If you visit WDW regulary do you feel the meals have gone down ever so slightly?

[Sofia's Dad]

I have used the DDP the last two trips. I visit WDW every other year on the average. I like the signature restaurants so its the reason why we chose the ddp. This last trip there were meals that certain places do not make any longer do to the expense and the food in general just didn't come out as good as the last time. Except for the California Grill, I felt the other signature restaurants should not be taken as 2 credits. I am not saying the restaurants were bad. I am not trying to put down anything at WDW. I just feel I should just eat at the SCi Fi, 50's and general places such a these I have mentioned and enjoy myself. I no longer feel i should eat at, the brown derby, narcoossees, flying fish etc, and waste credits when i can save the money and get a regular diner plan or no plan at all. I am not sure the DDP and the enormous tip (20%) is worth the money.
Just wondering if others think the food has seen its best days in the past. Maybe Im spoiled living close by to many great restaurants. It can get expensive in many of them but i can see and taste there worth. In disney I am not so sure. At least on the last visit and it may had been just the meals I ordered and the day it was made.

 

[eliza61]

I have used the DDP the last two trips. I visit WDW every other year on the average. I like the signature restaurants so its the reason why we chose the ddp. This last trip there were meals that certain places do not make any longer do to the expense and the food in general just didn't come out as good as the last time. Except for the California Grill, I felt the other signature restaurants should not be taken as 2 credits. I am not saying the restaurants were bad. I am not trying to put down anything at WDW. I just feel I should just eat at the SCi Fi, 50's and general places such a these I have mentioned and enjoy myself. I no longer feel i should eat at, the brown derby, narcoossees, flying fish etc, and waste credits when i can save the money and get a regular diner plan or no plan at all. I am not sure the DDP and the enormous tip (20%) is worth the money.
Just wondering if others think the food has seen its best days in the past. Maybe Im spoiled living close by to many great restaurants. It can get expensive in many of them but i can see and taste there worth. In disney I am not so sure. At least on the last visit and it may had been just the meals I ordered and the day it was made.

LOL. this is a very heated subject so get ready. On the Dis there are a few trains of thoughts. Here's my take (and my take only)

1) If it's cheap it doesn't have to be good. Generally, these folks feel that since they are using the ddp and/or getting free dining as long as it's filling it doesn't have to be good.

2) It's a theme park, why do you expect decent food?

And lastly the 3rd group that includes me.

3) Disney 's restuarants have nose dived quicker than the Titanic did after it hit the iceberg.

Not so very long ago, disneys restaurants were a huge part of the attraction to the world. I remember when they actually advertised the ability to get fabulous food.

Now we have lowered our expectations. We are pleasantly surprised if we leave a restaurant and can say "that was a great meal". More often than not we say "eh, it was ok". Next year we are staying for a 10 day family reunion, I doubt we'll eat on site more than 2 TS meals. I'd rather spend the extra time and get a great meal than be disappointed because I went on vacation and had mediocre food.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes.

And in some places it is not just slightly. I no longer go to buffets at Disney.

There's a rule about discussing tips on the board, so any more discussion of tips will be deleted here, but in light of the previous post I want to point out that tips are not prepaid or included on the dining plan and have not been since 2008.

I also feel that I do much better without using the dining plan. The Swan/Dolphin restaurants, for example, don't take the plan, and they are among the best I've tried (that is, if you don't have a car and don't have the option of leaving Disney property without paying for a taxi). You also don't have to worry if those signature restaurants are worth the 2 credits if you don't use the dining plan.

 

[DVC Grammy]

I'm going to buck the trend here, but first I'll set the context:
I've been visiting WDW regularly since the 1970's, and have eaten at just about every TS and CS there (with the exception of V & A). Once my late DH and I bought into DVC, stays have been longer (2-4 weeks) and in general, eating habits have gotten healthier.
That being said, I find that one of the improvements in the food offered is that there are many more healthy choices, especially at CS restaurants (Seasons is a prime example).
I tend not to do too many TS places due to the cost over such a long stay, but I do appreciate the variety available, certainly compared to what was there during the early years. Yes, the foods may be somewhat "Americanized", but you can still get a taste of the different cuisines, especially in WS and resorts such as AKL.
As I said, I find it easier now to find the kinds of food I like, so I appreciate these changes.

 

[ocean134]

I haven't noticed a change quite as much as some others. Close friends of ours ate at the Mexico pavilion and thought the amount of food for the price had changed. I too noticed that only in Mexico. It's odd really.

I still think the food portions are pretty much the same elsewhere. Maybe I have just been lucky.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

The only 2 TS we really eat at is Narcoossee's and I think their food is still on par with what it was when we first started eating there.

