Disney needs to get Chocolate Emporium.

[Sevenwords]

I'm a California resident. A few weeks ago, my wife, friends and I visited WDW for our first time ever. We had a great time, but that might be a conversation for another time since that conversation could last all day.

While in Orlando, we also spent 3 days at Universal...which by the way was WAYYYYYY too much time for Universal in my opinion. The Universal in LA is shadow of what it used to be, but we had heard the one in Orlando was much better...and while it was, we were done with both parks in less than a day. Hulk was awesome and the themeing for the Harry Potter worlds was well done, but Universal relies far too much on video screens in their rides. Sometimes that can be done well and make an excellent ride, but most of the rides at Universal have a habit of making me motion sick...which isn't like me at all. When you take those rides out that didn't work well, I was left with just Hulk and Escape from Gringotts that I found enjoyable. End tangent. That being said, there was one really pleasant surprise from Universal and that was Toothsome's Chocolate Emporium.

Doing some quick research online, it appears that Universal actually has some sort of ownership of the Emporium (which was corroborated by my Visa bill), but there seems to be some sort of legal battle brewing. This gives me hope (however small) that the Emporium could end up ant Downtown Disney/Disney Springs. My friends and I are already planning another trip to WDW in about 5 years (maybe a year after the 50th so the crowds die down a little, but all the new stuff will be built). While we have no desire to go to Universal again, we are thinking of doing a day at the Emporium. "A whole day????" Yes, hear me out. We are a little stupid, but we came up with our own food challenge, which admittedly may kill us (I'm still fighting off the 10lbs I took home as a souvenir from last trip). We plan to go to the Emporium as soon as they open and stay until we have had every one of their milkshakes.

The entire time I was at the Emporium, I kept thinking how awesome it would be if Disney had the rights to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm not a fan of Avatar at all, sorry, just the way it is. I feel like Avatar is EASILY one of the most over-rated movies ever made. However, Disney did a fantastic job with Pandora. It made me wish they would have put that kind of effort into something I actually like (like the rumored Indiana Jones land). If they put that kind of effort into a Wonka Chocolate Factory....the rest pretty much writes itself.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I’d be on board with a Willy Wonka themed restaurant and/or ride. That would be a lot of fun. We went to Toothsome for the first time a last week and it was awesome.

Good luck on your challenge - but I couldn’t do it.

 

[DOOM1001]

Okay let me get this straight,you feel like both Universal parks can be done in a day but you can spend a day at a restaurant?????Somebody else might say they can spend 7 days at Universal and go eat at Toothsome for an hour,I'm not here to judge but the latter is more normal than spending a day at a restaurant or doing both parks that have dozens of attractions in a day.I will however totally agree with you on a Willy Wonka ride or land,I don't care if Universal or Disney builds it but it would be awesome,actually I think Universal could do a better job with it,especially as they're actually going to build new parks sooner than Disney.I also agree with you on Avatar,I fell asleep at the movies watching it but I enjoy the land and FoP is amazing,the Potter lands are still way better though.Did you know the Toothsome Emporium was originally going to be a "Factory" ,I guess they didnt want any copyright issues and changed it to "Emporium".

 

[yulilin3]

A bit off topic but Toothsome gets the chocolate from a local family business, I know the owners personally so know when you visit the restaurant you are supporting local, small business.
Sign me up for any chocolate land be it wherever, in central Florida

 

[Sevenwords]

Okay let me get this straight,you feel like both Universal parks can be done in a day but you can spend a day at a restaurant?????Somebody else might say they can spend 7 days at Universal and go eat at Toothsome for an hour,I'm not here to judge but the latter is more normal than spending a day at a restaurant or doing both parks that have dozens of attractions in a day.I will however totally agree with you on a Willy Wonka ride or land,I don't care if Universal or Disney builds it but it would be awesome,actually I think Universal could do a better job with it,especially as they're actually going to build new parks sooner than Disney.I also agree with you on Avatar,I fell asleep at the movies watching it but I enjoy the land and FoP is amazing,the Potter lands are still way better though.Did you know the Toothsome Emporium was originally going to be a "Factory" ,I guess they didnt want any copyright issues and changed it to "Emporium".

Well to each their own. I can only speak from my own opinion of course....but we do agree on most things. I guess I should caveat my Universal in one day comment with the fact that we stayed at a Universal hotel and had Express passes in early November. I was just disappointed how often Universal relied on video/motion rides. I find when you are moving independently from the screens you are watching they usually lead to motion sickness (usually...not always. Escape from Gringotts did it well). Who knows, maybe it's also cause I was really looking forward to WDW and Universal ended up feeling like eating peas before desert.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

IMO some things don't have to be tit for tat.

We really enjoyed Toothsome..but I don't want Disney to do something now because Universal has it. I enjoyed it at Universal and appreciated that it was a bit of an older crowd there. I'm sure Disney could do a land/ride/restaurant for Wonka just not sure I'm sold on the idea.

