What's the Worst Restaurant in all of WDW?

[Clotho]

Yeah like I said, we didn't want Pizza Planet. And backlot express I thought was all outdoors, just under a roof with fans?

 

[LiteBrite]

Yeah like I said, we didn't want Pizza Planet. And backlot express I thought was all outdoors, just under a roof with fans?

Sorry, missed what you said about PP, but I have personally eaten indoors with blessedly cool AC blowing on me many times at the Backlot Express. They have outdoor seating as well, which is what you're probably thinking of.

 

[Mouseskis]

Our worst experiences have been ABC Commissary and Coral Reef (our whole party thought the chef was trying to be a little too creative. All of the dishes were a little strange, this was several years ago though).

 

[Iggipolka]

San Angel Inn - absolutely horrible food. First time ever I threw my lunch away after one bite. I am not a picky eater, but this was bad.

 

[emmabemmainc]

The worst place we went to in the past few times we've visited WDW was Pecos Bill's. The cheeseburger was so blah and even when you piled on all of the other stuff they offer--it was still just that--a blah cheeseburger.
Also--Flame Tree was bad the last 2 times I went--first time got the bbq chicken salad--which was just dry lettuce with cold chicken on it (no flavor at all) and the second time I ordered the ribs which had an odd seasoning on it and were really dry. I will not go back to either of these places again.

 

[mom of princess]

I had to put my opinion in here...
We loved Hollywood & Vine for breakfast when we lasted visited. But it also helped that we had one of the later seatings so the food kept being replenished. We also had our niece with us who needed gluten-free food (which you can't always find on the buffet and be sure they are safe!) and our waitress was at our table so often checking on us that she could have been part of our group!!
Crystal Palace service has always been good for us too. This was the first time my DH & I were not there alone (now have a DD) but didn't notice a big difference in the service. We did have a later seating for breakfast there too and maybe that makes a big difference?!
Chef Mickeys did get marks against it for our dinner seating but I think it was the other diners that did it and not the restaurant! When you are waiting in line with a hungry 3-yr-old and a couple that is old enough to know better cuts in front of you, yeah you get a little angry!! Just because she didn't want to make her elderly FIL wait in the long line -- BTW, she made the chef cut the prime rib at least 3 times looking for a piece that wasn't so red!! We decided that if we go back, we are booking a later time and hope that all the jerks are eating early that day!
The one restaurant that we crossed off the favorite list (after 2 strikes) was Sci-Fi. This last visit got us cold food and the slowest waiter known to mankind. He made Eeyore look like a gold medal Olympic sprinter! We thought that because of the diet restrictions that made a difference but then noticed that other tables we was working (without dietary issues) couldn't find him either!!
Take my opinions if you'd like...

 

[Anonomom]

And my one trip to Coral Reef was waaaay too noisy (bad parenting going on all over the place, at 9:00 at night--put them to bed!), food was poor quality, and price tag too high (though I always make a note that it was beautiful in there and the server was really lovely).

I agree with you about the noise level and high prices at Coral Reef, though food-wise, it was the best meal we had during our trip. I'd be tempted to chalk up the kids being there late to bad service -- when we were there in September, we had a 6:50 adr (the only one we could get), and since it was so crowded and service was so incredibly slow, we didn't finish our meal until 9 pm. Waaaay later than we'd planned to keep our 2yo out.

On another topic, It's interesting to note that many of the bad experiences people have had at Hollywood and Vine seem to be related to crowd levels/busyness. We quite enjoyed our brunch there back in September (our ADR was the last breakfast seating, so we got to try both breakfast and lunch foods). The food was fresh, hot and delicious, the characters made it around to our table 2 or 3 times each, and DD had a blast dancing with the Little Einsteins. But when we were there, the restaurant was less than half full. Sounds like when it starts getting crowded, the whole experience suffers. It's too bad, since one would think a restaurant of that type would be able to deal with crowds better than it apparently does.

Our worst meal at WDW was at Pinocchio Village Haus in the MK. The menu was terribly limited, and the Mediterranean salad I had was completely inedible. It was just a bunch of iceburg lettuce with a few toppings and some absolutely horrid, processed and slimy chicken strips. I ended up throwing most of it out.

 

[Lostgirlz]

I have to say tonys. Food just was not good. The dessert was even still frozen. I ended up going to Mara when we got back to our room at AKL.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

The worst table service restaurant was Mama Melrose. Slow service (it took 2 1/2 hours to sit and finish dinner) and mediocre food.

I know a lot of people love Cosmic Rays but it's my least favorite counter service. You have to wait on multiple lines if people in your group want different things, people hog up the tables when they have no food so you can't find one when you're searching carrying a heavy tray, and they serve the worst ribs I've ever had.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Sorry, missed what you said about PP, but I have personally eaten indoors with blessedly cool AC blowing on me many times at the Backlot Express. They have outdoor seating as well, which is what you're probably thinking of.

I think we're confusing two different places. I've done it myself.

Backlot Express is by Star Tours and has a fair amount of indoor seating, with limited outdoor seating (next to new Jedi traning).

Studio Catering is near the exit of the Backlot Tour tide, has the theming of the BT, and has all outdoor seating.

