Sorry Disney, I Can't Eat On-site

[sparks19]

I can't blame the OP.

We are going in september for 5 days and there is only one reservation I made and that's all I plan on making. it's at Akershus for my daughters birthday. Other than that we will likely bring lunches or eat when we go back to our room for an afternoon break.

We are staying in a villa so we have a full kitchen. so we are going to use it

don't get me wrong... if we are not ready to leave the park yet we will grab something there. no biggie.

but for the most part we aren't planning all kinds of meals out. one character meal is enough.

I dont like the idea of having a SET time that we have to be out of the park and at the restaurant (or stay in the park but stop what we are doing and get tehre for our reservation). I don't like having a time restriction lol it will make me paranoid all day. As it is the one reservation we have is for early lunch.

it's also disappointing because a lot of sit down places can't accomodate our group of 7. Seems we will have to sit at two different tables and that's kind of a bummer. I don't want to pay a lot for a meal and have to be split up from the rest of the family when we could just go back to the room and have something there together or TRY to find a big enough table at a CS place.

I forgot yesterday was my 180 day booking day so I didn't book Akershus until this morning and reservations were very limited. I'm lucky I got us in as early as I did. and we are going during a value time and it's filling up that quickly.

 

[Colleen27]

I saw this post in another thread and it's another reason why I'm happy I eat off-site. I'm not dependent on getting ressies at popular table service restaurants that will make or break my vacation:

Plenty of us who eat on site aren't in that boat either. There's no restaurant that is make or break to us, and trying new places is part of the fun. That's a difference in mindset and approach to the trip, not a function of where you choose to eat!

I've planned trips for families staying off site and eating 90% of their meals off site who were terribly upset about not getting a CRT reservation; on the other hand, we've stayed on site 6 times and only bothered with CRT twice. That reservation isn't about food or price, it is about eating in the iconic castle and skipping the 70 minute wait for the Princess meet & greet. There will always be huge demand for that, and there will always be those who are disappointed if they can't get in.

 

[eliza61]

I can think of several good reasons to eat at Disney.

1. You dont go to Disney World everyday...at least most of us don't. I have my pick of several chain resturants that i can get at anytime I wish. Disney...Once a year.

2. Food is just included in the budget. I dont even think twice about it. I know it's gonna cost to eat. I plan for this.

3. If I'm in Animal Kingdom and I'm hungry. I just walk on over to Flame Tree, eat and then head back to my day. No need to leave the park just to eat a meal!

Different strokes, Different Folks...these are my strokes!

See these are the pretty much the reasons why I'm such a critic of disney food.

1) You're right I don't go to disney all the time so do you know how horribly disappointed it is to get into a disney restaurant and realize you're really at applebees? You're right I'm surrounded by chain restaurants, so I wish disney would stop masquerading as a better quality restaurant when it's applebees in sheeps clothing.

2) for me money is not the issue. I would gladly fork over top dollar for quality well prepared food. But I absolutely hate being ripped off. Dressing up a lousy meal with a giant mouse or dog still leaves you with a lousy meal.

3) I know many people use the excuse "I don't go to disney for the food" but sorry I do. Whenever I go on vacation, good food is a requirement. I mean really, who goes to a restaurant and say, "hey if the food is mediocre or bad, that's ok"? Disney uses it's supposedly restaurants in its advertisement. You know it's pretty bad when a 6 year old says "mommy why does the spaghetti taste funny" Really, come on, how hard is it to make a decent marinari sauce?

4) Nothing worse IMO than at the end of a great day touring the parks and then sitting down and eating at Tony's and saying "this is jar spaghetti sauce" I love going on vacation because it's usually the one time that I know without a doubt I won't have to cook but so many times I have left a disney restaurant lately and said, "I could have made it better in the villa"

Meals are more than just a pit stop to fill my stomach, it's usually how my family winds down at the end of the day and laugh and talk about the awesome time we had. Now unfortuantely we no longer get excited about where we are going to eat onsite. so in August, we are there for 9 nights, we'll eat onsite for maybe 3.

 

[brunette8706]

See these are the pretty much the reasons why I'm such a critic of disney food.

1) You're right I don't go to disney all the time so do you know how horribly disappointed it is to get into a disney restaurant and realize you're really at applebees? You're right I'm surrounded by chain restaurants, so I wish disney would stop masquerading as a better quality restaurant when it's applebees in sheeps clothing.

