Dining in Disney v. Dining at home

[KAT1811]

I'm just wondering how everyone thinks that the dining options in WDW are compared to the dining options in your hometown.

[DizneyRox]

This trip I was pretty critical of the dining since we knew going in we weren't doing much at the parks probalby.

Frankly, the meals were nothing special, with the exception of Narcoossees (which you would expect). Having said that, even Narcoossees, wasn't worth the cost of the meal (about $120 after the TiW).

Breakfasts are way overpriced for what they are. I could get a grand slam at Denny's for less that $5 that rivals the breakfasts in most places.

Dinners seemed better, but the quality and selection is very limiting due to the dining plan, so it got old really fast.

So, overall, not horrible, but we dropped close to $1000 on dining this trip (with the TiW card) and the only memorable meal was Narcoossees as mentioned. A little dissapointing...

Eateries:
Narcoossees
Biergarten
T-Rex
Boma
Cape May
Tony's
Hoop Dee Doo
Akerhaus
Garden Grill
Chef Mickey's
Tusker House
Sci Fi
50's Prime Time
Trail's End
LeCellier

and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting

[SurferStitch]

We've found dining at WDW to be quite a bit better than at home, with the exception of the Bonefish Grill that we have at home. That place is amazing. We also have Shula's, but I think their prices are a little ridiculous, plus it gets so/so reviews online, so we don't go there.

Now, we are only a couple hours from NYC, and we get incredible food there, but I'm not counting that since it's not really in our backyard. And really, I would count NYC as equal to WDW dining (The Palm is one of our NYC favorites).

We've always had delicious meals in WDW, with only a few exceptions (Artist Point, The Wave, Les Chefs de France).

I wish me and my DH could get out of Narcoossee's for only $120!! We're usually closer to $150-$200 after TiW, but it's worth every single penny!! :cloud9:

[retiredfigment]

Hard call. When I am at home, we seldom go out to eat and when we do it is usually just 'homey' food. At Disney we splurge. The atmosphere is what usually makes the meal for me. Also there are certain foods at different places that I would never buy at home, for example desserts and Crystal Palace Breakfast because i never go out for breakfast.

[chefmickey3]

We have so many wonderful dining options near Philly that quality-wise dining out is better than at home. That said, we dine out at Disney so much more than at home. I like to cook and usually prepare my family's meals when we are at home. I agree with pp that the atmosphere makes the dining experiences special not necessarily the quality of the food. I also know I am looking forward to a break from cooking when we arrive in the World in 5 days!

[Dragongirlx]

I always find the dining in Disney to be excellent but the thing that makes it better than here is the service. Disney just does service so well while in many restaurants here it alwys seems that good service is missing even when the food is excellent

[Ms. Mode]

Hands down WDW has better dining options, service, food, etc. We have few choices here, and they get very old. Even when we eat at the same places in WDW we have a choice of something that we have never been offered before. :mickey:

[buzznwoodysmom]

Being from Southern Louisisana its hard to find food as good as we can get right here at home. When we travel we often think the food is very bland in other places. We actually find better food at WDW than any other place we've traveled.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

That's kind of a tricky question for me...I would say the variety offered at Disney is better as I can't think of any nearby German, British or Norweigen restaurants...However, the ones we have that are similar I think locally we do a little better on quality....for example, I can get better Mexican and pizza here and definitely better seafood here....

[Disney4us2]

For us the dining is better at WDW. We don't go out to eat much. There are only 2 places we go here and they are good. Other than that we don't splurge on dining at home. We do while we are on vacation though,:mickey:

[renecat]

Another vote for WDW for dinning. Dinning at the world is part of our vacation experiance and look so forward to all our favorites.

[JPL]

I had to say at Home the quality and variety of the food I have literally at my fingertips(most places deliver) not to mention being right outside NYC it's hard to beat the food at home. Just looking at Italian Food alone! I have at least 10 local pizzerias that blow anything WDW has to offer away and I'm not just talking the pizza and at a fraction of the price. Same can be said Asian foods. But overall if I want something it's within a 20-30 minute ride from home. To me most of WDW dining has become on par with places like Outback and Friday's.

[PopPhan]

We selected About The Same, but most of our 'decent' restaurants are an hour or more drive, so we don't go to them that often.

If you base your answer on proximity as well as food quality and selection, WDW wins.

[BigWes6]

Its WDW thats why its better .....:number1: But seriously you have such a wide selection in one place . Of course its better than western PA food !:thedolls:

[EPCOT84]

I voted better at home on mainly on food quality because of the variety available throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

However, and this is a BIG however, service is better at WDW hands down. The friendly wait staff and attentiveness is what makes our experience at WDW undeniably wonderful. Of course we have excellent service at high end restaurants here too. How can one compare two different types of dining populalations.

Now, by a stretch of the definition of "home" if I compare DLR to WDW I would go for WDW.

[Scar]

I didn't vote. Like JPL said, I too can get just about anything that beats most WDW restaurants hands down. But I have yet to find a place were I can listen to Off Kilter, go eat, and come out and watch Illuminations. When I can do that in New Jersey, my trips to WDW will diminish greatly.

[Hair_Razor]

I had to vote for home because we have some really amazing local food restaurants with great service. Hands down if we're going on food quality and service alone it's gotta be here. However I do agree that there is nothing in the world like leaving your restaurant and heading for one last go on Soarin'.

[KAT1811]

I didn't vote. Like JPL said, I too can get just about anything that beats most WDW restaurants hands down. But I have yet to find a place were I can listen to Off Kilter, go eat, and come out and watch Illuminations. When I can do that in New Jersey, my trips to WDW will diminish greatly.

