Grand Floridan Cafe

[cseca]

We had a really bad service experience with GF cafe at breakfast, and I have yet to want to return there. Maybe in 10 years or so when the manager gets rotated or something.

The food was fine. Nothing to rave about. The host/manager were beyond awful.

We had a reservation at 10:30am for 16 people (the day before our wedding) and the whole party arrived at the same time. We checked in and were told that there's a wait. I said how long, 15min. Ok, 15min isn't so bad.
Well 30min later... nothing, no news.
I came up and asked again.

They said oh a little bit longer because the people in our table won't leave. Hmm... ok I wasn't expecting you to kick out people but at least give me some ideas on how much longer

... "Please wait...", the host came up about 5 mins later... "We just need to wait a little bit longer, they are about ready to leave". I told her that we have kids that really needs to get something to eat by now, could they just give us any table?

So they said it'll be only a little bit. I said OK fine. At this point we have 4 kids ready for a meltdown.

At about 45min, I almost lost it. Came up to the desk and asked what is going on?
"Well, they are leaving and then we have to clear the tables".

At this point I looked inside and saw A BUNCH of TABLES open. I was flabbergasted...
I came back out and said, why aren't we being put on those open tables?
"Oh, they can't be put together?"

mmmkay... didn't I say previously just give us any tables as soon as they're open? I never said they all have to be together.

I think steam might have came out of my head by the time they seated us. The manager didn't even look a bit sorry for making us wait in excess of 45min. After that I said to future DH, never again will we come here.

And we haven't since.

On a good note, the servers were good. They still received good tips.

Moral of the story: If you have a large group ADR here, make sure you know you might have to wait AWHILE.

 

[aggiegirl1234]

We ate there the first night of our last DW trip. We all thought it was great. It was fun to see the GF, the service was good, the food was all very yummy too The desserts were great! My mom got the key lime pie I think, and my sister and I both got the chocolate fondu dessert. I would definitely recommend it!

 

[maxiesmom]

We had a reservation at 10:30am for 16 people (the day before our wedding) and the whole party arrived at the same time. We checked in and were told that there's a wait. I said how long, 15min. Ok, 15min isn't so bad.
Well 30min later... nothing, no news.
I came up and asked again.

They said oh a little bit longer because the people in our table won't leave. Hmm... ok I wasn't expecting you to kick out people but at least give me some ideas on how much longer

... "Please wait...", the host came up about 5 mins later... "We just need to wait a little bit longer, they are about ready to leave". I told her that we have kids that really needs to get something to eat by now, could they just give us any table?

So they said it'll be only a little bit. I said OK fine. At this point we have 4 kids ready for a meltdown.

At about 45min, I almost lost it. Came up to the desk and asked what is going on?
"Well, they are leaving and then we have to clear the tables".

At this point I looked inside and saw A BUNCH of TABLES open. I was flabbergasted...
I came back out and said, why aren't we being put on those open tables?
"Oh, they can't be put together?"

mmmkay... didn't I say previously just give us any tables as soon as they're open? I never said they all have to be together.

I think steam might have came out of my head by the time they seated us. The manager didn't even look a bit sorry for making us wait in excess of 45min. After that I said to future DH, never again will we come here.

A few things about this. First off, unless you told the host/hostess that you wouldn't mind sitting apart, I think the normal assumption would be that you all wanted to sit together. If it was ok for them to split you up, you should have told them that.

Second, if there is a lot of empty tables, but people waiting to be seated, it is very possible that the restaurant is understaffed, and have no one to wait those tables. Maybe they had a call in, or were just plain not staffed to handle their guest load. But I would bet those tables were not in use because there was no one available to wait on them.

Third, an ADR is not a reservation in the normal sense. It means that at that time you will be seated at the next table available for your party size. As your party size was 16, and you hadn't told them you would be willing to split up, you had to wait for the next table available for your party size. And as you stated, they won't kick people out that linger over a meal.

I agree it wouldn't be fun to wait 45 minutes for a table. But going by what info you gave, and due to things outside of the managers control, I can understand why it happened.

 

[Golf4food]

A few things about this. First off, unless you told the host/hostess that you wouldn't mind sitting apart, I think the normal assumption would be that you all wanted to sit together. If it was ok for them to split you up, you should have told them that.

