What's with the Menu Changes?

[marivaid]

wen8jr, I'm like you, I like my food plain. Putting anything besides mustard or ketchup on my food is a guarantee that I won't touch it.
Like you, I don't see the point of booking a restaurant that only serve things I don't like.
I don't care if Sarah Jessica Parker eats raw eel for breakfast, that thing is not coming anywhere near my mouth

However, Wolfgang Puck took one steak away from the menu and it's like the sky is falling down. They haven't been "forced" to do anything, WP/WPE has always had dishes that were not included in the DDP so if that's what the problem was, they could have easily added the steak to that list. They chose to take it off the menu for God knows what reason.
You said you like pizza. WP has always had great pizza, you can also ask that they leave certain ingredients out if you don't like them.

Colleen was polite with you and did not attack your choices, she simply asked a question.
There was no need for you to get so nasty in return - the only thing it's going to achieve is either get you an infraction or get this thread closed.

 

[wen8jr]

You seem to be really angry at us for these changes. I can assure you that menu changes occur at WDW on a regular basis, although not regular enough for my taste, sometimes. I visit a Disney park somewhere in the world pretty much every month, and am very used to the menus and how they have changed over the years.

Having trained in the kitchen, I can assure you that changing menus is good for customers as well as staff. Kitchen staff get very bored producing the same items over and over and over.

One of the most common complaints many of us have made over the years is the lack of ethnic diversity and accuracy in the restaurants at World Showcase; I for one am pleased if menus in those outlets become more representative of the country where they are 'located'.

Not angry at all. Just defending myself and others against people that think just because you want steak on the menu you are ignorant. Or that the idea of the menu changes could not be due to profits. Like a resturant doesn't want to make a profit, its all about being exciting for the preparers.

And I'm all for those outlets being more representative of the country where they are located. I never once indicated anything about an EPCOT resturant. If a resturant is Mexican, it should be Mexican food that is served. Find someone else to explain your case to there.

Sounds to me like everyone on here thinks they know more than others just because of someones taste in food or they claim to know the resturant business. Not all resturants are for everyone, if they were you would never get in the door to some and many would shut down. That is why so many have been in business for years because they serve what people like, because their menus have not changed. Others because they have. I never argued that, I just argued that steak needs to remain on the menu if offered once before.

I travel often in business and the majority of the people I have had lunch with across the country choose steak on the menu more often than not. I also know alot of people that choose to not go back to resturants because their favorite dishes are no longer on the menu....they don't like change. I don't think I would go to a resturant that constantly changed, I like to know what to expect as most people would.

See my way or your way? Which is right? Neither because everyone makes choices and have opinions. That's life.

 

[bavaria]

I'm not going to allow myself to be yet another poster who is opening themselves up to being bashed by you. There are guidelines in place here for a civil discussion, and frankly I don't see that happening here.

Earlier tonight I thought that I saw in your signature that you had 'first trip' and that is what interested me in this thread - that someone who had never been to WDW could be so hostile in advance of ever having been there.

I'm a vegetarian and don't eat 95% of the menu items at WDW, yet I have managed to enjoy many good meals over the years.

And now I am bowing out of this thread as I suspect that I will otherwise simply become another target for some misplaced hostility.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[bavaria]

Sounds to me like everyone on here thinks they know more than others just because of someones taste in food or they claim to know the resturant business.

I travel often in business and the majority of the people I have had lunch with across the country choose steak on the menu more often than not.

One last comment to address these issues.

I don't 'claim' to know the restaurant business. I state facts based on my education and background. I can't speak for others.

I travel pretty much more than anyone else on this site - more than 300 days/year, more than 200,000 miles some years. So please don't try and tell me that the majority of Americans choose steak when dining out. I eat out almost every meal every day, and when in America I can only think of one colleague who eats steak on a somewhat regular basis. Tastes and preferences are regional and personal, and your experience is not necessarily indicative of all of America.

 

[wen8jr]

One last comment to address these issues.

I don't 'claim' to know the restaurant business. I state facts based on my education and background. I can't speak for others.

I travel pretty much more than anyone else on this site - more than 300 days/year, more than 200,000 miles some years. So please don't try and tell me that the majority of Americans choose steak when dining out. I eat out almost every meal every day, and when in America I can only think of one colleague who eats steak on a somewhat regular basis. Tastes and preferences are regional and personal, and your experience is not necessarily indicative of all of America.

