5-5-05 Food Service Photos

[SuperDisneyDad]

Photos from the Hungry Bear on 5-05-50. The lines were an hour long for food. Here's how bad it was:



Register not opened. It's covered by the tan blanket.

[Newseditor44]

We were there as it opend up, got lucky and only waited 25 minutes to get our over cooked food!

[Disguy]

Yep we waited in that line for lunch not to mention a line like that at Club Buzz. Never seen Disneyland with such hefty food lines. There was a point at Club Buzz where not a single person was moving the line was at a stand still. However, seeing the fireworks was worth hours in line for food I would do it all over again :bow:

[revol yensid]

Pizza Port was pretty crowded as well, nothing spectacular, but definately more than usual!

[Morrigoon]

Nice thing about Pizza Port is that the line, even when long, moves really fast.

[TDLFAN]

OMG!!! I don't think I have ever seen lines that long for FOOD, for heaven's sakes. Not even at TDR! and they are the kings of long lines!!! Is this a preview of July 17th???

[robotpirates]

The new attraction: Hungry Bear Food Follies!

[fastpassmountain]

...and the scary part was the line for the restrooms later in the day. I heard they were thinking of installing fastpass machines for the waterfountains as well.

But seriously, I'm wondering what the maximum amount of time anyone would wait for food at the parks. I love Bengal BBQ, but I'll usually go elsewhere if the line is any longer than 10-15 minutes. It helps to eat lunch/dinner at odd times, but some peak season weekends don't make much of a difference. What's the longest anyone here has waited in a food line? Sometimes it seems like it might just be quicker to walk to the McDonalds on Harbor instead (it would be cheaper too).

[robotpirates]

My experience with DL food:

For the Pizza Port, my longest wait was 5 minutes. For Bengal, the ordering was fast, but it took about 10-15 min for our food to be ready, which I found odd considering it was a relatively slow day (this was in 2003; I don't know if the food service standards were any different.)

The River Belle Terrace wait is usually around 15-20 minutes whenever we go for breakfast. BB is fast if you have reservations, and even then you could wait up to 20-30 min...?

Usually, the buffeteria style lines are the fastest (Pizza Port, Plaza Inn, French Market on a good day).

[disneyguy247]

I've found that the slowest lines are at Taste Pilot's with the self-serve, while the fastest is at Blue Bayou. If you know what you are ordering, you can be in and out in less than half an hour.

[Gregmh48]

OMG!!! I don't think I have ever seen lines that long for FOOD, for heaven's sakes. Not even at TDR! and they are the kings of long lines!!! Is this a preview of July 17th???

July 17th should at least be a little better as all CT cast members will have returned to augment the cast in taking care of higher guest counts.

[BigPigletFan]

July 17th should at least be a little better as all CT cast members will have returned to augment the cast in taking care of higher guest counts.

Or so we can hope, right? Personally I'm backing a mini lunch and buying some candy to keep me going all day.

[melmel]

Well, my friend who works in food told me that there was recently a union dispute and 350 people in foods quit. They're currently reqorking a new contract. That's the only reason I can come up with for why food lines were so long. Also, Rancho del Zocalo and Plaza Inn were closed, and a DLR rep told me it's because they took those CMs and replaced them in other places where they were more necessary... maybe they took one or two people from all food positions?

[SpokkerJones]

Jesus Christ, I'm glad I don't work there anymore.

[DarylF]

I wonder if the people in those photos realize that they are in a line for food, and not a ride?

[SomeSayImGoofy]

Jesus Christ, I'm glad I don't work there anymore.

Amen.

(you were praying, right?)

[SuperDisneyDad]

It's clear that some real effort needs to be put into standardizing Point of Sale systems, so that they allow food workers to move from place to place, as they are needed. Training needs to be improved and generally, morale issues need to be addressed.

The food quality needs to be improved. The food concessions are probably a huge profit center and therefore, this business needs to be taken seriously. People will spend more money for a quality product.

I belive that the improvements made to the park have greatly improved the brand image of Disneyland. I think this is the reason for the surge in merchandise sales. People want to buy into the brand image of something they like.

Merchandise sales and food sales are probably the biggest profit centers for the park. Improving both of these will increase profits.

Better food + merchandise + better park = more profit. Got it food managers?

[melmel]

Food is 1/5 of Disneyland's profit.

Eat at the Blue Bayou, for a couple dollars more, you get free sourdough rolls and free refills, and they get you in and get you out quick (within 30 minutes)!

[Biotron2000]

Hey! I was in that first photo! And that line...my words to my wife were as follows: "Let's eat at the Hungry Bear; they're never busy".

Oops!

[Morrigoon]

Oddly, I had actually suggested that to people that day as a "it's at the furthest reaches of the park..." Luckily, they disagreed and we went to R2P2 instead.