dumbing down of menues is Disney making you eat of site

[arcticdisneylovers]

We do the DxDDP and are happy with the food but we're not too picky. We mostly do signiture and TS. There is plenty of choice for us

 

[WTP]

I'm going to add that I don't think the CS places are all that repetitive, even on the dining plan.

Here's what one could eat only in the MK over the course of a few days:

B Cinnamon Roll and Coffee (Main St Bakery)
L Pepperoni Pizza and Tossed Salad, Strawberry Shortcake (Pinnochio Village Haus)
D Half Chicken & BBQ Rib combo, mashed potatoes, vegetable, Carrot Cake (Cosmic Ray's)

B Mixed Fruit Bowl (Adventureland Market Stand)
L BLT Salad, Coleslaw, Apple Crisp (Columbia Harbour House)
D Chili Cheese Dog, Fries, Cotton Candy (Casey's)

B Breakfast Sandwich Combo (Main St)
L Turkey Bacon Wrap and Apple Slices, Strawberry Yogurt (Cosmic Ray's)
D Beef Burrito, Chocolate Cake (Tortuga Tavern)

B Croissant, Coffee (Main St)
L Chicken Caesar Salad, Chili, Chocolate Cake (Pecos Bill)
D Lobster Roll, Chips, Carrot Cake (Tomorrowland Terrace)

Each of those meals is significantly different from the others, and that's only food served in MK. Add in the variety in the countries at Epcot, the treats at Starring Rolls in HS, and all of the cool stuff in AK, DTS, and the resorts, and I think I could go weeks without any repeats, just in CS.

 

[DisneySarah80]

Yeah, 'cause the local Dennys is gourmet.....

 

[Sappermont]

Going offsite is just too inconvenient to justify. For us, the signatures are still perfectly fine dinner options (even if things have changed over the years), and we're looking forward to trying some of the fine dining restaurants at Swan & Dolphin (Il Mulino and Bluezoo).

Restaurant.com has a deal right now on Il Mulino & Bluezoo (a few other S/D restaurants too). If you enter the code SWEET you can buy a $25 gift card for $3. The sale ends tomorrow but there's always another sale right around the corner.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I'm not surprised by the results so far because most WDW guests are on property for a week or so and don't want to be bothered by leaving the confines of WDW for dining and I absolutely and totally understand this. For the most part WDW offers just enough options that will be acceptable dining AND under the spectre of Disney may actually seem better than "acceptable" to vacationers more interested in theme parks than dining (most visitors).

 

[myasma]

Most of the food places around Disney have the same things as on-site and some are lower quality than Disney. The only thing that would make me consider going off-site is the cheapness and our traditional Joe's Crab Shack night!!!

 

[DisMN]

While the dumbing down or lowering of quality does not have me considering going off property to eat, it has definitely changed how I eat in the parks.

Now, when I get hungry I grab CS - the bulk of the TS eateries just aren't special enough anymore to waste valuable park time on anymore.

I do agree that the menues have been dumbed down quite a bit but this post reflects what has happened with us too. Now days we just eat different when we're there. While we used to plan on spending $100++ per day for food at wonderful sitdown restaurants, now most days we manage to get by for well under $50 per day!

Due to the dumbed down menues Disney no longer gets my big bucks at meal times.......I guess that's good for me though huh? LOL

 

[paulh]

I'm going to add that I don't think the CS places are all that repetitive, even on the dining plan.

Here's what one could eat only in the MK over the course of a few days:

B Cinnamon Roll and Coffee (Main St Bakery)
L Pepperoni Pizza and Tossed Salad, Strawberry Shortcake (Pinnochio Village Haus)
D Half Chicken & BBQ Rib combo, mashed potatoes, vegetable, Carrot Cake (Cosmic Ray's)

B Mixed Fruit Bowl (Adventureland Market Stand)
L BLT Salad, Coleslaw, Apple Crisp (Columbia Harbour House)
D Chili Cheese Dog, Fries, Cotton Candy (Casey's)

B Breakfast Sandwich Combo (Main St)
L Turkey Bacon Wrap and Apple Slices, Strawberry Yogurt (Cosmic Ray's)
D Beef Burrito, Chocolate Cake (Tortuga Tavern)

B Croissant, Coffee (Main St)
L Chicken Caesar Salad, Chili, Chocolate Cake (Pecos Bill)
D Lobster Roll, Chips, Carrot Cake (Tomorrowland Terrace)

Each of those meals is significantly different from the others, and that's only food served in MK. Add in the variety in the countries at Epcot, the treats at Starring Rolls in HS, and all of the cool stuff in AK, DTS, and the resorts, and I think I could go weeks without any repeats, just in CS.

all he places mentioned are QS we tend to eat in TS for our evening meals to me the TS menus are reducing items on there menus more and more
I agree that there is great variety in the QS but would go to them for our dinner and not our lunch
For us the meal is part of an experience get dressed up and have a nice sit down meal
Paul

 

[WTP]

all he places mentioned are QS we tend to eat in TS for our evening meals to me the TS menus are reducing items on there menus more and more
I agree that there is great variety in the QS but would go to them for our dinner and not our lunch
For us the meal is part of an experience get dressed up and have a nice sit down meal
Paul

My post was mainly in response to those who said there was not a lot of variety in the QS locations.

