Has disney gone cheep on the food because of the free dining plan?

[nelson84]

I was wondering why the food is so bad at disney? The counter service is what I am talking about. Mac and cheese is terrible, burgers dry the buns stale, I don't get it when I went to disneyland in the late 90's the food was good. Is it because everyone is watching their weight and they are trying to go fat free or something? Or is it the free dining plan? Disney should cut a deal with 5 guys burger and fries, in 'N' out burger even burger king and Mc Donalds. What is up with the crappy food. Everything else is great in Disney why let the food go to crap. The fine dining is excluded such as epcot and the hotel food is pretty good but the counter service in the parks is a big let down.

 

[bdoyledimou]

I was there in August and had great food at all of the counter service places i went too (even the ABC Commissary although the Curry was a bit salty)

Just bad luck?

 

[mkleinbe]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, but this question has been hashed out again and again here on the Dis usually ending up in the thread being closed due to fighting...... I'm sure if you search you can find those discussions....

 

[cymbaldiva]

I was there in August and had great food at all of the counter service places i went too (even the ABC Commissary although the Curry was a bit salty)

Just bad luck?

I guess it's a matter of taste? The quick service stuff isn't good - definitely not great, but to be fair I've had worse - Busch Gardens Williamsburg anyone? eep!

I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, but this question has been hashed out again and again here on the Dis usually ending up in the thread being closed due to fighting...... I'm sure if you search you can find those discussions....

She is correct - this has been done to death... good luck with your research

 

[Mamu]

Although this question has been hashed and hashed it's always good to hear what other are saying about the food. I find the restaurants change from trip to trip. I feel the free dining has effected most of the restaurants with higher prices.

We were there in September and I found the QS restaurants that I've always liked still served decent food. I'm not crazy about the buns there now using at Casey's and some of the burger spots, and I wish you could have a choice.

There were 10 of us on this trip so there were very few big meals, we did do Crystal Palace for lunch one day and the food was very good. We also did T-Rex DTD, Rain Forest Cafe, AK, and Sci Fi at DHS all lunches were good. I would never have picked Rain Forest Cafe but one of my GD wanted to eat here. Food was OK.

We did mostly TS lunches and QS for dinner because we stayed CL. My children and GC did Chef Mickey our last night for dinner, DH and I choose not to go, I'm not a fan of their dinner. They returned and said it was the worst food. They will never spend their money on this restaurant again.

What I am finding is there are not as many choices on the dinner menu as there used to be. As far as the food some places have gone down hill, other seem to be OK. We were also there in March with friends and did mostly signature restaurants for dinner, there was only one night I wasn't crazy about my meal, I think it was what I ordered because everyone else enjoyed their meals.

Has the food gone down hill, I think there are some restaurants that have, yet there are others that seem to improve.

 

[stitchaholic]

I agree, it is hard to find a great CS burger, but there are some great CS places like columbia harbour house, WPE in DTD, and tangeirine (SP?)cafe in morrocco, and flame tree BBQ in AK, not good burgers, but good food.

 

[RMulieri]

I have not had any issues with CS food..But do a board search

 

[TDC Nala]

I am here now. I agree much of the counter service offerings, especially at Disney-operated restaurants, are in steep decline. But it is possibly something frequent visitors would notice more. Columbia Harbor House is a favorite and after Sunday it is no longer on any "great food" list I had. Serviceable and edible, yes. But not great or even really good.

As for contracting out for fast food, Disney just jettisoned McDonalds and replaced the Downtown Disney outlet with Pollo Campero, which is evidently considered a "healthier" option with more international appeal. Don't see them bringing in any more big names in fast food.

 

[nelson84]

If this topic has been hashed over so many times there must be alot of complaints then. I tuff out the crappy food for the best theme park in the world. When you have a name like Disney you can serve crap on a plate and we will still buy it, who wants to leave the park for lunch and get search again on the way back in.

 

[GuySmiley]

Hmm, I've never heard this about counter service in particular. I'd think it effects tables service more. I think the CS restaurants are great. Flame Tree BBQ serves the best ribs on property. And I dont mean "for counter service" I mean best ribs period. I also love Columbia Harbor House's fish. Maybe I'm biased because I never get burgers, unless its at Pecos Bills (yum!)

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, but this question has been hashed out again and again here on the Dis usually ending up in the thread being closed due to fighting...... I'm sure if you search you can find those discussions....

No offense, but why does it bother you?

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I am not a big burger person.. but... I think all the counter service food is eatable.. I mean.. I guess my expectations for cs food are less because I know that I am at a theme park and I am not expecting a 5 star meal.. unless of course I am at a signature restaurant where they are known for their food..

