1900 Park Fare Reopening April 10

[nursejackie]

Only visited once, for a character breakfast, and loved it. Mary Poppins and the Mad Hatter were the best characters IMHO. We all enjoyed the food, and in a lovely setting. Glad to see it's not going to sit empty any longer.

 

[sparrow10_]

Uhhhh… they just re-themed all of the rooms at the Grand to Mary Poppins and then removed her from the re-opening of 1900 Park fare??? Lol who is in charge of this? They should have moved Prince Charming and the step sisters to CRT and left Mary, Alice and Mad Hatter at 1900 and add Bert and a rotating character of their choice if they want to promote new movies. This lineup is weird.

The trend of Disney making questionable decisions hasn't fade away sadly

 

[CarolynFH]

I often wonder how much it’s the availability of “close friends” with the right looks as well as talents (especially in improvisation - the sisters were a hoot!) that influences the choice of characters and what they’re expected to do.

 

[HopperFan]

I often wonder how much it’s the availability of “close friends” with the right looks as well as talents (especially in improvisation - the sisters were a hoot!) that influences the choice of characters and what they’re expected to do.

^ THIS

Mad Hatter is another that is likely difficult to fill. I think this is a major contributor to something like this. The word from an inner street friend was that Fantasmic was delayed so long because they couldn't hire enough actors for the parts. Problem is for non-equity positions it has become harder for Disney to hire. WDW is no longer looked at as a resume builder and the pay isn't that great for those committed to long haul. There has supposedly become much less interest in these jobs by those "qualified".

 

[mom2rtk]

I often wonder how much it’s the availability of “close friends” with the right looks as well as talents (especially in improvisation - the sisters were a hoot!) that influences the choice of characters and what they’re expected to do.

They somehow managed to do it for 20+ years. Occasionally they would have characters out, but would sub in Fairy Godmother or the mice.

 

[CarolynFH]

They somehow managed to do it for 20+ years. Occasionally they would have characters out, but would sub in Fairy Godmother or the mice.

Yes, I know. Apparently Covid did a number on Disney’s staff of “close friends” - see @HopperFan’s post above.

 

[Cabius]

Yes, I know. Apparently Covid did a number on Disney’s staff of “close friends” - see @HopperFan’s post above.

If only they were raking in record profits due to ruthless price increases, and could afford to pay CMs more to attract talented performers...

 

[Newsies]

They somehow managed to do it for 20+ years. Occasionally they would have characters out, but would sub in Fairy Godmother or the mice

Resort dining is a very complicated & tricky part of the Entertainment department at WDW. Since many, many CMs moved on to different journeys in life after the COVID-19 layoffs, I unfortunately find it understandable that the ability to manage 1900PF the way they used to is not possible at this current moment -- I have hope that there's a future where this change is reverted and the old characters return, especially if this meal continues to be unpopular in the long run.

The longer I think about this, the more I wonder how much of this was a true executive creative decision and how much of it was Resort Ops and Entertainment having to come together on a solution for getting 1900 Park Fare up and running as a character dining experience as quickly as possible.

 

[mom2rtk]

Resort dining is a very complicated & tricky part of the Entertainment department at WDW. Since many, many CMs moved on to different journeys in life after the COVID-19 layoffs, I unfortunately find it understandable that the ability to manage 1900PF the way they used to is not possible at this current moment -- I have hope that there's a future where this change is reverted and the old characters return, especially if this meal continues to be unpopular in the long run.

The longer I think about this, the more I wonder how much of this was a true executive creative decision and how much of it was Resort Ops and Entertainment having to come together on a solution for getting 1900 Park Fare up and running as a character dining experience as quickly as possible.

We will likely never know for sure. But most face characters probably age out of their roles fairly quickly even without Covid having played a role.

Not sure why it's harder to cast the stepsisters than it is to cast different characters.

 

[CarolynFH]

We will likely never know for sure. But most face characters probably age out of their roles fairly quickly even without Covid having played a role.

Not sure why it's harder to cast the stepsisters than it is to cast different characters.

I've wondered whether the stepsisters needed better improvisational skills than the princesses, for instance, to stay in character when conversing with guests. But I have no idea why their friends might be harder to find.

 

[Brob2132]

Mirabel alone will drive reservations because she doesn’t really have a current place.

 

[Newsies]

Mirabel alone will drive reservations because she doesn’t really have a current place.

Didn't she take over Merida's garden?

 

[Brob2132]

Didn't she take over Merida's garden?

