Artist Point Becoming Snow White Character Dining
Walt Disney World has confirmed the rumor we reported on a couple months ago that Artist Point will become a character dinner, featuring Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and the Queen. In the process, Wilderness Lodge will lose its lone Signature Restaurant, leaving this Deluxe Resort without a fine dining option.
In this post, we’ll offer details from Disney’s press release, followed by our commentary on the decision. Per Disney, this will be called “Storybook Dining at Artist Point” and will feature an Enchanted Forest-like setting inspired by Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In addition to the aforementioned characters, there will be music and activities bringing the classic fairytale to life.
October 4, 2018 Update: Reservations just opened for Storybook Dining at Artist Point, which will debut on December 16, 2018. The re-imagined dining experience will offer a prix fixe menu, costing $55 for adults and $33 for children ages 3-9. For a full menu and to make reservations, visit the Walt Disney World Resort website or call (407) WDW-DINE (407 939-3463). We’d recommend making your ADRs as soon as possible–when we just made ours some dates were already unavailable!
Storybook Dining at Artist Point will take place amidst the rustic elegance and exceptional dining for which Artist Point is known. There will be a prix fixe menu, including shared starters, individual plated entrees, and ‘sweet spells’ for dessert. Select fan-favorite Artist Point menu items will be relocated, which means we’ll likely see the Smokey Portobello Soup and Cedar Plank Salmon relocated to Whispering Canyon Cafe or perhaps Territory Lounge.
Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White is slated to begin this winter, after Artist Point ends its Signature Dining on November 10, 2018. While Disney is careful to highlight the ‘elegance’ and ‘exceptional dining’ above, there’s no getting around the fact that this will become a character meal, a change that is incompatible with fine dining.
This is one of those Walt Disney World changes that I can somewhat understand from a business perspective, but it bothers me to no end as a guest. This is particularly true as one who loves Wilderness Lodge, which will soon have no dining suitable for an ‘adult’ meal.
I understand that character dining is immensely popular. With this slate of characters, Storybook Dining at Artist Point will easily book up months in advance. It’ll be one of the most coveted ADRs at Walt Disney World for at least the immediate future. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s so successful that character breakfast is offered in the future.
By contrast, Artist Point is not particularly popular. We haven’t dined there a ton, but on the occasions we have, the restaurant has been about half full at most. Rather than going off our unreliable anecdotal observations, I’ll instead point to the 40% off Cast Member discount that is frequently offered at Artist Point.
As with all Walt Disney World discounts, this is done to fill tables, not out of corporate benevolence. Frankly, knowing the other restaurants on that list sends a shiver down my spine, as several of them are among my absolute favorites at Walt Disney World.
Hopefully other locations aren’t on the chopping block, but I fear that may be the case, especially as new high end and chic dining options continue to pop up at Disney Springs. Even as the proportion of adult guests (and convention-goers) increases as Walt Disney World, the number of more ‘adult’ restaurants at Disney Springs keeps rising, putting pressure on restaurants in the Disney resorts.
If Artist Point is vulnerable now, many more could face similar issues when the economy stumbles. This is a looming problem on the horizon that was easily foreseeable; even though we enjoy several of the new restaurants at Disney Springs, we recognize that there are too many of them.
Third party dining options in Disney Springs aren’t the only problem. If Artist Point was struggling, why wasn’t more done to highlight or promote it? I see a new Disney Parks Blog article about every ridiculous hot dog monstrosity at Casey’s Corner, yet I can’t remember the last time seasonal menus at Artist Point (or any Signature, for that matter) were highlighted. Offering Annual Passholder or Tables in Wonderland special events likewise could’ve spiked interest and created some buzz for Artist Point.
Basically, something–anything–should have been tried before Disney simply threw its hands up in the air and went for the low-hanging fruit of character dining. Or, if guests were “demanding” a character meal at Artist Point, why not start with a trial breakfast at Artist Point (or the more logical venue of Whispering Canyon Cafe) and leave the Signature dinner undisturbed? Walt Disney World Food & Beverage had several alternatives to the choice that was made–they just took the easiest route that would maximize profits for this venue.
Personally, I do not believe this can be justified as a necessary and sensible business move. Wilderness Lodge is a Deluxe Resort charging rates north of $400/night, and will soon offer zero sophisticated dining options. To me, that’s unfathomable. A hotel with luxury price points should absolutely feature fine dining.
