Is it just me or are the WDW restaurants skimping?

[DisOrBust]

Just returned from a great trip and in the porcess of getting my rest. review together I began to notice a few minor details.

Bomas ...No kids cups anymore. My girls always loved the AKL sipper cups. When I asked if the had them I was told "not anymore. " I don't know if this is forever. (PS Uncle your Safari Amber is back on draft!) I also noticed there were fewer selections then last year. We love this this restaurant and ate there twice.

V&A...Only offered one cheese during the "cheese" course. I wasn't sure but when I compared it to our old menus we had three in the past. My Mom picked up on this right away and was disappointed they didn't serve the one she loved so much in the past.

Marracesh(sp).. Dinner had the Beef Shish kabob and the portions size was minimal for 24.00$ Two very small kabobs and 1/2 cup of rice. THe DDs kids meal came with one of the same kabobs, fries and a drink for 6.00 to put it perspective. The food was good and the belly dancing was the highlight for the kids..

So is just me or is anyone else noticing "skimping" here and there? THe character breakfast prices are also getting out of hand IMHO

 

[JulesMom]

I agree with character meals are getting too expensive.

We used to do one almost every day. Now we only do 3 or 4 the entire trip.

 

[DMRick]

I'm also just back..and I got on the scale this morning. They didn't skimp where we ate LOL!

 

[DISNEY GUEST]

We just returned from WDW and one of the first things we noticed was the Buffets are certainly shrinking while the price is going up.....
Two that come to mind first are CP and CM.
The desert bar at CM is half what it was in June.
Not only have the number of dishes gone down but the selection stinks, nothing special.
Mashed potatoes, green beans, fritata(scrambled eggs) chicken,casserole type dishes with allot of sauce.
Never mind the fact that the food they are serving is not very tasty.
Many changes and not for the good.
Very disappointing.
We cancelled most of our priorty seatings after going into the resturants and looking at the offerings first.
If you gained weight it wasn't because there was alot of food,you just ate alot of what there was.......

 

[Belle5]

We noticed the cutback on kids cups. Every nice sit down restaurant used to give them as souvies. I don't know if my kids received any last trip.

 

[tar heel]

There was at least a cup of couscous (it's not rice!) with the kebabs when we had them at Marrakesh a couple years ago. Loved the meal but thought it was pricey. Lunch, on the other hand, is a better deal. I would have said a MUCH better deal except that it seems the prices have gone up $3-$4 per entree.

I did notice last summer that there were fewer desserts at Boma, but there had been so many previously that it was almost obscene.

I agree about the character breakfasts -- with tip, it's over $100 for our family now. Not sure if we'll do another any time soon.

 

[DMRick]

If you gained weight it wasn't because there was alot of food,you just ate alot of what there was.......

There was a lot of different foods..that's what does me in..I want to try everything. By CM, do you mean Cape May? If so, the dessert bar was the full end minus the carving station, as always. I'd like to say I stopped eating once I was full..but I'd be lying..I stuffed in so many desserts, that I wanted to ask for a fork lift to get me out of my chair! We ate there January 2002, Mother's Day 2002, August 2002, and last week, and nothing was missing...except the shrimp was hot instead of cold. We don't do many buffets, since I think the price is too high for the amount I can eat, but our sit down meals had plenty on our plates. We used vouchers, and often brought the desserts or appetizers home for a late night snack (we used vouchers and shared all our meals except for CM) at Rainforest (3 times) where they let us "upgrade" the meal with better steak, shrimp, etc, Beaches (2 times), Brown Derby (one of our dullest meals), Alfredo's (wow! they let us get the appetizer, pasta and dessert samplers with our voucher), Peppermill (wonderful prime rib (put back on the grill for us, so it was not mooing), with so much side food we just couldn't finish), and paid at Cape May's and had Harbour House included in our "Key's" tour, which was very good).

 

[Uncleromulus]

First-hooray for Safari Amber being back!! Last outing at Jiko, our server told us it was discontinued because 1). They wanted more room to store wine and 2). because very few people ever ordered it. In fact, they didn't even have it at the Victoria Falls Lounge--.
As for cheese/skimping at V&A--for a long time all they ever had was that Stilton Blue Cheese. Then a few years back they added several others, giving 3 different cheese "tastes". That was how it was when we went in September. I'll check this out when we go again in May.
As for other skimping--since I rarely do buffets I can't comment. As far as table service goes, I can say that the portions are not as gargantuan as they were years ago, but are still quite ample.

