Dining Plan dropping food quality??

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Having just returned from an excellent trip during which we used the dinning plan, I thought Id ask if anyone else felt that standards had dropped a little at table service eateries in the World.

I have to say that while there was no truly bad experience our parties opinion was that things are showing signs of strain given the volume of people eating on property. Heres a few things we felt:

Crystal Palace - server very stressed, overheard complaining about number of parties being put through, we felt pressure to eat up and get out. Quality of food on offer down on previous visist.

Tonys Town square - very limited menu, food was pretty good.

Spoodles – where have all the exciting dishes gone? Its only a matter of time before its burgers dogs and McDonalds fry’s.

Jikos – excellent, the service was outstanding.

Le Cellieur - they were running late so had to wait 40 mins for our ressy (that’s what we get for being punctual) . Food good though personally I felt my steak at the Longhorn two days earlier was actually better (and a lot cheaper)

San Angel : perhaps its just me but I’m sure there are fewer choices on the menu, again food quality definitely not the same standard as last summer.

California Grill : this has definitely slipped, the menu was very poor IMHO for what they were charging. Cant help but feel some of the price hikes on the menu are there to justify the two dinner option meal plan charge. This is one of my favourite eating-places so I was very disappointed of what was on offer.

IMHO all of this is attributable to the higher volumes of punters they are now serving. I for one will be thinking twice about using the dinning plan and eating as more often off property

 

[mypalStitch]

Hi,
We were there last week also, 15 - 21st, and had an awful experience at Alfredo's in Italy. Our ADR was for 7:15, we were seated around 7:30 and waited over an hour and a half for our food. They claimed 2 burners were down in the kitchen, yet every table around us that was seated after us had their food way before us. With 3 young kids, who were very good I might add, it was a little distressing. The manager came and said he was paying for the entire meal, drinks included. We were on the free dining plan, so it gave us an extra 4 sit down meals, but we were leaving the next day and didn't get to use them. We already had ADR at Le Cellier for lunch, since it was the only day and time I could get in there. Needless to say, we finally got out as Illuminations was halfway over. Thankfully I had made all my ADR well in advance, because A LOT of people were not happy being told they could not get into some of the restaurants.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

I just got back from my week using the free dining plan.
I agree that while there were no "bad" experiences, it wasn't as high.
Most nights, we all agreed that our appetizers were better then dinners. I was also surprised that portions have gone down too. And they are still using huge plates, so dinner portions look espically small. The only waiter or waitress we had a problem with was at Teppanyaki, I'll explain below.

EDIT: I would just like to add that we had the first reservation of the nigh at most places. The only one we really had to wait for was LeCellier, and that was because that day the entire computer system was down, you couldn't get into the parks, credit card machines were down and they lost all reservations. At 4:00 they still had people seated for lunch, so we waited about 15 minutes. Not too bad, but it was practically our only wait.

Shutters: Their menu has shrunk, they used to have seared tuna or mahi mahi, and a lot of fish options, now just one or two. Portions here were one of the largest of the dinners we ate during the week.

Kona Cafe: Portions were very small, I had the scallops and shrimp. It came with three scallops and three shrimp, and that was it. No bed of lettus or anything underneith it. Don't get me wrong, it was excellent, but small. (I didn't leave hungry though, the chocolate lava cake filled me right up.)

Le Cellier: Very small portion, but it still was good. My parent's agreed that steak at Charlie Browns is still better, but dessert there was amazing, and I loved the pretzel sticks.

Boma: No problem here. It's a buffet, so I ate a ton. Food here was good, very tasty and varied. The zebra domes were to die for, and so was the mousse. Both had kaluha in them, I'm surprised they were out for even children to eat. I saw a young boy take a huge bowl full of the mousse. He could easly get tipsy from it.

Cinderella's Royal Table: My favorite of the trip. It was my birthday, and they sat us right by the window. I was surprised on how small it was in there, but the food was the best. Portions were normal, and I can't believe all the complaining I hear about it. I loved it all. The crab and corn soup came in a bowl the size of my head, the salmon was perfect, the pretzel rolls they give you are great, and dessert was amazing. Combine with being in the castle, on my b-day, and it was all great!

Teppanyaki Room- Good meal, small portions, great chef, but as a part of the dining plan, most dissapointing. Smoothies were NOT included (they were in every single other resturant we ate at), the appetizers did not include the sushi, and desserts included only ginger cake, vanilla ice cream, orange sherbert or a pineapple chunk. They didn't have the green tea ice cream to boot! The waitress just didn't care, we could barely understand her, and we felt very rushed. She also refused to give us a reciept with the $ amounts on it, so we could check the totals. We had to take a menu and add everything up ourselves. (We were keeping a running total of how much we spent). I still love the food there, it was just at the bottom of our list, dinner-wise.

