The Best WDW Dining is just "Good"

[Micca]

DW and I have been going to WDW since the late 70s with 40+ trips under our belts(which is uncomfortable). During that time we've so loved our many experiences with dining at WDW. The past few trips over the last 2-3 years have changed our opinions a bit.

I have come to the conclusion that the food at WDW restaurants is good, but seldom really good or great(haven't been to V&A). It's also pretty expensive, but that's not the concern, but rather the quality of the food.

We just returned from a few nights at BLT where we stocked up on bagels, turkey and bread for sandwiches, chips, snacks, etc. Those items assembled in our room were among the best we had and at a fraction of the price of WDW eateries.

Even Cali grill was lackluster. Not that it was "bad", but for the price and the hoops we jumped through to get there, it was "meh".

I totally get that dining at WDW isn't strictly about the food as the ambience and the magic of dining at Disney is special.

In our future trips, we'll adjust our expectations, and plan to stock the fridge and order some top notch pizza to enjoy at the resort. We'll continue to try WDW dining, but it will be because we need to eat, not for the immense pleasure we once had.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Just out of curiosity, what other restaurants did you eat at this past trip?

 

[MissionMouse]

... We'll continue to try WDW dining, but it will be because we need to eat, not for the immense pleasure we once had.

I undertand. We have seen a change in Disney TS dining over the last decade. Disney put forth strong initiatives to create restaurants based on providing quality food offerings over a decade ago. In this time launched cruise lines providing meal plans they started to push heavily in their land resorts. In the process, guest affordability and maintstreaming their internal operations was the driving force and quality became a variable in the equation that was open to compromise with few exceptions.

 

[Micca]

We ate at Columbia Harbour House, Chefs de France, Chef Mickey's, Grand Floridian Cafe, Kona (for breakfast)and Cali Grill. One of the striking things was that the difference between the lesser places(CHH) and the best (CG) wasn't that great. We have loved many of our WDW restaurant choices over the years, but the decline in quality is concerning.

The onion bagels with cream cheese we bought at Publix were every bit as enjoyable as the pork hash at Kona. The Kona breakfast was good, but for the money...no contest with the bagels.

I'm not happy to report my opinions on this, we have LOVED WDW dining over the years.

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

I agree. There are a few places that I enjoy because they are different from our local places (theres nothing like Boma!), but at the same time, I really feel like the food is mainstreamed. I was a little annoyed when we received the SAME apple pie/apple crisp/apple tart/etc, etc. everywhere we went!! They had it at CS meals AND sit-down meals...everytime it was listed on the menu differently and someone in our group would be convinced to order it. In the end, it just became a joke...the same frozen apple pie that we got at Columbia Harbor House on our first day. Stouffers at LTT? Edy's at the ice cream places? I just wish more of the food was "signature" instead of something you could get anywhere. When I pay those prices here, my expectation is much higher. I guess I lower my expectations in Disney because I come for the ambiance and experience...not necessarily the food.

 

[Pumbaa_]

best thing you can do is vote with your dollars

 

[gina2000]

Totally, totally agree with you.

My husband was so disgusted with his meal at Chefs (and then flipped when he tallied the bill) that we cancelled all of our TS ressies and ate offsite for the rest of the trip.

We love great food and are more than willing to pay for it but WDW has slipped into mediocrity so quickly, so thoroughly, that we don't intend to dine there any longer. Eat there, yes. Dine there, no.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Wow, DH and I really enjoyed our meal in France last July! We went for lunch, though, so the cost was substantially less...we both ordered the 3 course prefixed, which for lunch is about 1/2 the price of the dinner prefixed.

We have felt that Le Cellier has not been as good as our first time there. But we are starting to discover some new restaurants that are quickly becoming favorites.

 

[handinpocket]

I had some really GREAT meals at : Raglan Road, Kona Cafe, Turf Club and Le Cellier. They were really the highlight of my trip.

 

[CindyIsMyFave]

I was just thinking about a post like this!! I do sadly agree with you. As you'll see in my signature, I've been coming for a long time too, but when you're a kid you're not thinking about food as much. Now it's tough to compare Disney with a major metropolitan area where I am now and totally spoiled by foodie restaurants, but still.
Chefs de France? Not that great.
Tutto? My mother just told me it wasn't as good as Alfredo's (and I know Alfredo's had its detractors, but it was always a sentimental fave for us)
San Angel? Awful meal last time
Most of the counter service options? Meh
Almost all of DHS?

Now, Kona's breakfast we love - Tonga Toast and Kona coffee all the way.
V&A's was terrificly fabulous.
We were pleasantly surprised by Teppan Edo but we can also get that at home.
Character meals - I'm happy to have average buffet food if they have my yummy Mickey waffles at bfast just to see Mickey and Minnie once a trip.

But when you get right down to it, you're right - esp. for the prices. The food just doesn't make the cut.

 

[clkelley]

We just had an incredible meal at Narcoosee's on Sunday night. Yes, expensive, but the food and atmosphere were wonderful!! Surf and Turf, both melted in your mouth. Excellent wine suggestions by our server, and the meal was paced perfectly.

In my opinion, a much better atmosphere than CG for adults.