I have noticed a lot of the 1 TS have gone down in my opinion. We still get dining plan (DDP and normal, we've done both). I also will make reservations if we're just doing a weekend (we go 6-7 times a year usually).

 

[Pakey]

The restaurants not on the dining plan are still good. Great dining is important to us on vacation which is why we now go to Las Vegas more and WDW less.

 

[Eastern]

This is going back, but if you ate at Disneyworld in the 80's, it would pretty much be an above average to excellent meal. Now with the dining plans, I really notice the decline in quality. You'll still pay a lot, but the food is often just meh.

 

[Disney Spaz]

I agree with the other posters that I have noticed a decline in the food quality. The first was when the kids chicken nuggets went from being really chicken strips to microwavable nuggets. They are awful. This is why other than this upcoming trip where I got the free dining I will not pay for the DDP. In fact we have struggled this trip to pick restaruants worth spending our credits on.

 

[GeorgeG]

The dining has gone significantly downhill in recent years. While there are several reasons for this, the biggest is free dining.

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

I'm going to make this short and sweet, and clear for everyone on this board:

When you have a family of four sit down at a Signature restaurant, or even a one-credit TS, and Mommy is a vegetarian, and Daddy is a carnivore, and Johnny can't eat gluten, and Sally is a diabetic, you have to have menus and food items which will accommodate the lowest common denominator in any eating scenario. WDW feeds 50 million guests each year. That's 50 million different tastes in food, diet, appetite, affordability, etc. etc. Given that, WDW does an excellent job.

BTW, show me that restaurant near where you live that is so phenomenal, and I'll show you how that restaurant doesn't have 1/1000th the patronage of any WDW TS in a given year. Also, I'll bet that restaurant doesn't have to pay the salaries of 60,000 employees and the third largest bus system in the state. Yeah, that's where a good portion of your $18 goes when you order the Honey Sesame Chicken at Nine Dragons. Where did you think the money came from to do all that landscaping, the fireworks spectaculars, and the monorail? From the ticket sales? From the merchandise? Uh, no. Not even close.

One last thing. The quality in food may have gone down in WDW, but so has the quality of the visitor. That... I've been noticing for quite some time.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Not only has the quality gone down but the prices are getting outrageous and expect prices to go up again. It looks like QSDP will be $35 and Regular DP will be around $47. People paying for meals OOP like us will be paying even more because Disney has to make guests feel that getting DDP is a value. We are FL that have APs and we go often. 5 trips this yr so far. We were just there this weekend and only ate 1 meal onsite. Due to meds I take I had to eat and I didn't come prepared (my fault). 2 breakfasts and a chocolate muffin cost us almost $21, that was CS at Pop. Later we went to Logans (3miles from Pop) appy, 2 meals, and 2 mini desserts, oh yeah and 2 margaritas for $28. 3 yes ago we would have never stepped foot off property but now we do. Not paying high prices for poor quality food. Still Love Disney!

 

[ACIM]

I'm going to make this short and sweet, and clear for everyone on this board:

When you have a family of four sit down at a Signature restaurant, or even a one-credit TS, and Mommy is a vegetarian, and Daddy is a carnivore, and Johnny can't eat gluten, and Sally is a diabetic, you have to have menus and food items which will accommodate the lowest common denominator in any eating scenario. WDW feeds 50 million guests each year. That's 50 million different tastes in food, diet, appetite, affordability, etc. etc. Given that, WDW does an excellent job.

BTW, show me that restaurant near where you live that is so phenomenal, and I'll show you how that restaurant doesn't have 1/1000th the patronage of any WDW TS in a given year. Also, I'll bet that restaurant doesn't have to pay the salaries of 60,000 employees and the third largest bus system in the state. Yeah, that's where a good portion of your $18 goes when you order the Honey Sesame Chicken at Nine Dragons. Where did you think the money came from to do all that landscaping, the fireworks spectaculars, and the monorail? From the ticket sales? From the merchandise? Uh, no. Not even close.

One last thing. The quality in food may have gone down in WDW, but so has the quality of the visitor. That... I've been noticing for quite some time.

Ok, we all got it, this thread can now be locked.

 

[eliza61]

I'm going to make this short and sweet, and clear for everyone on this board:

When you have a family of four sit down at a Signature restaurant, or even a one-credit TS, and Mommy is a vegetarian, and Daddy is a carnivore, and Johnny can't eat gluten, and Sally is a diabetic, you have to have menus and food items which will accommodate the lowest common denominator in any eating scenario. WDW feeds 50 million guests each year. That's 50 million different tastes in food, diet, appetite, affordability, etc. etc. Given that, WDW does an excellent job.

