So How Do We Feel About the Changes to Be Our Guest?

[Vicki E.]

We went to BOG in Feb 2014 and it was the best meal we had. Always scratched my head at those with really bad experience there but then again, we HATED 'Ohana and most love it so yeah...now for the fixed $55 price and change in menu, worth it. However, my friend and I prefer using DDP so now that it's 2 credits, we will be skipping it on our trip next year. I know we could just pay out of pocket and use our credit elsewhere or go for lunch instead of dinner but there are just so many other places we could end up trying, some for the first time, that I think the ultimate change is swaying us away. At least, for the time being. Maybe we'll try lunch. For us the only meals we plan are dinner (she hates breakfast food and we just stop for lunch when we are hungry).

As for the food changes, this is usually always a good thing. As much as we loved our meal, I can see how a change is needed. We have a local tavern here that NEVER changes it's menu. While the food and beers are great, we just get tired of the same menu and choose to go elsewhere or stay home. I'm sure enough complaints were made or ideas of how to make it worth more/2 credits that resulted in the change. We don't want to waste 2 credits on any meal so we'll be trying something else. That's the beauty of the amount of places to eat there. There is always someplace else to go!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I probably wouldn’t use 2 credits on it, but $55 OOP for three courses is reasonable IMO. I doubt that price point will last though. I bet it won’t even be a year before they hike it up.

 

[disneyseniors]

I don't really care if they do it to the dinner menu.
We only go for lunch and we really like the food. No problems with any of it for us.
I only hope the lunch menu doesn't get changed and increased in price. The BOG is a special place with lots of Beauty and the Beast ambience. I hope it stays affordable for everyone.
Personally, octopus and snails are not my idea of appetizers, but I am not a "foodie" and like comfort food.
So, I am ambivalent about this. Okay if it stays only dinner. Not ok if it goes to lunch. FWIW

 

[NYCgrrl]

This is my sentiment exactly. I would be interested to know how many of the people happy with this change have little children.


Last summer the youngest of my traveling companions was 8 and he was perfectly happy giving Russell a hug and mugging for pictures at a character meet; cost me little but shoe leather. Conversely his 12 y/o cousin was mortified being seen w/ any character and certainly didn't want them hovering over her when she ate.
If 35.00 per child and 55.00 per adult will make all comfy during an optional character eat with A/C, a chair, and something to eat that beats out the typical fare @ MK I guess I'm OK with that since it will satisfy all needs of a diverse party.

Oh and I get the value for money thinking. When we do the dining plan I've been known to want to insist children order off the adult menu, LOL.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I do not have little kids, but I'm not happy with the changes. We've been to BOG once for dinner, but I have to say it was my favorite entree I've had in all of WDW. I got the shrimp and scallops (delicious!). My DH got the steak. We tried the cupcakes but didn't care for them. We planned on going back last October and was planning on just getting the entrees and then getting a Dole Whip Float for dessert instead of getting a dessert at BOG. But we could never get an ADR, so we decided to try again for our trip this year. Now, I'm not so sure. We are planning on doing MVMCP, and that will be our only day at MK. None of the appetizers seem appealing, and we really don't need dessert since we will be getting a Dole Whip Float. We have cut our portion sizes down and don't need all that food on the Prix Fixe menu. Before, we could eat there for about $35/person. Now it's $55 whether you want the app and dessert or not. I am pretty bummed!

ETA: But this is how we feel about LTT. We enjoyed splitting an app, the turkey and dressing, and the ooey-gooey toffee cake. Now you can't get turkey and dressing except as an AYCTE meal, and it's $35/person and way too much food for us. We used to could eat there for $35 for both of us.

 

[KrazeeK120]

This is my sentiment exactly. I would be interested to know how many of the people happy with this change have little children.

My guess is not too many.

My son is 2, will be a week away from 3 on our trip. We always get just his own meal anywhere we go. Even at 18 months at Disney, we would get him a kids meal (he was a big fan of the turkey sandwich and peach applesauce af BOG lunch!). He eats a lot and is far from a picky eater, but I still don’t feel like I can justify a $35 price point for him at a non-character meal. I get that the upcharge at some of the other places is because characters come table side. But simply paying $35 for a 2-5 year old to eat is nonsense, IMO.

If the kids meal price were lower, we would definitely give this a try. I guarantee my husband would love it and my son probably would too.

 

[Sandiz08]

Well, I'm not happy we have to spend more money, but excited to have a different menu. I always thought the Beast's Castle was deserving of a signature dining experience.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

People regularly pay $30 for nuggets and a brownie at 'Ohana for a kid. Akershus is $35 for a kid. People pay this.

 

[WDWFan0813]

People regularly pay $30 for nuggets and a brownie at 'Ohana for a kid. Akershus is $35 for a kid. People pay this.

Ohana is listed as $26 for dinner, 25% less than the new BOG dinner, and Akershus is comparing apples to oranges as my kids meet 4-5 princesses during the meal.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Ohana is listed as $26 for dinner, 25% less than the new BOG dinner, and Akershus is comparing apples to oranges as my kids meet 4-5 princesses during the meal.

My point is more that Disney has seen people paying in that range for "special dining."

If you dont see value, don't make an ADR for BOG.

BOG does not have to appeal to every visitor at every budget.

 

[DisBuckMan]

If you dont see value, don't make an ADR for BOG.

Agree. Last time I checked, eating at BoG wasn't mandatory.

 

[Zooey72]

This is another attempt at Disney pawing at my wallet and I am 1/2 tempted to cancel my entire vacation there because of it. Had I not told the kids we were going it would be a def. As is I may still say to hell with Disney and go to Universal instead.

