Did I make a poor choice in Tony's?

[Skatetigger]

We have ressies there next week as we're doing the party. I agree with others, you should try everything once and make your own decisions. I have been to places that others rave about and thought it's ok but nothing to write home about. Everyone's food tastes are different. What tastes good to me may not taste as good to you.

We wanted to try something different this trip as we've done LTT to death, while we love it, this is the we're trying new restaurant trip so we decided on Tony's. If it's not good we simply won't go back. I have seen some photos and the food looks yummy.

I hope you enjoy!!!

 

[phoenixflight]

I am a total food snob-i don't like hardly anything at the magic kingdom, the worst for me is CP and then the LTT. I only like to eat at CRT, if i can't get that PS and we don't want to leave the park to eat, we eat at Tonys or the Plaza. If your going to Tony's i would stick with sandwiches, flatbreads and salads. Its not that bad but its not a great meal- i feel it beats most of the CS.

You bet we have the ressie at CRT- -though I only booked the trip about 3 months out so I took the one (late dinner) slot we could get and planned the day around that

Anyway I know dinner at CRT that night will be special. Tony's, our lunch that day--will be what it will be. Honestly, I was thinking of doing what you're suggesting anyways and sticking with a sandwich or salad. That way, I have room for the tiramisu, and I'm a stickler for triamisu!

 

[tinkerbelx]

You bet we have the ressie at CRT- -though I only booked the trip about 3 months out so I took the one (late dinner) slot we could get and planned the day around that

Anyway I know dinner at CRT that night will be special. Tony's, our lunch that day--will be what it will be. Honestly, I was thinking of doing what you're suggesting anyways and sticking with a sandwich or salad. That way, I have room for the tiramisu, and I'm a stickler for triamisu!

Your going to love CRT, it is amazing. I am taking my DD there for her 1st trip to WDW-so excited. I can honestly say, that in the 35 plus trips to disney I have only had 2 really bad meals. One was at CP and the other surprisingly enough was at citricos- my hubby got bad fish. I am so surprised that the chef let it leave the kitchen. Everyone has different opinions and different tastes. So go enjoy tonys and judge for yourself.

 

[phoenixflight]

DH and I have been to CRT before and love it! Though apparently they don't serve the prime rib anymore.

DS, 5, is a first-time Disney visitor. Probably won't be the same as taking a little girl, but I still know we're gonna have a great time there.

 

[Brad Bishop]

I took my daughters (let's see.. 21 and 14 at the time this was in 2008) to CRT and got nothing out of it.

It wasn't horrible food, I'd say it was about the same as the Crystal Palace, but I was expecting something more out of it and I sort of felt like I was eating in a cafeteria (think Hollywood and Vine inside Hollywood Studios - it's basically a cafeteria) inside the castle.

It's one of those restaurants that, to me, look better from the street. It looks cool from the outside looking through those windows - you imagine all sorts of neat stuff that might be in there. For me, though, when I got in there I found it lacking - I also remember it being pricy which wouldn't have bothered me if it felt like something more than a cafeteria inside the castle.

Most other restaurants have a good bit more theming to them. If you go into the San Angel Inn at EPCOT if feels like you're on the patio next to a river at night - really neat. People may debate the food there, I happen to like it, but the whole package is really nice. The theming inside CRT felt, at the time, very minimal. Like a few banners and some columns.

Not trying to diminish it for others but more trying to give those that might be considering it a sort of head's up on it.

Anyway, there are many places there that have made it to my go-back list. The two that have not are CRT and the Garden Grill at EPCOT (which I remember reading at the time that people weren't impressed with but I figured I'd give it a shot - the overall consensus on the place - not great food, was right).

Getting back on topic - Tony's always seems really popular to me. Getting into it is like getting into Le Cellier at EPCOT. Le Cellier you have to book something like 6 months in advance (I booked in July for January and it was either a table at 4:30 or one at 7:15 or something - very popular place). Tony's, at least from my experience on trying to reserve a table, always seems booked and I assumed that was because people must like it.