BTW, show me that restaurant near where you live that is so phenomenal, and I'll show you how that restaurant doesn't have 1/1000th the patronage of any WDW TS in a given year. Also, I'll bet that restaurant doesn't have to pay the salaries of 60,000 employees and the third largest bus system in the state. Yeah, that's where a good portion of your $18 goes when you order the Honey Sesame Chicken at Nine Dragons. Where did you think the money came from to do all that landscaping, the fireworks spectaculars, and the monorail? From the ticket sales? From the merchandise? Uh, no. Not even close.

One last thing. The quality in food may have gone down in WDW, but so has the quality of the visitor. That... I've been noticing for quite some time.

Not even a problem. Do want me to list them alphabetically or geographically (sp). LOL. that "serve a lot of people" excuse is lousy and wrong.
First WDW gets millions of visitors but they all do not visit the restaurants and they all don't go to the same restaurant. So Le Cellier may only serve a small portion of them.
The restaurant is constrained by SEATING capacity not the number of visitors. If Le Cellier seats 100 people and each person averages about 45 minutes to an hour to eat, that's a finite number for dinner. I live in NYC, my family owned and operated a phenomenal restaurant up until the day my uncles and grandfather died. at least 30 years, that managed to serve outstanding meals to a variety of types of visitors We had veggie dishes, carnivores and children dishes.

Le Cellier does not employee 60,000 people, they should have maybe 2 or 3 head chefs overseeing kitchen operation and ensuring food quality. Then they should have a couple of sous chef directly pumping out tasty creations, then it should filter down with lesser chefs being in charge of other operations. They are in charge of how the steak is prepared, they are in charge of how you're food taste, how it's cooked. so you're saying if the monorail needs repairs the money has to come out of the food budget?

I'm not even going to try and figure out why landscaping should come into the picture.

Now onto you original question. I live in NYC and spend quite some time in Paris.
Do you really need to know about 80 million people visit the eiffel tower ever year and do you really have to ask about the quality of French food? Yes it is phenomenal. Ha, even Disneyworld Paris manages to crank out a great meal.

Now NYC, I suggest if you visit you try Carbones Italiano. Authentic Italian that will make you cry.

Lastly as far as the quality of the visitor. I'm not paying to hang out with other visitors. they do not affect my wallet so that was a ridiculous comment. If a visitor comes into Tonys and acts like a rude boor, I still want a fabulous meal. The quality of the food is in no way associated with the quality of the visitor.

 

[carly chloe]

I guess my family isn't picky because we love eating at Disney.

 

[GeorgeG]

I'm going to make this short and sweet, and clear for everyone on this board:

When you have a family of four sit down at a Signature restaurant, or even a one-credit TS, and Mommy is a vegetarian, and Daddy is a carnivore, and Johnny can't eat gluten, and Sally is a diabetic, you have to have menus and food items which will accommodate the lowest common denominator in any eating scenario. WDW feeds 50 million guests each year. That's 50 million different tastes in food, diet, appetite, affordability, etc. etc. Given that, WDW does an excellent job.

BTW, show me that restaurant near where you live that is so phenomenal, and I'll show you how that restaurant doesn't have 1/1000th the patronage of any WDW TS in a given year. Also, I'll bet that restaurant doesn't have to pay the salaries of 60,000 employees and the third largest bus system in the state. Yeah, that's where a good portion of your $18 goes when you order the Honey Sesame Chicken at Nine Dragons. Where did you think the money came from to do all that landscaping, the fireworks spectaculars, and the monorail? From the ticket sales? From the merchandise? Uh, no. Not even close.

One last thing. The quality in food may have gone down in WDW, but so has the quality of the visitor. That... I've been noticing for quite some time.

I can't disagree with this since it's obvious that expectations have gone down and WDW seems to be capitalizing on that (serve corn dogs and they will come). I can't buy into the rest of this post, though. Every restaurant, anywhere, has overhead. When the quality of the food and menu selections goes down it's usually a sign of poor management.

 

[blurgh]

I do have to admit, people complaining about food quality in a theme park complex is pretty amusing. And yes, I know it's on the list. lol. I don't know how you could expect something with that much traffic, which is generally centralized, to be any good.

Honestly, I'm not exactly sure when this "golden age" of Disney Dining took place. I did have a few years' window, where I didn't go, I guess it was possible it was then, but the food isn't significantly better (or worse) than when I went as a kid. And then, it was pretty mediocre.

I think it's a case of people going to the same place over and over and over again, and burning themselves out on it.

 

[scroot]

I have yet to have a meal at WDW that I didn't enjoy. Then again I grew up eating public school lunches. . .