As for Pizza Planet, yes it does have some indoor seating. A few tables on the ground floor, and some more upstairs (kind of out of the way, IMO), and a number of outdoor tables.

One more point....People talked aboutthe subjective nature of ahving a bad experience vs. having multiple bad experieinces...I think a third variable is time. Almost mobody in this poll has talked about WHEN they dined at a particular place - yet we all know head chefs change jobs, menus change. There are cutbacks in lean times. There's the Disney idea of making kids' meals more healthy.

An interesting tidbit I just gleaned is the chefs used to choose from a variety of vendors. According to a recent interview of Lee Cockerell posted on Allearsnet, "at one point WDW was buying 25 kinds of french fries and 130 different pastas from several vendors, resulting in higher prices. Lee Cockerell fixed that by establishing a centralized group with the final authority on food orders, saving money while maintaining a high level of quality for the guests." - Yet some DISers haev disparaged the increased homogenization of WDW. The mac and cheese that's now invaded every kid's menu is a classic example.

 

[PrincessDebs]

We really disliked the Rose & Crown at Epcot. I don't know whether we were expecting something different, and there wasn't anything particularly disgusting about the meal, it just was not to the same standard and as exciting as some of our other disney meals

 

[Biezestreet]

Haha I know what your talking about, we love one of those two, and always walk around in circles trying to find it... I think its the backlot express that is good---It always has star wars music playing-----Anyway the worst I've eat ate at Disney (which is normal food anywhere else) is the Rainforest Cafe----haha I remember one time at downtown disney it had the shortest wait---30min---- I still have the "*** table of 5, your party is now availbile, come to the purple elephant in front of the rainforest cafe and get ready for a wild advennnturrre"....O it was wild all right, haha

Every 5 seconds there is a rainstorm, or the monkey beside us just got rabies and goes wild, holy lord the poor fish there must be scared out of there minds....

 

[Biezestreet]

But then again Rainforest isn't Really Disney, its just there, so I can';t blame them

 

[DizneyNutz]

I dont see this thread staying nice very long, but I'll play along, I did not like Crystal Palace dinner buffet at ALL, Peace of Pizza at POP was horrid , along with about every other pizza joint on property.

I saw this post. The DH and I have ressies before the MVMCP (we're staying for the party) and I am a little concerned. No kids in our party, just us, characters are fine, but not a MUST SEE, I liked the idea of eating there at night, it looks beautiful and the menu looked pretty good, so I was kind of interested in why you dislike the CP. Trying to decide whether to keep the ressie or cancel it, wondering if LTT might be a better pick for us?

PS
I gotta agree with you on the pizza thing...ewh! Also, remember Pappa John's always delivers on WDW property! We always order in at least once! You have to meet them in the lobby, but if you need a good pizza fix, it's the way to go!

Thanks!

 

[Clotho]

Good to know about Pappa Johns! Thanks!

Y'know, I always expect...well WISH...that there were more indoor CS options at DHS nearer to the front of the park. She don't tend to go to the back of the park so much--not much we're interested in there, and it is soooo far back there. We are ToT, RnRC, (Millionaire ), etc fans--front of the park lovers! So hiking all the way back to get a bite seems a pill. ABC Commissary is the closest tot he front, which is why we have tried to give it so many chances, and it is just too awful to be believed. So I guess it's back to the Backlot Express next time! Thanks for the help! Though next time we will be going in december, so eating outside will be welcome!

 

[Shell54]

Worst service ever last month at Kona Cafe. Food was ok..but our waitress was MIA the whole time.

 

[Quiksilvr]

Like many of you, I hold the counter service restaurants to a lower standard than the table service restaurants, so I'll state my least favorite of each type.

Least Favorite Counter Service: Electric Umbrella
Least Favorite Table Service: Raglan Road and Rainforest Cafe. Because those two are not really Disney restaurants, I'll include Restaurant Marrakesh.

I dislike the Electric Umbrella not for the food; the food is passable counter service fare. My major problem with it is that it seems to get so much traffic because it's the only real counter service lunch place in Future World. It gets so busy in there that I can hardly take it.

I dislike Raglan Road because of a particularly poor experience with one of the waitstaff. The food was okay, but nothing to write home about. I dislike the Rainforest Cafe because it has deteriorated so far from its heyday in the mid- to late-1990s. I used to really enjoy going there; now I avoid it like the plague.

I dislike Restaurant Marrakesh because the food isn't great Morroccan and because the last time I went the service was not very good. I get better Morroccan in DC or NY; I don't need the belly dancing. I give Marrakesh points for an interesting decor and a good belly dancing show, but at the end of the day the grade is weighted more heavily on food and service.

Would I eat at these restaurants in a pinch? Definitely. However, I don't think I'll ever make another ADR for either of these restaurants again (of course, excluding Rainforest Cafe because they have their own ridiculous "not reservation reservation" system.

 

[phisigprincess]

ABC Commissary... yet due to the lack of food in DHS, we seem to always end up there.

 

[Clotho]

ABC Commissary... yet due to the lack of food in DHS, we seem to always end up there.

So we're not alone!

 

[missy2217]

The ABC Commissary at DHS rates at the bottom of our list.

I second that for me and my husband.

And third that for my sister and her family.

I don't think the burgers there were actually made of meat. GROSS!