Is it true that DHS tends to have pretty poor food? And... [Archive]

Briansmom

01-06-2011, 09:22 PM

Well, as far as DHS goes, on our last trip, one of our favorite meals was at Mama Melrose. It was an amazing experience in food, service and ambience. Other than that, I'm not totally crazy about the food choices there. It's fair, but nothing that I absolutely have to have....not like Ohana or Whispering Canyon!

And we ate at Captain's Grille this time around as well.....it was ok....not sure we will go back. So I don't think how good a restaurant is can really be based on whether it's in a park or at a hotel..... :shrug:

fatboy

01-06-2011, 09:25 PM

In my opinion Yes and NO. Hollywood studios really lacks a GOOD counter service. A few of the TS restaraunts are good. I think all the parks have poor to good selections depending on what you are looking for. I really did not care for the C.S at W.L. So it can really vary, depending on your expectations and standards. For the most part though Epcot is the Jewel in the Crown so to speak for the parks.

ElenitaB

01-06-2011, 10:26 PM

Personally, I like Backlot Express. It always one the one place that I would indulge in chicken strips. Now that I'm a vegetarian, it's still one of my favorite places to eat at the World.

DizneyRox

01-07-2011, 07:34 AM

cajundisneyfreak

01-07-2011, 08:09 AM

Hollywood Studios has a couple of good table service restaurants in my opinion.A must do for me is 50's Prime Time.I also like the Sci-Fi and for counter services I like Backlot Express or Pizza Planet.I guess each to his own.:mickey:

lettripp

01-07-2011, 08:57 AM

We had really bad experiences with the CS at DS. Between bad service, getting our order wrong, and losing our orders - we are staying far away from CS at DS from now on.

That being said, 50s Prime Time Cafe is AWESOME, the Sci Fi Drive In is fun and I've heard other TS restaurants are decent too.

Just avoid the CS and you'll be good!

A Big Kid

01-07-2011, 09:03 AM

Good luck finding something for breakfast OTHER than a character meal. :thedolls::mad:

Dragongirlx

01-07-2011, 10:12 AM

I have found that it's the counter service at hollywood studios that is bad. No real choice and last year the service seemed to have gotten very slow.
However the table service restaurants are very good I particulary like Hollywood Brown Derby and Mamma Melroses

MississippiDisneyFreak

01-07-2011, 10:18 AM

MississippiDisneyFreak

01-07-2011, 10:20 AM

Compared to the other parks I would say DHS is last in good restaurants...having said that I've heard good things about 50's Prime Time and Brown Derby but have never been to either....the CS choices at DHS are poor but I think Starring Rolls is a hidden gem

Basket Mommy

01-07-2011, 03:54 PM

I agree about DHS. If my kids didn't love RnR and ToT, we wouldn't even go there. I've not been overly impressed with any of the TS restaurants at the Studios, and I can't say that we've ever really eaten counter service there because we usually don't get there until after lunch. We consider it a "Sleep late because it only takes half a day to do everything" park.

I disagree that all the good food is outside the parks. I LOVE the restaurants in the World Showcase, and Garden Grill is one of our favorites. The stuff in the parks does seem like standard restaurant fare, though, while the more elegant, unique dining is found outside the parks. I can understand that, because putting your finer restaurants inside the parks isn't smart. It requires a ticket to get inside, so people are less likely to dine there without an annual pass or a ticket. At least, that's MHO.

rafiki fan

01-07-2011, 04:22 PM

I have to agree that Starring Rolls is a hidden gem. We actually look forward to that meal. Our biggest disappointment was the 50's Prime Time. There seemed to be too much theme and less attention to food. The Sci-Fi seems to have gone a little more hoity-toity so we haven't been there in a while. The Backlot Express is always a great one for us. Even being behind the one attraction it is still a cool comfortable place for lunch. We liked the Brown Derby but felt it was overpriced.

lighteningqueen

01-07-2011, 06:52 PM

STARRING ROLLS You are right hidden gem huge sandwiches huge desserts and very good at that...I think it is called backlot the one with the inside seating in the back and you can refill your own drinks.. Great southwestern salad there. 50's is ok they have cut way down on the portions so you leave hungry if you have the roast which is the best we think. Probably the next time we go we might just eat 2 counters there in one day and save the TS for somewhere else.... Like Teppon Edo YUMMMMMMM

MNNHFLTX

01-07-2011, 08:13 PM

I actually think Magic Kingdom gets the prize for least desirable TS restaurants. The Crystal Palace is over-rated, IMO (especially if you are not in the market for a character meal) and Tony's food is mediocre. Counter-service is okay, but that's because I like Cosmic Ray's--otherwise the other CS places are all just so-so to me.

