Differing Palates Of WDW Guests

[Raineman]

There have been many discussions on this forum regarding the food quality, and the perceived change in food quality, at WDW. My opinion on this whole issue is that it is mostly based on the palate of each individual guest. For example, my palate is pretty simple-I love basic foods, ie burgers and fries, mac and cheese, etc, so if I dine at a TS restaurant at WDW with a more sophisticated menu, I either view it as very good quality food, or flavors that are so different and alien to me that I do not enjoy it, while still enjoying most of what the QS locations have to offer. On the flip side, someone who is a foodie and has a more sophisticated palate might find even the most sophisticated menu on property to be below the standards for that kind of food, and completely look down upon any QS menu.

Thoughts?

 

[RustySpork]

On the flip side, someone who is a foodie and has a more sophisticated palate might find even the most sophisticated menu on property to be below the standards for that kind of food, and completely look down upon any QS menu.

While still costing most of your arm and most of your leg.

 

[Raineman]

While still costing most of your arm and most of your leg.

Not gonna argue with that. Maybe if I was extremely wealthy I could, but that is definitely not the case.

 

[RustySpork]

Not gonna argue with that. Maybe if I was extremely wealthy I could, but that is definitely not the case.

I think you have a good point about palates though, maybe the reason I think Disney food is so terrible is related to my ability to experience much better food every day around Orlando.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

To me, the silliest complaint is when people say there's no variety and that "all you can get" is a burger and fries. Our trips are usually eight nights and it would be extremely rare for me to have more than one burger in that time. We're very happy with the variety and we think the quality, even at QS locations, is quite good. Our QS favorites include the half chicken with green beans and potatoes at Cosmic Ray's, anything from Flame Tree, fish and chips in the UK pavilion, Tangerine Cafe, fish tacos at Sunshine Seasons, and whatever crazy hot dog they have dreamed up at Casey's.

Lots of TS locations have price tags that we can't justify. Be Our Guest is the worst offender, along with almost every character meal. Our favorite TS dining is among the most expensive, which tells you that "value" doesn't have to mean "cheap." Boma and Ohana are both extremely expensive, but we think they're worth it every time.

 

[Raineman]

To me, the silliest complaint is when people say there's no variety and that "all you can get" is a burger and fries. Our trips are usually eight nights and it would be extremely rare for me to have more than one burger in that time. We're very happy with the variety and we think the quality, even at QS locations, is quite good. Our QS favorites include the half chicken with green beans and potatoes at Cosmic Ray's, anything from Flame Tree, fish and chips in the UK pavilion, Tangerine Cafe, fish tacos at Sunshine Seasons, and whatever crazy hot dog they have dreamed up at Casey's.

Lots of TS locations have price tags that we can't justify. Be Our Guest is the worst offender, along with almost every character meal. Our favorite TS dining is among the most expensive, which tells you that "value" doesn't have to mean "cheap." Boma and Ohana are both extremely expensive, but we think they're worth it every time.

Agreed-you definitely can't fault WDW for not having a wide variety of menu items. I've taken three 1 week trips to WDW since 2014, and I don't think I've eaten the same meal twice (other than breakfast-we eat at the QS food court at our resort every morning, and when I find something I like I'll eat it every morning).

 

[righttrack]

As a foodie from NYC I can tell you dining at WDW is a satisfying experience. Do I expect the best I've ever eaten of anything? No. The best pizza, best sushi, best Mexican, best anything can all be had elsewhere. To some people, the foods they eat at WDW may be the more authentic ones they will try. While that experience might not be for me, it's totally acceptable. What I do find is for a massive resort operator and caterer that they do quite well, approximating a good experience for all. There is a ton of variety. To me, about the worst thing on the menu is the bad pizza locations where it's almost like a frozen pizza (Pizzafari, etc). Everything else is at least a decent effort at a palatable and semi-authentic experience for most people.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I wouldn't call myself a foodie at all, I think I'm just lucky to have grown up and still live in large cities and that tends to lend itself to experiencing a wide variety of dining opportunities.

