Bad Experiences

[weich1001]

I'm considering these for theupcoming trip. Has anyone had recent bad experience(s) at any of the following restaurants that would casue you not to go back again?

-Mama Melrose's
-Cinderella's Royal Table-Lunch
-Earl of Sandwich
-Wolfgang PuckExpress
-Hoop De Doo Review
-Narcoose's
-Donald's Safari Breakfast
-Peco Bills
-Columbia House

 

[BonnieJean925]

we went to the hoopdeedoo last visit in 09, and I loved it! Great entertainment, great food, and it was my daughters b-day and they included her name in the show. We really enjoyed it. But from other posters, I have heard that sitting near the kitchen/service door is kinda distracting. But I did not have that experience.

You need to get there early, Disney transportation is unpredictable, so we kind of sat around for a while before. But it was fine, no worse than waiting to get on Toy Story Mania!!!

 

[Belle5]

I would recommend watching a youtube video of Hoop-de-Doo to see if it's your family's kind of humor. We hated it and it was a TON of money down the drain. You may love it. I feel like it's a cross between a Vaudeville show and Hee-Haw...just not our cup of tea.

 

[sweeteypie1118]

I was at WPE last month and love it. We ate there twice during our stay. I think its the best CS value in Disney. I've been to Hoop de doo twice, but not on this past trip. The show is kind of corny, but we thought it was something different and fun. They have the best fried chicken EVER!!! We went to Mama Melrose lat month also. We usually go because of The Fantasmic package. Never our favorite meal, but certainly not terrible.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Places we won't be back to:

Crystal Palace Dinner - Just didn't enjoy the food
The Garden Grill - Really Really didn't enjoy the food... or the service.
Le Cellier - tried twice... bad service both times and meal wrong both times
Jiko - worst service we ever experienced on property
Sanaa - I got very very sick from it--so I don't think I could go back.
Teppan Edo - Not a great value for us compared to local hibatchi at home.

Didn't have a great experience at Narcoossee's, but trying it again in November.

Had a terrible time at California Grill (food and service) the last time we were there, but previous had a great time on every trip. Sitting it out this time. Will return in the future.

 

[TDC Nala]

It doesn't make much sense to ask for bad experiences from others when deciding on a restaurant. If you read the reviews on the board a bit, you will find out that one person's favorite restaurant is another person's never return because they thought it was awful, the kitchen messed up their orders, they got bad service, etc.

In the above post the poster lists several restaurants that for whatever reason they will never return to - they list having extremely bad experiences at Sanaa, Jiko, Teppan Edo and California Grill. These are some of my favorites. I've been going back to those for years. Also Le Cellier - which is overall the most popular restaurant on WDW property.

Another poster will never go back to the Hoop de Doo because they didn't like the humor in the show. That may not be the case with you. You might love the humor in the show.

I've never been back to Narcoosees. I wasn't all that impressed with the food, but it wasn't bad and I didn't have a bad experience. There are just what I consider to be much better restaurants in the area. Someone else will likely now come on and say Narcoosees is the best restaurant at WDW.

Don't go by what other people say about which restaurants they would never go back to. Look at the restaurants you are interested in, review the menu, and go if you think the menu looks good.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I'm considering these for theupcoming trip. Has anyone had recent bad experience(s) at any of the following restaurants that would casue you not to go back again?
-Mama Melrose's
-Cinderella's Royal Table-Lunch
-Earl of Sandwich
-Wolfgang PuckExpress
-Hoop De Doo Review
-Narcoose's
-Donald's Safari Breakfast
-Peco Bills
-Columbia House

I've been reading restaurant reviews for a few years now and I think TDC Nala's post above is right on target. Expectations have a lot to do it. I ignore restaurant reviews that do not have anything specific. Here's a few of my own experiences.

