Food Quality

[Johnny D]

Has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of food in general at WDW? We ate at some of our favorites and a few new places as well, and for the most part, the food was mediocre at best. Im just going to mention a few of the restaurants we went to below with issues or praises. Quick service quality also went down hill for the most part, but I won't really get into those reviews.

O'Hana, always one of our favorites was almost inedible. The table next to us called over the manager and told him they hated the food and were going to leave. The steak was horrible, chimicurri chicken was barely edible. But with that said, the shrimp were delicious as were the noodles and chicken wings.

California Grille. The prefix menu sounds all fancy and nice, but the steak they served was mediocre at best. Not worth the $90 they charge for the meal. Steakhouse 71 had a much better steak, for a lot less money.

Amare was a disappointment. The chicken kabobs were still pink. They told us that is because its dark meat, but it was certainly undercooked. We turned it back.

Il Mulino was absolutely horrible. Ravioli tasted spoiled. We were about to return the meals, when the fire alarm went off. After standing outside for 30 minutes, we just left. So yes, we did dine and dash(not by choice), but the meals were going to be sent back to the kitchen anyway.

Plaza was just ok. Nothing special

Now for some positive reviews:

Via Napoli, was amazing.... best pizza on property by far.

Space 220. After hearing mixed reviews, we didn't know what to expect. We had great meals around the table and the service was outstanding.

Steakhouse 71 had some delicious steak!

Ravello (Four Seasons Orlando) was outstanding!

Anyway, thats all for my rants and raves!

PS, we rarely ever send meals back to the kitchen....but we sent a few back this time.

 

[Phonedave]

Has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of food in general at WDW? We ate at some of our favorites and a few new places as well, and for the most part, the food was mediocre at best. Im just going to mention a few of the restaurants we went to below with issues or praises. Quick service quality also went down hill for the most part, but I won't really get into those reviews.

O'Hana, always one of our favorites was almost inedible. The table next to us called over the manager and told him they hated the food and were going to leave. The steak was horrible, chimicurri chicken was barely edible. But with that said, the shrimp were delicious as were the noodles and chicken wings.

California Grille. The prefix menu sounds all fancy and nice, but the steak they served was mediocre at best. Not worth the $90 they charge for the meal. Steakhouse 71 had a much better steak, for a lot less money.

Amare was a disappointment. The chicken kabobs were still pink. They told us that is because its dark meat, but it was certainly undercooked. We turned it back.

Il Mulino was absolutely horrible. Ravioli tasted spoiled. We were about to return the meals, when the fire alarm went off. After standing outside for 30 minutes, we just left. So yes, we did dine and dash(not by choice), but the meals were going to be sent back to the kitchen anyway.

Plaza was just ok. Nothing special

Now for some positive reviews:

Via Napoli, was amazing.... best pizza on property by far.

Space 220. After hearing mixed reviews, we didn't know what to expect. We had great meals around the table and the service was outstanding.

Steakhouse 71 had some delicious steak!

Ravello (Four Seasons Orlando) was outstanding!

Anyway, thats all for my rants and raves!

PS, we rarely ever send meals back to the kitchen....but we sent a few back this time.

I used to look forward to dining at WDW. Now, for the most part, I eat there because I have to eat. Many of the places have homogenized their offerings and they are designed for easy holding, and fast plating.

I get it, dining at WDW is very popular, and with the amount of covers that each restaurant does in an evening they have to have service down to a production line level. But I have had some really disappointing meals there in the last couple of years, especially given the pricing of late. With the volumes that they do, they have to source their foods from suppliers with major infrastructure, i.e. Sysco. Don't get me wrong, Sysco can and does supply decent food, but it is all production line driven, which is what most of WDW dining has become.

 

[The Colonel]

A general steady decline in quality and quantity over the last 20 years. Just part of the general cost cutting mania.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Disney has always had a variable range of food quality. Some changes come from a change up of Chefs, some from change of menus and ingredients, some from a restaurant process of cooking. Its no different than the restaurants in my home area. You expect things to be consistently good from one dining to the next at a spot that you frequent but that isnt always the case. Dis should be more on top of quality control and for the cost and food quantity and there shouldnt be so much variable outcomes. Thats why before a trip and making dining reservations we keep up on reviews to see what has stayed excellent and what has slipped. Weve had some spots better than expected and others we were disappointed in.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of food in general at WDW? We ate at some of our favorites and a few new places as well, and for the most part, the food was mediocre at best. Im just going to mention a few of the restaurants we went to below with issues or praises. Quick service quality also went down hill for the most part, but I won't really get into those reviews.

