50's Prime Time

[IRISHGRUMPY]

We had lunch today . It was so disappointing. Our reservation was for 1220 , we were seated at 1240 . The starter was served before we received our drinks and main served seconds after starter was taken away . The service was appaling, there was no interaction from the waitress. I had told the kids about the expected experience as described by disney . Just did not happen . It was also my daughter's birthday and the server did not even notice . We were finished our meal by 1310 . I complained to managementafter and received a fastpass . Disney really surpassed themselves . I would never go again . Very bad

 

[Summer2018]

I'm so sorry that you had a bad experience.

Our first 4 times there, we had excellent servers who were not only attentive, they were very funny. It was like lunch or dinner with a show. The antics kept us coming back until the last time. There was no joking around, no crazy entertaining antics, just impatient waitstaff with bad attitudes. That was in 2015. We are not going back this July.

Apparently people complained about the funny waiters and the restaurant really toned it down. Based on your experience, it sounds like the entertaining part of the meals are gone.

 

[mrswillson]

Personally I think 50's PT is one of the worst restaurants on Disney property.

My husband, dad and I had lunch there several months ago and my only takeaways were that the food was bland and overpriced, and the restaurant was filthy. Dirt and dust was caked all over the displays. This is nowhere near where Disney's standards should be.

 

[yaya74]

oh no.... I have an ADR in a month. wondering if I should cancel it for something else.

 

[Allison]

oh no.... I have an ADR in a month. wondering if I should cancel it for something else.

If you cancel a reservation because of a negative experience by a few people on this board, you won't have any reservations at all.

 

[hereforthechurros]

If you cancel a reservation because of a negative experience by a few people on this board, you won't have any reservations at all.

This. We ate there in February, so just a few months ago and had a great dining experience. Loved the Tune In Lounge, grabbed a beer at the bar and had a laugh when we heard them calling kids to dinner. Our table was ready within 10 minutes and by luck of the draw we were placed at a TV table. Our waitress was perfect mix of relaxed and reminding us to ‘eat our vegetables’ and ‘no technology at the dinner table’ but wasn’t overbearing or rude in any way. I wasn't expecting much from the food but we shared the grandma platter and enjoyed everything on it. We weren’t rushed and she even put our dessert (PB&J) in a to go cup so we could head out.

As with everything at WDW, you have to try it yourself.

OP sorry you had a bad experience. Happens to all of us at one time or another and is always a disappointment.

 

[gharter]

My wife and daughter ate there a year ago and loved it.
We are going back this fall. Hopefully, your experience was a fluke and not the norm. Guess we will see in October.

 

[akayek31]

This is one of my favorite places to eat. They are always so funny even when I am on a solo trip. They put whip cream on my green beans (I hate Disney green beans) because I didn't finish my dinner. But I understand the bad experience thing. I had two bad experiences at Via Napoli and wish I could skip it but it is my daughter's and son-in-law's must do every trip. Luckily I get a break in September since it is a solo trip.

 

[KenHutch]

We ate there on June 6 or 7th. We were seated late but we were sitting right in front of the check in area and we could see how busy they were. We counted over a dozen families who just walked up and expected to be seated. To the desk managers credit he took down the names and phone numbers of anyone staying onsite and said all he could do was call if someone didn't show up. We were seated in an area with 3 waiters and all 3 were a hoot. After my 3rd diet coke ours brought a pitcher of diet coke to the table looked at me and said Cousin You Have Issues. I was rolling. The food was incredible and my family rated it as the best meal of the trip and immediately told me to schedule both a lunch and a dinner there for our 2021 trip. We had a birthday as well and the waiter brought out a cupcake and sang the birthday song to him (loudly). He sang the variation of you look like a monkey stopped for effect and smelled him and finished with and smell like one to. Everyone at the table about died. I was so impressed with how hard he worked he got a 25% tip.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I’ve had really good meals there (nothing bland about the fried chicken or that lucious pot roast) and even better experiences, since it opened, the last in April. As Allison stated, don’t cancel for one bad review (you would literally have to brown bag Disney going forward) the OP, had a bad server and the place was busy, it can impede or ruin a dining experience. He did as he should have done, let the manager know. All we can hope, that it was take under consideration and addressed with the server in question. OP, Sorry to hear, that it wasn’t all that you hoped for.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

We had a great time this month with Uncle Gary. Great meal, great service, fun interaction.

Sorry you had a different experience.

 

[HopperFan]

It is not unusual to be seated late there, but the lobby is cute and fun to wait in.

But in 13 years of visiting 50's Prime, we have never had a bad meal or bad service, actually the opposite. Some more played than others, once our entire room had tests to take but it was okay to cheat. So lots of tables of strangers were helping each other. It was so fun!

The only reason I have skipped last year or so trips is DS1 loves Sci Fi, and we only do one TS per day.

As far as birthdays ............... thousands a day have celebrations at Disney restaurants, they just don't do anything special unless YOU book something special or possibly a server MIGHT do something like .... DS2 got a card at Biergarten (he's young & cute, server was young & cute) but I think had we said it was my birthday (it was our DS/DM Birthday trip) nothing would have happened. If you go for a birthday, on a birthday .... create your own party and fuss! You will likely get more notice of your birthday button from other guests than CMs so don't expect anything to happen for normal "celebrations".

