It's been said that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well, in the Walt Disney Company's case, imitation is also often a great way to start a lucrative new business line.
Take, for example, that Tote a Tail line of plush that the Mouse introduced at the parks 8 months back. Which -- obviously drawing its inspiration from both Paris Hilton's pets as well as the Build-a-Bear franchise -- allows theme park guests to first purchase a miniature version of their favorite Disney animal (ex: Marie from "The Arisocats," Lady from "Lady and the Tramp," Pegasus from "Hercules") for $13.00. They can then buy a $6.00 purse to place their new plush pal in as well as a $2.00 crown, visor or bandana to dress this "Tail" in. And -- Presto ! -- through the magic of accessorizing, a $13.00 purchase quickly becomes a $25 purchase.
Or, better yet, that new Disney Dreams organizer that just appeared on property a few weeks back. Which -- what with its collection of plastic sleeves & zipper pockets to hold your theme tickets, maps, brochures and even pressed pennies -- is going to look awfully familiar to you fans of the PassPorter line of books.
And then there's that Disney-themed Starbucks knock-off that's expected to open at WDW's Downtown Disney in the coming year. Which the Mouse then hopes to use as the prototype for a series of coffee bars that will open at Disney parks & resorts worldwide over the next five years.
But when it comes to Mickey playing copycat to put a few more coins in the corporate coffers, the company's most ambitious imitation may lie just over the horizon. Word is now coming out of Walt Disney World that the Mouse is looking to take on the Rat. As in: The biggest rodent in themed dining -- Chuck E. Cheese.
That's the word that came out of a meeting that Chairman of Disney Parks & Resorts Jay Rasulo recently had with WDW managers. As part of the Walt Disney Company's new Regional Entertainment initiative, the Mouse is seriously considering building a chain of restaurants that would feature character dining. Where patrons would pay a premium price for the privilege of dining in a highly themed environment with their favorite Disney characters.
As one unnamed exec who's familiar with this now-in-development project told me over this past weekend:
"Character dining has always been very popular at our theme parks. Not to mention being incredibly profitable. So as we began exploring the idea of building a series of stand-alone Disney's Grand Resort hotels around the U.S., character dining was always a key component of that plan. Something we could offer that the other resorts in this same tourism center couldn't. But then -- as we began looking at what it would actually cost to build one of these Grand Resorts -- we began wondering: Would it be cheaper / more profitable in the long run if we just pulled the character dining experience straight out of these proposed hotels and then just did that as a stand-alone? See how the public would react to a highly themed restaurant that was well away from Disneyland or Walt Disney World that still gave them the chance to dine with Mickey Mouse, Jack Sparrow or their favorite Disney Princess."
"Character dining has always been very popular at our theme parks. Not to mention being incredibly profitable. So as we began exploring the idea of building a series of stand-alone Disney's Grand Resort hotels around the U.S., character dining was always a key component of that plan. Something we could offer that the other resorts in this same tourism center couldn't.
But then -- as we began looking at what it would actually cost to build one of these Grand Resorts -- we began wondering: Would it be cheaper / more profitable in the long run if we just pulled the character dining experience straight out of these proposed hotels and then just did that as a stand-alone? See how the public would react to a highly themed restaurant that was well away from Disneyland or Walt Disney World that still gave them the chance to dine with Mickey Mouse, Jack Sparrow or their favorite Disney Princess."
According to what the managers who actually attended this meeting with Jay are saying, Rasulo would like to roll out the prototype of this Disney Regional Entertainment concept sooner rather than later. More importantly, that there have already reportedly been some rather serious discusions about where the proof-of-concept version of this well-away-from-a-Disney-theme-park character dining experience should be built. With the Chairman of Disney Parks & Resorts supposedly mentioning Chicago as the city where the first of what will eventually be a national chain of restaurants would be built.
Which to some within the company seems like an odd choice. Given that the Windy City version of DisneyQuest flamed out in the Fall of 2001 after only being open for two years.
"Why would Mickey now be willing to take another chance in Chi-town?," you ask. I'm told it's because of the large number of Chicago Land residents who regularly vacation at WDW. Which is what makes Mouse House executives think that a highly themed restaurant that features Disney character dining might do really well in this part of Illinois.
But what do you folks think? Would character dining really be something that you'd enjoy well away from a Disney theme park? Or would a restaurant like this -- no matter how highly themed its interior & exterior may be -- just seem less special out there in the real world?
Your thoughts?
While I think that a Disney theme restaurant could be done quite well *if done right*, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to "whore-out" the character dining. It's always been such a special aspect of the parks, that it might lose something outside of the parks.
Didn't Disney try this in California (West Covina)? Wasn't there something like what you're talking about? I think it was called Club Disney or something. If it is the same, did they forget about how it failed??
