Why Buffets are a MUST

[maya44]

We have all our ADR's booked and our friends asked why we were doing mostly buffets. I e-mailed her my answer and thought I'd post some of it here:

1. No Waiting: At WDW you wait for things all day. We like that at the Buffets you don't have to wait for the kitchen to cook your meal. Just go up and get it

2. You're not Stuck with an Order. When your 3 y.o. decides that he does not like "dis kind of pizzza" its no problem at a Buffet. Just get up and try something else.

3. Kids eat Healthier (at least ours do). Unlike the kids menu at sit down places, kids are not stuck with the typical and often unhealthy choices. Let's face it, you're prob not going to order a salad for the kids, but at the buffet then can have one or start with some tomatoes and other cold veggies. And instead of chicken nuggets, they might want the roast chicken or some rice and veggies. You have the kids "buffet" as a back up, but you can try the more healthful options first.

4. Dessert is included! Now what could be bad about that!

 

[Pixiedust34]

I'm not a huge buffet fan, but we did do Chef Mickey's (breakfast) and H & V (dinner) in August, and I'm glad we did.

Another plus for buffets is that they are great if you are not on a meal plan. For most of the trip, we were watching our budget carefully. It was nice to go to a buffet and get an appetizer and a dessert that was already paid for! And the kids enjoyed having a "pigout" session. Ds is 9, and he certainly got his money's worth at H & V!

Dh and I weren't expecting anything gourmet for buffets, but the food was surprisingly good and fresh.

 

[crisi]

Why I don't like buffets:

1. I'm getting more and more icked out by the thought someone has been sticking their fingers in my food. Especially at Disney, where a ton of little hands need to graze over all the desserts, and are too short for the sneeze guard to keep their little faces out of my entree.

2. The food is seldom fresh enough for me.

3. I walk enough at Disney, you wait enough -- I walk enough. I want to sit in one spot (well, except to take my kids potty three times during the meal) for the whole hour of the meal.

4. I find the restaurants louder than normal.

5. Plating is important to me. I don't want my food to look like it came off the school cafeteria line. The is especially true of desserts. I'm somewhat of a dessert snob and sort of expect my pastry to be sitting on a plate with raspberry sauce drizzled over it, garnished with a crisp cooking, a twig of mint, and a raspberry.

6. My biggest problem with buffets is going with little kids. Once the kids are old enough to hold their own plates, it isn't too bad. But when they are smaller, I spend most of my meal getting up and down -- "more grapes, Mommy." "Mommy, I don't like this, can you get me some of that?" Because of this, I don't find buffets time saving. And they certainly aren't relaxing. I don't spend time talking to my family because someone is always getting up to go back to the buffet.

7. We find sit down cheaper. At a buffet everyone pays $28 or whatever, and eats all the courses they like. When we eat sit down, we will often split an appitizer and dessert (almost always the dessert) and each get our own entree.

 

[Bob NC]

Why I don't like buffets:
I'm getting more and more icked out by the thought someone has been sticking their fingers in my food.

It's not just the people sticking their fingers in the food. EVERYONE touches those serving spoons. Every buffet you go to they bring out a new dish to replace an empty one and they keep the SAME spoon there. Over the course of an evening, just how many folks have touched that spoon anyway?

 

[Michael623]

I find the food at most buffets are luke warm at best. The othwer thing is most buffets are in the same price range as a sit down meal. I'd prefer to have people bring me hot food rather than having to go get my own warm food.

 

[Manon]

We have all our ADR's booked and our friends asked why we were doing mostly buffets. I e-mailed her my answer and thought I'd post some of it here:

1. No Waiting: At WDW you wait for things all day. We like that at the Buffets you don't have to wait for the kitchen to cook your meal. Just go up and get it

2. You're not Stuck with an Order. When your 3 y.o. decides that he does not like "dis kind of pizzza" its no problem at a Buffet. Just get up and try something else.

3. Kids eat Healthier (at least ours do). Unlike the kids menu at sit down places, kids are not stuck with the typical and often unhealthy choices. Let's face it, you're prob not going to order a salad for the kids, but at the buffet then can have one or start with some tomatoes and other cold veggies. And instead of chicken nuggets, they might want the roast chicken or some rice and veggies. You have the kids "buffet" as a back up, but you can try the more healthful options first.

4. Dessert is included! Now what could be bad about that!

We have 3 kids, and everything you said is true, but I have to say that sometimes we like beeing served and stay put!!! But on the big picture I agree with you!!!!

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

I also like the buffets because my ds who is 2 eats free!

 

[geffric]

I have 12 year old and a 14 year old boys.. we need buffets... I can't afford to buy them 2 entrees each

 

[D&R love Disney]

Add another to the why I don't like buffets group.

