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Changes at Artist Point - Character meal coming?


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5 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

This sucks. AP is among my favorite. We had our honeymoon dinner there. Oh well, California Grill is still there. 

Agreed we really liked it. Sadly they changed the menu so much at Cali Grill when we went last December we just got dessert and left. 

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This jaded/veteran visitor wouldn't use it. As convenient as it is, I hate it when they route you backstage to empty out a park. When I'm at WDW I prefer wall-to-wall, 24/7 magic... even if that means

It is only for breakfast.  Dinner stays as is.  The refurb is required because the kitchen is suitable for the dining pace of dinner, but would be tough to keep up with the demands of a character brea

Ugh. We love Territory Lounge - great place to watch a Monday Night Football game or just swing by and order up a bunch of appetizers for dinner. Although I must say that last trip we spent

6 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

This sucks. AP is among my favorite. We had our honeymoon dinner there. Oh well, California Grill is still there. 

My sources tell me that Disney is planning on remodeling Cali Grill next year into the Top Of The World Frozen Fireworks Dessert Party.  Stuff yourself with cupcakes and macarons while mingling with Anna, Elsa and Sven, then enjoy an underwhelming sideways view of Happily Ever After with piped in music, all for just $139/pp.  

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2 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

My sources tell me that Disney is planning on remodeling Cali Grill next year into the Top Of The World Frozen Fireworks Dessert Party.  Stuff yourself with cupcakes and macarons while mingling with Anna, Elsa and Sven, then enjoy an underwhelming sideways view of Happily Ever After with piped in music, all for just $139/pp.  

That would be [/annualpasses] for me. 

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1 hour ago, DaveInTN said:

The saddest part of this to me isn't losing Artist Point, it's how this is going to impact Territory Lounge.  

Had not even considered that.  Territory Lounge is always a stop on our "adult" night because it is quiet with good service.

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This is sad. AP was our favorite restaurant at WDW and Territory Lounge was our favorite lounge. Even if the lounge doesn't change I can't see the atmosphere staying the same with the families being drawn to the character meal. I'm not trying to upset folks with kids but one of the reasons we like the Wilderness Lodge is it tends to have quieter adult oriented places to eat and drink. Put that together with a launch ride around the lake and it makes for a nice evening. Hopefully it is just a rumor and if not that Disney sees the error of their ways. 

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15 minutes ago, keith_h said:

This is sad. AP was our favorite restaurant at WDW and Territory Lounge was our favorite lounge. Even if the lounge doesn't change I can't see the atmosphere staying the same with the families being drawn to the character meal. I'm not trying to upset folks with kids but one of the reasons we like the Wilderness Lodge is it tends to have quieter adult oriented places to eat and drink. Put that together with a launch ride around the lake and it makes for a nice evening. Hopefully it is just a rumor and if not that Disney sees the error of their ways. 

Sorry Keith. Not a rumor. Disney Parks Blog shared it. 

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13 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

The saddest part of this to me isn't losing Artist Point, it's how this is going to impact Territory Lounge.  

Ugh.

We love Territory Lounge - great place to watch a Monday Night Football game or just swing by and order up a bunch of appetizers for dinner.

Although I must say that last trip we spent most of that evening lounge time at Geyser point. Any time I can sit at a bar, have delicious drinks and waffle fries and watch the EWP from the comfort of my bar stool, I'm moving in.  🙂 

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On 8/30/2018 at 5:01 PM, DaveInTN said:

Are you actually finding tables available?  

Yes.  I did make a reservation there today for October, but I am showing availability further out.

EDIT:

I just went back in and checked and the latest I am now showing availability is November 10th.

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24 minutes ago, djsamuel said:

Yes.  I did make a reservation there today for October, but I am showing availability further out.

EDIT:

I just went back in and checked and the latest I am now showing availability is November 10th.

Ok that's the same I found.  I expect that may be the last day they'll be serving dinner under the current menu sans characters.  