I half-disagree with WDWTITAN24. I think Character Dining outside the parks would be a financial success, but it would also make the experience of Character Dining AT the parks/resorts a lot less special.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Disney
Disney Regional Entertainment did test out Club Disney, which was a "Children's Play Center" similar to Discovery Zone, I think. They opened a few in CA and one in AZ, but both closed.
I think Disney Regional Entertainment is trying to make this more like ESPN Zone than Club Disney, where the restaurant is the main focus, in this case, Character Dining.
It better be a very well themed restaurant with good food.
Just one less reason to go to the parks. You can already watch the parades and go on simulated rides via YouTube, and order the merchandise from the internet and dedicated phone lines. If you can go to a bad buffet with characters in your hometown, why save for a park visit? The princesses no longer live in the Disney castle - they're just down the street. And you thought it was tough handling the questions about Santa being in different shopping malls. Character dining works - especially in Florida - because you've got a captive audience that can be pressured with a time constraint. You've got to make reservations for character dining ahead of time so you don't disappoint your little ones during your limited vacation time. Take away a captive audience and take away time constraints - then you've got to have better quality food - not something Disney Co is known for, and the first thing to be cut when they want a bigger profit margin.
FredHuggins said:
I think it would be a financial success.
I just think it takes away the speciality of the concept.
Hey!
I think this is a lousy idea. Over exposure! As has been mentioned above - didn't anyone over there at the mouse house learn anything from Club Disney or Disney Quest for that matter? Or how about the "too many locations" issue from the Disney Store?
A part of what makes the character dining experience "magic" (ie. desirable, pay a crazy price profitable) is because at the parks is the only place it can be done!
I'm a Disney fan. For some reason I don't mind paying $100 for an eggs, bacon and waffles breakfast (with a great line up of characters.) at WDW with my kids. But I just can't imagine that I would pay anywhere near that to take them to have breakfast with Cinderalla at the local mall. It's two different line items in our budget . . . WDW vacation is a special time (life time memory maker) so spending that kind of money feels ok . . . going out to eat - even at a Landry's restaurant . . . just doesn't get the same proporational chunk of the budget.
Rich
The downfall of Disney Quest in Chicago was due less to implementation and more to location. Being downtown, parking was not exactly plentiful, and it seemed a chore just to get down there. In fact, the only time I went to the Chicago version (I'm near Orlando and went there many times, but grew up in and still have family in the greater Chicago area) was when I was attending a conference downtown and could walk to DQ. If it had been placed at one of the suburban mega-malls, outside of the downtown traffic areas, it would have done much better.
Everyone, don't forget the Mickey's Kitchen fast foodish concept that Disney had in Southern California that they closed. Every non-theme park endeavor outside of The Disney Store (and DVC resorts) has failed. People pay absurd prices for things such as character dining at the parks because they think that it's just part of the cost of the vacation, it's essentially acceptable even though the pricing is absurd. I have to wonder about whether that will work long term outside of the parks.
If people keep packing in to Rainforest Cafe's around the country, I don't see why a Disney Themed resuarant wouldn't do well. This is the business model I see Disney using.
But, they do need to be careful of diluting the value of the park experience, unless they plan on "plussing" the in-park dining event, to containe someething beyond what you can get in the suburbs.
But then again, with as much as the character meals have become packed, difficult to reserve, and time comsuming, when you're on a vacation (they usually eat about 2 hours out of a day), maybe having them less-crowded at the parks might not be a bad thing.
I just got back from 6 days in Disneyland Paris where I had 2 character breakfasts, 2 characters lunches, a character dinner and a character tea party. Would I do a Character meal if there were a restuarant in the middle of London? You may as well name the table after me.
alphac2005 said:
Everyone, don't forget the Mickey's Kitchen fast foodish concept that Disney had in Southern California that they closed. Every non-theme park endeavor outside of The Disney Store (and DVC resorts) has failed
I would disagree only becasue I think The Disney Store concept is also a failure in the sense that they have performed so poorly that they turned them over to The Children's Place to run and they are still underperforming.
This is a rehash of the "Mickey's Kitchen" concept that they were looking to tie into The Disney Store at one time. Unless they can get someone like Landry's to market and operate these venues I don't think they stand a chance.
I agree with micky ... this can't be some joint with cardboard cutouts of Donald Duck on the wall and bad food that costs four times more than it should. That WILL fail outside of a vacation spot.
When people are on vacation they expect to pay too much for bad food. But NO ONE is going to willingly pay $32 for a cold, greasy cheeseburger ... err ... sorry ... for a tofu platter with raw carrots and yogurt, just so they get some camera time with Mickey.
I was thinking the same thing, Chazbo6. Partner up with someone like Landry's to help build and operate these. Although, I'm not real sure how I like the idea. On the one hand it would be a nice, short escape to the Disney Magic, if done well. On the other hand, it could ultimately water down the experience of going to the parks.
But, it does sound like a re-hash of something they've already tried and failed at.
Maybe Rasulo needs to look back at some of his company's historical missteps and see why they didn't work out.