Anyone else really dislike the counter service foods?

[Luv2Scrap]

This was my third trip since 2007 and it's official, I REALLY don't like the counter service meals. And for the most part, they pretty much all seem to be the same foods served wherever you go.

I just returned on Jan 20 and this was the first time DH was with. I'm a pretty picky person when it comes to food, so I always thought it was just me, but he totally agreed with me, and he's generally NOT picky about what he eats! In fact, he was convinced that the grilled chicken sandwich at the Electric Umbrella was acually one of the seagulls that kept swooping down on everyone...

We didn't do the dining plan this time (thank goodness!), so we ended up going to more table service restaurants and splitting meals because none of us could stand the counter service anymore!

One exception was breakfast at Pop. Chocolate chip pancakes were pretty darn good (but the bacon could use a little help! )

 

[Tiger926]

We used to think this way, so over the past 7 years, we've been eating 2-3 TS meals per day. Two years ago, hubby wanted to try the DP, so we had to eat at CS again, and discovered a few gems:

Earl of Sandwich
Cosmic Ray's
Tangierine Cafe
Wolfgang Puck
Pepper Market
Hurricane Hanna's Grill
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Mara

There are a few others within World Showcase as well. Of course, there are also a few that peoople rave about such as Sunshine Seasons, and we think it's yucky there. This past trip we did the Deluxe Plan, so 2-3 TS meals per day, as usual, but next trip, we are back to Tables in Wonderland Card (formerly DDE) as we think it might serve our needs better, so we are looking forward to taking it a bit more easy while dining at those few CS places listed.

That being said, we are very particular about what we eat: no fast food burgers/hot dogs/nachos (I think our daughter got a Casey's hot dog 1x in the 15 days we were there in May), no pop or candy. We enjoy sandwiches, soups, salads, roasted chicken/turkey, fruit and a few french fries once in awhile. Perhaps if you are a bit more selective with your choices, you might come around as we have. You really have to be selective with what you choose though - if you only eat burgers, chicken sandwiches and fries all day long, that is going to get old very fast! Honestly, Disney has really added some much healthier and tasty options to their CS meals.

TS restaurants are going downhill - we've eaten pretty much everywhere, multiple times, and although Signature restaurants are still very good, we have seen lots of negative changes at TS restaurants, so we feel that Disney has forced us to reintroduce ourselves to CS meals.

We are glad we've come around to this way of thinking, as it will save us money and time in the parks!

Happy eating, Tiger

 

[misslissa]

I have to agree with you. Some of the CS meals are horrible!

However, I really think I have perfected the art of finding awesome CS places.

Maybe refer to some of the threads on here about CS meals... there are a lot of good suggestions. Some of my favourite places are now CS places, but they have taken some research. Try going to allearsnet.com at looking at the menus. I think you had a good idea in splitting some though... DH and I used to do that before we discovered the DDP... and it worked out ok. We would split a big meal, and snack a lot during the day and do a TS at nite... or vise-versa.

My recommendations are:
MK - Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Place (really good potstickers, big filling rice dishes)
Epcot - Tangerine Cafe (awesome Med food)
Epcot - Mexican CS (with margaritas )
HS - Impossible, no good CS
AK - Flame Tree BBQ!!!!!!!
DTD - Wolf Gang Puck Express

 

[KatMark]

I have to agree with you. Some of the CS meals are horrible!

However, I really think I have perfected the art of finding awesome CS places.

Maybe refer to some of the threads on here about CS meals... there are a lot of good suggestions. Some of my favourite places are now CS places, but they have taken some research. Try going to allearsnet.com at looking at the menus. I think you had a good idea in splitting some though... DH and I used to do that before we discovered the DDP... and it worked out ok. We would split a big meal, and snack a lot during the day and do a TS at nite... or vise-versa.

My recommendations are:
MK - Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Place (really good potstickers, big filling rice dishes)The only problem with this is it is hardly ever open; we've been in April, July and September--and it has never been opened when we were tehre
Epcot - Tangerine Cafe (awesome Med food)
Epcot - Mexican CS (with margaritas )
HS - Impossible, no good CS agree wtih you here
AK - Flame Tree BBQ!!!!!!!
DTD - Wolf Gang Puck Express

We really like Cosmic Rays at MK--I fell in love with the barbecued pork sandwich with eclipse chips and my DH really, really liked the turkey wrap

 

[Tbelle1976]

I would agree for the most part. There does not seem to be alot of good food as far as CS goes, as well as not much variety. Although, I do have a few favorites that seem to be a must for each trip...

Cosmic Rays in MK
Flame Tree BBQ in AK...DH LOVES this place, every year we have to work it into our meal plans!
Cantina de San Angel in EPCOT...yummy, yummy, yummy!

 

[Time Traveler]

What's odd about places serving the same (or similar) food is that some of them consistantly serve it much worse than others. For example, burgers at Pecos Bill's are always MUCH better than at ABC Commissary, it doesn't seem like they can cook anything there :/

There are some good CS places with different choices, Wolfgang Puck Express being our favorite by far. They have a big menu with tons of good food and its more like a TS since they bring the food to you.

