What was your biggest surprise and disappointment?

[plutosgirl]

Our last trip our biggest disappointment was BOMA for dinner. We had done this a few trips ago and I was so looking forward to take my dad with us to this one and it was horrible...Food was just kind of okay, service was not great, crowded loud and ended up having our timing wrong and getting a bus back to anywhere took forever and it was freezing...it was the first time in all my trips that I thought "geesh what a waste of a dinner credit that was!"

The biggest surprise has to be a few years ago when we went to RAGLAND ROAD just because we were in DTD...the service was great, the food was awesome and dessert was Mmmm mmm!! The Salmon there was the BEST salmon I've ever had! We also ended up really liking KONA for breakfast & dinner and also Ohana's for breakfast!

 

[dledger]

Biggest Surprise- Tangierine Cafe....I hadn't expected much from the quick service restaurant, especially because I'm generally a picky eater- but I am still drooling over the chicken and the hummus! Can't wait to go back there again (and I went TWICE during my last visit!)

Biggest Disappointment- Via Napoli. Don't get me wrong, the food was good- but the waiter insisted my friend and I get our own pizzas (definitely not necessary) and was just kind of off putting. I would definitely try there again, but it wasn't a great first time experience.

 

[huey duey & luey]

biggest surprise: It was a last minute ADR, with a change of plans The Plaza at MK. Loved the food, fantastic service and a WONDERFUL view. would go back in a heartbeat

biggest dissappointment: nine dragons. Again last minute ADR. Horrible all around.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Biggest surprises - Todd English's Blue Zoo, I would rather scrimp and save to eat there then just about any of the TS restaurants at WDW! Another suprise, good pizza at WDW, thanks Via Napoli!

After 40 years of WDW dining, I'm disapointed in the loss of quality and choice in Disney Dining period! I saw it come from nothing to really respectable dining to now... But I guess a disapointment turned into a surprise because in years past I would never have eaten outside of the park and thus would never have discovered The Blue Zoo!

 

[archdandy]

My biggest surprise was on our last trip when we went to Maya Grill. I was expecting so so food because it was a convention resort restaurant. But each time we ate there (twice for dinner, once for breakfast) I was pleasantly surprised. They've changed their menu now but when we went they had these burgers that were absolutely delicious. It was the best burger I have ever had in Disney and maybe even in my life! The desserts leave something to be desired because there is so little choice but the rest of the meal makes up for it. The atmosphere was lovely and so romantic! Both nights we were there they had some guy playing guitar and it was just really great!

We also had breakfast there one time and it was very good. The tea and cream I got was the best I've had on property. I definitely recommend this restaurant!

Our biggest dissapointment would have to be the All Star Sports food court. I think out of our week long trip and eating there numerous times I only had one dish that I liked and it was the chicken with mashed potatoes. I remember one particular bad dish. It was the alfredo with salad. The salad was drenched in dressing and the alfredo was runny.

 

[meggiebeth]

We were pleasantly surprised with Akershus and Chef Mickey's. I wasn't expecting much from either of them foodwise, because you go there for the characters. However, they were two of my favourite restaurants.
'Ohana for dinner and California Grill did disappoint us- we didn't really like the food or atmosphere. However 'Ohana for breakfast we really liked!

 

[RobinHoodGirl]

Biggest Surprises - Sunshine Seasons in Epcot for any meal and Pizzafari for breakfast in DAK. Both quick servers and both were really just what we needed at the time

Biggest Disappointment - 'Ohana for dinner. Was there a year ago (3 adults), had great seats, an attentive waiter but the food... was just so-so for us

 

[Irishgrl6975]

Biggest suprises were Cape May Buffet, Crystal Palace and Whispering Canyon Cafe. The buffets were great for buffets and we love the atmosphere at WCC.

Biggest disappointments were Chef Mickey's and San Angel Inn. The food at Chef Mickey's was horrible, even though the character interaction was great and while the atmosphere at San Angel is great, the menu left something to be desired

 

[kapoof]

our trip last month our big surprises were:

boma and jikos, after reading bad/good reviews on both i was kinda leary but found boma to be awesome! jikos is probably some of the best food at wdw. also the cupcake at comtempo cafe was fabulous!

disappointing was the school bread in norway, i've had it before and it was really good..not this trip it was stale and horrible..several people around us agreed.