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One thing that doesn't make sense to me is Disney taking away WL's Signature restaurant.  There are currently 8 Deluxe Resorts at WDW, and at this point every one of them has walking access to at least one Signature restaurant, per the chart below that I put together.  The only 2 Deluxe resorts that do not have their own Signature restaurant are Beach Club, which you could argue shares Yachtsman Steakhouse with the Yacht Club and the Poly, which has walking access to the 3 Signature restaurants at the GF (not to mention being a monorail resort which provides a significant draw by itself and provides access to Cali Grill).  The WL, in losing Artist Point as a Signature Dining restaurant, will become the only WDW Deluxe Resort where you cannot access a Signature Restaurant without using transportation.  Does that hurt them?  I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't help, and it removes a key amenity I believe that supports the Deluxe room rates.  

Now, it's possible, maybe even likely, that Artist Point retains its Signature designation.  After all, Cindy's Royal Table is a Signature dining character meal.  But Artist Point ain't in a castle, so if they try to pull that one I think it would be kind of laughable.  My personal definition of a Disney Signature restaurant is one I'd like to take my wife to on date night, without kids.  One where food and service and more important than characters and family friendly atmosphere.  If Dopey is visiting my table, it's not a date.   

Deluxe Resort   Signature Restaurant
AKL   Jiko    
Beach Club        
BoardWalk   Flying Fish    
Contemporary   California Grill    
Grand Floridean   Citricos Narcoossee's Victoria & Albert's
Polynesian        
Wilderness Lodge   Artist Point    
Yacht Club   Yachtsman Steakhouse    
     
Edited by DaveInTN
Added Flying Fish as BW Resort Signature Restaurant
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I get that it’s all about the $$. I get that AP has been in a state of flux since it’s head chef left a year or two ago, and I get that it’s almost never at full capacity. But Dave is right, I think losing this as a signature restaurant is a downgrade for the resort.

In the long run they may make more $$ with the character meal, and yes I think they will try to make it a 2 ticket dinner like Cindy’s Royal Table, with a fancy dinner, and say that’s worth it. They could also have easily made it a character breakfast, lunch or brunch and kept dinner as a signature meal.

No matter, it really chafes me the wrong way to see this restaurant close. Again, I say it’s some bean counter’s answer to solving a revenue stream problem at AP and the closure of the backyard BBQ.

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12 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

One thing that doesn't make sense to me is Disney taking away WL's Signature restaurant.  There are currently 8 Deluxe Resorts at WDW, and at this point every one of them has walking access to at least one Signature restaurant, per the chart below that I put together.  The only 3 Deluxe resorts that do not have their own Signature restaurant are Beach Club, which you could argue shares Yachtsman Steakhouse with the Yacht Club; Boardwalk, which can also easily access by walking not only Yachtsman, but also Monsieur Paul and Le Cellier; and the Poly, which has walking access to the 3 Signature restaurants at the GF (not to mention being a monorail resort which provides a significant draw by itself and provides access to Cali Grill).  The WL, in losing Artist Point as a Signature Dining restaurant, will become the only WDW Deluxe Resort where you cannot access a Signature Restaurant without using transportation.  Does that hurt them?  I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't help, and it removes a key amenity I believe that supports the Deluxe room rates.  

Now, it's possible, maybe even likely, that Artist Point retains its Signature designation.  After all, Cindy's Royal Table is a Signature dining character meal.  But Artist Point ain't in a castle, so if they try to pull that one I think it would be kind of laughable.  My personal definition of a Disney Signature restaurant is one I'd like to take my wife to on date night, without kids.  One where food and service and more important than characters and family friendly atmosphere.  If Dopey is visiting my table, it's not a date.   

Deluxe Resort   Signature Restaurant
AKL   Jiko    
Beach Club        
BoardWalk        
Contemporary   California Grill    
Grand Floridean   Citricos Narcoossee's Victoria & Albert's
Polynesian        
Wilderness Lodge   Artist Point    
Yacht Club   Yachtsman Steakhouse    
     

Excellent post.  Boardwalk has Flying Fish as signature dining.

