tusker house warning

[friendoffigment]

maybe i am overreacting but we had a bad experience here that others should be warned. i had a 10:30am ADR. arrived at 10:10. we didn't get seated until 11:05. obviously they were far behind in schedule. we didn't mind the wait but what was to come i think is bad management. since they are turning over for lunch we were seated and when we went up to eat breakfast many items were no longer available. scarcely any eggs left, no mickey waffles, number of pastries and rolls etc not available. what was available was put in middle of room to make space for lunch dishes on the regular counters. we immediately complained to the manager and he apologized profusely. he offered us different pastries and cookies as a remedy which we did not accept. i explained that we arrived properly and that it was the restaurant that was late. we felt we should still be accommodated for breakfast and items should still be available for those who reserved for breakfast. other families were also complaining. who else can i write to. this is unacceptable. we didn't want lunch and we ate what was available which definitely was not worth the money. the kids were very disappointed since all they talked about was getting mickey waffles

just be careful when reserving late breakfast. i love tusker and will put this as just a bad day at black rock

 

[katieam1]

Sorry you had a bad experience. You could contact guest relations which handles guest complaints. I personally like the late breakfast seating because we like to try both lunch and breakfast items and pay breakfast prices but know that going into it.. Some people do not though so I understand. Sorry your kids were disappointed. Did you still enjoy your interactions with the characters? I wouldn't let it ruin your vacation so hopefully from here on out a better time..

 

[nkereina]

I can understand how frustrating that would be on the day of the incident. Speaking to the manager was the right thing to do. But I cannot understand why it's worth writing to someone about after the fact. Personally, I would chalk it up to a lesson learned with a busy character meal that consistently runs behind seating and an ADR that was too close to the lunch switch over.

 

[vettegirl]

That is too bad. I would have been frustrated as well, and glad you spoke with someone.

 

[amandaleigh2]

I love Tusker House, and have never eaten there for breakfast, but the two times we have eaten lunch there, they've been running 30 minutes to an hour behind. We just come to expect it now. It didn't stop us from making another reservation there in January.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

I don't think you should come to expect them to be running that far behind. I think that comes down to they are having people linger later in their "room" or section and not being about to seat people as fast. That is a management issue. They do similar at Chef Mickey's and run late because they try to seat rooms of people at a time, fill them all up before characters start to come around. The good thing about that is less chance of missing a character. BUT, the problem with that people don't realize that is what they are doing. Go up get a little bit of food to tide them over until after the characters come thru and then eat. That means they can't start seating the room again until they leave.

 

[sharona]

I can understand how frustrating that would be on the day of the incident. Speaking to the manager was the right thing to do. But I cannot understand why it's worth writing to someone about after the fact. Personally, I would chalk it up to a lesson learned with a busy character meal that consistently runs behind seating and an ADR that was too close to the lunch switch over.

I disagree that they should chalk it up to a lesson learned - OP paid for an expensive breakfast buffet and most breakfast items weren't available. Their reservation time was well within breakfast range, not on the cusp of lunch. I would have asked for and expected the manager to either reduce the price paid or accommodate our request for breakfast.

OP - I would write an email to guest relations and request some type of refund or if you're still at WDW maybe a voucher for a future meal somewhere else. I had a very quick response (a phone call the next day) when I emailed Disneyland CA about some issues.

 

[nkereina]

I disagree that they should chalk it up to a lesson learned - OP paid for an expensive breakfast buffet and most breakfast items weren't available. Their reservation time was well within breakfast range, not on the cusp of lunch. I would have asked for and expected the manager to either reduce the price paid or accommodate our request for breakfast.

I believe OP did ask to speak to a manager, and the manager offered to bring them out a few items which they declined. I wouldn't have accepted what OP was offered either because it doesn't make up for the rest of the breakfast food, but for whatever reason, OP didn't ask for a discount or the manager was not obligant if they did. I think that is poor service as well, since it should have been offered without OP asking for it. But for whatever reason, it wasn't offered and it is what it is. Guest Services may do something about it now, but I personally think it's an overreaction.

And FWIW, OP's ADR was for 10:30. Breakfast ends at 10:55. We all know it's common for any restaurant in WDW to seat 10-15 minutes beyond the scheduled time. Even in the best case scenario if they were seated on time, they would have had 20 minutes remaining for breakfast food that likely was running low and not being replenished anyhow. I don't think best case would have been enjoyable either, since it sounds like OP was only interested in breakfast and not lunch.

 

[minnie mum]

Email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Although I have to agree with a PP. Since you have already voiced your complaints to the restaurant manager (and this was absolutely the correct thing to do), I'm not sure what you hope to achieve with the email.

Most people who have 1 or 2 visits under their belt know that a delay in being seated is not uncommon. But there is no excuse for them not replenishing the breakfast items that are supposed to be available to guests who have a breakfast reservation - especially since they knew they were running behind.

OTOH, there was a thread last week complaining of exactly the reverse- a family had the first lunch ADR and the buffet had not yet been set with any of the lunch items. The 10:30-11:30 time period seems to be a minefield for all concerned.

 

[L&Lfan]

I would have eaten the lunch items and what was left of breakfast. I wouldn't expect the kitchen to cook me a special breakfast when they were in the process of switching to the lunch menu. But that's just me and my temperament.

