REVAMP of Whispering Canyon Cafe BEGINS

[disneydreamer781]

I don't know why people have to resort to judging others. Just because someone chooses not to eat at WCC because of the goings-on doesn't mean there is something wrong with them. There is no right or wrong here. I have never eaten at WCC partly because of the noise but mostly because of the menu. I'm an older adult that is not bringing children along and I prefer restaurants with a different vibe and that tend to be a bit quieter.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Chef Mickey's is on the fourth floor with the Contempo Cafe and the monorail. The lobby is on the first floor. Totally different.

Yet there are rooms above and below, so not different. I don't think the noise issue has to do with people in the lobby. It's guests in their rooms.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We loved our meal at Artist Point last month. Looking forward to going again for dinner, and to trying the new character breakfast when it's available.

Same here! For a couple of years in row I've been eating at AP (recent trip was in Nov) and quite honestly, its one of the best meals i've had in disney. Its my fave restaurant on property. The quality of food is ridiculously good. I cant wait to go back!

 

[goofyintoronto]

Exactly! One of my biggest pet peeves on here, which I see all the time, is people who knowingly go to restaurants where the menu, format, or atmosphere doesn't appeal to them, and then demand to be accommodated. Things like, "we really want to eat at Akershus but the menu looks gross....so we go anyways and ask for Mickey waffles". Or "we really want to try the food at 50s PT, but we don't like to be messed with so we tell them to leave us alone". Then WHY GO THERE?? There are SO many options to choose from, why not choose a place your party will enjoy?

YES! I agree! Its one of my pet peeves! I hear this all the time about SciFi. Its a DRIVE IN restaurant, yet they whine "I didnt like the fact that we were all seated in cars facing forward. I like to see my family's face 24/7." Well duh, its a DRIVE IN! It even says so on the disney page when you book the ADR! It specifically states "50s-style at our drive-in theater" and has a picture of the cars.... Yet they complain! I just don't get it.

 

[Nancyg56]

Sales are down because servers are too busy being expected to be comedians, not servers. Instead of yelling for ketchup or wasting huge amounts of soda to EVERYONE who asks for a large.....they should be "selling" up charge items like shakes or the all you care to eat offerings.

The schtick and gags are great.....but it was happening way too much. as I said...20 years ago...you saw the ketchup gag 1x an hour...not 1 x every 5 mins

We don't know why sales are down. We THINK we know, which is not the same thing. We also have no idea what the metrics in place for WCC servers actually are, but as a former server myself, I would bet you a buck most are actively selling menu items.

I believe that when you try to determine why changes are being made in a restaurant, you need to look deeper than your own experience there. IMO, that mirrors drawing a conclusion of a stranger's family relationship by observing a snapshot of time at a restaurant or in a park. Cell phone? They must not communicate as a family, when in fact you have no idea what their lives are like or what they may be doing.

If this restaurant was continuing to thrive the changes might have been minimal: menu items changed, etc. A major change in theme, and IMO the antics are part of the theme, means the problem there is more complicated. I did not share our experience earlier because I know that others might not have been upset by the antics our server decided to pull, but taking a little girl's backpack that she had saved for and paid for out of her own money, and then hiding it in the kitchen for over an hour was not fun. My son in law finally got up and followed her until he was able stop her long enough to make her understand the joke was over. and we wanted to go. We knew she meant no harm and was trying to "play" with my DGD, so we never complained, and we knew we signed up for it as soon as we entered. We simply chose not to return. How many other families have been treated to "jokes" that backfired, and chose to stay away? A restaurant that is off the beaten path needs to either draw guests who want to make a special trip to dine there, or needs to have a steady revenue flow from the resort guests. I imagine that WCC is no longer drawing enough people from "outside" and cannot hold it's own internally, therefore something needs to change.

 

[GillianP1301]

Yet there are rooms above and below, so not different. I don't think the noise issue has to do with people in the lobby. It's guests in their rooms.

I agree. I have stayed at WL in one of the rooms overlooking the lobby and it is very loud. The first few nights were an issue because it was keeping my son awake. I did ask to change rooms, but there were unfortunately no others open for the length of our stay available. We eventually got used to it, but it was annoying enough that I did make a note that if I were staying there again I would specifically request to not have a room overlooking the lobby. It was particularly a problem on the weekends when the noise was going right through until about 11pm. It would be less of an issue now because my son is a bit older and we stay out a bit later in the parks, but with young kids, I do see this as an issue.

 

[North of Mouse]

If someone gets insulted over extra straws and bottles of ketchup they need to reevaluate their lives!

Really?? So 'think' like you, or something is wrong with a person? Do you know what the word insult really means? Doesn't even remotely apply here! It's actually just an annoyance when you really just want to enjoy your meal.

Actually, years ago when we went , we knew nothing about the antics, just wanted a relaxing meal. After one visit, we never went back, not complaining to anyone, just left it for those that liked than atmosphere. 'That' makes something wrong with us in your opinion???

 

[dreamer17555]

Okay I cancelled my ADR and wrote to Disney guest service about the rumored removal of the antics. This was the reply I recieved:

Thank you for writing to us regarding the Walt Disney World Resort. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.

Please be assured that Whispering Canyon Cafe is still a rootin' tootin' good time for the whole family, with plenty of antics. You will notice that we've asked our Cast Members to turn down the volume a bit, to be more considerate to all our Guests at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.

