Maybe it is just me...?

[inkedupmomma]

But I honestly feel, that even the "worse" food at Disney is still better than any chain restaurant that I may frequent with my family! I mean most places are no Le Bec Fin, but they are good, and are what you make of them. I get such anxiety thinking about my ADR's and when my fav restaurant is going to get "the bad Dis review".. Maybe it is just me?? Anyone else kinda over it? Even the places I gave bad reviews of, I would take over most food any day!! (usually it was the service that screwed up the food anyway). Anywho, I am not making a stink, or saying I don't enjoy reading the reviews, I'm just curious if anyone else suffers from "ddpadrxiety"

 

[enchantingodin]

Do you mean CS or TS places, or both?

CS I have to disagree in most cases. I mean it isn't awful. But I can usually get better chicken tenders at KFC. Better burgers at BK. And better pizza at the Hut. There are many other types of food at CS of course. Which are usually a better quality than the 'standard' stuff. But as far as 'the basics' of amusment park fare go. I'd say Disney is on the low end.

TS are hit or miss for me. Like Toney's in MK. Eww - going to Olive Gardden is better. And I hate Olive Garden. Boma though, that was AWESOME. But some people on the Dis think the seasonings they use "taste funny". It just depends on the person.

Although I will say that in my experiance the TS at the resorts are FAR better food (taste and quality) than the ones in the parks. I think it all comes down to how many people they serve. 100 vs 500 a night is a BIG difference.

 

[Uno Mas]

For me, it's all about the atmosphere. I would much rather be sitting in the France pavillion eating a ham and cheese croissant for lunch than sitting in my local fast food dive at home! I always seek out CS places that are more unique than chicken and burgers - almost always in WS of course. Then it doesn't matter if the food is great or not - I always love it because I'm THERE. I will admit that we hardly ever make ADRs anymore. We used to go through all that and it was just too stressful to have to be in a certain place at a certain time every day - we like to wing it now and have had great success as walk-ups. It's somewhat of an adventure to find a different place to eat whenever it is that we feel hungry. We went to the same places year after year and that got sort of old - now we are forced to venture off and try new things without the structure of the ADRs.

 

[Ctsplaysinrain]

Then it doesn't matter if the food is great or not -

I see this said so many times here at the DIS.. Honestly, I do not understand this.. BUT, Disney food will continue to go down in quality and up in price if they know that this is the " prevailing attitude." Honestly, I find Disney food ok...I have never been WOWed even at Disney's best restaurants but I make myself compare it to "hotel" restaurants, airports and other theme parks and then I'm happy enough with it... BUT, I wish more attention was paid to the quality of the food especially for the prices charged.....

 

[ModestMouse]

You want bad amusement park food? Go to SeaWorld. It makes the worst in Disney dining look gourmet.

I've never had a truly horrendous meal at Disney. Some that were a bit disappointing, yes. But never inedible. Maybe I've been lucky. I do think there is a tendency for people to share bad experiences more than good ones. For instance, I've seen a number of bad reviews of Coral Reef. We've eaten there twice and both times our food was quite good. Are we lucky? I don't know. It's hard for any place to be 100% all the time, esp. with the sheer numbers of people that Disney is serving.

Don't be anxious. Go and have a great time. Anxiety about a vacation is the fastest way to ruin the vacation.

 

[Cinderella]

I'm lucky, as I've eaten at most sit down restaurants on Disney property - some several times. And there's very few I don't like. But I do feel that the quality has gone down a lot at many places and at least by sharing honest reviews, we can stop it sinking completely.

For places like Chef Mickey and Sci-Fi, I won't read current reviews. The food has never been amazing in those two places, but we go for the atmosphere, more than anything else.

Most other places - I do take notice of the reviews. We had an awful meal at Fulton's because we ignored mixed reviews. And we haven't eaten at Ohana for years - used to love it but it does get v mixed reviews on here.

It's not like we ignore places because some people don't like them. I tend to take more notice of the people who like, or dislike the same places we do. For example, we've never eaten at Narcoosees, so I've been checking out Narcoosees reviews by people who have also eaten at places like California Grill and Jiko to see how they compare.

We do still plan almost all our table service meals to tie in with what parks we'll be visiting. It never was easy to get a walk in at some of the popular restaurants but since the Dining Plan it's almost impossible.

 

[Colleen27]

The best food we've had at Disney has been on par with the nice restaurants we go to at home. The worst has been on par with Applebees type chains. Personally, I do't play the "I expect more for that price" game with myself and I accept that there is going to be a premium for location/convenience. I don't look at the ribs at Sci-fi, compare them to the ribs at the BBQ place I like at home, and expect them to be $5 better. The ribs at home aren't served in a drive-in at Disney World, and that does count for something IMO. I expect my food at Disney to taste good, but I don't expect a comparable value to the same types of meals at "real world" restaurants.

