Disappointing dining experiences this trip!

[jakeybake]

Good morning to all of my DIS friends!

So we take the very same trip each year. We book a Bounce back offer (free dining) for the end of August for 9 days at the Beach Club. I'm a sentimental kind of person so I like to visit most of the same restaurants we have dined at in the past. So each trip I book...

Cape May Cafe
Chef Mickey's
Via Napoli
1900 Park Fare
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Be Our Guest
Boma

We always have our best meal at Yachtsman as expected and always enjoy the rest. Now we understand that the food at say Chef Mickey's isn't top shelf but we have certainly had no issues with it in the past, as we don't expect the world.

That being said this year the food seemed to be kind of bad at Chef Mickey's, Via Napoli and Be Our Guest. Nothing specifically awful but just not good at all. I got the Chicken Parm at Via Napoli and it was tough and not very tasty. Chef Mickey's seemed to be worse than ever with it being bland and kind of glorified cafeteria food. Nothing at all that was tasty or different. Worst of all was Be Our Guest. We all got the steak and it seemed to be the cheapest cuts of steak you could get, with a side of fries like you would get at a fast food establishment. We aren't the type to ever complain but on our last night, as we sat by Stormalong Bay I mentioned to my wife how crappy the food seemed this trip and she said, "I know, I was thinking the exact same thing!". We had free dining so some will say "You get what you pay for" but given how much these dinners would cost a family of 4 without free dining ($200 on average with the tip) I have to say for the first time that it's totally not worth it at all.

Jay

 

[cluvsdisney]

I am sorry you were so disappointed with your meals, especially since they seem to be something you look forward to each trip.

We run hot & cold with enjoying our meals. For a while, it was almost mediocre and the only positive thing we could say about our meals is that we weren't hungry anymore. We don't lock ourselves into Disney Dining so we didn't mind going off sight for better tasting, less expensive meals. Lately, we feel it took a turn and we're enjoying old favorites and have some new ones.

Hopefully, you'll experience the same thing on your next trip. Maybe consider holding out for a room discount instead of taking the free dining offer. You might come out ahead, especially if you have an AP and can get the tables in wonderland card.

 

[mrsp1030]

Were any of your meals breakfast? I always find those the best on property and the pizza at via napoli!

 

[Lucius Best]

I mentioned to my wife how crappy the food seemed this trip and she said, "I know, I was thinking the exact same thing!". We had free dining so some will say "You get what you pay for" but given how much these dinners would cost a family of 4 without free dining ($200 on average with the tip) I have to say for the first time that it's totally not worth it at all.

"You get what you pay for" does not apply, sure, it's "free" dining, but you're paying for it with a higher un-discounted room rate. Disappointing to hear about your poor dining experiences, but understandable, we've encountered similar thing over recent trips. Surprised with your bad experiences at BOG and Via Napoli. Pizza at VN was great, we did lunch at BOG, sandwich was decent but really liked the soup and cupcakes.

We've done free dining a few times, and used to eat in a different country every night, but on recent trips we have really cut down on the number of table service meals we eat, based on quality and price and reduced menu options. Every trip we add another restaurant to the "not returning" list. Last trip was 50s Prime Time Cafe, and the omelettes station at CP, easily the worst omelette I've ever eaten. Before that was Whispering Canyon and San Angel Inn.

 

[mrsp1030]

Last trip we tried out some new options and have to agree that Chef Mickeys was not a favorite at all...We were surprised with 1900 Park Fare breakfast...best breakfast we had the entire trip! We also added to our list of do not return...cape may for dinner...just a bad experience overall

 

[minnie mum]

The food was "kind of bad" at Chef Mickeys? It really took you this many times to figure that out?
I think ordering almost anything other than pizza at VN is a recipe for disappointment
And ordering steak at an in park (non steakhouse) restaurant and expecting a prime piece of meat. Yeah, no.

We've scaled back the number of ADRs we make, since CS food has improved in variety and quality- the reverse of most TS restaurants. Our list of " I'd rather eat CS than ever eat there again" TS restaurants has at least one new addition after each visit. We like trying out the newest restaurants as soon as we can - before the "Disney effect" turns them from interesting to beige (or worse).