2) for me money is not the issue. I would gladly fork over top dollar for quality well prepared food. But I absolutely hate being ripped off. Dressing up a lousy meal with a giant mouse or dog still leaves you with a lousy meal.

3) I know many people use the excuse "I don't go to disney for the food" but sorry I do. Whenever I go on vacation, good food is a requirement. I mean really, who goes to a restaurant and say, "hey if the food is mediocre or bad, that's ok"? Disney uses it's supposedly restaurants in its advertisement. You know it's pretty bad when a 6 year old says "mommy why does the spaghetti taste funny" Really, come on, how hard is it to make a decent marinari sauce?

4) Nothing worse IMO than at the end of a great day touring the parks and then sitting down and eating at Tony's and saying "this is jar spaghetti sauce" I love going on vacation because it's usually the one time that I know without a doubt I won't have to cook but so many times I have left a disney restaurant lately and said, "I could have made it better in the villa"

Meals are more than just a pit stop to fill my stomach, it's usually how my family winds down at the end of the day and laugh and talk about the awesome time we had. Now unfortuantely we no longer get excited about where we are going to eat onsite. so in August, we are there for 9 nights, we'll eat onsite for maybe 3.

*
Couldn't have said it better! Good post, and I totally see your point. We don't like getting ripped off eithier. Think about it $28.00 for Breakfast at Ohana. Four people and you are talking $135.00 for bacon and eggs. During holiday pricing the price sky rockets to $155.00. Yes, it's outrageous. Even their sandwiches and ala cart menu has skyrocketed. Once again, if the food was worth the price I too would gladly pay for it.

 

[MellieluvsDisney]

For us, dining at Disney is part of our experience. We're from Quebec, and we usually fly down to Orlando and stay on-site. We don't rent a car either. So to us, we love having the DDP. TO US, it is convenient. I love making ADR's, I'm a planing freak. We've been to Disney 3 times, and all 3 times we had the FDDP because we went in September. I do agree that some of the restaurants are not the best. Sci-Fi was very desapointing last year, so was 50's Prime Time Cafe. But, we enjoyed Boma for breakfast, as well as Yak & Yeti for dinner. For us, sitting down for a meal gives us a break to relax and unwind before getting started again.

And we usually go to Disney once a year...maybe it would be different if went more often or were DVC owners.

But, hey, that's just me!

 

[lugnut33]

For us, dining at Disney is part of our experience. We're from Quebec, and we usually fly down to Orlando and stay on-site. We don't rent a car either. So to us, we love having the DDP. TO US, it is convenient. I love making ADR's, I'm a planing freak. We've been to Disney 3 times, and all 3 times we had the FDDP because we went in September. I do agree that some of the restaurants are not the best. Sci-Fi was very desapointing last year, so was 50's Prime Time Cafe. But, we enjoyed Boma for breakfast, as well as Yak & Yeti for dinner. For us, sitting down for a meal gives us a break to relax and unwind before getting started again.

And we usually go to Disney once a year...maybe it would be different if went more often or were DVC owners.

But, hey, that's just me!

"Free" dining really isn't free.

Tried to make my one ressie and the site was down. Are they mad at me?

 

[crimsontide27]

*
Yes, that may work for you, but when families of 3,4,5 and more eat, say breakfast at Chef Mickey's you pay a premium. Breakfast is now approximately $27.00 per adult plus tax and tip. And that is NOT including Holiday pricing which tacks on another $4.00. Now, what people are concerned about is if they are going to pay a premium for breakfast, the food better be good. I know a lot of people on this exact forum have complained about the quality of food, yet the prices keep sky rocketing. Same as true for Boma. The dinner used to cost us $26.99 three years ago, now it's around $35.00 plus tax and tip and NOT including Holiday surcharges. To me in my opinion, this is why people go off site. Yes, you are correct different strokes.....

Brunette

Welcome to supply and demand, simple economics 101. If they magically lowered the price to 50% of the going rate, it would just make things worse and not better.

As long as the restaurants are selling out, you will never see a price decrease. Disney will still fill all of its restaurants up with other people, so it doesnt matter if you..nor I...nor anyone else on this board chooses to go offsite.

The prices are there to actually disuade some people from going since the restaurants can only handle so many people. If all of a sudden you decreased the prices to what others deem " affordable", you now have a ton more people trying to get in...ton more people upset that they didnt get in...and a lot more upset folks because the service would be subpar since restaurants can only handle so much volume.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Welcome to supply and demand, simple economics 101. If they magically lowered the price to 50% of the going rate, it would just make things worse and not better.

