Paying a lot for food that is "just OK"

[sjsjbrook]

After listening to the counter service podcast, I realized that I do pay a lot of money for food that is just ok.

McDonalds is one, when I could get a sub that is much tastier and much healthier for the same price.

At WDW too. Though if I didn't have my kids with me I would search out better food. Why do I do this, I was asking myself when Kevin was so confused by this behaviour. I think I would have just eated that food at the American adventure - just because of the cost of it and the fact that I haven't had a hot meal in 17 years thanks to my kids.

I am now going to make an effort to preplan what I am eating at the parks(menus are online), and think about what my kids are going to eat. I am going to eat food that tastes good, and hopefully it will be hot as well.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've done it. You are just so hungry, you don't even care. I don't do it anymore, but I can remember some pretty bad food and just thinking it would do to keep me going. I plan much better now though and avoid the truly awful. Luckily I don't have any "must have chicken nuggets" kids, it would kill me to pay for those.

 

[kaligal]

I didn't hear that podcast, but any time I pay a lot for OK food it's because it's more convenient that the cheaper and/or better food.

I spent about 2 weeks in Orlando with a kid who ate chicken nuggets for almost every single lunch and dinner. His brother was like, "We can order whatever we want and not worry about price?! Cool!" and proceeded to order steak, seafood, salads - all kinds of stuff. The little one ate chicken nuggets for every meal except one, I think...and if memory serves, it was a hot dog.

I remember one meal, when I ordered chicken nuggets for him, he said, "How do YOU know what I want?!" So I said, "Oh! I'm sorry. What would you like?"

..."Chicken nuggets" he sheepishly said with a grin.

Ugh.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I understand the "let's eat anything because we are hungry" mentality.

My point was that there are better selections that are just as easy and accessible.

In the obvious case of the American Pavilion....better choices are less than 100 yards away.

If you can't make it another 100 yards prior to passing out from hunger....you've waited too long.

You don't have to settle for crap.

As far as those chicken nuggets are concerned....well....I don't have a solution to the issue that that is all they will eat.

On the other hand, this should be a letter writing campaign supported by any adult that has to pay good money for such an inferior product.

My problem is not with chicken nuggets. It's with THOSE chicken nuggets.

I love a good ole 10 piece nuggets from McDonalds with spicy mustard dip.

They aren't good for me or my diet...but they are good.

 

[MandyTG]

I love a good ole 10 piece nuggets from McDonalds with spicy mustard dip.

They aren't good for me or my diet...but they are good.

Have you tried the new chicken McBites? They are yum!

 

[travisx4]

The food just isn't that good at Disney. For the most part it is just fuel to get you through the day. I think the dining plan has ruined the quality, size and service in the restaurants. My wife and I were just there for Food and Wine and thought the food booths were great but our breakfasts at Kona Cafe and Boma were awful. My youngest son will only eat chix nuggets and pizza also. The pizza is terrible in the parks and we all know how the chicken is. I wish they would just use the chicken tenders from the cruise ship, I enjoy those.

 

[sjsjbrook]

I got your point exactly Kevin, and it opened my mind. I thank you guys for letting us know where you can get better priced good food that is fast. Your confussion really struck a cord with me. I was like "why? indeed".


I wanted to also agree with Julie, I wish they had kid's salad options. I remeber when my girls were 5 and 6 and they were desperate for a salad. We finally found one for them at ABC commersary, it was an adult salad and on the dining plan that we were on at the time, but it was a salad.

 

[kaligal]

My problem is not with chicken nuggets. It's with THOSE chicken nuggets.

I love a good ole 10 piece nuggets from McDonalds with spicy mustard dip.

I prefer the Sweet and Sour sauce, myself...but I am a fan of the chicken McNugget. I lament the switch to all white meat. Liked the dark pieces-parts ones better, but they aren't catering to me.

The Disney chicken nuggets are not good. They're practically tasteless. But they are almost everywhere, which is good when you want to indulge kids who want them.

I felt so guilty about all that chicken that long before the trip was over, I had purchased and was forcing vitamins on the kid. We actually had a stand-off, where he refused to take them. "Vitamins or vegetables," said I. I meant it and stood my ground. Vitamins it was.

To this day, when I see chicken nuggets at Disney, I'm kinda disgusted.

 

[SGB13]

travisx4, I know it's not counter service, but the pizza at Via Nappoli is really good. And they have a cheese only one for picky kids. My picky kid is 13 now, but has figured out that steak is good! Thank goodness for the dinning plan!

