Giving Up Table Service Dining in the Parks?

[pascagoulabeach]

After our last trip to WDW I am thinking of giving up table service dining in the parks. I have noticed that the last few times that I have gone that the quality of the food at the table service restaurants has gone down.

Other than a sub-par meal at Chefs of France the meals that we had were not bad, they were just not the quality that I would expect. I have heard others saying that they think that it is due to the dining plans and the need for the restaurants to turn over more diners to increase the number served.

We have a trip planned for May and have ADRs for the California Grill, the Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's, Chef Mickey's and Citricos. I have not made any in park ADRs.

Am I missing something, or has the quality gone down?

 

[Brit_Jude]

We like the freedom not having ressies gives us. We can tour as we want and grab a CS when we are hungry.

 

[ncc1701]

I don' t know if it is the quality but I think the variety isn't what it was a decade ago.We enjoyed most of our meals the last 3 trips. The only Park meal that was a disappointment was Tutto Italia. The food was out in no more than 10 minutes which is ok if I'm having a salad but not a lasanga

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We like the freedom not having ressies gives us. We can tour as we want and grab a CS when we are hungry.

ditto!

 

[chinarider]

I remember our last trip (2006) dining plan might have been newer with less options but, it was hard to arrange where you were and to get to your ressie ( I especially remember trying to get through parade routes etc ). It did seem hectic at that time. This is also one reason why we didnt go with the deluxe dining. After reading restaurant reviews etc, I have planned the ressies based on mostly grabbing QS or snacks at the parks besides the restaurants that we did want to go to ( CP, early entry breakfast- Rose and Crown, dinner , hopefully illuminations view- Le Cellier, lunch, really want to try ) Otherwise our two offsite are Ohana and Boma for dinner. We do have two Italian in the parks ( Mama Melrose , HS Fantasmic pkg and Tonys, late lunch , MK hopefully can see parade ). It's hard to compremise on the flexibility and winging it and I'm hoping that this trip, I have found the balance.

 

[sotoalf]

To expect better than decent food at theme park sit-down restaurants is wishful thinking, in my opinion.

 

[minnie mum]

Opinions on restaurant quality is totally subjective. So if your group finds that the quality is lacking at the TS restaurants inside the parks, then certainly you should confine yourself to only eating at TS places at the resorts. With all of the dining possibilities at WDW it is possible (not necessarily practical) to eat all of your meals outside the parks. It's absolutely up to you and your family. Or if TS isn't important, then just doing CS could be the way to go- they've come a long way in improving the variety of CS meals (the quality can still be debatable).

Our family tries to take a more practical approach: If we will be leaving a park early in the evening, we will choose to dine at a resort. If we want to stay late in a park we will opt for a TS place at that park, being fully aware of the type of experience we are likely to have. As a PP has said, expecting anything more than decent food is expecting too much.

 

[GoHerbie]

We have a similar opinion and are only doing the free quick service dining plan (from a PIN) on our upcoming trip for which we only booked 2 TS meals over the 5 days (Akerhus princess dinner & Biergarten lunch). I'm a planner, but even I don't like having to plan our whole trip 6 months in advance and then worry about attending each reservation while we're on the trip.

The last straw was the new cancellation policy. I don't overbook reservations, but if one of us gets sick I'm not paying Disney $30 for cancelling within 24 hrs. If that restaurant was so stinkin popular, they'd have no problem filling the table with a walk-up ressie. We're looking forward to the freedom of deciding where & when to eat real-time. Stepping off the soapbox now.

 

[dragonfly08]

Over the course of my last three trips to Disney, I've made exactly one ADR...I took DD #1 to Chef Mickey's to celebrate her 5th birthday (the trip was her gift, and the one thing she wanted was to meet Mickey).

Other than that, we pack lots of snacks since my kids do better with familiar foods and can live on PB&J sandwiches, and when we want a meal we hit a CS location. The combination of their eating habits and the fact that being tied to specific locations at specific times just doesn't work for us makes this the best option for us.

 

[DaisyMaisie]

If I was going to be there for a long day when it is very crowded I would want a table service ressie. (I do not like the searching for a seat carrying a tray thing at all). I think each park has one inexpensive place e.g the plaza.

If I could get by on a table meal outside the park and snacks I would go that route.