When iconic dishes start disappearing from Disney World as a trend, we start taking note…
Talking about menu changes at a Disney World restaurant is not something we typically cover here at That Park Place unless it’s a really big deal. There sites more totally focused on the Central Florida theme park that do a great job of covering that sort of thing, whether it is Disney Food Blog, WDW Magic or WDWNT. But in the case of the changes to the Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot theme park, we’re beginning to notice a quiet trend at Disney Parks that we feel should be addressed.
As you likely know, certain items in the global supply chain are becoming harder and harder source. Not only that, but many particular food items are growing in cost quite dramatically, leading the charge for inflation at a time when inflation is already at forty year highs. One such food item is lobster. Unlike some menu items, lobster is particularly dependent on fuel costs for its harvesting, and rising gasoline and diesel is leading lobster to hit all-time highs. Even back in April, people were beginning to ring the alarm bell about lobster costs:
In some areas of the country, including Maine (the lobster-capital of the world), the price for a basic lobster roll sits anywhere between $25 – $35. Some restaurants have even removed lobster from menus, citing the sky-high costs, while others are charging market price.
Tselikis revealed that Cousins Maine Lobster has had to raise prices, too. He explained that average nationwide prices for its lobster rolls have risen from $17.50 to $18 in 2018 to roughly $21 to $22 so far this year.
— Alexandra Canal, Yahoo! News
That’s why we find it not-at-all surprising that Disney World is dropping lobster bisque from its Coral Reef restaurant menu for the first time since the restaurant opened… more than thirty years ago!
At Disney World, unlike some other places, guests are going to want real lobster in their lobster bisque. Maybe at Red Lobster, you could get away with substituting a bit, but that’s not going to cut it at a premier restaurant at Epcot for international guests with money to spend. So rather than have the cost of the soup go far too high (or worse, lose the ability to source it), Disney seems to have just cut the staple feature altogether. That trend is continuing with other menu shifts as well.
Though mushrooms as a whole are not inflating faster than other food items, Disney was offering “wild mushrooms” at their Coral Reef restaurant. The problem with offering harder-to-get items regularly is that in a supply chain crunch, it’s often the more difficult items that go first. That’s not always the case, but it’s certainly likely with a food item that requires foraging as travel expenses rise dramatically.
The question then becomes: how much of the recent menu changes at Walt Disney World Resort are being driven by changing tastes of consumers versus just trying to stay afloat with inflation costs and product shortages?
This is something we need to keep watch of both in Disney World and in other major theme parks. These companies often have much greater access to hard-to-get items than the typical consumer because of purchasing power. If places like Disney suddenly have a hard time getting items, it could portend a bigger commercial issue at hand. We’re still waiting for many of the peanut butter items to return to Disney World after the JIF recall in late May.
To read more about the menu changes at the Coral Reef restaurant, most swapping more exotic options to things like shrimp and salmon, we recommend reading WDWNT’s article:
Menu Changes Come to Coral Reef Restaurant EPCOT, Lobster Bisque Removed After 36 Years
As always, keep reading That Park Place for all the latest news that should be fun. If you liked this article, or even if you disagree, comment down below and let us know why. You just might know something we don’t yet realize but sure would like to!
