Counter Service Food

[allisonswonderland]

What happened at Disney, I have been in Aug the last 2 years and before that it was 1995, the counter Serv all have the same burger the same terrible pizza and hotdog. The counter Serv placed used to have different things, like Pinochios had friend chicken and the little restaurant next to Mrs Potts had pizza (it is now closed) What the heck happened? I guess it was just cheaper to buy bulk food...

 

[Darth Mickey]

I KNOW!!! Disney is getting pretty cheap now.I mean I HATE their "new" Fast food choices. The only good one they had was in the magic Kingdom in Tommorowland.Ironically,they closed THAT down too.

 

[Muffy]

You have to search at WDW for good CS. Try Tusker House or Flame Tree BBQ at AK next time. They are both excellent.

 

[CleveRocks]

I KNOW!!! Disney is getting pretty cheap now.I mean I HATE their "new" Fast food choices. The only good one they had was in the magic Kingdom in Tommorowland.Ironically,they closed THAT down too.

I don't know, maybe things have changed since I was there in May. During my week there, I had only two meals (dinner at Crystal Palace and at Hoop Dee Doo Revue) that WEREN'T counter service, and I ate good food (except I HATED the ribs at HDD). I didn't say GREAT food, but good, decent, often wholesome food.

I kept notes in my trip report. Some of my favorite counter service meals included:

1) freshly made Asian Chicken Salad that was really tasty: udon noodles, romaine lettuce, various veggies, moist cubes of chicken, and a really good, strong Asian salad dressing made with sesame oil. It was served in a modified Chinese food take-out container (with a round bottom and no lid flaps) along with chopsticks. CBR foodcourt

2) an absolutely mouth-watering "hand-tossed chicken caesar salad." My wife and I love making our own Caesar dressing and almost never order Caesar salad in restaurants, but she said it looked really good, and it tasted even better. It turns out they have a great system to make it fresh. The CM pulls a heaping plate of romaine lettuce out of a refrigerated drawer and dumps the lettuce into a refrigerated bowl that sits recessed in a modified sandwich board. CM then adds measured scoops of chicken cubes, grated parmasean cheese, croutons, and dressing, and then hand-tosses it in that recessed bowl. When it's all done, CM plates it on the original plate the lettuce was on, then tops it off with more parmasean cheese and a warm breadstick. Yum. CBR foodcourt

3) a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich with arugula and red peppers served on some type of hearty multi-grain bread. And also a delicious grilled veggie sandwich. Backlot Express, Disney-MGM Studios

4) Monstro's Turkey Sandwich. Pinocchio's Village Haus, Magic Kingdom

5) Bacon Cheeseburger and fries (hey, I'm human!). CBR foodcourt

6) Vegetarian wrap with a side of grapes. Cosmic Ray's, Magic Kingdom

7) Fish n' chips and clam chowder. Columbia Harbour House, Magic Kingdom

8) Split two dishes: roasted veggie sandwich, and something I forget the name of but was very much like pad thai. Wolfgang Puck Express, Downtown Disney

Not bad for counter service meals, huh? And these are just the ones I wrote about in my trip report -- I know there were others that I just can't remember. The food's out there, you just have to know about it and not settle for the nearest burger and dog stand. Of course there's a lot of terrible and unimaginative counter service food at WDW As you can see, I had no trouble finding food without resorting to burgers and fries too often. And I didn't even go into Epcot's World Showcase. I could've lived on a few meals just at Morocco's Tangierine Cafe alone! And I wish I'd gone to either Flame Tree or Tusker House at Animal Kingdom -- those menus looked great, but it just wasn't to be.

It's Thanksgiving morning, the house has the aromas of food my wife and I are cooking, but I'd trade it all to again be sitting outside Toy Story Pizza Planet (a good example of terrible counter service food) with my turkey sandwich takeout from Backlot Express.

