Easy to Please Thread?

[bangzoom6877]

I think the point I was trying to make when I started this thread was that - for whatever reasons - my expectations for those meals are such that I'm easy to please. I know it's expensive going in - though I usually have the dining plan, or I don't eat in many restaurants. Maybe the same pasta dish that would make me go "Wow! Look at all that shrimp! And someone stop me before I eat too much!" would make a more exacting person complain that it was not authentic, over-seasoned, poorly garnished, etc.

I'm not saying I should be SO thrilled just to be at WDW that I should eat a crappy meal with a smile. I'm saying that I don't consider them crappy. And on the few occassions I've gotten something I didn't like, I assumed it was because *I* had ordered the wrong thing, and that plenty of other people would like it just fine - it just wasn't MY cup of tea. I'm not going to blame the restaurant for THAT!
So - easy to please means when I order a $50 meal, I tend to think I got a $50 meal. Maybe someone else might price it at $19.37 and feel cheated - but they're not obscenely easy to please like I am!

I agree with you! We weren't thrilled with WCC, but it was not bad. The food was just fine, we just got a little tired of the same repeated antics after a little while. But, some people LOVE it there! I can see how some folks would. We, on the other hand, LOVED the antics at 50s Prime Time, whereas some folks would be uncomfortable "getting in trouble" at the table. DH and I both got in trouble at 50s PT and we both had a lot of fun...plus the kids thought it was so funny that we got in trouble and they didn't! But, others may not like that. So, I am not going to go and tell people to definitely not go to WCC and to definitely go to 50s PT because that is just how WE felt. I know that for some, WCC is their favorite WDW restaurant and they have to go there every trip, and for some, 50s PT is their least favorite and they would never go back.

 

[mamaprincess]

I'm easy to please too! I love Ohana and we have WCC on our list for our next trip despite the poor reviews and we also love Sci-fi. I guess we are more into the experience and magic than looking for a 5 star experience. I don't think I've ever had a truly bad meal at WDW. Sure there are places that are better than others food wise but we have never had a complaint.

 

[Snurk71]

Count us on the easy to please list. We seem to get by just fine at O'hana, WCC, and yes even Chef Mickey's. Sure, there are some restaurants that we've eaten at that we're not in a hurry to go back to and some we like better than others. But that's more so because our tastes don't match up as well with the food profile of that restuarant (Boma, for example).

 

[NuJoy]

It does seem a vast majority of dining complaints are based on perceived monetary value. I read the rant over and over again, "for this amount of money, I expected much better". If I have to count every penny and legitimize what I buy by what I think is its monetary worth, then I am going to be way too stressed to even enjoy my Disney World vacation. Indeed, that is no vacation at all!

When someone pays $2.50 for a bottle of diet coke in the park, one expects the exact same diet coke he gets in his local convenience store...not a much better diet coke for the money. It's the same diet coke in both places. I feel the cost of all the dining experiences, resort hotels, and merchandise in Disney World must be seen in this same light. I don't go to 50's Prime Time because the food is exceptional for the amount of money I pay. I go, because it is an "attraction" that can't be missed. And really, that's how I plan all my dining...as attractions...and I plan my resort stays based on theme and location.

I love Disney World. It's a place where my senses become tantalized. My eyes constantly rest on beauty; my ears always hear music; I have a never-ending rest from delicious tastes and exciting textures to touch and sensations to feel; my heart becomes filled with awe and wonderment; and my soul is filled with love and peace at this happy place. I have no idea what the monetary value of that is.

 

[sfbank]

An easy to please family here as well. 7 trips as a family and 10 + for me and we have never had a "bad" meal. A couple we would not hurry back to which would be Chef Mickey's dinner but that was back in 2004. Loved breakfast though when DD was little. The other was Biergarten this July. Not terrible, just not what we expected. Atmosphere and service was great though. We are finally starting to venture out and try new restaurants instead of sticking to our old favorites constantly and finally tried Artist Point. It was amazing. Thanks Nascargirl I agree that you are at Disney, have fun and be happy. They run tens of thousands of people through restaurants daily and to keep up with the masses overall they probably do a pretty good job. We have really never been disappointed.

 

[Withacy]

I love Disney World. It's a place where my senses become tantalized. My eyes constantly rest on beauty; my ears always hear music; I have a never-ending rest from delicious tastes and exciting textures to touch and sensations to feel; my heart becomes filled with awe and wonderment; and my soul is filled with love and peace at this happy place. I have no idea what the monetary value of that is.

Beautifully said!