 

[xcrashx15]

How long is this free dining plan thing going on for? I'm going in mid-October and I don't have any kind of dining plan. In the parks, we usually just eat at counter service places so I was wondering if I should expect larger-than-normal crowds there and plan to eat elsewhere.

 

[reptar77]

We do not using the dinning plan but for the last 4 years we have noticed a decrease in food quality and variety.
We only use sit down dinning and have found that most of the menus only have a few items now.
The Coral Reef used to to have several choices but now is limited to 4-5. Tonys, San Angela, Le Cellier, and Spoodles have also limited their menus.
In general the service has been great and wait times are 30-40 mins but I would expect that. I just find it disappointing that they are stream lining most menus so drastically.

 

[LizziePooh]

Oddly enough, I got off the phone a few minutes ago with my sister, who is in WDW right now with her husband. She talked a lot about how the Dining Plan is changing everything, and then I come onto the forums and one of the first things I see is a thread about just that!
Ok, so here's what she had to say.
Her and her husband are basically disappointed with how the Dining Plan is going. They aren't using it, and actually asked me to go online and find the restaurants that aren't on the dining plan so they could go to them, because the restaurants on the dining plan just don't have the good service they used to. Basically they feel that they are being rushed through their meals, are getting poor service, and that the menus are much more limited. Last night they went to Jiko, which they were really looking forward to, and were just so disappointed that they left and ended up at the sushi place at the Swan (forgot the name).
It sounds to me like because all these people are getting these discounts (or the people who are getting the plan for free right now), that disney has lowered their quality to compensate. I'm going back to WDW with my sis in January, and I really hope it's not like this. One of the things I enjoy the most is dining at WDW and if that goes down the drain, I'll be really disappointed.

 

[Shrike]

Boma: No problem here. It's a buffet, so I ate a ton. Food here was good, very tasty and varied. The zebra domes were to die for, and so was the mousse. Both had kaluha in them, I'm surprised they were out for even children to eat. I saw a young boy take a huge bowl full of the mousse. He could easly get tipsy from it.

A 4 year old could eat that mousse all day long and not feel the effect of alcohol, largely because any left over from the cooking and preperation process (ethanol vaporizes at 78C) would be measured in micrograms.

Eat all the zebra domes you want...you won't need a designated driver.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Oddly enough, I got off the phone a few minutes ago with my sister, who is in WDW right now with her husband. She talked a lot about how the Dining Plan is changing everything, and then I come onto the forums and one of the first things I see is a thread about just that!
Ok, so here's what she had to say.
Her and her husband are basically disappointed with how the Dining Plan is going. They aren't using it, and actually asked me to go online and find the restaurants that aren't on the dining plan so they could go to them, because the restaurants on the dining plan just don't have the good service they used to. Basically they feel that they are being rushed through their meals, are getting poor service, and that the menus are much more limited. Last night they went to Jiko, which they were really looking forward to, and were just so disappointed that they left and ended up at the sushi place at the Swan (forgot the name).
It sounds to me like because all these people are getting these discounts (or the people who are getting the plan for free right now), that disney has lowered their quality to compensate. I'm going back to WDW with my sis in January, and I really hope it's not like this. One of the things I enjoy the most is dining at WDW and if that goes down the drain, I'll be really disappointed.

I just wanted to clarify: we didn't have any problems (other then Japan) with the service. We had some of the best service ever! Our server in Le Cellier had us cracking up all night. She was about 25ish, from Canada (duh), and was great! She even brought us extra pretzel sticks to take with us because I raved about them so much. She wrapped them in foil, and turned it into a fashionable foil purse (as she put it). The table next to us even asked to take a picture with her....it was so cute!
Our waitress in Kona was great, telling us stories about how she is hosting foreign exchange students, and she was very attentive. I think my sister drank 6 glasses of lemonaid that night, she just kept bringing them.
My mother and I split our app. dinner and dessert almost every night so that we would be able to go to a signature dining location (Cinderellas Table), and no one ever gave us a problem (once again, except Japan) and most split it for us.
So the service was great, it was just the variety, orginality and portions of food we were shocked with.

 

[goofyman]

We just returned from a 16-21st trip and used the dinning plan. I have to say that we were very happy with it and did not notice any change in menus and quality. We were never rushed and in fact at Liberty plaza the service was great to the point they filled our drinks 3 times before we even finish. The same was true at ohana, even to the point that when we were paying the bill the waiter said "oh, you are on the dinning plan" "you have a choice of a bonus special drink" So we did and were never rushed. We found this to be true everywhere we ate. It maybe a little more crowded this time of year because of the free dinning that was offered to packages but that is just for the season. As for eating in Italy at Epoct, I have to agree that it was one of the worst italian meals we have ever had. But, we were pre warned by a family member that ate there in the past few years. But, we tried it anyway and we will not be going back. But, I dont think that has anything to do with the dinning plan.

