Disappointing dining experiences this trip!

[Kevin355]

BoG had the worst service of any restaurant we ate at. We had a breakfast ressie for Thursday, were the first ones in, and got a seat near the main entrance. And for 30 minutes, did not have one person ask to see our receipt. Asked 3 people to see if our food was ready since we pre-ordered it, and they said, "There will be someone coming soon." We had tables all around us getting served and leaving until my wife finally hailed down a manager. At 8:45AM on an 8:05AM ressie, we finally got served. The manager apologized and gave us 4 fastpasses to use in the park on 9/17. We had a 9:30AM Keys to the Kingdom tour that my wife thought that we were going to miss. Will never eat there again.

Shutter's had excellent service, and Lucretia @ Grand Floridian Cafe was the best waitress that we have ever had at WDW. She went way the heck out of her way for our meal. My wife has food allergies and Lucretia explained everything, knew the menu inside-and-out, and took excellent care of us. And not just us, every table that she was waiting on she did excellent.

Tony's at the MK was a good meal as well. Spice Road table was very good too.

Cape May on Sunday, 9/13...ate plenty of crab legs and oysters and Mike, our waiter, did a fine job. Chef came out and explained everything on the buffet to my wife and made her a special gluten, soy, and dairy free dessert.

Wolfgang Puck Express at DtD was a fine meal.

Other than BoG, no complaints this trip.

 

[Dentam]

I wasn't super impressed with BOG either - we had a dinner there and also a lunch on a different day. Both meals were just okay in our opinions - the atmosphere is what really makes the place.

 

[gomets]

It's funny to read negative comments on BOG. It seemed that our family were the only ones completely unimpressed by our breakfast there the end of August. The restaurant itself is beautiful, but the atmosphere most definitely has a cafeteria feel. Our food was nothing special either. I understand everyone will have different opinions after the very same experience, however, I have been seeing only glowing reports prior to this.

 

[Dentam]

It's funny to read negative comments on BOG. It seemed that our family were the only ones completely unimpressed by our breakfast there the end of August. The restaurant itself is beautiful, but the atmosphere most definitely has a cafeteria feel. Our food was nothing special either. I understand everyone will have different opinions after the very same experience, however, I have been seeing only glowing reports prior to this.

I'd seen mixed reviews prior to going there. I wouldn't pay to have dinner there again but would go for lunch to enjoy the atmosphere - also my mom liked the quinoa salad she got for lunch and my dad really liked the pork so I'd try one of those dishes instead of the turkey sandwich I got this time around.

 

[aretha30]

For us, I think the DDP kind of tainted our taste buds. It was just so much food that by the end of the trip, we weren't really enjoying anything at all. Last year, we really liked the pizza at Via Napoli. This year, I felt that it was just okay. I think that was because it was one of our last days at WDW. Next time we go, we won't do the DDP again but will schedule a few special TS meals and have counter service the rest of the trip. All in all, my favorites were Raglan Road (had the mushroom burger, which was quite good) and Boma (oh my, the soups!). Mama Melrose was fine - not extraordinary, but good. I read so many negative reviews that it was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed Crystal Palace and BOG for atmosphere only.

This is how we feel too! We had always gotten the DDP and it was just such a waste for us. We don't drink soda and we don't want dessert with every meal. We now pay OOP with gift cards that we buy at Target (5% off) before hand and we save at least $600 this way. We schedule 3-4 ADR's; this year we did CP, 50's, and Biergarden all of which we enjoyed.

I'd seen mixed reviews prior to going there. I wouldn't pay to have dinner there again but would go for lunch to enjoy the atmosphere - also my mom liked the quinoa salad she got for lunch and my dad really liked the pork so I'd try one of those dishes instead of the turkey sandwich I got this time around.

We do BOG for lunch every year (I love the pork), we love the atmosphere but wouldn't go for diner. It is so much more expensive and no one in our family was interested in the menu offerings.

 

[phillymummer]

This thread is making me nervous! Is the food at hddr still awesome? How about biergarten? Its been over 20 years since i was last at hddr and 5 years since ive been to biergarten.

 

[Dentam]

This thread is making me nervous! Is the food at hddr still awesome? How about biergarten? Its been over 20 years since i was last at hddr and 5 years since ive been to biergarten.

Never been to HDDR but I actually liked the food at Biergarten better on this trip than I did during our last trip 5 years ago.

 

[kaytieeldr]

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.

