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So isn't this ironic... a property on the grounds of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)'s Disney World (reportedly the happiest place ON EARTH) is putting the kibosh on kids. To kick off the new year, the Victoria & Albert's restaurant on the grounds of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Disney World is instituting a ban on customers under 10 (no word on whether Peter Pan fits into the ban). Victoria & Albert's, which has a prix fixe menu staring at $90 (per person) is the only Disney restaurant with a AAA five-diamond rating. Jackets are required for men and women must wear dresses or pant suits. The restaurant's general manager, Israel Perez, was quoted on the AP wire as asserting "We want to be the restaurant that's available for that adult experience." Prior to the ban, only about three families a month dared to bring young children into the restaurant.
Exactly. Most families with small children wouldn't want to pay $90 per head for a dinner that the children would potentially shove around their plates. A five-diamond restaurant with a prix fixe menu isn't the ideal environment for kids, and parents know that -- Disney World should have a little faith in its visitors! As for providing the "adult experience," while Disney has billed itself for years as an ideal honeymoon destination or "adult vacation" escape, anyone who goes to Orlando to spend time with Mickey and friends recognizes that he or she is, after all, in Disney World. If you're not a fan of kids, you go somewhere else (speaking from experience).
As for Disney, the stock, along with the rest of the market, has been in a slump of late. In today's regular trading, the shares sank 2% and put in a new annual low.
Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-15-2008 @ 11:01PM
Megan said...
I think this is a great article. There should be more place in WDW that are audlt only. There are more and more couples who are childless who would like to visit the resort, but don't do so becuase of the birrage of ill-behaved children.
There are plenty of adults out there who would like to enjoy the Magic Kindom with out the experience of children.
1-08-2008 @ 9:15PM
Ann Brooks said...
Beth Gaston Moon may be an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research but she doesn't strike me as knowledgeable about Disney. If Disney wants to ban children from one of their 144 restaurants at Disney World, I say more power to them and I'm able to survive at the other 143 restaurants they offer. It doesn't appear that she appreciates Disney and that's a shame since it apparently colors her view of what goes on there
1-09-2008 @ 1:19AM
Cj said...
So, the point of this post is????....ok so Disney finds that there aren't a lot of kids diggin' $90.00 meals and parents want the opportunity of having a meal in peace... (i have 3 grown kids so i speak from experience here)...more power to Disney...Thanks for giving me a place without kids!!
I see this as a "non-news" item and hope reporters/bloggers will follow suit and stop trying to dig up some tid-bits for feeding the news machine just because it's got a Mouse associated with it.
1-09-2008 @ 10:19AM
E82 said...
Personally, I'd love to see MORE "bans" on children, more adults-only zones at Walt Disney World. About 10 years ago, Disney became a company obsessed with chasing the youth market, which hasn't always been the case. It's gotten to the point that adults on their own at WDW feel like aliens ... even though WDW remains the #1 honeymoon destination in the world. If the Disney Cruise Line can have a full adults-only area and get no flack for it, why the sudden uproar over a single, tiny restaurant "banning" kids? I seriously wish this would happen more frequently ... at movie theaters after 8 p.m., too!
1-09-2008 @ 12:56PM
Paul said...
I agree with the comments. How can you see it as a negative thing that Disney would want to provide a place in their parks for adults to get away and have a nice meal? The cruise line does the same thing with one of their restaurants - in fact - there is a section of the deck that is restricted to adults. It's a small area, but I appreciate that they are not forgetting the fact that parents and grandparents are trying to relax and have a good time too.
1-09-2008 @ 1:36PM
Reagan said...
I must say that I agree with Beth. If you want to get away from kids, I'd suggest vacationing in Barbados or somewhere else exotic-- not the toddler Mecca of the Western world.
As far as CJ's comments are concerned: why are you going to bloggingstocks.com for your "news"? If this is the site you retain your news from, you must be an extremely misinformed individual. If you want hard news that veers away from the writer's opinion, I suggest you go to a website that doesn't promote creativity from writers. Isn't that what a "blog" is? Opinions?
Also, CJ, if there "arent' a lot of kids digging $90 meals," why the ban at all?
As far as E82's comments are concerned: do you really believe Disney began chasing the youth market only 10 years ago? If my calculations are correct, the company has been banking on children since "Fantasia" was released decades ago. If anything, the company has recently been targeting ADULTS-- seeing as it acquired ESPN long before the release of "Snow White."
In conclusion, if adults want a child-free evening, how about hiring a baby-sitter (as most Disney-centered resorts offer them) and going somewhere outside of the Disney realm? Better yet, peace-seeking people over 18 should probably stay out of Orlando all-together. Kids, lines, humidity, and high prices come with the territory when you're at the Magical Kingdom... those that don't take that into account when planning their vaction will be highly disappointed.
1-10-2008 @ 2:19AM
E82 said...
Well, no, Reagan, actually, that's not correct. Since the earliest days, Disney has made "family entertainment" -- that is, entertainment that the family can enjoy together, but that adults can enjoy just as much as children. If you do a little research into Disney, you'll find that from "Steamboat Willie" (before that, in truth) and "Snow White" through to the Best Picture nominee "Beauty and the Beast" and the $400-million-grossing "The Lion King," Disney has made entertainment that first and foremost was of top quality. It defied the "kids" label. Disneyland and the original Florida theme parks (EPCOT, especially) all carried forth the same philosophy. "Splitting up" the family would have been unthinkable. Now it's the norm. It's not enough to have great entertainment first, something that adults can enjoy without kids OR with ... it's all about the youth market. That trend will pass in a few years, then where will Disney be? If you can create Disney-style entertainment that pleases adults, you're almost sure to please kids. If you create entertainment that is aimed at kids, adults are almost certain to find it tedious. The parks have become exactly that -- tedious, noisy places filled with spoiled children. I've been to Walt Disney World more than 50 times, to Disneyland more than 100, and *I have never gone with children.* Only with people in my age group, and we've always loved it ... until the last few years, when it's been feeling overpriced, cheap and over-commercialized. Working back to the original topic, what all that means is this: As an adult, I used to love going to Walt Disney World, because it was a place that kids and adults could SHARE. Now it's so kid-focused it hurts. But if I decide to spend several thousand dollars on a vacation to WDW, I do expect and demand that I be able to find places that I can enjoy on my own terms. Can't adults love Disney, too?
1-10-2008 @ 2:22AM
E82 said...
Oh, and ... if I'm spending $300-$600 on a hotel room, $50 a day on tickets and $40 a day on a rental car, I am NOT going to be forced "off property"!
But more to the point, why take kids to Victoria & Albert's, Artist Point, Narcoossee's, California Grill or the other high-end restaurants there, anyway? Why can't THOSE adult diners be asked, as you have suggested, to be the ones to hire the babysitter?!