Why I am opposed to the new prix fixe menus... and it isn't just cost!

[gharter]

And for those folks waiting on the new DDP to be announced, be ready for one heck of a price hike to cover all these inflated prix-fix restaurants that people will want to use entitlements for!

There may be a price hike if/when DDP comes back. Or they may just add more 2 credit dining options like they did at BoG and signatures. In essence the DDP is prix fixe meal depending on which level you purchased.

 

[ktlm]

Can someone clarify this for me - if I have an allergy they won’t leave something off? I have a soy flour allergy and am used to telling them that and they are good with checking for me. Is that not happening anymore or is it just preferences? Or is it just space 220? TIA

Due to covid (or supposedly due to covid), DLR and WDW are no longer doing any substitutions and also are not leaving ingredients off items. I suspect a lot of stuff was being pre-made. There have been a lot of posts about it. I don't know if that has changed back to normal at WDW-someone who has been recently might be able to tell you if it has gone back to the way it was before when they were very accommodating. I know it is still the case at DLR because I have seem some recent complaints about it. I don't know what they are doing about allergies--- surely they will find a way to accommodate that somehow.

 

[thegash35]

These prix fixe menus exist because guests were taking advantage, plain and simple.

BOG was ruined by people going and ordering a cupcake so they could see inside or to get pre rope drop park entry.
Same thing would happen here.

Disney was forced to do this kind of pricing to actually provide an experience for people who want to go there and eat instead of being locked out of reservations by people going and ordering ice water.

Unfortunately the number of inconsiderate guests trying to game the system for their own benefit is why rules and restrictions wind up being put in place.

 

[cgattis]

Im glad my kids 18&16 got the point of not caring about character soon after the reopening. Last two trips we left and went and ate over at the springs ( Boathouse) and Shulas and a few other Landrys places. BOG - 6 Adults tax and tip close to $700 Boathouse 6 people 3 bourbons 2 Cocktails 3 45 day dry aged ribeyes and 3 6oz filets $425 with Tip

Wow. And I felt like Boathouse was high. That example definitely highlights how heinous the BOG pricing is. (But i need to go check and see what are Landry’s and I don’t even realize it!)

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

These prix fixe menus exist because guests were taking advantage, plain and simple.

BOG was ruined by people going and ordering a cupcake so they could see inside or to get pre rope drop park entry.
Same thing would happen here.

Disney was forced to do this kind of pricing to actually provide an experience for people who want to go there and eat instead of being locked out of reservations by people going and ordering ice water.

Unfortunately the number of inconsiderate guests trying to game the system for their own benefit is why rules and restrictions wind up being put in place.

I think we are putting the blame on the wrong people. If disney made good enough food most people would not want to just order the cupcake, they would order a real meal. It is not the customer's fault that BOG's dinner food sucked (by most of reviews I read, but way back when, when it first opened I had a great dinner, but then it went down hill from there). This is mostly on disney not on the customers. Disney fans will give disney all their money on food if it is at least one of these two things really great tasting or instagramable.

 

[Lilylogan]

Just view it as a character meal - the "outer space" is the character aka dining experience....

 

[Debbie Jean]

Just view it as a character meal - the "outer space" is the character aka dining experience....

Sure, like Coral Reef… the “fish tank” is the character aka dining experience lol

 

[Lilylogan]

Sure, like Coral Reef… the “fish tank” is the character aka dining experience lol

exaaaaaactly lol

 

[FRANKTSJR]

It's all about getting the maximum $$ out of each and every seat. Whether it be a small child paying $29 or an adult paying for food they don't want to eat. It's truly getting out of hand with Disney.

 

[Dakota731]

That is known. As of today, no one may order kid food (no matter what they will pay) if they are over 9...period. It is a very hard line according to those bloggers in attendance yesterday. Will it change with pushback - time will tell...although I think their current plan is to tell you to do the standby lounge and to keep the prix fixe reservation as is...

A solution for the OP may be to order a kids meal at a counter service restaurant.

