I saw the other day that they were handing out printed autograph cards for the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno. Apparently this is also happening at the Crystal Palace.
From what I’m reading the characters will likely still sign if you ask them too, but that may change if Disney decides that for the sake of getting more people through, they will stop the autographs completely.
According to WDW & Beyond, Disney explained it by saying:
“To improve our Guests’ interactions with Characters at Walt Disney World character dining locations, and to increase the overall efficiency of the restaurant, Characters at some locations will no longer be signing autographs at the Guests’ tables. Guests will receive a pre-signed Character card at the location that will fit in their autograph book.”
“Increase efficiency” meaning slam more people through so we can make more money.
Disney Addicts mentioned that it’s to deter more people from asking. So they are hoping people will assume they can’t have autographs and not ask. Trick them into not asking (which seems to work.)
“I asked the Cast Member whether or not this meant no autographs and was told that the characters would still sign autographs if requested and that this measure was designed to cut down on the number of people asking as it’s difficult for characters to get around to all tables during their allotted time particularly during peak periods. During the course of the meal, I did see other guests asking for autographs and the characters were more than happy to oblige. However, it did seem to reduce the number of people asking for autographs.”
But that’s not all folks, another rumor is circulating. People think Disney is testing out a new measure, taking characters out of the dining room for character dining. So instead of them coming to your tables, they stand outside and you wait in line to get photos. The whole point of paying the ridiculous costs of the character dining meals was so you can interact with those characters without waiting in line. But with that comes guests sitting down for longer periods of time waiting for these characters, and that isn’t making more money…I mean being “efficient.” According to the Inquisitr, this has been going on for a couple of months at Ohana in the Polynesian Resort.
“Stitch has been standing outside of Ohana for a few weeks, and originally, it was first said to be just a test to see how things went. As time continued on, the friendly blue alien is still out there and it is beginning to look as if that may be where he’ll stay.”
I know the first part about the autographs is true. I’ve seen several places talking about it. The part about characters not coming to your seats, I’ve only seen from the Inquisitr, so I’m just labeling that part a rumor for now. I get that the attendance is down, but they keep adding up-charges and cutting things to get as much money as they can from the people that are there. Maybe they need to stop that! I don’t pay $150-$200 normally to sit down for a buffet. It’s only worth that IF you are getting something like one one one time with characters. Take that out and it isn’t going to matter how “efficient” it is. No one is going to pay that to wait in line when they could do that without paying the ridiculous cost.
If any readers are down there and can confirm what we are hearing please let us know!
What do you think about this? Comment and share!
Sources: The Inquisitr, DisneyAddicts, DisneyFoodBlog, WDW Beyond
