No buffets for us on our next visit

[allicat]

Recently,we had a very unpleasant experience with our Crystal Palace dinner. Kids running rampant around the buffet areas, that wasnt the problem, the problem was the kids who stuck their entire hand in the sprinkles jar, the kid that stuck his hand in the butter, the one who took the salad with his hands etc.
I guess really what it boils down to is parents not watching their kids.
DD couldnt really eat her meal after seeing kids hands in the food-and I dont blame her. I really didnt enjoy mine either. I kept thinking "who touched this food? "
After that experience we looked at each other and said no more buffets for us.Its unfortunate because I thought the food was good at Crystal Palace.

 

[bicker]

Yeah, especially at a place like WDW, where some parents tend to just kick back and let their children run amok, I do worry more about food sanitation. I know Disney does the best they can, but when it is a buffet, it is literally out of their hands (and in someone else's hands). I think this problem, as you've described it, might be more specific to the character meals, rather than an ethnic buffet like Biergarten.

 

[jjsmom]

Allicat, our family has this discussion every trip (how some folks seem to completely leave their parenting skills at home. Do they think they are they only people on vacation or what??) I could start another thread on that one and be very unpopular with some people on this board so i won't go there !!
Anyway, don't give up on the buffets. Our favorite is Cape May Cafe is 1) It's smaller 2) Much quieter and much less chaotic than CP or Chef Mickey's

 

[bicker]

I could start another thread on that one and be very unpopular with some people on this board so i won't go there !!

I recently did... they didn't like it so much they entered enough messages with personal attacks in them to got it locked.

 

[Kitka]

We had, over our 7 days, a total of 5 buffet meals. I never saw anything like that, so apparently we were very lucky.

My kids are now spoiled on buffets. We went to an Italian restaurant last night and the kids sat down, and had to wait about 30 minutes for their food. They were annoyed, and one said, 'why can't we just go to buffets???' LOL

But generally, I'm not a fan just for food quality sake. And though they were better than most buffets at home, only Boma was a buffet I could actually call a 'dining experience' rather than just a place to eat. Next trip will not likely include more than Boma and one character buffet.

 

[jwfla422]

Just think of what YOU DON'T SEE....aahhh, maybe not!!

 

[Palendat]

I tend to agree with the OP in theory. However, those little hands are EVERYWHERE in Disney. Your hands touch where they touch, etc. I tend to like the buffets because my soon to be 7 yo son, who can eat as much as I do, normally has to order off of the children's menu in sit-down menu places, while his 12 yo cousin, who eats less than him, can order off of the adult menu. A buffet evens everything out, my son can eat normal sized portions, and doesn't have to feel like a "little kid". (Aside - I still monitor how much he eats, since he would try to eat the entire buffet. I'm trying to get him to realize that being hungry and wanting to eat are two different things. He is not over weight. He is very active, and a bit on the scrawny side. However, I realize that how he wants to eat may become a problem in the future.)

 

[Kitka]

Just think of what YOU DON'T SEE....aahhh, maybe not!!

I worked in the restaurant industry long enough to know that what you don't see would surprise you! But when you decide to eat at restaurants, you surrender to that just a bit.

 

[gigi1313]

we've backed off buffets for similar reason as the OP (haven't given up on them entirely)... ds has food allergies... so if those little hands were first in the entire bowl of nuts and then in the sprinkles, the sprinkles are no longer safe, etc... kwim? plus, as the mom, i do not find buffets relaxing or enjoyable 'cause it stands to reason that as soon as we get there i help a kid or two make their selections, then i go get my food, as soon as i sit down a kid has to go to the restroom, so up i get while my already buffet-warm food gets cold... then i return and attempt to eat but a kid needs more food, so up i get... maybe i'll grab a plate of something for myself while i'm up... but that soon goes cold 'cause some characters wander by and i'm finding pages in the autograph book and the pen and grabbing the camera... oops, gotta make another potty run while yet another plate of food goes colder... by then everyone's full and itchy to get on with their day, but i sit hungry and tired... and dh gets up from the table, smacking his lips declaring that was one of the best meals of the trip thus far... sigh...
i much prefer the all-you-care-to-eats where a cm brings you platters of hot food and if it grows cold (due to potty runs no doubt) you can order more!

