REVAMP of Whispering Canyon Cafe BEGINS

[Bostonbeans99]

I know we all have our own experiences and opinions about this......but I must say the response from WCC....I'm just not buying it.

It starts with a "let's be quieter because of the lobby and the entrance blah, blah, blah," and then it will be another tweak and another.

So for now....to those who wanted to wish the old WCC away ..it looks like us fans so far have been given a reprieve.
I visit in 2 weeks and I plan on having fun!

I feel by the time I return next year it will be dead.

 

[Nancyg56]

Again I am not implying nothing happened, what I am implying is that what some find offensive wouldn’t make others bat an eyelash, we are all born unique for a reason. It does not make your experience their invalid in either instance because it was your experience not someone else’s. However, as I said before it was a bad experience with one server, not the restaurant as a whole, and while you stated you didn’t care either way because the food was not to your taste it is evident that you must else you wouldn’t have taken time from your day to reply to this thread because in all likelihood even if the antics went away the fare would stay very similar to what is already being offered in an attempt to stay within the theming of the hotel.

The problem with this logic is the notion that it was one server, not the restaurant culture. My family had a negative interaction with "one" server and we will never go back. We were not offended, we were annoyed. We thought the food was "okay" but it was certainly not good enough to bring us back to WCC.

The servers might have felt compelled to amp up the antics, especially if the census ws winding down, so if you have a few whose skills set does not include reading their audience, you end up with more guest dissatisfaction that indeed does stem from the restaurant. I have been to 50's and the server was intuitive enough to avoid the rambunctious behavior that he was sharing with our neighboring tables. WE had a nice time, a good meal, never needed to say one word about our comfort level. He read us accurately, much like the characters have been trained to read their guests and will instinctively change their level of interactions with individual tables and guests.

If this restaurant was doing well, and if there were relatively few complaints about the noise level, you can bet the formula would not change much. However it does seem something is amis here. According to folks on this thread, the restaurant is not filled, even during the busiest seasons, and the guests in the lobby are getting treated to some pretty loud background noise, which is disturbing the atmosphere there. If you owned and operated this restaurant, woudl you want to try to get tot eh root problem, and make changes based on the complaints you recieved, or woudl you decide that the issues were individual: one server was out of control, one guest had no sense of humor, one night was an off night in the kitchen; or would you dig deeper and respond to the concerns.

I work for a small CPA firm, and my job is basically payroll for over 50 small businesses. I am closing one up this week that refused to make any changes to the formula. The local business was well over 50 years old, and a landmark in the neighborhood. I am watching another go down slowly, again too entrenched in keeping things the "way we always did" in a world tha tis changing. I am afraid this one has less than 6 months.

 

[PuppyPrincess]

Again, when DH and I went, our server always gave us a coaster with green to play, red to sit on the sidelines. We never saw anything get out of hand or thought the restaurant was loud. We always left our coaster on red, but enjoyed watching others. We have dined here probably five times, enjoying both breakfast and dinner. We do enjoy the food and the atmosphere. We also ate here during an all day tour we took, this was our lunch stop. We did have the antics with lunch and were quite amused. We just didn't want it when it was just the 2 of us. Each time our waitstaff was able to tell we really didn't want to play, but did the straw/napkins and we were fine with that. As I said, we didn't think the restaurant was any louder than any other Disney restaurant with kids and games. I think Disney needs to keep the theme part of it's restaurants to keep each one unique. That's why we go to WCC, 'Ohana, Biergarten, Boatwrights, Hoop De Do, Prime Time, etc. We seek out restaurants on property that are different, that are each unique, that are themed so well that we are immersed into someplace else, someplace fun. We are at Disney. We want these themed, restaurants, sometimes loud. There are signature restaurants for quiet, romantic evenings.

 

[KenHutch]

We really do go for the antics as much if not more than the food. On our last trip I made my usual request for no pork on the skillet (Jewish) for me and the cheerfully did as I asked, however when she brought me my refill of diet coke she had taped a label on it with the words PORK on it. I tipped her around 30% I was laughing so hard.