I could see spending a day at CityWalk but not at just one restaurant. Would they even let you do that? I know when we went there the first time it was a Saturday night (although it was also HHN opening weekend) and it was a 70-80 min wait at 7:45pm and they said they expected that as a norm at least on Friday and Saturday mostly due to HHN. Next day it was a walk in for dinner same time too but it was a Sunday night. But I do know others have reported wait too. I guess if what you're doing is just getting milkshakes they may not have an issue but were you actually planning on spreading that out from open all through that lunch period and into dinner period? Am I understanding that correctly?

Also I'm not sure I would count on crowds dying down a year after the 50th. Sure they may not be insane crowds but I'm sure it will still be quite busy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well to each their own. I can only speak from my own opinion of course....but we do agree on most things. I guess I should caveat my Universal in one day comment with the fact that we stayed at a Universal hotel and had Express passes in early November. I was just disappointed how often Universal relied on video/motion rides. I find when you are moving independently from the screens you are watching they usually lead to motion sickness (usually...not always. Escape from Gringotts did it well). Who knows, maybe it's also cause I was really looking forward to WDW and Universal ended up feeling like eating peas before desert.

The simulator complaint is a common one with Universal. Even I have my limitations with those but I still would go to Universal and I would go for at least 2 days (we have gotten ticket deals that included a 3rd day free the past 2 trips) though we don't have EP. We would use the extra time for rerides, exploring (especially HP), etc. We actually sat for like 45 minutes near Jurrasic Park ride drying off (after going on 3 water rides consecutively) and have a great time people watching the splash zone for example. We also went and watched the Horror Make-Up show, I watched the Blues Brothers while my husband rode the Mummy (I wasn't feeling that ride this past trip). We sat and enjoyed the ambience in Hogsmeade while having a beer outside, etc. Just to name a few things.

 

[PoohIsHome]

Funny how opinions can vary. We were at Universal from 11/18 - 11/23 and would've been quite happy staying several more days had our schedules allowed. We love the parks and our resort time at the Hard Rock Hotel. We had one meal at Toothsome and other than my son greatly enjoying his cheeseburger, we were very underwhelmed. The thought of spending an entire day there....I can think of much better ways to spend a day at Universal.

I can certainly see WDW doing something to try and equal what Universal has done with Toothsome.

 

[bumbershoot]

Okay let me get this straight,you feel like both Universal parks can be done in a day but you can spend a day at a restaurant?????

We found the place to be bleah. We went when it was new, and milkshakes required waiting in a separate 1+hour line after Dining. And we waited over an hour for our seats. Which would normally make food even more delicious, but it didn’t cause that. The bread that’s touted as being sooo good was awful. I can’t even remember what we had. Ugh.

 

[Sevenwords]

"We really enjoyed Toothsome..but I don't want Disney to do something now because Universal has it. I enjoyed it at Universal and appreciated that it was a bit of an older crowd there. I'm sure Disney could do a land/ride/restaurant for Wonka just not sure I'm sold on the idea."

I agree with the "just because Universal did it" idea, but I feel like if Disney had rights for Wonka it would be a big enough difference.

"I could see spending a day at CityWalk but not at just one restaurant. Would they even let you do that? I know when we went there the first time it was a Saturday night (although it was also HHN opening weekend) and it was a 70-80 min wait at 7:45pm"

I'm finding that a lot of the "friction" (for lack of a better word) that I am running into regarding my Universal comments seems to be explained by the facts that when I went, crowds were not bad at all and we had express passes. The Emporium was busy, but not nearly as busy as most people here are saying. I think the longest we waited for a group of 4 was 30 minutes....so perhaps we didn't have a typical experience of parks and restaurant. I should also admit that in an effort to save time in my original comment...I came across a little harsher towards Universal than I actually feel. Kong was actually really well done, I prefer the Mummy in LA but it was good as well. I actually really enjoyed the Poseidon's Fury "ride". I thought the Hogwarts express was a nice touch. As a group of Simpsons fans we all really enjoyed the Simpson area....so the themeing around the parks was great for the most part. (The biggest Simpson fan in our group only had the complaint that the giant pink donut wasn't called the colossus like it was in the show).

"Also I'm not sure I would count on crowds dying down a year after the 50th. Sure they may not be insane crowds but I'm sure it will still be quite busy."

I'm sure you're 100% correct, but I'm just thinking a year after will be enough for some of the insanity to die down without having to wait TOO long to do it all.

 

[Sevenwords]

"Funny how opinions can vary. We were at Universal from 11/18 - 11/23 and would've been quite happy staying several more days had our schedules allowed. We love the parks and our resort time at the Hard Rock Hotel. We had one meal at Toothsome and other than my son greatly enjoying his cheeseburger, we were very underwhelmed. The thought of spending an entire day there....I can think of much better ways to spend a day at Universal."

No one is right or wrong in this case 18th I was at Magic Kingdom 19th at Animal Kingdom...20th I went home...ships passing in the night.

