WORST DISNEY DINING EXPERIENCE

[Rivermonster]

Being that my entirely family requires special diets, I really can't say a bad thing about the food at Disney because we are over-the-moon about the wide variety of food we generally don't get in restaurants at home--in fact, our restrictions really don't permit us to dine out much at all

My daughter (it was just she and I on our last trip) always seems to like breaking the ice with servers by telling them her "mommy used to be one too" It works out nicely [I think] because instead of a person dreading the sight of a mother and daughter two-top [who might not tip much], we usually get fantastic service and very friendly treatment. Akershus was the only exception. I was very disappointed in the service there. The waiter was not at all attentive or personable, and treated us with annoyance anytime we required something of him. We will go back for princess experience, but jeez, I hope we get a different waiter!

 

[agavegirl1]

I don't think I would classify this as a "dining experience" but here goes...

In 2010, I made just a few ADRs and one was for the Hollywood Brown Derby in DHS. We arrived on time, checked in at around noon for lunch and were promptly ignored for twenty minutes. The restaurant was 1/3 full, the staff was chatting in a corner service station and we had not received menus or water or a visit from any staff member. We were hungry and angry and went back to the front desk. I told them what we had experienced and said we would not be keeping our reservation. We ended up at a quick service eating total forgettable food but the lack of service at Brown Derby is still remembered.

 

[DizBot]

It's not the worst. Let's be honest, not ALL the food there is great. It's fine, and some can be really good. But, for some reason we always seem to end up at the Liberty Tavern. Like I said, it's fine. But, I always try to avoid it, and we always seem to end up there.

 

[leanncovey]

Nastiest restaurant was Hollywood & Vine for dinner. Absolutely filthy, worse than Shoneys on the all you can eat seafood buffet night! The floor was incredibly sticky and there was food everywhere. The entire time we were there 6PMish ADR, there wasn't a single table bussed, dirty dishes everywhere. Food was lukewarm at best, even the cold items.

Worst tasting food was Tony's waaaaaaaay back when. The pasta sauce tasted worse than jarred an IDK what type of meat they used in the netball but it was gray. Never going back.

I read lots of bad things about Hollywood and Vine, but we ate there anyway so my little one could see Sofia and Doc McStuffins. We thought the buffet at lunch was fantastic, it was one of our favorite meals on the trip. The salads were fresh, the fruit was plentiful, and the dishes were well prepared. The deserts dipped in chocolate were good too. Maybe its the time of day, but we had a great time.

 

[leanncovey]

Le Chefs. Our waiter was so snobby.

We had a nice time at Le Chef's. Our waiter was great with our two little daughters and made them feel special. It was one of their favorite dinners.

 

[Tom Caselli]

I have been to Walt Disney World at least 20 times. I have never had a problem with any restaurant that I have been to at WDW. For me, when at WDW, there is always a unique dining experience and good food. That is one of the many things that I like about WDW. For those of you who have had a legitimately bad experience, I would let somebody important know what happened because Disney prides itself on having caring and considerate cast members and wants everybody to have a wonderful time while at their places.

 

[L&Lfan]

Welcome, Tom!

 

[saraschoening]

Kona Cafe. My chicken was so tough I couldn't eat it. Sent it back and received stir fry noodles. Food not very good since the teriyaki steak is no longer on the menu (dinner).

The server was the most un-magical server we have ever encountered in the parks, resorts or even on the ship. She was so rude. We decided to make our tip amount very low to reflect the way we were treated. She came by to pick up the receipt, looked at the tip amount and stated "you are kidding? that's all? which resulted in me going to the podium to request to speak with the dining manager. We also removed the entire tip from our bill. We have never had to do this and we are very generous with our servers who on the most part have been wonderful.

Whoa your server actually said that to you? Thats just not cool at all. I haven't ever been to WDW but I have been many time to DL and haven't experienced bad service there but last year while we were on our way to DL we popped into an Olive Garden and the server was awful she gave us our bill with our mains which she brought out with our appies. I actually thought that we must have come in close to closing but nope it was still 3 hours until they closed..

I also tip well IF the service is good. I was a server for year during college and had a lot of regulars, students and seniors who just couldn't afford a huge tip, NEVER would I say that to any customer. In my mind having those customers paid my wage.. big tip or small.. the hourly wage paid better then no job at all.

 

[TwizzleMouse]

I have been to Walt Disney World at least 20 times. I have never had a problem with any restaurant that I have been to at WDW. For me, when at WDW, there is always a unique dining experience and good food. That is one of the many things that I like about WDW. For those of you who have had a legitimately bad experience, I would let somebody important know what happened because Disney prides itself on having caring and considerate cast members and wants everybody to have a wonderful time while at their places.

I've been to WDW 25+ times and never really had a problem like we had at Kona last time we were there. I even called and talked to the restaurant manager and told him our problem and he took everything down and said he would call me back in a few days. Never heard from him. It's now 7 months later. I even tried calling back after a few weeks to check up and couldn't reach him. Very Un-Disney like.

 

[huntconn]

We ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe for the first time last year. Our family was very excited to eat there after hearing about all of the fun interaction with the servers and fellow guests. Our server was friendly enough but his accent was so strong we could barely understand what he was saying to us. The skillet family meal was awful! Over cooked, dry, tasteless. And we are not picky eaters by any stretch of the imagination. The worst part of the meal was the fabled WCC "interaction" was basically limited to servers yelling "we need ketchup" over and over and over throughout the meal. We love loud , kid friendly experiences but this was redundant and just plain dumb.