I've had all types of meals at the world. very good, average and bad. I've never had any inedible meals at the world and truthfully I've had worst meals living in the suburbs where there is nothing but chain restaurants then I've had at Disney.
Eating at Disney can be very expensive but again I've never been to a premium vacation destination where the food is cheap so I don't expect it to be cheap. I do think it does have some thing to do with expectations. I know and expect character dining to be expensive, the sell is eating with the characters but I don't really consider those as "normal" dining, if that makes sense? most folks go for the experience and when our kids were small we did them figuring the beat out having to stand in line to get a picture with a character. again never had a bad meal at one.

My family is made up of guys that are true meat and potatoes dudes. they are not adventurous when it comes to eating and I usually have to wait to go to the world with friends to try different cuisine. I think they darn near wanted to push me off the balcony for daring to suggest we give BOMA a try.

 

[networkpro]

Being from the South, my expectation for food is much different than some accustomed to a bland diet. I eat spices on most everything.

 

[Phonedave]

I am not a foodie. A foodie is, at least to me and with my understanding of the word, someone who follows celebrity chefs, who is into the latest fad, who has the have the latest gadget, and who posts 40 pictures of whatever they are currently eating on instagram. Notice that I mentioned noting about the actual quality of the food they are eating.

I AM someone who enjoys food. All kinds of food. I can sit down and enjoy a plate of frozen fries from a bag, with plastic cheese, and gravy from a bag of "brown gravy mix" - yeah, what kind of gravy is that - beef, chicken, veal, etc? It's "brown". In fact I have 1 lb bags of "brown gravy mix" in my house from a restaurant supply store that I use when making weeknight fast meals. However, I also enjoy something like fondant potatoes accompanied by a veal reduction and herbed goat cheese (I think, I just made that up off the top of my head, not sure it all works together).

Here is my problem with WDW food. There is very little that goes beyond protein (and "safe" protein, beef, fish, chicken, maybe bison) with a "safe" sauce, a starch, and a side of carrots/broccoli/beans or of they are trying to go upscale, asparagus. Then they charge astronomical prices for it. Not just "theme park" prices, but over and above theme park prices. On top of that, the protein that they do serve is not too swift most of the time.

I believe there are a couple of factors at play here.

1) The DDP - The DDP forces chefs to create a menu to a given cost ceiling. They have to source ingredients at a specific price. They cannot go higher if they wanted to, because the DDP would cause them to loose money.

2) The DDP - Because of the popularity of the DDP, and how crowded dining is in general, most restaurants have to have something on the menu that caters to mainstream tastes. They don't want to get into the situation of there being availability at a restaurant but nothing that appeals to the "Steak and fries and nothing else" crowd.

3) Sheer volume - The amount of covers that a restaurant in WDW does in a week is insane. They cannot change the menu up every week, they have to ensure that they have a steady supply of product. That limits what they can offer. Case in point, a local place near me had Sydney Rock Oysters recently. They don't even put them on the menu. The waitress there knows I like oysters, and when they have them she lets people who she thinks will enjoy them know they are available. They may only get in a few dozen, and only if their sushi guy approves the quality (they are kind of picky). You cannot do something like that at a restaurant at WDW.


I am OK with their limited menus and their working to a food cost limit - I can understand that. I miss the old WDW dining, but I can understand the current. What I cannot ignore is their outrageous pricing.

Some places have held out - Spice Road Table and Restaurant Marrakesh are two. Although Spice Road Table has a NY Strip on the menu. Even Norway seems to have checked out. Didn't they have reindeer on the menu at one time. I haven't eaten there is a long time, but I believe the pickled herring is also gone from the buffet.

 

[RustySpork]

They don't want to get into the situation of there being availability at a restaurant but nothing that appeals to the "Steak and fries and nothing else" foodie.