 

[ElizabethB]

Yes, I agree dining quality has declined, and not just a little, at the signature restaurants (which I hasten to add are not theme park restaurants, but are located at hotels (unless one counts Brown Derby since it requires 2TS)). We just returned a couple of weeks ago. This is what we found:

V&A -- excellent as ever.

California Grill -- food generally was good, the $20 cheese plate (which used to be amazing) had been plated hours before it was served to us and was a real disappointment. Additionally, we elected to order a couple of wines by the glass. We were glad the waitress brought the bottles and let us taste them first. Both had been open far, far too long and were not going to be worth the $20 or so per glass being charged for them. We chose a bottle instead. We were shocked and not a bit happy that a restaurant known for its excellent wine list and nice choices by the glass now apparently feels it's quite all right to serve wine by the glass that is way, way too old. I really doubt we will return to CG.

Jiko -- wine was expensive but wonderful (Spice Route Malabar). The food was as good as ever (even better in some ways since the new (returning) chef took over). Our disappointment here was with the dessert. We used to love the desserts here. Now, as with other signature restaurants, they seem to be small, inexpensive and pre-plated way ahead of time (no doubt because the DDP permits each diner to order a dessert). Of course, the desserts are still $10 a pop, even though they are not worth it.

We had previously taken Artist Point off our list (which we used to love).

Bistro de Paris -- biggest disappointment of all. Perhaps because it is a theme park restaurant? In any event, the place was mobbed the night we were there with tons of kids screaming, crying, etc. I told the waiter the only thing missing was Goofy and Pluto visiting the tables. We had an 8:30 p.m. ADR and things did not really quiet down until around 10 p.m. Also, they apparently had a run on certain items, like the steak. I've had a good steak there before, but this time it was overcooked and smothered in a brown gravy, possibly to hide the fact that it was not a very good steak (probably the last one in the fridge). They ran out of potatoes, so served me gnocchi. Dh's scallops were fishy smelling and obviously not that fresh. We had a pleasant waiter, but he kept hurrying us along. He obviously wanted to finish and go home. We ordered a wonderful wine, but the meal did not equal the wine (even putting aside the horrific noise and ambience). Bistro is definitely one to which we will not return.

Beyond that, we dined at Sanaa and Kouzzina and enjoyed both, keeping in mind they are not signature restaurants, are not as expensive and therefore our expectations were not as high.

We also dined at Fultons and Portobello, both of which we enjoyed. The desserts were terrific, much better than any Disney signature restaurant desserts now. We also had excellent meals at Il Mulino at the Swan, Bice at Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal (the sea bass special was amazing and, possibly, the single best entree we had anywhere) and Emeril's at Citywalk.

We are now concentrating our dining on places that do not take DDP. Going forward, Jiko (and possibly Citrico's) are the only signature restaurants to which we'll return.

 

[eliza61]

I guess my family isn't picky because we love eating at Disney.

Not sure if it's a case of being picky. for example, as bad as I know they are for you I love Mcdonald's french fries. don't know what they do to them but I love knowing that no matter where I go, if I go into a Mcdonlds the french fries will be consistent. You know what to expect and no matter how many they serve, the quality will be the same. Now yes I know deep frying french fries is not the same as making an entire meal but you get my point. no matter how "plain" or "simple, food can be prepared tasty and for goodness sake it should be hot.
For example we went to a ts dinner one day and the soda was flat. well after questioning the server we found out that they fill the sodas up with ice about 1 hour before serving them to speed up the operation.
Now, that's not tragic but what I found funny is that no one said to themselves "hummm guest do not like flat, watered down soda". You would have thought after 20 people requesting fresh drinks some thing would have sunk in.
So it's not about how "picky" some one is, some thing as simple as a drink can be a reflection of poor management and putting other things (cost, speed) ahead of quality.

I do have to admit, people complaining about food quality in a theme park complex is pretty amusing. And yes, I know it's on the list. lol. I don't know how you could expect something with that much traffic, which is generally centralized, to be any good.
Honestly, I'm not exactly sure when this "golden age" of Disney Dining took place. I did have a few years' window, where I didn't go, I guess it was possible it was then, but the food isn't significantly better (or worse) than when I went as a kid. And then, it was pretty mediocre.

I think it's a case of people going to the same place over and over and over again, and burning themselves out on it.

So you're saying if I stop going to the world, my food should taste better? LOL. I'll let you know, this year (2010) we skipped our annual trip for Europe. We've got a trip planned next August so I hope you're right. I've given Tony's 3 tries and the sauce still taste like Ragu.
I guess we expect it based on previous experience. Like I said, Disney used to actually advertise about the great restaurants. So golden age. I would probably say I noticed it ~2005. I know early 90's we use to dream of going just for the food.

And yes I totally admit that when you charge me 35 bucks for a New York strip, call me crazy I think it should be great.