Dissapointing Disney Dining experiences

[shannonstar]

For service - Mama Melrose. We always seem to hit server change. Food is okay and we go for the FP package, but this next trip we are hoping to try the Minnie Holiday meal instead.

For food - QS is often underwhelming, but that is the nature of QS.
The only TS food we did not enjoy was Akershus for Breakfast.
Some of the others are pricey for what you get, but we have always been happy with the quality.

 

[SuperTink]

I don't think QS, given what is charged for it, should be at a default "underwhelming."

I think we deserve more for our dollar and should expect it. Speak out at every given opportunity!

 

[winifred]

On our recent trip (got back yesterday, 12/10), the biggest let down was Kona breakfast. My mom ordered steak and eggs. She requested her steak medium rare, and it came back beyond well done. She isn't one to complain, but it was like rubber. The waitress was so sweet and could tell it wasn't to her liking and brought another out to her. This time, the meat wasn't even cooked, it was raw (cold in the center). It was as if the line cook was retaliating due to the return of the previous steak because it was inedible. The waitress was so apologetic, she brought a different meal altogether and took 20% off our entire bill. The rest of our meals were decent, nothing special.

 

[Peepster]

We, and probably a lot of you, have been going to the World for a long time. One of our joys was dining in the great restaurants on Disney property with the delicious food, creative menus and talented chefs. We had the opportunity to speak with the the gentleman who was in charge of all Disney dining just as the dining plan was implemented. He expressed his disappointment at losing many of the chefs, menu variety and told us, he,himself, would be leaving, too, shortly. Oh, he certainly knew what was coming!
It's easier for us to comment on the restaurants we still find continually good food and service:
MK: Crystal Palace...even as two adults Tigger has been known to walk me back to my table and the wait staff is wonderful.
EPCOT: Tangerine Cafe: Shwarma Chicken platter...yum!
AK: Yak & Yeti. Restaurant. Yes, it's Landry's, but is good with friendly and prompt service.
Hollywood Studios: Brown Derby used to be...going to give it another try after taking a few years off.
We don't mind paying more for food that is imaginative and delicious. But the greediness that the Corporation is showing for mediocrity has become appalling to us. Especially because we know what it could be!

 

[rmw1313]

Table Service: The last time that we were at the Boathouse the service was terrible and the food made me nauseous..although that was when they first opened and the nauseousness could have just been me. We are going to give it another shot in January as my DH loved it and the ambiance/atmosphere was great

Quick Service: Casey's Corner. Barf. My DH eats EVERYTHING and couldn't even finish the hotdog that he got. The fries were even terrible..who messes up french fries?! Just absolutely gross.

 

[crostorfer]

We've had a few....

The worst one ever was at the Sci Fi, when I thought I was going to have to bail my husband out of Disney jail after an unfortunate interaction with our server. Its a long story, I'll tell it if someone asks.

Rose and Crown Dining Room was an unpleasant experience all around. Our table was bad, the food was bad, our server was bad, and there was a patron at a table near us that had, clearly, had way too many Snake Bites and was an overly loud, obnoxious jerk. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Everything about Chef Mickey's was an awful experience. You couldn't pay me to go back there. I don't have a single nice thing to say about it.

 

[crostorfer]

Oh, we also had a bad dinner at BOG. I wouldn't do it again. Our food was not good, the tables are packed too closely together, to the point that you feel you are all sitting at one large table, and the family next to us was one that chose to completely block out their screaming toddler who was CLEARLY not feeling the magic anymore.

 

[PennyInPink]

We've had a few....

The worst one ever was at the Sci Fi, when I thought I was going to have to bail my husband out of Disney jail after an unfortunate interaction with our server. Its a long story, I'll tell it if someone asks.

Rose and Crown Dining Room was an unpleasant experience all around. Our table was bad, the food was bad, our server was bad, and there was a patron at a table near us that had, clearly, had way too many Snake Bites and was an overly loud, obnoxious jerk. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Everything about Chef Mickey's was an awful experience. You couldn't pay me to go back there. I don't have a single nice thing to say about it.

