Dissapointing Disney Dining experiences

[cruisingtwins]

All of them? ALll disney food is mediocre at best.

 

[writingmachine]

The only flat out terrible dinner I've had was at The Jungle Navigation Co. Three of us got the steak which was extremely fatty and had no flavor. One of us had the noodle bowl with the noodles undercooked. I took two bites of dessert and that was enough. We tipped the waitress well and left to use an extra quickservice.

Other than that our other table services have always been excellent.

 

[WaltDisneyGirl84]

All of them? ALll disney food is mediocre at best.

I'll politely disagree on this as some of the best chefs in the world are on WDW property.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

I go to WDW to EAT!! Most of the food is delish and some of it is amazing. BUT here are my least favs:
Worst- 1900 Park Fare Dinner- ambience is like a hotel meeting room with Hometown Buffet doing the catering.
Other dishonorable mentions:
Trattoria al Forno
Cinderella's Royal Table (although the experience is worth doing once)
Rose & Crown
Be Our Guest dinner is not good for the eating but we still do it each time for the wine at MK and the ambiance.

 

[hoffman1]

Coral Reef. Tried it twice and will not be back.

 

[phillymummer]

Beaches and Cream

Everything is sooooo expensive. I know..... it's Disney. Everything is expensive. But this place just seemed extra expensive. I got a hot dog because I wanted something small since we planned on tackling the Kitchen Sink. $9 for a hot dogs and fries? It wasn't even a foot long dog! My daughter got onion rings and they were nothing special. I think they were just generic frozen onion rings. Not homemade or anything.


Now let's talk about The Kitchen Sink that cost $30. Yes.... $30. It started out fun and delicious. It quickly went downhill as the whipped cream (an entire can!) "melted" and everything became drenched in whipped cream. We couldn't figure out what ice cream flavor was which. I had no idea if I was about to eat a banana chunk or a marshmallow. It got gross pretty quickly. And I love whipped cream. I had to stop eating because I was nauseous. In case you are wondering... we didn't finish it, but I'd say we ate most of it.

I can say I did it once. I have no need to go back.

 

[Super 27]

Beaches and Cream

Everything is sooooo expensive. I know..... it's Disney. Everything is expensive. But this place just seemed extra expensive.

Agreed 110%. I think the place is way overrated. That said, I've never had a truly awful experience there, so it doesn't make my "never go back under any circumstances" list.

My top three most disappointing experiences (in no particular order) have been:

1. Maya Grill - Honestly this was the worst meal I've ever had on Disney property. The entire plate of food came out lukewarm, and my steak was under-seasoned and overcooked. Service and ambience were unremarkable.

2. Narcoosse's - I wanted to like this place. I mean I REALLY wanted to like this place. And it wasn't bad, per say, just VERY mediocre in every way. The calamari appetizer was one step below Red Lobster - chewy and not particularly well seasoned. The shrimp pasta entree was decent. The shrimp were nice and fresh, but the sauce was severely lacking in flavor. For dessert, I had the chocolate torte, and it was by far the highlight of the meal, but still nothing spectacular. The service was okay but rushed, which I found rather annoying since they weren't that crowded.

3. Yachtsman Steakhouse - I'm not going to say that their food is bad, because it's not. It's actually quite good. But, when I go to a signature restaurant, I expect to find some creativity and excitement in the items on the menu, and I just don't find that at Yachtsman. The appetizers and entrees are all rather boring and uninspired. And that's extremely disappointing to me because it wasn't always that way. Particularly with appetizers, they used to push the boundaries a little bit with items such as escargot and steak tartare (which, for the record was the best appetizer I've ever had at WDW). Not anymore, though. In my mind, Yachtsman today is nothing more than a wannabe Ruth's Chris. It's a perfectly fine steakhouse that I would probably go back to if it were in my local area. Disney, however, offers many more unique dining experiences that I can't find at home, so for that reason I will not go back to Yachtsman.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

We used to love Coral Reef and it was a staple of our trips. Then we had a just horrible service experience and it's now off our list.

Recently...

Raglan Road

I often have told people that I've never seen a bad review of Raglan Road. This is officially my first. I have to admit I'm curious as to what went wrong.

 

[jon18uk]

Tiffins was out only dissappointment last trip. Server felt like he was trying too hard and the food had no flavour at all.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Garden Grill at breakfast, the service was awful, the food and characters were good.

Coral Reef dinner, food was lack luster and the place smelled like a fish tank.

 

[nursejackie]

Sunshine Seasons just didn't float my boat. It's always packed so must be popular with other but my two experiences there have put me off for good. I am not a fan of Electric Umbrella either. I soon learned to wait until the World Showcase opens and eat there instead when in Epcot.