 

[GillianP1301]

Okay I cancelled my ADR and wrote to Disney guest service about the rumored removal of the antics. This was the reply I recieved:

Thank you for writing to us regarding the Walt Disney World Resort. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.

Please be assured that Whispering Canyon Cafe is still a rootin' tootin' good time for the whole family, with plenty of antics. You will notice that we've asked our Cast Members to turn down the volume a bit, to be more considerate to all our Guests at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.

Maybe this will help to calm down this rumour mill a bit. I've been saying since this started that this may be a case of internet overreaction. Still waiting for some first hand accounts though.

My interpretation of this response is the antics that involved yelling across the restaurant may be stopping or toned down (like the ketchup) but anything at the tables can still be just as playful (straws, napkins, large/tiny drinks, etc...). This actually makes some sense as it helps address the issue of the noise being disturbing to resort guests in their room while still giving pretty much the same experience to the WCC diners.

Thanks for posting this dreamer, it's the first official piece of info I've seen on this topic.

 

[disneynutz]

My guess is that it's all about the money and the noise, revenue per table and table turn time. If they cut out the show, will more adults spend there? Will tables turn faster without the show? The lobby seems more crowded since the DVC went in and with all of the people in the lobby and the show noise from the restaurant, maybe it's now too much?

Bill

 

[JerseyJanice]

Yet there are rooms above and below, so not different. I don't think the noise issue has to do with people in the lobby. It's guests in their rooms.

In 2012, I stayed in a room on the floor directly above WCC, and I never heard any noise coming from it. The rooms are well insulated.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yet there are rooms above and below, so not different. I don't think the noise issue has to do with people in the lobby. It's guests in their rooms.

I'm not so sure it's because of a noise issue with resort rooms. I see it as more of a first impressions kind of thing when you walk into the lobby of a Deluxe hotel. The first thing I notice when I walk into WL is the hooting/hollering/yelling. Maybe that's a turn off to guests staying at the resort.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I've never been to WCC mostly because it's out of the way for us and the menu is just so so to us. I don't know how the antics would go over with my family...it would really depend on the mood that day. Are they crabby? Is my son being overly shy at that moment? Are we in the mood for a quieter meal?

Either way there are way too many restaurants to choose from at WDW for me to complain because I can't or won't eat at one. Just move on to the next one.

 

[Shannon12]

Really?? So 'think' like you, or something is wrong with a person? Do you know what the word insult really means? Doesn't even remotely apply here! It's actually just an annoyance when you really just want to enjoy your meal.

Actually, years ago when we went , we knew nothing about the antics, just wanted a relaxing meal. After one visit, we never went back, not complaining to anyone, just left it for those that liked than atmosphere. 'That' makes something wrong with us in your opinion???

The post I quoted said INSULTED. Here is the definition of insulted: speak to or treat with disrespect or scornful abuse. If one finds the ketchup and straws INSULTING then yes, that person has a problem. If it is bothersome, that I can see. But like I said the posted I QUOTED said insulted.

 

[Shannon12]

I wondered the same. Especially the straws. Throwing around who knows how many straws everyday has make the Green crowd crazy. I could see environmental types complaining about that.



Not sure it's "insulted," but maybe bothered.

https://news.sky.com/story/malibu-in-california-bans-plastic-cutlery-and-straws-11293178

In addition to Malibu, Oakland has also banned plastic straws.

Maybe the new GM is taking a cue from CA! (who knows, maybe she worked at Disneyland)

The post I quoted said insulted....

 

[Deb & Bill]

The post I quoted said INSULTED. Here is the definition of insulted: speak to or treat with disrespect or scornful abuse. If one finds the ketchup and straws INSULTING then yes, that person has a problem. If it is bothersome, that I can see. But like I said the posted I QUOTED said insulted.

You might want to reread post #59. I think the poster felt rather disrespected. And I'd like to bet she wasn't the only guest who has felt that way.

 

[sabrecmc]

We tired it once specifically for the antics and atmosphere and honestly, didn't get much. I don't know what I'd expected, but I seem to remember the ketchup thing and straws. Not worth making a special trip for, that's for sure. I remember when they toned down 50's PTC, and it definitely changed the vibe there, but I've gotten used to it now and it is still fun. Will be interesting to see how the change affects things, but I'm sorry for those who loved it and will miss it.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

We were going back for the food. If it changes between now and my reservation...the food/menu I mean and the skillet is gone, we will look elsewhere.

 

[smadath]

The post I quoted said insulted....

Yes, sorry. I just quoted your tweet to make a point. I wasn't Replying to you! Guess I should have went back and found the original quote. I'll do that next time.

 

[looking4themouse2]

It happened 4 years ago. I didn't film it. So, I guess, it didn't happen. Or at least not that I remember, right?

And why would I go back? There are literally dozens of other choices. Ones that have much better food than WCC.

And as I have said, it doesn't matter to me whether they keep it as is, or change it. If it changes, we might try it out. If it doesn't, we won't bother.

Again I am not implying nothing happened, what I am implying is that what some find offensive wouldn’t make others bat an eyelash, we are all born unique for a reason. It does not make your experience their invalid in either instance because it was your experience not someone else’s. However, as I said before it was a bad experience with one server, not the restaurant as a whole, and while you stated you didn’t care either way because the food was not to your taste it is evident that you must else you wouldn’t have taken time from your day to reply to this thread because in all likelihood even if the antics went away the fare would stay very similar to what is already being offered in an attempt to stay within the theming of the hotel.