Saddened by the overall quality drop in TS food

[Dax]

So we had our annual holiday meal at Disney again last night. This time, Trails End in Ft Wilderness. Now I have been to this buffet numerous times, and have always walked away satisfied with the meal served. The carving station meat was always good.

Sadly, the Christmas Dinner, was not up to the same standard. They did away with the carving for the meal(hopefully only this meal) and everything was served in dishes under warming lights. The turkey was presliced, and sitting in gravy that was starting to congeal(sp?) It was kinda offputting and gross. The ham also was in a sauce, but serving so quick it was not an issue. The stuffing though was good, but my tablemates complained about a lot of the other side offerings they had.

Overall, an OK meal. Was its SUPER? No. Was it the Disney quality I have come to expect...no. We also ate Thanksgiving at Disney this year(Chef Mickey's) and also went to Le Cellier in June for our anniversary, and all of those meals were OK, but not great either. The only decent meal I had this year was at Liberty Tree in Sept.

I think DH and myself will be looking to eat offsite for now. As much as I love Disney, I do not walk away with a warm fuzzy feeling when I drop $90 plus tip for 2 people at a buffet/meal where we walk away feeling that we could have done better somewhere else.

This is my opinion as a local, and you mileage may vary, but there are many GREAT offsite places to eat, and I think I will begin exploring those options.

 

[Minnesota!]

Not a local (by any means!!!) but these reports are getting more and more prevalent...that the food is just subpar across the board at WDW. So sad. As a non local, traveling 1500 miles to "enjoy" subpar food (which is one of the major draws FOR US to WDW)....it just is almost not worth it anymore. Should we find the same results when we are there in 12 days, I am sad to say, WDW will not be getting our money for a while. We have gone from visitng 2x a year, to every 18 months or so. And should we find that this area is lacking...it will be every 5 years or so. I just cannot justify the cost with the quality they put out...

 

[OKW Lover]

I hope you'll take the time to put your thoughts in letter to Disney. They do pay attention to those that write.

 

[GeorgeG]

We had a nice dinner at Rose and Crown yesterday, but I have to agree that things have slipped in recent years. The most common reason people suggest is the free dining, but there are likely other reasons, too. Disney isn't likely to address the situation as long as the parks and resorts are full with what is pretty much a captive dining audience. I agree that letting them know is one way to go, but I think the only thing that will force a positive change is when more and more people stop spending their money for food that's not worth it.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I hope you'll take the time to put your thoughts in letter to Disney. They do pay attention to those that write.

1) This is an excellent thought.
2) However, do not expect any kind of positive action.
3) People have complained about the DDP and food quality for a while.
4) Profits still outweigh and overshadow quality.
5) Disney/ABC is now more concerned about
. . . profits
. . . bonuses
. . . stock price
6) Guests are secondary, or even lower on the scale.
7) With all the complaints, quality remains on a downward trend.

 

[pit303]

My DH and I were at DW two weeks and we didn't get a car Big Mistake. I felt the food quality has really gone down. I think it will be a long time before we eat on property again. I also think this is one of the reasons that the food delivery places like Garden Grocer are getting more and more popular.

 

[wasabi girl]

I am a relative new Disney fan (only been going as an adult since '05) but even in that span of time, it seems things are more homogenized. There seem to be less "signature", "that's what we go to this restaurant for" menus. It seems to be variations of the same half dozen or so entrees everywhere, a steak of some sort, either "today's sustainable fish (which seem to always be halibut)", a chicken dish, a pasta dish, salmon, and either pork, lamb or shellfish...I know restaurants have to have some standard items so that guests will be able to find something they like, but it feels like the same menu, with different seasonings everywhere...I don't know about everyone else but I'd like some individuality from the chefs, some flair.

It is like the merchandise, they sell the same thing everywhere now. There is no incentive to impulse buy a particular item, as you will surely see the same thing in the next ten stores you visit...the only exception seems to be the resort specific merchandise. I wonder if Disney realizes in their efforts to contain costs, they also hurt sales?

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Disney fan, and most things they do, they do quite well, but sometimes the penny pinching is very evident to guests and we are less likely to spend money, why have the chocolate lava cake right now when some variation of it will be at the next restaurant I go to? Why bother with the french fries here when the french fries everywhere else are just the same?

Come on Disney, we love you, that's why we go. But we like to feel indulged and catered to, not herded around like preprogrammed spending machines!

 

[f86sabjf]

all of the above sentiments are just some of the reasons we are no longer annual passport holders. Come to think about it we havent been inside a park in 4yrs.

 

[Planogirl]

This is one reason we eat offsite so much nowadays. I would love a list of good offsite restaurants personally and I hope that travel writers start working on that at some point.

 

[GeorgeG]

While off-site dining is certainly an option, it's not always convenient to exit a park and drive off-site. There's still a fair amount of walking and driving to get to even the closest dining. I'd like to see Disney contract with outside restaurants to set up closer to the parks, if they would butt out of their regular operation.

 

[Dax]

This is one reason we eat offsite so much nowadays. I would love a list of good offsite restaurants personally and I hope that travel writers start working on that at some point.

