Dining review from 3/4/07

[Nancy K]

We just got back from Disney World, and i will say we were extremely disapointed with the food. We were on the meal plan, and in my opinion, there was just TOO MUCH food. We never order appetizers & deserts, and felt like we ate way more than we needed to.
The BEST place for a quick service meal is Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney. My husband would have eaten there every night, if we would have let him. The food was HOT and freshly prepared.
Almost every meal we ate at Disney was barely warm.
We were quite disapointed with the Concorse steak house in the contemporary. Steaks not warm, had no flavor.
Cape may Cafe was OK, at least the food was hot. Coral reef Mahi was good, rest of the family had prime rib, and they could not even eat it.
Best sit down restaurant was Captain Jack's. I was disappointed in the lack of fish selections for dinner- if you didnt want lobster or salmon, no other fish selections. The food was the warmest here!
Overall, the food was HORRIBLE. I dont understand how Disney can not get this right!

 

[natalielongstaff]

sorry you had such a bad experiance if you never order apps or desserts then the dining plan probably wasnt the best choice for you.

ive eaten at concourse and thoroghly enjoyed it

 

[suzimar57]

sorry you didn't enjoy the DDP - glad that you liked wolfgang puck express -we're looking forward to eating there this coming trip - menu looks good of what they have there

 

[kdkbrebel]

I have a hard time understanding this too much food thing. On our trip in 03 the four of us,granted the kids were 5 and 9 at the time, spent more on food on our 7 day trip than the ddp will cost us now, with the kids being 4 years older. And we were by no means full, we only ate a few ts meals, we did do the hdd, we ate one cs meal per day and a few snacks but mainly we shared and watched every dime. So for if the same price, I can have a guaranteed ts, cs and snack per day/per person. who cares if we only order one or two apps or desserts between us, it is still a much better deal. Just because it is part of the plan does not mean that you have to eat it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[bluerendezvous]

Just because it is part of the plan does not mean that you have to eat it. Just my 2 cents.

I totally agree!

 

[Rustysmom]

I think it's better to have too much food than not have enough and go hungry.

I'm glad you liked Wolfgang Puck. We'll have to try it.

 

[candykisses]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy most of your meals. I hope the meals on your next trip are more to your expectations.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

I am sorry to hear abt your exp w/DDP. I liked the snack credits...getting the breakfst foods for the morning....and we were on our way. Also, I like knowing everything is paid for, like "all inclusives"....we had leftovers, it does take time to "manipulate" DDP so it works to your family's advantage...sharing a CS meal once....saving up TS so you can do some fine dining.
However, the next time we go, DD will be 11 and I cannot see her eating all that food!
So something to think about!

 

[Slapster]

Wow, bummer that you had such bad experiences eating at WDW. We mostly enjoyed our dining on the DDP. While there were certainly exceptions we got mostly good quality food presented well that was very tasty. Was it 'haute cuisine'? Nah, but we weren't expecting that.

I never really understood the "too much food" complaint about the DDP. It's not like they trick you into it, it states pretty plainly what you will get at each meal. The DDP works for the way my family eats at WDW. It doesn't work for some. And there's nothing that says you have to eat it all.

DDP or not, I'd probably shoot off a complaint about your experiences to WDW management. May not get anywhere with it, but if I got lukewarm, tasteless food at WDW prices I'd feel better letting someone know about it.

 

[thenewmrscarroll]

I have a hard time understanding this too much food thing. On our trip in 03 the four of us,granted the kids were 5 and 9 at the time, spent more on food on our 7 day trip than the ddp will cost us now, with the kids being 4 years older. And we were by no means full, we only ate a few ts meals, we did do the hdd, we ate one cs meal per day and a few snacks but mainly we shared and watched every dime. So for if the same price, I can have a guaranteed ts, cs and snack per day/per person. who cares if we only order one or two apps or desserts between us, it is still a much better deal. Just because it is part of the plan does not mean that you have to eat it. Just my 2 cents.

