Am I Alone... WDW Food is BAD

[Lilofan]

I had a meal at Applebee's once that changed my opinion of the restaurant. It really was tasty and well prepared.

Then, I ate there again. Same old Crapplebee's. I won't return unless I'm on the road and can't find anything else.

Not my cup of tea, but the one near my house is packed on weekends with drunk people eating late night menu at 1am.

 

[Phonedave]

It's not true that all people who don't eat fish, spicy food, what have you don't eat it because they won't get out of their comfort zone.

I don't eat seafood because it all tastes the way dead seaweed smells, and I've had everything from a typical Friday Night fish fry to fresh shrimp and clams in coastal states to fresh caught that day Andean trout. Dead seaweed smells. So I gave up.

Lots of people I know have a low tolerance for spicy food - I do, for example, but my siblings love extremely spicy food - which isn't the same as disliking it. I like the medium spiciness at my local Indian restaurant, but I can't tolerate it.

At WDW we've had good luck at Harambe, Flame Tree BBQ, Tangierine Cafe - although my father was sad they added falafel to the vegetarian platter as he does not like falafel - and the Columbia House. We thought Pecos Bill was awful.

But when you look at a menu and you see fish, you say to yourself "I don't like that, I have tried it many times, and I know that I don't like it because it tastes like dead seaweed to me". If you were to see perhaps a protein you have never tried before, on the menu, I venture you would say "That looks interesting, perhaps I will try it"

The people I am referring to are those that say "nope, that's strange, it's not steak and french fries, I'm not gonna try it"

I think everybody has certain foods that they don't like. I am no great fan of zucchini (I ate way to much of it as a kid) and I really don't like sweet potatoes. That is not to say if they are off limits to me. I will eat them, but given the option, will not order them.


-dave

 

[Lily5170]

I've been in Vermont for the past two years, but I've also either lived in or spent longer than 3 months in PA, IN, NJ, VA, GA, MO, LA, TX, WA, OK, DC, NY, CA, AL, HI and AK. I've also lived officially in Germany and Belgium, and unofficially in Canada. Not to mention deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan.

In my rough estimate of those places in the US, GA and IN had the worst food, DC and CA the best. I would rate Belgium as the country where the food is most consistently excellent (I've heard as much for Spain, but never visited).

As a proud Belgian I have to agree we have the best food. (and the best beer)
Seriously though I have had great food during my travels in the US as well.
I’m going to WDW for the first time in oktober and am looking forward to tasting some of the food. I have reservations at California Grill, Le Cellier, Tiffins and the Boathouse.
When we went to Disneyland Anaheim we had a really nice meal at the Chef’s Counter at Napa Rose.

And it’s true the food in Spain is amazing

 

[OneofThree]

Le Cellier. . .

 

[Heppenheimer]

As a proud Belgian I have to agree we have the best food. (and the best beer)
Seriously though I have had great food during my travels in the US as well.
I’m going to WDW for the first time in oktober and am looking forward to tasting some of the food. I have reservations at California Grill, Le Cellier, Tiffins and the Boathouse.
When we went to Disneyland Anaheim we had a really nice meal at the Chef’s Counter at Napa Rose.

And it’s true the food in Spain is amazing

Speaking of Belgium... this place near Hasselt has the absolute best steak I have ever eaten:

https://www.d-entrecote.be/

 

[Lilofan]

As a proud Belgian I have to agree we have the best food. (and the best beer)
Seriously though I have had great food during my travels in the US as well.
I’m going to WDW for the first time in oktober and am looking forward to tasting some of the food. I have reservations at California Grill, Le Cellier, Tiffins and the Boathouse.
When we went to Disneyland Anaheim we had a really nice meal at the Chef’s Counter at Napa Rose.

And it’s true the food in Spain is amazing

If Belgian cuisine is the best food, maybe someone open up a place in the USA so I can have a clue what Belgian food is all about?

 

[Lily5170]

Speaking of Belgium... this place near Hasselt has the absolute best steak I have ever eaten:

https://www.d-entrecote.be/

I’ll have to try that one day

 

[Lily5170]

If Belgian cuisine is the best food, maybe someone open up a place in the USA so I can have a clue what Belgian food is all about?

It’s not fancy food but well made dishes with good ingredients : moules frites (yes fries are Belgian not French), croquettes crevettes, waterzooi, bouchées à la reine, carbonades flamandes, great chocolat and beers, waffles of course ....

If I remember correctly there is a restaurant that serves Belgian specialities in NY. BXL Zoute.

 

[Heppenheimer]

If Belgian cuisine is the best food, maybe someone open up a place in the USA so I can have a clue what Belgian food is all about?

There are some places in the US that serve traditional Belgian recipes, but when I rated Belgian food so highly, its more about the consistency and the quality of the preparation at restaurants throughout the country, rather than the specific dishes. The standards in the country's extremely competitive restaurant industry are simply very high. Not just in the Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants, but in the countless little mom and pop joints and even frituurs that you find everywhere. For the most part, you could easily duplicate many stereotypical Belgian recipes in the US (like waterzooi, stoofvlees, mussels and fries, koningin hapjes, etc.), but it wouldn't be the same if the execution is held to lesser standards.

Geez, now I've made myself hungry and want to go back to Belgium!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

It’s not fancy food but well made dishes with good ingredients : moules frites (yes fries are Belgian not French), croquettes crevettes, waterzooi, bouchées à la reine, carbonades flamandes, great chocolat and beers, waffles of course ....

If I remember correctly there is a restaurant that serves Belgian specialities in NY. BXL Zoute.

I understood what frites and croquettes were but then you lost me after that, although I was able to understand again around chocolat, waffles and beer. You said Belgium has the best beer hmmm? Well, maybe Belgium is for me then!

