Just returned and disappointed in Dining

[Ian]

It is just not the meal itself, but the choice. There was a time when you could go to the park in the morning and have numerous great choices for breakfast. Not any more. You either have to pay way too much for a character meal or get a sub-McDonalds standard breakfast sandwhich that has been sitting under a heat lamp. The ABC Commisary being the worst of the worst. Blech!

I think the breakfast sandwiches at the CS place at Saratoga Springs would give them a run for their money.

But yeah, on our last trip we were frequently frustrated by the inability to get a decent breakfast in the parks. Even worse, though, was the fact that they didn't open the carts until like after 11AM! And it was HOT!! There was no convenient place to get a bottle of water until after you'd been beating feet around a boiling hot theme park for like 2 hours.

That was really irksome!

[DizneyRox]

But yeah, on our last trip we were frequently frustrated by the inability to get a decent breakfast in the parks.

I've also been saying this for years. Once they shifted the hours to the standard 9am opening time, and since lunch starts at 11am, there is very little opportunity to have breakfast in general.

My guess is it's a cost cutting measure since they need to staff there early to prep, then cleanup and retool for lunch in such a short time frame, the profitability just ain't there.

If you want breakfast, you're pretty much stuck to your resort food court or a character meal, with a few exceptions of course, but certainly not a huge selection of different options.

This is nothnig new though, I'd say since about 2002-2003 or thereabouts...

[Ian]

I've also been saying this for years. Once they shifted the hours to the standard 9am opening time, and since lunch starts at 11am, there is very little opportunity to have breakfast in general.

My guess is it's a cost cutting measure since they need to staff there early to prep, then cleanup and retool for lunch in such a short time frame, the profitability just ain't there.

If you want breakfast, you're pretty much stuck to your resort food court or a character meal, with a few exceptions of course, but certainly not a huge selection of different options.

This is nothnig new though, I'd say since about 2002-2003 or thereabouts...

I agree on all counts. I think I first noticed it during the cutbacks immediately after the 9/11 attacks, actually.

And I agree it's a cost-cutting measure, but I think it goes even beyond what you said ... they want to basically force people in to paying the outrageous buffet prices for the theme park breakfasts vs. supplying them with some reasonable CS options.

And as far as the beverage/snack carts, I'd bet anything they did an analysis that showed the carts didn't pay for themselves during the early morning hours so they just shut them down to maximize profits.

All this done at the expense of the guest experience, of course, and in the interest of milking every nickel possible out of every aspect of park operations.

[BrerGnat]

This keeping the carts closed until 11:30 thing really irks me too. They started doing it at Disneyland this year...

Not so noticeable in the colder months, but once it starts heating up, and it's blazing hot by 9:30am...just seems like a LOT of lost revenue. Plus, all the CS locations (with the exception of the Main St. Bakery) don't open until 11am either, so there are only a TINY handful of spots (mainly, the fruit stand type places) in the parks where you can get ANYTHING to eat/drink from 8am-11am.

I mean, if I'm walking around at 11am, with $4 in my pocket, and my son begging me for a Mickey Bar...does it really seem RIGHT that I have to tell him he can't have one yet? At DISNEYLAND???

[DizneyRox]

And as far as the beverage/snack carts, I'd bet anything they did an analysis that showed the carts didn't pay for themselves during the early morning hours so they just shut them down to maximize profits.

ABSOLUTELY! Having a CM to man the cart costs money, just don't mention they are staffed by people making minimum wage and selling 3 drinks and hour would more than cover their salary. To me this is just being cheap!

But as always we just need to adjust to work the system. Grocery deliveries to the room to cover breakfasts and we don't need to worry about wasting money in the parks. I really would rather get an early start to the parks and eat there, but that's not in the cards anymore...

[Ian]

I really would rather get an early start to the parks and eat there, but that's not in the cards anymore...

Yeah, this issue and Nat's issue with the inability to get a simple bottle of water in the heat are the two main problems I have with the new "system."

I used to love to get to the parks right when they opened, ride some of the most popular attractions for the first hour or so, and then when the real crowds arrive duck out and get some breakfast.