 

[NavyDad]

50's Prime Time for sure.

We waited about 50-60 minutes past our ADR. The lobby was just so crowded it was crazy.

I had the Meatloaf (I think - it was 2009) and DW had the Tuna/pasta dish. Nobody liked their food except my Mom who LOVED her Fried Chicken.

The service was fine once we were seated. I believe everybody really liked the milkshakes.

Honestly that was our worst experience but it was more "meh" than terrible. We have liked pretty much every place we have eaten. The last time we ate at Garden Grill I don't think we liked it as much as the first time but that was mostly just due to slight changes in the way they did the food.

The only other negative dining experiences we had was AoA foodcourt in 2012 and Beach Club Market Place in 2013.

AoA was new and the food court was just chaos. Every time we got our food and sat down it was cold. We loved Pop's food court a few years before...

Beach Club Market Place was just completely too small to handle the number of guests. Lines were always backed up - no organization or flow. Food was fine if you were willing to wait forever.

We liked both resorts quite a bit but the CS options we found lacking at each...

 

[deakam]

I can't say that this counts as a "worse experience ever" but it was odd and somewhat disturbing. We were a party of 5 adults. Rose and Crown tried to seat us at a table for 4 with the 5th person seated at the end of the table. The problem was that the tables are not open at the end. Your legs will not go under the table. I politely refused the table and they had no problem putting us at a table for 6. Same thing happened at O'hana the next night. Only this time the table was up against a wall that had a very large ornamental thing hanging on it. It was so large that none of us would fit under it. The odd part of this is that both places had plenty of open seats. At O'hana we were seated in an area that had only one other table with diners at it. As far as food and experience goes--CRT we did this for breakfast last September because we had a guest with us that had never been to Disney before and will probably never go back. The food was terrible and the Princess interaction was horrific. I don't think any of them even asked Grace her name. She was 8 years old and they swept on over to the table and stood there with their dress out waiting for someone to take a picture. As soon as the flash went off they were on to the next table. We paid more than $200.00 for mediocre breakfast food and a look at the inside of the castle. Thank goodness we were able to catch most of the Princesses in other locations.

 

[L&Lfan]

Are we supposed to know who Grace is? Who is Grace and why should the Princesses ask what her name is? Her Serene Highness, the late Princess Grace of Monaco? I really don't get it...

 

[rwdavis2]

I was making a reference to how often on this thread, one person's worst meal is another person's favorite, as many people have, not commenting on the relative quality of the food. Nothing I had at Disney would I really consider above mediocre, although we only had 6 meals, half of which were character buffets.

I've been wondering this for years. I wish that when people posted any opinion on dining that they would also post their 3 favorites restaurants or foods. That would put it into context.

Last month I finally understood all the obsessions with dining some people have. It's because their local restaurants aren't that good. Which makes sense. I live between Baltimore and DC and the dining options are too numerous to even count. every type of ethnic food and high-end dining. That's why I don't obsess over the food.

 

[minnie4ever]

Restaurant Marrakesh had terrible service. I was on a solo trip and of course went there by myself. I don't know whether it was the fact that I was a single woman or what but the CM ignored me for quite a while before he took my order. It took another long time until he finally brought my appetizers. I barley started on them when he brought my entrée. He never checked on me until he brought the bill ( even though I thought I caught his eye several times)
I felt very uncomfortable there and will never go back. I will just instead go to the counter service restaurant if I crave some Moroccan food.

 

[DizDaD7]

Tony's Town Sq.....Blagh!!

By far..... And we are definitely not picky, or food snobs...

 

[OceanStateKelly]

Chef Mickey's - I felt like I was at a Golden Corral but double the price.. will never go back to Chef Mickey's or Golden Corral,, lol

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

I've never had bad service- but the places that I'm not going back to anytime soon due to food quality

Tony's

Whole heartedly agree with this one. The service was amazing when I went this past September, the waitress was outstanding. The food, however, was abysmal. I had hair in my appetizer, the spaghetti was sitting in water (as if it hadn't been drained, just thrown into the bowl) etc. The dessert was lovely.

 

[deakam]

Are we supposed to know who Grace is? Who is Grace and why should the Princesses ask what her name is? Her Serene Highness, the late Princess Grace of Monaco? I really don't get it...

Yes Grace is her Serene Highness Princess Grace--not of Monaco but a Princess none the less. In our Disney Princess experience we have never encountered a Princess that did not ask the child's name and interact in some way, until we had breakfast at CRT last September. I hope that clarifies things and you can finally "get it". I also hope that you have a better day today so you do not feel the need to come to the dis boards and be snarky.

 

[disneysteve]

Chef Mickey's - I felt like I was at a Golden Corral but double the price

I think this - "but double the price" - is really the issue many times. Some of the not-so-great experiences that we've all had over the years probably wouldn't stand out as much had they not cost as much as they did. In the "real world" outside of the Disney bubble, paying a lot more for a meal generally gets you a higher level experience, better food, better service, nicer atmosphere. On property, however, it doesn't work that way, so that sometimes leads to disappointment. Often the problem isn't that the meal was bad, just that it wasn't worth what was being charged.