Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
July 25, 2007
With Soarin', Turtle Talk and Nemo and Friends attractions successfully lining up visitors at Epcot, Walt Disney World planners are turning attention to the park's other lineup of attractions -- involving sushi, tequila and pasta.
Numerous culinary changes are under way at Epcot, which might be the only theme park in the world where food and drink compete with shows and rides. The Walt Disney World theme park has its share of attractions, but it also features a dozen full-service restaurants where average checks run $20 to $40 a person or more.
From 1998 through last year, the dining lineup at Epcot's World Showcase went almost unchanged. Now, three new restaurants are on the way, several others are being expanded or renovated, and menus are being rewritten throughout the park to encourage more healthful cooking styles.
The more extensive renovations are bringing some of the restaurants in line with the latest concept in the theme-park business -- creating "immersive experiences." Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee said the park is seeking more "interactive dining" experiences that can provide more show-style cooking in the dining room, such as the Japanese teppanyaki style, or more interaction with Epcot's other attractions."I think this is what guests expect now, with more of the interactive experiences in our restaurants," MacPhee said.
Among the changes are new restaurants in Italy and Japan, and changes at the eatery in China. Mexico's restaurant has already been expanded with a new menu. Next, Mexico will get a tequila bar and outdoor waterfront seating so visitors can see the nighttime Illuminations show on the lagoon, MacPhee said.
The United Kingdom restaurants also could one day get more outdoor waterfront.At Epcot, for many, the restaurants are an attraction. While most theme parks have at least a couple of restaurants that serve fine food to go along with numerous casual-dining restaurants, Epcot reverses the mix. Visitors can find Angus beef steaks in the Canada pavilion, Peking duck in China, lobster bisque at the Coral Reef, le coq au vin in France or roast lamb in Morocco.
Epcot attracts 10 million visitors a year -- an average of more than 25,000 a day -- so there is a large captive audience for the park's two dozen restaurants and numerous food carts to split up.
But unlike rides and shows, visitors normally can only sample meals at one or two theme park restaurants a day. And the cover charge starts at $67 the price of a theme park ticket plus parking.
Even at that, some people are attracted to Epcot for the meals, said Christopher Muller, director of the Center for Multi-Unit Restaurant Management at the University of Central Florida. It's one reason the park attracts an older crowd.
He said for some tourists and local residents, particularly those who come without children, Epcot can have the same kind of appeal as parts of Nantucket, Mass., New Orleans or San Francisco, because there is such a variety of restaurants within easy walking distance of one another. Many people with season tickets go back just for the wining and dining, he said.
"If you have an annual pass there's no real cost, other than parking, and it's an enjoyable experience. Plus, you get the light show. If you're paying the fare to get in, then it's not an outrageous expense," Muller said.
Other, less obvious changes are taking place in other restaurants throughout Epcot, said the park's Executive Chef, Christine Weissman.
"Eating patterns change. We're changing how we're cooking," she said.
That means fewer transfats, more foods that meet special dietary needs, smaller portions with lower fat content, and, throughout the park, more fruits and vegetables. Menus have been revised both in high-end restaurants such as the Canada pavilion's Le Cellier Steakhouse and in more moderate eateries, such as the China pavilion's Lotus Blossom Cafe.
Both Weissman and MacPhee said the trends toward interactive dining and more healthful cooking are driving changes simultaneously. It might look as if Epcot is shaking up its dining line, but the large number of changes are mostly coincidental, they said.
"I don't know if it is anything but fortuitous timing," MacPhee said.
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441. _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
Ya know...
The epersive dining experience, and making a meal more of an experience I think is great. But when I got to the bottom of the article and read about creating healthier menus... that just burns my bisquits.
I understand the whole eating healthy life style thingey, but when I am able to spend a few precious evenings dining at EPCOT or anywhere else in WDW I’m willing to splurge on a meal, and not just the price, but the calories. In almost every case cooking healthier means sacrificing flavor or ingredients or cooking styles that might normally be used, and. Healthy options are fine, but I don’t want to see those replace menu items that the more health conscious visitors might find "offensive", or reduce the flavor and quality of a meal because skim milk “is so much better for you” than all that real cream they’ve used in the recipe for 200 years.
I’m not a food snob, and I might not be able to tell the difference between a well prepared “Bisque de Homard” from Chefs de France, and a can of Campbell’s Soup, but the first time I'm strolling by the American Pavilion and theres a fresh fruit stand where I was going to buy a funnel cake… someones gonna pay!!!
Then again... you should all take this rant with a grain of salt. As TheEpiphany can attest to I should probably eat a little more fruit and a little less funnel cake _________________ "Somehow I can't believe there are any heights that can't be scaled
by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true."
I am not really worried about the menu stuff for Disney. I think much of it i just PR. As t the rest, Disney constantly reviews and revises the menues, to what they think people want. If they are doing it anyway and can get press from it great. And with the quality of the chefs they employee, I am sure most of the stuff will taste great regardless of the "type of fat" they cook it in.
My wife and I have been in the food service industry for decades...(she's a certified chef)...and if done well....you don't have to sacrifice flavor.
As long as the healthier items, are balanced other items...I'm fine with it. There are a lot of folks who have restricted diets, and this would help them.
Choice...it's all about choice...something for everyone. I love splurging on Vacation, too, but I'll admit that I like something a bit healthier on occasion....I start to feel too heavy after day 2...but that's my problem..(darn cheesecake!)
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Utilidors Audio Broadcasting / Utilidors.com / uabmagic.com are in no way affiliated with, endorsed or promoted by the Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries.
All Music and requestable media Copyright the Walt Disney Company or their respective artists / Composers.
