Overall, how is the quality of the food?

[DisDaze]

I don't think I would describe us as foodies, and I think food quality and taste is very subjective, but overall we really enjoy dining at Walt Disney World. Some places are better than others, so I will give you our "better than average to really fantastic" picks:

Ohana dinner at the Polynesian
Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge (this is a buffet, but with African flair - love it!)
LeCellier at Canadian Pavilion at Epcot
Kona dinner at the Polynesian
Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge (really good, but 2 TS credits)
Hollywood Brown Derby (really good, but 2 TS credits)
Coral Reef at Epcot (Yes, I know this gets a bad rap by some, but I have always enjoyed their seafood and their butterscotch creme brulee is spectacular. And believe it or not, my husband and son got a really good steak at Coral Reef last December.)

We have other favorites, but at WDW, sometimes, you have to factor in the "magical" factor and/or the character factor, or even the fun factor sometimes. My kids LOVE Whispering Canyon and we like Sci-Fi Drive In, neither of those are gourmet or your normal "foodie" restaurants, but totally worth a visit - decent food and super fun atmosphere. My girls LOVE 1900 Park Fare, definitely nothing but average buffet food there, but the character experience with Cinderella, the Prince, the Step-Sisters (the best!) and the Fairy Godmother are worth a return trip for us.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Back in the beginning, food was decent to fairly good with alot of nice choices and prices but without all the dining ADR hoopla......

Now as the FD began, food quality has dropped off so bad (mind everyone, this is our opinion from our trips) we don't even bother with any TS restaurants.....even with free dining (which we will never use) on a scale of 1-10....ten the best....Disney food average is a 4 for us......

It's very subjective but for us, unless you're paying for some show, ambiance etc....it's not worth it to dine at most of the TS places....plus we're not into all the pre-schedulling ADR's require 180 days out.....

Our trips average 9-12 nights, we stay deluxe and eat fairly well at different CS (ones that have a decent choice and are quite good) without ADR's....so bottom line is I guess we're not foodies but we do not go to WDW anymore for the food, back in the late 70's and 80's, yes but the last 15+ years, no....nothing to brag about at all....

 

[DisDaze]

We enjoyed many meals at Disney many times before there was a dining plan, and many, many more times since the Dining Plans were introduced - we've done free dining 8 years in a row- and I haven't noticed any significant decline in food quality in correlation to the dining plans. The only difference we have noticed would be that there are fewer menu items/choices, but I still think there are plenty of choices. We are usually at Disney 9 nights and I've never sat down at a restaurant and not been able to order a very nice, enjoyable meal. If anything, I feel like the Dining Plan has enhanced our dining experience at Disney and made it possible for us to enjoy more of the expensive dining experiences/establishments, like the character meals and dinner shows. The meals and the dining are part of the whole Disney experience for us. It simply would not be fulfilling trip if we didn't eat at Chef Mickey's before our first morning at Magic Kingdom. Chef Mickey's probably wouldn't be super high on most people's food quality list, but it's decent and a "do not miss" experience for us each year.

 

[GeorgeG]

Just to clarify, you can have a good meal in a Disney restaurant, but that's become more hit and miss than back in the days where you could count on a good meal in any of them all of the time. Also, there are very many breakfast option in the parks these days. We usually just go for the day when we're in the mood so we'll choose to have breakfast at home. When we do stay for several days (or get an early start) we find it best to have breakfast at the resorts. We've gotten to where we choose to just snack during the day unless we're in a park that has either a TS or CS that we find tolerable. For dinner, it's non-Disney run restaurants at Downtown Disney or one of the resort restaurants, unless we're at Epcot where there are still a few decent restaurants left. If you're in a park for the day and into the evening, you just have to decide what to take a chance on. It's about 50/50 that you'll have a good meal at most of the Disney-run restaurants.

 

[erinscreen]

I agree with DisDaze regarding that your Disney dining "experience" should be about making memories. Sure, churros aren't the most amazing food on the planet, but I always have to get one when I am in the parks. I think if you go into your trip expecting to be disappointed, you will be.

My suggestion: research. Check out the menus, look at user reviews, browse pictures of the food and choose a restaurant based on what you think will bring you the best experience. For me, Biergarten at Epcot is a perfect example of this. Buffet meals ususally leave a lot to the imagination, but the whole dining experience is worthwhile. Sure, I can better German food at home, but I like German food, I like the experience, and there are some things on the menu that I can't find at home (like pickled herring salad--one of my favorite WDW items).

That being said, I have been very impressed lately at the small details of Disney dining. The tabbouleh at the Tangierine cafe is really, really good, but the hummus isn't really very good. The miso salmon entree at Yak & Yeti could probably be more complex with the flavors, but they know how to cook the fish perfectly.

Good luck!