I Will NEVER Eat At _______ In WDW Again!!

[Sheilby]

After our most recent trip, we have decided that we probably will not do the dining plan again. We feel the quality of the table service restaurants has dropped and the cost has gotten outrageous. Overall, we have liked the counter service better. We will sprinkle in a few table service places that we enjoy, such as Chefs of France for anniversary, but will stick to counter service. Agree 100% about POR food court. We stayed there in May and loved every meal we had there. Love the 'make your own pasta' and the 'make your own salad'.

Next time we are going to go with the %off discount and forgo the free dining plan if it is offered. But my inlaws are with us and I know the sit down meal break will be important to them. I'm finding the planning of the TS to be stressful and I prefer to just stop and eat when I'm hungry rather than pre-plan everything. The plus side with the free dining is that I won't cringe every time my kids want a treat.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

Next time we are going to go with the %off discount and forgo the free dining plan if it is offered. But my inlaws are with us and I know the sit down meal break will be important to them. I'm finding the planning of the TS to be stressful and I prefer to just stop and eat when I'm hungry rather than pre-plan everything. The plus side with the free dining is that I won't cringe every time my kids want a treat.

We may still do it if it were free, but we usually aren't going during the time of free dining, so don't really have to worry about making that decision.

We feel the same way about the stressful planning. We like being able to be flexible while we are there and if you are eating at a table service each night, you really need to have your reservations made in advance.

Much more relaxing for us to pick a counter service that works for what our plans end up being for the day. This works for us now because our son is grown so he is much more flexible now too.

 

[Suzanne74]

Reading all these pages of poor reviews on so many restaurants makes me glad we don't have any reservations at table service restaurants!

The only I have ever eaten at were Akershush (before the princess meals) and 50's Prime Time Cafe and we enjoyed both.

But. Prices are just getting ridiculous. I am not about to pay $30 - $40 and more for a buffet meal.

The only table service restaurant we are contemplating for our upcoming trip is Fulton's Crab House. There are mixed reviews here, and on Trip Advisor, so I don't know...

We actually prefer counter service. Grab something quick and get on with our day. We generally eat a big breakfast at our resort's food court, then a small snack for lunch, and larger meal for dinner either somewhere like Sunshine Seasons, or back at POR's great food court.

We are not all that interested in the food at Disney. We don't get there that often, so we prefer spending our time on the rides and attractions.

We just said the same thing after our last trip. The prices are so much higher and the food and service are worse. We miss the days before the dining plans with fun, interactive and relaxing meals. The rushed concept to fill as many tables as quickly as possible annoys me.

We spent a small fortune on character meals. The service was horrible, especially at Ohana. They treat customers like an assembly line. Salad was brought out and within 5min, the entire rest of the meal (including skewer offerings) was at/on our table. I was pissed off and told the waiter, we are relaxing and this feels very rushed. He just walked away.

Raglan Road was the true stand out. We ate there twice and the food, prices, entertainment and service was all top-notch. A hidden gem in DTD.

 

[Minniesgal]

We don't have anywhere we had a bad enough experience to never eat again but there are a few places we had a meh experience which have fallen low on the list. BOG being the main one. I do find that the menus change so infrequently it is easy to get tired of our favorites.

 

[Sheilby]

Raglan Road was the true stand out. We ate there twice and the food, prices, entertainment and service was all top-notch. A hidden gem in DTD.

Would you cancel Portobello Country Italian Trattoria for Raglan Road if you had 3 boys aged 6, 10 and 13?

 

[Sheilby]

We may still do it if it were free, but we usually aren't going during the time of free dining, so don't really have to worry about making that decision.

I keep running the 30% off vs the free dining and second guessing myself. I'm driving myself crazy. Pure numbers-wise the FD looks like a better deal, but the truth is I am just as happy with cs meals and we could theoretically eat cheaper. I need to stop this.

 

[lovin'fl]

There are 2 TS places at WDW that I can honestly say we will NEVER go to again (there are others that I'm not super excited to go to again, but will if others want to...but I will just list the 2 that nobody could get me to go back to).

1- Marrakesh...bland, dry food...left hungry
2- Bongos...also bland, dry food...but also very bright and loud inside

 

[jebpompano]

Tony's in MK. The food was terrible IMO.