Second, if there is a lot of empty tables, but people waiting to be seated, it is very possible that the restaurant is understaffed, and have no one to wait those tables. Maybe they had a call in, or were just plain not staffed to handle their guest load. But I would bet those tables were not in use because there was no one available to wait on them.

Third, an ADR is not a reservation in the normal sense. It means that at that time you will be seated at the next table available for your party size. As your party size was 16, and you hadn't told them you would be willing to split up, you had to wait for the next table available for your party size. And as you stated, they won't kick people out that linger over a meal.

I agree it wouldn't be fun to wait 45 minutes for a table. But going by what info you gave, and due to things outside of the managers control, I can understand why it happened.

I would also think this is a possibility at any WDW restaurant when you have a party of 16...

 

[cseca]

A few things about this. First off, unless you told the host/hostess that you wouldn't mind sitting apart, I think the normal assumption would be that you all wanted to sit together. If it was ok for them to split you up, you should have told them that.

Second, if there is a lot of empty tables, but people waiting to be seated, it is very possible that the restaurant is understaffed, and have no one to wait those tables. Maybe they had a call in, or were just plain not staffed to handle their guest load. But I would bet those tables were not in use because there was no one available to wait on them.

Third, an ADR is not a reservation in the normal sense. It means that at that time you will be seated at the next table available for your party size. As your party size was 16, and you hadn't told them you would be willing to split up, you had to wait for the next table available for your party size. And as you stated, they won't kick people out that linger over a meal.

I agree it wouldn't be fun to wait 45 minutes for a table. But going by what info you gave, and due to things outside of the managers control, I can understand why it happened.

Oh I understand about them not knowing we are ok to be split apart. But I specifically told them that yes I don't mind. Even after knowing that, they didn't seat us.

If they are understaffed, they could say so and explain it'll be a longer than expected wait. And I would definitely try to think of a different option. I could call wdw dining and see what open seatings are around the area or even just scrap the whole thing and go with Gasparilla.

Their decision to make us wait (we are the only people waiting throughout 45min btw) and not give us any update is what making me upset. It's not like they have PILES of people waiting and they couldn't possible remember who are the party of 16. We were it!

I still think they acted rather undisneylike. And no, I'm not talking about getting us in before our ADR time, or kicking people out for our ressie or getting us unexpected exceptional service or even an apology. All I wanted was the decency to be updated on the situation, after having to wait 30 minutes and going up to the host a couple times. I think that was reasonable wasn't it?

Heck, they could've said listen we're in over our heads you probably will have to wait an hour is that ok? I probably would be a little upset in the beginning but then be grateful that at least I could try to find another option. Y'know?

Anyways, that's water under the bridge. I just want to let people know when they go to GFC with a large group that they might have a long wait... they've been warned...

I would also think this is a possibility at any WDW restaurant when you have a party of 16...

BTW, with our large group we've gone to Spoodles (bfast), Akershus (dinner), Cape May (dinner), and GFC (bfast). The other 3 were exceptional. Akershus promptly asked us "Do you want to wait for a big table or separated into 2 and get in now?". Spoodles had a large table for the whole group ready within minutes. Cape May had a room just for us and seated us within minutes...

At all locations the servers were good to amazing (including GFC).

Anyways, sorry OP for the OT... I really apologize.

 

[aesalsa]

WOW!! Thanks for posting these pics. It brings back some great food memories! I have thoroughly enjoyed the dishes below.

It is indeed huge and tasty, very rich.

Some other GFC food shots:

Onion Soup:

Tiramisu Cake:

 

[brunette8706]

We had a really bad service experience with GF cafe at breakfast, and I have yet to want to return there. Maybe in 10 years or so when the manager gets rotated or something.

The food was fine. Nothing to rave about. The host/manager were beyond awful.

We had a reservation at 10:30am for 16 people (the day before our wedding) and the whole party arrived at the same time. We checked in and were told that there's a wait. I said how long, 15min. Ok, 15min isn't so bad.
Well 30min later... nothing, no news.
I came up and asked again.

They said oh a little bit longer because the people in our table won't leave. Hmm... ok I wasn't expecting you to kick out people but at least give me some ideas on how much longer

... "Please wait...", the host came up about 5 mins later... "We just need to wait a little bit longer, they are about ready to leave". I told her that we have kids that really needs to get something to eat by now, could they just give us any table?