As long as the restaurants are selling out, you will never see a price decrease. Disney will still fill all of its restaurants up with other people, so it doesnt matter if you..nor I...nor anyone else on this board chooses to go offsite.

The prices are there to actually disuade some people from going since the restaurants can only handle so many people. If all of a sudden you decreased the prices to what others deem " affordable", you now have a ton more people trying to get in...ton more people upset that they didnt get in...and a lot more upset folks because the service would be subpar since restaurants can only handle so much volume.

Unfortunately too true. They keep raising ticket prices, hotel rates, etc., and will keep doing so as long as enough are willing to pay it. In most circumstances for my next trip I, for one, am not. But as you say, plenty of others are so it will continue.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

In most circumstances for my next trip I, for one, am not. But as you say, plenty of others are so it will continue.

I meant, in most dining circumstances. Still have a couple of favorites I hope don't disappoint, but not every meal onsite.

 

[maxiesmom]

it's also disappointing because a lot of sit down places can't accomodate our group of 7. Seems we will have to sit at two different tables and that's kind of a bummer. I don't want to pay a lot for a meal and have to be split up from the rest of the family when we could just go back to the room and have something there together or TRY to find a big enough table at a CS place.

I forgot yesterday was my 180 day booking day so I didn't book Akershus until this morning and reservations were very limited. I'm lucky I got us in as early as I did. and we are going during a value time and it's filling up that quickly.

If you are talking about the little notice you get about Your party may be split up, yadda yadda yadda, that is a standard notice. Some parties of 1 have had that notice on their ADR, but I somehow don't think they will be split.

We have gone with as many as 8 people and have only been split up once. That was in the castle for breakfast, and the tables were right across from each other. It wasn't a big deal at all. But don't skip doing sit down meals because you are afraid you will be split up. It rarely happens.

 

[patsal]

See these are the pretty much the reasons why I'm such a critic of disney food.

1) You're right I don't go to disney all the time so do you know how horribly disappointed it is to get into a disney restaurant and realize you're really at applebees? You're right I'm surrounded by chain restaurants, so I wish disney would stop masquerading as a better quality restaurant when it's applebees in sheeps clothing.

2) for me money is not the issue. I would gladly fork over top dollar for quality well prepared food. But I absolutely hate being ripped off. Dressing up a lousy meal with a giant mouse or dog still leaves you with a lousy meal.

3) I know many people use the excuse "I don't go to disney for the food" but sorry I do. Whenever I go on vacation, good food is a requirement. I mean really, who goes to a restaurant and say, "hey if the food is mediocre or bad, that's ok"? Disney uses it's supposedly restaurants in its advertisement. You know it's pretty bad when a 6 year old says "mommy why does the spaghetti taste funny" Really, come on, how hard is it to make a decent marinari sauce?

4) Nothing worse IMO than at the end of a great day touring the parks and then sitting down and eating at Tony's and saying "this is jar spaghetti sauce" I love going on vacation because it's usually the one time that I know without a doubt I won't have to cook but so many times I have left a disney restaurant lately and said, "I could have made it better in the villa"

Meals are more than just a pit stop to fill my stomach, it's usually how my family winds down at the end of the day and laugh and talk about the awesome time we had. Now unfortuantely we no longer get excited about where we are going to eat onsite. so in August, we are there for 9 nights, we'll eat onsite for maybe 3.

Everything I wanted to say, and phrased exactly how I feel. Sorry Applebees is only a few minutes away form OKW with a car, if that is what I'm getting I may as well only pay that 2/$20 pricetag!

 

[GeorgeG]

One thing that is very obvious is that there is inconsistency in dining revues throughout WDW. Even taking into consideration that people have varying tastes and expectations, and even the best restaurant could have an "off" day, inconsistency is usually not a sign of a good restaurant, anywhere.

We can also factor in regional and cultural differences. One example is when a Tony Packo's Hot Dogs came to The Villages a few years ago. All we heard from some of our friends was how great their hot dogs were. When we finally got around to trying them we thought they were by far the worst we had ever had. So, there is definitely variety in what people like and don't like. Even so, the mixed reviews for just about every WDW restaurant raises a lot of flags. For over twenty years, one thing we could say about WDW restaurants was that we never had anything less than great dining experiences. We can no longer say that, and our tastes have not changed.

 

[brunette8706]

Welcome to supply and demand, simple economics 101. If they magically lowered the price to 50% of the going rate, it would just make things worse and not better.