 

[LizziePooh]

I just wanted to clarify: we didn't have any problems (other then Japan) with the service. We had some of the best service ever! Our server in Le Cellier had us cracking up all night. She was about 25ish, from Canada (duh), and was great! She even brought us extra pretzel sticks to take with us because I raved about them so much. She wrapped them in foil, and turned it into a fashionable foil purse (as she put it). The table next to us even asked to take a picture with her....it was so cute!
Our waitress in Kona was great, telling us stories about how she is hosting foreign exchange students, and she was very attentive. I think my sister drank 6 glasses of lemonaid that night, she just kept bringing them.
My mother and I split our app. dinner and dessert almost every night so that we would be able to go to a signature dining location (Cinderellas Table), and no one ever gave us a problem (once again, except Japan) and most split it for us.
So the service was great, it was just the variety, orginality and portions of food we were shocked with.

OK, what you said makes me feel better. I gotta admit, my sis and brother-in-law can be a tad snobby when it comes to restaurant service, so it's probably not as bad as they made it seem. From what they said, they really just had a bad experience with the service at Jiko, and they said they felt rushed out at Le Cellier, but otherwise they were just disappointed with the new limited menus.
Are the menus really that much different? I mean, does every restaurant now offer only a few options, or is it just certain restaurants?

 

[BRER STITCH]

I predictd the decline of WDW Dining quality and Service Levels when the Dining Plans were first announced and quite a few people disagreed.

I'd find the post for you on here but that's not the point.

The point is....how can anyone expect WDW to give away free food of the same quality they used to overcharge us for in the past??? :brick:

NOt only the quality of the food would suffer, but also the service, as waiters and waitresses must now deal with appetizers and desert for every single person on the plan. That "extra" time is taken away from providing paying customers with a good dining experience.

Also, how could it not affect the entire reservation system as predicted??? :veryconfu With EVERY SINGLE PERSON going to WDW needeing advanced reservations now, those wishing to dine casually when and where they want to are out of luck.

It's a sad turn of events, but if Disney is making money by doing it this way, they must be cutting back somewhere.....portion size, quality, and service!

 

[kennyj29]

Free Dining

This is the first time we are getting the free dining but we have had the dining plan many times. We are going September 30th for 8 nights so I will let you know but what we have seen by checking out the menu's every once in awhile, nothing really has changed. We look all the time to make sure the menu's are the same and we have the menu's from the past and we can't see any difference. I can't say the quality is better or worse cause this is the first time we have gotten it for free. We also have a lot more patience because we are now all adults and love relaxing at dinner even if it takes a little longer, people with kids don't have that luxury. So I'm still looking forward to trying it to make sure it is still as good as always!

 

[scottnj1966]

I have dinner and lunches at WDW at least once or twice a month.
We have the occasional issue here and there but nothing like everyone has been talking about. For the most part it is always a great experience.

I have noticed that the calibur of cast memebers are not what they used to be. I am not saying all cast members, most are so great and fun to deal with. I mean the amount of bad eggs are increasing.

During last years union problems, that may not have set well with cast members still to this day. Since they were complaining about issues the rest of the world was dealing with I did not feel for them but most of them brought there attitudes to work.

Ohana's was the time of the union problem and our waiter was a complete jerk. We are treated better at Denny's. We has 22 people at our table and he could care less. Now this was a one time thing and the many other times have been great.

The food seems the same to me whenever we eat. We are going to be staying at Wilderness Lodge for three days. We are going to eat Dinner at Alfredo's Friday, Whispering Canyon Saturday, and sci Fi for lunch Sunday.

Will let you know how it is.

 

[WishinUponAStar]

I just wanted to add we JUST returned home from a 8 night stay at the Boardwalk with the dining plan and even though most of the QUALITY of food seemed AROUND the same to me we were ALWAYS seated between 15-30 late and they RUSHED us through EVERY MEAL! Le Cellier, our ADR was for 6pm, finally seated at 6:35 pm. Teppanyaki, ADR for 6:15 pm, finally seated 6:35 pm. Ohana was the worst for us, we had an ADR for 8:40pm and were not seated until 9:15!!!!! Luckily we were enjoying "Lapu Lapus & Backscratchers" at the bar, but still. Then once we were seated, ALL of the food was virtually brought at the SAME time and cleared away VERY fast. It was overwhelming, but we took our time to watch Wishes from our window table.

