Food court type area at deluxe resorts??

[JoyAhead]

Hello everyone! My family has been to Disney a few times, but has only ever stayed value or moderate. One thing we love about these options is the food court area. We have multiple people with different food allergies in our family so have one area with so many different options readily available is perfect for us. We are looking at renting DVC points for our next trip as we will need more room now that we have added a baby and pack n play to the crew. When looking at the DVC options I’m not really seeing any resorts with food courts, it appears to be mostly TS restaurants and a few QS per resort. Maybe I am overlooking something. Do any of the DVC resorts have food courts? If not, where do you grab a QS breakfast? Allergy friendly mickey waffles are a MUST for my allergy kiddos!

FWIW we are looking mostly at Poly, Beach Club or Bay Lake.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Poly and CR have full QS restaurants (Capt. Cooks and Contempo Cafe respectively). Beach Club has a smaller QS type restaurant in their store as well as Hurricane Hannas by the pool. The first two have Mickey waffles, Contempo has allergy friendly ones if I remember correctly. Capt. cooks might too but I don’t know from experience. Can’t speak for BC.

Deluxes don’t have food courts like you see at values and mods, but their QS options are good enough IMO, except maybe the Epcot resort area ones.

 

[KayaWildfire]

There is nothing like the value and moderate food courts at any of Deluxes. We were so disappointed in that fact when we stayed at SSR.

 

[Shellbells]

We stayed at WL as AKL 2 months ago. I didn't like the WL counter service very much, limited choices and just ok food.
On the flip side, I thought the Mara at AKL was pretty good. There was great variety and it all tasted good. They have a toppings bar which the boys liked for their burgers. They also have the cold section that the mods and the values have with sandwiches, salads, snacks, fruit and desserts.
Overall, I think The Mara is smaller but comparable to the food courts.

 

[cheryl.UK]

We like Mara too and it's open pretty late. The toppings is just as good as a side salad

 

[AngiTN]

Poly, GF, WL and AKL have the most similar to a Value or Mod food court. No where near the size but they do have a couple of different areas to pick from, usually. They make up for it by having much better dining options in other categories. Not just their TS options but there are usually a couple other smaller QS food options too. Considering how bad some of the QS foods we've gotten at Food Courts I think the set up at a Deluxe is much preferred.

With DVC you have a kitchen. Maybe order stuff to build your own QS meal.

 

[Disneylover99]

I prefer the quick service options at the Poly over Beach Club or Bay Lake.

 

[Mome Rath]

If you are looking at the variety aspect, you aren't going to get that at the DVC deluxes.

However, if you are looking for a specific item, like allergy friendly waffles, then you can find those at several of the DVC hotels. I would suggest looking at the menus at the places you are interested in and seeing if there is one that stands out to you more than the rest. My family definitely values the food courts in places like Pop and POR, so I get your hesitation.

 

[Trinity88]

We liked the Contempo Cafe when we stayed at BLT. But we found options very lacking at Beach Club. My family actually preferred staying at Pop because of the food court options.

 

[Disneypro1]

There is nothing like the value and moderate food courts at any of Deluxes. We were so disappointed in that fact when we stayed at SSR.

Yep. It’s a huge letdown especially what the deluxe cost. I mean yes the restaurants are great at the deluxes. But sometimes you just wanna eat simple and a lot cheaper.

 

[marikujawa]

The remodeled food court at CBR is much more like the quick service at SSR than the food courts at POFQ or POR. There are not as many choices, you stand in one line to order, then pick up your order at one of the pick-up windows when it's ready. From what I've seen, Disney is going away from the system of multiple stations with different options - they changed the Mara quite awhile ago. We haven't been to any of the value resorts for many years, so I don't know how the new system would work there.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

The remodeled food court at CBR is much more like the quick service at SSR than the food courts at POFQ or POR. There are not as many choices, you stand in one line to order, then pick up your order at one of the pick-up windows when it's ready. From what I've seen, Disney is going away from the system of multiple stations with different options - they changed the Mara quite awhile ago. We haven't been to any of the value resorts for many years, so I don't know how the new system would work there.