O'Hana, always one of our favorites was almost inedible. The table next to us called over the manager and told him they hated the food and were going to leave. The steak was horrible, chimicurri chicken was barely edible. But with that said, the shrimp were delicious as were the noodles and chicken wings.

California Grille. The prefix menu sounds all fancy and nice, but the steak they served was mediocre at best. Not worth the $90 they charge for the meal. Steakhouse 71 had a much better steak, for a lot less money.

Amare was a disappointment. The chicken kabobs were still pink. They told us that is because its dark meat, but it was certainly undercooked. We turned it back.

Il Mulino was absolutely horrible. Ravioli tasted spoiled. We were about to return the meals, when the fire alarm went off. After standing outside for 30 minutes, we just left. So yes, we did dine and dash(not by choice), but the meals were going to be sent back to the kitchen anyway.

Plaza was just ok. Nothing special

Now for some positive reviews:

Via Napoli, was amazing.... best pizza on property by far.

Space 220. After hearing mixed reviews, we didn't know what to expect. We had great meals around the table and the service was outstanding.

Steakhouse 71 had some delicious steak!

Ravello (Four Seasons Orlando) was outstanding!

Anyway, thats all for my rants and raves!

PS, we rarely ever send meals back to the kitchen....but we sent a few back this time.

When was Ohana? The menu has been back and forth a bunch since the reopening. Are the onstage grills back open yet, or are they still batch cooking everything in the back?

Amare and Il Mulino are not Disney restaurants.

The Plaza has always been mediocre.

Glad to hear about Space 220. My family wants to see it but were nervous about the reviews. I generally dislike prix fixe but we might give it a shot if we're able to get in.

 

[Johnny D]

When was Ohana? The menu has been back and forth a bunch since the reopening. Are the onstage grills back open yet, or are they still batch cooking everything in the back?

Amare and Il Mulino are not Disney restaurants.

The Plaza has always been mediocre.

Glad to hear about Space 220. My family wants to see it but were nervous about the reviews. I generally dislike prix fixe but we might give it a shot if we're able to get in.

All of this was the 2nd and 3rd week in August.
I know those two restaurants are not Disney owned, but they are on property and are available through the disney reservation system. So I was also knocking the companies that own them as well, not just Disney owned food establishments.

 

[thomas998]

Has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of food in general at WDW? We ate at some of our favorites and a few new places as well, and for the most part, the food was mediocre at best. Im just going to mention a few of the restaurants we went to below with issues or praises. Quick service quality also went down hill for the most part, but I won't really get into those reviews.

O'Hana, always one of our favorites was almost inedible. The table next to us called over the manager and told him they hated the food and were going to leave. The steak was horrible, chimicurri chicken was barely edible. But with that said, the shrimp were delicious as were the noodles and chicken wings.

California Grille. The prefix menu sounds all fancy and nice, but the steak they served was mediocre at best. Not worth the $90 they charge for the meal. Steakhouse 71 had a much better steak, for a lot less money.

Amare was a disappointment. The chicken kabobs were still pink. They told us that is because its dark meat, but it was certainly undercooked. We turned it back.

Il Mulino was absolutely horrible. Ravioli tasted spoiled. We were about to return the meals, when the fire alarm went off. After standing outside for 30 minutes, we just left. So yes, we did dine and dash(not by choice), but the meals were going to be sent back to the kitchen anyway.

Plaza was just ok. Nothing special

Now for some positive reviews:

Via Napoli, was amazing.... best pizza on property by far.

Space 220. After hearing mixed reviews, we didn't know what to expect. We had great meals around the table and the service was outstanding.

Steakhouse 71 had some delicious steak!

Ravello (Four Seasons Orlando) was outstanding!

Anyway, thats all for my rants and raves!

PS, we rarely ever send meals back to the kitchen....but we sent a few back this time.

It has been going down hill for many many years. I can remember eating at the Contemporary back in the 80's and not only was the food very good it was reasonably priced. Now you couldn't find a reasonably priced restaurant if you tried and every one you go to seems to have had the ingredient toned down to the level you would expect in a nursing home where they were afraid of upset stomachs. I don't know if they have toned down the spices to try not to offend visitors that can't handle anything beyond a pinch of salt or they have a bean counter in every kitchen slapping chef's hands if they dare to use more than a dash of anything. The food over all is simply bland as hell. I find myself going to the places in Animal Kingdom or the Animal Kingdom resort simply to get anything that has any flavor at all and even then its so bland I could feed it to a toddler. I can't remember which Disney place it was but they had what was supposed to be Cajun style blackened fish, my daughter loves spicy stuff and asked them if it was really spicy or just generic. The waiter assured her oh it's spicy to which she said great then that's what I want.... Aside from it having the appearance of being spicy it was about as spice as anything you would find at a Marriott cafeteria. We no longer even bother trying for good food at Disney, we just get something quick if we need to and eat outside Disney for good food.