As long as the restaurants are selling out, you will never see a price decrease. Disney will still fill all of its restaurants up with other people, so it doesnt matter if you..nor I...nor anyone else on this board chooses to go offsite.

The prices are there to actually disuade some people from going since the restaurants can only handle so many people. If all of a sudden you decreased the prices to what others deem " affordable", you now have a ton more people trying to get in...ton more people upset that they didnt get in...and a lot more upset folks because the service would be subpar since restaurants can only handle so much volume.

*
Hey, I'm all for capitalism. With that said, if Disney wants to raise their prices to an "UNREASONABLE" price point, then they should have quality food to match their prices. They have taken prime offerings off the menu's and buffets, because of the so called Free Dining.

Your above logic does not make sense. The pricing at the buffets and ala cart restaurants were priced accordingly and people were pleased with the food quality. The same amount of people made reservations in 2005 vs 2009. When we ate at Ohana it used to be a good restaurant and they served you food accordingly, it was relaxing. Now they are in such a hurry to force you out of the restuarant, they serve you food before the first entree is finished. Again, it's a big turnover, and it does make the the customer feel that way, they they are in a rush to get you in and out, at least us. Back to subject at hand, now they are boosting the FREE dining all throughout the year, and charging people more for the FREE dining while eliminating other pricier foods. There has been more complaints on this forum about food quality going down then ever before. Further, Disney does want a "ton" of people coming to their restaurants, why do you think they offered this so called FREE DINING!? They offer it because they WANT PEOPLE IN THEIR RESTAURANTS. Another thing that I think is a scam is the Holiday pricing. Now, I can understand to have Holiday pricing on the Holiday itself or even the holiday weekend, but not for months at a time! Disney does this because they can. Personally, I don't think it's a good business practice, but that's just my opinion. And that why we will go to Shula's with a coupon and spend less their than at say Mickey's buffet at the Contemporary. We still go to Boma though when they don't have the Holiday pricing.

Brunette

 

[Planogirl]

I wonder how many of those who jam the restaurants are new people who don't know any better and those who go for the experience rather than the food? If the food is really awful, I would think that eventually Disney's reputation would suffer but I guess that takes a while. Only time will tell.

My biggest worry is that the food quality seems to be sliding downhill steadily over time. Where will it stop?

 

[brunette8706]

I wonder how many of those who jam the restaurants are new people who don't know any better and those who go for the experience rather than the food? If the food is really awful, I would think that eventually Disney's reputation would suffer but I guess that takes a while. Only time will tell.

My biggest worry is that the food quality seems to be sliding downhill steadily over time. Where will it stop?

*
Hi Planogirl! I think the quality has gone down because of FREE DINING. It's a real shame....

Brunette

 

[maxiesmom]

I've been going to WDW pretty much every year, some times more than once a year, for the past 15 years. And I don't think quality has gone down, but variety has. I make at least 3 ADRs whenever I go, and don't always eat at the same places. Maybe I am just not that fussy, but I have yet to have a icky meal.

The only place I had bad food was at the ABC Comissary, and you certainlly don't need an ADR for that place! But the food was so awful that on the next trip I went hungry instead of eating there.

 

[brunette8706]

I've been going to WDW pretty much every year, some times more than once a year, for the past 15 years. And I don't think quality has gone down, but variety has. I make at least 3 ADRs whenever I go, and don't always eat at the same places. Maybe I am just not that fussy, but I have yet to have a icky meal.

The only place I had bad food was at the ABC Comissary, and you certainlly don't need an ADR for that place! But the food was so awful that on the next trip I went hungry instead of eating there.

*
HI Maxiesmom!

Ever eat at Hollywood and Vine? Another "medicore" restaurant is the Crystal Palace for dinner, did not like that one at all. We still like Boma and Ohana and the Spirit of Aloha and Trailsl End though.

 

[maxiesmom]

*
HI Maxiesmom!

Ever eat at Hollywood and Vine? Another "medicore" restaurant is the Crystal Palace for dinner, did not like that one at all. We still like Boma and Ohana and the Spirit of Aloha and Trailsl End though.

We did Hollywood and Vine many many moons ago. Then it was good. From what I understand now it is pretty horrible. I actually like the Crystal Palace, but I can usually only eat one plate of food at a buffet. And I do find their dessert options to be lacking.

 

[crimsontide27]

*
Hey, I'm all for capitalism. With that said, if Disney wants to raise their prices to an "UNREASONABLE" price point, then they should have quality food to match their prices. They have taken prime offerings off the menu's and buffets, because of the so called Free Dining.

