As you may have heard, the Canada pavillion at Epcot has stopped selling BeaverTails pastries due to poor sales. At one time, BeaverTails were immensely popular at Disney but interest has declined since they changed to a "reheated" product in 2000 and began closing the booth during the day after 9/11. I have created an online petition to encourage Disney to re-establish the sale of BeaverTails and I hope that anyone who has ever tried (or hoped to try) one of these delicious and unique treats will sign it. I believe that we can make a difference and change the mind of the managers at the Canada pavillion. I know there are many BeaverTails fans ;D on this board and I hope that you'll come out of the wordwork to support this cause. I encourage you to include comments when you sign so that Disney can see the interest that there is in this product. Don't worry -- You can elect to hide your email address so that it is not displayed publicly. View and Sign the petition to Bring Back BeaverTails to Epcot. http://www.petitiononline.com/BVRTL/petition.html
Anyone who has worked that station would disagree. That BT Hut was the biggest pain in the arse to open/close and even work in. It was a sauna!! I'm surprised I didn't die working 8 hours in there. The managers won't go back on their decision.... it all comes down to money. It was losing money every day it was open selling the BTs. Besides, people were outrageous most of the time. I can remember several times hearing "I came all the way from Burma to get a beavertail and you're out of the one I like" "We only came here for a beavertail, you ruined our vacation" "That's not a Canadian thing, we have those in Alabama, they're called elephant ears" The oven was constantly breaking down too. I admire the petition but think it's a bit of a lost cause. C'est la vie
Well, hmm... I worked there for months and I certainly don't disagree. Speak for yourself. You think it was hot when they had an oven in there, try dipping dough into a big open vat of hot oil. Yes it was hot -- and it was a pain -- but if you had worked there back when they cooked them fresh you'd understand that it was all worth it because they were so good and our Guests enjoyed them so much (not to mention the CMs). There were always line ups and the booth certainly wasn't losing money due to poor sales. People would come from all over just to have one - and I rarely remember being out of stock on ingredients. The Canada management team really screwed up by: 1) switching to a toasted product; 2) eliminating the BeaverTails representatives (selected by the BeaverTails head office) who worked the booth and trained CMs on the product and 3) closing the booth throughout the day. Trent
I only worked there for one day before the oven broke down, and it was August and 30 degrees with an oven keeping it even hotter. I kept the cooler underneath the counter open to cool my legs!! Working there sucked!!! But maybe it was different when the had a different cooking mechanism. Kelly
I did work BeaverTails quite frequently... I loved working the outdoor food carts due to the fresh air and sunshine... being inside Le Cellier all the time can be a drag... the lighting is like a cave!!! I have to disagree... I only ate one Beavertail on my first training day on the "Beav"... and I hated it! But some guests loved them... they'd ask when the cart opened... and why was it closed. I can confirm that it was closed early (or on some days not opened at all) after 9/11. Sales were so low! I wouldn't spend much time inside the Beav... I would be outside on the promenade seeking out guest contact. I had to remember I was working it sometimes... and run over to it so a guest could purchase a bottled drink! Beavertails? Now when I see the Beavertails hut at the Metro Toronto Zoo (my home town)... I think: Yuck! Run away... run away!! How about another unique Canadian food product? I would strongly suggest Tim Horton's Coffee!!!! Guests were always asking me where they could find Tim Horton's in the Canada pavillion. They've really got to do something with that outdoor section of our pavillion.... it's dry... no wonder people just past it by on the way to another country's pavillion. Charlene Canada F&B Alumni 2001-2002
Uggh...Beavertails! Closing that affected the WHOLE pavilion. I sometimes thought that we Merchies suffered the most because when you were outside at the cart next to the now empty/boarded-up hut guests would ask us ALL DAY LONG when Beavertails were opening. For the rest of my contract I had to explain to the shocked/disappointed guests (and they really were upset!!!) that it was permanently shut down. Perhaps it was for the better as the sporadic hours made it impossible to tell guests when they could come back for one later in the day anyway. Personally though, I think it might have survived if it had been able to stay open all day. Park attendance was back up and there was obviously a demand for them. I definately preferred the sweet aroma of the Beavertails to that nauseating stench emanating from McDonald's too!! (I haven't eaten a McNugget since Florida!) And yes, I signed the petition!
I signed the petition. I figured if I had to suffer through looking like a moron cooking up a beavertail sweating my butt off in that hut .. then other Canadian cultural reps should have the same experience. I thought the beavertails tasted yummy too! The best was when it was raining and the cart was all tarped down and we'd be inside chowing down on a chocolate covered beavertail. Good memories. And who could forget the beavertail book! Does anyone remember writing notes in the beavertail book when it was slow.. I think it was supposed to be to communicate how everything was working in the beav, if we were out of apples or something like that.. but it was just a fun gossip book. Bring back the Beav!
Yeah.. the Beav Book... Well... It's probably a new book now.... but look through it and see if any of my entries are there! ;D Charlene Canada F&B Alumni 2001-2002
