Whispering Canyon -- is it worth it?

[Zombie]

Well, I posted a similar question regarding Ohana and the feedback was so interesting and helpful that I thought I'd see what the hive-mind thinks on this one.

Whispering Canyon is another one we've talked about going to. The location -- and getting to it -- and the price gives us a little stop (looking at the skillet $$). But it doesn't appear that getting a reservation (or being a walk-up) will be too much of a problem last week of November/first week of December.

Just how good is this place? It seems like another place a lot of people have strong opinions about. Or it is a bit of tradition as a stop. It looks like a nice hotel and an interesting experience (though, I've read they've toned it down, which is actually fine given a particular Grumpy in our group). But with the skillet costing what it does is it really that spectacular? (And, again, one who's dined there with dietary/medical/allergic restrictions would be encouraged to chime in, as to just the what and value of what you get served. My impression from the various blogs, reviews and menu is that we'd at least get better bang for our buck here even with the dietary restrictions than we would at Ohana for that diner).

Thoughts and feedback appreciated.

One member of our party is pretty uninterested in the food (but is interested in seeing the Christmas decor at this location). One member of our party is pretty keen on the food (but is also our biggest Grump and might not take the the shenginans)

 

[Disneypapa]

I really like the Whispering Canyon food choices. The skillet has BBQ pork, chicken, bake beans, corn on cob, all of which are favorites of mine. The service is adequate and entertaining at times. I also like the atmosphere. The Lodge check in area is huge and full of mountain décor. As for price, I find everything to be expensive at Disney and this is one of the few food options I feel I get value for the dollar spent.

 

[AggieRach99]

My family of four tried lunch here summer 2017 while staying at WL. The bbq skillet was ok. Not great, and definitely not worth repeating for us. Texas folks here, we eat lots of bbq. We do have a kiddo with a food allergy (tree nut), and I recall her being able to eat everything. My extrovert 11-yr-old son thoroughly enjoyed the shenanigans and had a great time clowning with our waiter, but my daughter and I did not. It was just a bit too much. It is loud, hectic, and rowdy. The waiter put straws in my daughter's hair (like 30 straws!), and it really bothered her. She is quiet and shy and didn't want to be a bad sport so she allowed it, but was miserable the entire time. Our waiter just didn't know when to stop. For perspective, she loves 50's Prime Time, and isn't phased by the sillyness and interaction there. I think you can still ask for a table in a side room where they won't mess with you, if you want to try the food but bypass the rest. If we tried it again we would ask for a side room table (no antics) and order something other than the bbq. Just one experience. I know lots of folks really love this place! Hope this helps.

 

[Dean Marino]

Well, let's see....
Dear wife and I go there/have gone there, a good 12 years running - a good 16 visits per year, 12 years, pushing 200 visits .

WE love it. We attend for breakfast. YOU will go, or not go, as you choose .

 

[DisneyHardin]

We had dinner there a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. My DH is NOT into shenanigans, so we put our little "coaster" to the red side and we had a good time watching, but not participating in what was going on around us. We thought the food was really good.

 

[Best Aunt]

I ate lunch there last month. There was no coaster to use to indicate whether or not I wanted to participate. I think they got rid of those.

The only shenanigans was the ketchup thing. If you want it, you have to yell for it, and every guest in the restaurant brings you what they have so you end up with a ton of bottles. Then someone else yells and you have to take over your ketchup. Nothing else out of the ordinary going on that day.

If you are at Magic Kindom, the bus service to Wilderness Lodge is fast. The boat is not so fast. If at any other park, it is typical bus service - maybe it will come right away and maybe it won’t.

 

[TIME4DIZ]

We found WCC to be just ok.
4 of us ordered the skillet. Food was ok, service was fine, Price was fair if you eat a lot.
If you use quanity to determine value you can find it here. Based on quality, our group was barely satisfied.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We love breakfast at WCC (it's cheaper than lunch and dinner, too!) and WL is beautiful!