Disney Studios has a very good TS restaurant in the Brown Derby and decent ones in Prime Time Cafe and Mama Melrose's (I realize some people don't care for Mama Melrose's, but we have always had good food and service there). Starring Rolls is also good for CS and we were pleasantly surprised the last time we were there with the Commissary.

PrettyMinnie

01-07-2011, 10:48 PM

I agree that Starring Rolls Cafe is very good! The CS isn't stellar, but it's not horrible. We had a negative experience at Pizza Planet. It was VERY crowded, the pizza was alright at best and we ended up standing outside in the heat and humidity to eat. :bang:

So on our next visit we tried ABC Commissary. Again the food wasn't out of this world but the place was empty with air conditioning. :cloud9: Which in some instances, AC can make anything worth it.

For TS, we like Sci-Fi, but the only way for your family to know is to try it yourself. If you don't like it, it's only one time, you don't have to go back.

mom2morgan

01-07-2011, 10:58 PM

It is true that MGM tends to have pretty poor [fill in the blank].

You can put just about anything in there IMHO. We spend less than 1/4 a day there, now that Fantasmic doesn't really play, there's hardly a reason to visit for us.
LOL - other than the food, it is actually my favourite park! I'd spend a couple of days there. :cloud9:

crltkcagle

01-08-2011, 10:03 AM

Yep! The TS is awful there with the exception of Mama Melrose. We really don't like Hollywood Vine and Dine, 50's Prime Time or Sci Fi. We have had bad experiences with all three of them. We have never eaten at Brown Derby though so I can't comment on that one. We do love Pizza Planet there and eat there at least twice on each trip.

MarkC

01-08-2011, 12:48 PM

We regularly eat at the Commissary-- decent counter food and some different choices. We've also enjoyed Hollywood and Vine buffet, Sci-Fi is a must just for the atmosphere, and 50's prime time is good if you like comfort food. There are some good choices, just not as many as other areas.

LudwigVonDrake

01-09-2011, 11:51 AM

I don't think so. Prime Time, Sci Fi and Mama Melrose are must dos for me :eat:

Briansmom

01-09-2011, 06:36 PM

Wow, what did you have at Mama's that was so good?

I think the main reason we enjoyed everything so much is because of the service we received. Our server gave us a Fantasmic Dining Package when we arrived. I had been trying to get one for months before we went and had been unsuccessful. So when we got that, it opened up our menu options to get an appetizer, dinner and dessert (we were on the dining plan). She also took such good care of us but especially made things awesome for our special DS 12, bringing him a buzz lite for his tea (not included and at no charge), also gave us other items at no charge. I enjoyed the Wood-grilled chicken pasta dish...it was amazing. My daughter had the Spaghetti Fra Diavalo which she said was great. I can't remember what DH ordered..I just know he said it was yummy! DS got a flatbread pizza fixed just like he liked it. We also got appetizers so DS and I got a salad but DD and DH went for the gusto and one got Calamari and the other got Brushetta. The only thing that didn't wow me were the desserts....but I am not a big chocolate dessert fan (Warm Chocolate Truffle cake) nor do I like soggy lady fingers (Tiramisu). My son's gelato was pretty good though! :D

SBETigg

01-09-2011, 07:12 PM

I think resort food is generally better than park food, yes. Not always. There are some very good restaurants in the parks, most notably at Epcot but I do like the Brown Derby. If I had to pick a park with the worst food, it's definitely DHS. Not a fan of most TS or CS choices there. MK has some good CS, but I could (and do) easily skip the TS choices there.

BluewaterBrad

01-10-2011, 03:46 PM

The chicken curry at ABC Comm. is very good for fast food curry.:mickey:

Fastpasssteve

01-11-2011, 09:37 PM

Love Starring Rolls, as well (it's that carrot cake sandwich!)--

I do love The Brown Derby. Delicious.