 

[KenHutch]

Same here! For a couple of years in row I've been eating at AP (recent trip was in Nov) and quite honestly, its one of the best meals i've had in disney. Its my fave restaurant on property. The quality of food is ridiculously good. I cant wait to go back!

I had written off Artist Points but its reviews like this that me thinking its time to give it another try. Much thanks

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We really do go for the antics as much if not more than the food. On our last trip I made my usual request for no pork on the skillet (Jewish) for me and the cheerfully did as I asked, however when she brought me my refill of diet coke she had taped a label on it with the words PORK on it. I tipped her around 30% I was laughing so hard.

Now THAT is funny!

 

[Runnsally]

Now THAT is funny!

That seems like the type of thing some folks would be offended by...

 

[goofyintoronto]

I had written off Artist Points but its reviews like this that me thinking its time to give it another try. Much thanks

You should give it another shot. That place continues to blow me away. Worth every penny...and let me tell you, it aint cheap! I went solo once and paid about $100. Worth it thou!

 

[dachsie]

We really do go for the antics as much if not more than the food. On our last trip I made my usual request for no pork on the skillet (Jewish) for me and the cheerfully did as I asked, however when she brought me my refill of diet coke she had taped a label on it with the words PORK on it. I tipped her around 30% I was laughing so hard.

That's funny. It reminds me of something I did when I was working customer service at a hearing aid manufacturer. Was talking to one of my clients and asked if thee was anything else I could do as we ended the call. He said you could send me a burger, I'm hungry. We laughed and hung up. I went to the Petstore and bought a hamburger squeak toy and sent it to him. He called me up laughing when he got it.

 

[KenHutch]

You should give it another shot. That place continues to blow me away. Worth every penny...and let me tell you, it aint cheap! I went solo once and paid about $100. Worth it thou!

You do have me thinking because the girls are going into town one day to shop and leaving me to my own devices.

 

[Bostonbeans99]

The WCC could very easily hire 2-3 CM's that "perform" the gags and are just helpers or assistant to the waiters.......while the other 4 or 5 CM's can be the actual assigned food waiters.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You do have me thinking because the girls are going into town one day to shop and leaving me to my own devices.

Nice! There's nothing better than some alone time...free to do whatever you want. So fun!

 

[Smalerie]

With the changes to the Diamond Horseshoe, I'd like to see the antics move over there.

 

[Marshmelo]

Here is the response I received from emailing the manager about whether or not the antics would still be performed in October for our visit:

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the news of changes at Whispering Canyon. Whispering Canyon Cafe is still a rootin' tootin' good time for the whole family, with plenty of antics. You may notice that we've asked our Cast Members to turn down the volume a bit in order to promote participation among all guests. There is still lots of silliness for your son to enjoy.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the news of changes at Whispering Canyon. Whispering Canyon Cafe is still a rootin' tootin' good time for the whole family, with plenty of antics. You may notice that we've asked our Cast Members to turn down the volume a bit in order to promote participation among all guests. There is still lots of silliness for your son to enjoy.

1) There has been a lot of complaints to WDW and WL about the halting of the antics.
2) The response is, "We only want to tone-down the volume, and not the antics.)
3) Talk about a "SPIN".
4) Thea s in a little bit of trouble for unilaterally deciding to stop the antics at a restaurant she has PUBLICALLY said she does not like.
5) KARMA IS A . . . . .

 

[AngiTN]

I can say, as someone who isn't a fan of WCC food and only dines there now when a tour takes me there, but has stayed at WL CL a couple of times, the loud yelling from the restaurant is very annoying when you are sitting around the resort. Now, I think the WL CL seating has moved so those guests probably don't hear it as bad as they once did but all others around still have do. So I am not one bit surprised they've had years and years of complaints about the noise. I'm rather surprised it's taken this long to have changes.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

The fact as mentioned by the experts is that the restaurant is not drawing people in. As a GM that would be something that has to be addressed. We are long term fans of WCC and used to love the antics. The past trips though the servers seemed fatigued and snarky. Some of the servers were into it and others weren't which seemed to lead to confusion among the guests that weren't involved.