 

[buffy71]

It's either a prix fixe or a minimum charge per person. Too many people were just ordering a desert and taking up a time slot. Di$ney needs to get the biggest amount from each table and the servers are looking for tips. When 4 people order a desert and call it good at BOG it's not profitable for Di$ney's bottom line or the server. Sadly, I don't see Di$ney reversing course, not with BOG is still busy and booking up. Now you have CG and Space 220 following that pattern. It does seem odd that Di$ney doesn't provide an option for those in your situation as they are always so quick to make changes based on allergies and other issues.

I remember seeing post after post of people recommending to just get dessert at BOG and thinking it wasn't going to last. I didn't realize they did this at CG too, make sense because people do same thing for fireworks.

 

[PaladinButters]

If disney made good enough food most people would not want to just order the cupcake, they would order a real meal.

It was never about the food. The people ordering a cupcake for a table of ten didn't want food at all. They wanted to get inside/take photos or meet the Beast or get the early entry in to the park.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

It was never about the food. The people ordering a cupcake for a table of ten didn't want food at all. They wanted to get inside/take photos or meet the Beast or get the early entry in to the park.

Untrue if the food was good enough they would want pics of the inside and the food. Look at all the disney feeds about just food....But by that point when people started just getting dessert everyone had blasted the food and said it was a waste of money. You make good food disney people will freak out about it and will pay for it and then instagram about it, lol.

 

[_19disnA]

It was never about the food. The people ordering a cupcake for a table of ten didn't want food at all. They wanted to get inside/take photos or meet the Beast or get the early entry in to the park.

I agree. Those are the type of people who think they can 'game' the system and have figured out a clever way to get into the park before everyone else. BOG is way in back and I recall a popular ride is back there as well. We ate lunch there for the first time there during a prior visit and thought the food was very average and nothing special.

Buffet restaurants wherever you go charge a set price for their meal so that isn't anything unique to Disney. However, Disney likely wants to discourage people playing 'games' with getting early park entry. Not serving breakfast is one way to prevent that compared to just having a pricey fixed menu.

 

[SteveH]

I remember seeing post after post of people recommending to just get dessert at BOG and thinking it wasn't going to last. I didn't realize they did this at CG too, make sense because people do same thing for fireworks.

The things I've read about CG is that it's temporary, but I take that with a grain of salt. My concern is the more Di$ney tries this the more common it could become. Hopefuly it really is just a short term run.

 

[BrotherCraig]

BOG looks like a horrible menu for the price. Mac n Cheese for $40 for kids. Yikes.

 

[HeraOrgana]

Do you feel the same way about buffets?

Super delayed reply but: Financially, yes I still feel like I need to eat a lot. In terms of food waste, not as much. At least with buffets, you can choose to put less food on your plate so less gets thrown out and generally there isn't as much excess food made by the restaurant.

 

[HeraOrgana]

I know the point of this thread isn't the "wasted" food, but, for what it's worth, leftover food at Disney isn't wasted or thrown out. I asked a server at the Garden Grill what happens to the food we couldn't eat because there was so much. He told me that all the leftover food goes to a biofuel plant that produces energy that powers some significant parts of the parks and the buses. Anything that can't be made into biofuel is composted. I checked it out online, and it's a pretty cool system that other restaurants in the area can participate in. This doesn't solve the prix fixe issues that many of you have about the cost, but at least the issue of leftovers might not weigh so much on your conscience.

That makes me feel a lot better about the leftovers. Still not great, but at least it's not a complete waste.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I agree. Those are the type of people who think they can 'game' the system and have figured out a clever way to get into the park before everyone else. BOG is way in back and I recall a popular ride is back there as well. We ate lunch there for the first time there during a prior visit and thought the food was very average and nothing special.

For some people, it’s not at all about “gaming the system.” They have made a lot of restaurants into what is basically an attraction. My kids want to see inside the castle….they want to see “space”. If they aren’t letting you customize your food, I’m the only one in my family of five that will eat any of this food, and it’s way, way too much food for me. I understand the need (want?) for people to order more than a cupcake, but a minimum price per head would allow people to still order something they might actually like while still making them all the money. That is a MUCH better solution, IMO.

 

[BK2014]

I am just curious, and I know this doesn't really solve any of the problems OP and other have mentioned, but has anyone ever asked if the kitchen could just prepare a smaller version of something on the adult menu?