Oh I totally agree with you! How can you say there's too much food? DH and I spent 6 days at the World for our honeymoon in Dec 06. After much research we decided to do the DDP and loved it!! We rarely go out to eat at home and even more unususal is that we'd order either an appitizer or dessert. The flexiblity and choices on the DDP allowed us to splurge and eat so many amazing meals. We almost always chose different things so we could at least taste the other's food. (And almost always enjoyed it so much we tried to refuse that taste!!) DH saved all of our reciepts and made sure he wrote down what we would have paid. We saved over $250 by going with the DDP. And only had one bad experience at Spoodles.

Can't wait for our 2nd Honeymoon/1st Anniversary trip!! Dec 2-9 at AKL!!

 

[Nadine&Scott]

Food that is not up to par should be brought to the attention of the server. A good, well managed restaurant will try to correct the problem, but only if they are made aware of the problem. And leaving the restaurant with a resentment does not make for an enjoyable vacation.

Scott

 

[jodifla]

Food that is not up to par should be brought to the attention of the server. A good, well managed restaurant will try to correct the problem, but only if they are made aware of the problem. And leaving the restaurant with a resentment does not make for an enjoyable vacation.

Scott

I tried this at the Yachstman, and the manager just told me that any restaurant could have an off night, or a night you don't like.

 

[jodifla]

Food that is not up to par should be brought to the attention of the server. A good, well managed restaurant will try to correct the problem, but only if they are made aware of the problem. And leaving the restaurant with a resentment does not make for an enjoyable vacation.

Scott

sorry, double post.

 

[Disney owl]

Sorry to see you gave this a thumbs down

 

[Nadine&Scott]

We have also gotten the "Shoulder Shrug" from managers, at that point we have to put that restaurant on our Don't go back list.
And even Disney World is not all pixie dust. I read somewhere that Disney World has some of the "finest restaurants in the world and some of the worst", separating the two is the fun part.

Scott

 

[MelanieC]

Sorry you had a bad experience. We don't eat appetizers (except soup and an occassional appetizer) and never eat desserts.

 

[aes74]

On the plus side, if you have a refrigerator in your room, you could bring dessert back with you and eat it for breakfast the next morning!!

 

[Donaldsfan176]

I tried this at the Yachstman, and the manager just told me that any restaurant could have an off night, or a night you don't like.

True it is possible a restaurant could have a off night. BUT it is the responsibility of the manager to make your dining expierience right. To just "shrug it off" is totaly unacceptable.

 

[MEM]

And even Disney World is not all pixie dust. I read somewhere that Disney World has some of the "finest restaurants in the world and some of the worst", separating the two is the fun part.

Scott

What is REALLY interesting is that some of the restaurants on my "worst" list make other diners' "best" lists. I am surprised (and sorry) that the OP found so little to like.

 

[PamNC]

I hate to hear that someone had a bad dining trip. We love to dine at Disney and usually our experiences are good. During one trip though, we felt the same way you did. Just mediocre food. BUT, they redeemed themselves. We tend to stick to our favorites, which are:

Breakfast: Kona Cafe, Boatwrights, Fresh, Garden Grove (these last two are at the Dolphin and Swan). Oh, and Tusker House at AK has wonderful breakfast believe it or not.

Lunch/Dinner: Artist Pointe, Narcoosees, CA Grille, Kimonos (Sushi place at the Swan), Blue Zoo (Dolphin), Beaches & Cream, Raglan Road, Flying Fish.

We use to love the Concourse Steakhouse - I mean we thought we had found a hidden jewel that, by Disney standards, wasn't that expensive. We went there a few years ago and it was HORRIFIC. I will usually give a place a 2nd chance but not this time. They brought my DH a wilted lettuce salad. I got a sirlion burger and it was like you said, tasteless. It wasn't clean in there either.

About DDP - we did it once and it's not for us either. Way too much food and I don't like feeling "forced" to eat counter service. Too many CS credits and not enough TS credits for my taste. I don't mind some CS, but we prefer to sit down and relax with a meal on vacation. That is what vacation is all about.

PamNC