On my last trip, I was sitting at a table by the lake at Epcot, sipping a Grand Marnier slushy & watching people go by - and I realized my heart was just filled to the brim with joy.

And it really didn't matter what I had just paid for that slushy.

 

[rachel09985]

My boyfriend is very picky of what foods he will actually eat- but we check out the menu before we reserve a restaurant. That being said- he has never been to a restaurant he didn't like. I am the least picky person- I will try anything. The only thing I didn't really like was my meal at Coral Reef- but that doesn't mean I wouldn't go back- the food just wasn't to my liking.
I guess I can't say if the quality has gone down because I am only 25 and have only been there 3 times as an adult, but I have never received bad service or bad food.
It drives me nuts when people complain about restaurants--not just Disney restaurants. I have worked at a restaurant since 16 and have grown very bitter about people who complain over something miniscule as we forgot to put onions on their pizza.
Disney food is a delicacy based on what we normally have at home-(Buffalo Wild Wings or Five Guys (haha) When we on vacation Disney Food is our splurge and I am very satisfied when we leave!!

 

[vcgirl925]

I'm with you. Unless i've had an awful experience (extremely rude or raw food etc) i'm pretty easy to please. I go into thinking it's a theme park, it's not a 5 star restaurant.

 

[DisGirl23]

I love Disney World. It's a place where my senses become tantalized. My eyes constantly rest on beauty; my ears always hear music; I have a never-ending rest from delicious tastes and exciting textures to touch and sensations to feel; my heart becomes filled with awe and wonderment; and my soul is filled with love and peace at this happy place. I have no idea what the monetary value of that is.

Great post!

 

[tinkrebell]

You know what's funny? Everyone on the restaurant boards that trash all my favorite restaurants seem to RAVE about the restaurant food at Jiko and Boma, about how amazingly special it is, and how they are so excited to have the best value for the overly priced DP credits or dollars or whatever. .. .

I've never been to either! And I don't care to! I just don't think the flavors are really going to appeal to me or DH - and we're staying at AKL!!!!

I think picking restaurants is much like picking your hotel. You should base any choice you make on the overall experience you want - because much like we're picking the hotel based on the feeling it gives us, and not the individual options we have in it being packaged with those restaurants, we pick our restaurants based on the OVERALL menu and atmosphere and don't tend to care much if there are a couple or even several dishes we don't like, as long as we find one that makes us happy and completes that experience. We liked the hotel because the atrium was pretty and we want to see giraffes. As long as we have that (or a certain dish in our ADR restaurants), I am a happy camper!

I'm a rambler, so I hope this comparison made sense. . .

 

[Withacy]

I totally agree, tinkrebell. That's why I get annoyed when people say "Don't eat here" (or "don't stay here"), or even when they just say "this is a terrible place" or "this isn't worth the money". I think that's pretty arrogant - to presume you know better than everyone else. Why not just say "I didn't like this place, and here's why"?

Which makes my mind boggle at people who ask generally what people think of their itinery. You're just learning about the people who answer you, not necessarily about the places themselves.

Unfortunately, there are people who don't feel they're doing their job unless they say something negative. As if saying only good things would give their opinion less weight and authority.

 

[DisGirl23]

Which makes my mind boggle at people who ask generally what people think of their itinery. You're just learning about the people who answer you, not necessarily about the places themselves.

I don't even open those threads. I'm not going to have any other answer other than "Sure... sounds good! Have a great trip!" What works for some, may not work for others. I, personally, love DHS. And I know I'm in the minority on this board. So, if I posted my itinerary asking for opinions and they see that I have 2 days at DHS, I would more than likely get several responses telling me I don't need 2 days there.

 

[Withacy]

I don't even open those threads. I'm not going to have any other answer other than "Sure... sounds good! Have a great trip!" What works for some, may not work for others. I, personally, love DHS. And I know I'm in the minority on this board. So, if I posted my itinerary asking for opinions and they see that I have 2 days at DHS, I would more than likely get several responses telling me I don't need 2 days there.

I don't open them either, because I figure I'd just end up getting annoyed.

I realize there are people who are new to WDW, and they really want help - but you really have to be careful who you're getting advice from. I've been there 10 times, with different people all but once, and its always different, based on who I'm with and all sorts of other circumstances.

I'd tell a person to find a way to leave their schedule as flexible as possible - even if that means you have to eat your lunch at QS every day. Because you never know how things are going to end up!