Honestly the station set ups are really annoying when you’ve got small kids in tow so I’m totally on board with that decision. We avoid sunshine seasons for that particular reason.

 

[marikujawa]

Honestly the station set ups are really annoying when you’ve got small kids in tow so I’m totally on board with that decision. We avoid sunshine seasons for that particular reason.

I don't care one way or the other about the stations, but there are definitely fewer food choices after the CBR remodel than there were before. The upside is that the ordering process is streamlined, so it's faster and more efficient. But people who liked the choices presented by the old omelet and pasta stations may be disappointed.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you're renting DVC, and have specific food concerns, they do have kitchens in 1BR+ size units. The solution is straightforward.

The QS at most deluxe/DVC will be far more limited, because those resorts focus far more on TS and specialty options. The QS options at Beach Club/Yacht Club/Boardwalk are extremely weak even by deluxe standards.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you're renting DVC, and have specific food concerns, they do have kitchens in 1BR+ size units. The solution is straightforward.

The QS at most deluxe/DVC will be far more limited, because those resorts focus far more on TS and specialty options. The QS options at Beach Club/Yacht Club/Boardwalk are extremely weak even by deluxe standards.

But you could wander over to the Swan and Dolphin and check out their counter service dining. Still not a food court, but not bad.

 

[RivShore]

Didn't realize CBR cut back on selection but was going to ask if you considered Riviera which will probably have the usual smaller deluxe QS but would be close to CBR's moderate food court, giving you lots of options.

 

[SillySallySews]

The deluxe QS options are mostly a lot smaller. There’s usually only one line and you get a pager or they bring it to your table. That makes it so much easier to navigate with large groups and young children. We’ve never found them lacking in options. Captain Cook’s at Poly is our favorite, and I’m quite certain I’ve seen allergy friendly waffles at Contempo Cafe and maybe Gasparilla’s at GF? They all have menus online.

 

[MissionMouse]

Each resort tier was designed to the budget of guest. Deluxe was based upon TS dining. They offered snack bars as an ternative. A place to go when you werent to hungry or the TS was closed. The success of the cruise line with all inclusive dining plan was something they leveraged to alter TS dining which was more focused on quality vs filling each seat. Thus, was the beginning on the dining plan..
but deluxe resort had no fast food counter service. So they started to call snack bars counter service with menu updates. Upgrades happened years following. Overall, deluxes are designed around dining expectations of a "chef vs a fryer," so people should not expect food courts where there are multiple TS restaurants. Even with the snack bars being upgraded to counter service they will not be a food court and if people want them...their found in the other resort levels.

 

[kylenne]

Yep. It’s a huge letdown especially what the deluxe cost. I mean yes the restaurants are great at the deluxes. But sometimes you just wanna eat simple and a lot cheaper.

This is really a to each their own situation because we had no issues at all finding simple and cheap at the Poly. Capt Cook’s is probably the best resort QS period and has an excellent variety for the price. It’s also open 24 hrs unlike the food courts. Sure you won’t have much more than flatbreads and grab and go to choose from, but at least you’ve got something coming back late from the parks. If you don’t want anything from there for whatever reason, you’ve got 2 pool bars and Kona Island to choose from. My BC stay the other weekend is the only time I’ve been at a Deluxe and really felt hurting for QS options. I ate at Crew’s Cup for “QS”.

I find that the older I get, the less tolerance I have for food court setups. It was the thing besides transportation that I hated most about my one non-Deluxe stay, at POFQ this summer. I like to stay out late and more than once my only option was a heat lamped burger from the 1 station still open. The breakfast rush is chaos regardless of where you eat, but at least Capt Cook’s has the pager/delivery setup. Wandering with a heavy tray while trying to dodge hyped up kids is a little more excitement than I need in the AM. I know it’s a bit of a cliche at this point but it really is awesome that Disney has so many kinds of resorts to suit people’s preferences.

 

[Disneylover99]

I know a lot of people complain about the multiple stations at the larger food courts, but maybe people don’t realize you can use mobile order at all of the values and most of the moderates now. I think CSR might be the only moderate not on mobile order.