 

[Kitka]

we've backed off buffets for similar reason as the OP (haven't given up on them entirely)... ds has food allergies... so if those little hands were first in the entire bowl of nuts and then in the sprinkles, the sprinkles are no longer safe, etc... kwim? plus, as the mom, i do not find buffets relaxing or enjoyable 'cause it stands to reason that as soon as we get there i help a kid or two make their selections, then i go get my food, as soon as i sit down a kid has to go to the restroom, so up i get while my already buffet-warm food gets cold... then i return and attempt to eat but a kid needs more food, so up i get... maybe i'll grab a plate of something for myself while i'm up... but that soon goes cold 'cause some characters wander by and i'm finding pages in the autograph book and the pen and grabbing the camera... oops, gotta make another potty run while yet another plate of food goes colder... by then everyone's full and itchy to get on with their day, but i sit hungry and tired... and dh gets up from the table, smacking his lips declaring that was one of the best meals of the trip thus far... sigh...
i much prefer the all-you-care-to-eats where a cm brings you platters of hot food and if it grows cold (due to potty runs no doubt) you can order more!

That's how buffets used to go for us. Now the kids are old enough that they know they have to go potty before we sit down and most of that is avoided. DD9 is old enough to go get her own food and DS4 just goes up when we do. But oh yes, you described the toddler days too well!

 

[Sherri]

This was my dd concern, it is not very appetizing to eat after seeing some the things you see at the buffet. So none for us this time.

 

[gigi1313]

i wish that "phase" were over w/the toddler days... my kids are 9 and 11 and it still goes that way, although it's better than it used to be... but we're especially diligent 'cause of ds' food allergies, he cannot go near a buffet on his own

 

[ptrbryant]

DS10 is insisting on dinner at Chef Mickey's on arrival night! Last time, I was very careful to have everyone use Purell on their hands after handling the serving utensils--I know, sounds fanatic, but no one got sick. Same plan this time. Aside from CM's, the only buffet I have planned is our first-time visit to Biergarten. I'm trusting Bicker is correct and at the more "ethnic" food buffets, there aren't as many small, just-licked hands all over the food!

Karla B.

 

[melomouse]

I see your point, OP and totally understand. It's the dessert bars at CM and CP that get me - they always seem to be a mess and I am guessing parents DON'T supervise. Does Disney have signs stating "10 & up" to be unaccompanied at the buffet like the outside world? I can't remember! We like H & V for the NO characters and Fantasmic package - and absence of MORE unsupervised little ones. It's one of the reasons it was superior to CP on our last trip.

I am always amazed that parents think their kids have skills to operate soft ice cream machines and serve appropriate amounts of sprinkles, etc. Ten is about the right age that I feel comfortable with the dessert sections and sending my kids alone. They have to learn buffet manners as they do in any other setting.

I do hear ya, Gigi, on the life of a toddler parent at a buffet - Quite exhausting. Then throw in some characters! YIKES!

Failing better parental supervision, should Disney expend more manpower to have a server stationed throughout at the dessert section to keep kids (AND adults??!!) under control with their questionable self-serve techniques???

 

[stitch63]

Our only buffet visit is also to the Biergarten. DH has eaten at the German CS but we've never done the sit-down. We always go to the German Fest in Indianapolis and one year my DS7 wore a pair of leiderhosen and did his "leprechaun dance" to the polka music. He's wanting to do his leprechaun dance at the Biergarten. Back to topic - DS is seven and he is still not allowed to go to the buffet line himself. I too wish more parents would supervise their children at the buffets and other places...

 

[Cookie Princess]

Why do you think we are at the earliest reservation prossible at CP (8:05 a.m.)! I want to get my food ahead of everyone else. Also, my DS will be 11 on this visit and I still don't let him go through the buffet alone. He and I stay together. I guess that makes me a "BUFFET MICRO-MANAGER", but at least I know that no one is getting the cootie flu from my kid.

 

[Quinn222]

BUffet's are out for us too. We just don't enjoy them. We tried Boma this time and even though the food was good we just don't like buffets and have decided no more. I don't even want to think about the germ thing but those same kids touch every safety bar of every ride we go one. Which probably explains the cold we brought home as a souvenier this time!

 

[bertalander]

We only had one buffet meal last time and the Chef informed me with Tommy's sever nut allergies that he preferred he stuck to things directly from the serving staff from the back. That was FINE with me.

That was an eye opener for me and I've become more lerey (sp?) of the buffett meals. We will return to CM and just be extra careful again.

 

[GailT]

For that same reason I never do a buffet, oh yes I have in the past but what my eyes saw my stomach was turning,,,,,,I like to be server my dinner at a table. The sad thing is I agree with you no parental supervision at all.