WORST DISNEY DINING EXPERIENCE

I have only been to Disney two times but we have never had a bad experience with any of our dining. We do eat at a lot of places when we go. On our last trip we stayed 7 nights, 8 days and had 13 dining reservations and 7 of them were character meals. We go back in September so I'm hoping that we continue to get exceptional service and food!!
 
I visited House of Blues twice during my visit; planned once, and the second time since there was nothing planned. It was not bad, however they were out of NY strips that night. I'm not a big fan of HOB in general (walked by it a few times in AC), but they were okay. I haven't really had a bad dining experience, so my worst was still pretty good, just that the service, time of night, and menu limitations (I think they were out of other things too) could have been better.
 
I don't know if this would qualify as an actual "dining" experience, but it was the worst...
Epcot, World Showcase, Mexico... My wife and I each ordered a quesadilla... I think the price was $5.95 each. When the food was handed to us, the quesadillas were so tiny I thought it was a joke. They were so small I literally finished mine in just two bites... and it didn't even taste good! Tiny portions, huge ripoff, complete waste of money.
 
Last edited:
The only full-on bad meal I've had at WDW was Hollywood and Vine. We went so the kiddos could see the Disney Junior characters but the food was so horrid it literally made my aunt sick in the middle of the meal!! Also it was crazy loud and busy (which we fully expected) and we all came out with headaches which put a bit of a damper on the afternoon. The adults in our group wound up snacking a lot that afternoon as no one could stomach the food :crazy2: (I ate only the bread and fries which were fine). However, that was back in 2012 so they may have improved since then. And really in the end it was worth it to see the kids have so much fun with the characters :goodvibes
 

Arial's groto Disney's CA Adventure park dinner terable food and service upon complaint and dispute of cupon I was asured was acceptable before being seated it was outright refused at end of meal not a big deal but the whole meal experance was terable.
 
Chefs De France - Waitress wasn't exactly friendly.
Restaurant Marrakesh - Service was painfully slow and the food wasn't very good.
Via Napoli - Burnt pizza

But, 3 bad experiences out of goodness knows how many isn't bad at all. I'm actually pretty impressed with the amount of great experiences we've had.
 
Worst dining experience was a couple of years ago at Brown Derby. Horrible horrible service, rude waitress and raw food. Never again.
 
Tony's Town Square. In a word yuck! Food was gross (think olive garden on a really bad night) service was super slow and the place was dirty.
 
Add me to the Never Again list for Coral Reef. It has never been good and I've given it 5 chances (friends with 8 year olds always insist on trying it despite my reviews). Poor service from host to servers (consistent through all but one of our servers). Atmosphere is great if you get to sit right by the aquarium but otherwise is just "meh" in my opinion. The worst part of this place is the food. It is consistently bad - and I have ordered 5 different entrees and at least 2 different desserts. That doesn't count the entrees of my family and friends that were disappointing. It is a restuarant "under the sea" and it has the worst seafood execution in all of WDW. Top all this off with loooong waits to be seated and then at the table from drinks to the bill, it is a place I would never do again and would never recommend.
 
For us, Coral Reef has always been good. But as I have said before, our experiences with Walt Disney World dining have always been good.
 
I decided to look through this thread as I am just starting to decide on what I would like to do for ADRs for my next trip. My kids are getting out of the character meal age, so we have been excited and thought we could expand our horizons and try some new restaurants and meal experiences. I thought looking at this thread would help me to pare down my list of restaurants to visit.

After reviewing this thread, it turns out that there is no perfect restaurant in WDW! Every restaurant has been mentioned at least one in this thread which, frankly, makes it quite hard to use the thread as a resource. Of course everyone is different, what one family deems bad food or experience, may not for another family. LOL, you know the old saying - have no expectations, you'll never be disappointed!

I guess we'll just have to survive on Mickey Bars for the length of our trip. Hopefully the concession stand CMs won't be having a bad day to ruin our Mickey Bar experience :scared:

Oh and we will not be going back to Chef Mickeys again. Have been there 3 times and it progressively got worse each time. Service was fine, but the food....yech!
 
Last edited:
Chef's de France. Nothing in the menu screamed France to us, pasty noodles and all,our meals were cold. Staff was courteous when taking order then they disappeared. Only came back to clear the table. I think we were in and out in 45 minutes. Never again!
 
For us, Coral Reef has always been good. But as I have said before, our experiences with Walt Disney World dining have always been good.

Most of what we have eaten has been good as well. We have consistently had great experiences at San Angel Inn and as seen through this thread it is on many people's never again lists. To each his own. :)
 
Chef Mickey was horrible. We went when the kids were 4 and 5 and they were exhausted after a long 4 days in the parks. The food was ok but the characters were not very pleasant. I know my kids were not the best behaved that night but they were not horrible. My daughter (4) went to put her arms around Donald's arm to have a picture taken and he pushed her away. They all seemed to not want any kids around them and just annoyed about having to be their. It is very load and chaotic their as well. This is one that we have and never will go back to. This was the worst character's we have ever dealt with and I make it a point to see as many as we can while we are at Disney.
 
We have not had the misfortune of any dining experiences that I'd say were "bad". But there are a few places I probably would not return to based on our experiences:

House Of Blues: food was fair and I expected much better based on what I had heard about it.

Via Napoli- food was good but was wayyyyy too expensive for what we got.

Pecos Bill's- too expensive. And the kids grilled cheese was awful and didn't even come with fries. $53 for two burgers, a salad, a kids grilled cheese (fries separate). Ludicrous.

Then again if I don't like over paying for food we should pack our meals when we visit the parks!
 
Last edited:
I agree about not canceling anything. Like Chef Mickey's for example...it's loud, crowded and the food is sub par. But when my son was young, he loved it, and he would get so excited to go there and eat. I miss it and those times, and glad we went. But now, as adults, we probably won't go back, but I'm glad we went when my son was young. Every restaurant has something for someone, and sometimes the draw is not the food.
 
Food poisoning at Coral Reef for me...the rest of the family liked there meal, service was good.
The over all worst experience...food was ok but really my least favorite was La Hacienda. Waitstaff even in a non disney situation would be considered bad! lol
 
Chef Mickeys - food and service

Food is disgusting.
Waiter complained that my 2-year-old made a mess under his chair. I mean - what do you expect? This was a $150 meal for me and you are upset that some noodles are on the floor?
 
Coral Reef in April 2013 was DISGUSTING. The place smelled of mildew. Our appetizers were good, but I got the lobster pasta and it was inedible. Chewy, rubbery, gross. My father in law ordered the same thing and his was also chewy and gross. We told the waitress and we were able to order something else, but I just ended up re ordering the appetizer because that was the only thing that appealed to me. Our meal at Tortuga Tavern in October 2014 was also a standout bad dining experience. Obviously, it's a QS, but the meat for the taco salad looked like dog food, and tasted awful. It was incredibly dirty and messy. Food all over the taco bar and floor. And workers just standing around. No. Thank. You.
 





New Posts










Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top