 

[mckenk]

We went this past March and thought it the food was just okay. It was right before they officially announced they were toning down the shenanigans. The only thing our waiter did was lazily toss the straws on the table and then they did the ketchup thing.

For us it was worth it because it was a non-park day and we wanted to visit the Wilderness Lodge anyway. It is a beautiful resort and we spent some time walking around. My kids liked tossing pennies in the fountain and we all liked watching the Geyser. And we will probably jokingly say "WE NEED KETCHUP" for a long time. But the food was just okay. Not bad but not memorable. I doubt we will go back.

 

[CynBeth]

We love breakfast at WCC (it's cheaper than lunch and dinner, too!) and WL is beautiful!

Same here!

 

[DisBuckMan]

The breakfast skillet is our favorite breakfast on property, and at $19 per adult, a very good value for an aycte Disney restaurant.

 

[rwdavis2]

If you're not inclined to go visit Wilderness Lodge it's not worth the trip over. Average food in a nice setting. But that's my opinion of most WDW dining anyway.

 

[SuperPreparo]

We had dinner there for the first time last week while we were staying at WL, and we all had the skillet. The food was good, and our server was a lot of fun. I would definitely go back if we stay there again, but I don't know that I would make a special trip for it.

 

[Jennasis]

we enjoyed it the one time we went. Would go again if the mood struck us. Staying often at BLT is fairly easy access to WL for us.

 

[SSRFred]

We think dinner is just okay there, but we love the breakfast. That being said, we would definitely not go out of our way to eat there unless we were staying at WL, even for the great breakfast.

 

[KenHutch]

We had dinner there this past June and based on that. Would we go there again? Yes if we choose that hotel no otherwise. We are from Kansas City so we found the barbeque to be very average to below average, the ones eating the steak really enjoyed theirs. As for antics the waiters told us we could yell for ketchup but they could not. It is just not worth it to make the trek over there if we are not eating there. And I do not know if we just hit it on a bad night but there were only another 5 or 6 families in there eating.

 

[buzznina]

If you're not inclined to go visit Wilderness Lodge it's not worth the trip over. Average food in a nice setting. But that's my opinion of most WDW dining anyway.

I agree with this.
We tried it twice, and our DDs liked the activities and we thought the food was okay at best. We think WL is great to see during Christmas, though.

 

[North of Mouse]

We only ate there once, had the skillet meals, but ours happened to be very greasy that day. Between not being wowed with the food, plus the unwanted antics (which we were not aware of) we have no plans to return. We love visiting the resort though.

 

[DatDudeSG]

My wife and I ate there last December. We had dinner and ordered the family style skillet. We were seated off to the right side of the main dining room pretty much on the outside of the restaurant (which was fine with us). Our waitress Sunshine was pretty awesome. We were surprised that we had made some non Disney like jokes and she came back with her own Non Disney jokes, which we enjoyed. We didn't really get messed with until we asked for more of the beef... about 15 minutes later a guy from the kitchen came out with a plate of like 6 ears of corn to our table. My wife and I found this humorous however we never did receive more beef...Sunshine came over and asked if we got what we asked for and of course we joking said no, we received corn. She picked up one of the cobs and took a bite out of it and walked around to other tables while eating the corn! This was amazing!! We had a fantastic time but I do agree with maybe going to Trails End instead. We have also done Hoopty Doo and would highly recommend that!!!

 

[nkereina]

We've eaten there a few times over the years, most recent being this past February, and have never had the coasters to indicate participating in the antics or not. Must have been a temporary trial or something.

We enjoy the restaurant and love visiting WL. Its very easy to take the boat there from MK, so its an easier one to get to than some other resorts. I don't find the skillet priced bad at all, especially not compared to buffets or other restaurants. The food has always been good and plentiful. DH usually gets the skillet and I don't, but the server last time brought me cornbread anyway and all but encouraged me to enjoy DH's skillet too since it was all you can eat. Technically not allowed since I ordered something else, but she did not seem to care. Everything I've had there has been good, so you have other options if the skillet is not in your budget.