 

[Squirlz]

I only made 2 ADRs for the 14 days we visited in 2014, and one of them was Via Napoli for the pizza I'd heard so much about. I love a good wood fired pizza. It was not good at all. Covered with burnt rancid grease. The server literally did not know what the word "cocktail" meant. I guess the only drinks they serve are the "Specialties" on the menu. Sweet fruity drinks with a hint of alcohol.

 

[Clarissa McDaniel]

Completely agree with OP's sentiments on Coral Reef.

Also find Be Our Guest to be a disappointment. The food is where I find my disappointment. Just have not been impressed. It is a beautifully themed restaurant though.

 

[ShelbyWagon]

3. Yachtsman Steakhouse - I'm not going to say that their food is bad, because it's not. It's actually quite good. But, when I go to a signature restaurant, I expect to find some creativity and excitement in the items on the menu, and I just don't find that at Yachtsman. The appetizers and entrees are all rather boring and uninspired. And that's extremely disappointing to me because it wasn't always that way. Particularly with appetizers, they used to push the boundaries a little bit with items such as escargot and steak tartare (which, for the record was the best appetizer I've ever had at WDW). Not anymore, though. In my mind, Yachtsman today is nothing more than a wannabe Ruth's Chris. It's a perfectly fine steakhouse that I would probably go back to if it were in my local area. Disney, however, offers many more unique dining experiences that I can't find at home, so for that reason I will not go back to Yachtsman.

I agree about Yachtsman. The food we had there was all good but with the raving reviews you normally see, I expected so much more. The service was just ok also. Started out well but then our server took forever to bring us the bill. Once I'm done, I'm ready to go. Please don't make me wait to give you my money! I'd really like to love this place, since I've fallen in love with the Epcot resorts and it would be a convenient place for a nice dinner. But with Flying Fish just across the lake and so many options at Epcot, it's not on my list for now.

My other disappointment was California Grill. The view was breathtaking, sure. But like Yachtsman, the food was just good, not great. I really expect more when I'm spending $250+ on dinner. I do plan on trying it again on a future trip and perhaps just ordering appetizers and sushi. But I wouldn't do a full meal there again.

 

[karm12]

Kona Cafe for dinner. We used to eat here every trip then they changed the menu took away my coconut crusted chicken. The last few times we have eaten here the food has been nothing special and the service has been sub-par. We don't eat there anymore.

Same issue with the chicken! No one likes the menu now and it used to be a "must do" for family dinners.

 

[Goofy1976]

Coral Reef was great 5 years ago.

 

[Minnesota!]

Electric Umbrella, Chefs de France, hmmm..I thought there was a third but I can't recall now.

In all honesty, the ONLY places I have consistently GREAT food is Splitsville (whoduhthunk), Boma, and Biergarten...

 

[Dean Marino]

These are the places WE do NOT go to.... YOU may choose to do so....

1) For Dinners: Anything NOT listed as a Sig. Lately? Far MORE non Disney owned fine Dining restaurants, uncontaminated by the DDP.
2) Nothing in any park, or at Disney Springs. Fulton's was once great - it is now an unknown, for US....
2) Of the SIGS - we avoid the obvious fakes (LeCellier, Monsieur Paul's, CRT (if it's still listed, they vacillate). No fights, these are the places WE choose to not visit.

BREAKFAST? Whole different story . We go to Whispering Canyon Cafe EVERY morning . Eight days a week, twice per year, 12 years .

Personal favorite SIGS....

1) Victoria and Albert's (so far above others that I feel embarrassed).
2) Shula's
3) CA Grill.
4) IlMulino.
5) Citrico's
6) Narcoossee's.
7) Artist Point (on the cusp... they have issues).


This is what WE do.... All personal opinion - I'm not necessarily right, no one else is necessarily wrong. I will not be replying to comments.... YOU should choose that which YOU CHOOSE..... .

 

[Hopefully]

We were disappointed in Raglan Road 2 weeks ago. It is a long time favorite and we have been eating here every trip since we found them during their soft opening when we were at the old Downtown Disney.
This trip the food was simply not good. The potatoes in DS Its Not Your Bleeding Chowder were rock solid hard. My steak was not good and neither DH nor I could eat the mashed potatoes.
Plus it was the worst band we have seen in all those years.
We will be taking a break from here for awhile.

 

[Aliceacc]

Only one, in 2014.

We had dinner at the Brown Derby.

It was not good. As in 2 of the kids' meals went mostly uneaten, my husband got sick to his stomach, and I was on the verge all night long.

Absolutely an anomaly. I know that many, many people love the Brown Derby. In fact, my husband had Lunch with an Imagineer there once and loved it.

But we'll never go back.