Just returned and disappointed in Dining

[jonahbear2006]

We just returned home this morning from a 14 day trip to Port Orleans Riverside. I have to say that We are deeply disappointed in the dining this year. We ate at the following restaurants:
Coral reef
Rose and Crown
les chefs de france
1900 park fare-breakf.and dinner.
ohana
Narcoosee's
Akershus
Teppan Edo
Le Cellier
Boma-Break and dinner
Grand Floridian cafe

Narcoosee's, G.F.C, Le Cellier, and Teppan Edo were excellent!
The rest were nothing to write about and 1900 park fare was downright inedible. Their dinner is now teriaki, spanish food, gristly meat, and several salads. The counter services were sooo bad that we gave up and brought home 40 snacks; the best places being the contempo cafe and boardwalk bakery. We returned there several times to eat and I think they were starting to believe we were staying there; lol. Riverside Mill was absolutely gross. So sad. Free dining is ruining what we have at WDW for food. There are so many cutbacks. They dont even have mickey plates for the kids anymore and that was very disappointing to us. I recommended 1900 park fare to friends who went with us, as a must do, and I am completely embarassed.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sorry to hear that...what Counter Service's in particular were really bad

[brian2000boston]

Well out of your list we only have Le Cellier, Ohanas and Teppan Edo, So i guess we still have a chance.

Sorry your meals were so horrible.

[BelleKP]

That's so sad to hear . . . I remember the first year we were in the world when we had 'wishes' to pay for our meals. The dining plan was so new and the waiters used to do all they could to make your meal so magical . . . and expensive! I remember a waiter at Portobello Yacht Club suggesting to my DH that he get a 'side' fillet mignon and lobster tail with his pasta!! And all for the price of ONE table service credit!
I will say it now that I am officially lowering my expectations . . . and hope to be pleasantly surprised

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I am so sorry to hear you had a bad dining time. 1900 Park Fare was one of our favourites on our last trip

[buzznwoodysmom]

1900 park fare was downright inedible. Their dinner is now teriaki, spanish food, gristly meat, and several salads. I recommended 1900 park fare to friends who went with us, as a must do, and I am completely embarassed.

I hear people rave about how 1900 park fare is one of the best buffets in WDW often, but our entire group of over 15 felt the way you did. It was by far one of the worst meals we've ever had in WDW, or anywhere for that matter.

[phillydan]

I guess timing is everything. We were there last month and never had a bad meal. My wife is an extremely picky eater and she did not complain once. Of the restaurants you went to, we did 1900 PF (breakfast & dinner) and had GF Cafe (dinner) twice. Our experience was very positive.

We have been there for both the free dining plan and when paying for the dining plan. We really did not notice any difference in quality or service.

I will admit that some fabulous places we went to in the past were definitely not so fab on return trips. We loved Sci Fi on our first trip, but we haven't eaten at SciFi for years, as that was the only restaurant where I had to send a meal back (twice) the next time we ate there. yet, I see rave reviews all the time.

Sorry it did not work out for you - hope it is better next time around.

[SBETigg]

1900 Park Fare is getting hammered with bad reviews lately. I was thinking it was just a matter of taste but so many dings in a row does make you wonder.

Glad you had a few good meals, though. Narcoossee's and GF Cafe are some of my favorites. I've never gone during a free dining period, and I am starting to think it might be smart to avoid them. But then I worry that once the quality slips, it might not bounce back.

[lighteningqueen]

1900 Park Faire was a good breakfast, honestly how could you ruin that.. But i would not figure that the Dinners would be so good so will never book one even without their reviews. Ohanas was the worst our last trip. Grissle Fat undercooked and just plain yuck. We will not go back there for sure. Just because we like meat doesn't mean this place has to be good.San Angel is another do not waste your time or money on. No matter free dining or not. But I do not think it has anything to do with the free dining as to the quality. The first year we went in 2007 the food was just so so. Chef Mickeys was a real let down other than Characters for my DGS. Food was more bland than hospital food. There has never been free dining both years we went 2007 2008 and the taste was the same most all places. Not worth what they charge but edible after all its about the parks we went for. This year we shall see it is during free dining. We plan to bring extra money so if our TS is bad we can purchase something we do know will get us through.

[mudpuppysmom]

I'm glad you had a couple good meals at least!!

And, NO MORE MICKEY plates for the kids?!?!??!!? Major

[megustamex]

Had you eaten at Boma before? I'm just curious if they changed certain items to make your experience there less than good.

[darthmacho]

Well, no matter what the issues were, it is always a bad thing when you spend all that money on a trip, free dining, or not, and are so disappointment. Sorry you had some bad experiences, and hopefully things will go better next trip.

[clou1028]

I am sorry you had some bad dining experiences!