 

[marcyinPA]

We don't eat out much at home anymore, so honestly, ANY meals that I don't have to cook and clean up after are good in my book. Maybe I'm not that picky, I don't know, but we've only had one bad experience in all of our trips to Disney, and that was at Spoodles. The food was mediocre, but not inedible. It was the service that really ruined it for us....terrible!!!

As for getting what you pay for...well, considering Disney is a vacation destination, I expect to pay a lot. We've eaten a lot of meals out in Ocean City MD when we go to the beach. Food is usually not so great, and prices are very high. I'd be hard pressed to find an AWESOME restaurant there, to be honest with you.

 

[Lynn5700]

Disney food is the best!!!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Love Disney Food. I have so much fun eating Disney. I can't wait to go back.

 

[goofy4prez]

But I honestly feel, that even the "worse" food at Disney is still better than any chain restaurant that I may frequent with my family! I mean most places are no Le Bec Fin, but they are good, and are what you make of them. I get such anxiety thinking about my ADR's and when my fav restaurant is going to get "the bad Dis review".. Maybe it is just me?? Anyone else kinda over it? Even the places I gave bad reviews of, I would take over most food any day!! (usually it was the service that screwed up the food anyway). Anywho, I am not making a stink, or saying I don't enjoy reading the reviews, I'm just curious if anyone else suffers from "ddpadrxiety"

As a whole I'll agree with you on the TS restaurants. I have never had any worse of an experience in WDW than at any place outside of WDW.

However when it comes to CS restaurants I can honestly say that I have never eaten at a restaurant of any kind that was worse than at ABC Commissary. When I complained(politely) to the manager there it really fell on deaf ears. I sent a letter to the restaurant as well as to WDW about this place and also emailed many links from this site and others about their reviews of ABC.

To date I have heard nothing from anyone and must assume that WDW and ABC really don't care about the quality of what comes out of their restaurant or what people are saying about it. I'm not sure my 18 month old Chocolate Lab would even find their slop appealing.

 

[ModestMouse]

However when it comes to CS restaurants I can honestly say that I have never eaten at a restaurant of any kind that was worse than at ABC Commissary.

We have never eaten there, solely because of the consistently awful reviews here on the boards. I think it must get the worst reviews of any WDW restaurant, period.

 

[Pakey]

Up until a few years, I thought WDW food was as good as I could get at home. I no longer think so; it's declined quite a bit. I still love going to the world 2-3 times each year but we don't go for Disney's food anymore.

 

[999ghostslover]

we still really enjoy Disney food. I think a lot of people gravitate toward giving negative reviews. I do this on other websites like Amazon. If I get an item that is crap i am quick to write a bad review but if a product met my excpectations I usually forget to write something. The bad kinda sticks out on an otherwise magical vacation. When we encounter bad service or poor food qulity we just say "XXX restaraunt, check". As in, we never have to eat there again and we can check it off the list. Some people are just really hard to please and like to complain. I am astounded that people on all ears can have a good meal at a beautiful restaurant but give it a "3" because they didn't get their drinks refilled or it was noisy. For me, if one of those things was the only thing wrong with the place then I would still give it a 9 unless it was Vicky and Al's.

 

[inkedupmomma]

Up until a few years, I thought WDW food was as good as I could get at home. I no longer think so; it's declined quite a bit. I still love going to the world 2-3 times each year but we don't go for Disney's food anymore.

My trip has never been about the food, so maybe I am in a different mind frame?? I do agree that the quality has gone down some.

As a whole I'll agree with you on the TS restaurants. I have never had any worse of an experience in WDW than at any place outside of WDW.

However when it comes to CS restaurants I can honestly say that I have never eaten at a restaurant of any kind that was worse than at ABC Commissary. When I complained(politely) to the manager there it really fell on deaf ears. I sent a letter to the restaurant as well as to WDW about this place and also emailed many links from this site and others about their reviews of ABC.

To date I have heard nothing from anyone and must assume that WDW and ABC really don't care about the quality of what comes out of their restaurant or what people are saying about it. I'm not sure my 18 month old Chocolate Lab would even find their slop appealing.

I'll give you that.. we don't do CS so I can not make much comment about it..but that is why we don't do CS.. if I wanted fast food for 9 days I could do that at home.

Love Disney Food. I have so much fun eating Disney. I can't wait to go back.

I agree!

Disney food is the best!!!

Hahhaha, I love you Lynn!