The DDP was created and initiated under Eisner's watch, and the first "Dining Plan Free" promotion was offered while he was still in charge.

 

[imprimouse]

we've never had a bad meal @ Kona, and thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to 1900 Park Fare last Dec.
everything else has been hit or miss. we've done OOP & DP, i doubt we'll do dining plan next trip unless i see evidence that most of the TS options have improved a bunch. our one & only meal @ Teppan Edo was a joke.

 

[kaytieeldr]

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.

Oh? That's an interesting move. Do you have a source?

 

[disneynutz]

Oh? That's an interesting move. Do you have a source?

There were articles written about the replacement at the time, controlling people isn't new. Disney does it everywhere as do other businesses. Ever wonder why restaurant tables are small? Fit more tables and cause the customer to move on and not hang out, table turns are a tracked part of the business. We get upset when the server doesn't clear the table, at some restaurants the servers are told to leave the dirty dishes by management, customers tend to not hang around with a table of dirty dishes. Loud music or conversation, another reason to eat and leave.

Bill

 

[GaryDis]

Loud music or conversation, another reason to eat and leave.

Loud music is another reason to leave without eating.

 

[manning]

FREE?? You overpaid for a subpar hotel room. It's not free. If they called it what it is "dining package discount" would people still fall all over themselves to pay for it LOL!



OMG Someone actually gets it! There's no such thing as "free" at Disney

Free?

BT Barnum is alive and well. He now goes by the name of Disney Word

 

[Disneychick75]

The DDP was created and initiated under Eisner's watch, and the first "Dining Plan Free" promotion was offered while he was still in charge.

It was a bargain and the food was still good. Remember, appetizer, meal, dessert, non-alcoholic drink, and the tip were included. The price was in the mid-$30 range. Since Igor ( I know) the food quality = Golden Corral on a good day. At Disney, the cost takes a lot of gold for mediocre meals.

 

[clapton]

In my opinion BOG is a glorified cafeteria!! Have eaten there twice, dinner and lunch. Not impressed and probably will not go back. Dining at Disney overall never impresses me, but it's Disney and they got you and they know it. People still go back including me.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Hmmm. Mickey bars were good this trip. The Bison at CG was awesome. The Kansas Strip great at Yachtsman. The lobster superb at Narcoossees. The ribs sticky fun at WC. HDDR still fun even with the hokey pokey. SOA still tasty with the cheesy show. And I got grits at CM. Free dining worked out fine for us plus we took home free mugs and Mickey snacks for gifts. I'd have to say free dining was awesome this year. Pooling credits to hit signatures a must.

 

[maxiesmom]

There were articles written about the replacement at the time, controlling people isn't new. Disney does it everywhere as do other businesses. Ever wonder why restaurant tables are small? Fit more tables and cause the customer to move on and not hang out, table turns are a tracked part of the business. We get upset when the server doesn't clear the table, at some restaurants the servers are told to leave the dirty dishes by management, customers tend to not hang around with a table of dirty dishes. Loud music or conversation, another reason to eat and leave.

Bill

That was at quick service restaurants, not full service restaurants. For example they now have backless stools at Pecos Bills instead of normal chairs.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

Salad, noodles and potstickers are a tad different. Salad was blah (no more fruit, peas instead and different dressing). Noodles were thicker and not very falvorful. Potstickers had green veges inside which i don't remember from before (but they were still good). And the chicken...thigh meat and gross (slimy/fatty pieces all stuck together). The service was the pits too (though that's been the case the past several trips). They pretty much dumped all the food at the table at once and then disappeared. Had to ask 3 times for more peanut sauce (1 dish for a table of 8 is not enough). Took them FOREVER to bring the bill and then we didn't get the hot hand towels to de-sticky ourselves.

That's disappointing....
We've planned this trip as sort of an eat our way around Disney World trip, and have planned most of our events around Food and Wine. Ohana is one of the the non-Food & Wine places we are looking forward to and are most excited about. Here's to hoping they pull it together....

 

[maccagerl]

Just checked the menu at Via Napoli - wow $21 for an individual pizza??? It better be good for that price! ANyone have any photos?

We went to Boma a few years ago and loved it - especially the Prime Rib - which they don't have any more!

 

[BigMommaMouse]

That was at quick service restaurants, not full service restaurants. For example they now have backless stools at Pecos Bills instead of normal chairs.

That's a relief. I was thinking wow this is all going the wrong way.

It also explains why the chairs/stool were so weird last year in Pecos Bills.