Really? I didn’t know!

I stand corrected.

 

[Newsies]

Really? I didn’t know!

I stand corrected.

Haha I don't think it's gotten the best press coverage! If I hadn't seen a few of my FB friends posting with her, I wouldn't have known either

 

[DodgerGirl]

In my eyes why 1900 Park Fare decided to do this character breakfast is a mystery. What does Aladdin Tiana Mirabel have in common with the theme of 1900 Park Fare which is supposedly British and victorian themed? The answer we will never know about because the way I see it taking Mary Poppins and Alice In Wonderland and The Mad Hatter out of 1900 Park Fare is just wrong because they fitted the theme of the restaurant perfectly. But I think just like Disneyland Hotel is doing with Goofy's Kitchen Grand Floridian Resort is doing the same exact thing to 1900 Park Fare and I can see the restaurant will lose it's audience and many fans of 1900 Park Fare will be disappointed in it's reopening. I think why Disney wanted to change the characters for the 1900 Park Fare character breakfast was because I think 1900 Park Fare is wanting to copy the format of Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge because you know how Boma features different cuisines from different parts of Africa and India 1900 Park Fare will most likely add Indian cuisine for Aladdin Columbian cuisine for Mirabel and New Orleans cuisine for Tiana in addition to the American foods. As for the name of the new character breakfast I think Wish Upon A Star Breakfast is a good name

 

[Minnie1222]

Do they also serve lunch and dinner? Or just breakfast?

 

[Newsies]

Do they also serve lunch and dinner? Or just breakfast?

Breakfast & Dinner, no Lunch service.

 

[kboo]

I've wondered whether the stepsisters needed better improvisational skills than the princesses, for instance, to stay in character when conversing with guests. But I have no idea why their friends might be harder to find.

+ @Newsies @HopperFan ... we've seen the same actor as the Queen at Artist Point over a few years now, and I hope she stays. I feel like the best stepsisters we ever met were like that too. I have 2 girls and they spent a lot of time with them and really played up the sister-rivalry thing.

 

[ktlm]

I agree that I'm disappointed in the change, but it's no longer the only single movie themed character meal. That would now be Storybook Dining with Snow White. (Even Crystal Palace sort of fits that bill since they are all Winnie the Pooh characters.)

I completely forgot about that Snow White meal that started in 2018! Artist Point didn't have anything on the menu that DD (who went through a vegetarian phase) or DH liked, so we never did that one. I agree that Pooh is a "sort of"-- it is a theme-- but not a full blown long single story movie-- although I guess the Fab 5 did do some of those. I was thinking more of a princess story or movie with different types of characters. DD used to call GF "Cinderella's hotel" when she was little.

It really is a shame that they re-themed the rooms to be Mary Poppins and then removed Mary Poppins from the character breakfast. That makes no sense. They could at least stick her in somewhere with the other characters at one of the meals.

 

[DodgerGirl]

What I also think could've played a factor in removing Mary Poppins and Alice In Wonderland and the Stepsisters and The Mad Hatter from 1900 Park Fare is I think they might have plans for a British themed breakfast at the Rose And Crown Restaurant and they will make Mary Poppins and Alice In Wonderland along with The Mad Hatter the stars of the British themed character breakfast. But what I also think 1900 Park Fare could've done was make a princess breakfast themed like a tea party where you could meet Snow White Cinderella Sleeping Beauty Belle and Ariel and a random mystery princess who would join the "tea party". But if they are gonna add Aladdin shouldn't Jasmine be with him too to join in this new character breakfast? But in my eyes I think why 1900 Park Fare began this breakfast was because Disney wants to focus on the characters that are popular with the new generation of children such as Aladdin Mirabel Raya Tiana and Rapunzel while the older kids and adults grew up with Mary Poppins Alice In Wonderland Winnie The Pooh and Cinderella. But I think it's simply because Disney doesn't want all the Alice In Wonderland Mary Poppins and The Mad Hatter character actors to overdo themselves because when you look at it I think The Mad Hatter and Alice In Wonderland are the most difficult face characters to cast with Mary Poppins second. Because when you look at the general picture character actors that have to play characters at the character breakfasts probably have the hardest job of all and then when the character breakfasts are over Disney gives the character actors that perform a small sum of money then they can take breaks after their job is done. But as I mentioned in my earlier post 1900 Park Fare will most likely raise the prices on the new character breakfast once the restaurant reopens April 10th.
Do you agree?