Can't do that anymore and it really frustrates me, because now you have to get up like an entire hour earlier to eat before the park opens.

[lockedoutlogic]

The issue with the breakfast/ carts early in the park is two-fold...
and both reasons stink

1. The cost of the staffing (how can you make 2 billion dollars a year off your florida compound if you give out 5.85 an hour to struggling employees like it's going out of style?)
2. Staffing supply - we've said it a bazillion times: they have serious labor issues both now and progressively worse as we go forward...they have simply exhausted the central florida labor pool and now cannot lure workers to the "world" after diminishing the compensation (proportionally) for close to 20 years

[Laughin' place]

The one thing that stands out to me from this whole thread is just how subjective this issue is. Not only does service and food quality change from day to day, everyone's experience, palate, taste, and expectations vary so wildly. I've never given it much thought, but I have a whole new appreciation for the places that DO serve very good meals on a consistent basis (especially to travellers from all over the country/world).
I am also reminded of my favorite Disney dining beef (pun intended) -- the watering down of the menus across the park. I am still very disappointed that the Maya Grille (or whatever its called now), went from delicious, innovative neuvo mexican / pan latin food to steak/ribs/blah/blah/and bland.
We are lucky to have two Rick Bayless kitchens in Chicago (recently voted the best chef in America or some such), and I think many would agree that he is at the top of Mexican cuisine. The old Maya Grille was darn close. The new one will never see my business

[jimsgal05]

we had a good time with our ADRs but 1900 parkfare I ahve to agree it was okay...food wise a huge let down to Crystal place...which had amazing food for lunch...so many choices.

The WAVE was ok..my steak was good but my DH had the tuna ...raw inside, it wasn't suppose tobe..so we had to send it back..we had dinner at 9:30 at night...not busy our waitress...S_L_O_W_....I mean too slow and un prepared....
sci fi diner was great...it was so quite...and it was very crowded...great service too

eating with Cinderella..nice but wish i had done it for lunch not breakfast....they forgot about myself and My dd who was almost 4...we were in the corner...all the princeses didn't come to us then they finally realized we were there then got all them at once...we were the on family on the "upper" level...I guess if ya want to call it that....so it was pretty funny..to have all of them...

garden grill was good...simple food but cooked verywell and the dessert was great...

my parents went to Coral reef the food was good but there was so many younge childdren running around and almost knocked 2 wait staff down while with food plates and they didn't day a word...i blame the parents but the poor workers...they said it was like a cirucus in there....to bad I love that place cause it is always nice and they went at 3:30pm...
counter services we fine except japan...susi was good but the kids meal and the pork meal/rice...not so...very fatty...
satatoga springs had good counter service meals I have to say... the toga sandwhich was huge and very good...


well that is it for me..but yes the quality has gone down hill since I have been going in Sept..........1997...oh well...


just voice our concerns to Disney...

[BluewaterBrad]

Free Dining IS ruining the WDW experience. I am very interested what is in store for our upcoming trip in late Oct.

[NJGIRL]

Liberty Tree Tavern, we ate lunch here and loved it (as always.) The staff is on the ball at this restaurant. Our table had two highchairs and a spoon and napkin for the little ones in our group without us even having to ask for it. Sounds minor, but every other restaurant we went to we had to take away the knife from their place setting and move the setting out of reach or we had to ask for silverware and napkins for them and either stand waiting for the highchairs while they brought them or had to ask again for them. Our server had our shared meals split in the kitchen, accomodations were easily made for an allergy, the place was clean, service friendly, the table was kept cleared, extra plates were automatically brought for the twins, and our drinks were always refilled. The food here is filling and good, though not outstanding (we were so sad to see the crab-cake was gone and the shortcake changed.) Hands down it was the best service we received our entire trip, if you have Teresa as your waitress your in for a treat, ask her to teach you the princess wave.

I agree with you on the Liberty Tree. We eat there at least once a trip on every trip. I love the food menu at lunch. Never had a bad meal or service there.

