Worst Dining Places

[WDWRox]

It's not often that you'll have a bad meal in WDW, but some places just do not measure up to what you'd hope for or expect. So what are some of the worst places you've eaten at in WDW?

The one that comes to my mind right away was Mama Melrose (located in the Hollywood Studios near MuppetVision). My wife and I love italian food and everything about our meal was just bad, most likely because of the sauces they used. The sauces were just disgusting, the food itself was extremely bland (chicken being somewhat tough and slightly undercooked), and the desert (a tiramisu cake) tasted like it was still partially frozen and was thawing out. Needless to say that's not a place we'll be dining in again or recommending to others.

[stitchaholic]

i am so happy to hear that,i canceled our reservation for mama melrose and booked one for ohana's instead!
everywhere we ate last time was pretty basic,so no dissapointments to report

[Cheloconnell]

That is too bad. We have never had a bad meal there and go there almost every trip. It is our favorite at Hollywood Studios.

[Mary M]

It's so funny - every time someone posts about a terrible, awful experience they had at a restaurant, there's someone who says they love it and go every year.

I'm a big fan of Coral Reef, but I've heard many people say they hate it. I was very so-so about Yak and Yeti, but I've heard others simply rave about it.

I don't think any restaurant is always great or always bad. They're all pretty good, but with that number of restaurants, cooks, and servers, there's always going to be a certain percentage of tables who have a bad experience.

I'd just go for the food and experience you want. You'll probably have a great time. If you don't, just shrug your shoulders and realize that a bad time at Disneyworld is still better than a good time at work!

[Ian]

It's so funny - every time someone posts about a terrible, awful experience they had at a restaurant, there's someone who says they love it and go every year.

I don't think any restaurant is always great or always bad.

I agree totally. I've heard people rave about Ohana, but we ate there this last trip and found it mediocre at best. We definitely will never go back there ... not with so many other places to choose from.

It's all a matter of taste. I also think the meals are, at times, inconsistent. I know I ate at Le Cellier once and had a terrible meal ... I got beef stroganoff and it was no better than cafeteria grade. You could tell the noodles had been cooked and then dipped in boiling water to re-heat them. The sauce was all watery and runny ... it was one of the worst meals I ever had.

But I've been back many times since then and had superior food. So I encourage people to give more than one try to a place before you cross it off your list for good. Could be you just hit them on a bad day.

[DumboMom]

The only place we have dinned and disliked was Tony's in the Magic Kingdom. The food was bland and nothing special.

I loved the Yak & Yeti. It was a pleasant surprise on a very cold day at the AK. Food, service and drinks were wonderful. Even my kids who never stray from chicken loved the lo mein and burgers.

[busterthebronco]

mrs buster agrees.
try every place twice.
we didnt like YnY on the first try but loved it since.
her vote for worst dinning -BOMA

[Mary M]

her vote for worst dinning -BOMA

I liked the food at Boma, but I wish they had had some explanation of what the food was. I mean, it was good, but I didn't know what it was or where it was from, or anything. That would have been cool.

[KatMark]

This just shows you how different everyone's taste is. We LOVE Mama Melrose and go every trip. We've tried a couple of places that people rave about and we totally detested and will not go back--Whispering Canyon Cafe, Boatwright's (dinner), Hollywood & Vine and Brown Derby. Then there are places we love that people detest: Yak & Yeti, LeCellier, Mama Melrose, Fulton's, etc.). All just a matter of taste and expectations.

[GrmGrninGost]

There is only one restaurant we will not try again. Sci-Fi. The night we were there it was awful! The food was terrible and the service was almost as bad.

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

We have been to Momma Melrose 4 times. The first two times we had a good meal and the third time the meal was OK? This last summer we went and it was one of our best meals of the week. I truly believe how your day has gone to that point and also your server determine a huge percentage of your meal quality. It seems that every time we have a great server our meal is above average! Also if it is really crowded or hot your patience is on edge and we have a hard time relaxing to enjoy the meal. IMHO!