 

[Lilofan]

A general steady decline in quality and quantity over the last 20 years. Just part of the general cost cutting mania.

My favorite breakfast pre 9/11was at French Quarter PO. The breakfast buffet included grilled steak and beignets .

 

[Disstevefan1]

Food quality is on the decline.
Housekeeping is on the decline.
Maintenance is on the decline.

But not everything is on the decline, like:

The prices of EVERYTHING.
The wait times.
The length of food festivals at EPCOT
The number of hard ticket events.

 

[networkpro]

When was Ohana? The menu has been back and forth a bunch since the reopening. Are the onstage grills back open yet, or are they still batch cooking everything in the back?

Amare and Il Mulino are not Disney restaurants.

The Plaza has always been mediocre.

Glad to hear about Space 220. My family wants to see it but were nervous about the reviews. I generally dislike prix fixe but we might give it a shot if we're able to get in.

We just ate lunch yesterday at Space 220 and highly recommend it. The lounge (non-reservation grasp at straws) was running about an hour and a half wait at the 11:30 opening time. My wife is a Sashimi fiend so naturally, she has the Neptune Tartare and Tuna Tataki which was even better than Toko Dining (in her opinion, it's mostly bait for me). I had a more sedate Big Bang Burrata and Shrimp with Spaghetti (was pleasantly surprised that it was freshly made pasta)

Formerly "safe" locations like Chefs du France are no longer a done deal. They couldn't do a simple rare steak (cool red center) and are relying on mass-produced items like Boef bourguignon. Wait staff and management are still great, but the food isn't. Even Hoop Dee Doo can't escape mediocrity. Fried chicken that's been under a heat lamp too long, bland "cowboy" beans (Ranch style beans cold out of the can beat these hands down), and discussion on the ribs can begin and end with a new table item: a bowl of bbq sauce because there's no way you can choke down any shred of meat you happen to find on any of them without a liberal dunk. We can't wait for the California Grill to ditch the 50th menu because its all pretension and little substance. Comparing the April to September menus shows lots.

 

[Weather_Lady]

From our first family visit (with DH and kids) around 2012, to our fifth in August 2020, we've absolutely noticed a trend of smaller portions, diminishing quality (Disney seems to think you can take anything brown, grill it to oblivion, and advertise it as a "steak!"), and shrunk-down, dumbed-down menus.

To use Pecos Bill as an example, as it's somewhere we've probably all been a few times: First, they came for the free guacamole. Then they took away the toppings bar altogether, and the fajita platter that used to be piled high on a big, oval... well, platter, with tortillas placed on top of the heaping fillings of chicken or beef with vegetables and cilantro rice (big enough for my husband and I to share), was reduced to far smaller portions of chicken and shredded "pork" glop with straight-out-of-the-boxed-mix yellow rice, misleadingly plated so that the folded tortillas now occupy half of the space on the "platter." The platter has only gone up in price by a couple of dollars, but the components are of visibly lesser quality, and the portion size is reduced by half. (Just to make sure I was remembering correctly, I even did a deep-dive Google search to compare fajita platters of yore with the ones of today!)

To be fair, my family is spoiled when it comes to food. We live in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, in the middle of a robust tourist region surrounded by farms, wineries, sugarbushes, from-scratch bakeries, dairies, cheesemakers, and craft breweries. We have restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world, alongside local cafes that offer the very best of local farm-to-table foods, and because they're all right here competing with one another, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get an amazing meal. My husband and I often joke to one another that it's a miracle we don't each weigh 400 pounds, surrounded by such great dining options.

Nonetheless, we used to genuinely enjoy dining at Disney World, and felt that the quality was at least in the same range as what we could get at home, and with a level of theming or entertainment that was really special, and justified the price. We don't feel that's the case anymore as far as food quality and pricing (and honestly, even the theming and entertainment have suffered greatly), and as a result, we stick more and more to CS, and to "cheaper" or non-Disney-owned TS where we either haven't noticed a decline, and/or wouldn't feel as scammed even if we did due to the more reasonable pricing and the uniqueness of the experience (e.g., Yak & Yeti, Sanaa, Raglan Road).

I know there are still great meals to be had at Disney World (DH's and my splurgy dinner at Tiffins in 2020 stands out in my memory as one spectacular meal that was worth every penny of its high price tag), but they're getting harder and harder to find! I end up spending weeks before a trip, just researching reviews and perusing menus to try and find worthy dining options, and it gets more exhausting every time.