I have come to grips with having to spend a lot of $ going to Disney, but when they do things like this it is like taking the hood ornament off a Porsche and putting it on a VW bug and charging 75k for the car. If they wanted to be more honest about it they should worn a ski mask and used a gun when they announced the change.

 

[WDWFan0813]

My point is more that Disney has seen people paying in that range for "special dining."

If you dont see value, don't make an ADR for BOG.

BOG does not have to appeal to every visitor at every budget.

Agree. Last time I checked, eating at BoG wasn't mandatory.

And I never said it was nor did I say I was going to make an ADR. I merely posed a question and then responded to your statement as to why I did not feel it was the same thing.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And I never said it was nor did I say I was going to make an ADR. I merely posed a question and then responded to your statement as to why I did not feel it was the same thing.

But I think a lot of people do see it similarly, because Beast is a rare meet and greet. So, sure, maybe there's not 5 princesses, only one Beast, but it's actually cheaper than Akershus by a little, and by a full third compared to CRT.

And the food, if the menu skews to a similar direction as the adult menu, would be better than nuggets + brownie at 'Ohana for $27, which people defend "for the experience."

This is shaping up to be a supply-demand "for the experience!" thing.

 

[DisBuckMan]

This is another attempt at Disney pawing at my wallet and I am 1/2 tempted to cancel my entire vacation there because of it. Had I not told the kids we were going it would be a def. As is I may still say to hell with Disney and go to Universal instead.

I have come to grips with having to spend a lot of $ going to Disney, but when they do things like this it is like taking the hood ornament off a Porsche and putting it on a VW bug and charging 75k for the car. If they wanted to be more honest about it they should worn a ski mask and used a gun when they announced the change.

What were they dishonest about?

It's not like they let a bunch of people make reservations, then let them find out when they got to the restaurant that there were changes. Instead, they closed reservations for a time, announced the change, then let people decide if they want to dine there under the new "rules".

The only way your VW/Porsche analogy compares to this is if you knew you were really buying a VW with a Porsche hood ornament, and you still bought it anyway. If that's the case, then it's on you.

You may not like it, but there was nothing dishonest about it, and it's ridiculous to hint that there was.

 

[Summer2018]

I've been following the boards and Disney Parks Blog article about the changes coming to BoG, and I was shocked to see that the Prix Fixe menu will in fact be replacing the standard dinner menu. Add to that the prices, especially the 2 TS Credit requirement and I am thinking Disney may have over reached here. I'm sure it will have a pretty big demand still at first, and a lot of first timers may still try to go. I am curious about those of us that have been before. Does this interest you at all? For me, I wasn't impressed with the service or food when we went last summer. The ambiance, the decor, the environment, and of course meeting the Beast were the only things that made it "worth it". Outside of that, they were going to be hard pressed to get me back in there for what we had to pay. The fact that it is now a Prix Fixe menu that even my adventurous pallet has no interest in, and it will now be double the price makes that even more so. It might as well have a tombstone outside the Haunted Mansion because it pretty much puts BoG in a coffin and buried for me and my family. Thoughts?

In 2015, we couldn’t get dinner reservations. At 180 days out, at 6:10 am, I couldn’t get dinner reservations. DD really wants to go there, so we got QS lunch reservations. How does a restaurant that has a QS counter transform into a 2TS Signature restaurant?! I’m confused. We haven’t set foot inside, which is really the ONLY reason we are having lunch there. We just want to see it and perhaps soak up the ambience. When I think of signature restaurants, I picture a sophisticated upscale experience. I guess it remains to be seen. The Prix Fixe menu will most likely keep us away from dinner.

Also, is it just the Beast or is Belle at the restaurant? I would need to see more than the Beast to make 2TS worth it.

 

[Summer2018]

The DDP isn't supposed to be a "good value," in any case. I'm sure they'll still pack 'em in at 2TS.

It’s always been an excellent value for my family. We definitely come out ahead every time.

 

[jeff_h]

This is another attempt at Disney pawing at my wallet and I am 1/2 tempted to cancel my entire vacation there because of it. Had I not told the kids we were going it would be a def. As is I may still say to hell with Disney and go to Universal instead.

I don't know if it's pawing your wallet as much as it is revising policy to increase the revenue per seat (duhh, I know), but what I mean is that this was maybe to address/prevent the practice of party of 6 coming in and splitting entrees or skipping desserts (or both) in order to save money but still get to take pictures with the Beast.

I've seen some write about that practice on this forum now and then, and a couple of DD17's friends did that during last year's visit. So while I don't personally care for the change, I understand it from the perspective of "if you wanna get pics with the Beast then each of you are gonna pay" which will result in higher revenues and probably easier to get ADRs for guests that really want to go.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There are a number of 2TS meals on DDP that are not considered Signature. Two are considered "dinner shows." One is listed simply as "Character Dining" on Disney's own PDF: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/m...ld/en_us/PDF/Jan_2018_DDP_Locations_added.pdf

While this won't be classified as either, they can simply denote it as 2 credits where listed and NOT call it "Signature."

 

[Summer2018]

I'm happy with the change. We have been going since it opened and spend almost this much per person anyway. I hope they go further and make lunch the same. I am also with people who believe the water and cupcake people ruined it for a lot of people. I am surprised it took Disney this long to do something. I have always been surprised that Disney doesn't have a set price or at least a minimum per person in their signature restaurants. As others have said the turnover for the "water and cupcake/dessert" people doesn't cut it for a lot of restaurants. In the real world a lot of "signature" type restaurants have a minimum per person.

It would never occur to me to order a cupcake and water for a dinner ADR. I think that people who have done that should be ashamed of themselves. They took available tables away from families like mine who would order dinner and a dessert. That’s disgusting. I understand Disney’s response to this.