Skipper Canteen "push"

[AngiTN]

Something else that I hadn't seen mentioned (I'm sure it is somewhere and I just didn't read the review)
We were told by the server that they will not be giving crayons to the kids.
They gave us a kids menu with the games and such on them so we asked for crayons. She said they will not be providing them as they didn't want the tables to be drawn on.
Instead I gave DGD a pen. Which will in the end, serve to be much harder on the tables than any crayon would be.
I don't know if the server made that up or if that is accurate but it seems silly.

 

[Tiaramisu]

Something else that I hadn't seen mentioned (I'm sure it is somewhere and I just didn't read the review)
We were told by the server that they will not be giving crayons to the kids.
They gave us a kids menu with the games and such on them so we asked for crayons. She said they will not be providing them as they didn't want the tables to be drawn on.
Instead I gave DGD a pen. Which will in the end, serve to be much harder on the tables than any crayon would be.
I don't know if the server made that up or if that is accurate but it seems silly.

That doesn't seem right. CMs give out stickers, which can presumably be stuck anywhere, and not always to surfaces that would be easy to "un-stick" them from. If they can clean up whatever red substance they're coating that Char Siu Pork with, they can clean up crayons.

 

[L&Lfan]

I would certainly try it but to be honest, I was never thrilled with the Jungle Cruise theme. I would have preferred Jungle Book or Tarzan, etc but with NO live characters.

 

[GillianP1301]

I think the lack of ADR is one big issue. I want to try it on our next trip, but I'm a planner, I want to know I have an ADR. Also, if you aren't following the news and just go onto MDE and try to book an ADR for MK, this one comes up as unavailable,which most would assume means no tables. I just can't for the life of me figure out why they don't just open up the ADRs, there is no harm at all in that. You can then also take in walk-ins if your bookings aren't filling up the place.

The menu is also not mainstream at all, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all, some food diversity is a good thing. But, I think they could dabble in one or two more "main stream" type options and that way they'll widen their audience.

 

[JimmyV]

We ate there last week. We were those people who they handed a menu to and begged us to come in. My oldest DS loved his curry veggie dish and my youngest had "taste like chicken because it is" and loved it. The falafel appetizer was amazing. My entree was horrible. It was the rice noodles with vegetables. In all fairness, our server told me that it is the top dish to be sent back. I wanted to try it anyway and guess what? It went back. It was horrible! I don't think I have ever sent an entree back. I could barely handle the first bite. Our server said the chef said it was no surprise. By the time it went back, everyone was almost done eating, so I didn't order anything else. I don't think we will be returning. Even though they have some great entries, it is expensive and when a dish is bad, it's really bad!

This is really, really disturbing. First, a restaurant should not have a scorecard of dishes sent back. And one dish in particular shouldn't be the obvious leader. And if it is, it should be fixed or removed from the menu. And lastly, a server should never say things like that. "I'm so sorry. Let me bring you something else" is all they need to say. This story reveals a very troubled restaurant in both the back and front of the house.

Disney has ingrained in to most guests that they need to get their TS meals planned out well in advance. So they do. Either based on using their Dining Plan Credits or based on their planned budgeting. All those folks aren't going to take a chance to walk up for a TS meal. They plan them because they are trained to.

This is exactly right. I know that if I want to have nice dinner at 7:00 at WDW, I need to book an ADR. If I don't, my only chances of dining around 7:00 are to: a) go to a popular restaurant at 5:30 and hope that they can take me as a walkup in the next 90 minutes; or b) go to a less popular restaurant that can seat me right away around 7:00, but in so doing, odds are that I am going to a restaurant that simply isn't very good. (Paging Tony's!). So I am trained to make an ADR at the place of my choice at the time of my choice. If I want to dine at Skipper's, (which, based on my comment above, I'm pretty sure I do not), I have to forego making an ADR for that day and hope that I can be seated at a reasonable time. Right now, that does not seem to be an issue. But by April when I next go back? Who knows? Perhaps by then the restaurant will have caught on and when I show up at 6:30 I will be told that the wait is 2 hours. That is a fail. So here I am in January having to guess whether I should make an ADR somewhere else for my MK day, (I have), or take a chance of getting in to Skipper's as a walk-in. I am not willing to take the risk. But after reading the reviews, I am feeling pretty good about my choice.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

There has to be more to the unpopularity than not accepting ADRs. We live in Florida. Obviously, many of our friends & neighbors visit WDW. We also have several family members from other states that go often. Out of all of them, three families actually plan their trips. They also happen to be the only ones, besides me, that post on the DIS. The only planning the others do is booking a hotel. They worry about where they're going to eat, when they get there. DIS members make up a very small percentage of WDW guests on any given day. I know people here, including me, think the world revolves around having every detail planned, but the avg. guest doesn't plan trips to that extent. If it was solely an ADR issue, there would be plenty of walk-ups to fill the place. Trust me I've been there. It kills me to go with some members of my family & get turned away from place after place, before we finally find a TS taking walk-ups. IMHO, they really need to change the ADR system to say walk-ups only. I can see why people wouldn't try it, if the system says nothing is available. Even my non-planning family & friends will occasionally check for ADRs the evening before or day of to see what's available. If the reservation system says there's no availability, most people would move on. OTOH, if it said walk-up only, that would be right up their alley. No advance planning needing. I just don't think not taking ADRs at all is making that big of an impact based on the fact that I know many more non-planning visitors than I do people who plan their trips to the extent most Disboarders do. We are definitely in the minority here.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Jumping in without reading the whole thread.