From my perspective, fine dining is an expected amenity at hotels of this caliber. That the restaurant may not fill every table every night is immaterial; certain features should exist at hotels that charge luxury prices. This is no different than Walt Disney World using call centers when in-room guests dial the front desk, reducing housekeeping, or cutting other services. It’s degrading the overall experience of a purported ‘Deluxe’ Resort, and not something guests should silently accept given the money they’re forking over to stay here.
Unfortunately, I doubt Disney management is approaching Wilderness Lodge as a comprehensive resort experience when evaluating its slate of offerings. It would appear that management looks at individual components, questioning how costs can be reduced or profits increased. It’s entirely possible Food & Beverage made this decision without regard to the resort at large, because it would be good for that business unit’s numbers.
Character dining is more lucrative, which will likely always be the case as character meals draw outside visitors than other hotel restaurants. By that same logic, swapping out all three of Grand Floridian’s Signature Restaurants for character dining to draw families from other resorts or off-site to eat there could be a savvy move. Yet, that does not occur (or at least has not occurred yet) because it would diminish the resort at large.
Viewing profitability metrics of key amenities in isolation is a dangerous precedent, and could lead to other important aspects of the luxury resort experience disappearing because they don’t generate as much revenue as a bar or a character meal. Yet, those less or unprofitable elements of the experience reinforce the resort experience as a whole, and are what (begins to) justify those sky-high rack rates.
All of this really drives me crazy, and it has been a gradual erosion with Artist Point just being the latest step in an overall trend. With each stay at a Deluxe Resort, we are paying more and getting less. This is unfortunate, as I love several Deluxe Resorts from a thematic perspective, but if someone I knew wanted a true luxury experience, I’d direct them to the Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria rather than Disney’s hotels.
On a personal note, we really enjoy this restaurant. As I wrote in our Artist Point Review, to me it evokes memories of U.S. National Park Lodge dining rooms, and the ambiance is pitch-perfect to those flagship locations. We haven’t eaten there in a couple of years (which is probably part of the problem–professed “fans” of the restaurant haven’t dined there in a while), but we hope to get a chance to return before Artist Point takes its final bow on November 10. If you’ve never been and have a chance to go between now and then, we’d highly recommend it.
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Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our take on Artist Point transforming to a character restaurant, or are we overreacting? Do you agree that Deluxe Resorts should have fine dining? Would you prefer to see a Snow White meal at breakfast-only, or at Whispering Canyon? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I was able to dine at Artist Point on the last night (November 10th) of its current iteration as a Signature Dining restaurant, and I was really surprised at how little I cared about it closing when my meal was over. Despite the as-always amazing(!!) space, the restaurant is in dire need of refurbishment in some areas (the chairs!, the tile!, the carpet!). I hadn’t eaten at the restaurant in two years and I forgot how dated certain elements of the dining space had become – straight out of the mid-90’s. Someone in management obviously agreed months ago, but instead of an update-in-place, the decision was made to move to more profitable Character Dining. It’s sad to see (even more so having seen the new menu and how little time they are taking to make the switch), but also annoying to some extent because changes could have been implemented years ago to try and prevent this.
As far as the food went, the menu seemed all over the place this visit (my 5th), and the dishes had flavor outcomes to match. My dish was a decent Mexican-inspired chicken dish (with taquitos! por que?!), another at my table was a terrible (!) attempt at a fish cioppino (??), and the others were a decent filet on one plate and the always good signature salmon on the last. Something just seemed off with our meal – enough that we didn’t even bother to get our five year-old the cutest desert in all of WDW – the Artist Palette. Artist Point, you may be gone, but may your beautiful murals live on in spirit somewhere else (hopefully the hotel being built up the shore a little ways).
I am very disappointed in character dining and another pre fixed menu at Artist point. We loved dining there. Cedar planked salmon was so good!!! So now there will be two frenetic restaurants with no place to sit down and enjoy a quiet meal at the Wilderness Lodge. That is a shame. I have been to character meals, and we travel with kids, so been there done that. It’s noisy and frenetic. They are older now and not really into that kind of dining. Pre fixed menu, get less waste a lot, pay more. We will no longer be dining at the Wilderness except to grab breakfast if we stay there again.