-- Eric

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I've been going to WDW regularly since it opened (grew up in Winter Park), and I have to disagree with the comments that the quality of the CS food is going downhill. Remember the rubbery jello with the dollop of whipped cream? Remember the shoe leather-thick burgers??? Personally, I believe park food (both CS and TS) has improved remarkably in recent years. Just in MK, the tuna salad sandwiches at Columbia House and fixings bar at Pecos Bill's are excellent. AK has THE best CS food going: rotisserie chicken, wraps, corn chowder, etc. at Tusker House; fresh fruit plate and pulled pork at Flame Tree; and pizzas at Pizzafari. By avoiding the typical fast food hamburgers, I have found some wonderful meals at all of the parks.

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

I also have to disagree that the CS offerings aren't as good as they once were. I too believe that you have to search the right places to find good CS in WDW. All of the CS in World Showcase offer some different and tasty choices and as others have said Tusker House at AK is a great CS spot. We always enjoy Cosmic Rays at MK as it has the second counter with roasted chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. There are alot of CS that do serve chicken strips and burgers but, if you look around you can usually find what your searching for.

 

[JuneCleaver]

The chicken salad at Columbia Harbour House and the soups! Great alternative to burgers!

June

 

[Leota]

I have to disagree with the comments that the quality of the CS food is going downhill. Remember the rubbery jello with the dollop of whipped cream? Remember the shoe leather-thick burgers??? Personally, I believe park food (both CS and TS) has improved remarkably in recent years. Just in MK, the tuna salad sandwiches at Columbia House and fixings bar at Pecos Bill's are excellent. AK has THE best CS food going: rotisserie chicken, wraps, corn chowder, etc. at Tusker House; fresh fruit plate and pulled pork at Flame Tree; and pizzas at Pizzafari. By avoiding the typical fast food hamburgers, I have found some wonderful meals at all of the parks.

I totally agree with the above quote. I don't feel CS at WDW has gone downhill at all. There are some really great things to be found at CS if you venture beyond the burger/chicken thing. Some of my favs are the Tuna sandwich at Columbia Harbour House, the Chicken Salad at Pecos Bill, anything at Tangerine Cafe, the Chicken Flatbread at Seasons, anything at Tusker House, Pizza at Wolfgang Puck's Express, California Roll, Miso Soup & Ginger Dressed Salad at Yakatori House, Combo plate at Cantina San Angel....
Now CS in MGM is another story IMHO.....

 

[bicker]

CS has very significanly improved over the last 20 years. We have so many incredible choices now, where before it was really just the same old burgers and fries. I'm especially looking forward to the Studio Catering Company, and another trip to Tusker House.

 

[allisonswonderland]

I was not saying that it was all terrible, the pizza I thought was really bad, but it just seems like most of the places all have the exact same food. It did not used to be that way.

 

[bicker]

Again, I have to disagree. I remember bemoaning the fact that CS was so repetitive and boring in the past, but that has all radically changed. Here's a sampling of the variety of Counter Service meals now offered:

Shrimp Noodle Bowl - Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station
Smoked Turkey Legs - various
Grilled Turkey and Bacon Panini - Pinocchio Village Haus
BBQ Pork Sandwich - PECOS BILL
Shawarma Sandwiches - TANGIERINE CAFE
Japanese Curry - Yakitori House
Grilled Vegetable Cuban Sandwich - Seasons
Ground Lamb Kebab - Studio Catering Company
Sesame Chicken Salad - Back Lot Express
Grilled Salmon - Tusker House
Pot Stickers served in Asian spicy broth - Chakranadi Chicken Shop
1/2 Slab of St. Louis Ribs - Flame Tree BBQ

A far, far cry from the poor choices we had in the past.

 

[MScott1851]

3) a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich with arugula and red peppers served on some type of hearty multi-grain bread. And also a delicious grilled veggie sandwich. Backlot Express, Disney-MGM Studios

This was one of the best counter service meals I had all week while we were there. And DH, who is a picky eater, was more than satisfied with the variety offered. Maybe I was blinded by the thought of our sit down dinners every night.