Disappointing dining experiences this trip!

[BigMommaMouse]

I too appreciate your report thank you.

My party has had a couple of bad experiences at LaHacienda and Chef Mickeys was like a bacteria farm. I'm still not recovered from the horrors of my July trip.

I do look forward to my meals at Disney, and it is disappointing to have bad experiences.

Dh got food poisoning from Chef Mickeys last year. Not going back there this year. (I know it could happen any where, but he lost 3 days of our vacation in bed)

 

[TexasTSL]

We just got back, too, myself and DS4. We have been to Disney World every year since he was born. We never tried Chef Mickey's mostly due to all the bad reviews we've heard; however, on this trip we tried it on our arrival night. Maybe since I had very low expectations, maybe because it was our first night and we were so exited, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Granted, it was definitely not the best, but it was not at all bad. In fact, I thought dinner at Chef Mickey's was better than lunch at Crystal Palace. Maybe it was just a good night. I don't know. I really did like the creamy polenta with short ribs, the turkey and the mashed potatoes.

Mama Melrose was decent too. In fact, I really, really liked the Mozzerella and tomatoes appetizer that I had, and the Penne Vodka with chicken was pretty good. The only thing I didn't like about it was the chicken, which was pretty dry. I should have just gotten it without the chicken. My son had the spaghetti and meatballs and ate it all. The desserts were not that great.

We ate at '50s Prime Time, Ran Forest Cafe, Sci-Fi, Chef Mickey's, Mama Melrose and Crystal Palace for our sit-down meals and none of the meals were really bad.

We had good luck with Counter Service, too. We ate at Roaring Forks several times. The bananas foster waffles were great, as was the beef and blue sandwich and the Magic Cookies and the Chocolate Caramel cupcake -- that cupcake was really, really good! We had two during the trip!

What surprised me was what I was underwhelmed with. Everyone raves about the school bread. I had it and it was okay. Maybe it was built up too much in my mind. Also, the carrot cake cookie at Writer's Stop in HS. It was good, but not great. I've had better carrot cake type desserts here where I live.

Again, nothing for us was bad, and there were a few surprises for me. Maybe we just got lucky this trip and ordered the right things!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did Chef Mickey's dinner, VN and BOG dinner this past trip.

We've done CM's twice before and found the food to be very good for a buffet. This trip was no different. We had an early seating and the food was really good! Not gourmet but fair enough for a buffet. My kids enjoyed themselves and ate two plates each plus desserts.

VN we did twice because the pizza was so good!

At BOG we ordered the steak and my DS devoured his. He's a 15 year old boy. They'll eat a shoe if it's seasoned right. My boyfriend liked the steak too. I found it to be tough and a bad cut of meat. Especially after my filet at Cali Grill earlier that week.

We were there during FD but paid OOP. We found the food to be quite good. It was my boyfriend's first trip and he was in love. He just kept saying "OMG the food is so good!" Actually we found it all to be pretty good!

 

[hedberg1661]

I have experienced many of the same things you have on previous trips. I have ruled out going back to BOG for the time being. If you want a strip steak at a regular sit down restaurant...go try the one at Sci Fi. I really think they have stepped up their game in regards to the quality and taste of their food.

I have found Ohana to be something of a joke. I have been there 3 times in the past few years and with each visit my experience continues to get worse. The food is really low quality and quite frankly it lacks any kind of real preparation. This is off my list as well.

I also really enjoy Yachtsman and typically find this to be our best meal. Unfortunately, you will have to visit more signature restaurants (Citrocos, Narcoossee, etc.) in order to continue to get the quality you expect.

 

[agwood123DLFerguson]

We don't lock ourselves into Disney Dining so we didn't mind going off sight for better tasting, less expensive meals. Lately, we feel it took a turn and we're enjoying old favorites and have some new ones.

We ate thinking of eating off site more this vacation. If you have some free time could you PM me a list of some of your favorite near-by restaurants? That'd be so helpful! Thanks!

 

[buzznina]

I am in the minority on the DIS when I say that I have never thought of Disney as being a place that I would just go for the food (except for F&W). We have had some very good meals there, but for me, I think the restaurants lack consistency and a lot of meals are bland. I also will say that I think the quality has greatly went down since the introduction of the dinning packages and FD. But this is just MO.

