Is quality poor during free dining?

[ParrotBill]

Personally I blame the dining plan for global warming

We have not seen quality decline with free dining, but I can surely say that portions are smaller and prices are higher in just the last few years with cost cutting as the reason. Free dining has driven high end choices off the menus, making it harder to find "splurge dinners"... for example almost no seafood on the Teppan Edo menu anymore.

 

[lizandjason]

1) Wolfgang no longer owns Wolfgang at WDW.
2) He was forced to sell to Levy Group when he opened at Universal.
3) Disney claimed conflict of interest.
4) Ever since then, the food & service has been spotty and trending downward.

1) I always look forward to your responses because you know your stuff.
2)We will be avoiding WPE this trip, I noticed that the menu had been 'dumbed down' recently and now I know why.
3)Thanks for the information, you are fantastic, Rusty Scupper!

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Personally I blame the dining plan for global warming

Don't all roads lead here?

 

[rsinj]

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[copperbrick]

I am so happy to read mostly positive posts here. When we went during free dining last year:

Jiko
Boma
Teppan Edo
Calif. Grill
San Angel Inn
Tutto Italia
Whispering Canyon

Reviews here:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1950044 -- overall the experience was very good to excellent, as you'll see. We judged it against our 1994 trip, when we did a breakfast, lunch and dinner table service for 10 days. 1994 was a grand time for Disney dining, with truly outstanding food -- so if our scores last year were still very-good-to-excellent (for the most part), it speaks pretty highly of the food there now.

It seems as though a lot of the menus have very similar offerings, just vamped to suit the theme . . . but we enjoyed it.

This year, we're returning to: Boma -- I need to give it another shot due to my being tired and picky (lower GI issues) last year, and Jiko. As for quick service, we look forward to returning to Sunshine Seasons in Future World - really great food there.

Everything else will be new for us: Sanaa, Kouzzina, Citricos, LeCellier, O'Hana, Flying Fish Cafe -- we'll see! I'll post reviews in a few weeks.

I hope more people post here, especially those just returning from free dining. Thank you for this thread.

 

[disbabyndaddy]

We just returned from a six-day/five-night stay at POR with the free dining plan (second year in a row) and again loved it! Tons of food and wonderful dining experiences...The Wave, Le Cellier, Tokyo Dining (Japan) and Ohana...we loved and/or enjoyed them all.

The only exception...we hated-hated the SciFi Diner, their service, food and the stomach aches we had afterwards!

 

[LindyN]

Disney has food that appeals to the masses, and for the most part it is quite good.

Buffets have a variety of things to offer everyone.

Sit-down restaurants have some similar things that they offer. This is food-service stuff folks and pretty consistent.

I go to Disney frequently with no dining plan (TiW card) and order what I like. I have only had a couple of bad meals--and two were at LeCellier. Had a weird meal at Jiko, but that was my fault as I had no idea what Raita was, and I wanted the scallops. Had I been better informed about what it was I would have ordered something else. Again, this was my fault--and not the restaurants.

You will be fine and probably pick up a couple of pounds too. We don't read resports about people who complain about the food to the extent it is inedible and they lose weight. Chances are good that you will enjoy every place where you dine.

 

[LoraJ]

I haven't read much about free dining ruining the food at WDW, but I sure have read a LOT of opinions that the dining plan in general has dumbed down the menus and overall quality of eating at WDW. I think their point is, if everyone is on the dining plan (free at times, no less!), and everyone all orders the most expensive thing on the menu at a certain place, soon that item won't be on the menu anymore (for instance, the twin lobster tails at Captain Jack's that are no longer offered). They aren't going to keep offering the creme de la creme, they have started offering mass-produced items that most people will generally consider acceptable. I can see this point, but I still totally love the dining plan (especially free dining!).

I imagine you'll still find the same quality as on your last trip, if that was good, then you'll be fine, IMO!

I was browsing through food photos yesterday, many that were taken 2 years ago and you can see the cutbacks that have been made. I have heard they no longer serve corn bread at Flame Tree. I was looking at photos from El Pirata and older photos showed a cup of beans. Newer photos didn't. What happened to the combo plates at San Angel Inn? Their menu now looks like every other menu, just different sauces. Again, not sure if we can blame the dining plan or not.