 

[Chi84]

From our first family visit (with DH and kids) around 2012, to our fifth in August 2020, we've absolutely noticed a trend of smaller portions, diminishing quality (Disney seems to think you can take anything brown, grill it to oblivion, and advertise it as a "steak!"), and shrunk-down, dumbed-down menus.

To use Pecos Bill as an example, as it's somewhere we've probably all been a few times: First, they came for the free guacamole. Then they took away the toppings bar altogether, and the fajita platter that used to be piled high on a big, oval... well, platter, with tortillas placed on top of the heaping fillings of chicken or beef with vegetables and cilantro rice (big enough for my husband and I to share), was reduced to far smaller portions of chicken and shredded "pork" glop with straight-out-of-the-boxed-mix yellow rice, misleadingly plated so that the folded tortillas now occupy half of the space on the "platter." The platter has only gone up in price by a couple of dollars, but the components are of visibly lesser quality, and the portion size is reduced by half. (Just to make sure I was remembering correctly, I even did a deep-dive Google search to compare fajita platters of yore with the ones of today!)

To be fair, my family is spoiled when it comes to food. We live in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, in the middle of a robust tourist region surrounded by farms, wineries, sugarbushes, from-scratch bakeries, dairies, cheesemakers, and craft breweries. We have restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world, alongside local cafes that offer the very best of local farm-to-table foods, and because they're all right here competing with one another, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get an amazing meal. My husband and I often joke to one another that it's a miracle we don't each weigh 400 pounds, surrounded by such great dining options.

Nonetheless, we used to genuinely enjoy dining at Disney World, and felt that the quality was at least in the same range as what we could get at home, and with a level of theming or entertainment that was really special, and justified the price. We don't feel that's the case anymore as far as food quality and pricing (and honestly, even the theming and entertainment have suffered greatly), and as a result, we stick more and more to CS, and to "cheaper" or non-Disney-owned TS where we either haven't noticed a decline, and/or wouldn't feel as scammed even if we did due to the more reasonable pricing and the uniqueness of the experience (e.g., Yak & Yeti, Sanaa, Raglan Road).

I know there are still great meals to be had at Disney World (DH's and my splurgy dinner at Tiffins in 2020 stands out in my memory as one spectacular meal that was worth every penny of its high price tag), but they're getting harder and harder to find! I end up spending weeks before a trip, just researching reviews and perusing menus to try and find worthy dining options, and it gets more exhausting every time.

Quick service locations are noticeably reducing portions. DH and I used to split lunches at places like Flame Tree and Satuli and it's impossible to do that anymore. Quick service restaurants in the resorts are also serving smaller portions.

One thing we have been doing lately is going to the lounges like Nomad, Space 220 and Brown Derby and splitting small plates. The portion sizes are ample and we like the variety.

As far as dinners, we try to avoid the parks. Restaurants like Topolino's, Toledo and Flying Fish are still very good but pricey. It seems that quick service restaurants are more likely to reduce portions while table service places lean toward price increases.

I haven't really noticed a decline in food quality, although variety is suffering - probably as a result of labor and product supply shortages. The same thing is happening in Chicago. Many restaurants are still operating with reduced menus and staffing.

 

[Phonedave]

To be fair, my family is spoiled when it comes to food. We live in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, in the middle of a robust tourist region surrounded by farms, wineries, sugarbushes, from-scratch bakeries, dairies, cheesemakers, and craft breweries. We have restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world, alongside local cafes that offer the very best of local farm-to-table foods, and because they're all right here competing with one another, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get an amazing meal. My husband and I often joke to one another that it's a miracle we don't each weigh 400 pounds, surrounded by such great dining options.

Nonetheless, we used to genuinely enjoy dining at Disney World, and felt that the quality was at least in the same range as what we could get at home, and with a level of theming or entertainment that was really special, and justified the price. We don't feel that's the case anymore as far as food quality and pricing (and honestly, even the theming and entertainment have suffered greatly), and as a result, we stick more and more to CS, and to "cheaper" or non-Disney-owned TS where we either haven't noticed a decline, and/or wouldn't feel as scammed even if we did due to the more reasonable pricing and the uniqueness of the experience (e.g., Yak & Yeti, Sanaa, Raglan Road).

I know there are still great meals to be had at Disney World (DH's and my splurgy dinner at Tiffins in 2020 stands out in my memory as one spectacular meal that was worth every penny of its high price tag), but they're getting harder and harder to find! I end up spending weeks before a trip, just researching reviews and perusing menus to try and find worthy dining options, and it gets more exhausting every time.