 

[vettegirl]

Good overviews, thanks for sharing.

 

[starousse]

I absolutely agree. We just got back and as we always love Disney dining, this time we weren't feeling the magic. We ate at Cali Grill, Via Napoli, Ohana, Kona, Be Our Guest, Trattoria Al Forno, Sanaa, Sci Fi, The Boathouse and some quick serves for lunch. My husband and I joked how the burgers we had at Sci Fi was one of the better meals all week. The one dinner we really enjoyed was The Boathouse. Everything else was not good.

 

[goofyintoronto]

The food was "kind of bad" at Chef Mickeys? It really took you this many times to figure that out?
I think ordering almost anything other than pizza at VN is a recipe for disappointment

Agree and disagree. We had chef mickeys once, never again. Awful. So I agree with you there! But Via Napoli is amazing for both the pizza and pasta....the candele pasta dish is my absolute fave dish in Disney!

OP thanks for sharing. I'd change it up and try new places next time.

 

[pumba]

we changed things around this last trip...we did include Crystal Palace and we still enjoyed that...we went to Biergarten ..a place we havent been for a few years...eh..that is all I can say about that...Mama Melrose Fantasmic pkg..was good..and we enjoyed Ohana ..second time there...we were going to try some of the other restaurants on our to do list..but we changed some around and decided not to eat all ts restaurants...I will try some of the others ..in May

 

[lovin'fl]

We had similar this Aug too. Our must-do every trip, Ohana, was awful as was Raglan Road (been there one other time, a year ago, and it was fabulous then). Biergarten and Kona were so-so as well. Yak and Yeti, I loved the burger I got there but DH, DDs and inlaws were 'meh' about their meals.

 

[bcrook]

I too appreciate your report thank you.

My party has had a couple of bad experiences at LaHacienda and Chef Mickeys was like a bacteria farm. I'm still not recovered from the horrors of my July trip.

I do look forward to my meals at Disney, and it is disappointing to have bad experiences.

 

[yooperfan]

We had similar this Aug too. Our must-do every trip, Ohana, was awful as was Raglan Road (been there one other time, a year ago, and it was fabulous then). Biergarten and Kona were so-so as well. Yak and Yeti, I loved the burger I got there but DH, DDs and inlaws were 'meh' about their meals.

What did you not like about Ohanas this time?

 

[kandb]

We ate at Via Napoli tonight, we thought it was awesome, got pizza, chicken parm and candele pasta. We ate at mama Melrose the beginning of the week, worst Italian food we have ever had. Teppan Edo, Ohana's, the Wave were also favorites.

 

[lovin'fl]

What did you not like about Ohanas this time?

Salad, noodles and potstickers are a tad different. Salad was blah (no more fruit, peas instead and different dressing). Noodles were thicker and not very falvorful. Potstickers had green veges inside which i don't remember from before (but they were still good). And the chicken...thigh meat and gross (slimy/fatty pieces all stuck together). The service was the pits too (though that's been the case the past several trips). They pretty much dumped all the food at the table at once and then disappeared. Had to ask 3 times for more peanut sauce (1 dish for a table of 8 is not enough). Took them FOREVER to bring the bill and then we didn't get the hot hand towels to de-sticky ourselves.

 

[Arden01]

For us, I think the DDP kind of tainted our taste buds. It was just so much food that by the end of the trip, we weren't really enjoying anything at all. Last year, we really liked the pizza at Via Napoli. This year, I felt that it was just okay. I think that was because it was one of our last days at WDW. Next time we go, we won't do the DDP again but will schedule a few special TS meals and have counter service the rest of the trip. All in all, my favorites were Raglan Road (had the mushroom burger, which was quite good) and Boma (oh my, the soups!). Mama Melrose was fine - not extraordinary, but good. I read so many negative reviews that it was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed Crystal Palace and BOG for atmosphere only.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Well, we have NEVER had a good experience at Chef Mickey's, so I'm not surprised about that one.

We never order anything but pizza from Via Napoli, but have always had great experiences there.

