Just back from WDW - Has the food gotten worse or is it just me?

[BriarRosie]

Thanks...I'll wander back to my own board when it works... was trying to see if anyone else was getting "awful" sushi at CG.

Heh. I was surprised to see you posting here, Catherine. But I think you brought up some good points that I agreed with about the servers asking you if you're on the DDP. I always thought they did that because they might need to explain to first-timers how the plan worked for table service meals. They wouldn't know if this is your first meal using the DDP or your tenth. I didn't know they would need to know before ringing up the check, but that makes sense.

And I saw that post on the dining boards about the "awful" sushi. It's funny, but I bet we could take a popular menu item from any of the restaurants, then ask anyone to give an opinion of that item. I'd be willing to bet that you'd see a pretty even split for "loved it", "hated it" and "it was just ok" for the poll results.

 

[lindsey clare]

We had some really good meals off-site, especially Sweet Tomatoes. Loved that place and it was about $11 per person for a huge delicious salad, soup, potato, and desert buffet.

a little OT but i just googled their menu and it looks great! definitely adding it to my list of off-site places to visit.

 

[lugnut33]

a little OT but i just googled their menu and it looks great! definitely adding it to my list of off-site places to visit.

Be sure to sign up for their mailing list as they will send you great offers like 2 for the price of one and 40% off.

 

[lugnut33]

It would be interesting to overlay overall satisfaction with dining with attendance numbers and whether "free dining" was an active promotion or not.

Based on the fact that many posters report a wild inconsistency in food quality from trip to trip or even during the same trip, it seems only reasonable to assume that patron volume is really hurting the overall quality of the dining experience.

I haven't been to WDW in a decade, but am planning a trip in May (including taking both my young kids who have never been) and have been considering the DDP as a cost-saving measure, but some of the comments in this thread have given me pause.

I certainly don't want to be driving all over Orlando for dinner. Staying on-site carries a premium and part of that is knowing we don't have to do that. I can even deal with the 6-months-early reservations (I'm a planner) but I'm a little dumbfounded by the idea that after all of that, the food just wouldn't be good.

I don't expect gourmet (all the time), but I do expect better than average.

Your idea of "better than average" is probably different than mine or anybody elses.

If this is your first time back in a long time you probably won't be disappointed with the dining plan (I do NOT recommend the quick service plan unless you're a cheeseburger junkie) because you don't have anything to base your opinion off of. The food is good, it's just not exceptional considering the price being paid (even on the plan).

Unless you plan on taking breaks from the parks eating off-site can be a pain, especially if you don't have a rental car. If you have a rental car and a GPS, finding good dining around WDW is really easy.

In August we ate all our breakfasts and dinners off-site (we are DVC so we had full kitchen) and had 3 our of 6 lunches in the parks. I know we ate well and saved a lot of money over the dining plan (remember, the savings that Disney advertises is dollars saved when compared to dining prices in the parks, not dining outside of Disney).

 

[BriarRosie]

If this is your first time back in a long time you probably won't be disappointed with the dining plan (I do NOT recommend the quick service plan unless you're a cheeseburger junkie) because you don't have anything to base your opinion off of. The food is good, it's just not exceptional considering the price being paid (even on the plan).

I don't like the Dining Plan because it doesn't fit around the way I like to eat at WDW. But I think if I wasn't going to eat at any table service restaurants, I bet I could appreciate the quick service plan. I've found lots of non-cheeseburger quick service meals around WDW.

For instance, I absolutely love the tuna sandwich at Columbia Harbor House. I'd use QS there. In Epcot, I'd either go to Tangierine Cafe or Sunshine Seasons. At the Studios, most of the food is "bleh" to me anyway, but the Backlot Express has alternatives to burgers. And at Animal Kingdom, I like Flame Tree BBQ. Then there's always Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney.

IMHO, I think there's plenty of variety out there that this dining plan wouldn't be that terrible. But I like the full service restaurants way too much to do this plan.

 

[angelmav]

We had 'some' pretty good food recently both at CS and TS (I need to get around to posting a TR and a DR) the problem is that some things are getting to be an absolute rip off and some things are just not that good. It's one thing to be dissapointed in an offering, its another when it is way overpriced.

It was curious because I kept wondering who it is that Disney is after? There pricing themselves like the one day six flag parks while trying to keep everyone for longer stays. When we look at staying onsite for a holiday trip it's no better, as the DDP with the upcharge is rediculously high. I really fail to grasp what there strategy is and felt more than a little dissapointed on several occasions, sometimes with the quality, sometimes with the price and sometimes with both. I dont see paying nearly $50 a day for a seasonaly upcharged DDP as the solution either.

 

[Joshua_me]

We loved Sweet Tomatoes too. We walked from Downtown Disney one night, which was only about a 20 minute walk.

You can walk to Sweet Tomatoes ???

Hmm...

 

[lindsey clare]

Be sure to sign up for their mailing list as they will send you great offers like 2 for the price of one and 40% off.

great tip, thanks!

 

[wishspirit]

You can walk to Sweet Tomatoes ???

Hmm...

Indeed you can, there are pedestrian walk ways from Downtown Disney to Crossroads, it really wasn't hard. Although I'd recommend waiting until its out of the heat of the day, we didn't leave DTD 'till 7pm.

Sweet Tomatos is on the left hand side section, quite near the end (nearer TGI Fridays), we did also pop into Goodings, but it was a HUGE waste of time. I won't be going there again, I can tell ya!

 

[Joshua_me]

Indeed you can, there are pedestrian walk ways from Downtown Disney to Crossroads,

Wow. I'm amazed I never knew this... Thanks for the tip.

And yes, Goodings is an over-priced nightmare.

 

[ADP]

Indeed you can, there are pedestrian walk ways from Downtown Disney to Crossroads, it really wasn't hard. Although I'd recommend waiting until its out of the heat of the day, we didn't leave DTD 'till 7pm.

Sweet Tomatos is on the left hand side section, quite near the end (nearer TGI Fridays), we did also pop into Goodings, but it was a HUGE waste of time. I won't be going there again, I can tell ya!

Not to go off topic here, but there used to be a day when Goodlings was a decent supermarket....Back in the mid 90s. But, my oh my has it gone downhill. It now reminds me of a huge, overpriced gas station convenient store.

Back on topic....I can't wait to try Sweet Tomatos. It sounds like it might be right up my alley. Hope to give it a try in December.

 

[safetymom]

Not to go off topic here, but there used to be a day when Goodlings was a decent supermarket....Back in the mid 90s. But, my oh my has it gone downhill. It now reminds me of a huge, overpriced gas station convenient store.

Back on topic....I can't wait to try Sweet Tomatos. It sounds like it might be right my alley. Hope to give it a try in December.

I agree there was a day when Goodings was a great place to shop. Overpriced but they had some specialty items we like to splurge on. I wouldn't step foot in there now. Dirty and dingy.

Crossing the street to get over to the shopping center on foot is not for the faint of heart. That is a very busy road.