When dining at WDW what drives you to choose a restaurant?

When dining at a WDW what drives you to choose a restaurant?

  • The location of the restaurant

    Votes: 8 11.4%
  • The theming of the restaurant

    Votes: 20 28.6%
  • The quality of the food at the restaurant

    Votes: 37 52.9%
  • The menu prices at the restaurant

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • The service offered at the restaurant

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The character dining feature at the restaurant

    Votes: 4 5.7%

  • Total voters
    70

RememberWhen

Well-Known Member
Reviewing our past dining choices, we definitely lean toward character dining. They’re often buffets (or used to be) which means we all have choices, and it lets the kids (and adults) see our friends in a cool place without a giant line.
Of course, those days seem to be over for now.
 

SteveAZee

Well-Known Member
On my recent trip with family (Oct/Nov 2019) we loaded up our agenda with many sit-down restaurants... at least one and sometimes two per day. In retrospect, I don't remember the taste and quality of the food as much as the experience of spending the time with my family, interacting with the servers, and enjoying the ambiance and locale of the restaurant itself. All of the food was tasty and great, which is a good thing, but it doesn't make the 'experience to remember'. I suppose if it was a bad meal, it would be remembered, but clearly for the wrong reason. ;)
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Since I could not choose multiple things and some of my reasons are not on the list I did not vote.

I base it on..
-Location (I like to dine in or near the park I'll be at)
-Price (If I'm paying OOP)
-Theme (Come on its Disney. They come up with some amazing themes that you just gotta check out)
-Menu (There has to be something on the menu that sounds appetizing or I won't enjoy it no matter the quality)
 

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Theme is my first priority. I go to Disney to get experiences that are different from the "real world".

It's not the only factor. I've also booked restaurants based on the menu offerings.

If the restaurant has an interesting theme (Sci-Fi or 50's Prime Time) I'll go regardless of the overall menu. For something less themed I'm going to more closely peruse the menu as part of the decision making process.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
In regards to the poll, all of the above.

We go to Cali grill for the view and the food quality, but we go to Garden Grill for the characters, or Boatwrights for the type of food offered, or Teppen Edo for the experience, and the food court at the resort for the ease of location
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
In regards to the poll, all of the above.

We go to Cali grill for the view and the food quality, but we go to Garden Grill for the characters, or Boatwrights for the type of food offered, or Teppen Edo for the experience, and the food court at the resort for the ease of location
Sometimes you can cover a few things. Skippers has a decent theme, great location and good food.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
The quality of the food comes first. Its the most important part of dining. If the food isnt up to par or the chef has changed and the menu item that once was fabulous is now meeeh, it ruins the entire experience, When the food is low quality, no matter how great the theming is, what the cost was, how the meal was served or what characters were present, nothing can make up for bad food.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I usually let park hours/schedules dictate where we are at WDW. So, location is my leading factor. After that, it's a blend of food and experience. I may suck it up and eat dinner at Chef Mickey's or Tusker House (we've had a number of bad ones here) if seeing a particular character and the location of that restaurant is a big enjoyment factor for the trip. I consider characters part of the experience, so I never separate them in my mind. Past experiences also play heavily into decisions. Nostalgia factor wasn't noted above, but I've seen so many "we always go here" posts over the years, that it can't be ignored. I'd like to think the "we always" factor means that food, service, and experience has been consistently decent, especially since some people will turn their trips upside down and sideways just to make a meal at certain places work in their plans.
 

westie

Well-Known Member
I read all the menus way ahead of time for something that sounds like I can't resist and make my choices from there. Some are unexpectedly great and others are let downs. But I try them none the less.
 

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