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The comments on the Disney Blog and their Facebook page is overwhelmingly negative regarding this.  In fact, the Disney Blog suspended comments for a time.  It will be interesting to see if anything changes.  I doubt it, but you never know.  I didn't get a chance to talk to a friend of mine (who is familiar with the situation) yet regarding what is going on, but hopefully will soon.

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47 minutes ago, djsamuel said:

The comments on the Disney Blog and their Facebook page is overwhelmingly negative regarding this.  In fact, the Disney Blog suspended comments for a time.  It will be interesting to see if anything changes.  I doubt it, but you never know.  I didn't get a chance to talk to a friend of mine (who is familiar with the situation) yet regarding what is going on, but hopefully will soon.

I saw that they had suspended comments, figured it was because 80% of them were negative. I’d love to hear what insights your friend has on this whole thing. 

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Just now, keith_h said:

All I can say is Disney doing boneheaded things like this make it easier to skip a trip south an instead going to see other parts of the country. I'm starting to think about skipping WDW next February and instead waiting until March to hit up Dollywood or till May to go up to New England.

Completely agree. We skipped wdw this year for a family trip, and probably will next year, too. Honestly, maybe even stay away until the 50th celebration in a few years.

We’re still going down for our annual ‘adults only’ food & wine trip this fall, but my wife is already saying maybe we should skip next year and go somewhere else...

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13 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

One thing that doesn't make sense to me is Disney taking away WL's Signature restaurant.  There are currently 8 Deluxe Resorts at WDW, and at this point every one of them has walking access to at least one Signature restaurant, per the chart below that I put together.  ...The WL, in losing Artist Point as a Signature Dining restaurant, will become the only WDW Deluxe Resort where you cannot access a Signature Restaurant without using transportation.  Does that hurt them?  I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't help, and it removes a key amenity I believe that supports the Deluxe room rates.  

     

Excellent point!  Unless Artist Point has been ridiculously slow for a while, I can't see how this makes sense.  

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22 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Excellent point!  Unless Artist Point has been ridiculously slow for a while, I can't see how this makes sense.  

It's Disney's ball, and they can do what they want is the way the game goes....

They will see a quick $$$ return with the Character meals, and that will increase their bottom line which is all the bean counters and shareholders care about.

Look at the amount of character meals, dessert parties and other add ons that have sprung up the last few years.

In the Disney of old, being able to go to the Luau or Hoop De Doo was a big deal and gave you bragging rights to all your friends back home.

Now if you stay 5 days and don't do 6 character meals, 5 dessert parties, Bippity Boppity and the Pirate Cruise you won't even be able to join in on your Moms discussion group.  You will be deemed a complete failure.

 

And if they have plans to move Artist Point or their menu to another location, the smart thing to have done was announce it at the same time they announced the character intrusion.

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Am I the only person that never ate at Artist Point?  We always intended to try it but never found the time, we did enjoy Territory Lounge though.

On another note, they just converted half of WL to DVC, then refurbed the concierge lounge, and then temporary stopped the antics at Whispering Canyon saying they wanted to make the Lodge feel more like a high end deluxe resort...now the silliness is back and they are adding dwarfs?  Odd.

WBI

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30 minutes ago, WannaBeImagineer said:

Am I the only person that never ate at Artist Point?  We always intended to try it but never found the time, we did enjoy Territory Lounge though.

On another note, they just converted half of WL to DVC, then refurbed the concierge lounge, and then temporary stopped the antics at Whispering Canyon saying they wanted to make the Lodge feel more like a high end deluxe resort...now the silliness is back and they are adding dwarfs?  Odd.

WBI

Nope, we never ate there either!

Our big dining experience was Monsieur Paul's for an anniversary.

Other than that it's been quick serves, HDDR and the Luau.

Oh we did do a character breakfast at the GF back in the dark ages and at the Empress Lilly.

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