I never said it was indicative of all Americans ~ I am just stating my experiences and you are more than welcome to state yours. Just don't assume that your is indicative either.

 

[wen8jr]

I'm not going to allow myself to be yet another poster who is opening themselves up to being bashed by you. There are guidelines in place here for a civil discussion, and frankly I don't see that happening here.

Earlier tonight I thought that I saw in your signature that you had 'first trip' and that is what interested me in this thread - that someone who had never been to WDW could be so hostile in advance of ever having been there.

I'm a vegetarian and don't eat 95% of the menu items at WDW, yet I have managed to enjoy many good meals over the years.

And now I am bowing out of this thread as I suspect that I will otherwise simply become another target for some misplaced hostility.

Enjoy your trip.

It is my 1st trip to WDW itself - and I am not hostile toward WDW, or the changes but people who assume that what they believe is what everyone else should believe. Everyone has opinions.

 

[apostolic4life]

Someone also expects changes at Jiko due to an Executive Chef change

Yes, that would be me........I have also stated my expectation the menu would retain the popular items. The menu items with limited movement will probably be reworked or changed out entirely which allows the new Executive Chef to put their stamp on the venue. The other restaurants you mentioned I am sure have had some sort of alteration in the menu under every new Executive Chef that has darkened the kitchen. Sometimes the changes can be as simple as reworking a current dish with a new sauce or alternate cooking methods (ex. roasted lamb shank vs. braised lamb shank). The changes do happen even if they are not always an "in your face" kind of change.

The ubiquitous "menu's change at restaurants" argument is also funny. I haven't seen the changes at Ruths' Chris, Columbia, Cafe D'Antionia or any other fine dining locale we frequent that compare to the changes WDW has made. It's more than 'restaurant biz', lol.

[SIZE=-1]Cafe D' Antonio is a classic Italian restaurant with a menu paired to match the theme. The menu is actually very large for a traditional Italian menu though: nearly 50+ items not including dessert.

Columbia Restaurant is a tribute to wonderful Spanish/Cuban cuisine and has a diverse menu of 50+ items not including dessert.

Ruth's Chris is a traditional steakhouse with a classic steakhouse menu. 32+ items here without dessert which is typical of most steakhouses.

These restaurants are what they are (two are high-end chain restaurants, very good ones)....they are not known for anything outside their well publicized [/SIZE]menu's and service. People visit this kind of restaurant for very specific high-end service and food. They would never have need for dramatic menu changes.

Many restaurants work with fluid menus that can be changed on a daily basis due to the availability of fresh ingredients. V&A is a prime example of this type of venue at WDW. Even the big-box-chains (ex. Outback, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Rain Forest Cafe) change menu offerings seasonally to best utilize fresh ingredients and help keep the customers interested in their establishment (while retaining many of the popular items). I equate most WDW venues to the big-box-chain models who need to generate revenue through feeding masses of people in a short amount of time (not all WDW venues fit here, just most). So if you want to compare WDW restaurants with non-WDW restaurants, use a restaurant in the same class. That makes it a more accurate comparison.

 

[apostolic4life]

Originally Posted by kaytieeldr
I have to ask. Why would you vacation in a place with such a wide variety of dining choices and eat exactly what you eat at home?



Since when did vacationing at WDW become a requirement to eat food you don't like? Why get so upset about something that was in reply to someone who was talking to me? I must have hit a nerve.

Oh and it might be called irritable bowel syndrome ~ weird food just doesn't cut it. If we eat Sushi or Asian food at WDW do you want to make a date to sit in the rest room stall next to me or DH to find out?

Do you want some more personal information? I could go on.

I am not saying you have to eat food you do not like........I am wondering how you know if you like it (or whether your body won't reject it) if you have never tried it. I live in rural West Virginia and have seen thousands of people in my career turn a nose up to items without trying them just because they don't think they will like them (and I am not talking about exotic foods either). All I suggest is to give new things a chance.......maybe you will come across something you really enjoy.

As for the highlighted segment above: who got upset??? No nerve to strike here. I just liked her question. As I tell my family concerning our travels, "you haven't been there till you have eaten the food!" I understand people may have preferences about and/or allergies with food and I respect that, but I would hope because steak is no longer an option you could find something else on the menu to please your family.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

wen8jr, I'm like you, I like my food plain. Putting anything besides mustard or ketchup on my food is a guarantee that I won't touch it.
Like you, I don't see the point of booking a restaurant that only serve things I don't like.
I don't care if Sarah Jessica Parker eats raw eel for breakfast, that thing is not coming anywhere near my mouth

However, Wolfgang Puck took one steak away from the menu and it's like the sky is falling down. They haven't been "forced" to do anything, WP/WPE has always had dishes that were not included in the DDP so if that's what the problem was, they could have easily added the steak to that list. They chose to take it off the menu for God knows what reason.
You said you like pizza. WP has always had great pizza, you can also ask that they leave certain ingredients out if you don't like them.