My last trip with my godson, I ended up cancelling all sorts of ADRs because our schedule changed so much. I'd made it heavy on the MK (he was 7) and Epcot, because his mom thought he'd like doing Kim Possible missions and listening to the Christmas story-tellers. Well, MK was OK, but Epcot was a complete bust - he barely made it through one Kim Possible mission and pouted through the one Story we listened to. We ended up spending a lot of time at the AK (I don't want to say how many times we rode EE) and DHS. He just wanted to do thrill rides.

The point is, if you're on your first trip, flexibility is your friend until you know what you want. Just because someone on the board is emphatic in what they tell you, that doesn't mean it will mean a darn thing for YOUR family!

 

[Iwant2BAprincess]

count me in! We are making our 5th free dining trip and so far there is only 1 on my Never-Ever-Ever list. Marakesh-smelled like barn-tasted like barn

 

[bangzoom6877]

I totally agree, tinkrebell. That's why I get annoyed when people say "Don't eat here" (or "don't stay here"), or even when they just say "this is a terrible place" or "this isn't worth the money". I think that's pretty arrogant - to presume you know better than everyone else. Why not just say "I didn't like this place, and here's why"?

Which makes my mind boggle at people who ask generally what people think of their itinery. You're just learning about the people who answer you, not necessarily about the places themselves.

Unfortunately, there are people who don't feel they're doing their job unless they say something negative. As if saying only good things would give their opinion less weight and authority.

Once again, I'm with you. The only time I want someone to tell me not to stay at a certain hotel is if there are extremely bad circumstances, like bed bugs...you know, something truly detrimental. Telling me not to stay at a hotel because you thought the print on the curtains in the room was outdated, will not make me change my mind! One of my sister's friends told us we were making a mistake by going where we did on our honeymoon (couples' resort in the Poconos) because she was in the same suite as we were going to be in, and the decor was "very 1970s and 1980s". Well, we didn't feel that way at all when we walked into that place! We had a wonderful time and everything was modern and up to date. And that was in 2001!

As far as restaurants go, I don't want someone to just say not to go there, unless the place gave them food poisoning or there is an infestation of bugs or something. Telling me that for $25 you expected a much larger portion will not break me!

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Thank you Withacy for starting a great topic and helping me get excited for our upcoming trip!

My family is pretty easy to please. Hot food hot, cold food cold, why yes please I'd love a refill! We have always eaten on the dining plan and have spent about 38 days in "The World" So that amount to 38 plus CS meals and 38 TS meals. We have loved them all even the ones that did not have the best food. The reason we enjoyed them was that we as a family took the time to relax and enjoy our surrounding. One resturant that I see people bash a lot is Marrakash (sp?). While the food was okay I couldn't tell you what I ate if you offered me a million dollars to recall. But I will never forget my then 6 year old daughter grab the hand of the little girl at the next table and then go on the dance floor and dance her little heart out with the belly dancer. I will also never forget the kindness in the eyes of all my servers when I comment or ask them about home. Especially the ones who are the furthest from that home.

So in the theme of positive thoughts I thought I'd share with you my very best dining memory at Disney World....

It happened on the first day of our first trip. We flew in to orlando around 2 made it to the hotel and checked in and were in Epcot by 4 or 5. It was my DH, me (5 mo. pregnant with our son), and our DD who was 6 at the time. Our last meal was back in Houston at the airport before we took off. After enjoying a few rides and sights we decide to look for dinner options. This was our first ever trip to Disney and we didn't know about ADR's and 180 days out. We walked up to a few resturants and tried to get a table. No luck! We were in England when the lovely smell hit me. Fish and Chips!!!! We ended up ordering our first Disney meal from the Fish and Chips CS stand. We dined with the food perched in our laps on a bench right in the middle of the quaint english street. The food was Wonderful!!!! The fish was hot and crispy...the chips were think and meaty yet able to absorb the right amount of vinegar... just perfect! For me Sitting on that bench in England was as good as sitting in a 5 star restaurant. My daughter ran around and played in a red phone booth and tried to climb a lamppost. Running quickly back to us for a bite and then laughing and skipping off. Just when I was basking in the realization of "We're here!!! We REALLY ARE at Disney World" and feeling the love so strong for my family and the little one on the way, the fireworks started. Now that folks is what I call Disney Magic!

Not meaning to hijack the thread but I'd love to hear of others best meals.

 

[Withacy]

Just when I was basking in the realization of "We're here!!! We REALLY ARE at Disney World" and feeling the love so strong for my family and the little one on the way, the fireworks started. Now that folks is what I call Disney Magic!

Not meaning to hijack the thread but I'd love to hear of others best meals.