We don't eat out much at home anymore, so honestly, ANY meals that I don't have to cook and clean up after are good in my book. Maybe I'm not that picky, I don't know, but we've only had one bad experience in all of our trips to Disney, and that was at Spoodles. The food was mediocre, but not inedible. It was the service that really ruined it for us....terrible!!!
Another great point, I don't have to make it!! lol or clean it, or prep it..or anything!and again, a lot of times the service is what has ruined a meal for me!
As for getting what you pay for...well, considering Disney is a vacation destination, I expect to pay a lot. We've eaten a lot of meals out in Ocean City MD when we go to the beach. Food is usually not so great, and prices are very high. I'd be hard pressed to find an AWESOME restaurant there, to be honest with you.

another GREAT point. You are at a theme park.. the fact that they offer wonderful foods instead of six flags cheese fries,churros and hot dogs is amazing!

The best food we've had at Disney has been on par with the nice restaurants we go to at home. The worst has been on par with Applebees type chains. Personally, I do't play the "I expect more for that price" game with myself and I accept that there is going to be a premium for location/convenience. I don't look at the ribs at Sci-fi, compare them to the ribs at the BBQ place I like at home, and expect them to be $5 better. The ribs at home aren't served in a drive-in at Disney World, and that does count for something IMO. I expect my food at Disney to taste good, but I don't expect a comparable value to the same types of meals at "real world" restaurants.

You said it best

I'm lucky, as I've eaten at most sit down restaurants on Disney property - some several times. And there's very few I don't like. But I do feel that the quality has gone down a lot at many places and at least by sharing honest reviews, we can stop it sinking completely.

For places like Chef Mickey and Sci-Fi, I won't read current reviews. The food has never been amazing in those two places, but we go for the atmosphere, more than anything else.

Most other places - I do take notice of the reviews. We had an awful meal at Fulton's because we ignored mixed reviews. And we haven't eaten at Ohana for years - used to love it but it does get v mixed reviews on here.

It's not like we ignore places because some people don't like them. I tend to take more notice of the people who like, or dislike the same places we do. For example, we've never eaten at Narcoosees, so I've been checking out Narcoosees reviews by people who have also eaten at places like California Grill and Jiko to see how they compare.

We do still plan almost all our table service meals to tie in with what parks we'll be visiting. It never was easy to get a walk in at some of the popular restaurants but since the Dining Plan it's almost impossible.

I really think it just comes down to what restaurant you went to on what day, and how tired you were ( not you, but you as in all of us lol)

You want bad amusement park food? Go to SeaWorld. It makes the worst in Disney dining look gourmet.
YES! They own Sesame place and we never eat there anymore.. terrible, terrible food!
I've never had a truly horrendous meal at Disney. Some that were a bit disappointing, yes. But never inedible. Maybe I've been lucky. I do think there is a tendency for people to share bad experiences more than good ones. For instance, I've seen a number of bad reviews of Coral Reef. We've eaten there twice and both times our food was quite good. Are we lucky? I don't know. It's hard for any place to be 100% all the time, esp. with the sheer numbers of people that Disney is serving.
We also loved CR, and the atmosphere was a big bonus!
Don't be anxious. Go and have a great time. Anxiety about a vacation is the fastest way to ruin the vacation.

I will have a good time regardless of what happens, but you are right, I need to let go of the anxiety!

Then it doesn't matter if the food is great or not -

I see this said so many times here at the DIS.. Honestly, I do not understand this.. BUT, Disney food will continue to go down in quality and up in price if they know that this is the " prevailing attitude." Honestly, I find Disney food ok...I have never been WOWed even at Disney's best restaurants but I make myself compare it to "hotel" restaurants, airports and other theme parks and then I'm happy enough with it... BUT, I wish more attention was paid to the quality of the food especially for the prices charged.....

Honestly, I do not know where are eating in real life, but WDW food at it's best and not even best restaurant is very good, especially in comparison to any sort of chain. I work for a gourmet chef, and even he digs the disney food (although, as a chef, he says it could use this, and that.. natural for any chef to say that). I also frequent very high quality restaurants with my DF when we can get a sitter and I still think WDW is pretty great. Like I said, it is not Le Bec Fin, but it is also no where near those prices. As for the prices charged, I honestly think they are fair for being an amusement park. One kids meal at sesame place is around $12.00, and all that includes is a handful of fries, and 2 chicken strips... idk.

For me, it's all about the atmosphere. I would much rather be sitting in the France pavillion eating a ham and cheese croissant for lunch than sitting in my local fast food dive at home! I always seek out CS places that are more unique than chicken and burgers - almost always in WS of course. Then it doesn't matter if the food is great or not - I always love it because I'm THERE. I will admit that we hardly ever make ADRs anymore. We used to go through all that and it was just too stressful to have to be in a certain place at a certain time every day - we like to wing it now and have had great success as walk-ups. It's somewhat of an adventure to find a different place to eat whenever it is that we feel hungry. We went to the same places year after year and that got sort of old - now we are forced to venture off and try new things without the structure of the ADRs.

I agree about the atmosphere! I'm not ready to venture off property yet though