looks WAY shorter to me. Esp in the summer heat of WDW.

Agreed! Kidani to Mara would not be an option for us unless we were going over there anyway. You cant really walk/bus over there and bring food back in less than an hour. After we checked out Kidani in June (stayed in Jambo) we booked Jambo again. I would much rather visit Kidani for the amenities and stay at Jambo for the necessities.

I think they did a much better job with BLT. The pool offers counter service options which I did not expect at all since the CR pool is so close, although they are cold items. In addition they offer the Private Dining and the Sand Bar Grill pool service with a full kitchen and burgers/fries at the CR main pool. Much closer than Kidani and many more options. Both AKV and BLT are home for us but no counter service at Kidani in an already remote location is really not that inviting.

 

[Mississippian]

Same holds true for BLT. Everything that supports BLT is at the Contemporary.

At BLT, it doesn't look to me like it is that inconvenient to walk though that little walkway to get to the hotel amenities. At Kidanai, it is a really, really long hike to get to Mara.

 

[disneynutz]

At BLT, it doesn't look to me like it is that inconvenient to walk though that little walkway to get to the hotel amenities. At Kidanai, it is a really, really long hike to get to Mara.

Granted AKV is a longer walk, but my point is that DVD made a deliberate decision to provide minimal amenities at Kidani and BLT to save Disney money.

In that past Disney kept a pretty good balance between making a profit and providing a magical experience for their Guests. Now I see a trend that makes me sad. Their focus is more on profit and less on what made Disney so famous, the Guest experience.

 

[Deb & Bill]

AKV does have counter service; it's located in Jambo House.

Just like OKW and SSR don't have counter service in each of the buildings, you have to walk or drive over to Good to Go or Artist's Palette, which have smaller offerings than Mara.

I'm surprised they opened the store a Kidani. Where is the BLT store? Or counter service if you are going to complain about AKV.

I thought the B&C breakfast service was only to help out since Spoodles was closed for the change over. Not because someone thought they needed to serve breakfast there.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I think there's some misinformation going on. I don't recall the marketplace ever serving hot food so the items at b&c breakfast were new. Now if they closed the marketplace during the breakfast and DVCers had to walk to Bc to get coffee and muffins I can see where that would be a problem.
That is not an enhancement for those staying in the villas on points or cash.

While the Marketplace doesn't offer a full breakfast, I do remember in May that we had breakfast tehre one day and if I remember it was a hot ham and cheese omelet on a croissant, or something similar.

 

[Dean]

If they took away options at the Marketplace and moved them to B & C, it was appropriate to complain if this were a problem. But DVC members cannot be blamed for this issue. Complaints or no, they would continue it if it were making money.

 

[d-r]

I don't think it is any farther from kidani to mara than it is from some saratoga springs to artist palate or some old key west to goods to go or some boardwalk villas to...the screen door? The bakery? Is there still a pizza window?

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

I don't think it is any farther from kidani to mara than it is from some saratoga springs to artist palate or some old key west to goods to go or some boardwalk villas to...the screen door? The bakery? Is there still a pizza window?

That was going to be my question! We would want from Congress Park (SSR) to get food and bring it back. We did not consider it a horrible walk. Is the Kidani to Mara walk much farther?

 

[Dean]

That was going to be my question! We would want from Congress Park (SSR) to get food and bring it back. We did not consider it a horrible walk. Is the Kidani to Mara walk much farther?

It's probably pretty close. Both too far IMO to carry food back that needs to be warm. Less of an issue if going to eat there. Further than at BWV or VWL even in the furthest reaches.

The point for BCV was that it was at a more convenient location for some items and that someone said that DVC members complained. We don't know if that's at all accurate nor does it really matter because if you're walking 3-4 times as far this year for the same thing as previously, I think one has the right to say this is not OK. Still, remember it was Disney's decision to open, ? to close breakfast at B & C and to take away those appropriate items at the Marketplace. If they'd had kept both options it would not have been an issue for anyone.

 

[LIFERBABE]

If they'd had kept both options it would not have been an issue for anyone.

I agree Dean. It's almost like they set it up to fail, so they could say they tried

The difference for SSR and OKW is if you are at the main pool you are very close to dining options. We dont carry food back to the Villas, unless they are leftovers or groceries. But if we are hanging out at the pool or Community Hall, we enjoy having lunch or snacks at the pool, which is a close option at OKW and SSR.

In Kidani defense, they do offer Private Dining poolside but that is not counter service nor can you use counter service credits poolside at Kidani.