1. I like a sit down restaurant where the food is plated and meals are cooked to order.

2. I don't like seeing kids putting their fingers into the foods (I know not everyone allows this to happen).

3. I want to order a bottle of wine and enjoy being served.

 

[Bumbles]

ITA with Crisi

 

[nliedel]

We do both buffets and sit down and are happy with both.

 

[lyncruiser]

We're in the can't stand buffets camp, for all the reasons stated by others. We love to sit in an intimate restaurant, have good service, enjoy a bottle of wine with our meal, linger over coffee and dessert, etc. But, Disney in its marketing wisdom (nay, genius) knows how to appeal to everyone!

 

[DreaminDisney]

I like buffets for the selection. I don't like them cause I usually eat too much. Guess I'm on the fence, lol

 

[CheshireVal]

I love buffets because I can try a little bit of everything. In sit down restaurants, I'll try a bite off of everyone else's plates, and usually I like what someone else has ordered more than mine! Then I pout through the rest of the meal.

Not a problem at buffets.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

With 3 teen ds buffets are part of our meal plan and budget, its usually one good meal a day, so that is the buffet and the other is counter service and breakfast in the room. The buffets generally work best for us, everyone is happy with what they pick themselves and they can eat until they are full. One of our ds also has food issues so it works out good, like dressing cannot touch the salad etc. etc. For our nov. trip I already have 4 buffets scheduled.

 

[Belle5]

I could not agree with Bob and Crisi more!!! I must say, I do make an exception at times, like in the case of Boma. I try to have a first seating when we do a buffet to limit the number of people who have mauled the food before me. Having been on the DIS for years, there have been threads in the past where folks tell about the unsanitary and unappetizing things they have seen happen at WDW buffets. It has not been a pretty picture. The personal memory that stands out my mind is of the well dressed lady in front of me in the Boma line taking her finger and wiping off the potato spoon to get it all on her plate and then licking her finger--moving on to the next food item and doing the same thing to that spoon and then licking her finger again! Yum! (Yes, I reported the incident)

There are two sides to the convenience issue for me. While it's nice that everyone can get what they want to eat when they want it, with a family our size it often means our whole family is never just sitting and talking together. For our Grand Gathering of 12 people in January I have purposely decided against making ADR's for buffets when all 12 of us are there for that very reason. I want us all seated and visiting with each other.

I also get very tired of having to help little ones (only two of those left) fill their plates after a long day in the parks! I want someone to serve all of us.

 

[calgarygary]

I am always surprised by those folks who complain about having to get up and down during a buffet to serve their kids. As a father of 4 and a person who loves a good Sunday Brunch (if your ever in the area - check out Banff Springs' Sunday Brunch) I taught my children early that they waited for either my DW, an older sister or I to finish to be able to get more. There was no jumping up and down to serve them. They could try whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted - after all adults don't get scolded for not finishing their plate. The only rule we had, 2 desserts at a time. Our youngest is funny at buffets, dessert will be her second, third and sometimes 4th course but she will finish with a plate of veggies.

 

[madalex]

We're in the can't stand buffets camp, for all the reasons stated by others. We love to sit in an intimate restaurant, have good service, enjoy a bottle of wine with our meal, linger over coffee and dessert, etc.

Put me in the "can't stand buffets" camp for the reasons stated above and for the reasons others have stated (most importantly, I find that the food is usually not as good because it is not individually made). Finally, there is the factor (which I don't know if anyone else has mentioned) of the dining experience being diminished by constantly having people come by your table (and occasionally bump you) as they go to and from the buffet.

 

[Belle5]

I am always surprised by those folks who complain about having to get up and down during a buffet to serve their kids. As a father of 4 and a person who loves a good Sunday Brunch (if your ever in the area - check out Banff Springs' Sunday Brunch) I taught my children early that they waited for either my DW, an older sister or I to finish to be able to get more. There was no jumping up and down to serve them. They could try whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted - after all adults don't get scolded for not finishing their plate. The only rule we had, 2 desserts at a time. Our youngest is funny at buffets, dessert will be her second, third and sometimes 4th course but she will finish with a plate of veggies.

I think the complaint is not about serving one's children but serving them after a long day of walking in the parks. (Keep in mind how very far away the buffet is at WDW restaurants from where you might be seated)

--From a mom of 6 who cooks and serves non-stop at home at would like to be waited on while on vacation.

 

[crisi]

calgarygary,

I'm glad that works for you -- seems a little to much like eating in shifts to me (my daughter in particular doesn't like the first thing put in front of her). And it doesn't save me trips - just delays them till after I eat and drags out the meal.

I can see the benefits of feeding teenage boys at a buffet. My seven year old son can already outeat me when he is hungry.