That was lovely! It actually put a tear in my eye!

I've actually mentioned a few of mine already. Like your experience at Marrakesh, most of them I can't even remember what I ate!

I remember the first time I ate at 50's Prime Time with 4 or 5 friends. We had a server who was really into it, and I remember one of my friends trying to hide her greenbeans and telling her she'd get in more trouble if she tried to hide them - and then realizing how that sounded, and how much I'd bought into the theme, and all of us laughing - a lot (one of several birthdays I spent at WDW).

Another birthday I took my Goddaughter (who shares my birthday) to BBB and then CRT, and I remember the waitress taking the time to show my goddaughter how to fold the napkins like a crown - very patiently. And I remember my goddaughter conspiring with Prince Charming later that evening (at 1900 Park Faire) to take my picture with him (his idea - I was only interested in taking the pictures).

Name a place I've been, and I probably could give you a good memory from there! And that's enough to make me happy!

 

[Withacy]

There are a few restaurants I've wondered about, that we're trying this time for the first time. I just haven't wanted to ask because I didn't want an avalanche of negativism.

I personally don't like overly fancy or trendy restaurants (if the design of the food on the plate is a big concern for them, I start to get nervous about my table manners), and my friend rarely gets to eat out, and when she does it's Bob Evans. So - how are we going to do at Narcoossee's? I've avoided the signature dining (this is the only one), and only picked this because my friend really likes seafood (shellfish, specifically).

Also, how about Chefs de France? My friend has always wanted to eat in a French Restaurant. I'm more of a Biergarten kind of girl, myself.

Thanks!

 

[bangzoom6877]

There are a few restaurants I've wondered about, that we're trying this time for the first time. I just haven't wanted to ask because I didn't want an avalanche of negativism.

I personally don't like overly fancy or trendy restaurants (if the design of the food on the plate is a big concern for them, I start to get nervous about my table manners), and my friend rarely gets to eat out, and when she does it's Bob Evans. So - how are we going to do at Narcoossee's? I've avoided the signature dining (this is the only one), and only picked this because my friend really likes seafood (shellfish, specifically).

Also, how about Chefs de France? My friend has always wanted to eat in a French Restaurant. I'm more of a Biergarten kind of girl, myself.

Thanks!

I can help you with Chefs de France. We ate lunch there and we loved it. It's a beautiful restaurant and the service is excellent, but it doesn't have a stuffy feeling to it at all. I felt perfectly comfortable sitting there in my shorts and tank top with my hair tied back in a ponytail just to help cope with the FL summer heat, others around me of course were in theme park attire as well. The food was delicious. They had simple, familiar items like an adult macaroni and cheese, and a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, for example. You can go there and enjoy some escargots, or something simpler if you like. I had the quiche lorraine (with ham and cheese inside) and it was delicious. We loved it there, and we will definitely be back on our next trip, possibly for dinner this time. But as long as we fit it in, we will be happy! I'm a HUGE fan of Biergarten too, if that helps! I just love good food and a good time, and that's what we had at both places!

As for the signature restaurants, I can't help with that. Never been to any yet. On our next trip, we're thinking of taking the boys to Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner one evening. My older son LOVES steak and I think this is a good signature to start with. Of course we don't go back until July 2012 though, and his tastes can change dramatically before then. But, right now the plan is Yachtsman. It's also right by the Boardwalk, where we have the DVC membership, so it is convenient for us. DH and I are going to put the kids into the kids' club one evening for a few hours over at the Beach Club Resort. We will probably end up going to Flying Fish just the 2 of us. I keep reading a lot of wonderful things about Flying Fish and we both would love to try it. But my older son is allergic to shellfish, so this would be a good one to go to without him (he had a mild reaction at Cape May just from breathing in the steaming crab legs on the buffet and we had to go somewhere else...not risking it this time!). To me though, Narcoossee's menu also looks great and that's another possibility for just me and DH as a date night.

I'm sure whatever you choose, you will enjoy!

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

So - how are we going to do at Narcoossee's? I've avoided the signature dining (this is the only one), and only picked this because my friend really likes seafood (shellfish, specifically).

Also, how about Chefs de France? My friend has always wanted to eat in a French Restaurant. I'm more of a Biergarten kind of girl, myself.

Thanks!

Out of all the resturants at Disney I have never eaten at those 3. Sorry I can't be of help. My friend did eat at Biergarten and said the food was a little too different for her Texas family to really get into. Not bad just not what they were comfortable with. She did say the entertainment was worth it.