Is the food really that bad?

[psac]

Agree with the general plan for the Deluxe DP of a signature for dinner and one other table service meal as often as possible. Staying at the Boardwalk, you might find it even worth while to take a cab to/from the Contemporary for the California Grill (best restaurant on property to me), and to GF for Narcoossee's and/or Citricos. Flying Fish right at the Boardwalk is well worth your two credits, as is Brown Derby right in DHS. There are a lot of good Epcot places for 1 credit you can hit as well, such as Tutto Italia, Chefs de France, and Le Cellier (soon 2 credits for dinner. Agree with everyone that it's good, not great, but still very enjoyable).

The only places that seem to be "iffy" are maybe the Italian restaurants. Tutto Italia was fantastic the two times we are there. Tony's has always been good and enjoyable for an in-park restaurant. Mama Melrose is hit or miss. Those last two I would put in the "olive garden quality" category. And as someone else said, I would put Disney's worse restaurants in that chain category. We thought Via Napoli was awful and the worst WDW restaurant we've tried, but it just opened, so maybe they have a learning curve. Overall you'll enjoy the food!

ps -- Agree on Yak and Yeti's ribs, best in WDW by far!

 

[catne]

my best advice: go in believing you'll enjoy it. And you probably will. We've been to almost all of the Disney resort & park table service restaurants - many more than once (there's only a couple of shows & a few signatures left for us to try, basically) And we've been to many, many counter service & snack places there. All told, we've tried about 60 Disney food places. And so far, there's only 3 we would not return to (Yachtsman Steakhouse, 'Ohana, Hollywood & Vine) That's pretty good percentage of good meals, there.

Now, we're not "foodies" by any definition - and we don't commonly compare Disney resort restaurants to "what we can get back home for 1/2 the cost." Our attitude is, we're on vacation...at a major tourist destination, so of course everything costs more. That's a given. We like to go out to eat, we have adventurous tastes, and love the convenience & value in the dining plans. We think there's plenty of variety at Disney, you just have to look around. The claims that all the menus are the same are greatly exaggerated. Sure if you go to nothing but the steak-house type restaurants, you'll see similar protein offerings. But even there, you'll find the seasonings, sauces, etc. all have the individual restaurant's flair to them. (For example...the teriyaki steak at Kona Cafe does not taste at all like the steak at Captain's Grill. The mushroom filet at Le Cellier does not taste like the filet at The Wave...and so on.)

 

[lovethattink]

I bought the deluxe dining plan for 12 days. This is our first trip and we will be staying at the Boardwalk. I keep reading all these posts about how bad the food is, and how it has gone downhill. Any suggestions on a good strategy to come away satisfied with the food. I'm a little discouraged by all the bad reviews I have read. I'm going to keep the deluxe dining plan because I don't wan't my hubby to freak out when he sees the prices. I have already checked out the menus on allears All of us our foodies. We love gourmet cooking even my 9 year old. Should we eat at mostly signatures. Those seem to have the best reviews. Any suggestions?

We are "locals" and have the Tables in Wonderland. Often we go to Disney just to eat. There are some restaurants that we go to for the atmosphere experience, but necessarily the food.

Sci-Fi is one of our favorites, but we certainly don't go there for the food. Although the spinach and artichoke dip is pretty good, as is the cheesecake and treats! The food is mediocre. But it's quite the experience to sit in a drive-in car while eating and watching cheezy sci-fi clips.

One thing I noticed with many of the menu choices, are the sauces do not taste as I would expect them to. I've learned to ask for sauce on the side, because there have been too many dishes I've ordered where the sauce did not suit my taste, but the rest of the meal was fantastic. The mushroom stuffed phyllo at the living seas is a prime example.

On the other hand, there are several dishes that have been too dry for me. The parmesan crusted chicken (not sure where I had this) and the crab crusted flounder at Narcoosees'. I needed alfredo sauce to eat the chicken and extra of the lemon sauce for the flounder. The dryness actually made me gag, but once I had a bit more sauce, all was great!

I love soup, and Disney has some great tasting and lots of choices in soup. My favorites are the chicken tortilla soup at Whispering Canyon and the butternut squash soup at AKL's The Mara and Boma. The chicken corn chowder at the Grand Floridian Cafe and The Mara are great too! The strawberry soup at 1900 Park Fare is interesting too. The lobser bisque at Le Chef's de France is good, but the lobster soup at the Living Seas had such an after taste that my son and I both pushed it aside after one taste.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I'd be very leery of all the positive reviews if you're anywhere near a 'foodie'. You will get the prices you'll expect but you will not get the creative, top notch food OR service you're expecting.