 

[Disney Fool]

We just had an incredible meal at Narcoosee's on Sunday night. Yes, expensive, but the food and atmosphere were wonderful!! Surf and Turf, both melted in your mouth. Excellent wine suggestions by our server, and the meal was paced perfectly.

In my opinion, a much better atmosphere than CG for adults.

I totally agree! Narcoosie's rocks. Best servers, fab food. Largely overlooked. There are still some gems at WDW; mediocre restaurants aplenty, but there are still some stellar ones out there.

 

[Micca]

We just had an incredible meal at Narcoosee's on Sunday night. Yes, expensive, but the food and atmosphere were wonderful!! Surf and Turf, both melted in your mouth. Excellent wine suggestions by our server, and the meal was paced perfectly.

In my opinion, a much better atmosphere than CG for adults.

Thanks for the tip, I'm certainly willing to give Narcoosee's another shot. It's been a good 15 years or more since we were last there.

My concern is that all of our standby favorites have become just average. We loved Boma(dinner) till our last trip in 09, we gave up on Le Cellier because it's too difficult to book(I never was blown away by it in the first place), Alfredo's was our all-time favorite and we all know what happened there, etc. We hadn't been to CG in years and thought it was worth another shot this trip. It was good, but that's about it. At those prices don't we deserve at least "very good"? I'm not even asking for "excellent", just something above average.

 

[bleeps]

Sigh.

Overall I do agree with you; WDW management worked hard, it seemed, to get some really great restaurants with innovative and wonderful menus going, and to improve the food in the parks, and then in the past few years the new round of bean counters have really undone so much of what was good.

We love our WDW vacations every year, we get the deluxe dining plan, and we take great pleasure in planning out our meals. But we shake our heads at the short-sightedness that's going on.

For example, it would *seem* that you'd want guests to stay for nice long trips -- we usually stay 8 or 9 nights. But my gosh, it gets old finding the SAME menu items at restaurant after restaurant (signatures included!); you get the feeling that someone's only expecting you to have a couple of meals! Not that we're drinkers, but I've heard that the kinds of specialty drinks and appetizers that set the resorts apart (Hawaiian type things at the Poly, etc.) have been dropped. There's less to distinguish one resort from another let alone one restaurant from another.

Portions are smaller, prices are higher, and the little touches that made a particular location special are largely gone. While we appreciate that a week at WDW isn't all burgers and fries, at the same time it IS all filet mignon and salmon (and not as good as it used to be). Will we vote with our wallets? I don't know; the restaurant prices have gotten so high that I'm not sure we'd go back to paying OOP (although the *value* of the dining plans is debatable) and as long as DS still want to go we'll probably be returning to WDW. I just would rather go back to being the totally delighted guest than the one who's going just a little bit grudgingly and coming back just a little disappointed -- and I think that's the net result of the way management is cheapening the experience.

 

[LindaR]

I am in total agreement with the OP. Not only has the food dropped in quality, but the service has as well (in my opinion).

 

[madalex]

We ate at Columbia Harbour House, Chefs de France, Chef Mickey's, Grand Floridian Cafe, Kona (for breakfast)and Cali Grill.

Except for Cali Grill, I would not put any of the restaurants you listed in the category of "the best WDW dining." In my view, the "best WDW dining" is at the various signature restaurants and I have found the meals there to continue to be very good indeed. I ate at Cali Grill in Oct 2009 and the meal was wonderful. Over two trips in the last year, I have also eaten at Jiko, Citricos, Artist Point, Il Mulino, bluezoo and Flying Fish. Those meals have all been wonderful (in fact, Citricos was so good, we went to it twice during the same week long trip).

Certainly, prices are going up at WDW (and everywhere else) and the quality at some of the mid-level restaurants may be down, but I find the signature restaurants to be as good as they ever were (and I have taken 18 trips to WDW since 1997).

 

[katallo]

I have to agree with you. We were so surprised at the average meal at Flying Fish, Kona Cafe and Captain's Grill. The most disappointing was Rose & Crown Pub. It wasn't bad, just definitely not worth the money. We will have a rental car for our next trip, so we plan to explore the area.

 

[Pakey]

We, too, are long time visitors and have seen the decline. The nicer places are certainly more crowded and noisy which takes away from a fine dining experience but the most noticeable difference is that many of the unique items have been removed as the restaurants cater more to the masses. I think it was an inevitable change as the popularity of WDW vacations grew, but it doesn't mean I can't pine for the old days while embracing the new.

I still think that for theme park food, WDW succeeds in offering above average meals, but it's no longer really good dining. We find ourselves dining more at places not on the dining plan (V&A, bistro, the places at Swan/Dolphin) in order to still get a quiet and upscale dining experience.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I really haven't seen a drop in quality the past few years, in either food or service.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I agree. I used to not eat out at home to save money to eat out at WDW but now changed. I will go out to eat at home and will not even make one ADR for my upcoming 11 night trip. I will eat off-site and will stock up on items/sandwiches from COSTCO. The last time we ate at Chef Mickey the food quality was bad. It is to me the same quality as CiCi's pizza and I can take my kids there for $4.99 a person.

I really miss the days when at WDW we could just call up and make an ADR for the next day and enjoy the food.

I didn't mind paying so much but when the food quality dropped so much I have to bail.