Your above logic does not make sense. The pricing at the buffets and ala cart restaurants were priced accordingly and people were pleased with the food quality. The same amount of people made reservations in 2005 vs 2009. When we ate at Ohana it used to be a good restaurant and they served you food accordingly, it was relaxing. Now they are in such a hurry to force you out of the restuarant, they serve you food before the first entree is finished. Again, it's a big turnover, and it does make the the customer feel that way, they they are in a rush to get you in and out, at least us. Back to subject at hand, now they are boosting the FREE dining all throughout the year, and charging people more for the FREE dining while eliminating other pricier foods. There has been more complaints on this forum about food quality going down then ever before. Further, Disney does want a "ton" of people coming to their restaurants, why do you think they offered this so called FREE DINING!? They offer it because they WANT PEOPLE IN THEIR RESTAURANTS. Another thing that I think is a scam is the Holiday pricing. Now, I can understand to have Holiday pricing on the Holiday itself or even the holiday weekend, but not for months at a time! Disney does this because they can. Personally, I don't think it's a good business practice, but that's just my opinion. And that why we will go to Shula's with a coupon and spend less their than at say Mickey's buffet at the Contemporary. We still go to Boma though when they don't have the Holiday pricing.

Brunette

They dont rush you at Ohanas. If you wanted to...you could sit there from open to close. There are hundreds of people in there at a time, and everyone seems to think that the delivery meal should be on their own personal schedule and somehow each server and delivery person should automatically know it.

If you want more of something...you ask. If you want them to slow down...you ask. If you want them to do whatever...you just have to ask.

Ever see the line out of the Ohanas venue? People get angry at having to wait to get in, so its in everyones best interest...including yours...to get people in and out.

People are rude and angry when they wait outside, but when they get in they want to sit there for hours. You cant have it both ways.

Disney is too full of the "me, me, me" attitudes and I think they handle it pretty well. Everyone here at Disney feels some sort of entitlement that they are owed everything.


Free dining has nothing to do with getting more people in the restaurants either. Its a way to try to get more people into the parks so they can increase ticket revenue, merchandising , hotels etc. Disney really only hits 100% capacity a few times a year, with several months in there being traditionally very slow. Free dining was shown to have impacted park counts dramatically during the slow season, so they are sticking with it.

 

[brunette8706]

They dont rush you at Ohanas. If you wanted to...you could sit there from open to close. There are hundreds of people in there at a time, and everyone seems to think that the delivery meal should be on their own personal schedule and somehow each server and delivery person should automatically know it.

If you want more of something...you ask. If you want them to slow down...you ask. If you want them to do whatever...you just have to ask.

Ever see the line out of the Ohanas venue? People get angry at having to wait to get in, so its in everyones best interest...including yours...to get people in and out.

People are rude and angry when they wait outside, but when they get in they want to sit there for hours. You cant have it both ways.

Disney is too full of the "me, me, me" attitudes and I think they handle it pretty well. Everyone here at Disney feels some sort of entitlement that they are owed everything.


Free dining has nothing to do with getting more people in the restaurants either. Its a way to try to get more people into the parks so they can increase ticket revenue, merchandising , hotels etc. Disney really only hits 100% capacity a few times a year, with several months in there being traditionally very slow. Free dining was shown to have impacted park counts dramatically during the slow season, so they are sticking with it.

*
Um, they do rush you at "Ohana". Once they give you the first entree minutes go by when they are trying to get you the second and third entree. Not sure how you get the entitlement issue from being rushed at "Ohana"??? Most people that travel to Disney, in my opinion don't have the entitlement that they are owed anything, to the contrare. Most people on these forums pay a lot of money to go to Disney and they certainly spend tons of money at the restaurants. Free dining does mean getting people in restaurants. If it wasn't for FREE DINING most restaurants would be able to accomodate walk in's. At this junctiure they usually can't except imaybe if it is low season. Further, it is NOT in my best interest to get my family and myself IN AND OUT of "Ohana." Once again, your logic makes no sense at all. In one statement YOU STATE that guests can stay there "Ohana" all day, in your next statement you state that, "It's in my BEST INTEREST", to get people in and out. I'm sorry, but when I'm at a restaurant the last thing I want to be is rushed. Further, your statements above are conjecture at best. And, I am here on this forum telling the nice people here on the DIS my experience at "Ohana". You can't refute that, sorry.

Brunette