Which site do you use for Dining Reviews?

[Grumpydad4]

Whether it is for Food & Wine or planning for your ADRs, which site do you find the most beneficial in offering dining reviews, menus, and analysis?

 

[BriLovesDisney]

I watch the DisUnplugged dining podcast. I find them to be the most accurate. Disney Food Blog is hit or miss. I rarely hear them say anything bad about anything so I usually will take their opinion and look for other reviews on other sites to see if they match. The reviews on DFB by guest contributors are better than the reviews from the DFB team.

 

[SoShiny]

It used to be DisneyTouristBlog, but since they moved to California, the WDW food reviews have been less frequent (still great, though). Easywdw has honest and thorough food reviews, and his posts are a pleasure to read.

 

[Monkida]

I watch the DisUnplugged dining podcast. I find them to be the most accurate. Disney Food Blog is hit or miss. I rarely hear them say anything bad about anything so I usually will take their opinion and look for other reviews on other sites to see if they match. The reviews on DFB by guest contributors are better than the reviews from the DFB team.

Craig & Ryno's vlogs are my favorite. I find them to be the best reviewers with my tastes generally matching Craig's, so I trust him. Plus, he is really good at eating and talking at the same time while describing the flavors and experience.

 

[Haley R]

I use tripadvisor. There seem to be new reviews almost daily and I like to read reviews from people who don't know what they're talking about

This is especially true when you read park reviews and the comments people say about FP lol. "Oh, we had such a horrible time. Didn't know people could book FP's 6 months ahead of time."

 

[gharter]

The DisUnPlugged vlogs and Disney Food Blog. Both are very useful with great videos and lots of information.Disney Food Blog, i find their books to be more helpful than many of the videos (at least for Food and Wine).

 

[Grumpydad4]

Thank you. I avoid vlogs but will most certainly review as suggested.

 

[mindeola]

I love Tom Bricker's reviews on disneytouristblog. I almost always agree with him, so I check there first if it is a new to me restaurant. I also take bits from here and FB groups. I do not really read yelp or tripadvisor for some reason.

 

[Haley R]

I love Tom Bricker's reviews on disneytouristblog. I almost always agree with him, so I check there first if it is a new to me restaurant. I also take bits from here and FB groups. I do not really read yelp or tripadvisor for some reason.

I love Tom Bricker's blog.

 

[sleepydog25]

Actually, both TA and Yelp can be beneficial if you're willing to slog through numerous posts. They're simply among the most widely used forums, so statistically, you'll get a more accurate view. I took a rather exhaustive look at the reviews for nearly every TS and Signature restaurant in Disney World using these forums, took each restaurant's collective score, then did a brief comparison to each other. As a general rule and as you might expect, the Signatures did better across the board, though a number of TS also scored well. In essence, I found that TA and Yelp reviews fell in line with the general thoughts of most reviews you find on the DIS. For example, Tony's often gets knocked on the DIS and such was the case with the rating of it by the two aforementioned sites. Conversely, Jiko consistently receives high marks from DIS reviewers and that feeling is supported by the review sites. Further, you can often find a consistent thread among reviews that you don't get with more stand alone critics such as some of those mentioned above. For instance, Paddlefish has numerous reviews complaining about the host/hostessing there which echoed our exact experiences. As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life; thus, the more you read or watch, the better informed you will be.

 

[999_Happy_Haunts]

They're simply among the most widely used forums, so statistically, you'll get a more accurate view.

I agree. I tend to view any review from a Disney-centric board with skepticism. Too much cheerleading and to be blunt, too many reviews from people who spend a disproportionate amount of vacation time at WDW. On TripAdvisor you can see a reviewer’s other reviews and get a sense as to whether the person has eaten their way through the great culinary cities of the world or is someone who considers Ohana to be the best restaurant they have ever been to. The Dis video reviews are helpful due to their depth and visual aids. But I don’t find that I necessarily connect with anyone’s individual tastes other than Kevin. I have a high degree of confidence in his reviews. While Ryan is entertaining, his unfamiliarity with many ingredients and dishes, while humorous, does not rise to the level of a trusted review in my book. He readily admits to not being into fancy or exotic food and that is fine. But I seek a higher level that of culinary sophistication in a restaurant critic. Still, I watch his videos for pure entertainment value and that can’t be sold short. But he’s no Frank Bruni (and in his defense, doesn’t claim to be.)

 

[sleepydog25]

I agree. I tend to view any review from a Disney-centric board with skepticism. Too much cheerleading and to be blunt, too many reviews from people who spend a disproportionate amount of vacation time at WDW. On TripAdvisor you can see a reviewer’s other reviews and get a sense as to whether the person has eaten their way through the great culinary cities of the world or is someone who considers Ohana to be the best restaurant they have ever been to. The Dis video reviews are helpful due to their depth and visual aids. But I don’t find that I necessarily connect with anyone’s individual tastes other than Kevin. I have a high degree of confidence in his reviews. While Ryan is entertaining, his unfamiliarity with many ingredients and dishes, while humorous, does not rise to the level of a trusted review in my book. He readily admits to not being into fancy or exotic food and that is fine. But I seek a higher level that of culinary sophistication in a restaurant critic. Still, I watch his videos for pure entertainment value and that can’t be sold short. But he’s no Frank Bruni (and in his defense, doesn’t claim to be.)

Yes. All very well put.

 

[steg]

Yelp and easywdw i figure if it musters with these two it's got to be passable. I feel DFB is easy on everyone and wdwinfo is on the harsher side but still generally easy on Disney food overall.