Why I Avoid The Buffets

[inkkognito]

DH loves many of the Disney buffets, such as Boma and the Cape May clam bake, but it's rare that I allow him to drag me to them. Too many people bringing too many germs and doing too many ungodly things. We hadn't been to one in a while, but in order to do the Candlelight Processional in Dec. we had to take Germany because it was the only restaurant available on our chosen days. Biergarten was wonderful...until I saw the kid pick up each spoon in each type of food, taste it, then toss it back into the food. UGH!! Thank goodness there was another side of the buffet to which I could retreat, but for all I know the kid's brother was doing the same on that side, LOL.

 

[Luv4Disney]

DH loves many of the Disney buffets, such as Boma and the Cape May clam bake, but it's rare that I allow him to drag me to them. Too many people bringing too many germs and doing too many ungodly things. We hadn't been to one in a while, but in order to do the Candlelight Processional in Dec. we had to take Germany because it was the only restaurant available on our chosen days. Biergarten was wonderful...until I saw the kid pick up each spoon in each type of food, taste it, then toss it back into the food. UGH!! Thank goodness there was another side of the buffet to which I could retreat, but for all I know the kid's brother was doing the same on that side, LOL.

UGH! I am now reminded why I don't really like buffets either except for Biergarten and occassionally CP. Nasty nasty nasty! That should go in the Grossest things you've ever seen thread.

OK...where were the parents? UGH again!

 

[janets]

OK, Barb, I'm sitting here eating lunch and I read your post and all of a sudden, not hungry...what a surprise!

Seriously, that's just awful. This is exactly why I don't allow my boys to go up to a buffet w/o a parent with them. Too many chances of them doing typical kid things (although I don't think either of my kids would ever do this) that might spread germs around to others. Did you say anything to the management about it? I seem to recall someone else seeing something like this and management immediately took all the food out and put out new trays.

I think in August, we'll skip the buffets. But then again, I used to wait tables and any present or former waitress can give you horror stories from the kitchen.

Glad to see you are well. Can't believe you've only got 39 more to go to hit 100. Congrats to you!

 

[Luv4Disney]

OK, Barb, I'm sitting here eating lunch and I read your post and all of a sudden, not hungry...what a surprise!

Seriously, that's just awful. This is exactly why I don't allow my boys to go up to a buffet w/o a parent with them. Too many chances of them doing typical kid things (although I don't think either of my kids would ever do this) that might spread germs around to others. Did you say anything to the management about it? I seem to recall someone else seeing something like this and management immediately took all the food out and put out new trays.

I think in August, we'll skip the buffets. But then again, I used to wait tables and any present or former waitress can give you horror stories from the kitchen.

Glad to see you are well. Can't believe you've only got 39 more to go to hit 100. Congrats to you!

I was eating lunch too....didn't finish,

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I don't like buffets either for the exact same reason. It grosses me out too. I will make exceptions for certain buffets like Boma, just because I love the food there, and I also eat at my share of breakfast buffets, which I probably wouldn't go to if there weren't characters, but I always also get the earliest possible ADR and to beat the masses up to the buffet, less chance of germs that way.

 

[Mickeefan]

DH loves many of the Disney buffets, such as Boma and the Cape May clam bake, but it's rare that I allow him to drag me to them. Too many people bringing too many germs and doing too many ungodly things. We hadn't been to one in a while, but in order to do the Candlelight Processional in Dec. we had to take Germany because it was the only restaurant available on our chosen days. Biergarten was wonderful...until I saw the kid pick up each spoon in each type of food, taste it, then toss it back into the food. UGH!! Thank goodness there was another side of the buffet to which I could retreat, but for all I know the kid's brother was doing the same on that side, LOL.

Okay, just read your post. YUCK is all I can say, although, I really do like Boma and will be tempted to eat there again. As I look at your picture, it appears you are on a cruise. Do you eat in the buffet on the cruise ship?

 

[DizzDoll]

Anyone want to lose some weight? Read this thread!!! You won't eat for a month!

 

[inkkognito]

In retrospect, I wish I would have told one of the CMs. If I ever see anything that blatantly disgusting again, I am going to alert them so they can change out the food (although with Taste Boy they would have had to change almost everything...he was quite the prolific little taster). On the cruise ship, when I eat at buffets I make sure that I am one of the first to arrive at opening time. That minimizes the chance of prior contamination. I do the same thing at Ruby Tuesday...I LOVE their salad bar but make sure I arrive early for lunch before the food is touched by "unclean" hands, lips, etc.

I wonder is Taste Boy is related to the kid I saw in an IL Ponderosa many years ago. The rugrat at Pondo had his mouth on the ice cream spigot...I nearly lost my cookies right there, and to this day I rarely will have any self-serve ice cream.

 

[jdcthree]

GROSS! Parents...come out, come out wherever you are! Or maybe they didn't care, how sad would that be?

