Am I the only one that goes to WDW for the food???

[goofy4tink]

Do we go for the food? No. Do we plan on a lot of dining while in WDW? Yes.
My dh isn't a 'park' person, but he sure does love eating out. So, I make sure I have plenty of restaurant meals for him when we go to WDW. No, it isn't haute cuisine. And no, it's not the same food we got even 5 years ago. But, some of it is pretty good. We have our favorite spots and we hit them on each trip. Then, we try to find a new place and give that a shot.

Those buffet prices? Out of sight for the most part. The available food is not worth even close to the asking price. Sure, you get to see characters at some of them. And that used to be a big drawing point for us when my dd was younger. But not anymore. We tend to avoid most of the character buffets now. We may hit Chef Mickeys every other trip...same with Crystal Palace. It used to be that each restaurant had something special available. Not anymore..it's all pretty much the same.

 

[arielmomma]

To my family, food is an enormous part of a vacation. We don't eat out a lot and try to eat healthy at home. Vacations are a splurge. WDW is a great place for it.

We are able to make ADR's to satisfy everyone in my family and eat until we want to be sick. Heck, I'm still fantasizing about getting the DxDP and actually eating 3 TS meals a day. I know the basic DP is too much food for me, but I can dream!

 

[marielynn724]

i go for a lot of reasons but the food is probably the biggest one!

 

[marielynn724]

and considering how many people stalk the food porn thread... i'd say we're not alone!

 

[JumpinJ]

As an indirect reply let me tell you what my sister and I did for our last trip together....

We printed off every single menu from allears.net, sorted them into quickservice, table service, snacks etc. Color coded them in terms of 'priority' and then did up a spreadsheet with all 'possibles, for sure's and if we have time's'. Once we finished that list we did up a second list for our NEXT trip

My brother in law and boyfriend just watched us and shook their heads.

There are so many things to love about going down to WDW, but the food is definitely at the top of the list. Although I do have to agree that the quality of many of the restaurants has declined in the last number of years....

J

 

[vettegirl]

I love Disney Dining and it is what I really look forward to the most when visiting DW. I love trying new places and love the dining plan. Going Deluxe for the first time next month for the sig restaurants, can't wait!

 

[christinec68]

We go despite the food. Sure, Disney has a wide variety of cuisine and some unique theming but that's where it ends. There are a couple of places we enjoy but over the past 2-3 years we go off property more and more.

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

Dinning at Disney is such a special experience! The food may not be world class, but for the most part it is extremely enjoyable. But it's more than just the food. The restaurants are unique. I love the beauty of CP. I love having an early ADR and seeing the park almost empty, the dried flower topiaries of Pooh and the gang. I love the CM that dared my son to stick a whole meatball in his mouth at TTS. I love the delight my kids felt at sitting in a car and watching old horror movie trailers. I love sitting in the glow of a volcano under a twighlight sky. I love the belly dancer that made my 21 year old handicapped son, feel like he was the most special person in the world. I love watching the fish swim by at the CR. For me Disney Dinning is an extension of the magic.

I'm going with friends in Oct. And when they told me they wanted to spend another day. I shouted, "Yea, we get to go to more restaurants!"

I get to make my ADRs on Friday. More Disney Magic! Keep your fingers crossed, I'm hoping to go to Boma and Le Cellier for the first time.

 

[tink1972]

Food is one of the biggest reasons we go! We love our time to relax at the table service rest & enjoy the hotels!! Can't wait...gettin closer!!!

 

[sjs314]

The food during my WDW vacations is as big a draw if not more so than the Parks attractions, as is the resort. I normally choose a resort based on it's restaurants as sometimes it is just nice to enjoy a resort and what it as to offer for dining rather than travel to the parks or other resorts for ADR's.

 

[Cookie Princess]

Dining is a huge part of any vacation we take. We always splurge on vacation and eat all the "yummy junk" we want. We also enjoy dining at nicer spots in the evenings. The food and adult beverages add to the entire WDW experience for me!