 

[englishrose47]

Raglan Road was the true stand out. We ate there twice and the food, prices, entertainment and service was all top-notch. A hidden gem in DTD.

Ssssh don't tell !!!!

 

[Suzanne74]

Would you cancel Portobello Country Italian Trattoria for Raglan Road if you had 3 boys aged 6, 10 and 13?

I have not eaten there to compare but I have a 4 and 12yr old and it was fun entertainment for both. There are male dancers too. It isn't all girls. Your 6yr old can go up and dance too. Lots of little boys did. Very cute. The band was great. I think you would enjoy it. The food and drink selections were great. Take a look at the menu score you decide.

 

[Sheilby]

I have not eaten there to compare but I have a 4 and 12yr old and it was fun entertainment for both. There are male dancers too. It isn't all girls. Your 6yr old can go up and dance too. Lots of little boys did. Very cute. The band was great. I think you would enjoy it. The food and drink selections were great. Take a look at the menu score you decide.

Both menus interest me, but I'm not sure about the rest of the family. I'm Irish through and through (Dad off the boat) so I'm tempted to go to the Irish pub (I LOVE Irish music), hubby is Italian/German and his parents will be with us (his dad is straight off the boat from Italy). I'm trying to please everyone I guess. I'll run the menus past my MIL and see what she thinks.

Would the 10 year old boy be allowed up there? He loves to Irish step dance - in his own special way

 

[Eastern]

Our schedule is:

11/13 - arrival day going to Epcot
Chefs de France
7:20 PM

11/14 Heading over to Islands of Adventure for the day, figured we would eat back at the resort.
Olivia's Cafe
7:45 PM

11/15- Going to MK, must leave by 7pm because of Christmas party, figured we would check out the monorail resorts and watch the electric water parade from Poly after dinner
The Wave... of American Flavors
6:50 PM

11/16 - going to AK, since it closes early we were going to head to DTD in the evening
Portobello Country Italian Trattoria
7:00 PM

11/17 - full day at Epcot, figured we should get one character meal in (we have all boys so princesses don't float their boat) - not expecting much from the food, but thought the boys would love the spinning restaurant
The Garden Grill
4:05 PM

11/18 - full day at HS, MUST see Fantasmic (playing at 6:30) and Osbourne lights so I figured lunch would be better so we don't have to worry about delayed reservations
50's Prime Time Cafe
1:40 PM

11/19 - MK, we might go back to resort for a while in the afternoon, planning on coming back in the evening for shorter lines and Wishes. After reading some of the reviews here I'm worried about this one.
Tony's Town Square Restaurant
5:55 PM

11/20 - last day, must be back to the resort around 4:15 to catch ME
Coral Reef Restaurant
12:55 PM

What do you think?

(We haven't eaten at any of these before, we wanted all new places)

I haven't been to all of these, but I wouldn't worry. I would like to try Portobello and the Wave as well.

Garden Grill is a favorite of my sons, even though they are older now. We always like the food, although we sometimes ask for the sauces/garnishes on the side because my youngest likes plainer food.

We have done Chef's a few times for lunch. We liked the lobster bisque, the onion soup, the roasted chicken, the burger.

PT Cafe is just meh for us. I don't love the food there, and if you get a dull server, it's a bust, imo.

I haven't been to Tony's Town Square but it's the only one I wouldn't have chosen as it has consistently bad reviews, although I have seen a few good ones lately, so maybe it's getting better. Coral Reef gets some bad reviews too, so I wouldn't do that one. But that's just me.

I think it's fun to try new restaurants at Disney. I hope they work out!

 

[Suzanne74]

Both menus interest me, but I'm not sure about the rest of the family. I'm Irish through and through (Dad off the boat) so I'm tempted to go to the Irish pub (I LOVE Irish music), hubby is Italian/German and his parents will be with us (his dad is straight off the boat from Italy). I'm trying to please everyone I guess. I'll run the menus past my MIL and see what she thinks.

Would the 10 year old boy be allowed up there? He loves to Irish step dance - in his own special way

Yes, the 10yr old too! My 11yr old didn't want to but to her defense she is 5'3" and looks like a teenager. She let the 4yr old have the limelight. There were various ages.

 

[Sheilby]

I haven't been to all of these, but I wouldn't worry. I would like to try Portobello and the Wave as well.