The other thing I noticed (and this may not be everyone's experience) is that some CM's antics have turned into an occasion to bash Disney. Specifically while at WCC the past 2 times, the banter referred to how under paid they were, and how overworked they were. Also mentioned was how not all of their CM colleagues were working as hard as they were. Nope, not what I want to hear on vacation and vowed not to go back. That made me sad.

Take a look at Trattoria on the Boardwalk. Also a bit off the track. They didn't have a draw and added unusual characters for breakfast and now it's packed.

 

[Nancyg56]

The fact as mentioned by the experts is that the restaurant is not drawing people in. As a GM that would be something that has to be addressed. We are long term fans of WCC and used to love the antics. The past trips though the servers seemed fatigued and snarky. Some of the servers were into it and others weren't which seemed to lead to confusion among the guests that weren't involved.

The other thing I noticed (and this may not be everyone's experience) is that some CM's antics have turned into an occasion to bash Disney. Specifically while at WCC the past 2 times, the banter referred to how under paid they were, and how overworked they were. Also mentioned was how not all of their CM colleagues were working as hard as they were. Nope, not what I want to hear on vacation and vowed not to go back. That made me sad.

Take a look at Trattoria on the Boardwalk. Also a bit off the track. They didn't have a draw and added unusual characters for breakfast and now it's packed.

You verified what I was referring to upthread. The staff needs to be very well trained in order to carry banter appropriately. There is a vast difference between friendly antics and off color or snippy remarks meant to be jokes and then fall south. I am not at all sure what the issue at WCC is or was, however I am sure that toning noise down will not cure the problem if that is only the outer layer of a series of problems. I firmly believe that if the GM leaves the antics in place, but at a lower volume, and this restaurant does not increase it's census, there will be more changes in store. As there should be. Yes, the number of complaints the move to reduce the antics may have prompted the GM to restore the "show", however time will tell how many people chose to simply move to another eatery in order to avoid this one.

 

[Dug720]

Again, when DH and I went, our server always gave us a coaster with green to play, red to sit on the sidelines. We never saw anything get out of hand or thought the restaurant was loud. We always left our coaster on red, but enjoyed watching others. We have dined here probably five times, enjoying both breakfast and dinner. We do enjoy the food and the atmosphere. We also ate here during an all day tour we took, this was our lunch stop. We did have the antics with lunch and were quite amused. We just didn't want it when it was just the 2 of us. Each time our waitstaff was able to tell we really didn't want to play, but did the straw/napkins and we were fine with that. As I said, we didn't think the restaurant was any louder than any other Disney restaurant with kids and games. I think Disney needs to keep the theme part of it's restaurants to keep each one unique. That's why we go to WCC, 'Ohana, Biergarten, Boatwrights, Hoop De Do, Prime Time, etc. We seek out restaurants on property that are different, that are each unique, that are themed so well that we are immersed into someplace else, someplace fun. We are at Disney. We want these themed, restaurants, sometimes loud. There are signature restaurants for quiet, romantic evenings.

The only problem with the coaster is you could select red so that your server knew you didn't want to play...but you'd still be subjected to all the chaos around you. So it only partially solved the issue.

 

[brertoad]

The only problem with the coaster is you could select red so that your server knew you didn't want to play...but you'd still be subjected to all the chaos around you. So it only partially solved the issue.

We have always requested to be seated in "the library", it is the back section that is mostly part of the WL lobby, kind of near the pin booth and DVC guide, it is usually much quieter, there is a lot of space between that section and the main part of the restaurant. It is usually a lot nicer for us, they have usually seated us there without a problem at all.