Colleen was polite with you and did not attack your choices, she simply asked a question.
There was no need for you to get so nasty in return - the only thing it's going to achieve is either get you an infraction or get this thread closed.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

OK. I'm convinced ... I don't know anything. Everything I thought was wrong and WDW is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful for every dining change they have made and absolutely none of it has anything to do with servicing the bottom line due to changes in dining patterns brought on by the DDP - only typical restaurant changes brought on by the chef's desire to keep everything fresh. Every example I cited is flawed because I misjudged the category that others know way, way more about than this foodie wannabe.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Great Question !!!! Will you be my friend??

I thought I already am your friend... but yes, of COURSE I will be Thank you for asking!

Now, as for restaurant trends I will assure you the industry will never separate itself from beef.....like you have said, many love steak, but industry trends are leaning towards healthier options.

And, to avoid ANY further confusion, let’s clear something up right now: “trends” and “trendy” are two entirely different things. That’ll be the economics lesson the week after next (next week’s lesson will be “Futures” and will be on the Budget Board, in a thread titled… oh, I forget right now, but I will find it).
But briefly:
Higher gasoline prices cause a trend toward the purchase of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars but smaller, more fuel-efficient cars are not trendy.
Coach purses are trendy, but there is not a trend for or to Coach purses.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Which restaurants are changing their menus? Are the new menus posted anywhere?

Restaurants all over the (real) world change menus all the time. Changes at Disney restaurants are once again being blamed on the Dining Plan… but that’s not what you asked, exactly. SOME restaurants have recently made SOME changes – removing some items, adding new items, returning previous items to current menus… wdwinfo.com (the DIS home site) has a lot of really current – August 2007 – menus. For non-Disney-owned places, such as Wolfgang Puck (which is available at wdwinfo.com), just Google the restaurant name and add the word menu at the end.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And WHAT business is it of yours that I vacation at WDW and if I want to eat American food in WDW which is in America, created by an American? Disney is not just about food anyway,

You’re complaining so adamantly on a public forum about the food choices at Walt Disney World, then saying you’re going to eat cheesesteaks and pizza while you’re there. Just as you’re entitled to present your opinion, I am mine. Vacationing in a site with SO much variety in food choices, and eating “home” food, to me is a wasted opportunity.

My ENTIRE point was we are choosing a different resturant that will meet our group needs ~ since resturants like WGP have been forced to change their menu.

Wolfgang Puck Café was not forced to change their menu – at least not by Disney. The company that owns WPC chose to change the menu. Take it up with them. https://www.levyrestaurants.com/public/levy/contactus.aspx

Since when did vacationing at WDW become a requirement to eat food you don't like? Why get so upset about something

Nobody’s upset. We’re genuinely curious (and I say “we” because I’ve conversed with many of these posters in other, similar threads and know we have the same general viewpoints).

I never argued that, I just argued that steak needs to remain on the menu if offered once before.

Well, in all honesty, unless the restaurant owner decides it does, it doesn’t. But that’s not the issue. Think about this. You don’t have to post the response here, but be absolutely blunt with yourself. Had you chosen Wolfgang Puck Café for its signature steak and world-acclaimed crabcakes, because they’re each the best of their kind on the entire Walt Disney World property (or at least among the DDP restaurants)? Because, IMO, they’re not. Or did you choose WPC because those two items were such a great deal on the DDP, at $14.95 for the crab cakes and $27.95 for the steak? Again, I’m not asking or expecting you to post the answer here.