 

[wilderness01]

I have to tell you I totally agree.

This week at The Crystal Palace I was waiting in line behind a little boy in a wheelchair and his mom. Please I am not attacking anyone disabled because I truly feel for kids/adults like this so don't turn it into a debate.

Anyhow, this mom was putting the serving spoon into the little boy's hand and letting him bring the spoon with the food up to his mouth/nose so he could smell it! I noticed his mouth was wide open and the spoon was almost in it. At one point he tried to lick the spoon and she pulled it away but I don't know if his lips went on it or not. So if he didn't want the food she would put it back for someone else to take and if he did want the food she would put the food on his plate but put the sniffed on serving spoon back in the community dish!

Though it was no fault of the little boy's I was horrified at the mother. She did this for every single station. She contaminated every single serving of food and held up the line. I was so upset when I realized what she was doing.

I just don't understand this. Why couldn't she have taken several things back to the table and let him try them without having to do this? It was very rude to everyone else to put these serving pieces back in the food to be eaten by everyone else or to put the smelled upon food back for someone else to eat. It was almost like double dipping and made me lose my appetite!

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

(ETA: I was laughing at barbs 1st post not the post above mine)

I do not let my guys anywhere near the buffets but that's just because they eat more with their hands than their utensils and I don't want them touching the spoons covered in germs then sitting down and touching their food.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

until I saw the kid pick up each spoon in each type of food, taste it, then toss it back into the food.

Where were the parents?!?!?!

That's just gross.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

Anyhow, this mom was putting the serving spoon into the little boy's hand and letting him bring the spoon with the food up to his mouth/nose so he could smell it! I noticed his mouth was wide open and the spoon was almost in it. At one point he tried to lick the spoon and she pulled it away but I don't know if his lips went on it or not. So if he didn't want the food she would put it back for someone else to take and if he did want the food she would put the food on his plate but put the sniffed on serving spoon back in the community dish!

Did you tell a CM???

That's just wrong...how can an adult think that is OK????

 

[wannabprincess]

So gross. Even when you don't see things like that happen, you always wonder in the back of your mind if I did.

 

[La2kw]

DH loves many of the Disney buffets, such as Boma and the Cape May clam bake, but it's rare that I allow him to drag me to them. Too many people bringing too many germs and doing too many ungodly things. We hadn't been to one in a while, but in order to do the Candlelight Processional in Dec. we had to take Germany because it was the only restaurant available on our chosen days. Biergarten was wonderful...until I saw the kid pick up each spoon in each type of food, taste it, then toss it back into the food. UGH!! Thank goodness there was another side of the buffet to which I could retreat, but for all I know the kid's brother was doing the same on that side, LOL.

I don't trust buffets either. I've seen too many grown men leave the restroom without washing their hands, both in restaurants and in the parks. It's one thing for a kid to forget to wash his hands, but an adult has no excuse, IMO. I can just imagine what kind of germs are on the serving utensils!

 

[smjj]

Got you all beat on this one. At home we were eating at a japanese restaurant and a little boy about 6 or 7 with his mon next to him was looking at the food trying to decide which he wanted. His head was just over the rail about a foot maybe. All of a sudden he sneezed right onto the food trays. His mom kind of looked at me and smiled as she walked him back to the table. I called a server over told her what happened and they removed the ones I pointed out and that was all. They brought back out new ones(or were they?). If the mom had not seem me watching, I doubt she would have told the server, she just walked him back to their table. I don't eat at buffets...smjj

 

[carrie1626]

I agree with all of your comments. I literally grabbed the arm of a TEENAGE girl at Boma once to keep the contaminated spoon from entering the dish and she just laughed at me and walked away.
Having experienced that, I feel it is the RESPONSIBILITY of the restaurant to help prevent this. I would start by asking the person showing everyone to their table to state that children (age ?) are required to be with their parent. This can certainly be stated in a friendly way!!

 

[wilderness01]

Did you tell a CM???

That's just wrong...how can an adult think that is OK????

You know I didn't tell a CM. I should have, I just didn't. They were up at the buffet for so long because he was sniffing all of the food and I did go back twice to say something, but then just sat back down to mind my own business. I didn't want to embarrass the child if he heard me or not.

I don't see how the people behind putting out the food didn't see, or everyone else for that matter.

I don't blame the poor child, but the adult was wrong on so many levels.

 

[ReggieB]

I've worked in food service....trust me it isn't just the customers you need to worry about

I had to stop working in that industry, I would have never eaten again.

 

[DLBDS]

Eh, buffets don't bother me at all. As long as I don't personally witness any of this behavior, I'm good to go. If I'm concerned, I can take the silverware from the table and scoop from the back! I love buffets. There's a Golden Corral that is a favorite around here. No, it's not gourmet food but most of it is tastey. Especially the desserts!