Depending on how far you would like to drive...There are some really good places..you just have to be willing to drive a bit

 

[Planogirl]

Depending on how far you would like to drive...There are some really good places..you just have to be willing to drive a bit

I'm happy to drive about as far as it takes at least on some days. I've gotten to where I love exploring the central Florida area.

 

[eliza61]

to steal a bit from Rusty scupper.

1) I've become very philosophical about Disney dining. I don't expect much from it any more. I no longer expect "great meals" and pretty much get happy if the food is hot and edible.

2) I agree, write a nice, short but too the point letter.

3) We too go offsite. even if its to TGI fridays or olive garden, at least I'm not paying 20 bucks for tasteless marinara.

 

[Planogirl]

I like that eliza!

I'm pretty easy-going about Disney food too now. We eat a lot more CS and I'm OK with that. I'm there to see the parks and I can get great food elsewhere.

 

[eliza61]

I like that eliza!

I'm pretty easy-going about Disney food too now. We eat a lot more CS and I'm OK with that. I'm there to see the parks and I can get great food elsewhere.

LOL. I think it's self preservation. I do agree with op, though. I remember previous trips where we would really think about where to eat. Meals were almost as important as the attractions, now we really don't expect much. How sad.

 

[n2mm]

Depending on how far you would like to drive...There are some really good places..you just have to be willing to drive a bit

Please share. I would love some offsite dining options!

 

[wcpamotm]

Count me among those who believe the quality and especially the selection of food to be declining lately. So what to do about it?

Write a nice little letter. It can't hurt, and maybe enough of them might get some notice.

More importantly, vote with your feet. So long as profits are maintained, Disney doesn't care so much about what we think of their food. They don't care that much if a particular family should go offsite for meals.

But they do care about aggregates. And I think that if we could get a movement going in which a good percentage of guest parties went offsite for even one or two meals that would have otherwise been eaten onsite, that would create a dent that even the accountants would notice.

I know this would be tough to do for someone without a car, but if you're up to it, you could take a bus to Marketplace, then take about a 15-20 minute walk to the Crossroads.

Yeah, I know, I'm probably whistling into the wind.

 

[Tiger926]

We so agree! I cringe at the thousands upon thousands of dollars we've spent while dining at Disney, as we've done it all: DxDP, DP and DDE/TIW, as we normally ate 2-3 TS meals per day. We used to hate CS meals, but now, we will eat more of those, as some CS meals are better than TS meals.

This is the first time in years, that I have not made any ADRs for our upcoming March trip. We will not be eating any TS meals this trip, and will be eating in our villa for pretty much every meal, except a few CS meals here and there.

We are saddened by this downhill trend, as we have had some amazing memories while dining at WDW. Also, since we go for 2 weeks each July, we used to love being able to sit in the air conditioned restaurants and relax. When you had good food, great service and nice atmospheres, we didn't mind spending the money as much. Sadly, that is no longer the case, as our food is just not up to par any longer...

This will be a big adjustment for us, but we have been preparing the kids, who are young, and have grown up on eating at WDW restaurants. We have told them that Disney is too expensive, crowded restaurants and not great food, and they aren't as upset as we thought they'd be. The true test will come once we get there though...

Sadly, we have written to Disney about this, and this is their new business model, as mentioned above, so they aren't going to do anything about it. Those of us who dislike the food, are a minimal number, compared to the millions of guests who purchase the DP and eat TS meals. Disney is all about maximizing profits, while shrinking services and offering subpar products. When over 50 million guests visit WDW on a yearly basis, and most of them eat on-site, there is not much our small group is going to do about changing anything in Disney's current business model.

Tiger

 

[fla4fun]

This is the first time in years, that I have not made any ADRs for our upcoming March trip. We will not be eating any TS meals this trip, and will be eating in our villa for pretty much every meal, except a few CS meals here and there.
Tiger

This is me for the last three years or so. I try to stay where there's a kitchen or kitchenette whenever possible, but even a room with a fridge, I'll bring sandwich fixings and eat sandwiches in the room more than I buy food in the parks. I typically have one or two TS meals, maybe, but never more unless I'm traveling with a newbie who wants the "full experience". I have a 10 day trip booked next month with one ADR, and I'll be in a DVC studio, so I'll have the kitchenette. I will eat probably 2/3 of my meals in the villa, and only eat lunch out in the parks (which will be CS for the most part).

But to be honest, it's more about the making of reservations six months in advance and the high prices than the food quantity/quality. I haven't had any bad meals, but I don't know until I wake up in the morning which park I'm going to on any particular day. I hate being tied down to an ADR schedule. I wish they only took ADR's for the signature and character dining, and left most of the TS dining as first come, first serve. I remember the first come, first serve days, and I don't remember waiting much more than I wait now with an ADR.

I spent a week at WDW the beginning of December, ate at Prime Time, Plaza Restaurant, and both were good. I had a lot of meals at Beaches and Cream since I was at the YC, and they were great as always.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Should note that we continue to find Flying Fish, Citricos and California Grill to be good restaurants.
But we've also gravitated lately to places like Blue Zoo, Shula's and Il Mulino--AT Disney, but not really Disney restaurants.

Can't speak to buffets, counter servive or 1 TS service restaurants as we never do those anyway...