Are there any positive restaurant experiences??

[andrea1213]

We're planning our very 1st trip to Disney. I have been reading this board to get ideas of which restaurants to try. We aren't doing the dining plan, as we are planning this trip on short notice, and I didn't think we'd get all the TS meals we'd need.

Anyways........with all the negative reports here.......the disappointing dining experiences, etc.......I am wondering which TS meals are a sure hit. What are a few restaurants that are pretty "no-fail"?? We are a family of 6 with 4 teens. We aren't fancy eaters, just nice casual dining.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have!

Andrea

 

[MickeyNicki]

We went last month and had nothing but fantastic meals...same thing with our June and Aug dining choices.....click on any of my review links to check them out

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Fortunately/unfortunately a restaurant can't always live up to people's expectations. These Disney restaurants mass produce food and that has and does limit creativity and ultimate control of what comes out of the kitchen. With that said, I can't say that I've ever had a bad meal at Disney, some have met my expectations and some have surpassed them.

Le Cellier at Epcot has really good food, steak, primerib, fish and the wonderful Beer Cheese Soup. It is howerver, usually very crowded and rather noisy.

Love Paris Bistro and the Italian Restaurant in Epcot

50's Prime Time Cafe at DHS, the wait staff makes or breaks the experience, it's also busy but IMO they have comfort food, very good Pot Roast, Really good Pot Pie according to DS(12), mashed potatoes, etc. We enjoy it.

Same with Liberty Tree Tavern at MK

More expensive, The Yachtsmen Steakhouse, really good.

Yak & Yeti, in AK, is in my opinion decent chinese food, not exceptional but good. Again it goes with expectation. Would one expect or be able to afford exceptional chinese food that needs to be prepared for hundreds and hundreds of people?

All of these have gotten good and bad reviews but I've been to these Disney Restaurants more times than my wallet would admit and I have no complaints of the food. Now, wait time etc. that's a different story, sometimes even w/ ADR the wait can be tedious.

Enjoy your family vacation, I'm envious. Not going back till June!

 

[sarehm]

After all my years the only place that I've had consistently bad service and food is Cap'n Jacks. But you may like it! We like to try all different places and have been very happy! Some of our loves are:
Crystal Palace
Plaza
Pecos Bill
Le Cellier
Teppan Edo
Yak & Yeti
Shutters at Caribbean Beach
Kona Cafe at Poly

Don't let other people's bad experiences bring you down. We all have our own opinions and likes and dislikes. Go and have a great time!

 

[princssdisnygina]

I think everyone has different opinions and tastebuds! I dont think you will get a 100% from any restaurant. The ones that are always good for us are:

Chef Mickeys (dinner)
Chefs de France
50's Prime Time Cafe
Whispering Canyon Cafe (bfst or dinner)

Good Luck!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I never had any negative experiences. Some places we love are Chef Mickey's, Kona Cafe for breakfast, Prime time, Teppen Edo, Tutto Italy ,Wave,Boma. There are a lot of great places.

 

[onelilspark]

I'd say the negative experiences are much more the exception rather than the rule. Don't forget when people have a negative experience, they tend to be more vocal about it

 

[schimj]

I personally have had few problems with resturants at WDW. I think the fact that most of the views here are on the negative side is no one talks about good service, just what they feel was below par. That is (my opinion of) why most comments on here are negative experiences. If somone asks for reviews of a place I've been to and I see the thread, I'll respond truthfully.

I have really enjoyed, in no praticular order:

Table Service:

• LTT (lunch)
• Cape May (dinner)
• WCC (dinner)
• Jiko (dinner)
• Boma (breakfast)
• CRT (dinner)
• Sci-Fi (lunch)
• 50's Prime Time (lunch)
• 1900 Park Fare (breakfast, dinner)
• Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
• Raglin Road (dinner)
• Capt'n Jack's (dinner)

Counter Service:

• Columbia Harbour House
• Cosmic Ray's
• Pizzafari
• Pizza Planet
• San Angel Inn Cantinia (not sure if the name's correct)
• Tangerine Cafe
• Lotus Blossom
• [Japan's CS...blanking on name]
• Backlot Express

finally, TS meals I/we (DF & I) didn't enjoy:

• CP (dinner...others have liked it, maybe we just caught them on a bad day)
• H&V (worst dinner buffet ever, and we've seen not-too-flattering posts about it as well)

Just my two cents...I'm as guilty as the next guy about posting negative feedback on resturants, but I also like to try to give credit where credit is due for good/great meals as well.

 

[crisi]

Because everyone's tastes and expectations are different, there are no sure hits....but here is some advice.

Know yourself - if you don't like buffets, it doesn't make any difference how good Boma/Biergarten/Crystal Palace/etc is - you probably aren't going to like buffets. I had a very good key lime creme brulee that I didn't like once - I don't LIKE key lime - why did I order it??????

Read the menus - if nothing or only one thing interests you, it probably isn't the restaurant for you.

Go with reasonable expectations. We generally like Le Cellier, but if I expect the best steak I've ever had in my life, it would be a very disappointing experience - I've had many much better steaks.

Understand why people like or dislike something - and try and get a feeling for when they last went. Brown Derby was HORRIBLE - FIFTEEN years ago when I went. I haven't been back, but it might be a lot better now.

Get a feel for the posters here if you are going to value their opinions. The difference in opinion between someone who considers themselves a food snob and gives a food critics opinion of California Grill is going to mean a lot if you have similar tastes - and very little if you think Olive Garden is great and who would EVER pay $100 for a bottle of wine.

Understand that the value of some places isn't in the food - its in the experience. Sci Fi - not great food - awesome experience.