Food quality and service only. I agree that eating anywhere in WDW is better than eating at home. We have an array of amazing restaurants in RI, James Beard chefs and nationally acclaimed restaurants. Boston is just around the corner with another playground of eateries. I am not a huge fan of the actual food at WDW and am just trying to see how many people agree with me. We love to dine. The only meal we really enjoy in WDW is the Yachtsman Steakhouse. Love a good steak and a fabulous bottle of wine.

[Seasonscraps]

Hands down, the restaurants at home are much better then anywhere I have dined in Disney. For the most part the service, atmosphere, quality and variety of food here outshines any place in Disney.

[BrerGnat]

Well, I just read an article that mentioned that within 15 miles radius of my city, there are 6,500 restaurants! So, I voted "home is better" simply due to being able to get ANYTHING here that I want.

However, with that said, a good meal while vacationing at WDW is better than the best meal I can get at home. :mickey::cloud9:

[wickedgin]

I voted 'better at Disney' because unlike some of you lucky pps, I live out in a more rural area and we have virtually nothing in my immediate area. Minneapolis and St. Paul have good restaurants, but we very rarely bother to drive "into town" so I hardly know what's out there.

[Mickey'sGirl]

I had to say at Home the quality and variety of the food I have literally at my fingertips(most places deliver) not to mention being right outside NYC it's hard to beat the food at home. To me most of WDW dining has become on par with places like Outback and Friday's.I concur ... Except I live and work in Toronto .... my uber multi-cultural food centre. Overall, I don't find the food at Disney to be exceptional .... There are places I really enjoy like Kouzzina and Puck's, but this last trip I found it all so generic and over-priced. So much so, I am not all that keen to rush back to WDW for a couple of years (we'll see how that goes :D ).

[diz_girl]

Another vote for better at home. While I love many WDW restaurants (Narcoossee's, CP, etc.), many of the restaurants here are amazing. I've got some of the best restaurants in the state within 10 minutes of my house (Nicholas, Avenue, Raven and the Peach, Sirena). Plus, you can get pretty much any type of authentic cuisine here (except maybe British or Norwegian). For example, this past weekend I ate at a restaurant called Avenue in Long Branch, NJ, one of the top 10 in the state. The meal was probably better than any 2TS restaurant at WDW and cost about the same. While I'm not in the boonies, I'm still about an hour away from either NYC or Philly.

Give me a year and I'd probably have to change my vote, since I'm being transferred to a more rural area in MD come the spring. Right now, I live three miles from the ocean, have great restaurants and pretty much everything I need within a 5-mile radius. I'm really going to miss it here. Ok, now I'm getting depressed. :cry:

[darthmacho]

Okay, we live in the Boston area, and both downtown and in the suburbs of Boston, no doubt, there are restaurant in which I could get better food than a lot of the fare we get in WDW.
Nevertheless, there are precious few places whereyou can get the combination of service, atmosphere, and delicious food that you get at WDW.
Oh, and I don't care how great a breakfast I can get here, Winnie the Pooh doesn't visit my table, you don't get a view of the castle, and the waffles don't have ears.
For the record, Artist Point is our favorite restaurant in the entire world!

[BigThunderFan]

Food wise I would say about the same (maybe better at home, we do live in KC and I love BBQ!)

But on the other hand, there is no place with atmosphere like EVERY restaurant at WDW. Plus, we can't dine with Mickey and the gang here :(

[Goes4FastPass]

I can't think of a bite of anything I've had at WDW that I couldn't get within walking distance of my desk at work.

I cannot, however, cross the street and ride Exepedition Everest or end a workday sitting on the curb as Spectromagic goes by.

Food at WDW suits me fine but it's right in line with malls and cruise ships.

[DDuck66]

I voted for Better at WDW. When we go to Disney, we always experience something that we do not usually have at home. I love my home cooking and love to grill, but I love to eat somewhere special at WDW. It enhances our favorite get away spot. Can't wait for Sat the 31st!!!

[Ksmith75]

I would have to say WDW. We live about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, mostly all the restaurants are chains, with an exception of our 2 favorite restaurants up here. I love dining in WDW, partly for the food and mostly for the atmosphere. The desserts win in WDW. There is no Main Street style Confectionary or bakery in our area.

[Mickey91]

Better at WDW because we're at WDW! :mickey:

[Donald Duck]

I voted for home. Being an Italian from Long Island, NY it's a no brainer.
Not only do most of the local restaurants have better food, my wife or I can make better food ourselves.

But we don't go to WDW world for the food, we go for the rides and the atmosphere. No other place in the world has that.

Donald Duck

[xo0ally]

If your talking about CS then home food is better. But if your talking about TS then i would say Disney world.

[jillluvsdisney]

We have better dining options in my area. We eat out frequently and have a huge variety of restaurants in the Chicago-Milwaukee corrider. There is also a good range of prices as well.

I love Disney but dining doesn't excite me too much anymore. I think most of it is overpriced. I'm paying for the atmosphere. That doesn't mean I haven't had some very good meals, I definately have. My list of places that wow me is just getting shorter and places I have lost interest in is getting longer.

[disneymom2000]

I live in a small town and we hardly any choices. We go to the same three or four restaurants because if we had to drive to the nearest town with major restaurants it would take about an hour. So I think WDW Dining is much better especially in World Showcase where you can get great Moroccan, German, French food etc. I can't get any of that kind of food near my home.