Can you share a place you couldnt wait to eat but was a huge letdown

[disneysteve]

Food and Wine is underwhelming for me. A few good bites, but mostly poorly cooked tastes. Best bet there is drinks and desserts.

We're honestly not fans either. Not so much because the food isn't good but just that we don't really enjoy the experience. When it's time to eat, we want to sit down in an air conditioned space and eat our food, cool off, and rest a bit before continuing on in the parks. And we all want to eat together at the same time. With F&W, none of that happens. I might want something at one booth but DW and DD don't. I'm not going to stand in line and get something and have them twiddle their thumbs while I eat it, and then I have to do the same when one of them finds something. And DD is vegetarian and pretty picky so it's highly unlikely that she would want anything at any of the kiosks anyway and would just go to one of the places we normally eat for her meal. We'd end up spending half the day having lunch. And it would cost a lot more too. No thanks. We'll stick to lunch or dinner at Sunshine Seasons when we're in Epcot.

 

[jenjersnap]

Curious what you did not like about Cape May's breakfast. Its a buffet with the basics...eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, scones, etc. etc. The quality of the food is exactly what you would expect a breakfast buffet to be so I know what to expect. How was your experience?

You are correct, it is basic, way too basic. It has many fewer selections than other WDW buffets and, as I said, I hate the buffet set up.

 

[Lilsia]

We're honestly not fans either. Not so much because the food isn't good but just that we don't really enjoy the experience. When it's time to eat, we want to sit down in an air conditioned space and eat our food, cool off, and rest a bit before continuing on in the parks. And we all want to eat together at the same time. With F&W, none of that happens. I might want something at one booth but DW and DD don't. I'm not going to stand in line and get something and have them twiddle their thumbs while I eat it, and then I have to do the same when one of them finds something. And DD is vegetarian and pretty picky so it's highly unlikely that she would want anything at any of the kiosks anyway and would just go to one of the places we normally eat for her meal. We'd end up spending half the day having lunch. And it would cost a lot more too. No thanks. We'll stick to lunch or dinner at Sunshine Seasons when we're in Epcot.

I hear a lot of people describing the F&WF as if it is ONLY the food booths. I have been going for years for the event and do not eat much from the food booths. But I do attend a lot of their seminars and special events. To me, that is the big draw for going. It really is a fun atmosphere because you tend to see the same people at these event year after year. My favorite is the Hibachi Experience and I have gone every year to that event since they started it a few years ago. The staff knows me and there are always a few groups of people that are repeat guests. So we always have a great time. Even the smaller events at the festival center with the chefs are fun.

 

[disneysteve]

I hear a lot of people describing the F&WF as if it is ONLY the food booths. I have been going for years for the event and do not eat much from the food booths. But I do attend a lot of their seminars and special events. To me, that is the big draw for going. It really is a fun atmosphere because you tend to see the same people at these event year after year. My favorite is the Hibachi Experience and I have gone every year to that event since they started it a few years ago. The staff knows me and there are always a few groups of people that are repeat guests. So we always have a great time. Even the smaller events at the festival center with the chefs are fun.

This sounds a lot more like how we would do F&W if we were locals. It's just not something we're going to do while on vacation, especially if our daughter is with us.

And I will say that 3 years ago my wife and I happened to be in Disney World just the 2 of us during F&W. It was the first time we actually "did" F&W and went to the kiosks for stuff. It was fun. I can't deny that. It was also far more expensive than our usual Disney dining, so it's not something I would do a lot of but for one day it was neat to do something different.

 

[TreAntDeu]

Tiffins. The pork belly ramen was just noodles with chunks of undercooked(literally white) fat. No meat at all.

Never had anything better than average there. Service is over the top and annoying. Given them 3 chances.

Nomad is severely over-priced, which was the only positive about Tiffins for us.

Also, I hate that servers have to explain Sous Vide every-time im in there. I don't care how you cook the food. TONS of restaurants use Sous Vide(or immersion circulators, technically). It's not impressive. They are increasingly common in the home as well.

I'll stick to Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.