Hoop Dee Doo -- went in 2009. Read about it. Watched the YouTube videos. Looked dumb. But I thought I'd go because it's a tradition and many people like it. It was hilarious! DS4 laughed non-stop. Our waitress was funny. The food was half-decent too. It was fried chicken and such. I wasn't expecting fine dining. But I think some people will complain because of the food. Hey, it's fried chicken served in a metal bucket... It's Hoop Dee Doo... did you expect something different?

Narcoosees -- went in 2009, 2010, and going again next week. Because it's the best food on Earth? No... I'd much rather eat at Flying Fish Cafe. But, the food is very good, but it's not going to have the fancy presentation seen at some other signatures. But we can ride the boat from Magic Kingdom, the restaurant is right at the dock. And we can walk to the lobby and enjoy a visit and listen to the orchestra, and monorail back. Getting there and back to MK is part of the fun. And if timed right, the electric lighted boat parade (can never remember what it's called) passes right by Narcoosees a few minutes after 9pm I believe.

Mama Melrose -- No thank you. BORING!!! This is just like any other chain Italian average restaurant at home. Why would I go there when I can go to Sci Fi Diner or 50s Prime Time and have a little fun with my meal. I can eat food at home. At Disney, we go to 2 different kinds of restaurants... the ones that have some fun attached to it... and the ones that just have great food.

Tusker House -- I haven't seen too many complaints about this place. Good Food, and soon there will be characters at breakfast and lunch. This will remain our breakfast place because we LOVE the food at Yak and Yeti for lunch (but you will find many negative review of Yak too). Yak and Yeti is probably our favorite restaurant in Disney, next to Flying Fish Cafe (for places without characters).

Here's one not on your list. No one likes Marrakesh at Epcot. I'm sure you could walk in without a reservation anytime. I liked the food. It's a little adventurous. But I loved the musicians there. GREAT music.

We are going to Whispering Canyon Cafe again. You can read my own review (link below) and see I didn't like it. But we are going again... why you ask? There's some strange lure that brings me back. Maybe it's the weird flavored milkshakes. Maybe it's the antics that are so incredibly dumb and corny, it's good exercise for all my eye rolling. But DS laughs at the stuff they do. I'll just order something different than the skillet this time.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Out of those, I would not go back to Earl of Sandwich. I don't particularly get the hype for the food. I last ate there in October 2009 and the staff was far from helpful. Maybe it's improved, but I still am not interested in going back.

 

[cbg1027]

I would not return to Narcoossee's, but not because the experience was bad. I would not return because the experience did not match the signature price tag. The food was decent, but not wonderful. The service was decent, but not great. The setting was nice, but not signature worthy - it felt like a casual New England seaside restaurant. So for all of that, I am willing to pay 'regular' Disney prices, but I want a signature experience for entrees in the $30-60 range, and Narcoossee's didn't give me that.

BTW, WPE and CHH were great.

 

[auntfrannie]

I've given Narcoossee's three chances. They just aren't up to signature standards. Service each time has been mediocre at best. The food isn't anything special, either.

 

[wolf29]

Love Earl of Sandwich. Also liked Puck's, Hoop Dee Doo (though 2 credits is a bit steep), & Donald's. Pecos & Columbia House are decent CS options in the Park. Found Mama's to be ok, nothing I'd rush back to.

 

[leebee]

CRT is off our list forever. NOT even worth it for the experience of eating in "The Castle." For starters, the food is mediocre at best (but have only done b'fast). It's small, the place is packed, the kids are on high-adrenaline, ditto for the parents, the princesses are hurried. I always thought it'd be so magical to dine while overlooking the MK, but the "hostess" told us not to bother waiting for a table seat as most of the windows are frosted over. Food and character interaction are FAR better at 1900 Park Fair for dinner, where you get Cindy and the Prince, Stepmother/sisters, and mice.

We love WPE... the food is outstanding and the best use of a cs credit anywhere in WDW, IMO.