Fixed that for you.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Like a lot of people, I'm fairly consistent in the types of food and items I order at home. But when visiting WDW I tend to explore more tastes and options depending on reviews I see here and on other sites. Not being a food critic, i'm not as fussy or critical as others may be. As long as I have something flavorful, a decent plate serving, and favorable service I'm happy. In the past I've had some meals I particularly was not impressed with and regretted the menu selection I made, but I'm on vacation and took the risk to eat something I ordinarily might not try at home. Thats one of the fun things about being on vacation, you can be different and explore different things.

 

[WDWTrojan]

There have been many discussions on this forum regarding the food quality, and the perceived change in food quality, at WDW. My opinion on this whole issue is that it is mostly based on the palate of each individual guest. For example, my palate is pretty simple-I love basic foods, ie burgers and fries, mac and cheese, etc, so if I dine at a TS restaurant at WDW with a more sophisticated menu, I either view it as very good quality food, or flavors that are so different and alien to me that I do not enjoy it, while still enjoying most of what the QS locations have to offer. On the flip side, someone who is a foodie and has a more sophisticated palate might find even the most sophisticated menu on property to be below the standards for that kind of food, and completely look down upon any QS menu.

Thoughts?

The issue is if you compared what food was like in the late 90s-2000s to today. Sure there’s many great meals still to be had but you’d have noticed way more variety, more in-restaurant prepared food, far less homogenization (how many restaurants serve the same bread rolls, the same fries, the same powdered eggs/tater tots/Mickey waffles).

The difference now is that the Dining Plan has created an environment where are they no longer incentivized to create diverse menus, use the finest of ingredients, etc. The few exceptions are the places where guests pay cash (California grill brunch, V&A, etc) and obviously the participants at Disney Springs that cater to a much larger variety of people than resort guests.

One good example is ‘Ohana. It’s still pretty good. Fifteen years ago they served 4-5 skewers (now three), white meat instead of chicken, leaner cuts of beef, three homemade sauces (now bottled). Chef Mickey’s also is also a good example. They used to serve Parmesan mashed potatoes made from scratch and prime rib. Now it’s frozen potatoes and cheaper meats.

 

[MrMcDuck]

Even Norway seems to have checked out. Didn't they have reindeer on the menu at one time. I haven't eaten there is a long time, but I believe the pickled herring is also gone from the buffet.

Yeah, I'm fairly certain there are no herring dishes of any sort available anymore (and definitely no more reindeer stew).
These days it's all about the princesses. Pretty sad.

 

[WDWTrojan]

I am not a foodie. A foodie is, at least to me and with my understanding of the word, someone who follows celebrity chefs, who is into the latest fad, who has the have the latest gadget, and who posts 40 pictures of whatever they are currently eating on instagram. Notice that I mentioned noting about the actual quality of the food they are eating.

I AM someone who enjoys food. All kinds of food. I can sit down and enjoy a plate of frozen fries from a bag, with plastic cheese, and gravy from a bag of "brown gravy mix" - yeah, what kind of gravy is that - beef, chicken, veal, etc? It's "brown". In fact I have 1 lb bags of "brown gravy mix" in my house from a restaurant supply store that I use when making weeknight fast meals. However, I also enjoy something like fondant potatoes accompanied by a veal reduction and herbed goat cheese (I think, I just made that up off the top of my head, not sure it all works together).

Here is my problem with WDW food. There is very little that goes beyond protein (and "safe" protein, beef, fish, chicken, maybe bison) with a "safe" sauce, a starch, and a side of carrots/broccoli/beans or of they are trying to go upscale, asparagus. Then they charge astronomical prices for it. Not just "theme park" prices, but over and above theme park prices. On top of that, the protein that they do serve is not too swift most of the time.

I believe there are a couple of factors at play here.

1) The DDP - The DDP forces chefs to create a menu to a given cost ceiling. They have to source ingredients at a specific price. They cannot go higher if they wanted to, because the DDP would cause them to loose money.