I didn t visit Artist Point but I have a reservation for Whitesnow Storybook dining experience. Changes always bothers, but Disney will hear all Artist Point fans….and you will see a Beautiful new location for that signature restaurant…perhaps in the whispering canyon cafe….
Wilderness Lodge is my favorite resort. I’ve been to Artist Point several times and wasn’t impressed and it’s not that far of a trip by boat to hit California Grill or victoria & albert’s if you want solid fine dining. When I think of fine dining…those are the two restaurants I think of. I’m at Disney every two years or so.
I have twin girls and we are staying at Wilderness lodge in February. Naturally I’m excited to try the Storybook Dining at Artist Point. My kids faces will light up, hope Disney knocks it out of the park with this experience. We will find out.
I have not dined at Artist Point myself but I was able to book a reservation for December on my Birthday which will be the new character dining. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it or look for something else. The main reason I wanted to go was to spend some time at Wilderness Lodge since it’s my favorite resort and while I wouldn’t mind a character meal, it isn’t exactly what I was hoping for.
I am very excited about this.! I booked at wilderness lodge for next July on the bounceback when I was in Disney this past summer. We’ve stayed at wilderness lodge before but never ate at the restaurants because we didn’t care for the menu. I heard about this change after we booked and can’t wait to try it. Although my kids are teens now we all still love the character meals. It’s part of what makes your Disney experience!
I feel bad for those who loved Artist Point and will miss the experience, but it seems like this is going to provide a beautifully-themed character meal. Disney has too few character meals to begin with, and many are not well themed/appointed. For example, Rapunzel is my favorite princess, but I just can’t get into the idea of meeting her inside an Italian restaurant. It sounds like everything about the Snow White meal – from the “enchanted forest” setting, to the “poison apples’ and soup cauldrons on the menu, to the unique characters will create an immersive experience. For so many current character meals, the setting and sometimes the food just isn’t reflective of the character, so I’m really excited to try the Snow White dinner.
There were actually 2 reservations available for Artist Point just now for 6pm in January, just booked for 5 of us! Can’t wait!!!!
Seems comments are divided 50/50. I’m on the ‘disappointed’ side. Have had many family trips to WDW, staying at different resorts-luxury to budget, and love the time with the kids, doing fantastic, fantasy kid things – but there always comes a point when the adults want an adult evening without leaving behind the ‘Disney Magic’. Artists Point was perfect, maintained the fantasy of the old wilderness & nature Disney movies while serving excellent food and wine. Glad to have Snow White and the fellas, personal favorites, but they would have fit in easily at Epcot-Germany. Wish could have one more dinner at Artists Point before they close.
I was sad to hear about this change – my husband and I really enjoyed it when we ate here — and it was nice we were able to, even though we booked that trip last minute. But I guess that was the issue … like you said, the restaurant was half empty so not really sustainable. And I’m sure the cancellation of the Cub’s Den Activity Center didn’t help things.
While I agree in theory that a Deluxe should offer a fine dining experience – especially now with the super luxe copper creek villas, I’m think the demand by “deluxe-going” families to have an on-property character experience is higher and a more valued amenity. Other than Animal Kingdom Lodge, are there any other deluxes left that DON’T have one? It seems way more young families want a convenient character meal than want to hire a babysitter so they can go out for an adult dinner for a night — which is now your only option with the shut-down of all the Kids Clubs (a change I was much more disappointed by!! Those were a great deal!!). And unless you’re actually staying at Wilderness Lodge or the Contemporary, Artist Point was not an easy one to get to.
Glad I had the smoked mushroom bisque when I had the chance !
I am very excited for this & snagged us reservations for March 2019 for my granddaughter’s first visit. This is where they will be staying too, so super convenient for them! Change is hard but all the changes that occur are partially what keep us all coming back for too… There are still other excellent adult dining options available IMO.
My family and I are super excited for this new character meal! We are big ‘go-all-out’ in the costume department, and having done most of the character meals in every costume possible (my girls were even the wicked step sisters last year at Cinderella’s Royal Table since they had already dressed as every other princess there) this new one is perfect for us! My kids already figured out that my oldest will dress up at the evil queen, my middle as snow white, and my son will be dopey. There are very few opportunities to meet villains, and they tend to be the funniest to interact with.
We would have never stepped foot in this hotel as our budget and family size keeps us in the moderate hotels, but I have a feeling that after we visit this restaurant we will start dreaming of staying there the way we did when we ate at Ohana. And dreams have a way of becoming reality… I think it’s very smart of Disney to make this move!