Garden Grill is a favorite of my sons, even though they are older now. We always like the food, although we sometimes ask for the sauces/garnishes on the side because my youngest likes plainer food.

We have done Chef's a few times for lunch. We liked the lobster bisque, the onion soup, the roasted chicken, the burger.

PT Cafe is just meh for us. I don't love the food there, and if you get a dull server, it's a bust, imo.

I haven't been to Tony's Town Square but it's the only one I wouldn't have chosen as it has consistently bad reviews, although I have seen a few good ones lately, so maybe it's getting better. Coral Reef gets some bad reviews too, so I wouldn't do that one. But that's just me.

I think it's fun to try new restaurants at Disney. I hope they work out!

Yeah, I could see how the PT cafe would be ruined by a blah server. The choices at HS aren't the best from what I am reading. I'm sort of interested in the Sci-Fi cafe because of the theming, but since we are a party of 7 it doesn't look like we will be able to sit in a car anyway. My hubby and FIL hate dark restaurants too. Mama Melrose's might be OK, but we couldn't get a table. We are only going to HS for one day, so I don't really want to waste time leaving to go eat. I'm not sure if we should just scrap a sit down meal that day and use the credits for something else.

Tony's I'm totally willing to change, but I'm not sure where to in order to accommodate a party of 7. We went to the Liberty inn last time so we don't want to hit it again. That is our full day at MK (our other day at MK we have to be out at 7 for the party). We want to see wishes that night and enjoy the night rides, but we could certainly leave in the middle of the day for a break and then eat somewhere else before returning that evening. We don't have park hoppers so it would have to be another resort. Any suggestions?

Our last day has to be a lunch because we will be catching the ME around 4:15. For now we are planning to be at Epcot that day, although I suppose that could change if they want to do another park on their last day - by then we should have hit all of our must-dos so this day will be icing on the cake. I like the pictures of Coral Reef, and I thought my boys would think it was cool.

 

[Sheilby]

Yes, the 10yr old too! My 11yr old didn't want to but to her defense she is 5'3" and looks like a teenager. She let the 4yr old have the limelight. There were various ages.

Cool, my 10 year old (actually still 9 but will be 10 then) is a bit of a ham.

 

[On A Jolly Holiday]

Tony's in MK.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

the only place we would never, ever eat at again is Pecos Bill - food was beyond bland and even during off season was hard to find a table


Also, Rain Forest Cafe wasn't terrible but I don't think it was worth the cost vs. other options

 

[Eastern]

Tony's I'm totally willing to change, but I'm not sure where to in order to accommodate a party of 7. We went to the Liberty inn last time so we don't want to hit it again. That is our full day at MK (our other day at MK we have to be out at 7 for the party). We want to see wishes that night and enjoy the night rides, but we could certainly leave in the middle of the day for a break and then eat somewhere else before returning that evening. We don't have park hoppers so it would have to be another resort. Any suggestions?

You could do Kona at the Polynesian for your MK day if you want a sit-down. Just take the monorail around. Or Plaza in MK for burgers/sandwiches/salad.

It's hard to decide based on reviews. Tony's and Coral Reef are risky in terms of food reviews but you may love them. You never know until you try.

 

[Karbase8]

The Liberty Inn in Epcot, last week ate there for a CS because it was close and conveneint. Had the smokehouse angus burger and got a smores brownie which the cashier recommended.I still feel sick thinking of that burger and the brownie I coudn't even get my fork through. I had been warned about this place, winded up feeling sick the rest of the day it was awful!

 

[Sheilby]

You could do Kona at the Polynesian for your MK day if you want a sit-down. Just take the monorail around. Or Plaza in MK for burgers/sandwiches/salad.

It's hard to decide based on reviews. Tony's and Coral Reef are risky in terms of food reviews but you may love them. You never know until you try.

Kona's not a bad idea - I had to cancel my reservations on a different night after moving some things around. I just checked and there is a table at 6:55 that night, but if they are late sitting us it may be tight getting back to see Wishes (from a good location) and the Goodnight kiss. There isn't an ELP that night so we don't have to worry about that. I know you can see wishes from Poly, but we are already going to see the fireworks from poly on another night and we wanted to see them up close and personal (we never have). Is it doable, or should I be looking for an earlier time to open up?