I am in the same situation as you. I am lucky to come from an area where I can get hand pulled noodles, about a dozen Indian restaurants, high end Italian, "red sauce" Italian, Korean, Greek, American, Steakhouses, wood fired pizza, Peruvian, and a host of other options within 15 minutes of my house.

However, I too USED to enjoy WDW. It was on par with what I could get locally (for the most part, some of the higher end local places could never be matched by WDW) and while higher priced, was not entirely out of reason especially considering it was on property.

Now, like you, I feel both disappointed and ripped off after most meals at WDW. We have started doing what you are doing as well. We used to have table service meals almost every day our trips. Now we eat more Quick Service. It is still not good, but at least it is cheaper not good.

 

[correcaminos]

To us food quality is always just okay. Nothing special in most cases. Nothing really bad, though my crepe from the QS was bad and cold in the center. I never send meals back unless it has my allergen on it. I just don't expect a lot when we go. Disney food is made for masses and you get what you get with that. My only disappointment was really at Space 220 because of allergen issues. Poor server had to go back and forth many times as the chef wasn't working with her to help me. I finally picked something after a usual safe food was found to be problematic by guessing what was safe and wasn't allowed substitutions either so had one side dish vs the two. My food was good but the other two meals were not.i got the distinct impression they didn't want to be bothered with me. Server was decent but we won't bother to eat again. The turkey shortage is a bummer too for me.

I have a lot of great eats locally. Disney has never been on par, but it's usually edible at least.

 

[FutureCEO]

Via Napoli, was amazing.... best pizza on property by far.

In August, our pizza was barely cooked. Maybe it's different now that the Italians are back.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

I've been to Disney (WDW) twice in my life and somehow I only remember 4 meals:

~1990 I was only 10 years old, stayed at a Days Inn or equivalent, and went for 3 Disney days and 1 Uni. I only remember 1 sit down at Coral Reef - loved it, and QS Pinocchio Village Haus, also enjoyed.


~2012 as a young childless adult did a 1 day, 2 park, had QS at Cosmic Rays or somewhere in Tomorrowland that looked "spacey". Had a footlong hotdog with "Walt's" chili. was OK. Also just remembered we park hopped in afternoon to Epcot and went around the world for food n wine. Had a lot to drink and only remember escargot at france drenched in butter (delicious) .


Fast forward 1 month I'll be sitting down at:

Yak n Yeti - lunch
Sci-Fi Dine In - lunch
T-Rex - dinner
Skipper Canteen - early dinner
Mythos (Universal) - early dinner
Chef Mickey's -character breakfast
San Angel Inn - dinner


Looking forward to making my report and feedback on food quality, service, atmosphere. Also will try some QS meals or snacks. We're at a condo so also cooking 2 meals on off nights and making breakfast there every day except Chef Mickey's day.

 

[Johnny D]

In August, our pizza was barely cooked. Maybe it's different now that the Italians are back.

That's a shame it was that way for you. All depends on who's in the kitchen I suppose

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Quality and value started to go down with the invention of the Dining Plan. All the restaurants started to pull to one mediocre level, with the options starting to look the same no matter where you went. Strip steak supposedly cooked different ways yet somehow always seeming the same. The dining plan allows them to raise the prices just so they could say " see, if paying out of pocket that steak would cost you 35, aren't you saving so much! " And then things like chicken started to have higher prices, to justify ordering them instead of the steak. It got ridiculous. Apps? Thats not on the dining plan, but here have a cupcake. Now the dining plan is gone, but not the 29 dollar chicken breast entrees.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Make sense that the dining plans watered down quality and brought the mass production to new levels.

I can see the appeal of the dining plan. Mainly for the convenience of prepaying and just ordering when you arrive each day and no transaction. Also back in the day the "free dining plan" promotions seemed enticing during slower seasons.

That said, having never actually done it, something about them seemed constrained (1 snack, 1 QS, 1 sit down per day etc). I think I'd feel stressed trying to understand the points and what we had left etc rather than just ordering what we wanted, when we wanted. I totally get how it was structured and why, but I do wonder what the savings actually was if any and was it worth it.

I do hope they bring it back to give people options.

 

[John park hopper]

Been going since 1972 as a young adult and then thought the years withe the kids. Yes I have seen a decline in the food and the restaurants. The Good Turn Restaurant (Garden Grill now)had great a ala carte menu and the food was great. Was changed to a character meal and standard meal. Last time I was there in 2017 it was terrible. Coral reef in 2017 was good--2019 terrible. Restaurants seem to be hit or miss, with what they charge you should expect great food all the time. Captive guests that have to eat I think they just don't care like they used too.