You KNOW we have to hear the story now!!!!

 

[crostorfer]

You KNOW we have to hear the story now!!!!

I think this was in 2014, I remember making a post about it after it happened.

Our server at the Sci Fi was moonlighting from the 50's PT Diner, which had to have been his regular job. He told us that from the get-go and introduced himself as "Cousin _____". He carried his 50's PT "persona" with him over to the Sci-Fi that evening, which we didn't really appreciate considering if we wanted that kind of interactive experience, we'd have eaten there instead. We like the Sci-Fi because it's dark and quiet, and I have a love for the B movie genre. We were there for the Amazon Women From the Moon, not witty banter.

When he came to take our order, the guy kept commenting on how attractive I was while I was reading the menu, which was kind of weird in and of itself, because he just kept going on and on about it. Finally my husband cracked a joke to get him to stop, saying something to the effect of how he, (my husband), was obviously the better looking one of the two of us. In response to that the server ripped my plastic menu I was reading from my hands and whacked my husband upside the head with it, and told him he was being rude. He whacked him HARD. Hard enough that it made a loud "CRACK" sound and half of the restaurant turned and stared at our table. My jaw dropped. I was speechless. I'm sure the server was just playing around and trying to be funny, but it wasn't. Not to us. I was positive my husband was going to leap up and deck this man, but to his credit he kept his cool at the table. After a few minutes though, my husband excused himself and found the server to let him know just how unhappy he was. We didn't see the server again until he dropped the check off, and his demeanor was quite different when he returned.

See, some people would probably laugh that off as good hearted fun. What that server didn't know, was that my husband had returned recently from Afghanistan and was suffering from a pretty hefty dose of PTSD. You never know what is going on with the people around you, not even at Disney. I purposely avoid places like the 50's and Whispering Canyon because I don't really want to interact with the wait staff, I just want to eat and drink. The fact that that server brought that kind of shtick to a place where it isn't normal or expected really ruined the whole experience for us. We won't be back there, ever.

 

[KT0191]

The only thing that comes to mind is this past September, we did Hoop Dee Doo for the first time. While the show was so awesome and the food was really good..our server was not up to par lol. He barely ever came to our table despite us being one of out of three tables he had all together (we did the earliest show so not many tables were filled). Our soft drinks were only filled once throughout..we sat there most of the time with empty glasses. I never got a refill on a sangria. We wanted more fried chicken but never got any..all of that because he never came back to check on us. We'd try to get his attention but he never looked our way..he was always behind us attending to his other two tables. We had to finally wave down another server to get some help. Literally only saw him at the beginning of the meal and then at the very end to bring checks. (And many of you know..it's a pretty long dinner experience.)
Im definitely not writing off HDDR due to our server just because of that though. We will be back. It was just frustrating.

 

[piglet1979]

We have had 2 bad experiences over the years. The first one was at Chef Mickey. Now my kids were 4 and 6 and we went after 4 long days in the park from rope drop til close so they were not the best behaved but they were not that bad either but the character interaction was really bad. He have not been back since. Beigarten is the other. We love the entertainment but I dislike the food and my husband got sick the last time we were their. I think the beers he was drinking throughout the day coupled with heat caused it but he thinks it was the food. I just let him think that so I don't have to go back.

 

[KT0191]

I purposely avoid places like the 50's and Whispering Canyon because I don't really want to interact with the wait staff, I just want to eat and drink. The fact that that server brought that kind of shtick to a place where it isn't normal or expected really ruined the whole experience for us. We won't be back there, ever.

Wow! I don't even know what to say to this. My husband and I would have been prettyyyy upset, as well. We don't do those restaurants for the exact same reason as you.

 

[punkin712]

I think this was in 2014, I remember making a post about it after it happened.

Our server at the Sci Fi was moonlighting from the 50's PT Diner, which had to have been his regular job. He told us that from the get-go and introduced himself as "Cousin _____". He carried his 50's PT "persona" with him over to the Sci-Fi that evening, which we didn't really appreciate considering if we wanted that kind of interactive experience, we'd have eaten there instead. We like the Sci-Fi because it's dark and quiet, and I have a love for the B movie genre. We were there for the Amazon Women From the Moon, not witty banter.