As many have said, you won't starve and you will probably, if you're lucky, get one or two very good meals.

You can see the two sides arguing on these threads. Some of us actually think a restaurant that promotes itself as "Signature Dining" ought to actually attempt to live up to that moniker. But many here defend the mediocre food because Disney is a business, because they can get away with it, because it's just theme park food or worse because they actually think it's top notch.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

...........Now, we're not "foodies" by any definition - and we don't commonly compare Disney resort restaurants to "what we can get back home for 1/2 the cost." Our attitude is, we're on vacation...at a major tourist destination, so of course everything costs more.......

That's why we like the deluxe dining plan. Plenty of meal credits (we use them all!) and the price doesn't bother me since it's discounted and prepaid.

The cost of the deluxe dining plan for us on a 9 night stay (2 adults, 1 child) = $1486. That's full price (we took a room discount instead of free dining plus cost to upgrade to deluxe dining).

The actual price we would have paid for our meals out of pocket (tax included but not tips) = $2431. So, that's about 37% discount. I didn't even count the refillable mugs and snacks included with the plan. All table service except 1 adult credit, and a mix of signatures, breakfasts, character meals, lunches, dinners.

Le Cellier's NY Strip at dinner is $35. I can get the same quality steak in a restaurant at home for less than half that price. But, at a 37% discount, Le Cellier's steak is really $22. I can live with that price.

Here are the average costs for our meals by type if paid out of pocket and the cost with a 37% discount is shown in parentheses:
$157 Signature Dinner ($99)
$98 Other Dinners and Lunches ($62)
$78 Character Meals ($49)

Sure... that's a lot of dining out and a big expense for our vacation. We could make do with less. But the dining experience for us is kind of an adventure. We get to enjoy fine dining at signature restaurants and take DS with us. We get quite a variety of music and entertainment during our meal. We get to try new foods and appetizers and not worry about the cost since it's already paid for. We meet lots of characters without any lines.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

.........You can see the two sides arguing on these threads. Some of us actually think a restaurant that promotes itself as "Signature Dining" ought to actually attempt to live up to that moniker. But many here defend the mediocre food because Disney is a business, because they can get away with it, because it's just theme park food or worse because they actually think it's top notch.

I'm not a real picky eater, but I do like good food. We enjoyed all the signature restaurants (Jiko, CA Grill, Citricos, Narcoosees, Brown Derby, Flying Fish) but honestly.... I enjoyed the food at some of the 1 credit places just as much. Quality of service varied just as much at signatures and 1 credit places.

Of all the restaurants (over 50) we have been to.... Yak and Yeti is our favorite and some people complain that the food there is awful! And people rave about LeCellier but I thought it was just so so... and the impossible to get an ADR Ohana (will never go there again), so not worth the painful checkin process and long wait to be seated.

Now, I'd rather have a good meal... instead of a great meal... and get to look at the fish at Coral Reef, listen to music and watch the belly dancer at Marrakesh, listen to German music in Germany, kid around with Chip and Dale at Garden Grill, etc... Maybe not the best food in the world, but good enough to be happy and satisfied without complaint, and getting some entertainment too.

There are some places that almost always get positive reviews. Flying Fish was the best signature restaurant counting food, service, and the boardwalk entertainment outside. Citricos is another restaurant that gets consistently great reviews... it was just too quiet and formal for us with a young child.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I'm not a real picky eater, but I do like good food. We enjoyed all the signature restaurants (Jiko, CA Grill, Citricos, Narcoosees, Brown Derby, Flying Fish) but honestly.... I enjoyed the food at some of the 1 credit places just as much. Quality of service varied just as much at signatures and 1 credit places.

Of all the restaurants (over 50) we have been to.... Yak and Yeti is our favorite and some people complain that the food there is awful! And people rave about LeCellier but I thought it was just so so... and the impossible to get an ADR Ohana (will never go there again), so not worth the painful checkin process and long wait to be seated.

Now, I'd rather have a good meal... instead of a great meal... and get to look at the fish at Coral Reef, listen to music and watch the belly dancer at Marrakesh, listen to German music in Germany, kid around with Chip and Dale at Garden Grill, etc... Maybe not the best food in the world, but good enough to be happy and satisfied without complaint, and getting some entertainment too.