My DH and I ate at 1900 PF in '97, and it was so bad, we still joke about it to this day. It was without question, the worst tasting food either one of us has ever had, to this day. Coming here on the Intercot boards, I often see people say how much they like it. So I think, well maybe things have improved there, maybe we should try it again someday. I don't think that will be happening now.

In all honesty, we really don't "do" Disney dining. We have had several mediocre to bad meals. Some good ones, too, but overall, considering the price, we just don't risk it anymore. Last trip we ate most of our meals outside the World, and counter service. I can't complain about counter service, we'd never had anything bad that way.

[jonahbear2006]

We always eat at Boma. The breakfast was great and very positive but nothing different from a regular breakfast buffet. The dinner was disappointing and no potatoes with affritude. :-(
1900 park fare used to be american cuisine; one of our favs.. they have changed their menu and its horrible.
Counter services. Pecos bills, BAD! we used to love that! not anymore. Riverside mill BAD! Sassagoula floatworks, BAD. Same with Casey's Corner, pizza planet (which didnt even give us all our food btw), and i cant remember the rest. just got home from an 18hr car ride and cant think straight yet.
Flame Tree BBQ, the ribs were good we didnt feel good afterwards.
We loved the bakerys and the contempo, wolfgang puck express was amazing! great food!

[TheRustyScupper]

I remember a waiter at Portobello Yacht Club suggesting to my DH that he get a 'side' fillet mignon and lobster tail with his pasta!!

1) People didn't know why they were offered so much food.
2) The first years, waiters got automatic 18% tips.
3) So, they greater the bill they got you, the bigger the tip.
4) The saying was to offer dessert, even if the guests were full.
5) Waiters said, "It's included, whether you eat it or not.".
6) There was a lot of food wasted - even more than currently.

NOTE: Yes to the OP, the DDP has ruined the eateries. I eat lunch with many of the line cooks, and there is not one single say that someone doesn't complain about the food they have to prepare for the people. And, most of them are disgusted, because many went to cooking schools and want to serve great food.

[BIGDOG]

Not to make excuse but there is a large turn over in the food service business. I would think that Disney is no exception to the rule. I did hear due to economy a lot of higher paid senior chefs were laid off. They were replaced by understudy cooks who are at a lower pay rate to save some money with the slower customer flow. This was from a very reliable cm who spends the summers up by my way.

[SurferStitch]

I'm really sorry to hear that you didn't fully enjoy your meals. That can be a letdown.

When we were there last October, we had amazing meals at Narcoossee's (twice), Le Cellier, Teppan Edo, Cali Grill, V&A, Nine Dragons, Grand Flo Cafe (several breakfasts), 'Ohana (dinner and breakfast), Donald's Safari Breakfast (best buffet on property), Yak and Yeti and the Plaza Restaurant. We also had a very good meal at LTT (basic, but very, very tasty).

The only bad meal we had was at the Wave. The food just had no flavor, and seemed like cheap cuts of meat and seafood (my crab cakes seemed more like a breadcrumb cake...hard to find the crab). I don't think they knew what salt and pepper were. Service was also pretty bad.

I hope things haven't changed that much since late last year. I would find that a little hard to believe.

[Disneyfirsttimer]

I am so disappointed at the bad reviews for 1900 PF. We are planning our third trip. The first 2 trips we made 1900 PF our first night dinner and I was planning that again this time. We were trying to make it a tradition. We love the GF, the dinner and the character interaction.

For our spring trip, my sister and family are going with us for their first ever WDW trip. I would hate to bring them and have the dinner be that bad.

We also did Ohana the first trip and Kona Cafe the second. I agree the food was OK at Ohana, but my kids love the interaction. Not sure if we should do that again either. We are going for 7 nights. This was our plan for TS. All of them are dinners except for Chef Mickey's:

1900 Park Fare
Crystal Palace
Teppan Edo (new - never been)
Mama Melrose (for Fantasmic) have done H/V
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
O'hana (now not sure - maybe Kona Cafe)
Le Cellier (been both trips)

We are traveling with my children (DS10 and DD8) and my sister's children (DD12, DD9, DS5) plus 4 adults.

Any suggestions??????

Thanks!

Karyn

[RocknBev]

I hate to hear this...we are planning to dine at 1900 next month.

I do believe the DDP and all that free dining has affected the quality of food at Disney...but I always remember the WDW is a theme park...I am not expecting the same quality I would get if I go to fine dining in Atlanta or NYC. I look at the whole experience...where I am...who I am with and what I am eating.

[MNNHFLTX]

I know where you are coming from. We didn't have any overly-bad dining experiences on our last trip to WDW, but the only meal that truly impressed us was at Tokyo Dining. Otherwise everything was just okay.