So they said it'll be only a little bit. I said OK fine. At this point we have 4 kids ready for a meltdown.

At about 45min, I almost lost it. Came up to the desk and asked what is going on?
"Well, they are leaving and then we have to clear the tables".

At this point I looked inside and saw A BUNCH of TABLES open. I was flabbergasted...
I came back out and said, why aren't we being put on those open tables?
"Oh, they can't be put together?"

mmmkay... didn't I say previously just give us any tables as soon as they're open? I never said they all have to be together.

I think steam might have came out of my head by the time they seated us. The manager didn't even look a bit sorry for making us wait in excess of 45min. After that I said to future DH, never again will we come here.

And we haven't since.

On a good note, the servers were good. They still received good tips.

Moral of the story: If you have a large group ADR here, make sure you know you might have to wait AWHILE.

**
Hi! I think I would have been a tad upset myself, especially since all those tables were empty. I think 45 minutes to wait for a table, especially since you had an ADR and there were empty tables in the restaurant WAS NOT ACCOMODATING. Sorry, you had that bad experience.

On a positive note we ate at this restaurant twice and both times had very good service. We had lunch once and breakfast, the food was very good and the waitress was very pleasant. I would try and give this restaurant another chance if possible.

Take care.
Brunette

 

[Sammie]

Very good breakfast and lunch place. Beautiful decor, great location and good service.

Dinner is over priced, especially the desserts.

 

[maxiesmom]

**
Hi! I think I would have been a tad upset myself, especially since all those tables were empty. I think 45 minutes to wait for a table, especially since you had an ADR and there were empty tables in the restaurant WAS NOT ACCOMODATING. Sorry, you had that bad experience.


Brunette

Usually, if a restaurant has empty tables but is not seating anyone, it is because they do not have wait staff for those tables. So it would do no good to sit anyone at them. Unless you wanted to make them really really angry.

I'm just wondering, where does it become outright rude to sit at a big group of tables after you are done eating? You shouldn't have to shovel your food down, but people should have some awareness that taking up a large group of tables long after your meal is done is a bit rude.

 

[brunette8706]

Usually, if a restaurant has empty tables but is not seating anyone, it is because they do not have wait staff for those tables. So it would do no good to sit anyone at them. Unless you wanted to make them really really angry.:mad:

I'm just wondering, where does it become outright rude to sit at a big group of tables after you are done eating? You shouldn't have to shovel your food down, but people should have some awareness that taking up a large group of tables long after your meal is done is a bit rude.

***

You may be right about the number of wait staff, BUT as the party that was "finishing up" and obviously done, and simply dawdling, they did NOT require much if any of the wait staff's attention. At some point the restaurant manager really needs to make a decision.

Brunette

 

[GenieCat]

Glad to see the good reviews. This will be arrival night dinner for our stay at the Polynesian in October.

 

[RCharnay]

We loved the GFC burger. It's one of the few foods we've talked about since our last trip and look forward to having again. A burger with lobster-yum!

 

[Cookie Princess]

We enjoy it for breakfast...the maple vanilla french toast is DELISH!

I will say that our last dinner there was a SERVICE NIGHTMARE!! We waited an hour over our reservation time to be seated only to have a waitress who was interested in helping a very large table vs. the smaller tables she was also assigned to. We were so frustrated we left without dessert...my favorite part of any meal.

 

[DisneyFan83]

We went here last trip for the first time and loved it. So much that we canceled some ADR's and ended up having both dinner and a breakfast there. We preferred dinner, but both were great. Our server was better at dinner too, but we never really had much of a problem with that. Great food!

 

[BurghFan111]

The food was great. We had the pork chop and the steak. The atmosphere was very nice. The service level made it feel more like a Signature Dining. The staff seemed very aware of their location but were not stuffy at all.

 

[Jiminy_78]

DH and I had breakfast here on our last trip. We both enjoyed our food, but the service was rather lackluster. Our server didn't appear to be that busy but she focused more on busing other tables than checking on us. It was kind of strange because she kept walking by our table and looking at us but she never stopped to check on us once we had our food. I had to wave her down to ask for something. Other than that, we enjoyed our meal.