Can you tell it's almost my 180 day?! Trails End?

[supersuperwendy]

Another opinion please!

How is the Trail's End Buffet for dinner? We've never tried it and I thought it might be a nice break from the MK to take a trip over to the campground. Any good?

 

[CamColt]

This is one of our favorites! We gave it a shot back in the summer of 09 and have been back 3 more times since. We find there is a wide variety, especially for our very picky son, and everything we have had is delicious. Our sons are past the character stage so it is nice to have a buffet, without the cost of characters. And it is a nice boat ride over there, a relaxing break from the parks.

 

[Havana]

I was excited to try this restaurant in Oct, but was extremely disappointed. Sorry I have to say this was the worst restaurant I have been to at Disney. The Buffet was a mess, food on the floor and dripped all over other dishes. The food was fair, nothing special. The cleanliness especially ruined the restaurant for us.

 

[supersuperwendy]

Well maybe if we get there for an early dinner when the buffet first opens it won't be so messy. I saw on the menu they have shrimp...still true? My mom would enjoy that. I do have a question about the best way to get there. If we leave from the Beach Club and go over to DHS and board the FW bus how do we get to the restaurant once we reach the campground? Or..should we take the bus to MK then the boat to FW?

 

[twinboysmom]

They had peel and eat shrimp when we went in May. It was very clean when we went. I also went several years ago and it was spotless then too so maybe this was an isolated incident for the pp. Food wise, we enjoyed it but I would compare it to a Ryans or maybe a golden corral.

 

[POLY1985]

We booked it for our June trip because my husband requested it. I'm not a huge buffet fan, but I thought it was good. The online menu says that there are peel and eat shrimp.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Trails End: (rev 10/4/11)
. . . food price value: B
. . . food quality: B
. . . food quantity: B
. . . food prep speed: B
. . . food selection: C
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: C
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: D
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: C
. . . character interaction: n/a

NOTE: The above ratings are for breakfast and dinner,
which have good, tasty comfort food. We like them both
as dining alternatives, as they are reasonably priced,
especially for Disney. Lunch, however, is far-far behind
in quality and value. In Spring-2011, they changed lunch
menus and we no longer recommend midday Trail's End.
For dinner, try the "make-your-own-potato" bar.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've been visiting here for years....thought it was our own little secret place but now....everyone goes there that reservations are definetely needed.....years ago, we'd boat over for dinner and hardly run into anyone....we also would head over and sit in Crocketts Taven (lower floor) and have pizza and pitchers of beer (arrival nite ritual) but it has become a popular spot for many....

Breakfast at TE is a must for us.....and dinner too, best and cheapest buffet on property....lunch not so great...but we never do lunch anymore......

It's always been clean, staff attentive and down home type vittles (wish they stil had the make your own pizzas from many years ago).....but like I said above....getting really popular and many a trip we've gone over with no ADR and guest were lined up out the door and a porch was filled, even those had ADR's and were waiting.....now we make the one ADR for there for a trip......

 

[chartle]

1. I do have a question about the best way to get there. If we leave from the Beach Club and go over to DHS and board the FW bus how do we get to the restaurant once we reach the campground?

2. Or..should we take the bus to MK then the boat to FW?

1. You would have to take another short internal bus to get back to Trails End

2. Much quicker and direct, once off the boat its a short walk.

 

[sharadoc]

chartle, it's never a good idea to use a DHS bus if there's another option!

Count us in as a must-do every trip! It's always first on our list. The value is great for a buffet at Disney. The menu is as good as any other buffet, it's just missing all the "filler" crap and the chicken nuggets.

You can have a basic salad bar with peel-n-eat shrimp, 2 different types of potatoes, corn, green beans, carrots, rice, fried chicken, grilled chicken, ribs, carved roast, cornbread, chili or soup, pizza and a make-your-own sundae bar, plus a few types of cookies and rice krispie treats. What more could you want??

We took friends there last year and they commented on how nice it was and a great value for the price.

For anyone who has gone during free dining, it's the fall-back restaurant for many people. It's still a buffet so people are willing to travel there for the all you can eat pigout. That's usually when it gets messy and crowded.

You also can hit too many people travelling there if your ADR is near a HDDR start time.

Make a later reservation, then move over to the beach for Wishes and the Electrical Water Pageant. Great way to spend the evening.

 

[beccasmom]

We enjoy it for dinner. The value and food variety are good. We have always had good service - drink orders, plate clearing , etc. It is basic food - salad bar, peeled shrimp, baked and fried chicken, beef, chili, pizza, etc. The men in my family especially love it.

 

[beccasmom]

We enjoy it for dinner. The value and food variety are good. We have always had good service - drink orders, plate clearing , etc. It is basic food - salad bar, peeled shrimp, baked and fried chicken, beef, chili, pizza, etc. The men in my family especially love it.

 

[GeorgeAndDiana]

Obviously, this was just our snapshot experiences, but anyway.. for us, the buffet was craaaazy busy, it took awhile even with ADRs to get seated and the servers seemed slammed. They took care of us okay, and I'd call the menu good, comfort camping food (making that up) and a good value. You need a less packed schedule that evening of course, due to the transportation being slightly more complicated than other restaurants.

 

[Lauralooneyfordisney]

We went for dinner in Dec last year and it was nice and clean. The food was good but not a lot of variety. It is one of the cheaper buffets and was worth it to try it out. My only complaint was that we got there about 15 mins early and the placed was closed up and it looked like there was nobody around anywhere. We finally asked someone if they were open that night because we had a reservation when it opened and they said yes but you can't go in until that time. I had never been to a restaurant that they didn't even have food out 15 mins before they open or that they couldn't seat you a few minutes early to get a drink or something. We had a drink at the bar next door and walked over when it was time to open. There were a few other people who came up and they were told to put their name on a waiting list so they knew they were there.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We find it a simple but good choice for simple food. We like it when we stay at WL as it is very easy to take a boat over there as it would be from MK. The food was good, nothings special and the CMs there have always been extra kind and sooo friendly. I would not travel out of my way to eat there but if the situation puts us nearby, we certainly enjoy a meal there.

 

[s&k'smom]

We were there twice last November and were very happy. Place was spotless clean and service excellent. The food is not a huge variety like say Cape May but it was fresh, well maintained. We like it as it always calmer than some of the other restaurants and well it being November not very crowded. It's a must do for us and I will say they went out of there way for my son who with his special needs will not eat off a buffet and only wants french fries, they made them fresh, chef came out to speak to us and they only charged for the fries. Definately a must do for us.

 

[supersuperwendy]

Thanks for the great reviews! After a lot of consideration I think it might be best to stick with Cape May Cafe since it's at our resort. I'm thinking our toddler will be napping late afternoon so probably best to just eat there. I will definitely put Trails End on our list for 2013. I showed my kids some video of it on youtube and they want to try it! Thanks everyone!