 

[cindyland]

We got stuck at the American restaurant on our trip to epcot. It was POURING down rain, we were starving (yes Kevin, we waited too long), and the American restaurant was very welcoming and dry (and empty). OK typical Disney yuck fare...but we had dessert in Norway so that more than made up for it!!

 

[BriarRosie]

After hearing the podcast, I'm convinced there are two types of burgers served. The last time I ate at ABC Commissary, it was a couple years ago. They didn't have the surf and turf burger. Just the same crap that I'm convinced was just like the burger described at Liberty Inn. Garbage. I had an Angus bacon cheeseburger at Pecos Bill's that I thought was really much higher quality and enjoyed it. Go figure.

However, during the trip when I was hating the ABC Commissary burger, one of the people I was eating with had the chicken curry and liked it, so maybe that item was good then, good now. I don't like Indian curries, and I was really not going to order anything with "curry" listed.

I gravitate towards counter service I know has been consistently good. Columbia Harbor House, Sunshine Seasons, and Tangierine Cafe. My last visit at Tangierine was not very good, and I thought the quality suffered. It could have been a fluke, so I'd have to return and see.

Flame Tree is better...when you slather sauce on their stuff. The pulled pork sandwich is tasty, but the pork to bun ration was a bit lacking. I did enjoy the flavor. The chicken meal has usually been my go-to meal there.

I know the review didn't cover Animal Kingdom, but I'm throwing in my .02 anyway.

 

[skier_pete]

OK, I will admit that some CS/QS food is not very good. And I haven't listened to the specifics of the podcast yet. But, there is some really very good quality CS food available at Disney. And as far as prices, yeah they are bad, but have you eaten food at a county fair / sports arena / amusement park anywhere else in the United States? Generally, the prices are in the same range, and the food is significantly worse. Our family of three goes to our county fair every summer and easily spend $100 on food for the day, and none of its particularly good. The same thing at our NHL arena, the burgers are OK, but at $9 for burger and fries, you'd hope for more than OK.

That all said, they're are a few places Disney should deem themselves to be better at. The awful hot dogs and buns they use are a shame. And worst of all, the soft-serve "ice cream" machines at many CS and Buffets. The kids chicken "nuggets" are terrible, but I've had very good Chicken Strips for adults (Columbia Harbor House comes to mind for this). Overall, I think if you choose wisely you can get some pretty darn good meals at WDW. As Kevin points out in an earlier post, sometimes you might have to walk an extra 100 feet, but it really is worth it.

 

[DisneyKevin]

OK, I will admit that some CS/QS food is not very good. And I haven't listened to the specifics of the podcast yet. But, there is some really very good quality CS food available at Disney. And as far as prices, yeah they are bad, but have you eaten food at a county fair / sports arena / amusement park anywhere else in the United States? Generally, the prices are in the same range, and the food is significantly worse. Our family of three goes to our county fair every summer and easily spend $100 on food for the day, and none of its particularly good. The same thing at our NHL arena, the burgers are OK, but at $9 for burger and fries, you'd hope for more than OK.

That all said, they're are a few places Disney should deem themselves to be better at. The awful hot dogs and buns they use are a shame. And worst of all, the soft-serve "ice cream" machines at many CS and Buffets. The kids chicken "nuggets" are terrible, but I've had very good Chicken Strips for adults (Columbia Harbor House comes to mind for this). Overall, I think if you choose wisely you can get some pretty darn good meals at WDW. As Kevin points out in an earlier post, sometimes you might have to walk an extra 100 feet, but it really is worth it.

You have just made my point.

As far as the comparison to the county fair.....I'm not sure that holds up as well.

County fairs are by nature fleeting experiences. They are here one minute and gone the next.

Walt Disney World has had 40 years to master this...and at some locations, they have.

Why would a cheeseburger be hot, fresh and juicy in one location and be tough, cold, dried out shoe leather at the next?

The bottom line....because the customer is not complaining about sub-par food prepared poorly.

We make excuses for Disney all the time. It's the same price as county fair food. Food at Six Flags is just as bad and more expensive. The list goes on and on.

Would anyone accept that in any other part of life?

Would you accept a TV purchased at Best Buy that only worked sporadically? Would you make the excuse that the TV at Target is the same price and probably works just as badly.