I did also feel like the food quality at Tony's Town Square (we did lunch there) was less desirable, Spoodles pitchers of Sangria were more watered-down than ever, and Crystal Palace seemed to have some issues too.

I had a blast as usual and enjoyed all the restuarants but the 15-30 minute waiting AFTER my ADR was VERY frustrating.

 

[Lucky]

We just returned from 8 nights on the free dining plan. I didn't really notice any unusual delays or problems with quality of service or food. We ate at Mama Melrose's, Rose and Crown, Coral Reef, Cinderella's Royale Table (breakfast), Boma, Garden Grill, Chef Mickey's (breakfast) and Crystal Palace. We were seated immediately on arrival in some cases, and never waited more than 15 minutes. At Chef Mickey's, we chose to wait for a table in the larger room when they tried to seat us in a small quiet area in front (despite having two young kids - they should know to seat the adults only parties out front). There were times at Mama Melrose's, Rose and Crown & CRT when our servers didn't check back often enough, but no more so than at restaurants back home.

 

[tink81]

I was wondering when the complaints about the free dining would come rolling in. I see Brer Stich's point and I am a little comcerned that the popularity of the free dining will also become its downfall. It would be interesting to know how many people have booked this package and how these guests are now dining in masses that could pose a strain on servers, food and facilities. The free dining IS a great deal and just from the conversations on this board, it has convinced a lot of people to book a trip during a normally quiet time at the parks, but if Disney can't maintain their standards during this promotion, then it's really worth it, is it?

 

[tink81]

How long is this free dining plan thing going on for? I'm going in mid-October and I don't have any kind of dining plan. In the parks, we usually just eat at counter service places so I was wondering if I should expect larger-than-normal crowds there and plan to eat elsewhere.

Hey crash. the Free Dining promotion was announced in June and offered to select packages booked by June 25, 2006 for travel dates between Aug 18(?) and Sept 30, 2006. Select, you say? What does that mean? Well, it usually means that there are limited numbers of packages avaiable for each hotel and for certain dates, but it's really anyone's guess as to how you could NOT get the free dining because everyone and their brother seems to have been able to book it. This is the second year Disney has offered this promo during the end of summer/fall when crowd levels are the light. Keep a weather eye open for the promo again next year, it seems to be working!

 

[kennyj29]

Lucky

I know this is off the thread a little but I have to ask Lucky about Rose and Crown. We had reservations there for the free food plan but somebody said that there meals are like $15.99 and Coral Reef is like double that why would you want to eat there? We cancelled them and made them for Coral Reef. We have eaten in Coral Reef many times but never at Rose and Crown. Is the food there good? I myself, wouldn't have cared about the price but it bothered others in my party. I would like to go there a different time so just let me know what you thought about the food.

 

[daverube]

It seems to me that most of the complaints regarding the dining plan revolve around folks who get seated AFTER their scheduled ADR and then feel rushed. Well, this would appear to be make sense. If you are seated later than you are supposed to, that means the folks with ressies set after yours will be seated late. This will move on and on until the folks at the end of the ressie timeslot are pushed so far back that the restaurant is open far later than they are supposed to be. As such, the staff will want to "hurry up" your dining experience to seat those behind you. As a former waiter, I understand the problem.

I, for one, hate long waits to be seated at a restaurant, ressie or not....especially when you see folks taking their sweet time chit chatting and what not. At the same time, I don't like to be rushed while enjoying my meal or the company I keep. As such, I try to be conscious of the restaurant's line while eating....am I a saint?? No way....but I'm working on being better.

The only thing I can think of to combat this problem is to eat in the very first service setting (i.e. closer to 4pm) than later. That being said, we take the latest reservations possible and hope we don't get pushed back too much....and if we do, Disney serves some pretty good wine. :>

My 2 cents.

dave

 

[Senderella]

(despite having two young kids - they should know to seat the adults only parties out front). .

Not to get nitpicky Lucky (and I mean this with the utmost respect), but that statement kind of irked me. The way DH & I see it (I'm not sure about the rest of the people who go without kids so I'm only speaking for myself here and a few others who've echoed my thoughts on the matter) we'd rather spend time meeting the characters at the restaurants rather than getting in line at the parks. The characters are on limited time in the parks and we don't feel right possibly getting in line and jipping a kid out of meeting a character (major characters..Fab 5.. princesses.. pooh characters... anyone available at a character meal). Sure the food at the restaurants are usually awesome, but we do go for the experience as well..characters and "rambunctiousness" if you will. Just because we're there without kids doesn't mean we should be shunted to a part of the restaurant that's quieter and out of the way.