 

[canirishgirl]

Biggest Surprises:
1900 Fare - We had an amazing time because of the Characters
Wolf Gang Express - The food was amazing and the little patio outside was perfect. We didn't expect much for a walk up and it was one of our favourites
Akershus - Excellent Food!

Biggest Disappointments:
Chrystal Palace - The food was gross, it was a mess and we waiting over an hour to sit down to a messy table

 

[orangecats2]

Disappointments: WPC - The girl who took our orders was snotty and the food was just meh. Boma - didn't like the food and waitress was not great.

Greatest: Loved Tuskar House for lunch - food was awesome. The Wave - biggest surprise ever, great atmosphere, wonderful food and waitress. We also liked the food at Chef Mickeys and loved the skillet at WCC.

 

[jandm]

Our biggest disappointments would have to be 50's Prime Time and 1900 Park Fare Breakfast.

Our waiter at 50's just wasn't into it and so after reading what a fun place it is, we were just let down.

Our meal at 1900 PF was wonderful! It was the character interaction that wasn't very good. The Mad Hatter wasn't at all outgoing like we had expected, and Mary Poppins was in such a hurry she didn't even sign the kids' autograph books. We had to call her back just so we could get a picture. Paying out of pocket for that meal, we were disappointed.

Our biggest surprises would have to be The Plaza at Magic Kingdom...they have THE BEST sandwiches in WDW. We also were really surprised at how much we liked House Of Blues in Downtown Disney. Our food was excellent!

 

[Pugmalion1]

On our last trip, I think our biggest dining surprise was Boatright's Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside. We hadn't been there since they still served breakfast (which was probably five years ago now), and we'd never eaten dinner there. We had an extra night due to the freak snowstorm in the Northeast late last month, so we decided to stay close to home and book in our resort. I'm really glad we did. We had a three course meal apiece, which is something that we rarely do, and we both enjoyed everything that we got. I would certainly eat there again, and considering that we stay at French Quarter fairly often, we most likely will in the not-to-distant future.

I think the biggest disappointment we had wasn't so much any one restaurant or food item, but the fact that it was so crowded the entire time we were there. We almost always go some time between the last week of October and the first week of November for the Food & Wine Festival, and it's typically a great time to be in WDW. It's not necessarily low season, but the crowds are manageable. If you catch the right park on the right day, the crowds can even be downright pleasant! This year, though, it was without a doubt the busiest I have ever seen WDW in the fall, and it appears to be a trend. It's getting busier that time of year, every year. We love the festival, and will probably continue to go, but if the crowd levels continue to worsen, we may have to rethink our touring strategies. It's no fun going to the Magic Kingdom on an "off day" and having to elbow your way through a crowd just to get off of Main Street.

All of that being said, those crowd levels, combined with that last-minute free dining offer extension that was added to our week after we had already booked, made the restaurants inordinately packed. It was also virtually impossible to navigate the festival booths after 3 PM. What used to be a leisurely stroll around the World Showcase turned into a bit of an ordeal. We still had fun, and probably had our best Food and Wine results to date, but I can't say that it doesn't disappoint me that our usual travel dates aren't as desirable as they used to be, to us, at least. They seem to be plenty desirable to the rest of the world.

 

[minnie mouse ears]

Biggest disappointments = Chef Mickeys and Toy Story Pizza Planet. We ate at Chef Mickeys years ago and had a blast. This time it was disappointing.... and very expensive in relation to some other character breakfasts. The characters were very rushed and a couple actually missed our table after the napkin dance. We had to ask someone to bring them back to our table. The food was okay but was much more limited than on our previous trips, etc. The place lacked true character atmosphere for us this time around. I can't pinpoint it but it was a huge disappointment after trying soooo long to get it.

Pizza planet literally took a couple or more hours out of our already hectic day at Hollywood studios this time around. Half the people ordering couldn't speak English that day and the staff was super super slow in processing the orders. If we hadn't been literally starving, I would have walked out after the first 30 minutes in line. The entire Hollywood Studios park was crazy busy though. We went on what was supposed to be a slower day but everything had a large line and a long wait. The pizza was tasteless, etc. I didn't expect a lot but it didn't deliver. Hollywood Studios needs better food options.

