Teppan Edo..another item removed from the meal, is it DDP?

[Mackey Mouse]

I just wanted to share that we ate there last week. Here is an observation and I did speak to management as I left. They did away with the salad as part of the meal.. maybe last year or the year before........now it is ala carte, but this time I noticed that at the end of the meal they usually do this stir fry bean sprout thing.....no more sprouts. All gone. I think the part that annoys me most is that they think we will not notice. I spoke with the gentleman on my way out with the Disney name tag to let him know that I did indeed notice and asked him why they have eliminated this as part of the meal.

He told me that they only get so much money to budget for dining. With the dining plan, they have had to cut the budget to make it all worthwhile. I am not too sure I understood what he meant and am not sure why I as a cash paying patron not on the DDP has to have the bean sprouts eliminated from my meal.

Anyway.. thought I would share this. I know in the scheme of life it is not a big deal, but it was a bit annoying to cut away another portion of that meal.

 

[DisMN]

Proof positive that the darn dining plan has indeed had a negative impact on the menus and food selections. Don't know why so many people either deny it or don't even notice but we've seen things slide for several YEARS now.......I wonder where it will stop?

Kind of disappointing really, especially when a good part of our trips had to do with the great restaurants WDW used to have.

Oh well........we noticed a significant savings in our dining budget on this last trip, so I suppose that's a good thing. We ate mostly counter service places.....

 

[faindrops27]

MackyMouse
I just do not feel that Disney is losing any money on any dining plan. With maybe the exception of free dining. Even with the free dining. I think they come out way ahead.

Disney, is pocketing a lot more now. Since, patrons using the dining plan. Lose the appetizer, and now have to tip. People, always want to blame the Dining plan. It is not the fault of the Dining plan at all. Disney, is cutting more. To pocket more.

 

[disneybride96]

MackyMouse
I just do not feel that Disney is losing any money on any dining plan. With maybe the exception of free dining. Even with the free dining. I think they come out way ahead.

This is probably true for disney as a whole. This particuar manager at Tempan Edo has to worry about his individual restaurant, and not Disney as a whole. If he is given a budget, he has to make it based on only the things he can control. If that means changing the menu, then change the menu he does. I would guess he sees none of the cash flow that the free dining puts into the resort rooms. I work for a company that makes tons of money, but there are many stores in the entity that do not make money. I hate when people think my individual store can ignore corporate policy. Lay off the managers, I am sure they are a frustrated with the dining plan as anyone.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I edited the title of this thread to indicate what this thread is about.....cutting another portion of the meal from this unique style of eating.

I am not sure I understand why they cut out the bean sprouts.....I certainly think somehow the food budgets are being affected at different restaurants and some are cutting portions.....I have no idea if it is directly connected with the DDP, but I did repeat what the person said to me....

I found it annoying that they make these cuts on the meal itself. I would prefer they cut the portions than to eliminate different parts of the meal....first the salad, and now the bean sprouts....next will it be the small bowl of rice or the stir fried mushrooms???

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have talked with two Area (general) Managers of World Showcase restaruants. Both of them told me that Disney pays the restaruants a fixed dollar amount per meal, no matter what is ordered.

The result is that people, seeing they have paid for the meal, will tend to order the more expensive items on the menu "to get their money's worth".

Which is why some of the quality/quantity has been dropping. Using Teppan Edo as an example, still has some of the combnations they used to have, but no longer includes lobster tail on the menu.

I think if they did away with DDP the quality would very quickly jump back up.

 

[Brian Noble]

Disney, is pocketing a lot more now.

Disney pays the restaruants a fixed dollar amount per meal, no matter what is ordered.

And, that's why some of the WS restaurants have suffered the most. If a restaurant is Disney-owned and -operated, the DDP impact is less of an issue, because they are only robbing Peter to pay Paul. Increases in other segements of the the business (esp. resorts) can offset any shortfalls in the restaurants.

But, many WS locations are outside operators, and they have to make a profit on that location. That's a trickier thing.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

You know, I don't think that the cuts are 100% because of the DDP. In the last couple of months, the price of groceries in this area has risen appreciably. Perhaps the same is true in Florida.