We ate there last week and I can say a push is definitely needed. NO ONE knew it was there and since they were seating without a wait, there was no one outside either to grab your attention. I wouldn't have known if it weren't for Disboards and we got the impression last week that there were not a lot of people who had ever even heard of Disboards in the parks.

I understand the concerns of the losing ADRs. My husband was over ADRs by the end of the trip and there was literally NO wait. I don't think they had a wait at any point last week.

My husband said they need to change the menu. I kind of agree. I got the "mac and cheese" which IS pastitsio if anyone has had that. They are calling it the wrong thing and people aren't getting what they expect according to the server. My husband was not impressed with the Pho, but he did enjoy the rest of my pastitsio which I couldn't finish. The portions are definitely fair.

I think they need to update the menu, even if it they just want to better describe the food AND they need to tell people the restaurant even exists.

 

[AngiTN]

There has to be more to the unpopularity than not accepting ADRs. We live in Florida. Obviously, many of our friends & neighbors visit WDW. We also have several family members from other states that go often. Out of all of them, three families actually plan their trips. They also happen to be the only ones, besides me, that post on the DIS. The only planning the others do is booking a hotel. They worry about where they're going to eat, when they get there. DIS members make up a very small percentage of WDW guests on any given day. I know people here, including me, think the world revolves around having every detail planned, but the avg. guest doesn't plan trips to that extent. If it was solely an ADR issue, there would be plenty of walk-ups to fill the place. Trust me I've been there. It kills me to go with some members of my family & get turned away from place after place, before we finally find a TS taking walk-ups. IMHO, they really need to change the ADR system to say walk-ups only. I can see why people wouldn't try it, if the system says nothing is available. Even my non-planning family & friends will occasionally check for ADRs the evening before or day of to see what's available. If the reservation system says there's no availability, most people would move on. OTOH, if it said walk-up only, that would be right up their alley. No advance planning needing. I just don't think not taking ADRs at all is making that big of an impact based on the fact that I know many more non-planning visitors than I do people who plan their trips to the extent most Disboarders do. We are definitely in the minority here.

There is more to it than the bold.
But if you think only Dis Board members make ADR then you are wrong. Because Disney pushes the Dining Plan so much, a lot of people make ADR. Not just the uber planner

The lack of ADR is just one of the strikes against Skipper's.
You have that
The other issue you point out, that online it appears they do take ADR and if there are none available it tells most it's full.
Then you have the limited appeal menu
Then you have the less than stellar reviews
When you start to add all those pieces together you have what they are seeing, low attendance

 

[kittyab]

Its not grabbing my attention. I don't plan to eat there.

 

[OchreHand]

Another bad review with great pictures.

http://land.allears.net/blogs/kristin-ford/2016/01/review_jungle_skipper_canteen.html

I'm glad they mentioned the honey/bread combo -- I personally don't think it works. I'm all for both of those ingredients separately, but not when they're paired together like that.

I think this place is suffering from either an identity crisis or really just needs tastier food or both. Places like Sanaa are thriving because while some people might think the food is "out there" (it's really not, imho), at least the food is generally very good... (can't beat that bread service)

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I'm glad they mentioned the honey/bread combo -- I personally don't think it works. I'm all for both of those ingredients separately, but not when they're paired together like that.

I think this place is suffering from either an identity crisis or really just needs tastier food or both. Places like Sanaa are thriving because while some people might think the food is "out there" (it's really not, imho), at least the food is generally very good... (can't beat that bread service)

I liked the bread and I thought my food was delicious. However, I completely agree on the identity crises. The menu seems a bit all over the place. I got the "mac and cheese" which is basically Pastitsio (mediteranian) and my husband got the Pho (vietnamese) and we ate African bread. I think picking one region and toning down the menu a little would really help.

 

[ELSA711]

What I don't get is on MDE it states 'reservations recommended'
Cracks me up if they don't take them

 

[tlmadden73]

Odd.
No ADRs accepted meant:
1) People who already had vacations booked probably don't have a meal "slot" available at MK for a TS meal.
2) People booking vacations didn't see it on the list and thus either didn't know it existed or thought it was full
3) With other ADRs readily available, why "risk" waiting for some undetermined time at a restaurant when you can guarantee a time at another one?

Seems like they shot themselves in the foot there.
I wonder if it was just a test to see how a restaurant would do without ADRs .. Personally I think they should ditch them all and make them only available that day. Planning your meals 180 days in advance (when you can't plan anything else) is just silly.