 

[bumbershoot]

i had a 10:30am ADR. arrived at 10:10. we didn't get seated until 11:05. obviously they were far behind in schedule.

That's actually fairly normal for Tusker. Lots of people talk about it here.

OP paid for an expensive breakfast buffet and most breakfast items weren't available.

And they got MORE expensive lunch offerings, FWIW. I get that they didn't WANT those items, but lunch costs more than breakfast there.

 

[Bon1423]

I have late lunch reservations, is there any issue switching from lunch to dinner? I hadn't considered this being an issue but I'm assuming the food is similar.

 

[Pumbaa_]

How disappointing! You reserved breakfast, you wanted breakfast and got the leftovers.

Fair warning to all, transition time can be sketchy!

(I would be more annoyed at wait time!)

 

[kwdw]

Funny - to each their own - we like a LATE breakfast at Tusker House purposefully hoping they put out lunch items early! Best of both worlds!

 

[nkereina]

I have late lunch reservations, is there any issue switching from lunch to dinner? I hadn't considered this being an issue but I'm assuming the food is similar.

There's 30 minutes between lunch and dinner - lunch ends at 3:30 and dinner starts at 4. There's only 5 minutes between breakfast and lunch, so I suspect it's more of an issue earlier in the day. Although you're probably right - not much of a difference in offerings from lunch to dinner.

 

[MrInfinity]

Interesting. I tend to book meals around this transition time, so it could affect me some day!

I don't get why ppl are saying the OP is overreacting. Her reaction sounds pretty reasonable. They were w/in breakfast hours by 1/2 hour, and were seated late at the restaurant's fault. I think you're w/in your right to expect something. I would guess a discount off the breakfast. Not huge, but comping one adult plate would seem acceptable to me. It is tough though because they can't really set the precedent that if you're in this situation you can expect a free meal, or those 10:30 ressies start to look a lot more attractive. In all fairness, you got the more expensive lunch for the breakfast price, so there's that, but you didn't want that. Personally I would have enjoyed getting the lunch entrees for cheap.

 

[Miskey]

maybe i am overreacting but we had a bad experience here that others should be warned. i had a 10:30am ADR. arrived at 10:10. we didn't get seated until 11:05. obviously they were far behind in schedule. we didn't mind the wait but what was to come i think is bad management. since they are turning over for lunch we were seated and when we went up to eat breakfast many items were no longer available. scarcely any eggs left, no mickey waffles, number of pastries and rolls etc not available. what was available was put in middle of room to make space for lunch dishes on the regular counters. we immediately complained to the manager and he apologized profusely. he offered us different pastries and cookies as a remedy which we did not accept. i explained that we arrived properly and that it was the restaurant that was late. we felt we should still be accommodated for breakfast and items should still be available for those who reserved for breakfast. other families were also complaining. who else can i write to. this is unacceptable. we didn't want lunch and we ate what was available which definitely was not worth the money. the kids were very disappointed since all they talked about was getting mickey waffles

just be careful when reserving late breakfast. i love tusker and will put this as just a bad day at black rock

Just wondering why you didn't accept the pastries? I'm surprised they didn't offer to make some Mickey waffles after you told them that's all your kids wanted. I've never been in a Disney kitchen, but I would think the waffles would be the easiest thing to make.

 

[nkereina]

I don't get why ppl are saying the OP is overreacting. Her reaction sounds pretty reasonable. They were w/in breakfast hours by 1/2 hour, and were seated late at the restaurant's fault. I think you're w/in your right to expect something. I would guess a discount off the breakfast. Not huge, but comping one adult plate would seem acceptable to me. It is tough though because they can't really set the precedent that if you're in this situation you can expect a free meal, or those 10:30 ressies start to look a lot more attractive. In all fairness, you got the more expensive lunch for the breakfast price, so there's that, but you didn't want that. Personally I would have enjoyed getting the lunch entrees for cheap.

I totally agree. The manager was spoken to at the time of the incident and for whatever reason, that didn't happen. The overreaction, IMO, is wanting to write to someone about it when you get home. I would have gotten over it by now with the lesson learned not to schedule that close to the transition time anymore, but to each their own.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

The overreaction, IMO, is wanting to write to someone about it when you get home. I would have gotten over it by now with the lesson learned not to schedule that close to the transition time anymore, but to each their own.

Why do you consider it an overreaction to contact guest services and let them know there was a problem...? That's the only way issues get noted and hopefully resolved.

The OP said multiple families were complaining. I don't think it would have been that difficult for the kitchen to make an extra tray of eggs and waffles.

It shouldn't matter that lunch is a more expensive meal; that has nothing to do with it. If I go to a restaurant and order a chicken dish, the waiter can't just bring me steak and say "well, we're out of chicken but the steak is pricier so you're getting a better deal!" If the restaurant was THAT delayed on breakfast seating, they should have accommodated those diners (and not with pastries and cookies).

 

[walker0829]

We were lucky to snag an 8:05 am reservation. Got right in, saw all 4 characters, had fresh food and realized that by the time we were done, the 2nd character was still only making it's way to the back of the restaurant on it's 1st pass. If we had been later, we would have never seen all the characters during our meal.

Our CP experience was like yours though. Had an 8:25am reservation, didn't get in for another 15 min, long lines at the buffet, only saw 3 characters by the time we were done. Luckily our waitress took us over to the last one. The cast member guide didn't seem too pleased.