Subsonic Radio

Just came back from Disneyworld. On the last day of our stay we go for a Breakfeast Buffet to end our trip. We used to go to the Maya Grill at the Coronado for their wonderful breakfeast buffet but they did away with it about three years ago. Now we go to the Captains Grill at the Yacht Clyb Resort. For the last two years they offered a patron getting the buffet, a made to order omlet or an eggs benedict. Now because of cost, they no longer offer those items unless you pay extra.

Now you are already paying $22+ for the buffet, and they cut out a crummy omlet? I know Disney thinks of money first always, but this is really cheap.

sag746 wrote:Just came back from Disneyworld. On the last day of our stay we go for a Breakfeast Buffet to end our trip. We used to go to the Maya Grill at the Coronado for their wonderful breakfeast buffet but they did away with it about three years ago. Now we go to the Captains Grill at the Yacht Clyb Resort. For the last two years they offered a patron getting the buffet, a made to order omlet or an eggs benedict. Now because of cost, they no longer offer those items unless you pay extra.

Now you are already paying $22+ for the buffet, and they cut out a crummy omlet? I know Disney thinks of money first always, but this is really cheap.

Wow ~ that is sad. Most breakfast buffets have the omelet station as part of the meal That and freshly made waffles. Did you notice if those were still included, or at least on the buffet already made?

#ThankYouShanghai

theBIGyowski wrote:#ThankYouShanghai

So sad and so true all at the same time. It's great they're getting a wonderful new park over in Shanghai ~ and I sure hope to be able to see it someday, but it's sad how they are cutting back in the US parks to keep the bottom line looking good
To be fair, I'm sure the Star Wars land construction in both DL and WDW isn't helping either

Amy wrote:

theBIGyowski wrote:#ThankYouShanghai

So sad and so true all at the same time. It's great they're getting a wonderful new park over in Shanghai ~ and I sure hope to be able to see it someday, but it's sad how they are cutting back in the US parks to keep the bottom line looking good
To be fair, I'm sure the Star Wars land construction in both DL and WDW isn't helping either

You'd think Disney would have planned ahead for the costs, knowing full well that what was projected needed to be increased 20-25% to allow for unforeseen issues, increases in labor or material costs over the long time frame, etc. It seems to me that there was some short-sightedness involved, and now an ever-increasingly expensive destination is also being cut here and there.

Which doesn't make me all that eager to go back. Hubby and I LOVED our time at DLR. And WDW has always been a great time for us as a family. But with the way pricing and cutbacks have gone, the value isn't there.

The real telling sign will be seeing what gets cut from Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land over the next year or two. Right now I think they are trying hard to make the cuts now in order to save things later...but you can pretty much guarantee that something will get cut from the WDW expansions.

The bigger problem, which is why the days of the theme park are coming to an end, is that they are super expensive to operate (at least domestically). In CA they have begun, due to state law, having to provide sick days for hourly workers, min wage will be rising to $15/hr, they need to perform 1.5 billion in updates/expansions that need to start next year and be completed within 5 years if they wish to continue getting tax breaks from the city, and on top of it all the cost of materials, energy, food, etc. will only continue to rise. Which is why they have been trying to see how few people they can operate the park with, including having rides open later or not at all on certain days.

Wizzard419 wrote:The bigger problem, which is why the days of the theme park are coming to an end, is that they are super expensive to operate (at least domestically). In CA they have begun, due to state law, having to provide sick days for hourly workers, min wage will be rising to $15/hr, they need to perform 1.5 billion in updates/expansions that need to start next year and be completed within 5 years if they wish to continue getting tax breaks from the city, and on top of it all the cost of materials, energy, food, etc. will only continue to rise. Which is why they have been trying to see how few people they can operate the park with, including having rides open later or not at all on certain days.

I might believe you if attendance were dropping. It's hard for me to agree that "the days of the theme park are coming to an end" when they have no problem packing the parks even as the price skyrockets.

It isn't going to be soon, but there will be a hard limit on how much the consumer will be willing to pay. You already have parks crossing triple digits for single day single park admission. Think of it like the film industry, they are having record box office levels, but the films are here, gone, and in stores a few months later. Many of the movies are unable to meet the standard return level, and just making a profit isn't good enough. The question is, how high will the price have to go where you would say "I'm done, I'm not willing to pay for this anymore"?

Wizzard419 wrote:It isn't going to be soon, but there will be a hard limit on how much the consumer will be willing to pay. You already have parks crossing triple digits for single day single park admission. Think of it like the film industry, they are having record box office levels, but the films are here, gone, and in stores a few months later. Many of the movies are unable to meet the standard return level, and just making a profit isn't good enough. The question is, how high will the price have to go where you would say "I'm done, I'm not willing to pay for this anymore"?

I'm very nearly there.

Right now, especially, when you consider (at WDW) two of the parks are undergoing major makeovers with a sizeable portion closed, another is roughly only 3/4 of a park and that is mostly non e-tickets. Throw in that if you do not like the franchises coming in, replacing older content, then you are going to be less inclined to go.

That sounds like a total bummer. On a side note, but pretty related...as far as breakfast goes... I would actually recommend to you to hit up Ohana's for breakfast. Same amount of food as dinner, but half the cost. Totally worth it.

According to the most recent quarterly report, attendance at the domestic parks was down and lower than anticipated. However, revenues went up...because it's costing more and more to go to the parks and purchase things there.

So that means Disney's strategy is working...having less people there but have them paying more. The hard part is they are probably getting dangerously close to that price point where you start losing your ROI. What's nice for Disney, though, is that they can just roll out more discounts and "free" stuff to convince guests that they can get a good value on their vacation.

theBIGyowski wrote:According to the most recent quarterly report, attendance at the domestic parks was down and lower than anticipated. However, revenues went up...because it's costing more and more to go to the parks and purchase things there.

So that means Disney's strategy is working...having less people there but have them paying more. The hard part is they are probably getting dangerously close to that price point where you start losing your ROI. What's nice for Disney, though, is that they can just roll out more discounts and "free" stuff to convince guests that they can get a good value on their vacation.

Gosh it doesn't seem like there are less people in the parks. It has been so crowded on our last few visits!
On a plus note, and totally unrelated to the topic of the buffet, the new Disney Springs area looks really nice!

Amy wrote:

theBIGyowski wrote:According to the most recent quarterly report, attendance at the domestic parks was down and lower than anticipated. However, revenues went up...because it's costing more and more to go to the parks and purchase things there.

So that means Disney's strategy is working...having less people there but have them paying more. The hard part is they are probably getting dangerously close to that price point where you start losing your ROI. What's nice for Disney, though, is that they can just roll out more discounts and "free" stuff to convince guests that they can get a good value on their vacation.

Gosh it doesn't seem like there are less people in the parks. It has been so crowded on our last few visits!
On a plus note, and totally unrelated to the topic of the buffet, the new Disney Springs area looks really nice!

Been dying to see more photos of the new Town Center. Looks really great.