But, I'm curious now, what is it that they have at places like TGIF and Olive Garden that you can't get in WDW? It seems like there is neverending variety in the TS to me. Kona cafe, Cali Grill, Boma, Morocco, San Angel, all of world showcase really...I'm pretty sure I could take 10 WDW trips and not eat at the same place twice if I wanted. Now it is almost certainly true that all of those places are more expensive than offsite. Granted. But then the problem isn't really the menus at WDW--it's the price.

 

[nessz79]

I only eat off-site more often if I'm staying off-site. Otherwise it's not worth leaving property.

 

[paulh]

My post was mainly in response to those who said there was not a lot of variety in the QS locations.

But, I'm curious now, what is it that they have at places like TGIF and Olive Garden that you can't get in WDW? It seems like there is neverending variety in the TS to me. Kona cafe, Cali Grill, Boma, Morocco, San Angel, all of world showcase really...I'm pretty sure I could take 10 WDW trips and not eat at the same place twice if I wanted. Now it is almost certainly true that all of those places are more expensive than offsite. Granted. But then the problem isn't really the menus at WDW--it's the price.

we dont have in the UK anything like the wide selection of places to eat like when were in the USA,
Granted we we have a TGIF near us and plenty of pubs with better food than the rose and crown and lots of curry houses but mainly there over 11 miles away(might seam a short distance in usa terms but in uk its quite far away)
will agree with you that it`s a cost issue so would want more bang for my buck
As for eating in the parks only have 2 out of 14 days planed for them and would do more of the park those days so a sit down out of the question
Paul

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

We used to dine with Disney at least monthly. Essentially, we'd do a walk up. If we couldn't be accommodated at one table service place, there was ALWAYS another reasonably close option.

That ended with the introduction and continuation of DDP. It has completely (yes, completely) ruined the Disney experience for dining for us.

So, even when we stay on site (DVC members) we either eat offsite, or bring our own selections.

The most we do for dining with Disney now is a snack here or there.

If I were staying on property without a car, I'd feel "stuck" and very disappointed with the quality of food and service.

Yes, I'm one of "those people" who remember the way it was not too very long ago and lament the loss of quality.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

No, I have no complaints about Disney food except I think it is a bit too pricey.

 

[eliza61]

I'm an other.

I have a few signature restaurants that I continue to go to and I'm looking forward to trying tutto Naplia in Epcot this summer.

Outside of that I go offsite. I much rather spend the extra time than waste time having a mediocre meal. Now we never ever go to the world without some type of transportation mainly because I refuse to be forced to eat overprice, underwhelming food night after night. One night no problem, 10 nights of disney dining? no way.

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

I'm an other.

I have a few signature restaurants that I continue to go to and I'm looking forward to trying tutto Naplia in Epcot this summer.

Outside of that I go offsite. I much rather spend the extra time than waste time having a mediocre meal. Now we never ever go to the world without some type of transportation mainly because I refuse to be forced to eat overprice, underwhelming food night after night. One night no problem, 10 nights of disney dining? no way.

I don't understand. You would leave the parks, spending 2+ hours going off-site for lunch, rather than do CS for 30 minutes or TS for 75 minutes on-site? That sounds like a terrible waste of time to me. In that case Disney has won, because you've already purchased your park tickets and you're spending less time in the parks re-gaining the value of those tickets.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I enjoy eating at Disney. There are some dishes, the ribs at FTBBQ, the salmon at Sunshine Seasons and the BBQ Chicken at the place in the MK are just some counter service places I like.

We usually have a car for church and I do like IHOP and Giovanni's Chicago style pizza. We don't have either around our house.

We are DVC and most often eat cereal for breakfast in the villa, but we also like the Character Meals at Cape May Cafe and Stitch's breakfast at the Poly and do those sometimes too.

Bobbi

 

[paulh]

I don't understand. You would leave the parks, spending 2+ hours going off-site for lunch, rather than do CS for 30 minutes or TS for 75 minutes on-site? That sounds like a terrible waste of time to me. In that case Disney has won, because you've already purchased your park tickets and you're spending less time in the parks re-gaining the value of those tickets.

as we go and have been many times this not a problem, one of the things we look forward to on holiday is a meal with our family and friends so 2 hours not a problem.
As we have non expiry tickets and only eat ofsite on the days were not doing parks were not losing out park time
like i said around the crossroads are loads of eateries which is like driving to DTD only 5 mim longer
Paul

 

[MickeyNicki]

I get sick of the same items on all the 1 ts places so we have switched it up to add in more signature places and more exotic like Kouzzina, Sanaa etc

We cannot eat the same shrimp pasta, NY strip or chicken dish every single night

I would never eat off site...half the fun of going to WDW is eating at WDW. I can eat chain restaurants at home

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

If I'm in a park when I am hungry, I will find something in that park to eat. I might go off for something special up in the Dr. Phillips area, but most of WDW is surrounded by chains as far as the eye can see---really not much better than what's onsite.

But considerably lower priced

That's the combo that's driven me off. WDW in a lot of cases are the same as "chains" here at home, with a price twice as high. Just not worth.

I do still eat a lot in the parks, but if it's a non park day or I am hungry as I leave it's often "off site"

Plus you can get a good meal without having to decide 6 months in advance what you will want to eat on Tuesday night!

 

[Brian Noble]

But considerably lower priced

You can save money, or you can save time. Your choice, based on how much your time is worth.

And, when I say "really not much better" I really mean "quite a bit worse." There are a few exceptions, but usually a Disney restaurant will be a notch above a national chain in the same genre.