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The problem is a restaurant (or Outdoor Foods) gets a fixed amount per sale, no matter what the menu price is for the meal or item sold. As many people want "the best bang for thier buck" people on the Dining Plan tend to order the more expensive menu items.

This means that for a restaurant to break even (or at least make their target profits) they have to increase the selling price of their menu which hits people who are not on a dining plan.

I would be willing to bet that if Disney did away with at least the Basic Dining Plan (and maybe increaded the Premium Dining Pans prices) within six months you would see menu prices going down as well as more actual high-end foods available.

 

[coconutprincess]

I actually love the pulled pork and Pizza from Pizza Planet. For mass produced food, its rather tasty. But on the other hand... my goal is to never get a burger at a CS in Disney and I'm usually pretty happy with what I end up with.

 

[cjsm&d]

I was wondering why the food is so bad at disney? The counter service is what I am talking about. Mac and cheese is terrible, burgers dry the buns stale, I don't get it when I went to disneyland in the late 90's the food was good. Is it because everyone is watching their weight and they are trying to go fat free or something? Or is it the free dining plan? Disney should cut a deal with 5 guys burger and fries, in 'N' out burger even burger king and Mc Donalds. What is up with the crappy food. Everything else is great in Disney why let the food go to crap. The fine dining is excluded such as epcot and the hotel food is pretty good but the counter service in the parks is a big let down.

I find the food at WDW hit and miss. But then, I find that in my everyday life.

I don't think more chain restaurants is the answer though. The first time I saw the McDonalds kiosk at Magic Kingdom I was bummed (though DS and DW grabbed soem fries pretty quickly ).

Maybe it's just me, but WDW is special and having Burger King and McDonalds takes a little of that away IMO. I make a huge exception for Ghirardelli's

 

[GeorgeG]

Yes, this has been discussed over and over, but it's enough of an issue that it shouldn't be allowed to die out until Disney fixes what is terribly wrong. The general consensus is that free dining is to blame. Some blame on hard times, but non-Disney restaurants seem to be maintaining a decent level of food at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, free dining is also getting credit for filling the parks and resorts. As long as that continues, Disney has no incentive to make any changes in the quality of the dining.

 

[KAA1972]

I think WDW does a great job with their food... especially CS. However, I do think you have to know where to go to find the most yummy items. But, I think the burgers and fries at most locations in WDW are still better than your average fast food place off property. Ok, maybe not better than 5 Guys -- but 5 Guys has an exceptional burger and fries.

 

[Laketravis]

In the end and after all the "magic", WDW is still a business. And as a business they continually search for ways to reduce costs. One of the more obvious is a central-kitchen approach. Think of all the equipment, costs and labor that can be eliminated by preparing standardized meals at a central kitchen for distribution within the resort?

I just returned earlier this month and that's what I noticed - more and more selections are being pre-prepared somewhere else and supplied to the CS entities. Do you really notice a difference between a cheeseburger from one location to the next? Really?

I think Disney is quickly moving to this method in all aspects, starting with CS and even bakery items (some of the bakeries used to prepare on-site, that is no more).

TS has seen some standardization among menu items at selected locations, I predict you'll see more of this as well.

The days of obvious and wide uniqueness among various eateries and menus at WDW are over.

 

[Colleen27]

I would be willing to bet that if Disney did away with at least the Basic Dining Plan (and maybe increaded the Premium Dining Pans prices) within six months you would see menu prices going down as well as more actual high-end foods available.

I don't believe that for a minute. We might see less/no price increases, but prices don't go down. And I don't think quality would go up at all unless the restaurants were suddenly struggling to fill tables in the absence of the "captive audience" of dining plan guests. We're a nation that loves McDonalds and Applebees; the demand just isn't there for high end, especially when there's a theme park premium tacked onto the prices.

 

[Colleen27]

Yes, this has been discussed over and over, but it's enough of an issue that it shouldn't be allowed to die out until Disney fixes what is terribly wrong. The general consensus is that free dining is to blame. Some blame on hard times, but non-Disney restaurants seem to be maintaining a decent level of food at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, free dining is also getting credit for filling the parks and resorts. As long as that continues, Disney has no incentive to make any changes in the quality of the dining.

That may be the consensus, but that doesn't mean it is accurate. The anti-DDP thing has kind of taken on a life of its own, I think. It has gotten to a point where in some people's minds every single shortcoming of every one of the hundred+ DDP participants is ascribed to the plan, with no tolerance whatsoever for an off night or a bad server or any of the other one-off things that effect the overall dining experience.