Other places we like:
Earl of Sandwich
Flame Tree BBQ
Cosmic Ray's
Mara
Pepper Market
Columbia Harbour House

 

[RMulieri]

Dh just said the same thing about our trip.We tend to stick with Cosmic Rays or Columbia Harbor House at MK, Sunshine Seasons at Epcot , and Wolfgang Pucks express or Earl of Sandwich at DTD...other than that it is alot of the same.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I see some places on these lists I wish I'd tried! Oh, I almost forgot, our best and cheapest CS meal was at the bakery in France at Epcot - we each had a ham & cheese croissant and a dessert. We liked it so muchw e did it again a few days later.

 

[johde]

It's been over a year since my last trip, but I've been able to do 5 to 6 days at Disney and eat most at CS places and eat well. As others have said, you need to explore you CS just like you do your TS options and plan out where you would like to go in each park. As others have said, I try tolimit myself to no more than 1 hamburger and 1 pizza during the trip. At MK, I like the Fish at Columbus Harbor House; Chicken Wraps and Hamburgers at Pacos Bills. At, AK I used to get the Salmon at Tusker House but now that that's a TS I will probably start going back to Flame Tree. At EPCOT, there are several places to eat. At DTD Earl of Sandwich, and Puck Express are both good, I havent tries Cookes but hope to on my next trip. DHS and the Water parks are probably the weak spots as far as variety in CS restaurants.

 

[NMAmy]

I'm not a huge fan of burgers/fries/chicken strip kind of meals. I love the salmon and butterfingers cheesecake at Sunshine Seasons (not mixed together, of course), the schwarma platter at Tangierine Cafe, and the hummus sandwich at Columbia Harbour House. I have yet to find any CS meal at DHS that I enjoy though.

There's some good CS places at WDW--you just have to look around until you find one you like.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I agree with much of what's already been listed for good counter service food.

I also like the Deli sandwich at Pizzafari - the chicken at POFQ - chicken alfredo at Pop Century - the sandwiches at Beachclub Marketplace (especially the roast beef and brie) - Tonga toast at Capt cooks.

 

[homerjay316]

I'venever had a problem with the lack of variety in CS choices because I think of CS as a "utilitarian" meal. I eat it because my body requires fuel, not because its pretty or fancy.

After giving it a little thought though, Disney should be able to replicate any menu seen in a fast food chain. Burgers, hot dogs, foot long sandwhiches, fried chicken, tacos, pizza by the slice, etc... are all viable possibilities. It seems like all you see (with some exceptions) is burgers though.

 

[Disnsyncey]

At, AK I used to get the Salmon at Tusker House but now that that's a TS I will probably start going back to Flame Tree.

dude, I LOVED Tusker House's food when it was a cs!!!!! I love Salmon, but never tried it there.....I bet it was good....I just couldn't tear myself away from the chicken salad! They need to put both of those on their buffet

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I'm vegetarian (DH is not) and neither of us are generally crazy about counter service food, BUT have found some good places.

We were at WDW this past weekend and found that the counter service in Morocco (Epcot) had really expanded it's menu. I had a yummy hot felafel wrap and DH had yellow rice and meatballs. We need to check out the other CS around the world showcase and see if they've expanded their menus too!

We also really like the samosas at the UK counter service. And their chips (french fries) are vegetarian (not fried with the fish) and are OUTSTANDING.

I like the Sunshine Seasons veggie/cheese sandwich pretty well too. In the MK, I light the lighthouse sandwich in Columbia Harbor House and the veggie sandwich at the Bakery.

AK--no good counter service.

DHS--no good counter service.

Loved the Mickey waffles with fresh fruit at POFQ this weekend. The waffles were freshly made (had to wait for them) and the strawberries were perfect.

 

[MissionMouse]

..Anyone else really dislike the counter service foods...

Totally. We have alway dined at TS and have witnessed the decine in TS too as the DDP brought about a shift in customers and a need to control expenses with fixed revenue. Disney should take a collection of CS restaurants and convert them to TS - no ADRs.

 

[Rootskate]

We can do it once or twice on a trip, but thats it. It gets old pretty quick. We do however, love the table service restaurants.

 

[bluslag]

I do not like CS meals also. The only one we like is Wolfgang Puck at DTD. When we go to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach we think they have the worst CS. We usually end up eating there but only because we are hungry swimming all day. I don't like hamburger or chicken sandwiches that have been waiting in the warmer. I'm not fond of there pizza either so I'm not really sure why we eat there. Maybe because for the last 2 years we have been on the DDP. We won't be this year so I think we will only spend money on food we know we like. I do like there cheap desserts though. I like any dessert!!

 

[snow.white]

I have to agree with OP. Every time we go to Disney we have CS meals and most of them are yucky, I never wanted to try the TS restaurants because i figured it would be the same horrible food as CS but for a lot more money, but thanks to the dis and all the food reviews we will be doing TS meals next month at Kona, Le Cellier, SCi-fi and possibly ohana's!

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Main reason we do the deluxe dining plan.

 

[perla75]

I've actually always had good luck with the CS food.

-I LOVE the chicken strips/nuggets.
-Had a great turkey sandwich from Captain Cooks at the Poly.
-Love the tuna sandwiches from Columbia Harbor House.
-Love the vegetarian platter at Tangierine Cafe

I also like the Mickey Waffles & their yogurt/granola for breakfast.