Some Golden Dreams are turning to lead at Disney's California Adventure.

In addition to the apparent low attendance, vocal critics, broken rides and failure of its "hip and edgy" mandate, DCA received another black eye this weekend with the ending of restaurant operations by outside tenants Robert Mondavi and Wolfgang Puck. Disney will take over operations at the Golden Vine Winery and Avalon Cove facilities only eight months after the theme park had its grand opening.

Everybody has their opinions as to why these two restaurants failed to retain their original operators. Some attribute it to the low attendance figures. Others point to its un-theme park-like menus. High prices and poor service have also been mentioned as factors. But no matter what the reasons - or excuses - the fact remains that this weekend's events are but a fraction of the changes that Disney will be making in the next few years to turn around the fortunes of this fledgling park.

Puck's Avalon Cove will be transformed into a more "family-friendly" eatery and will capitalize on its location on Paradise Bay for premium seating during DCA's holiday LuminAria lagoon show. The Winery will still be "sponsored" by Mondavi, which is a good thing for both Disney and Mondavi, and little changes will probably be seen - perhaps a new menu and lower prices.

According to company chairman Michael Mondavi in a recent earnings conference call, "With this change, we get to continue our business relationship with Disney and maintain our presence at DCA, through both the title sponsorship of the 'Seasons of the Vine' film and a significant presence in the tasting booths." Furthermore, the change from operator to sponsor preserves "the educational and public relations benefits for (Mondavi), while eliminating operating risk."

It is estimated that Mondavi will take a $12 million to $13 million charge to account for the company's losses from running the Disney's California Adventure facilities. But the decision to remain a sponsor allows for the seamless continuation of the wine film, which really is a nicely done presentation. I think it also speaks volumes of Mondavi and Disney's ability to make proverbial lemonade out of lemons.

Unfortunately, these restaurants never really fit into a theme park as they were. Both were a little on the expensive side for many park-goers and the food was perhaps a bit too heavy for a crowd that would be hopping on California Screamin' or the Sun Wheel shortly after eating.

Even though it's in the heart of DCA, I thought that the restaurant of the Golden Vine Winery was actually off the beaten path. Right off the performance corridor that snakes down the middle of the theme park, one really had to know the restaurant was there and search it out to find it. Unlike the Blue Bayou at Disneyland, which has boatloads of Pirates of the Caribbean passengers intrigued enough to search it out, the Golden Vine Winery does not benefit from this visability. Judging from the comments of patrons, I believe that the Winery has a loyal customer base that it can build upon but the word of mouth has not reached a deafing level as of yet.

Walt Disney had a lot of outside vendors operate restaurants and stores within Disneyland but that is no longer the case. It makes sense for Disney to operate facilities within its borders. Disney service is often better than what can be provided from outsiders. It didn't make sense to many park guests with discount privileges as to why they were not able to receive a discount at a facility inside a Disney theme park whether it was run by an outside company or not. Restaurants run by outside vendors really deserve to be a part of Downtown Disney instead of in the park.

Which brings us to another reason for these facilities' failures. There are really too many eating options at the resort. Within DCA, there are so many food operations that many of them are only open during restricted hours, if at all. Competition from Downtown Disney, which is only yards away from the theme parks' main gates and doesn't require an entrance fee, siphoned off potential customers. Even the Disney hotels have restaurants competing for the hungry crowds. It will be interesting to see how Disney manages these facilities with many of the same problems handcuffing them.

I'll say it again that I am still a very big fan of Disney's California Adventure. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to eat at Avalon Cove before its "demise." But I do find these changes to be interesting. I'm intrigued at how DCA will grow and change through the years and the loss of operating partners is simply a small part of this theme park's evolution. It makes me sad that Disney's California Adventure or any of Disney's fantasy worlds has to yield to real world pressures like bad economic conditions or travel fears or mismanagement. But Disney has successfully ridden out periods of uncertainty before and I am confident that they will do so again.

In My Humble Opinion,
Matt

Posted October 3, 2001

E-mail Matt at matt@startedbyamouse.com, discuss this article in the StartedByAMouse.com Disney Discussion Forums or use the Talkback feature below.

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