 

[Masonmj84]

I have only done Chef Mickey's for breakfast and found it to be at least average as far as character breakfasts go (we only do character meals for breakfast so I would never go here for dinner).

We stick to the pizza at Via Napoli and have always had a wonderful meal.

I was very underwhelmed by the food at Be Our Guest. The experience was otherwise very unique and memorable but the food quality made this a one and done for me.

 

[bcrook]

Dh got food poisoning from Chef Mickeys last year. Not going back there this year. (I know it could happen any where, but he lost 3 days of our vacation in bed)

I believe it! The volume of people is too high, and way too many kids at the food serving stations. That place traumatized me, and this is coming from someone who can Hollywood and Vine!

 

[chicita713]

The overall inconsistency of many restaurants is frustrating. You have a great experience once then look forward to going back only to be disappointed. You definitely can't go wrong with the pizza at via Napoli. Yes, chef Mickey is a disaster. you are pretty much paying to see the characters.

 

[AshClan]

The overall inconsistency of many restaurants is frustrating. You have a great experience once then look forward to going back only to be disappointed.

I agree with this. I can never say one restaurant or another is terrible or great. I've had my best meals and worst meals at the same places. We've had wonderful meals at Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana, Kona, Tony's, Chef's, and even Cali Grill, and then gone back to have terrible experiences, or visa-versa. I love the pizza at Via Napoli and enjoyed the candele pasta dish, as well, Chicken parm was not good. But my least favorite part (even though it's still one of our favorites), is that we always feel rushed there. I got salmonella poisoning at 'Ohana a couple of years ago, and their service is VERY spotty. But I've had great meals there too. I've had breakfast, lunch and dinner at BOG, and pretty much enjoyed them all. Our dinner there this past spring was really good. I got the steak with the mac & cheese instead of fries and it was amazing. The steak wasn't as good as a filet, but it was fine. Then again, next time I go, I really have no idea what I'll get. I could get a "shoe leather" or fatty piece of steak, or could end up with another good one. I am not sure why restaurants with such a consistent crowd level and, I expect, very regimented SOPs, would be so inconsistent, but it is a fact of WDW dining for sure. I agree with the poster above that said two bad visits in a row gets a place knocked off my list, but it is frustrating that you can't really predict what you'll get from visit to visit at most places.

That being said, my most consistently good places include: Narcoosee's, Yachtsmen Steakhouse, Jiko, GF Cafe, and Brown Derby. I've only been to V&As once, but I think it's a safe bet to say that's always stellar. Though, for the price, I suppose it had better be!

My "probably never going back" list is short, but includes: Crystal Palace, Sci-Fi, and Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner (but I do love lunch there). I've had plenty of other bad meals, but most places have redeemed themselves on the next visit.

 

[ElizabethB]

There was a short period of time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when dining at WDW was really a pleasure. The former CEO, Eisner, drove a corporate strategy to make WDW an attractive destination for adults on vacation without children. New restaurants opened such as California Grill and Citrico's with great menus and a real sense of sophistication and style. Several hundred sommeliers were hired. Unfortunately, that all went out the window with Eisner's departure and the advent of the DDP and free dining.

As for not ordering steak at a theme park restaurant -- yes, that has been the case for many years. However when the DDP and free dining first started, the restaurants had not yet reduced their offerings and food quality to be in line with the reimbursement under DDP. One evening at Tony's Town Square I ordered the New York Strip with blue cheese -- it was outstanding -- one of the best steaks of my life. I still remember it. Certainly, the equal of Shula's or perhaps even better.

That was then, however. Those days are long gone. Disney can certainly source excellent food for its restaurants. It just doesn't anymore since Disney has found that people will eat pretty much anything.

 

[MinnieMe_63]

We ate at Via Napoli tonight, we thought it was awesome, got pizza, chicken parm and candele pasta. We ate at mama Melrose the beginning of the week, worst Italian food we have ever had. Teppan Edo, Ohana's, the Wave were also favorites.

Agree with your review. We've given up on Mama Melrose. Won't return

 

[Sarahbelle341]

There are a couple places we won't ever go back to. Chef Mickey's was easily the worst meal I have ever had in any restaurant in my life. We had a late dinner there on our very first trip and were almost afraid to try the rest of the Disney restaurants after that. Thankfully we had the DDP so we had committed to one TS a day and enjoyed most of our other meals that trip. But we look forward to most of our meals at Disney. I don't find the signature meals worth two credits though. If we want a truly fine dining experience we will do that closer to home most likely. We view dining at disney as about the experience first and the food second but the food must be at least somewhat enjoyable.