So I guess I haven't really noticed any skimping---

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

I did notice (and forgot to mention in my last review) that Artist Point only served butter with the bread. I seem to remember a spread or two with the bread. Garlic maybe?

 

[Ron from Michigan]

When we were at WDw last month we had sit down meals almost every night and always came away very full. We all thought the portions were pleanty big. I know we all gained when we came home...

 

[Tess]

While I haven't really given it much thought, I guess you may be right. We felt that Chef Mickey's (dinner) last summer was definitely not up to what we remembered the year before. The food selection was more limited and, even for buffet standards, not as tasty. We don't usually do dessert, so didn't notice any change there.

My husband refuses to go to character breakfasts any longer. The two kids and I love 1900, but he will NOT pay over $100 for breakfast. I really enjoy having breakfast out--it's such a pain to cook a full breakfast at home (eggs, biscuits, gravy, breakfast meat, etc.), but I have to agree with him--$100+ for breakfast is ridiculous!

While the Character Dinners (and we only do 1 per vacation--our welcome back meal on the first night) are pricey, at least it's dinner and not breakfast--frankly, even with adult beverages it isn't that expensive compared to breakfast! Now that the kids are older, we just don't do the buffet thing much anyway. . .

 

[Tink]

I've noticed that in years past at some places the salad was included in your meal (mostly at hotels) and now they have to be added on. Also, some of the fast food meals for adults are over 6 bucks, and that does not include the soda. That kills me. Now, I am from NY and am usually not jaded by high prices. But since hubby and I were married in 1995, we were going 2x per year (now once a year with two kids), I have noticed that the prices are higher. I must say, that even tho I have to add on the drink or salad, the portions are large.

 

[TreeOfLife]

I didn't think this was new with buffets. I recall asking for a second glass of juice during breakfast and the waiters disappeared on us until it was time to pay! It happened to us during our last three trips while we ate at the Garden Grille and Breakfastosaurus.

I also noticed that the waiters are crazy about telling you that they'll bring more food back but after they do it twice you don't see them again until they hand you the ticket...

We always had a chance to eat more and all we wanted when we stood up to get our meals. But the drinks, when icluded, were always served with a dropper.

Boma's waiter, however, kept returning and replacing our sodas without us even asking. We loved their buffet and had a chance to pig out on a lot of items.

 

[Ms. WDW]

I must say I'm sorry to hear the buffet's don't seem to be what they use to be. I'm hoping that it's only the opinion of the person posting. I'm heading down in August and Chef Mickey's has always been on our list of "must do's". However I always thought they were over priced; even before "cutbacks". Actually, I've always thought food in WDW was outrageous, but hey....it's vacation and it's WDW! I guess I'll just have to see for myself.

As for the kids cups...they were actually gone 2 years ago. I looked for them on our last trip in 2001 and I was told that they didn't have them anymore. Bummer...

 

[eeyore0062]

We were in WDW in October and had priority seatings at various restaurants for our entire stay, which was 8 days.

Here is our assessment:
Breakfast at Sassagoulas Fireworks Factory: definitely large portions for the price. No scrimping there.
Dinner at Boatwrights... definitely no scrimping on the quantity of food. DM and I could have easily split the chicken jambalaya... I just wish there had been a little more chicken and sausage in it, for the price.
1900 Park Faire: breakfast... excellent, well worth the $19.99 per plate. The buffet was wonderful... many varied selections for all tastes. The made to order omelettes were large and tasty.
'Ohana: all you care to eat for $23 per person... no scrimping here either!
50's Primetime: large filling portions, delicious... got a kids cup, too!
Narcoosee's: expensive, but the quality and the portion size were worth it, not to mention the great service, and view!
Cape May Cafe: you can never go wrong with this buffet. All you can eat clams, mussels and shrimp for $23 per person, not to mention all of the other food offered, plus salad, soup and that awesome dessert bar. This meal is without a doubt the greatest value in WDW!

So NO, in retrospect.. I do not think the WDW is scrimping in most areas. I do think that some of the character breakfasts should be of a lower price, though so they can be more affordible to more people. Of course, I guess that would make it even harder to get those PS!