 

[Sevenwords]

"We found the place to be bleah. We went when it was new, and milkshakes required waiting in a separate 1+hour line after Dining. And we waited over an hour for our seats. Which would normally make food even more delicious, but it didn’t cause that. The bread that’s touted as being sooo good was awful. I can’t even remember what we had. Ugh"

Ouch...the idea of waiting an hour for the Milkshakes sounds horrible. I didn't have a rough experience like that. I didn't know the bread was supposed to be special (in fact I don't even remember having bread). I do admit the Burger I had was greasier than I had hoped, but the selling point for me were the sundaes, shakes and sweets.

 

[damo]

I'm not sure this is the correct board to discuss what Disney could do with a Willy Wonka license. Most people here frequent this board because they want to discuss Universal, not Disney.

 

[Sevenwords]

I'm not sure this is the correct board to discuss what Disney could do with a Willy Wonka license. Most people here frequent this board because they want to discuss Universal, not Disney.

I had actually posted it to the Disney Theme park forum, but a moderator moved it here. I agree I would have put it somewhere else.

 

[macraven]

I can always move it back
Which I am considering

 

[Sevenwords]

I can always move it back
Which I am considering

Completely up to you. It doesn't bother me either way, I can see how it could apply to either side. I was just leaning towards the Disney side cause I felt it's was something Disney should look into. Either way it doesn't look like I'm picking up much steam with my idea

 

[saskdw]

I'm a California resident. A few weeks ago, my wife, friends and I visited WDW for our first time ever. We had a great time, but that might be a conversation for another time since that conversation could last all day.

While in Orlando, we also spent 3 days at Universal...which by the way was WAYYYYYY too much time for Universal in my opinion. The Universal in LA is shadow of what it used to be, but we had heard the one in Orlando was much better...and while it was, we were done with both parks in less than a day. Hulk was awesome and the themeing for the Harry Potter worlds was well done, but Universal relies far too much on video screens in their rides. Sometimes that can be done well and make an excellent ride, but most of the rides at Universal have a habit of making me motion sick...which isn't like me at all. When you take those rides out that didn't work well, I was left with just Hulk and Escape from Gringotts that I found enjoyable. End tangent. That being said, there was one really pleasant surprise from Universal and that was Toothsome's Chocolate Emporium.

Doing some quick research online, it appears that Universal actually has some sort of ownership of the Emporium (which was corroborated by my Visa bill), but there seems to be some sort of legal battle brewing. This gives me hope (however small) that the Emporium could end up ant Downtown Disney/Disney Springs. My friends and I are already planning another trip to WDW in about 5 years (maybe a year after the 50th so the crowds die down a little, but all the new stuff will be built). While we have no desire to go to Universal again, we are thinking of doing a day at the Emporium. "A whole day????" Yes, hear me out. We are a little stupid, but we came up with our own food challenge, which admittedly may kill us (I'm still fighting off the 10lbs I took home as a souvenir from last trip). We plan to go to the Emporium as soon as they open and stay until we have had every one of their milkshakes.

The entire time I was at the Emporium, I kept thinking how awesome it would be if Disney had the rights to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm not a fan of Avatar at all, sorry, just the way it is. I feel like Avatar is EASILY one of the most over-rated movies ever made. However, Disney did a fantastic job with Pandora. It made me wish they would have put that kind of effort into something I actually like (like the rumored Indiana Jones land). If they put that kind of effort into a Wonka Chocolate Factory....the rest pretty much writes itself.

We like to spend a minimum of 10 days at Universal.

 

[Sevenwords]

We like to spend a minimum of 10 days at Universal.

Wow!! I'm glad it's so successful at providing you enjoyment. The FL one is definitely better than the CA one since the last time I went there....although I did like Mummy and Jurrassic Park better at CA. The parks themselves and theming was great, but I just can't be happy doing so many video/motion rides like that in the vein of Transformers. So because of that....for me I lose interest in the majority of the park ride offerings. Plus I must go back to my comment about how perhaps some of that negativity was from the fact that I was really looking forward to WDW and it felt like I had to "get through" Universal to get there....through no fault of Universals. I still feel like I would have personally been done by the second day, but I am glad that it brings you so much happiness, that is the goal afterall.

 

[imprint]

Put me down for a full day riding The Mummy. Of course it would be better if I get my cup of coffee.

 

[Chuckers]

While it's not a chocolate restaurant, Disney Springs is planning a themed restaurant kinda like Toothsome:

"Opening later this year, The Edison, a lavish “Industrial Gothic” restaurant, bar and nighttime destination will debut. A collaboration of Patina Restaurant Group and Kinetescape’s Andrew Meieran, The Edison is noted for classic American food, craft cocktails and live entertainment including cabaret. (The Disney Springs location is inspired by its sister location in Los Angeles.) With Old World sophistication and romance, The Edison will be themed to a 1920s-era electric company, recalling an exuberant era of invention and imagination with entertainment that includes contortionists, aerialists, DJs and more."

Bold emphasis is mine.. when I read this, I thought that this was Disney's "response" to 'Toothsome'.