When he came to take our order, the guy kept commenting on how attractive I was while I was reading the menu, which was kind of weird in and of itself, because he just kept going on and on about it. Finally my husband cracked a joke to get him to stop, saying something to the effect of how he, (my husband), was obviously the better looking one of the two of us. In response to that the server ripped my plastic menu I was reading from my hands and whacked my husband upside the head with it, and told him he was being rude. He whacked him HARD. Hard enough that it made a loud "CRACK" sound and half of the restaurant turned and stared at our table. My jaw dropped. I was speechless. I'm sure the server was just playing around and trying to be funny, but it wasn't. Not to us. I was positive my husband was going to leap up and deck this man, but to his credit he kept his cool at the table. After a few minutes though, my husband excused himself and found the server to let him know just how unhappy he was. We didn't see the server again until he dropped the check off, and his demeanor was quite different when he returned.

See, some people would probably laugh that off as good hearted fun. What that server didn't know, was that my husband had returned recently from Afghanistan and was suffering from a pretty hefty dose of PTSD. You never know what is going on with the people around you, not even at Disney. I purposely avoid places like the 50's and Whispering Canyon because I don't really want to interact with the wait staff, I just want to eat and drink. The fact that that server brought that kind of shtick to a place where it isn't normal or expected really ruined the whole experience for us. We won't be back there, ever.

I remember reading this when you posted after it happened. Made me cringe then and makes me cringe now. I'm sure that server just picked up an extra shift at Sci Fi or got temporarily re-assigned that day, but he should have known better than to take his 50s Prime Time shtick to Sci Fi. It would be like having someone from the Haunted Mansion act all gloom and doom during a shift at Small World!

Thank you to your husband for his service.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

On our recent trip (got back yesterday, 12/10), the biggest let down was Kona breakfast. My mom ordered steak and eggs. She requested her steak medium rare, and it came back beyond well done. She isn't one to complain, but it was like rubber. The waitress was so sweet and could tell it wasn't to her liking and brought another out to her. This time, the meat wasn't even cooked, it was raw (cold in the center). It was as if the line cook was retaliating due to the return of the previous steak because it was inedible. The waitress was so apologetic, she brought a different meal altogether and took 20% off our entire bill. The rest of our meals were decent, nothing special.

We found Kona to be disappointing on our trip in October as well. Like you said, the food was decent, nothing special, and our service definitely left something to be desired (our waitress was slow and we didn't see much of her). I'm glad you at least had a good server who tried to fix the problem with your mom's meal!

 

[mindeola]

Chef Mickeys. Ugh. It used to be so amazing! We always went on arrival night. Last time we went was June 2015. Won't be back. Dirty, food was meh and there was not a lot of it. It was 8pm and it definitely seemed like the food that was out had been there all day. Just not worth any of the money we paid!

Coral Reef- way too expensive for crappy food. Seafood in Florida should be bomb!

Cosmic Rays- ick.

Sci Fi Dine IN . Went this past May. Great atmosphere, but the food was mediocre and our waitress was inattentive and slow,

 

[ryukage]

My biggest disappointment was BOG for lunch. It felt both tedious and overwhelming just to order and find a table. It wasn't very relaxing either. The food was certainly an improvement over Cosmic Ray's, but I got the roast which everyone else seemed jealous of so I'm pretty sure I was alone in that assessment. It was beautiful and different, but I won't be doing it again with a party any larger than 2.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Narcoossee's, believe it or not. This was way back when the DDP included the tip, and it was the one & only time I felt like our service was affected by it. At the beginning of the meal our server asked if we were on the DDP, and when I said yes, she rolled her eyes for some reason! I would've thought she would've been thrilled because she was going to be getting 18% of a huge bill.