 

[Lily5170]

I understood what frites and croquettes were but then you lost me after that, although I was able to understand again around chocolat, waffles and beer. You said Belgium has the best beer hmmm? Well, maybe Belgium is for me then!

If you like beer it’s definitely the place to be. Every year first weekend of september we have a great beer festival at the Grand Place in Brussels. It so much fun and the setting is amazing. It is quite popular with Americans.

 

[NickMaio]

I mean that depends... where are you eating?? Honestly the food in la hacienda de san angel is some of the best Mexican food ive ever had outside of mexico ..(and I am mexican)

Granted, it may have changed since 2016 but it was still dope AF then

It did change - - - - 2016 and before we would have totally agreed with you. Amazing food. After 2016 - not so much.
Our last meal there was so bad, for many reasons, that we actually did not pay for it.
It has gone downhill in a BIG way.

 

[Dog Ate Mouse]

Well first when you think of fast food in the parks I feel the prices are no different then if you went to six flags. Have a six flags burger first then have a WDW fast food burger and I would consider it a step up (LOL). You see we do love a good burger and fries at times for lunch but not all the time and we want quality. The six flags by our house we decided one year to get a food plan. It was the worse decision that we ever made. McDonald's made us extremely happy compared to what we were served in the six flags park. Now at WDW we do get a Good meal plan so we are not eating quick meals/counter service at all except for when we want something quick due to not having lunch plans that day. Some of the places in MK have decent burgers with a fixings bar. So the Burgers is not really that bad.
Now for the meals that we choose on our plan for the most part has been great. A few places were so so , but we never had a bad one (Lucky). I find the dining to have been a wonderful experience with a lot of hidden treasures that we found that were quite surprising to us. Honestly if we did not have the good dining plan that we get and had to wing it out of pocket and limited ourselves to more quick service/counter service meals then, I would be very unsatisfied and want to eat off the resort properties. With WDW meals it really does come down to planning and reservations in advance of your trip. Lastly the Sci-Fi theater had very good burgers and fries with shakes. Was always happy having lunch there. Also like eating meals in EPCOT at the Land pavilion. Always had some decent meals for quick service that tasted good. It all comes down to planning and knowing/learning about eating in WDW.

 

[UpAllNight]

I wouldn’t go to Wdw expecting incredible food. The places we choose to eat normally offer good/nice food in a fun atmosphere that can’t be replicated at home. A Big Mac is probably nicer than a burger from Cosmic Ray’s...but I don’t get sang too by a fun animatronic. An important aspect to judge the food in Disney is the atmosphere, and the platform that provides for additional, unique enjoyment with people you want to create memories with. You’re mental if you expect fine dining in in opinion. All theme parks have overpriced food. I rank Wdw higher than Universal and Seaworld parks for food alone, and higher than both for atmosphere in restaurants.

 

[Lilofan]

I wouldn’t go to Wdw expecting incredible food. The places we choose to eat normally offer good/nice food in a fun atmosphere that can’t be replicated at home. A Big Mac is probably nicer than a burger from Cosmic Ray’s...but I don’t get sang too by a fun animatronic. An important aspect to judge the food in Disney is the atmosphere, and the platform that provides for additional, unique enjoyment with people you want to create memories with. You’re mental if you expect fine dining in in opinion. All theme parks have overpriced food. I rank Wdw higher than Universal and Seaworld parks for food alone, and higher than both for atmosphere in restaurants.

The Big Macs at McDonald's near All Star Resort is good. Franchise owner pricing food higher than your neighborhood location.

 

[DNS]

The fast food is pretty tasteless, but some of the sit down restaurants are great. My favorite is yak and yeti and I’m a vegetarian. Hubby’s favorite is Le Celier.

 

[TrojanUSC]

You can find some decent food if you know where to look, but sadly the dining plan really allowed them to homogenize menus, cut costs, trim choices and make everything an overall cheaper experience. This is why Disney-owned resort restaurants are largely suffering, with some exceptions. Disney Springs really took away a lot of that business and since they are catering to an equal amount of locals/non-DDP guests, they offer a higher quality product.

 

[larryz]

If Belgian cuisine is the best food, maybe someone open up a place in the USA so I can have a clue what Belgian food is all about?

McDonald's serves a Belgian classic... French Fries. But you have to ask for mayonnaise.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Wow, you joined just to post this? It reads like it was written by a PR person...or maybe a bizarro katiebug. If you want to make up stories, you really should try to be more subtle about it.

The track record since on threads has been heavily “pro-company”

I guess $450 meals everyday makes you really “happy”

You can find some decent food if you know where to look, but sadly the dining plan really allowed them to homogenize menus, cut costs, trim choices and make everything an overall cheaper experience. This is why Disney-owned resort restaurants are largely suffering, with some exceptions. Disney Springs really took away a lot of that business and since they are catering to an equal amount of locals/non-DDP guests, they offer a higher quality product.

This

 

[Chi84]

You can find some decent food if you know where to look, but sadly the dining plan really allowed them to homogenize menus, cut costs, trim choices and make everything an overall cheaper experience. This is why Disney-owned resort restaurants are largely suffering, with some exceptions. Disney Springs really took away a lot of that business and since they are catering to an equal amount of locals/non-DDP guests, they offer a higher quality product.

We love most of the restaurants in Disney Springs. We were sad when Disney closed Pleasure Island and skeptical of what they would choose to replace it, but we're very happy with the dining options at Disney Springs. It's a nice balance of upscale, mid-range and quick service options - including food trucks.

I agree about the dining plan. We received it free many years ago when it was first introduced, but I think it has done some damage to the quality of food at WDW. I know some people make it work for them, but we were never able to do so.