Best surprise Tusker House Breakfast and T-Rex. Tusker House was a blast. The food was decent enough, we loved the atmosphere and the characters were great. I wish I could bottle up the Jungle Juice and bring it home. Mmmmmmmmmm. This restaurant got a thumbs up from our entire crew of 7. We also loved getting in before the park opened.

T - Rex. We ate Trex on the night we drove in to Orlando. It was so much fun. We got a great seat up front and we ordered a very decadent meal of multiple appetizers and two extinction desserts. I had heard very mixed reviews about their food but can vouch that their appetizers and desserts were great! We ordered two huge extinction desserts for 7 people and actually left some on the table - they are that big. The atmosphere is fun and different.

We will be doing T Rex and Tusker house again but I think we are done with Chef Mickeys and Pizza Planet. Yes, I know Pizza planet is supposed to be "fast" food but it did not even deliver that. It was our slowest meal of the week!

 

[EvilQueenT]

surprises: tusker house for lunch, 1900 park fare for dinner. i don't really like to eat at a buffet but was outvoted. tusker house was actually pretty good, good selection. 2008 we'd eaten at 1900 and laughed our selves silly but hated the food. this past trip still had fun but food was better. everything i ate and drank at f&w with the exception of the food from the singapore booth (eewwwie).

negative:crystal palace breakfast. blah. i don't get the hype other than being in the park early.

hitting a few new places on our next trip and crossing fingers they make the positive list.

 

[abcboys]

My biggest disappointmet was probably Tusker house breakfast. Our ADR was ,for 10:15 and it was almost 11am by the time we were seated. The food was okay, and I like to try different foods, I just wasn't feeling the other food offerings and my DH said the biscuits and gravy were gross. I also just realized after reading about everyone rave about the jungle juice I realized I forgot to get it. We all ordered milk! It also took a long time for the characters to come around and thought they were rushed.

I really liked my burger at sci-fi and also enjoyed the subs from earl of sandwich (very good price). I also enjoyed the chicken/green beans/mashed potatoes from Cosmic Rays.

 

[mamasha]

biggest surprise- mama melrose
Maybe I wasn't expecting much but the steak was really good and the server claudia was so friendly.
biggest loser-garden grill
I know that it is a hot reservation to get now but the food was just ok. The server brought 3 small pieces of turkey and 3 pieces of steak for 3 of us to share. She did say that she would bring more. I would hope so because there was wasn't enough to start with...
BUT character interaction was WORTH it!!!

 

[starrysky]

Hey Huff with regards to you asking why we did not ask for more meat at ohana's.
It was not the way it was cooked but the overwhelming lighter fuel taste and if we could have found our waiter then we would have asked if we could get other meat to see if there was difference.
By the time he did come around again we were kind of over the meat and just wanted to get desert and go.

Tusker house was another massive hit with us DH wants to go back for breakfast again next year. We loved the selection there. We also had great fun with the characters they spent time with us even though it was just the two of us and it never felt rushed. We even had goofy and Donald round twice.

 

[willowsnn3]

O'Hana was a disappointment a few years ago. Meat was ok not dried out tho. Just felt neglected (and it was my b'day ). The dessert that everyone seems to rave about really looked so slimey/awful that I didn't want to look at it much less eat it. Yuck!!
Our big disappointment this last trip was 1900 for dinner. This is our second time for dinner there and the food is just so-so . Characters were great tho.
My biggest surprise this past trip was how much I enjoyed Cape May dinner!!!! I don't eat seafood but found lots of good stuff to eat. Great server also.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

It's been interesting reading through this thread! I think so much of it comes down to personal taste, and also just what is going on at that particular restaurant that day.

We were at WDW last year in April. Our biggest disappointment was the character breakfast at Tusker House. We had an ADR but still waited 45-60 minutes to be seated. (not good for a pregnant lady and 2 little kids). It was at the tail end of breakfast and while we were walked to our table we were told that the characters were about to make their last round to our table so we had better hurry. So we didn't see any characters out, so DH took my oldest DS to the food line. A second later, Mickey appeared around the corner and stopped by our table. like for a second. My son totally missed him. We were visited by one other character (Minnie, I think) and the we felt like we were being rushed out of there because they were making way for the lunch crowd. It was truly awful. I think we were in there less than 30 minutes. Such a let down.

Our biggest surprise was T-Rex. Really fun for the kids! And their chocolate dessert...can't remember the name of it, but it was big and delicious!