I realize that while at Disney, you are a captive audience and don't have the option of going to a competitor, but I've decided that if I am served crap....I'm handing it back and asking for it to be replaced or asking for a refund.

If enough people tell Disney that there CS food is below acceptable quality....maybe they will get the idea.

More about this in this week's show!

 

[skier_pete]

You have just made my point.

As far as the comparison to the county fair.....I'm not sure that holds up as well.

County fairs are by nature fleeting experiences. They are here one minute and gone the next.

Walt Disney World has had 40 years to master this...and at some locations, they have.

Why would a cheeseburger be hot, fresh and juicy in one location and be tough, cold, dried out shoe leather at the next?

The bottom line....because the customer is not complaining about sub-par food prepared poorly.

We make excuses for Disney all the time. It's the same price as county fair food. Food at Six Flags is just as bad and more expensive. The list goes on and on.

Would anyone accept that in any other part of life?

Would you accept a TV purchased at Best Buy that only worked sporadically? Would you make the excuse that the TV at Target is the same price and probably works just as badly.

I realize that while at Disney, you are a captive audience and don't have the option of going to a competitor, but I've decided that if I am served crap....I'm handing it back and asking for it to be replaced or asking for a refund.

If enough people tell Disney that there CS food is below acceptable quality....maybe they will get the idea.

More about this in this week's show!

All very good points. I agree we shouldn't except sub-par food. But there's only two ways to fix it, with our mouth (verbally) and with our money. While complaining to Disney is a fair thing to do, and for truly awful food I certainly would do that, I figure that the more effective way is to (1) not buy the crappy food and (2) tell other people about the crappy food. You, Kevin, have a much better forum to do this than I, and I think you do it very well. But in the end, the "masses" are perhaps satisfied that - and I'll continue to use the example you did - the food at the American Adventure is substandard burgers and fries by continuing to eat there because they are just looking for junk anyways. Meanwhile Tangerene (sp?) Cafe which has in my experience excellent Moroccan fare has typically very few full tables.

I didn't intend to give Disney a pass to say "it's OK that the food is as bad as a county fair" what I meant was I believe MOST of the food is much better than that at a similar price point. Some things are not, and your right that we as customers should let them know that it should be better.

By the way, I think it's great the way that in your reviews you do talk about the quality of the food as well as the price point, the recent incident I think of was your re-review of Yatchsmen. A good review, but your appetizer, which might have been fine at $8, was not so good when it came at $15 (or whatever the price was exactly). Regardless of the price point, everyone wants to feel they are getting something worthwhile for their money!

SkierPete

 

[lorax123]

While I don't disagree that counter service could use some improvements, Disney counter service is leaps and bounds better than many other parks. We have found Herhsey, Dormey park and any local sports arena counter service pretty skanky and it costs a significant amount more than Disney CS.

Still, $35-50 for a family of four to eat CS is a whole heck of a lot of money. CS is the one reason I don't mind using the dinning plan. I can justify a $72-125 TS bill, for a nice meal, but $50 for fast food? If CS wasn't on the DP, we would be sharing CS often and putting the difference towards a real meal.

I have to admit, before we tried the DP, we always ate CS. We kind of assumed TS would be a lot more money. I think it's the same rational a lot of noobs have when they go to the parks.

 

[kbelle8995]

Disney does need to improve the consistancy of food at the QS, CS locations. If you go to Colombia you can get a good meal with delicious food. They have a lobster roll which is quite tasty.

Also Sunshine Seasons, Tangerine Cafe, and Starring roles also has food which is good and not the typical fast food fair. I avoid places like the American Pavilion because I know what they serve and I can get better versions elsewhere.

Yes we are Americans and we eat burgers but they can include regional favorites. But they would have to be prepared well. It's a crime that their food is so awful. If I want a good burger that's close I leave and go to Beaches and Cream.

 

[kaligal]

I never realized that I have narrowed down my CS choices without realizing it.

MK - Pecos Bill's or Columbia. Haven't been to Pinocchio since the changeover because I think they're now serving stuff like hummus, which I have tried MANY times to like but just can't. I honestly haven't even looked at the menu in a couple years, though. eta: I looked up the menu on allears and see that I was totally off base - Pinocchio isn't serving hummus. I don't know why I thought that it was all healthy/foreign stuff. Will have to stick Pinocchio back on the list. Always liked watching the IASW boats.

