California Grill Brings Back Classic Menu Items for 30th Anniversary at Disney World

Pix E. Dust8 days ago

Again, I wasn't talking about Disney. I was responding to the person who was talking about restaurants in general. But I will say that I do think TS restaurants at WDW are not rushing people out the door like some sort of factory. I have found the pacing of the meals to be quite nice. The point of that kind of meal is not just to eat food. It is about atmosphere and conversation. Of course, if you are parked at a table for hours just to see fireworks...that's different.

UNCgolf8 days ago

There are numerous options that would be more consumer friendly -- a simple one would be requiring an entree for everyone (other than maybe small children) or an automatic surcharge if they don't order an entree. Yes, it could lead to arguments with servers etc., which is probably why Disney chose the worse option of just going prix fixe. That's not really an acceptable excuse, though, especially if they want to actually provide quality customer service. Just throwing up their hands and saying "if you want to eat here, you're paying for an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert regardless of if you want/will eat all of that, and also possibly spending a lot more than you should if you don't choose what would be the most expensive options a la carte" isn't great.

Phonedave8 days ago

It is different when your cafe has 20 tables and on a good night you have 15 of them with full dinners. When that happens, having an extra 5 tables of low effort high profit dessert and alcoholic drinks is a good thing. When you are a WDW restaurant that is fully booked, and has a business model built around turning every table in the restaurant multiple times per night with at least full entrees at each table (but not full bar tabs - lots of under 21 crowd at WDW) then people lingering at a table is not a good thing.

Phonedave8 days ago

Both scenarios are not a method for success. They need a way to either ensure a minimum bill or a maximum time frame or something along those lines.

Pix E. Dust9 days ago

I wasn't suggesting anyone should do that. I was responding to the person who said that you should never go to a restaurant anywhere and just order dessert.

Hockey899 days ago

At Disney, that concept is as laughable as it gets. It’s the last thing Disney wants. Sit 2 and half hours sharing a 20 desert and a coke. The waitstaff probably wanted to shive them

Hockey899 days ago

100% can confirm it happened two times. Kids basically trying to sit at our table as their complete dope rude parents starting at the phone. Gave the kids the biz and the parents.

JIMINYCR9 days ago

The view is similar. You can also view the fireworks from the Bay Lake tower walkway that is available to non DVC guests.

CAV9 days ago

Pipe down. You think Disney gives a hoot about internet rage????? And for every rager, there will be at least a few who will applaud the move.

Pix E. Dust9 days ago

Maybe it's a cultural thing? I'm assuming what you are saying is true of restaurants in America. I really had no idea. Around here, people sometimes go out for dessert or maybe just appetizers and drinks. Restaurants are happy about that because those are the things making them the most money.

Chi8410 days ago

What would you have done instead? I don’t think Disney cares about internet rage, but I wonder if other solutions would have brought more uncertainty, which leads to arguing with servers or people being unhappy with being told no. I’m not a fan of prix fixe but I’m at a loss for other solutions.

UNCgolf10 days ago

Who cares if there's internet rage over it? Prix fixe menus are anti-consumer in the majority of instances (there are exceptions). There are many ways to solve the problem they were having (which was a legitimate problem; they did need to stop people from taking up tables and not really eating) -- it's just that prix fixe was one of the worst solutions for guests. I actually wasn't very impressed with my meal at California Grill last time I was there (before the prix fixe menu), but I won't return as long as it's prix fixe.

donsullivan10 days ago

Yeah, 'cause there would be no internet rage over that. This pattern has occurred across the property for ages when people choose the venue because they want to see/experience it, and then try to do it as cheaply as possible. Think Be Our Guest, Space 220, etc.. People choose the location and then claim they can't afford it, so they order the bare minimum they can find and camp on the table. Choose a different restaurant if you cannot afford it. Every restaurant has an assumption baked into their operating costs of the average revenue per table/ per hour, and the serving staff compensation (tips) is linked to that same number. Not to mention that many people suddenly taking up a table and just ordering dessert, do you send some of the kitchen staff home since nobody is buying dinner and you don't need to cook anything? A restaurant is a restaurant, not a dessert shop with drinks. Everyone who tries to spend the bare minimum lowers the revenue of the restaurant and service staff, making operating the venue unprofitable. And if good servers cannot make a reasonable income for their hard work, they'll choose to work elsewhere. The restaurant still needs to be profitable, so it has to reduce staff, lower the quality of ingredients, or reduce the menu to manage costs to stay above water. This isn't unique to Disney; it's the basic math of running a restaurant. Having said all that, I went to California Grill last Friday evening, and I can say that our meals were amazing, and the server was one of the best. She was absolutely fantastic- and she was tipped accordingly by our group of 4. We all chose a different combination of appetizer, entree and desert from the menu. However, the one item I did hope they brought back; the chocolate souffle they used to have many years ago was not there. You had to order it when you placed your primary order but they were baked to order and brought to your table hot from the oven. I'll likely be monitoring the menu over this anniversay year to see if that come back and I'll definitely be there for that.

CAV10 days ago

The solution seems simple, if you a just ordering desert during a specific time period, add a per person surcharge to the table.