One place that is pretty good on at the MK that a lot of people miss is the bakery. You can get muffins or sandwiches there and it's all pretty tasty. I also like the sandwich shop around the corner on the other side of the Ice Cream Parlor - I forget the name of it. It's also easily missed and has good sandwiches.

 

[nkereina]

We just ate at Tonys for dinner 2 weeks ago. One of us ordered the spagetti and meatballs (really good), I ordered the lasagna (amazing!), Hubby ordered the steak (bland and boring). I would say, stick with the pasta and you'll be good! We ordered some cheese bread for an appetizer that was really good but was such a small amount, it wasn't worth the money....All in all though we really enjoyed Tony's and would do it again.

I also ate Tonys for dinner two weeks ago! Maybe I saw you there! Our ADR was at 5pm on a Saturday and at that time they were taking walk-ins. There were some empty tables. We were seated right away and our food came out fast. The waitress we had was really on top of it. It was the fastest meal we had all week! I ate the spaghetti and meatballs... it wasn't bad but not that great. My BF had the steak which was small, and he said if we weren't on the DP, he would have been annoyed at paying $30 for that. Next time, we will definitely try the Plaza or CP first.

 

[JDUB]

We ate there for dinner and the food was good and the ice cream bomb was awesome! It was nice to mix up the meal choices for our kids and not have chicken nuggets or pizza everyday. The only complaint I had was our server was extremely slow and not very friendly. After we were done, my wife and kids left to get autographs/pictures with chip/dale at the main entrance while I waited 20 minutes to run our bill with the DDP.
I'm sure you will enjoy your food and see if it will be a repeat visit the next time.

 

[jessieroo]

We are trying Tony's on our trip next week! I am Italian and I enjoy the meatball sub at POP. My family finds that odd but its a change from burgers and fries. So I am giving Tony's a shot, if the food is mediocre the dessert will make up for it!

 

[angierae]

I think a previous poster nailed it - when you look at the price of Disney food, you expect it to compare to a meal you'd eat in your hometown at that price level. You aren't just paying for the food, you're paying for the atmosphere.

We got a walk-in for lunch at Tony's in May of 2010. We liked it, and it was the only restaurant my DD16 requested we do again on our next trip.

(And I won't touch any spaghetti product out of a can and cannot figure out why peopel compare it to Chef Boyardee - it tastes like Americanized Italian food you'd get at any restaurant. It's not "authentic" Italian but if you're used to eating Americanized Italian, you'll be just fine.

 

[MinnieTink]

It's fine. We neither love it nor hate it. I don't get the Chef Boyardee comparison honestly, but I can see the Olive Garden one. The draw for us would be that we don't have to leave MK. We don't like buffets so CP is out. CRT, been there, done that. LTT, holds no appeal to us at all. So, we would head to Tonys.....

That being said... We usually don't use our TS credits, or the time, to eat a big TS lunch. What about having a CS lunch (Columbia Harbor House? ) and maybe using that extra TS credit for a Signature dining experience?

Another option that I would suggest is going over to a monorail resort, or even WL for a good TS experience.

 

[nkereina]

(And I won't touch any spaghetti product out of a can and cannot figure out why peopel compare it to Chef Boyardee - it tastes like Americanized Italian food you'd get at any restaurant. It's not "authentic" Italian but if you're used to eating Americanized Italian, you'll be just fine.

It's definitely Americanized but for the spaghetti and meatballs at least, even Olive Garden is better and it doesn't get more Americanized than that. They were light on the sauce and it was watery. It wasn't awful tasting, but if I go again, I'd definitely try something else.

 

[MinnieGi]

Crystal Palace--we're having breakfast there on the day in question. Liberty Tree Tavern DH and I have never been crazy about.

Kona--I was surprised to find it was actually possible to get lunch ressies this close to my vacation. I am not sure about it, since we're already going to the "Spirit of Aloha" luau as well. I suppose I will see what DH wants to do when he gets home from work.

Sounds like Tony's is even more polarizing than I thought--you either love it or you hate it. And I don't know, we could end up liking it. Maybe I just need to step back from the whole issue for a bit.