 

[Minnie0107]

And this is a little OT but it's a minor pet peeve of mine. Anyone who says anything is not 100% hunky dory at WDW gets labeled a complainer, is criticized for getting "emotional" over something so trivial, and is told to "get over it" and "you'll still love your vacation," etc. This is a WDW board, for Pete's sake. It's ALL trivial. The fact that someone merely posts a message to a message board about a topic doesn't by any means signify that that person is "emotional" about that topic. So the "get over it" advice is presumptuous (in addition to being condescending -- if it was your ox being gored, how would you feel if I told you "it's not a big deal" or words to that effect). But given that this is a message board (albeit one devoted to a trivial subject in the grand scheme of life), can we not let people post messages questioning the way things are at WDW, or maybe venting a little bit, without immediately giving it a pejorative label or trying to brush it away with dismissive comments? The OP felt she had to write back and defend herself against complaints that she's a knee-jerk complainer. Well, there's just as much knee-jerking going on on the other side, when people pile all over each other to point out "this is no big deal, it happens all the time, deal with it," etc. whenever someone dares to suggest that a change might not have been implemented with the guest's welfare solely in mind.



Back on topic...This is just classic. That's all I have to say.

Thank you!

 

[apostolic4life]

OK. I'm convinced ... I don't know anything. Everything I thought was wrong and WDW is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful for every dining change they have made and absolutely none of it has anything to do with servicing the bottom line due to changes in dining patterns brought on by the DDP - only typical restaurant changes brought on by the chef's desire to keep everything fresh. Every example I cited is flawed because I misjudged the category that others know way, way more about than this foodie wannabe.

I understand and even agree with some points you have made on this thread (and other threads you have posted to also). Just because I suggest the comparison of two different businesses should involve businesses of similar standards and products. If I wanted to compare two automobiles I would not compare a Dodge Neon with a Volvo XC40........it would be an unfair comparison to the lower end vehicle. That is the point I was trying to make.

Just trying to keep all things fair!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

And, to avoid ANY further confusion, let’s clear something up right now: “trends” and “trendy” are two entirely different things. That’ll be the economics lesson the week after next (next week’s lesson will be “Futures” and will be on the Budget Board, in a thread titled… oh, I forget right now, but I will find it).
But briefly:
Higher gasoline prices cause a trend toward the purchase of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars but smaller, more fuel-efficient cars are not trendy.
Coach purses are trendy, but there is not a trend for or to Coach purses.

Thank you!! I thought that everyone understood the difference...amazingly, no so much...

I do love how some of the pro-beef people have tried to paint those of us who enjoy a varied, changing, seasonal menu (that includes a good steak now and then) into some sort of Rush Limbaugh scorned "intellectual elitists", as if enjoying foods other than steaks, burgers, fried chicken equates to high falluting, Sara Jessica Parker-loving, mindless fad chasing.

I enjoy debating whether or not Disney is doing the right thing by their guests by occasionally changing their menus, but having to defend my enjoyment of food other than meat and potatoes, as if there is something wrong with it, is pretty ridiculous.

Honestly, I'm glad those of you love beef...I love it too, but liking beef and enjoying eel, rabbit, foie gras, whatever, are not mutually exclusive. It's OK to enjoy them both. I don't get how some here are trying to turn a debate on the pro/cons of the DDP and how it affects the quality of the menus at various WDW restaurants into a culture/class war...

 

[apostolic4life]

I thought I already am your friend... but yes, of COURSE I will be Thank you for asking!

You remember me!!!!!


I know we have not aways agreed, but that is the great thing about the DIS....eventually we can all find some points of agreement!

Thanks my friend!

 

[apostolic4life]

Thank you!! I thought that everyone understood the difference...amazingly, no so much...

I do love how the pro-beef people have tried to paint those of us who enjoy a varied, changing, seasonal menu (that includes a good steak now and then) into some sort of Rush Limbaugh scorned "intellectual elitists", as if enjoying foods other than steaks, burgers, fried chicken equates to high falluting, Sara Jessica Parker-loving, mindless fad chasing.

I enjoy debating whether or not Disney is doing the right thing by their guests by occasionally changing their menus, but having to defend my enjoyment of food other than meat and potatoes, as if there is something wrong with it, is pretty ridiculous.

Honestly, I'm glad those of you love beef...I love it too, but liking beef and enjoying eel, rabbit, foie gras, whatever, are not mutually exclusive. It's OK to enjoy them both. I don't get how some here are trying to turn a debate on the pro/cons of the DDP and how it affects the quality of the menus at various WDW restaurants into a culture/class war...

Like my obvious Rush Limbaugh reference in the title.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

You remember me!!!!!


I know we have not aways agreed, but that is the great thing about the DIS....eventually we can all find some points of agreement!

Thanks my friend!

Get a room!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I know we have not aways agreed, but that is the great thing about the DIS

As long as you realize that at those times, I’m right…

Get a room!

Okay. How about the dining ROOM at, oh, I dunno – Spoodle’s? Care to join us?