So Foodies...How is quality now at WDW?

[MJS]

Last year we went to WDW and noted a bit of a decline in the quality of food at our favorite restaurants at WDW. We think that the dining plan may be to blame for the shrinking menu choices and food quality. What has happened in your opinion since Spring 2006? What is your opinion of the food in 2007? We are returning in late spring and are returning to many of our favorite places...will we be pleasantly surprised or need to pack the Rolaids?

 

[Cee]

It really depends on where you go. To be honest with you, I've never been
disappointed but I've never gone anywhere with HIGH expectations. I think
you're just asking for trouble if you do. I think the best meal I've ever had
there has been at Yachtsman and Le Cellier. But the best burger I've EVER
had was at Beachs and Cream at BC. Enjoy it all!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Pack the Rolaids. Or better yet, eat offsite. The quality continues to slip. It may be the DDP (does seem to be a marked correlation between that plan and the slip).

Service is pretty poor recently too.

There are any number of excellent restaurants off property (without going too far) and at this point, they beat Disney table service hands down for quality food and good service.

 

[hmp2z]

If you're a genuine foodie, then you won't be pleased with what you're eating at WDW. Unless, of course, you eat at the still-shining exception, Victoria & Albert's, or unless you eat at places where you wouldn't expect the food to be gourmet quality, like Boma or Beaches & Cream. Both these places are still good in their field (buffet foods & fast foods).

The dining plan and budget cutbacks have limited and standardized the menus across the board. Places that used to have high quality foods, like Yachtsman Steakhouse, now disappoint. There is no reason that, for a restaurant with those prices, they should get OLD, ammonia-tasting scallops.

If you like good food, I'd suggest setting my sights just off property in the Sand Lake area. Roy's is OUTSTANDING for seafood. The freshness can't be beaten; their tuna is flown in fresh every morning. Disney's signature restaurants (again, with the exception of V&A's) can't rival that.

As someone who enjoys great food, I don't believe in the whole "set your expectations low, and you won't be disappointed." I see no reason why I should set my expectations low, if I could spend the same amount of money and get a much higher quality experience elsewhere.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[wendy46001]

pack the Rolaids.....
sad thing is we do.....at least Rolaids sells neat travel tubes now...but i thought it was age...

honestly its slipping...I'm just holding my breath that this Septembers free dining wont be the death of a good meal...

I second Sandlake Rd...Roys, Chathams, Even Seasons 52 is a wonderful Darden chain...

still cant wait for Food and Wine...at least then we can sign up for good dinners...

 

[Drcell01]

It really does depend upon where you are eating.

For example...if you are looking for good pizza then unless you like your pizza with the same consistancy of a communion wafer...search for your pizza "off property"! Disney doesn't do pizza well anywhere on property!

 

[MJS]

Thanks for all of the great replies! We do love good food ~ everything from a great burger or a true dining experience like V & A. I will pack the Rolaids ~ I did not know about the new travel tubes. Good to know. Perhaps Disney should market those with the dining plan! They could put hidden Mickeys on them!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ok this may sound weird but DH and I prefer the buffets to the TS...the food seems to be much fresher and tastier than the order off the menu places.

For instance, we tried Mama Melrose and found the food to be cool and very bland but our dinner at Cape May Clam Bake was out of this world, the baked ziti there was delish!

Another one, Spoodles for breakfast was disgusting, CP, Donalds and Cape May was awesome!

We do not do all buffets, we like Kona, Le Cellier, 50's Prime Time, WPE and House of Blues as well as a few others.

 

[MermaidsMom]

I have been unhappy in past year, however, our trip last week was wonderful!! Every meal was great including: O'Hana's, Whispering Canyon, Spoodle's, Flying Fish, Cape May Cafe, "Morocco" and "Mexico". Spoodle's was number one! We all commented that Disney seemed to be making an effort to improve the quality of not only it's meals, but the fast food and snacks as well. We were very happy and we are usually hard to please.

 

[bluwater]

Epicurean/Gastronome here! Thanks for this thread.

What is really disappointing is those of us who are/were not on a dining plan actually PAID full price for that food. I'm now rethinking the dining plan (feeling more "pro" plan) just because it doesn't pay to eat TS and actually pay $70 for a meal for 2 (one of those 2 being a kid who had a child's menu item)

The food quality seems decent at good TS places, but the presentation is zero. I had shrimp and pasta in a creamy vodka sauce in Italy (Epcot) and the plate wasn't clean around the rim, and it looked like they just plopped the pasta in and handed it to me. Give me some kind of garnish....parsley or anything! It wasn't bad, but really boring and could have used a couple of diced peppers and something else. It was kind of like......spaghettios with shrimp....kid food.

I was unpleasantly surprised. I'm glad I stayed away from the more complex menu items.

I was thinking that the dining plan probably drove down the quality. People who pay OOP for meals probably get screwed the most.

I am an adventurous gastronome. Ethnic food is fine. I'll gladly sacrifice quantity for quality. Where should I eat in WDW?

 

[SassyLassy]

Ok this may sound weird but DH and I prefer the buffets to the TS...the food seems to be much fresher and tastier than the order off the menu places.

For instance, we tried Mama Melrose and found the food to be cool and very bland but our dinner at Cape May Clam Bake was out of this world, the baked ziti there was delish!