 

[B-Ride]

We go for the parks but my wife only agreed to switch from going every two years to every year once we started eating in TS restaurants every night.

 

[jwfla422]

Yes, I go for the food. I love having 100s of restaraunts to choose from on the DDP. I love the fact that so much, and desserts and not gain weight 'cause all the walking I d do there!

When I go on other trips to FLA people ask me if I'm going to Disney. They don't understand why a Disney world addict such as myself doesn't want to go a park for a day. I try to explain that I love WDW the resort, not the parks. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't love the parks. But what I truly love is the entire experience. Which means MCO, ME, CBR, or POR or AKL tec, and ADRs in addition to MK, AK. EPCOT, and Studios. Get it?? You don't have to a CM to know the language. And that what makes me an addict. It truly is its own World with its own language, and FOOD!

So, I go to WDW because I love the food, and the resorts, and of course the parks.

We've been going for so many years I do understand some of the posts regarding the food isn't what it used to be, but that being said I couldn't think of a WDW trip without making all of my ADR's to the places I love and making them at some new places or places I haven't yet tried or hadn't been to in a long time.

Yes, we've had our experiences of skipping out on some of our old time favorites for a few years at a time after they've gone downhill, but it just takes a new head chef or a revamp and they can be even better than they ever were.

We enjoy the food so much at WDW that I created my own website of food reviews! I love reporting on the food and letting future guests know what are experiences are especially those who never been to WDW. These boards are great for getting WDW food feedback! But, I wanted to show some of the food with photos too, although I know there are some threads here that do that too.

We love having "new" favorites for next trip! DD always asks, so where are we going for lunch or dinner today??

And most of our favorites are NOT in the parks, but at the resorts!

www.disneydiningreviews.com

 

[d-r]

I think it has really been going downhill the last couple of years.

 

[sotoalf]

Those of you old enough to remember Disney in the pre-Eisner years: were the sit-down offerings as good as they are now? It's a debate my family has had often. My parents, who spent their honeymoon at the Contemporary in 1972, insist that WDW dining in the last fifteen years is much more varied now, even the fast food selection (healthier options are now available, as our diets have changed in the last thirty years).

I've looked at the menus in old Birnbaum guidebooks from the late eighties for long-gone restaurants like the Lake Buena Vista Club and the Gulf Coast Room, and they certainly look ambitious, but were they any good?

 

[d-r]

No they were not. I think they used to be pretty bad. When I was a teen my favorite magic kingdom meal was a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich at Aunt Polly's - because the burgers at Pinocchio's etc., and the pizza at tomorrowland terrace were horrible. I think they started really trying to improve in the late 1990's. By the early 2000's I think it was very good! But now I think it has went down hill. Not as bad as when I was a kid, but not as good as it was say 10 years ago.

There is much more choice now, especially in fast food; but there still isn't a single fast food meal I'd really want to have in the studios, for example.

 

[WAWDWLUVER]

The Food is #1, TSM #2!!! The resorts, especially CR, AKL and BC and the whole "World" experience makes WDW my #1 vacation destination.

 

[PopCenturyPrincess]

My mom and I plan where we're going a year ahead. I think she comes more to eat than to see me!!!

 

[DVCSAMNH]

When we first started going to the world in the mid 80s the food was awful. Nothing memorable at all. The kids looked forward to the character breakfasts but that was about it. My husband and I used to call it "Disney food". This fell into the same category as "Disney water". And we all know how good that is!

The food improved dramatically about 10 years or so years ago. We really looked forward dining in the parks and resorts at that time.

 

[jwfla422]

Well i guess i'm in the minority here but the food was definitely at it's best in the early to mid 90's (more than 10 yrs ago).

DH and I went quite frequently and found many of the restaurants had excellent food. Spoodles and Narcoossee's along with YSH were the best and in the last 10 yrs none of those could match how good they were in the 90's.

I cannot account for the 1980's but the 1990's the food was at it's best.