Also note, if children are young (one server told us under 10-12),
servers do not "pick" on them
so may be either safe or disappointed if you are younger.

 

[Summer2018]

We ate there on June 6 or 7th. We were seated late but we were sitting right in front of the check in area and we could see how busy they were. We counted over a dozen families who just walked up and expected to be seated. To the desk managers credit he took down the names and phone numbers of anyone staying onsite and said all he could do was call if someone didn't show up. We were seated in an area with 3 waiters and all 3 were a hoot. After my 3rd diet coke ours brought a pitcher of diet coke to the table looked at me and said Cousin You Have Issues. I was rolling. The food was incredible and my family rated it as the best meal of the trip and immediately told me to schedule both a lunch and a dinner there for our 2021 trip. We had a birthday as well and the waiter brought out a cupcake and sang the birthday song to him (loudly). He sang the variation of you look like a monkey stopped for effect and smelled him and finished with and smell like one to. Everyone at the table about died. I was so impressed with how hard he worked he got a 25% tip.

I am so happy to read this. After my own negative experiences (after many awesome experiences), I thought we’d never go back again.

We are avoiding Hollywood Studios this time because of Toy Story opening crowds and the closing of The Great Movie Ride. Maybe we will give 50’s Prime Time again on a future trip.

 

[KenHutch]

I am so happy to read this. After my own negative experiences (after many awesome experiences), I thought we’d never go back again.

We are avoiding Hollywood Studios this time because of Toy Story opening crowds and the closing of The Great Movie Ride. Maybe we will give 50’s Prime Time again on a future trip.

I should tell you this particular waiter asked me when everyone was sitting down how I felt about the antics and I told him he could sit down and force feed my daughter green bean like one did on our last trip. He should have fun we were there for the fun. And the absolutely incredible chicken was a nice surprise and coming from the deep south I am a harsh chicken critic but this stuff was fantastic.

 

[Scifidiner]

Personally I found the antics mildly amusing the first time, but annoying after that. The food has always been just "OK". We haven't been back for years, so I'm interested in knowing if they've toned down their "schtick".

 

[StageTek]

I'm with you on the fried chicken, KenHutch. I'm always tempted to get the plate but I really love the meatloaf so I end up getting the sampler. Even the greens are pretty good. I'm going twice on my SeptSolo trip specifically so I can get the chicken one day and the meatloaf the next.

Apparently people complained about the funny waiters and the restaurant really toned it down.

Prime Time is my fav restaurant. But I've noticed the staff has toned down the antics and have heard the reason was some people didn't like the silliness.

We haven't been back for years, so I'm interested in knowing if they've toned down their "schtick".

Two of us were there Jan 2017. We played along and all had a great time. The staff made the kids at the next table clear the table, our waitress (Aunt June) made me stand in the corner for putting my elbows on the table for the third time.

The two of us and another guy were there Jan 2018. We're all in the entertainment field and enjoy the immersion in the 1950's cliche so we made it clear we were open it. We saw almost no antics - our waitress scolded us about elbows on the table once. We were very disappointed so asked about it on the way out. We were told some people complained.

 

[Scifidiner]

Well we never complained, I always felt that some people really enjoy that sort of thing. So why ruin it for everyone else? If you go, especially after the first time, you know what to expect. We just choose to eat elsewhere, there really is no reason to be a party pooper and ruin it for everybody else.

 

[StageTek]

I agree, Scifidiner, but it seems you are atypical. Far too many people complain rather than just choose to not return.

Apropos your "name" and picture, I'm going to Sci Fi Diner for the first time on my upcoming trip. Two dinners (50's) and a lunch (Sci Fi) in HS this time around.

 

[Iowamomof4]

We had lunch today . It was so disappointing. Our reservation was for 1220 , we were seated at 1240 . The starter was served before we received our drinks and main served seconds after starter was taken away . The service was appaling, there was no interaction from the waitress. I had told the kids about the expected experience as described by disney . Just did not happen . It was also my daughter's birthday and the server did not even notice . We were finished our meal by 1310 . I complained to managementafter and received a fastpass . Disney really surpassed themselves . I would never go again . Very bad

THANK YOU!!!!!! So many people seem to have negative experiences and come here to tell about them but say they never said anything in the restaurant before they left. It just doesn't do much good if you don't give them a chance to make it right. I'm so glad you spoke up before leaving!

 

[Suprize2017]

Wow. That sounds very disappointing! We went in February 2017 and Aunt Jan was out waitress. She was awesome! Harassed my uncle the whole time. We were laughing so hard a few times there were tears rolling down our faces. My daughter and niece went back in June 2017 and their server did nothing. It was like every other dining experience. They were very disappointed. We will be returning in February of 2019 and I know my kids will want to have lunch there again. I wonder if there is any way of requesting a certain server (Aunt Jan!!!!) or letting them know you are specifically for the experience they are know for?