I do appreciate that you are looking forward to this. However many of us that have paid serous money and stayed there for years -since it was built are very upset. This was a fine dining and great venue now reduced to costumes and ridiculous grab to get individuals to pay like yourself It’s sad and the wonderful lodge lobby may be overrun with strollers. Glad I didn’t buy into vacation club. I’m staying at the Ritz. The Ritz is wonderful and has a spa and I will fly to Jackson hole wy for the real thing
Lol, I sure hope my kind don’t ruin your vacation with our strollers and inability to truly deserve the experience of a delux Resort since we don’t pay ‘serious’ money for our trips at those cheapo moderates. The whole resort is sure to becove over run. #firstworldproblems
It’s funny. I’m pretty sure we pay the same money, and that most e everyone who comes to Disney comes for that “ridiculous garb”.
If you arnt in the Disney spirit, I think we are all happy to have you at the Ritz… far far from our fun.
I do love the Disney spirit so I’ll just eat at Club 33
Rosalie – 100% agree! Disney is one of the very few places where kids can still be kids, and adults can be kids as well. My family loves costumes and can’t wait to come decked out for the Snow White meal. While Disney means different things to different people, it was intended to be a place of fantasy and fun. It amazes me when people complain about kids in costume – they do realize they are at Disney World, right? 🙂
Just ate at Artist Point for the first time on our last trip a few weeks ago and it was one of the better dining experiences we’ve had on site. Best salmon we’ve had on the east coast so this announcement is a major disappointment and I agree with Tom, without a fine dining experience available on-site this knocks Wilderness Lodge out of our consideration as a place to stay.
I totally agree with you. This is a disappointment to see. People can see characters anywhere but fine dining is hard I would like to see them do characters at breakfast and leave dinner alone.
There are fine dining restaurants in every major city in the world. Disney is the only place to see Disney characters.
I’m super excited for this! Wow, for all those complaining about not having”fine dining”, you must not have children or have a nanny that is raising them. Disney is certainly not where we go for our “fine dining” experiences. Not all of us that have these “pesky” little stroller bound children want to be subjected to breakfast only character meals.
While I’m disappointed that we will never get to try Artist Point, I am excited that we will get to be in the first wave of people trying the new experience. Booked our reservation today!
I don’t know if the system is flaky as usual, but as soon this Artist Point character dinner was announced, I tried getting an ADR. Nothing was available for my family of 4 until January 15, 2019. Is it possible for a restaurant to be sold out that quickly? In a day the hundreds of reservations from Dec 16 to Jan 15 was taken.
I too, will miss the signature Artist Point – the best salmon ever.
I guess Snow White will have to wait, Olive Garden here we come!
As a CM, the only reason this restaurant was on my radar was because it was on the 40% off list. (I’m not really into fine dining and haven’t tried many Signature Dining places because of that.) I recently started using that list to find places to fill in my trip. This last trip involved breakfast at The Wave, lunches at Sanaa and Skipper Canteen, and supper at the Brown Derby, all for 40% off. All fantastic meals. I plan on continuing to use that list as a guide to try further restaurants based on my recent great experiences. Unfortunately, that will no longer include Artist Point. I better get cracking on the rest if this becomes a pattern!
Worst decision ever. Artist Point was a signature restaurant now horrible. Why would you ruin one of yout best restaurants ?
If they wanted a character meal at WL why not a Woody and Jessie meal at Whispering Canyon ?
Or Build a new Restaurant.
I 100% agree with your analysis… and I also have never been interested in Artist Point before they added character dining, and am now thrilled to go during Dopey Challenge weekend… so I’m pretty much also 100% playing into Disney’s hands ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You missed one of the 3 best reataurants on property.
Tried to book at 9am this am. For Christmas Week and the week before all times are gone. The girl said everything was gone by 6:30 this am. Nothing was ever listed in MDE
I have to say that although I understand your argument, as a DVC member who owns at Wilderness Lodge, I could not disagree more!
I am INCREDIBLY excited about this change. My wife and my grandkids are incredibly excited about this change.
To us, this brings the value of our home away from home way up, not down.
We don’t come to Disney for a stuffy meal… even when it is just my wife and I on our own. We come for fun! We come for the characters.
We cant wait!