[mom2morgan]

I don't think we've ever had any "bad" meals, but probably the weakest one on our last trip was Chef Mickey's. Pretty mediocre food, and a lot of it not even hot. But I must admit, you don't really go to Chef Mickey's for the food alone! I'm always surprised by the absolute venom some people describe certain restaurants with, though. I often see the 'barfing face' icon for both Boma and Akershus, and I think that's overkill. I liked both, but even the restaurants I've liked less haven't been AWFUL. Reminds me of a funny from last trip, though! My younger daughter misheard a bit of a conversation I was having with my older daughter. Morgan was saying that she was "really looking forward to tomorrow". Kiana thought she was talking about trying out Islands of Adventure, which reputedly has some pretty intense roller coasters. Morgan had ACTUALLY been talking about going to Boma's - so you can imagine how we laughed when Kiana said "Me too! I wonder if there will be lots of screaming and vomitting?!"

[SBETigg]

I won't say they are the worst dining places because things change and everyone has favorites. But my worst dining experiences at Disney were:

1. Coral Reef
2. Kona Cafe
3. Rainforest Cafe
4. Boatwright's
5. Hollywood and Vine

[Polynesian Dweller]

I really hesitated to even read this thread. So much of food is personal taste that its almost a bit unfair to rate 'the worst' places. I suspect that given enough reviews almost every place at Disney will have someone say its the worst they had. For us its Rose and Crown because even the beer was bad the night we went.

But I am please so many responses in this thread saying that you should try places at least twice, and saying that some people will love some places and others will not.

All that said, with the number of positive reviews for Rose and Crown we are thinking of trying agin (we have been twice before). Why, well restaurants change, especially the chefs and chefs assistants. The restaurant business is one in which cooking staff change almost constantly (chefs find some assitants just can't do the job). For that reason, having a poor experience 6 months or a year ago doesn't mean you will this time and you can't say a place will will either be always good or always bad. It will change.

[jillluvsdisney]

We just decided to stop going to Character buffets. It seems that the yuckiest food and worst service is always at a buffet.

[dmosher]

I can't say we have ever had a bad meal.. Not really. OK so PIzza PLanet is a "never to return" stop (but not really a dining place), Sci-Fi food is OK, but honestly, your not there "for the food", the food at Boma was very good, but the server was awful. So positives and negatives combined, I have never said, "ugh that was horrible". Again, it is all based on tastes and expectations. When I am on vacation I generally do not let things like food, etc become an issue for me. And there is no food that can't taste better when chased by a nice glass of beer!

D

[Mickey 101]

I'm just adding my agreement to the thought about trying again if you had a not-so-great experience the first time. We didn't like a CS location at DHS at all one year and decided to never go back.....Starring Rolls Bakery. After reading many on Intercot say how much they liked it, we decided to give it another try. Now it's one of our not-to-be-missed spots for a quick snack or lunch.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

This truly is one of those questions that gets very VERY individualized responses. Even within our family we have disagreements about some places.
I think the inconsistency that has taken hold EVERYWHERE at WDW is part of it. As several posters have mentioned, you can go to a place twice and have totally different experiences each time. Then you have to decide...which time was the fluke?

Based on our experiences, I wouldn't mind if we never went to either Hollywood & Vine or the breakfast @ Tusker House again. But without much effort you can find threads filled with comments from people that think they are wonderful.
The bottom line is there are plenty of choices out there and you would have to be incredibly hard to please to not find something you enjoy.

[nicjohn3]

Reading these makes you think twice before eating a a certain restaurant. Same with booking a resort. Everyone has different opinions. I eat what sounds good to me-sure I read the other posts, but then I start 2nd guessing myself, but usually keep my first choices. We LOVE coral reef, the italian restuarant in Epcot(cant remember), Boma, and Tony's, however, some just cant stand them. We just ate at Chef Mickeys and felt that the food was nothing better than you would get at Denny's or any buffet, but you go their for the experience, not the food.

Again--you are in Disney!!

[DisneyGlutton]

I have a suggestion that I defy anyone to disagree with...do not go to Boma, then Tusker House, because TH is basically Boma light and you'll be disappointed. If you're going to them both, do TH first and you'll feel like you're "upgrading" to Boma.

(And at the risk of someone saying "I disagree, I really love X restaurant" or "its all a matter of taste and chance"...I went to Mama Melrose and Garden Grille years ago and unless every other place is booked, I'd never step foot in either of them again...scratch that, I'd do a quick service meal rather than go to either of them.)