Finally, since you aren't on the dining plan and are first timers - have a realistic idea of the value dining takes within a trip. I LOVE my sit down dinners, but its two hours out of my vacation day and a lot of planning. There are a lot of counter service places that are good and involve a lot less committment in terms of time and money.

 

[drew64]

Most restaurants are fine. I have never had major issues.
Remember, complainers are more likely to be vocal so you see more of the negative and it tends to get exagerated in the telling.

Also, don't judge Disney by opinions here. Posters are a tiny fraction of visitors to Disney and not fully representative of the experience of most.

 

[TifffanyD]

I have really enjoyed, in no praticular order:

Table Service:

• LTT (lunch)
• Cape May (dinner)
• WCC (dinner)
• Jiko (dinner)
• Boma (breakfast)
• CRT (dinner)
• Sci-Fi (lunch)
• 50's Prime Time (lunch)
• 1900 Park Fare (breakfast, dinner)
• Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
• Raglin Road (dinner)
• Capt'n Jack's (dinner)

As the DF I want to add Ohana dinner - we both loved this! Best. Bread. EVER.

 

[schimj]

As the DF I want to add Ohana dinner - we both loved this! Best. Bread. EVER.

After speaking w/ DF we both realized I forgot a couple others that we like/love:

• Rose & Crown (so far, we've done lunch only)
• Coral Reef (lunch & dinner, loved both. Get the Mahi Mahi if you like white fish. Quite tasty.)
• Chef's De France (dinner) - was ok...thought if we didn't have DDP, it would have been a bit much $ for what was offered, but a good meal. Just not a "must do" on every trip.

 

[webray]

Everything on disney property is nice casual dining with the exception of Victoria and Albert's.

For you family who enjoys nice casual dining...and I am guessing great food is a must..I would suggest these based on what hubby, myself and our kids love.

Artist Point, Flying Fish, Jiko, Le Bistro, Blue Zoo, IL Mulino, Yak and Yeti,
50's Prime Time, The Wave, San Angel Inn, Marrakesh, Biergarten, Chefs de France and Tutto.

Always remember to take each review you read with a grain of salt, as the people writing them come from all different backgrounds and have had all different food experiences.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Caressa]

We love eating at Disney. Read the reviews. I think they are pretty accurate. What is it your looking for? Character interaction ( Chef Mickey). Great food served family style but different from the norm ( O'Hana) and may I add yum yum yum. Typical home cooked meal and very tasty 50's prime time cafe.

Here are some of our family (DH44 ME 36 DD13 DS11 DS8) favorites


TS
Teppan Edo
O'Hana
Boma

CS
Wolfgang Puck Express - great pizza

snacks

Aloha Isle - Dole Whip Float
Main Street Bakery - french toast loaf
Goofy Candy Co. - Design your own rice krispy treat

 

[SydneyFalco]

There is no such animal as a Disney Restaurant without an ardent detractor. Just doesn't exist. People can name you all the restaurants they want, there will always be somebody who was accidentally served something raw and/or mutagenic, made to wait six hours, or was possibly horribly violated by stormtroopers ... er, the wait staff.

But those are the EXCEPTIONS. Look at the menus and go with a free, open mind. Like as not, you'll enjoy it.

Taking all of the "dining horror stories" I've read about into account, and judging that against the positives, and discounting the oddballs who seem to expect that their hard earned cash entitles them to instand seating, refills on demand by smiling, floating cherubim and Kobe beef in their hamburgers, generally the dining experiences puff out at around a seventy to eighty percent success rate, with just as big a percentage of diners wowed off their feet as sickened to their socks.

I haven't had my dining horror story yet, having only gone to maybe seven service meals in all my Disney travels as an adult. I'm almost looking forward to it. As long as it doesn't, y'know, involve severed thumbs.

 

[rcraw45425]

Family favorites for us (in no particular order) are: 'Ohana (dinner, although our breakfast experience there was good as well), Sci Fi Dine In, Nine Dragons (ate there last week after the renovations, food still good and decent portions), Columbua Harbor House (CS), Pecos Bills, Cosmic Rays, Electric Umbrella, Flame Tree Barbeque, Yachtsman Steakhouse, even the new T-Rex at DTD. Our only collossally bad experiences were Hollywood and Vine and Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace. As someone mentioned, everyone has different tastes.

 

[RMulieri]

On our most recent trip in Sept ..we had nothing but positive experiences( and we went on the dining plan during free dining) we loved Cape May buffet,Le Cellier,Marrakesh, Princess storybook breakfast, and Les Chefs de France..no complaints here.

 

[Tink901]

1900 Park Fare, Kona Cafe(breakfast), Cape May Cafe(breakfast), Yachtsman Steakhouse.

 

[snowbunny]

I am wondering which TS meals are a sure hit.

For us two favorites for food and great service:
Artist Point
Flying Fish

Probably the worst meal, foodwise, that I've had on property is at a perennial Dis favorite, 'Ohana. Great view of the July 4th fireworks however!

 

[Eastern]

I have teen boys and they tend to like buffets so they can choose (or re-choose) what looks good to them. I don't think you can go wrong with character meals: it's usually a festive atmosphere and there is something for everyone. We have enjoyed 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe, and Garden Grill (have been to each multiple times). You must do at least one character buffet, and just make sure to check that the characters will be there when you are.

The Plaza (TS burger & sandwich place) in MK is another place we have enjoyed, and not too expensive. I also liked Pinocchio's in MK for CS (I know I'll get flak for that one, lol)

Sci-Fi dine in was fun and the food was fine.

Next trip we will try Teppan Edo in WS as I have heard that it is popular with teens.