Oddly enough I aggree with this. I consider myself a foodie but when I go to WDW I drop my expectations quite a bit. I have noticed that I enjoy more buffet than restaurants that I order my own individual meals.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

We were also there last week and felt the food was very disappointing.

Our best meal was probably 50's Prime Time. The herbed cheese app. was very good and the fried chix was also yummy.

Overall we were disappointed in The Turf Club at SSR; Sci-Fi Dine In, Olivia's and the Garden Grill was not consistent.

We really feel the DDP and the streamlining of the menus has really brought down the quality of the TS food at WDW. We didn't rent a car this time and were stuck on property. We won't make that mistake again.

 

[SauceBoss]

Ok, everybody's whining, but no one's making any sense.
What are we all disappointed in?
What has changed that you do'n't like?
Do we all want every restaurant to be the same and offer the same food? Does everyone want fried food and fries all the time?

Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I agree that quality has taken a sharp turn. For the worse.

Haven't been since September, but it was still on the way down overall.

Crystal Palace breakfast still kicking butt, though.

 

[hmp2z]

Ok, everybody's whining, but no one's making any sense.

Enter the apologists. For starters, here is what I'm "whining" about (taken straight from my previous post):

The dining plan and budget cutbacks have limited and standardized the menus across the board. Places that used to have high quality foods, like Yachtsman Steakhouse, now disappoint. There is no reason that, for a restaurant with those prices, they should get OLD, ammonia-tasting scallops.

Secondly, I resent the implication that any legitimate complaints about food quality are merely "whines."

Finally, to bluwater, there are only 4 places at WDW where we don't feel overcharged for mediocre food. They are very different because, again, we are looking for what is good in its category:
Victoria & Albert's
California Grill (and this despite the fireworks maniacs who shove, curse, and step on toes in their search of the Holy Grail: a "good view!")
Boma
Beaches & Cream
* Tusker House used to be on my list, but about 3 months ago, they changed the salmon dramatically. It got much smaller and much drier. No thanks.

As I said earlier, if you're looking for a really good meal, venture over to Sand Lake Road. It's fairly close, and the choices are wonderful.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[rgf207]

DW and I are not Foodies per se but we do eat out a lot and know a good meal. We have never been dissapointed at WDW and we do not lower our expectations. Every meal we have eaten was wonderful. If you are used to five-star dining and than you go do WDW you will not find the same there because It's a different level. The same thing as dining 5-star outside WDW and then going to Applebees.

 

[SauceBoss]

The dining plan and budget cutbacks have limited and standardized the menus across the board.

I'm not singling anyone out here - these are very common comments.

Seems as the dining plan is the scapegoaot for everything - does anyone have proof of this, or budget cutbacks? Just curious how anyone can prove this - it's not information a Fortune 500 company would share. As far as I see, these are just assumptions. (not by you, but lots of folks.)

 

[sotoalf]

No one's mentioned Citricos, which is still superb.

I don't expect great food at a theme park restaurant. Never have.

 

[bluwater]

Heather, ditto about the salmon at Tusker House. I've read so many good reviews abuot TH, so I sought it out last week. While I was walking over to it, a CM joined me and asked me where I was going ,etc....when I told her I was headedto TH, she raved about the salmon. I was really psyched about this supposedly fantabulous salmon.

I spotted that dry, tiny thing from across the room (after I had already ordered it). It was dry and tasteless....and the piece was extra small. My plate looked like a kids meal. Now, for the price, it was fair...but I would have gladly paid more for a better meal. I would never recommend that salmon to anyone!

rgf207, I don't expect 5 star dining in WDW. But, I don't want to pay 4 star prices for 2 star food. It seems that the complaints in this thread are that the quality has drastically slipped recently, and some are attributing that to the Dining Plan. If I pay $28.50 for an entree, it should be attractive and taste good....and be worthy of that cost. I suspect my $28.50 entree has been reduced to the quality of a $8 entree so that Disney can have that item on the dining plan and not lose $.

From what I've found in my limited experience with WDW dining, the best meals are found in Epcot and they are not in the restaurants. Grazing seems to be best.....some cheese here, a pastry there, a $4 wine sample (they do give very generous samples of wine in the Epcot shops - same size as a $8.50glass in the restaurants).

I'm really thinking that if you are not on the Dining Plan, you should not eat in the restaurants.

This may be a silly question, but I really don't know the answer...is Victoria and Albert's on The Dining Plan?

Sotoalf, true. I've also never expected great food in a theme park. But, most theme parks don't even try to pretend that they're serving you a 5 star meal. They serve you sandwiches, fries, hot dogs, chicken, etc....they charge you more than you would pay on the street....fine. But, Dinsey seems to be "pretending" that you're getting this fabulous experience with pretentious sounding menu items and prices to match. Some of us seek out that stuff...and we're just disappointed.

 

[Tinkerboy00]

I think it depends on where you eat.

Like I enjoyed Le Cellier but didnt think it was all that spectacular or better than food that I could have gotten elsewhere. I mean it was pretty par for the course compared to other places. I mean obviously you will get a better meal at a place like Ruths Chris.

The best burger I have ever had in my whole life was at Le Chefs, but the rest of the menu was just kind of okay for me.

The food at Cali Grill was wonderful, but service is awful.

My favorite place to eat, ever (inside and outside of WDW) is the Biergarten at Epcot. I know true Germans who love it, and think its very authentic food. I also know one German who says she doesn't like it.

I find it better than most food I get at German restaurants that Ive been too.