We like MM just fine, but it IS only maybe a step above Olive Garden, without the unlimited salad and breadsticks. However, choices are limited at DHS. Brown Derby is 2 credits, Sci-Fi food is bad, and we like 50's Prime Time but get bored with the plain comfort food and the schtick that goes along with- so we'll eat at MM because we know the food is decent and it's a nice break. However, our new default plan when at DHS and needing dinner is to take the boat to the Boardwalk and go to Kouzzina or Flying Fish... or any of the other, very good Boardwalk/Epcot resort area restaurants.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Maybe it's just me, but I found Downtown Disney very dull the last couple of times we were there. So much of it is boarded up, but I don't think it's worth spending any time there, especially with the current theme park ticket structure.

WPE and Earl of Sandwich may be O.K. (haven't eaten at either personally), Downtown itself just isn't worth our vacation time anymore. I'd rather spend another day at one of the parks and go somewhere like Kringla Bakery in Epcot or Cosmic Ray's in the MK.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

I'm considering these for theupcoming trip. Has anyone had recent bad experience(s) at any of the following restaurants that would casue you not to go back again?

-Mama Melrose's
-Cinderella's Royal Table-Lunch
-Earl of Sandwich
-Wolfgang PuckExpress
-Hoop De Doo Review
-Narcoose's
-Donald's Safari Breakfast
-Peco Bills
-Columbia House

The opposite - Hoop de Doo and Narcoosee's were two of my best meals ever at WDW!

Columbia House, on the other hand, is just fried fast food in crowds, bleh. I think people go there because it is convenient and cheaper than other park food. But I'd spring for the Liberty Tree Tavern near there instead.

P.S. Athough it wasn't on your list, a couple people mentioned bad experiences at Sanaa, so I have to counter that by saying we went in the afternoon when it was not crowded a couple of times, and absolutely loved the sampler plates of breads, salads, and appetizers, not to mention the specialty cocktails. It is one of my new fave Disney restaurants. And you can see animals while you eat!

 

[PoohsFan1]

Out of the ones on your list we have eaten at Pecos Bills, Columbia House, CRT (breakfast and dinner), Donald's Breakfast Safari, and Narcoossee's. We have never had a bad experience at any of those places, however the only thing I do have to say about CRT is the last time we ate there (back in May) we dined there for dinner (had a wonderful dinner, wonderful character interaction, and wonderful service), the only thing wrong with it was that for some reason our table was underneath a part of the ceiling that was leaking water therefore my DD10 and DH had drips of water fall next to them. We asked to be moved to another table, but since it was packed that night, that was not going to be an option. Instead they just moved our table at bit out of the way, but it still really didn't help. Other than that one slight problem, we still had a wonderful time and will be returning for dinner on our upcoming January trip.

 

[DeborahA]

I think TDC Nala is spot on. We have been to Disney many times and have always tried new places in addition to revisiting our favorites. I think of all the times we would have missed a wonderful experience if we had read too many reviews and changed our plans. We know what we consider when choosing where to eat and many times it is not about the food. We did not particularly care for the food at Marrakesh, it tasted over cooked and reheated, but the beauty of the surroundings and the music and dancing made it a place we would try again. I think you should use these boards as a springboard and go for it.

 

[captaindavidhook]

CRT for dinner. Last summer we had a brutual waiter. He was a complete moron. He gave me a butter knife to cut my lamb chops. Before I knew it, he was gone. He didn't come back til like 20 mins later. I was a furious. If it wasn't for my niece I would of went off on him. He was a idot, plain and simple. On top of that the lamb chops were small as anything and sucked. I left my brother and his family and walked over to pinnochino's haus and had a meatball s'which there. I can tell u this-the meal and service was a lot better there then at CRT.

 

[MickeyNicki]

While I am not a fan of Narcoossee's or EoS it is nothing that would stop me from going back

Narcoossees was great for appies and desserts, we were just not thrilled with our entrees

EoS, DH loves the place but I do not care for it that much...probably because all the sandwiches are served hot and if you ask for them not to be it doesnt matter because the bread is hot