Now, we ate at BOG in April 2013 and had an amazing meal!! The steak was perfect, the French onion soup was so delicious. When we ate there in August 2014, the differences were crazy. The steak (like you said) was an incredibly cheap cut. The French onion soup was flavorless. It was truly a disappointment.

But, the great thing about Disney is that there are so many places to eat. We just cross certain places off of our list and try different ones.

 

[ncc1701]

We have found on the last several trips that dinner at TS has been ok to blah. That included prior favorites like Wolfgang Pack Cafe & Rose and Crown. The others were Mama Melrose (my flatbread was very good but DH's pasta dish was so-so), Tutti Italia (glad we had free dining) and Raglan Road (my fish & chips at Cooke's for lunch earlier in the trip were better). Overall are lunch TS with the exception of last year's GFC have been good to outstanding. That included lunch at MM several days after the so-so dinner.
Only 2 that haven't disappointed were ESPN which was the same as lunch,not special but decent and YSH which has ranged from very good to excellent.
Since we aren't all day park people and stay at POFQ we eat several dinners at WPE Marketplace every trip and had a good one at Cooke's last year.
We both get the feeling the staff is rushing to get you out ASAP at dinner and the food & sometimes the services suffer as a result

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Good morning to all of my DIS friends!

So we take the very same trip each year. We book a Bounce back offer (free dining) for the end of August for 9 days at the Beach Club. I'm a sentimental kind of person so I like to visit most of the same restaurants we have dined at in the past. So each trip I book...

Cape May Cafe
Chef Mickey's
Via Napoli
1900 Park Fare
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Be Our Guest
Boma

We always have our best meal at Yachtsman as expected and always enjoy the rest. Now we understand that the food at say Chef Mickey's isn't top shelf but we have certainly had no issues with it in the past, as we don't expect the world.

That being said this year the food seemed to be kind of bad at Chef Mickey's, Via Napoli and Be Our Guest. Nothing specifically awful but just not good at all. I got the Chicken Parm at Via Napoli and it was tough and not very tasty. Chef Mickey's seemed to be worse than ever with it being bland and kind of glorified cafeteria food. Nothing at all that was tasty or different. Worst of all was Be Our Guest. We all got the steak and it seemed to be the cheapest cuts of steak you could get, with a side of fries like you would get at a fast food establishment. We aren't the type to ever complain but on our last night, as we sat by Stormalong Bay I mentioned to my wife how crappy the food seemed this trip and she said, "I know, I was thinking the exact same thing!". We had free dining so some will say "You get what you pay for" but given how much these dinners would cost a family of 4 without free dining ($200 on average with the tip) I have to say for the first time that it's totally not worth it at all.

Jay

FREE?? You overpaid for a subpar hotel room. It's not free. If they called it what it is "dining package discount" would people still fall all over themselves to pay for it LOL!

"You get what you pay for" does not apply, sure, it's "free" dining, but you're paying for it with a higher un-discounted room rate. Disappointing to hear about your poor dining experiences, but understandable, we've encountered similar thing over recent trips. Surprised with your bad experiences at BOG and Via Napoli. Pizza at VN was great, we did lunch at BOG, sandwich was decent but really liked the soup and cupcakes.

We've done free dining a few times, and used to eat in a different country every night, but on recent trips we have really cut down on the number of table service meals we eat, based on quality and price and reduced menu options. Every trip we add another restaurant to the "not returning" list. Last trip was 50s Prime Time Cafe, and the omelettes station at CP, easily the worst omelette I've ever eaten. Before that was Whispering Canyon and San Angel Inn.

OMG Someone actually gets it! There's no such thing as "free" at Disney

 

[KateP85]

I think any restaurant can have its bad days but I try to give most of them a second chance (Chef Mickeys is the exception to this rule, that place is terrifying!) Having said that, once I've eaten somewhere a second time and it still sucks, it gets crossed off the list.

We've never had a bad experience at Yachtsman Steakhouse, Flying Fish, or Artist Point so those are the ones we frequently go back to. We recently ate at California Grill after a crappy meal in April, and this time it was wonderful, so that's gone back on our list.