Now this is a good explanation of what you like and why you like it. Anyone would be able to tell what your expectations were, if they were met and the most important why they were met.

 

[Madisonsmom45]

For the most part we have had good experiences with the places we have eaten. Counter service is what you would expect at most amusement parks.
The table service has been good with the exception of Sci-Fi Diner. It wasn't good no matter how they packaged it. They use dim lighting for a reason.
We have tried many places. Some of our favs are Boatrights, Boma, Ohana, Ackershus Princess Breakfast, Jiko. We try to experience a new place everytime we go to Disney. Enjoy

 

[nrpofp]

The great thing about these boards is if you ask a question you get lots of great responses and different opinions. Since two meals a day is enough. I think I will stick with mostly signatures for dinner and try some of the other 1ts for breakfast or lunch. Hopefully I will one of those on these boards that likes the food.

 

[coopersmom]

...
Great Food!

SIGNATURE MEALS AND SHOWS ...

Shows -- Hoop Dee Doo. OK, it's just fried chicken and ribs and such here... but the food was GOOD! Service was comical and DS4 laughed non-stop at the show. ...

My son too, about the same age, ADORED Hoop Dee Doo and because of that we'd probably go back (hubby and I had fun too) but "great food"? Really?

It was clearly made off-site, served room temperature (or worse) and if you've been to Kentucky Fried Chicken you've had better food out of a bucket. (Yes, Hoop Dee Doo serves in buckets.)

Mashed potatoes from a box and beans from a can are not "great food" in my estimation, and I wouldn't oversell this as a dining experience to anyone. The show IS tons of fun, but this is cafeteria quality fare, at best, and you will pay $50/person for it.

 

[rjvose17]

We just returned from our trip Dec 18th and this was the first time for us using the dining plan as it came as part of our package. We had one snack one table service and one quick service meal per person per day. With that said we decided to branch out and try new things since we weren't techniquely paying out of pocket. For table service we tried cinderellas royal table (2credits) and I'm glad we did it but won't be doing it again. Akershus was ok at best. I loved my prime rib at boatwrights but DH hated his BBQ pork chop. We both loved Mamma Melroses at Hollywoods studios my steak was amazing, and finally we ate at Kona cafe at the poly. That was by far the best meal from start to finish! That's my two cents, I'm glad we tried some places we wouldn't have normally but now wished I had made different selections. Oh well you live and u learn and I'm glad we got to try them either way. Good luck and enjoy your trip at to the world!

 

[honeydiane1953]

Hoop Dee Do was good. Kona also other than that the food is mediocre at best. I have had better food at Golden Coral honestly. WDW food is for the most part is overpriced and under seasoned.

 

[carly chloe]

I don't care what anyone has said. We loved pretty much all our dinners (except Mexico- but that was because I have ulcers and thier food was really hot). I can't wait to go back and eat!!!!

 

[MrsLS]

I don't think the food is bad at all. Actually I think it's very good. We go once or twice a year. This year we went in April and November and had the delux plan. We go to signatures every night. Flying fish we went o twice this time and Cali grill citricos and brown derby were all excellent.
I saw the posts after our April trip and before our Nov trip and was like can the food actually have gone down. We've gone the year before and before that and nope it was still as good so I believe people have bad experiences but I know my many experiences and they have all been positive. Yes sometimes a dish isn't excellent but it's still good to very good. We only had one bad experience at via Napoli and won't be back.

 

[MrsLS]

Oh and I hate chains and maybe except for Tonys which is on par with olive garden and rainforest which is a chain and I hate. I hate all chains and don't think they at all compare to Disney TS but that's just me. And I'm also use to paying the prices of signatures at home too.

 

[Kymm1111]

I am a fan of Disney Dining. There are some places we always hit up. We always visit certain servers at Brown Derby and Yachtsman who will never steer us wrong. Artist point has a mushroom soup that makes me want to cry every time I take my first spoonful. Akerhaus buffet- the cheese alone is worth dining there. We liked the Wave and Coral Reef and Ohana. We loved Kona and Marekesh. France was very good. Teppan Edo also delightful. I adore Jiko's. Like many, after trying and trying to get into LeCelliar- forget it. Happy to get in once- never need to go again. I am happy enough eating their cheese soup from the food and wine show stand. Cinderellas Castle- fun! Best food? Not at all but the experience was wonderful. The food is good but nothing special. To me a counter service meal is like fast food. I do not expect gourmet dining from it. I compare it to panera or any other fast food place and it comes out ahead.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