If you are having breakfast at CP in the morning I wouldn't even make a reservation for lunch, I'd still be too filled from breakfast!!! Now I guess if you have a really early breakfast and are going to make it a really late lunch I could see doing it, but otherwise I'd be too filled to do a another whole sit-down meal!! IMHO

 

[eliza61]

So, I made a ressie for my family to have lunch at Tony's Town Square on our day in MK. I was looking for a TS restaurant, and to be honest there just weren't that many choices. DH and I like Italian food, and DS is not particularly picky. But, I've heard it compared to Olive Garden quite a bit, and just not spoken of very well in general. DH is not wild about Olive Garden, prefers something more authentic, and we are going to Tutto earlier in the trip.

I know every meal at WDW is not going to be fantastic. Just wondering if I could have made a better choice? What do you think?

RUN, DO NOT WALK, RUN from Tony's

I have only 2 restaurants in WDW that were actually horrible. I mean horrible and Tony's was one of them.

There is nothing authentic about tonys. My kids hated the spaghetti, which considering they eat anything with enough ketchup on it, says alot.

sauce was absolutely tasteless. How is that even possible? Seriously I mean tomatoe sauce has some flavor.

let me put it to you this way. If the meal was free I would not go back to Tony's. Grab a burger and call it a day. Nothing worse for me on vacation that spending time on a bad meal.

 

[lvmetsfan]

We are doing Tony's on our first night at WDW - and looking forward to it. The food was decent (hubby really liked the grilled salmon he got), and we all loved the deserts. But mainly we are there for the atmosphere and to have fun at MK on our first night.

 

[angierae]

What you should take away from this post is that food taste is very subjective, and you should make your reservations based on what you think sounds good, and go, and have a good time.

Check out the reviews for Boma, for example. Some people think it's the best food they've ever eaten, some think it's the worst. The truth is that everyone's tastes are different.

 

[HunnyJar]

What you should take away from this post is that food taste is very subjective, and you should make your reservations based on what you think sounds good, and go, and have a good time.

Check out the reviews for Boma, for example. Some people think it's the best food they've ever eaten, some think it's the worst. The truth is that everyone's tastes are different.

I totally agree with this poster. Everyone has different taste.. I'm one of those people that love Boma, but I know there are tons of people who do not feel the same way and you know what? That's perfectly fine! There are tons of restaurants to choose from!

 

[phoenixflight]

If you are having breakfast at CP in the morning I wouldn't even make a reservation for lunch, I'd still be too filled from breakfast!!! Now I guess if you have a really early breakfast and are going to make it a really late lunch I could see doing it, but otherwise I'd be too filled to do a another whole sit-down meal!! IMHO

Breakfast at CP @ around 9:20, dinner at CRT at 8:30 pm. (Yes I know, it's all we could get. For the entire vacation. Bleh.)

Tony's, if we kept the ressie, would be around 1:15.

And DH is no help at all. I explain my quandary to him, and he says, "Whatever you think best, dear." LOL. Well, I suppose that is a blessing in itself, in a way.

 

[MinnieTink]

Breakfast at CP @ around 9:20, dinner at CRT at 8:30 pm. (Yes I know, it's all we could get. For the entire vacation. Bleh.)

Tony's, if we kept the ressie, would be around 1:15.

And DH is no help at all. I explain my quandary to him, and he says, "Whatever you think best, dear." LOL. Well, I suppose that is a blessing in itself, in a way.

With the breakfast TS and dinner TS, I wouldn't plan on lunch TS. That would be taking too much park time. Plus it's a lot of food. IF you get hungry, I would grab a snack or a CS meal somewhere.

 

[HopperFan]

Ate there a couple weeks ago and was one of my worst experiences at a Disney restaurant, and we are regulars and try to check them all out.

We were seated long after our ADR, our server was horrible. She was rude, we had to ask for drink refills, she basically ignored us and she actually brought us our check before she brought our dessert. The food, I wish it were Olive Garden, more like Fazoli. They had alot of nerve charging those prices for what we ate.

We will NEVER return there again.

 

[sephorachick]

yony's is decent. I had the chicken parm & really liked it. gelato is yum too enjoy!