 

[anniemae]

we had some bad meals on our trip a couple of weeks ago too. For me, Brown Derby was awful, as was Le Cellier, and these were two of my favs. The best surprise was the Boathouse, it was very good.

 

[goofy4prez]

I agree with the OP on Chef Mickey; absolutely abysmal. This place was one of the worst dining experiences in my life anywhere, and that includes the local Golden Corral and local Chinese buffet restaurant. With that said, there are some very nice restaurants I do enjoy, especially several signature restaurants. As for the state of Disney restaurants and the lack of quality and diversity found from one restaurant to another, I place the blame on free dining and the Disney Dining Plan. Unfortunately I don't think either of these are going away anytime soon, especially the DDP which is a huge money maker for Disney.

 

[disneynutz]

The DDP pushed the restaurants to offer average food due to budget cuts and turning tables and packing them in became the focus. Disney even replaced the chairs at several restaurants to make them less comfortable so that guests wouldn't take as long to eat. There are very few good restaurants left IMO.

Bill

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

There was a short period of time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when dining at WDW was really a pleasure. The former CEO, Eisner, drove a corporate strategy to make WDW an attractive destination for adults on vacation without children. New restaurants opened such as California Grill and Citrico's with great menus and a real sense of sophistication and style. Several hundred sommeliers were hired. Unfortunately, that all went out the window with Eisner's departure and the advent of the DDP and free dining.

As for not ordering steak at a theme park restaurant -- yes, that has been the case for many years. However when the DDP and free dining first started, the restaurants had not yet reduced their offerings and food quality to be in line with the reimbursement under DDP. One evening at Tony's Town Square I ordered the New York Strip with blue cheese -- it was outstanding -- one of the best steaks of my life. I still remember it. Certainly, the equal of Shula's or perhaps even better.

That was then, however. Those days are long gone. Disney can certainly source excellent food for its restaurants. It just doesn't anymore since Disney has found that people will eat pretty much anything.

Disney's current target market appears to be 8 year old girls. As long as they can paint it blue and call it "Frozen" they are done. Fine dining is not required by that demographic LOL!

I do agree, the Disney decade had much better food (Contrary to Walt's statement I don't think "now is the best time" for Disney LOL!)

 

[Minniesgal]

I have always been disappointed in BOG since it opened. Nice picture window but cafeteria atmosphere, bland food and terrible service. We have tried twice and have been underwhelmed both times and won't be back.

We also find we suffer from over exposure to Disney Dining. We really enjoy our first few TS but after a few days we get fed up of eating out and everything gets meh from then on. We try and follow a less is more policy and only now book a few signatures each trip. We certainly couldn't face a dining plan and a TS every day

 

[KELLY]

We always stick with the QSDP. We are ther for 17 days most trips. We got back last week and canceled 3 of our 5 adr's. We did do CP Breakfest and it was good and so was Hollywodd and Vine Lunch. We just ADR people. Ind of glad I didn't spend the 1300.00 to upgrade to a moderate now. We are staying at a mod during Thnksgiving but that is a lot shorter trip and we will be paying OP for food. We did book BB for next year as well.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

There was a short period of time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when dining at WDW was really a pleasure. The former CEO, Eisner, drove a corporate strategy to make WDW an attractive destination for adults on vacation without children. New restaurants opened such as California Grill and Citrico's with great menus and a real sense of sophistication and style. Several hundred sommeliers were hired. Unfortunately, that all went out the window with Eisner's departure and the advent of the DDP and free dining.

As for not ordering steak at a theme park restaurant -- yes, that has been the case for many years. However when the DDP and free dining first started, the restaurants had not yet reduced their offerings and food quality to be in line with the reimbursement under DDP. One evening at Tony's Town Square I ordered the New York Strip with blue cheese -- it was outstanding -- one of the best steaks of my life. I still remember it. Certainly, the equal of Shula's or perhaps even better.

That was then, however. Those days are long gone. Disney can certainly source excellent food for its restaurants. It just doesn't anymore since Disney has found that people will eat pretty much anything.

This - this. A thousand percent agreement and Like's.