Epcot - Sunshine Seasons...or Mexico, on occasion

AK - Flame Tree (if I must, but I'll usually go to Rainforest, which I like even if nobody else does - that cranberry waffle thing is YUM-MY!)

DHS - I try really hard not to eat CS at DHS!!

ITA with Kevin. It OUGHT to be better. I never complained to Disney because I just never complain, but over the years I ate more and more offsite. It was one of the reasons I started staying offsite - I'd be closer to better food. It's a small pain to drive out to get stuff from, say, Olive Garden...but it's an even bigger pain to drive it back and have it be lukewarm (especially during busier times, with more traffic.)

They should have better food. Especially considering what they charge.

I have eaten a LOT of SYSCO food in my life. And I know what that stuff costs. They make a killing on F&B and they could serve up food that is a little tastier with very little effort and not much more money.

 

[skier_pete]

Hey, I'm back with a bunch of comments.

I finally listened to the Podcast that this thread was based on, as well as the follow-up that Kevin and John did @ Pop Century. So, a few comments.

1) I agree with pretty much everything that was said on the podcast. I especially liked that it was agreed that in the future, substandard food will be returned/sent back. I hope this is the case of food that is genuinely "bad" for some reason. I think if food is just "OK" (as original poster mentioned) that's the risk you take at any food-service location...but if the food is deemed unedible for whatever reason it should be returned. (Cold and stale as K & J said are good enough for me.)

2) Where I still defend Disney is in general I still think the quality of QS food is better than that at a Six Flags park, with prices on par. We had some really really good meals at the Carribean Beach food court (NOT breakfast though!) The Carribean Burger there was so good, I ordered it a second time on the same trip. (It had Plantains, fried Onions and a mango salsa on top and it was absolutely delicious.) That said, you do have to be wise consumer, and choose your restaurants accordingly.

3) Re: Kids Chicken Nuggets: Yup, they're bad. But you know what, my DD8 had that same Chicken Nugget meal from the American Adventure, and scarfed it all down. Now, they weren't burnt or cold, but they were that same lousy chicken "meat". But while she would eat regular chicken strips as well, she would prefer those nuggets to real meat. And lots of kids are like that, and they really aren't very far off from the "nuggets" McDonald's serves (which aren't good either). So, I can't realy fault Disney too terribly for serving them. I can fault them for the rest of the dreck at American Adventure...however, the only meal we got there was the kids meal. The rest of us ate at Food and Wine Festival, so we dined on $7.50 Lobster rolls for our "snack credit".

But, in the end, I agree with Kevin and John (and the rest of the crew):
- Be an informed consumer and know where the best places are to eat.
- If the food is not edible in your opinion, return it.

While you will probably never be able to get rid of some amount of substandard food in a theme park, these are really the best ways to promote that change.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I never realized that I have narrowed down my CS choices without realizing it.

MK - Pecos Bill's or Columbia. Haven't been to Pinocchio since the changeover because I think they're now serving stuff like hummus, which I have tried MANY times to like but just can't. I honestly haven't even looked at the menu in a couple years, though. eta: I looked up the menu on allears and see that I was totally off base - Pinocchio isn't serving hummus. I don't know why I thought that it was all healthy/foreign stuff. Will have to stick Pinocchio back on the list. Always liked watching the IASW boats.

Epcot - Sunshine Seasons...or Mexico, on occasion

AK - Flame Tree (if I must, but I'll usually go to Rainforest, which I like even if nobody else does - that cranberry waffle thing is YUM-MY!)

DHS - I try really hard not to eat CS at DHS!!

ITA with Kevin. It OUGHT to be better. I never complained to Disney because I just never complain, but over the years I ate more and more offsite. It was one of the reasons I started staying offsite - I'd be closer to better food. It's a small pain to drive out to get stuff from, say, Olive Garden...but it's an even bigger pain to drive it back and have it be lukewarm (especially during busier times, with more traffic.)

They should have better food. Especially considering what they charge.

I have eaten a LOT of SYSCO food in my life. And I know what that stuff costs. They make a killing on F&B and they could serve up food that is a little tastier with very little effort and not much more money.

You are not alone. I like Rain Forest! We usually eat there at least once on a trip. I especially liked it when I went on a solo trip. Eating at the bar was fun and less noisy.

DHS.....Starring Rolls is one of my favorite CS places. Not alot of choices, but their sandwiches are really fresh and good. Wish they had more seating.