 

[Lilsia]

This sounds a lot more like how we would do F&W if we were locals. It's just not something we're going to do while on vacation, especially if our daughter is with us.

And I will say that 3 years ago my wife and I happened to be in Disney World just the 2 of us during F&W. It was the first time we actually "did" F&W and went to the kiosks for stuff. It was fun. I can't deny that. It was also far more expensive than our usual Disney dining, so it's not something I would do a lot of but for one day it was neat to do something different.

My daughter has been asking me for years to take her with so that she can go to the seminars and try all of the different foods. But she is still in high school so I don't want to take her out for it. I am sure that as soon as she is free, she will go with me. I am lucky that I am able to take a solo trip just for the F&WF. Hubby holds down the fort at home and I am able to enjoy what I love to do. I can see not doing this if you are really not that interested. My main goal of the original post is to make those, whom may not realize there is more to the festival, aware that there is more then just the food booths.

 

[disneysteve]

My main goal of the original post is to make those, whom may not realize there is more to the festival, aware that there is more then just the food booths.

And that's a great point. There's also the Eat to the Beat concert series that takes place each night as part of F&W.

 

[lookame]

Be our guest dinner

I am a picky eater so this is somewhat of a me issue/somewhat of a restaurant itself issue

I ordered French onion soup for the apitizer (I didn’t see any others that seemed good and it was recommended) I took one sip and hated it so I ordered applesauce. The applesauce is essentially baby food it’s extremly thin and it has some sort of addition additive in it which made it taste weird

My entree arrive cold. The steak was good but it was cold, the mashed potatoes were cold and I was unimpressed by the entree as a whole.

Dessert was cute, though, not as cute as the pics I’ve seen. Our chip cups were just white, not colored in like the pics I’ve seen. The macron was subpar (though the raspberries were good), the gray stuff was good and I like white chocolate, I don’t like chocolate though so the truffle was left untouched.

Dinner took 3 hours! We would finish a coarse and wait 15 minutes or more not seeing our waiter during that time...it was rediculous. For a table service meal to take 2 credits I expected a much better expirience. The saving grace was my daughter meeting Beast. She dressed as Belle and curtseyed for him which made Beast dawn over her, they danced and he drew air hearts for her. It was very cute but I wouldn’t waste my credits or money on dinner just for a Beast meet again

 

[KearneyFam02]

Bongos - The menu sounded really good but we were very disappointed. It was our very first TS meal ever.
Crystal Palace - I expected much more than a buffet in a restaurant like that. It was subpar, very few things to choose from.
Casey's - just not a fan though we end up there every time and disappointed every time... mostly because its hard to eat the food while standing because there aren't ever any tables available. The food is ok, everything else just ruins it.
Yak & Yeti - wasn't at all what I thought it would be, which was amazing from what everyone else said. Waste of a credit.

 

[Alaskangirl02]

Sci-Fi Diner: the food was so bad. The concept was interesting, but our party of 6 was separated. We were so excited to get the reservation, yet so disappointed with our meal.
Be Our Guest (old menu- 2017): in addition to our food being disappointing, once our waitress realized we were on the dining plan, it appeared she didn’t want to serve us. Our experience here was a let down, sadly on a MNSSHP night.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Be Our Guest (old menu- 2017): in addition to our food being disappointing, once our waitress realized we were on the dining plan, it appeared she didn’t want to serve us.

Why would she care that you’re on the dining plan? Your method of payment doesn’t effect her in any way. Your tip would be the same on DDP or OOP

 

[Alaskangirl02]

Why would she care that you’re on the dining plan? Your method of payment doesn’t effect her in any way. Your tip would be the same on DDP or OOP

We had the Deluxe Plan, she didn’t want to accommodate the appetizers/ desserts.
We didn’t get refills on our drinks (no alcoholic drinks), yet she happily served all the other tables around us.
We left 20%, as we do (did) in all TS restaurants. But cancelled our second reservation later in the week.