In my opinion (for what its worth), its best to temper expectations and you'll be fine. You will not get "your money's worth" -- for $35-45 per adult you'll enjoy much better food/service at someplace like Ruth's Chris, although the food will be a bit better than what you might get at Chili's (where the most expensive dish is probably $17-18 and an average meal is closer to $12). Frankly, the same approach applies to the Disney resorts -- a $400 a night room at the Polynesian does NOT measure up to a $400 a night room at a deluxe hotel outside Disney. In the end, you are paying premium for the Disney experience, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but is simply part of the trip.

I will say that most counter service meals are about what you'd expect for what you pay.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not a real picky eater, but I do like good food. We enjoyed all the signature restaurants (Jiko, CA Grill, Citricos, Narcoosees, Brown Derby, Flying Fish) but honestly.... I enjoyed the food at some of the 1 credit places just as much. Quality of service varied just as much at signatures and 1 credit places.

We've been to all the signatures except Flying Fish and Citricos, and I think they all deserve their signature status. Our experiences haven't always been perfect, but they are all a clear step up from non-signature dining experiences.

California Grill is by far my favorite of the signatures. I love sushi and theirs is some of the best I've had anywhere, and on our last trip I had the most amazing, complex, perfectly prepared ostrich entree. Save for Narcoosees and Brown Derby it is probably the one that gets the most negative reviews, but we've had nothing but good service and excellent food there.

I do think that when it comes to character and experience dining (like Sci-Fi, Hoop-de-do, etc) you have to be realistic about expectations. The reason for the price isn't the food, it is the uniquely Disney elements, and buffets in general just aren't the place to look for great food. That's why we tend to do our character meals at breakfast - you can't really screw up fruit and pastries, which is about all we go for in the mornings, and I know we'd likely be disappointed with the food and experience if we booked a character dinner instead of somewhere quieter with better food.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We've been to all the signatures except Flying Fish and Citricos, and I think they all deserve their signature status.......California Grill is by far my favorite of the signatures. I love sushi and theirs is some of the best I've had anywhere..............Save for Narcoosees and Brown Derby it is probably the one that gets the most negative reviews, but we've had nothing but good service and excellent food there. ...........

I think the signatures deserve their status too. By the way, Citricos and Flying Fish are awesome. I had a Pacific Monchong dish that was very, very good at California Grill. It was nice to try this deep sea Hawaiian fish not easily found on the East Coast. They told me it is flown in fresh overnight from the markets.

And the reviews don't always favor Brown Derby but we had 2 excellent meals there earlier this month (lunch and dinner on 2 different days). The appetizers were great and very interesting. Even just a cobb salad was incredible. I had an oyster and brie soup that was unique and delicious. And a black grouper entree that was incredible. I can't wait to finish my dining reviews.

I'm sure bad experiences can happen but it's hard for me to imagine complaining about the signatures unless someone's basis for comparison is really fine dining at home. But they would be paying more $$$ too. When we are at home, dining out usually means the local cafe or pizza! I live in a major metro area and dining out here is every bit as expensive as Disney. That's why we don't go out much! So dining at Disney is a real treat.

Not considering price.....I do think there are a few 1 credit places that are every bit as awesome, maybe a little less formal than the signatures but food and service just as great -- Yak and Yeti, Coral Reef, Tutto Italia - I'd put all 3 pretty high on the list.

I've seen some reviews where people compare the steak at LeCellier to Outback. Come on... Outback's sirloin steaks are tough and chewy like rubber (at least where we live). Le Cellier wasn't the best steak I've had but certainly better than Outback. Either people have a better Outback where they live... or there's some negative exaggeration going on...

And I agree with others, there's only a few I'd rank among the chain restaurants like Applebees or Olive Garden. And even Tony's is better than those chains. I won't even eat at places like Applebees.

 

[vicki_c]

And I agree with others, there's only a few I'd rank among the chain restaurants like Applebees or Olive Garden. And even Tony's is better than those chains. I won't even eat at places like Applebees.

I agree with your whole post but this part especially. We eat at an Applebee's, Friday's, Olive Garden or Outback about once every 3 years - I think they're generally kind of ick (although I do like Carabba's - does that count?). And I don't feel that way about any of the Disney TS restaurants.