I didn't enjoy being "locked" into a specific time for my meal. It usually meant you had to skip a ride or show (that would have made you late for the ADR) while you "wait" the 15 minutes until ADR time. Even with only one a day .. I felt like my whole day was planned around that meal .. which rides to go on .. where you will be before and after that .. etc.

I had a much better time when I went on a crowded day in October and just walked up to Crystal Palace (a bit earlier than normal dinner time) and had to wait 15 minutes.
I didn't have a reservation for Beaches and Cream in August .. we walked up .. was given a buzzer .. walked around and explored the resort .. and ate .. it was quite relaxing rather than trying to "rush" to be there at an exact time (that we may have been late for due to the waiting for the boat, etc.).

 

[Googelibear]

I have a different take on that. It is so darn difficult to get ADRs anymore, even 180 days out for November reservations that maybe they are trying to get away from it all together (the Skipper Canteen being a guinea pig!?) Like it was long, long ago. On a whim, I could go to guest services in any park and ask to make a reservation at any restaurant for that day. Granted, the parks weren't as busy as they are today, and there were not as many resorts.
However, the latest news that there are sites selling ADRs, the many double bookings for restaurants, make it difficult for many to get ADRs and it leaves the restaurants scrambling?
I also think they should get away from the dining plan, "free" or otherwise.

 

[Stigsmom]

We saw it open in December, didn't know about the walk ups but I might have inquired how did just been me and my parents. However two of my three kids have severe food allergies to several things on their menu. We have to be careful in the first place about which of the restaurants we can choose and we never do the dining plan for that reason. However seeing several major allergens on their menu it wasn't even a place we could chance.

It's too bad because I wanted to see inside and I think my family would've gone for the arepas minus the beans. I know the jungle Cruise ride is all over the place with theming from multiple lands and I guess they were trying for that as well in the restaurant, but I agree with those who said they need to streamline their offerings. I hope they do something to improve it because the design looks really neat. I hope to try it if changes are made.

 

[helenb]

I think the lack of ADR is one big issue. I want to try it on our next trip, but I'm a planner, I want to know I have an ADR. Also, if you aren't following the news and just go onto MDE and try to book an ADR for MK, this one comes up as unavailable,which most would assume means no tables. I just can't for the life of me figure out why they don't just open up the ADRs, there is no harm at all in that. You can then also take in walk-ins if your bookings aren't filling up the place.

The menu is also not mainstream at all, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all, some food diversity is a good thing. But, I think they could dabble in one or two more "main stream" type options and that way they'll widen their audience.

I agree with what you have said here. They need to make ADRs available, if only to let people know that the restaurant is there, and also to cater to those of us who *like* making our dining TS reservations 180 days out and don't want to chance not being seated. If Disney is concerned about not turning away walk-ups, then give half of the availability to ADRs. Then you can meet the needs of both groups.

I think it would also help if they added 1 or 2 more mainstream items to the menu, so that people who want to be adventurous feel comfortable going with their less adventurous family/friends/children. EVen BOG (where people complained their kids wouldn't like the food) has ham & cheese sandwiches for lunch, and added grilled cheese to the kids' menu.

JMHO....

 

[mommykds]

We had lunch at SC Christmas week. We are all adventurous eaters & were looking forward to this place. We had high hopes for a new place to eat at the MK.

The food was just not good (except the falafel). The head on shrimp was not a huge hit with my normally shrimp loving son. The mac & cheese (as stated) already was pastitsio (greek lasagna) and not really what most folks think of when ordering mac & cheese. My dish "Taste like chicken" was very dry & boring. The desserts (we got 3 to share for the 5 of us) were good but very, very small for $8 a pop. $24 for 3 items that were smaller than the size of a Hostess Yodel. We are from NYC so we are used to high priced food but the prices just did not warrant what we were served.

The setting was great. The SEA room was awesome but the front room (galley) was pretty noisy. Our server was good though!

If they change the menu to something edible (LOL) and keep the prices more in line for what you get, then we'd give it another try. As is, we will not return.

 

[mommykds]

Oh & they did take TiW when we were there for what its worth.

 

[AngiTN]

Oh & they did take TiW when we were there for what its worth.

That lasted just a few days and I'm thinking was most likely a mistake. Once word was spread to all servers it stopped.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Something else that I hadn't seen mentioned (I'm sure it is somewhere and I just didn't read the review)
We were told by the server that they will not be giving crayons to the kids.
They gave us a kids menu with the games and such on them so we asked for crayons. She said they will not be providing them as they didn't want the tables to be drawn on.
Instead I gave DGD a pen. Which will in the end, serve to be much harder on the tables than any crayon would be.
I don't know if the server made that up or if that is accurate but it seems silly.

I forgot about this! Yes! They didn't have crayons so the server gave my DS8 a pen! DS wasn't happy as he loves to do all of the activities on the kids menu and couldn't color with the pen, so gave up. Yippee - nothing to occupy him and bland expensive food. Why in heaven's name are you giving kids menus with activities on them and then giving them nothing to complete the activities? This place needs to get its act together.