While our food was OK last Oct I have to agree with Chef Mickeys not being what it used to be. We used to love their breakfast but last time around it fell a little flat. Food was just warm not hot and it seemed like they didn't have as many choices on the buffet as they did in past years.

[lockedoutlogic]

Free Dining IS ruining the WDW experience. I am very interested what is in store for our upcoming trip in late Oct.

it's not just the "free" dining....
the paid dining is doing a pretty darned good job of doing it as well....

there are many theories as to what is gained and lost by both the consumer (us) and the seller (TWDC)...many making alot of sense...and many being very disturbing

[lighteningqueen]

I agree when you sit down they have no idea who pays and who is on DDP. Do they have separate vats in back for us free diners?? ha ha... Seriously how can we get some better tasting food there??? I guess when we all start bring in our food to the parks and refuse to pay high prices for low budget food then we shall see...

[BrerGnat]

The thing is, this "free dining" keeps reelin' them in. People don't GET it. It's NOT really a deal at all. What it is, at its very basic level, is Disney keeping you prisoner on their property and making you pay rack rate for the priviledge. ALL the dining plans are what this is all about. It has NOTHING to do with adding "value" for the consumer. Until people see it for what it really is, it will continue, because it works for DISNEY. Disney cleverly markets the plans as a way to "save", but in reality, you don't really save anything. A lot of food goes to waste, usually, and if you were to just actually order and eat what you CAN, you could always eat for less.

This is, I suspect, why they DON'T offer the same dining plan at DLR. It's WAY WAY WAY too easy to go "off property" to dine. It would NEVER work. The vast majority of visitors to DLR have figured this out. It would be extremely difficult to convince people to buy into a dining plan there, and they know it. This is why it is STILL possible to walk up to virtually any Disneyland Resort restaurant, no matter how crowded the parks are, and be able to get in for a meal. Sure, you might have to wait, but they ALWAYS take walk ups.

And, food quality (overall) has not declined at DLR in recent years, in MY opinion. Some of the value has diminished, as they have increased prices and lowered portion sizes in some instances, but overall, the food quality is just as good today as it was 5 years ago, and in some cases, better!

To me, it is very obvious that the inception of the DDP at WDW has really impacted the dining experience, since I have a direct comparison to DLR (have been going as an AP holder very regularly since 2001). While I've seen WDW's dining take a nosedive sine the DDP inception, I've not seen anything similar happen at DLR, so it can't be chalked up to "company wide cutbacks" or "supplier" issues.

It's sad, really. WDW used to have some really good food. Now, for me, I go there for the theme park/resort experience, not the food.

[jonahbear2006]

hated liberty tree and any other restaurant that was really loud. i want to relax at dinner time and have a nice meal. the food was good but i couldnt even hear my husband across the table. yes the food is better than it was when i was 12; i remember it being downright nasty, however, it isnt good enough for me to EVER buy dining plan Again!

[PETE FROM NYC]

DW ,and I, left the world on 9/13.
We were on the free dining plan.
We ate at:
Le Cellier, L
Crystal Palace,B & L
Liberty Tree, D
Tusker House, B & L
Prime Time, D
Sci-Fi, L
Teppan Edo, D
We are both diabetic,and I have food allergies, so a chef came out to discuss what we should eat, even making sure we could have dessert.
We have no complaints about any TS place we used. The food was all good, and we never left hungry.
About the only thing I could complain about was the hot dog I had at Casey's. As soon as I got back to NYC, I just had to go out for a dirty water dog.
PS Want to get the chef mad at Teppan Edo?
Just ask for mayo.

[MKFD43]

we are going in Dec of 09 after nearly 2 years. I recently found this site. I too used to feel that hunting for dining opportunites as part of the fun of visiting DW. But after reading this thread I am not sure i want to waste almost $30 a person on buffets. We will probably grab a coupon out of a tourist mag and hit golden coral on 192 right outside the gate.. Theres always CC pizza by Lake Buena Vista. As long as we will be served low grad food might as well pay low grade prices.