Anyway, after our apps were brought service slowed. to. a. crawl. Our entrees (lobster) were delivered cold & rubbery after a long delay, then another long delay after that. 2 1/2 hours into our meal and they'd not even come to take our dessert orders yet. It was getting close to midnight and I was worried Disney transportation might stop running, so DW left with the kids while I waited to put in to-go orders for our desserts. Less than magical, to put it kindly.

I'm sure we caught them on an off night, but it would cost too much (either in $ or DDP credits) to try it a 2nd time and figure out if that was the case.

 

[Lisa F]

Narcoossee's, believe it or not. This was way back when the DDP included the tip, and it was the one & only time I felt like our service was affected by it. At the beginning of the meal our server asked if we were on the DDP, and when I said yes, she rolled her eyes for some reason! I would've thought she would've been thrilled because she was going to be getting 18% of a huge bill.

Anyway, after our apps were brought service slowed. to. a. crawl. Our entrees (lobster) were delivered cold & rubbery after a long delay, then another long delay after that. 2 1/2 hours into our meal and they'd not even come to take our dessert orders yet. It was getting close to midnight and I was worried Disney transportation might stop running, so DW left with the kids while I waited to put in to-go orders for our desserts. Less than magical, to put it kindly.

I'm sure we caught them on an off night, but it would cost too much (either in $ or DDP credits) to try it a 2nd time and figure out if that was the case.

Not much has changed. I had a positively awful meal there on 12/7... it was DxDDP but it would have been a $200 check. My 8 year old son's steak came purple and cold on the inside and my lobster was undercooked. my soup had a skin on it when it was delivered in a scorching hot bowl. the creme brulee was more like pudding and had a soft mushy "crust" on it. not good at all.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

We've had a few....

The worst one ever was at the Sci Fi, when I thought I was going to have to bail my husband out of Disney jail after an unfortunate interaction with our server.

Our two worst dining experiences were both at Sci Fi, because of the terrible service. The first time our waiter completely disappeared after he found out my parents were CM and he would be getting a guaranteed 20% tip because of the holiday discount coupon we were using. His demeanor took a 180 when we said we'd be using the coupon, like he could stop pretending to be nice because we weren't "real" guests. I think we saw the entire reel of clips four or five times through before we finally finished our meal. Needless to say, a manager was sought and he did not receive his tip, though my parents handed cash to the two other servers who finally had to take care of us.

My niece is very tall for her age. When we told our host on our next visit that she was only 9, he rolled his eyes at us then got into her face and interrogated her. He was quite sarcastic to her after she confirmed her age. Ironically, she ordered from the adult menu anyway.

However, we eat at Sci-Fi nearly every trip. The pleasant experiences outweigh the bad, which is why we keep going back.

Worst food experience hands down is the Yak and Yeti QS. Disney would be further ahead installing a Panda Express in its place.

 

[Stefecatzz]

Skipper Canteen was a pretty big let down for me. I was excited to try it but wished I would've kept my lunch ADR at BOG instead. The hostess at the podium seemingly did not want anything to do with me when I walked up to check in. I asked if there was a table for one in the Parlor as it looked like the most comfortable room to me but the main hall would be fine with me also. She said there was nothing available in the parlor but she could ask for the S.E.A. room which I said no, thanks to. Well, I was seated in the S.E.A. room right in the middle of two couples and the tables were one feet apart from each other. It was so uncomfortable, I asked the server when he walked up to greet me if there was another table. That seemed to aggravate him & he said he would get the hostess to move me. I didn't wait long before I had to get up and leave and found a CM who was nice enough to help me get seated in the main hall. The bread was stale and the sauce was eh but that didn't really bother me much. The vegetable stew was very bland, lukewarm and watery with hardly any sauce which was all underneath the vegetable so I had to dig it out with the naan bread (which was the best thing I ate). And the main hall was freezing!! It was in the upper 70's outside & it had just rained but the temp inside felt like mid 50's. Thank God I had my sweatshirt with me. That was one of the only times I had to wear it the whole trip.

Not sure if I would give it another chance in the future. I am an adventurous eater but the rest of the menu just doesn't sound appealing to me.