 

[agentpleakley]

Are you talking about the seaweed salad. I was actually glad to be able to order this as my appetizer (bigger portion). So, I guess it didn't bother me much.

As for the bean sprouts -- we ate there in 2006 and in 2007 - and neither time did we get the bean sprouts.

I did miss the ginger ice cream though. Our server noted that alot of people complained about the ginger ice cream being gone -- and that they were may be bringing that back.

 

[Brian Noble]

You know, I don't think that the cuts are 100% because of the DDP. In the last couple of months, the price of groceries in this area has risen appreciably. Perhaps the same is true in Florida.

Except that there are two ways to solve increased ingredient costs: cut back on what you serve, or raise prices. Unfortunately, if a lot of your traffic comes from DDP guests, you can't raise prices, because the reimbursement amount is fixed.

That leaves only one option.

And, as an aside, food prices are going up, all over---both because transport costs have gone through the roof, and because the increased demand for ethanol has put pressure on other crops such as wheat. There was an interesting piece on NPR this morning about this.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have talked with two Area (general) Managers of World Showcase restaruants. Both of them told me that Disney pays the restaruants a fixed dollar amount per meal, no matter what is ordered.

Does that mean for each meal paid for with the dining plan they get a fixed amount, or for each meal no matter how it's paid for?

Hmm. Maybe they should lop a couple more dollars off the DDP for a vegetarian version, get a bunch of us cheaper-eaters using it, and they could make a few more bucks! (being veggie is pretty much what is keeping me from being gung ho with the ddp, b/c a 17 dollar noodle dish and 8 dollar grapefruit cake at Brown Derby isn't worth 2 credits, and a 17 dollar squash ravioli or gratin de macaroni is barely worth one TS credit at Coral Reef and Chefs de France, IMO, especially when compared to what omnivores get with that same TS credit!)

I think my idea is brilliant.


DH giggles at the idea of dropping a bean sprout dish to save money, since bean sprouts are insanely cheap if you're sourcing them correctly.

 

[PrincessV]

I think if they did away with DDP the quality would very quickly jump back up.

ITA, and I'll add to that - if we are indeed headed for (or are in, depending on who you ask ) a recession, WDW may once again start romancing its Floridian customer base. I just don't think it's sheer coincidence that food offerings and quality rose astronomically at WDW during the last major recession; a local customer base won't return to sub-par dining destinations. A captive audience however, (as in out-of-state guests on the DDP), is a sure-thing - no need to dazzle them with delectable dining to keep revenue up.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Does that mean for each meal paid for with the dining plan they get a fixed amount, or for each meal no matter how it's paid for?

It is each DDP meal. If you pay real money (or plastic) for it, they get whatever the total charge is. But they get a fixed payment per adult DDP meal, and a smaller fixed payment for each child DDP meal.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

They use to include a green lettuce salad with ginger dressing as part of the meal....no longer, you can order it, from their menu: (Garden Salad - Mixed greens, tomato, asparagus, and seasonal vegetables. Choice of dressing: Ginger, Creamy Sesame, or Oriental, $4.50). Now I have to admit the last time I ate there, we did have the bean sprouts, and that was before the rehab.....not sure what happened, but when I asked the Disney person he knew exactly what I was talking about. I would think maybe I was not the first to ask and yes I agree with the poster, they are so cheap, how much can they be saving by eliminating from the meal...

One more thing I noticed, cutbacks on the sauces...they no longer use the three little dishes that could hold quite a bit of sauce... they now use like a tray type of dish with openings, but they did add another mayonnaisey type sauce that did not seem to go with what they were serving.. And before, the chef would always refill the sauces before he left.....this time the person seated with us had to ask... and I noticed he did not look around to see if any of us needed more sauce..

Not good Disney... we do notice when you do this stuff..

 

[deltachi8]

I heard the DDP killed JImmy Hoffa....

:-D

 

[Mackey Mouse]

LOL.....you made me LOL!!!!!!

Maybe it was Whitey Bulger's idea to put the DDP into effect, it could happen.

 

[TDC Nala]

LOL.....you made me LOL!!!!!!

Maybe it was Whitey Bulger's idea to put the DDP into effect, it could happen.

So that's where he is. Anyone tell the FBI?