 

[jbehr12]

The Hollywood Brown Derby. I was most excited for this out of all my reservations. It turned out being terrible. The service was really bad. We weren’t greeted for 20 minutes and it was a half hour before we had drinks. Second round took just as long, as did our desert and check. We were clearly an afterthought to our server. The first and only time I’ve ever severely undertipped at a Disney restaurant.

Food was decent, but not worth the price. The bad service may have spoiled it for me though.

The Brown Derby Lounge on the other hand was awesome. Great service, and all we got were drinks, small plates, and a Cobb salad. No disappointments at all! I’ll stick with the lounge.

 

[bpadair32]

Le Cellier, the steak was tough and the service was awful. Even the manager had an attitude.

 

[Mother Brer]

Jiko - not that it was bad! I just expected it to be great. My daughter ordered something off the kids meal that was 90% bok choy and weird mushrooms and A few macaroni noodles. Kind of a hard sell. I ate it and shared my entree with her, which also wasn’t incredible. Again, not bad, but far below what I thought it would be

 

[chelynnah]

The Hollywood Brown Derby. I was most excited for this out of all my reservations. It turned out being terrible. The service was really bad. We weren’t greeted for 20 minutes and it was a half hour before we had drinks. Second round took just as long, as did our desert and check. We were clearly an afterthought to our server. The first and only time I’ve ever severely undertipped at a Disney restaurant.

Food was decent, but not worth the price. The bad service may have spoiled it for me though.

The Brown Derby Lounge on the other hand was awesome. Great service, and all we got were drinks, small plates, and a Cobb salad. No disappointments at all! I’ll stick with the lounge.

I felt exactly the same about Brown Derby. Was there 2 years ago with my MIL. The food was good but we waited ages between each course. When she stopped by before dessert I said we were in a hurry and could we have our Fantasmic passes and bill right away when she brought dessert. Another 15 minutes for her to bring our desserts and another 15 after that for bill and fantasmic passes. And even then I had to ask again.

DH wants to try the lounge so I’m glad to hear the experience is better.

 

[nekonekoneko]

BOG pre the pre fixed change. Food was over hyped and sub par.

I'm actually with you, there. I'm going to give the new dinner one shot, and it's the last chance for this restaurant. If I'm not wowed by it, I'm probably never booking there, again.

I actually went back there a couple of weeks ago. The food has gotten better. Is it worth $60? Not really. $45-$50 is what it should cost. Is it worth 2 Table Service credits? Definitely not. For 2 TS, I'd rather use it on two 1 credit meals, or, if I have to find a 2 credit place: California Grill in The Contemporary.

 

[Kbosch]

I think every restaurant I was planning on making a reservation for is on this list. My last trip was about 15 years ago, and I guess some of my old favorites have changed!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I think every restaurant I was planning on making a reservation for is on this list. My last trip was about 15 years ago, and I guess some of my old favorites have changed!

Just about every restaurant in WDW is on one persons “best” list and another persons “worst”. While it’s fun to read all the reviews, I think it’s slways best to try a place for yourself and form your own opinion

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

I think every restaurant I was planning on making a reservation for is on this list. My last trip was about 15 years ago, and I guess some of my old favorites have changed!

Don’t be afraid to try them again. Some of our favorites are on this list (‘Ohana, Cape May).

That said :
Plaza Restaurant- Seriously, why is this a table service restaurant? It’s sandwiches.

Boatwrights- bad food, bad service, bad atmosphere

Coral Reef - for every reason mentioned above

Boma- Not that it’s bad. Food was great, to me, but I have a VERY picky family and it was all waaay outside their comfort zone. Service was so-so at best.

Katsura Grill (CS)- Food was nasty. Our chicken teriyaki was all grease, fat, and gristle. It was just awful. Which is weird as Teppan Edo is one of our all time favorites.

See, I love Le Cellier (beer cheese soup, anyone?). I just don’t think it’s worth 2 TS credits. We used to go every trip, haven’t been since it changed. I have a hard spending 2 credits on ANY meal for that matter. Disney restaurants are expensive enough. I don’t need them to be two meals worth expensive, which then forces me to pay out of pocket for one meal if I want to eat another day.