[SurferStitch]

we are going in Dec of 09 after nearly 2 years. I recently found this site. I too used to feel that hunting for dining opportunites as part of the fun of visiting DW. But after reading this thread I am not sure i want to waste almost $30 a person on buffets. We will probably grab a coupon out of a tourist mag and hit golden coral on 192 right outside the gate.. Theres always CC pizza by Lake Buena Vista. As long as we will be served low grad food might as well pay low grade prices.

Please don't let all of these negative comments about WDW dining sway you. We have had amazing meals for all of the 13 years we've been visiting WDW. Our most recent trip was last October, and our dining experiences were incredible (except for the Wave).

You will not get low grade food at WDW restaurants.

I think there are many here who revel in bashing the dining options at WDW. I am not one of them. I go into WDW restaurants expecting great food and service, and about 99.9% of the time, that's what we get. I can count on one hand the number of poor meals we've had in literally hundreds of TS and CS meals at WDW in the 17 trips we've made there.

[azcavalier]

Please don't let all of these negative comments about WDW dining sway you. We have had amazing meals for all of the 13 years we've been visiting WDW. Our most recent trip was last October, and our dining experiences were incredible (except for the Wave).

You will not get low grade food at WDW restaurants.

I think there are many here who revel in bashing the dining options at WDW. I am not one of them. I go into WDW restaurants expecting great food and service, and about 99.9% of the time, that's what we get. I can count on one hand the number of poor meals we've had in literally hundreds of TS and CS meals at WDW in the 17 trips we've made there.

Yep, we haven't gone THAT many times, but we haven't had but maybe two meals where we didn't think either the food OR the servce was up to par. We've gotte the free dining for the last three years, and except for one trip to the Garden Grill, it has all been excellent.

Those on here that say that the free dining is ruining the restaurant offerings....well, then it must have been simply exception beforehand, because we still love it. It's one of the reasons that we go to WDW....all the restaurant choices. And for those who say that the dining plan, free or not, doesn't really save money...well, I disagree. Sure I COULD save money by eating off property at fast food or budget chain restaurants, or even by cooking the meals myself. But for the time involved and the quality of food that I get on-property, it's worth it. Yes, sometimes, it's a lot of food, but we do a pretty good job with it.

For example, when we go, it's three adults (our DS is 12) and two children. So we prepay for the DDP. If we go eat at the Coral Reef and have a regular meal (we don't drink, and wouldn't normally order appetizers anyway), and just stick to the menu, our bill would be over $120. Just for dinner. The DDP for the entire day for this family is around $140. So add in lunch on property, and a snack for each of us....it's cheaper to go with the DDP.

If we went all CS, then it would be cheaper, sure. But we'd get tired of fast food type meals pretty fast.

[MNNHFLTX]

we are going in Dec of 09 after nearly 2 years. I recently found this site. I too used to feel that hunting for dining opportunites as part of the fun of visiting DW. But after reading this thread I am not sure i want to waste almost $30 a person on buffets. We will probably grab a coupon out of a tourist mag and hit golden coral on 192 right outside the gate.. Theres always CC pizza by Lake Buena Vista. As long as we will be served low grad food might as well pay low grade prices.

I wouldn't say that meals at most of the restaurants at WDW are "low-grade", but some are much better than others. I still enjoy eating there and will continue to do so, but mainly at select restaurants and not using the dining plan.

I think there are many here who revel in bashing the dining options at WDW. I am not one of them. I go into WDW restaurants expecting great food and service, and about 99.9% of the time, that's what we get. I can count on one hand the number of poor meals we've had in literally hundreds of TS and CS meals at WDW in the 17 trips we've made there.

I can only speak for myself, but I certainly do not revel in bashing the dining options at WDW. In fact, as I said before I believe I have reasonable expectations. But it is my opinion that the dining option is not the deal that it used to be and the food/service at some restaurants is not always up to the standard that it should be. Certainly others share this viewpoint to varying degrees or there wouldn't be so many responses in this thread. But they are all just opinions and subject to our own personal perceptions. I would not recommend that someone not dine onsite at WDW, just that they do their research and be aware that every experience may not be stellar.