Anyone besides me dislike buffets?

[photobob]

I just don't like the whole concept. I'd rather have a meal prepared for me than go through a line with a herd of other people getting food that was prepared an hour ago sitting in a warmer.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I'm not a huge fan of buffets. I always end up plating up a bunch of stuff that I wouldn't normally eat all together and then I don't really enjoy the meal. I'd rather order a la carte any day.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't detest or even dislike buffets but I think the food quality at Disney buffets has declined such that I am down to two I will still visit - Boma and Biergarten. And I was disappointed with at least one dish I formerly enjoyed at Biergarten on the last visit (December 6).

 

[Judy in Texas]

Buffets are OK until I read the threads about people who don't wash their hands for whatever reason after using the "facilites". Gives me the creeps...

 

[dvcdisney]

Count me in! I absolutely hate the traditional buffets. I also don't like the whole concept of it. I don't find the food very good nor fresh. I know they replenish it quite often, but it still doesn't look or taste fresh. And don't get me started on guests who feel that they don't need to follow simple buffet dining etiquette....I've heard of too many disgusting stories, it's truly disgusting.

However, I don't consider 'Ohana a buffet since the food is brought to your table and I'm assuming the waitstaff are the only ones handling the serving pieces.

 

[jmartinez1895]

My husband and I don't like them much because all I can think of is all the people that have touch and been around the food before I put it in my mouth. I'm not much of a germaphob, but when you think about how many times youve seen someone walk out of the potty without washing or doing something else that s gross and then know that some of those same people have been handeling the spoons that you are touching, it's kinda gross.

 

[cbg1027]

I just don't like the whole concept. I'd rather have a meal prepared for me than go through a line with a herd of other people getting food that was prepared an hour ago sitting in a warmer.

Outside of Disney, I avoid buffets like the plague. The food usually sucks, I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth, and it's so easy to over eat.

But, I like most of the buffets I've been to at Disney. The food is quite decent, and sometimes even really good. It's cheap compared to my other sit down meals. The food is fresh and changed out a lot, and they seem to pay a lot more attention to keeping everything the correct temperature.

Also, most or all of the buffets at Disney don't operate on a line system. You can roam about - no need to wait for the person in front of you to move on to the next thing before you do.

 

[SuzieN]

I do prefer regular TS restaurants but we usually eat at a couple of buffets for my kids' sake. The kids meals are so small and yucky!!! At least they can get enough to eat at the buffets!

 

[rubato]

My husband LOVES buffets, which is the reason I CAN'T STAND them. He always eats way too much and then he feels horrible. At WDW, I would like to go back to the parks after we eat dinner. But, if he eats at a buffet, I know he's going to be miserable. It all stems from being raised by a parent that grew up in the depression (at least that's the excuse he always gives me). You have to get as much for your money as you can. I guess I just don't understand!

 

[mmmears]

I'm not a fan of buffets, either. The only one we always go to is Boma. It just feels different from the others somehow... The other buffets don't appeal to us -- we prefer sit-down restaurants with menus or family-style ones like 'Ohana.

 

[mitchwebb]

I can not stand spending the $28 dollars for two out of three daughters that would be happy splitting a grill chesse and a side salad. Which is actually the same for me. We always do at least one buffet for the characters but would rather spend that money on a better quality sitdown dinner.

 

[2cats1kid]

I'm not a fan of buffets either. I honestly don't think about people handling the spoons or how long it's been sitting out or whatever, but I don't like the random collection of food I end up with on my plate (I know, my fault, but I just think I'll try a bit of this and a bit of that and that looks nice....). I never really enjoy the result. I'd sooner have a plate of food that was intended to all go together and be done.

 

[xenole]

I prefer buffets. There's no guarantee that hygiene standards on served food are any better. If you worry about everything like that, you might as well not be alive - you'll never get 100% perfection hygiene wise in all walks of life.

I also bregrudge going somewhere like Le Cellier, getting a main course which consists of a slice of carrot, 1 scallop and a dribbling of sauce and then paying $30 for the "gourmet cuisine".
Last time a group of us went to somewhere like that, we ended up in Pizza Hut afterwards as we wanted something to eat, not a tiny portion with fancy presentation costing an arm & a leg - in the end it's all going to the same place

I like a range of foods to try if I'm on holiday especially and buffets give me the chance to have things like scrambled egg, bacon, pancakes, home fries etc on the same plate when back home it would be toast + egg or pancakes once a year on Shrove Tuesday.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Don't like them. Reason #1: It's a major germ fest and I find myself always washing my hands/sanitizing them bc all those people before me touched those same spoons and now I'm eating my bread, etc. Reason #2: At Disney, it is expensive for a buffet and I don't eat enough. I remember the days of $2 buffets in Las Vegas (for better food).

I never do the buffets at WDW anymore.

 

[Laura]

For me it depends on the buffet. At home, I looooove Indian buffets, where a lot of the food is stew-like and won't be gross after five minutes in a chafing dish. Also there are a couple local buffets where it's really busy when we go and the turnover times of the food are pretty good. I'm a vegetarian and DH is a diabetic (DD is a baby), so at a buffet I can find something to eat and DH can eat right away if he needs to for his sugar levels.

At WDW, I've only been to Biergarten, Crystal Palace and Boma. They were very busy and the food was very good, IMO. At a regular restaurant sometimes my food will sit waiting for others' meals to be finished and I received a cold, wilted meal. At least at a buffet I can avoid what looks like it's been sitting around.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Well yes and no...we really enjoy breakfast buffets like Boma, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys and Cape May and very few dinne ones like Cape May Clambake and Beirgarten.

There are no other dinner buffets that we like, the food is terrible and the noise level is ridiculous so we stay away from those but the ones I mentioned above, well, we have never had a bad experience with them

We do prefer sit down meals where we are waited on and the food is supposed to be made to order but the last few trips we have felt rushed and the food was brought out cold or dried out so we sent it back and asked for a freshly made one....

 

[blanq]

Buffet non-lover here. I understand the draw for some families (especially those with little ones who might have a harder time sitting through a long TS meal), and I get why WDW has so many, but I really am not a fan. I do like Boma, Fresh and Tusker House (only for lunch/dinner), but otherwise I tend to stay clear of them. It is hard to keep the food hot and from drying out, and most places that serve buffets seem to be out of control loud and frantic. Plus, I have seen one too many unsupervised kids touching food and not taking it, and that is a deterent. I am amazed how many people like them though. Sometimes I read threads of people wanting feedback on their dining picks and almost every one is a buffet and/or character meal. I am a TS kind of a girl, but I would rather do CS for every meal than choose a buffet.

 

[carps09]

I agree with you - at least when I'm on vacation. I want to be served! Also, because the cost of buffets is so high at Disney, I feel like I make myself eat more than I actually want. And, trying to coordinate when to go to the buffet at the character meals is always distracting for me. I know they'll all get to my table eventually, but I still feel like I have to time it just right!

 

[k5thbeatle]

I just don't like the whole concept. I'd rather have a meal prepared for me than go through a line with a herd of other people getting food that was prepared an hour ago sitting in a warmer.

Not to mention that at WDW kids go through and grab stuff and put it back, people sneeze on stuff, etc.

 

[DaisyLynn]

I don't like buffets, simply because I don't like having to get up from my table for a salad plate, then my entree then my dessert. I'm also kind of clumsy. I always lose something off the plate, like a roll bouncing off onto the floor. I could never be a server in a restaurant! I also don't like herding along a buffet line.

I do completely understand why buffets work so well for some...most of my family loves them, for the variety and the all-you-can-eat factor. It's just not for me...