2) The DDP - Because of the popularity of the DDP, and how crowded dining is in general, most restaurants have to have something on the menu that caters to mainstream tastes. They don't want to get into the situation of there being availability at a restaurant but nothing that appeals to the "Steak and fries and nothing else" crowd.

3) Sheer volume - The amount of covers that a restaurant in WDW does in a week is insane. They cannot change the menu up every week, they have to ensure that they have a steady supply of product. That limits what they can offer. Case in point, a local place near me had Sydney Rock Oysters recently. They don't even put them on the menu. The waitress there knows I like oysters, and when they have them she lets people who she thinks will enjoy them know they are available. They may only get in a few dozen, and only if their sushi guy approves the quality (they are kind of picky). You cannot do something like that at a restaurant at WDW.


I am OK with their limited menus and their working to a food cost limit - I can understand that. I miss the old WDW dining, but I can understand the current. What I cannot ignore is their outrageous pricing.

Some places have held out - Spice Road Table and Restaurant Marrakesh are two. Although Spice Road Table has a NY Strip on the menu. Even Norway seems to have checked out. Didn't they have reindeer on the menu at one time. I haven't eaten there is a long time, but I believe the pickled herring is also gone from the buffet.

This whole post is right on point. As I pointed out in my post above, you only have to go back to many of the menus from the mid-2000s to see the quality reduction (prime rib to whatever's cheap on the buffets), etc.

The other big point you touched on but should be highlighted: Since they are piping so many people through the restaurants now, the smaller menus allow them to prep entrees more akin to banquet style now. The dishes only need to be plated before being served.

Boma is also one of the few that have held out with some unique options. Their menus have remained nearly consistent since Day 1, with only a few changes (cheaper fish, meats, etc).

 

[DznyGrlSD]

DDP...AKA This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

 

[jaklgreen]

I eat a wide variety of foods and have always encouraged my kids to do the same. They eat all kinds of protein(fish, lamb, scallops, etc)and love vegetables. So we are able to find something to eat at pretty much every single restaurant they have. We do not eat the burgers and pizzas at WDW because the quality is not there and that seems to be a waste of stomach space. I do not eat a great deal, so when I do eat, I want something a bit better. I have found over the years that the more good quality, well prepared food that you eat, the worse the crappy stuff tastes(like Applebees). I do wish that they would have more decent food counter service places at MK.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I like the food pretty well. To add on to what OP said, I think expectations play a large role in enjoyment too. A lot people look at $20 dollars for a meal and think that that meal should be the food of the gods, while others look at the price tag and shrug. I'm in the latter- I expect theme park food to be wildly expensive compared to quality so I'm usually not disappointed or surprised, but others have a higher standard they judge their food on at that price point.

 

[correcaminos]

I'm not sure a true foodie would think Disney is above and beyond. They are average, and except for V&A, are not all that innovative with what they serve.

We live in an area where there are a lot of good options at good prices. We also are not a family that focuses on food or needs large quantities. Disney prices are fine for a park, but the portions are massive so we tend to avoid eating a lot there. The quantity for the kids meals are better, but the menus aren't always that good for kids. So we don't dislike Disney food, we just don't feel the need to eat there much. Some of the newer and more unique places we do enjoy though.

 

[jaklgreen]

I'm not sure a true foodie would think Disney is above and beyond. They are average, and except for V&A, are not all that innovative with what they serve.

We live in an area where there are a lot of good options at good prices. We also are not a family that focuses on food or needs large quantities. Disney prices are fine for a park, but the portions are massive so we tend to avoid eating a lot there. The quantity for the kids meals are better, but the menus aren't always that good for kids. So we don't dislike Disney food, we just don't feel the need to eat there much. Some of the newer and more unique places we do enjoy though.

I agree about the kids meals and the quantity of food you get. We would always just order an extra adult meal for the kids to split. That way we avoided the junk on the kid's menu and they had a decent sized portion. At the table service restaurants, the servers would sometimes even bring the meals out on 2 separate plates already. They were all very nice.