I'm also a sucker for a grilled turkey leg.

A visit to Sci-Fi Diner is always in order. I like the lunch menu better than dinner, though.

Best of luck.

KylesMom

01-11-2011, 11:49 PM

Interestingly enough, I made 13 TS ADRs today for our trip in July. 8 were in parks, and 5 were at resorts. The breakdown?

2 TS = MK
3 TS = Epcot
3 TS = DHS
1 TS = Wilderness Lodge
1 TS = Contemporary
1 TS = The Poly
1 TS = DTD
1 TS = Beach Club

It really all depends on what you're looking for and how picky your eaters are. We've tried numerous TS restaurants over the years, and this trip, while we're trying a new one or two, we're going with our "tried and true" due to a few misses over the past two years with the "new" experiences. While DHS may have a weaker line up than some parks, in our opinion they definitely have better TS dining for what we like than MK or AK. But, like everything else at Disney, it's totally subjective and dependent upon your tastes and experiences. While we don't mind a hot dog or turkey leg on the fly, the one place we don't like to eat CS at is DHS. There's just not enough seating in the A/C during summertime hours to be comfortable & enjoy our meals, even if it's a quick meal to tide us over. :mickey:

DebK

01-12-2011, 09:05 AM

I had a wonderful meal at the Brown Derby in December.

Marionla

01-12-2011, 10:25 AM

Favorite dhs meal is mama melrose. Try Iona at the poly. Pomegranate pork chop is great. Kona restaurant at the poly is correct spelling. Thanks

MNNHFLTX

01-13-2011, 06:43 PM

The chicken curry at ABC Comm. is very good for fast food curry.:mickey:That was the dish I was thinking about when I complimented the Commissary. I thought the chicken curry was pretty good too.

Kaps

01-14-2011, 01:43 PM

It has the least in choices but Prime time cafe is very good. I also don't care for much of AK choices all CS

HiHoKermitTheFrogHere

01-14-2011, 05:41 PM

I agree that the food at DHS generally is not very good. In fact, as far as TS restaurants in DHS go, The Brown Derby is supposed to be the nicest of all. We used to eat there on every trip until we finally realized that we were paying a lot of money for food that really wasn't even that great. So we stopped going there.

But............why do you need good food when you have -- THE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY MILKSHAKE at 50's Prime Time Cafe! That milkshake is SOOOOOOO good that it probably offsets the other relatively poor food at DHS in my mind (and in my DW's mind, too!). You don't even have to eat a meal there to get a PB&J milkshake -- just go inside and order one at the counter to go! Truly awesome. (They're SO good that DW and DD10 have been experimenting lately with our blender and different ingredients to try to replicate it. They even found a youtube video where a chef from 50's Prime Time shows how to make it. I've "had" to drink a LOT of milkshakes the past few weeks during their little experiment!)

My advice is to have a PB&J milkshake (or several :secret: ) every time you visit DHS and it will make you forget about all of the other mediocre food.

DizneyRox

01-14-2011, 07:05 PM

Those PB&J shakes are really good...

Maleficent's Dad

01-14-2011, 08:01 PM

I actually think Magic Kingdom gets the prize for least desirable TS restaurants.

Disney Studios has a very good TS restaurant in the Brown Derby and decent ones in Prime Time Cafe and Mama Melrose's.
I completely agree with MNNHFLTX's post. The HBD is among the finest eateries in WDW, be it inside a park or not. The Brown Derby does an exceptional job - I've brought numerous foodies here and it has never disappointed.

After the HBD, DHS does fall off rather sharply. While MM can satisfy, it is a far cry from good Italian. Prime Time puts on a good show, but I can leave it otherwise.

The MK is by far the least, in terms of quality, when it comes to food. They produce low quality for the masses.

Food is important to us on vacation. For anyone to argue the quality of the MK's food choices almost seems silly to me. It lacks greatly. And the HBD serves up high quality stuff.
Just my $0.02.

luvdiznee

01-16-2011, 04:33 PM

Because I LOVE DHS! And along with it; 50's PT, Sci-Fi and Starring Rolls. Though I do miss their ice cream they used to serve in 2 colors, can't remember exact name. But I have a nice picture of DD enjoying it.:mickey: