Is there any restaurant (full service or counter) "In the Parks" that provide value ?

[Weather_Lady]

I hear this complaint all the time, but I just don't agree. Granted, it has been a year since I was there last, but when we were there we had no complaints about the food quality at all. I am not going to say that every restaurant across property is excellent or that there aren't some ones that have poor quality, but I certainly did not find that to be the case on a large scale. Downright garbage? Not by a long shot.

Agreed - to call it "garbage" has got to be hyperbole. Of course, we always read reviews ahead of time and only go to the places most highly-recommended, but out of the dozens of times we've dined on property, we've only had two meals that were objectively bad (Hollywood & Vine in 2005 and California Grill "Brunch at the Top" this past year), and of the others, the majority were not only good (in terms of quality, freshness, presentation), but excellent.

 

[Nottamus]

The food.....the eating of the food....the places offered...although expensive, its all part of the vacation to me.

I wouldn't eat offsite mainly due to the time involved getting there, then back in....meh. (my opinion)

That being said, there's quite a few QS places that offer pretty good value meals.

 

[Disnee4Me]

The salmon at Columbia Harbour House is a bargain, IMHO.

 

[JohnD]

For counter service, my picks are:

• MK: Columbia Harbour House
• Ep: Sunshine Seasons
• AK: Flame Tree BBQ
• HS: Not exactly CS, but my pick is Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge. A cobb salad and beverage are plenty for me.

 

[Jon81uk]

I've not eaten there, but the Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom is often said to offer good value as you can get sandwiches with waited service and the entrees are a very similar price to a quick service entrée. Although the prices have just gone up, but a bacon cheeseburger at the Plaza is $20 and its $13.29 at Cosmic Rays. Grilled chicken sandwich is $18 at Plaza and $12 at Cosmic Rays. For the extra few $ you probably are getting a better quality entrée and waited service.

 

[harryk]

Every meal had a meal in Walt Disney World is over priced, and if I leave the property I will always find a better meal somewhere else for less money.

When you approach it with a negative you get a negative.

 

[Phonedave]

I hear this complaint all the time, but I just don't agree. Granted, it has been a year since I was there last, but when we were there we had no complaints about the food quality at all. I am not going to say that every restaurant across property is excellent or that there aren't some ones that have poor quality, but I certainly did not find that to be the case on a large scale. Downright garbage? Not by a long shot.

OK, maybe garbage was a bit harsh. The food at WDW is edible. But it is clearly mass produced (which should be no surprise). I think they are victims of their own success. With the volumes they do, there is no way they can prepare scratch made food. The fodd they serve is clearly bulk purchased, institution grade food. From protiens, to produce, to sauces. to starches. 90% of what is on your plate clearly came from a bag, box, or can. Just looking at the menus they have also demonstrates this. Items on the menu are all now able to be cooked or par-cooked and held for service in batches.

It really is the same sort of food you can get at a national chain restaurant. The decor may be better, and the china may be a step up, but the food is the same. Now if they want to charge a premium over chain prices because of the captive audience mark up, then I understand that. But they are charging a mark up over and above what good restaurants that cook from scratch, with interesting menus, and seasonal offerings. Sorry, but WDW restaurants just don't rate any longer.

 

[Phonedave]

I've not eaten there, but the Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom is often said to offer good value as you can get sandwiches with waited service and the entrees are a very similar price to a quick service entrée. Although the prices have just gone up, but a bacon cheeseburger at the Plaza is $20 and its $13.29 at Cosmic Rays. Grilled chicken sandwich is $18 at Plaza and $12 at Cosmic Rays. For the extra few $ you probably are getting a better quality entrée and waited service.

I am far from a germaphobe, but this is my complaint with the Plaza. You are a restaurant, that is serving a menu that is heavy on the hand held items (burgers, sandwiches, etc), you are located in a park filled with people, who are touching every surface, and you do not have a bathroom, or at least a place for customers to wash their hands? Yes, you can walk over to the outside bathrooms (especially in the rain) but nobody though a bathroom (even a single person bathroom) might be useful? Other than that complaint, I do think the Plaza is a decent place to get a simple bite. It's a limited menu, but then I suspect the kitchen is the size of a postage stamp.



-dave

 

[Jon81uk]

I am far from a germaphobe, but this is my complaint with the Plaza. You are a restaurant, that is serving a menu that is heavy on the hand held items (burgers, sandwiches, etc), you are located in a park filled with people, who are touching every surface, and you do not have a bathroom, or at least a place for customers to wash their hands? Yes, you can walk over to the outside bathrooms (especially in the rain) but nobody though a bathroom (even a single person bathroom) might be useful? Other than that complaint, I do think the Plaza is a decent place to get a simple bite. It's a limited menu, but then I suspect the kitchen is the size of a postage stamp.



-dave

I’ve never even worried about washing my hands before eating to be honest! I was after going to the toilet, but when hungry going to wash hands is often low on my thoughts.
But there are plenty of other restaurants (admittedly mainly quick service) that don’t have bathrooms.
I don’t think Colombia Harbour House does, or PizzaRizzo and plenty of others such as resort food courts.

 

[Ponderer]

OK, maybe garbage was a bit harsh. The food at WDW is edible. But it is clearly mass produced (which should be no surprise). I think they are victims of their own success. With the volumes they do, there is no way they can prepare scratch made food. The fodd they serve is clearly bulk purchased, institution grade food. From protiens, to produce, to sauces. to starches. 90% of what is on your plate clearly came from a bag, box, or can. Just looking at the menus they have also demonstrates this. Items on the menu are all now able to be cooked or par-cooked and held for service in batches.

It really is the same sort of food you can get at a national chain restaurant. The decor may be better, and the china may be a step up, but the food is the same. Now if they want to charge a premium over chain prices because of the captive audience mark up, then I understand that. But they are charging a mark up over and above what good restaurants that cook from scratch, with interesting menus, and seasonal offerings. Sorry, but WDW restaurants just don't rate any longer.

That’s...really not the case as a general rule. I mean, there are venues where that’s true, but I’ve been in food service, and I know that grade of food and I know those preparations. (Hello, Tony’s Town Square.) And when I went to WDW a lot in the mid-90s, that Sysco-grade food philosophy was baked into the damn place. Now, even at the value food courts, you can find, like, a real brick pizza oven going. (And YES, that IS a real brick oven even though it’s clad in stainless steel, don’t @ me.)

It’s not perfect and you can find pre-processed stuff without looking too hard. Nine Dragons and San Angel are unfortunate representatives of this. But the overall ambition of the food situation in the parks is perhaps unprecedented. You look at fast-casual options like Chipotle’s, and their food quality is laughable compared to what, say, Satu’li is attempting. There’s no mass sit-down chain who can even approach what Skipper Canteen is doing in MK. Or an in-park restaurant with selections like they have at Tiffins. Seriously, I can’t get a whole fried fish within 60 miles from where I live, and I live 90 minutes from the Atlantic. And you can get it in a THEME PARK?

You listen to any of the WDW chefs demoing at F&W and you can sense the intense pride they take in what they prepare. I mean, hell, you can find stories of people at Hoop-De-Doo who have a dietary restriction and found a fresh and delicious alternative meal prepared for them.

I’ve eaten at some of the great restaurants of the world (Le Bernadin, and incidentally, everyone should make a pilgrimage to Ceraldi in Wellfleet), and I’ve done many restaurant videos as part of my business and met dozens of great and not so great chefs. I’m not an easy mark, but I know the words you should be hearing when a kitchen is trying. And maybe more than at any time in its history, it sounds like WDW restaurants are trying, which is one of the main reasons I’m excited to go back after so long. That’s pretty damn impressive for a theme park experience.

 

[Hockey89]

That’s...really not the case at all. I mean, there are venues where that’s true, but I’ve been in food service, and I know that grade of food and I know those preparations. (Hello, Tony’s Town Square.) And when I went to a WDW a lot in the mid-90s, that Sysco-grade food philosophy was baked into the damn place. Now, even at the value food courts, you can find, like, a real brick pizza oven going. (And YES, that IS a real brick oven even though it’s clad in stainless steel, don’t @ me.)

It’s not perfect and you can find pre-processed stuff without looking too hard. Nine Dragons and San Angel are unfortunate representatives of this. But the overall ambition of the food situation in the parks is perhaps unprecedented. You look at fast-casual options like Chipotle’s, and their food quality is laughable compared to what, say, Satu’li is attempting. There’s no mass sit-down chain who can even approach what Skipper Canteen is doing in MK. Or an in-park restaurant with selections like they have at Tiffins. Seriously, I can’t get a whole fried fish within 60 miles from where I live, and I live 90 minutes from the Atlantic. And you can get it in a THEME PARK?

You listen to any of the WDW chefs demoing at F&W and you can sense the intense pride they take in what they prepare. I mean, hell, you can find stories of people at Hoop-De-Doo who have a dietary restriction and found a fresh and delicious alternative meal prepared for them.

I’ve eaten at some of the great restaurants of the world (Le Bernadin, and incidentally, everyone should make a pilgrimage to Ceraldi in Wellfleet), and I’ve done many restaurant videos as part of my business and met dozens of great and not so great chefs. I’m not an easy mark, but I know the words you should be hearing when a kitchen is trying. And maybe more than at any time in its history, it sounds like WDW restaurants are trying, which is one of the main reasons I’m excited to go back after so long. That’s pretty damn impressive for a theme park experience.

Let's shrink this down to one place.... Yachtsman Steakhouse... I'm sorry the quality of the steaks there compared to the price is downright sad.... Comparing that to Grill 23 in Boston... Ab and Louie... Row 23.... YM would not last a day... I'm not even comparing it to some of the best places for Steak in the country.... I can get a better dry aged rib eye from whole foods and cook it on my own grill....

 

[Ponderer]

Let's shrink this down to one place.... Yachtsman Steakhouse... I'm sorry the quality of the steaks there compared to the price is downright sad.... Comparing that to Grill 23 in Boston... Ab and Louie... Row 23.... YM would not last a day... I'm not even comparing it to some of the best places for Steak in the country.... I can get a better dry aged rib eye from whole foods and cook it on my own grill....

I can’t speak as to the general quality of the meat there, but it wasn’t that long ago that it would be unthinkable for a theme park restaurant to serve wagyu - not Australian or American or whatever, but straight up Miyazaki Prefecture A5. You’re not getting THAT at Whole Foods. (Though I did get a couple of first-rate tomahawks from there this summer. Tricky to grill but SO good!)

 

[Hockey89]

I can’t speak as to the general quality of the meat there, but it wasn’t that long ago that it would be unthinkable for a theme park restaurant to serve wagyu - not Australian or American or whatever, but straight up Miyazaki Prefecture A5. You’re not getting THAT at Whole Foods. (Though I did get a couple of first-rate tomahawks from there this summer. Tricky to grill but SO good!)

Grilling a big Tomahawk is a challenge lol... No doubt.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Sci-Fi Dine-in comes to mind.

It's Disney. It's going to cost more than just about anywhere else. With Sci-Fi, you're getting one of those "only at Disney" thematic experiences.

 

[TrojanUSC]

Every meal had a meal in Walt Disney World is over priced, and if I leave the property I will always find a better meal somewhere else for less money.

Generally speaking, some of the restaurants at Disney Springs are a little more reasonably priced and offer a better value. Since the Dining Plan isn't as prevalent and they cater to locals, the quality is a little higher. They also offer some higher end options than you might find in the immediate off-property area.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Every meal had a meal in Walt Disney World is over priced, and if I leave the property I will always find a better meal somewhere else for less money.

ok??

What do you mean by value? Yes if you go off site you will find cheaper meals. If you stay home you will also find cheaper food.

 

[smile]

ok??

What do you mean by value? Yes if you go off site you will find cheaper meals. If you stay home you will also find cheaper food.

credit for admitting your ignorance, sincerely... but then you keep going.

a textbook example of someone not making the distinction between price and value, whereby you just flatly substitute one word for the other erroneously.
...the op is asking for opinions as to which dining experience users felt justified the price paid - as there are some that still exist, believe it or not

of course, their basis is that the costs are too high, but such things as themed environs or particularly tasty food can elevate an experience to match and, obviously, some locales are better than others at making the attempt

 

[eliza61nyc]

credit for admitting your ignorance, sincerely... but then you keep going.

a textbook example of someone not making the distinction between price and value, whereby you just flatly substitute one word for the other erroneously.
...the op is asking for opinions as to which dining experience users felt justified the price paid - as there are some that still exist, believe it or not

of course, their basis is that the costs are too high, but such things as themed environs or particularly tasty food can elevate an experience to match and, obviously, some locales are better than others at making the attempt

oy vey did not know it was a test.

OK since I must be specific.
This is the original post I see, was there something before because I don't see a question here but a statement.

Every meal had a meal in Walt Disney World is over priced, and if I leave the property I will always find a better meal somewhere else for less money.

Op says that every meal is over priced. OK and??? exactly where is op asking for an opinion??

So sorry I do not "keep going". all the junk you inserted is inference that You NOT THE OP inserted.

Does every freakin answer have to be an argument. jeez

so OP I apologize if I did not get the original intent. for my family we find Via Napoli in Epcot to be a great value. we love the pizza, we get a large (whatever that's called ) and a side Caesar salad. filling and not overly expensive.

 

[Marianm]

I've not eaten there, but the Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom is often said to offer good value as you can get sandwiches with waited service and the entrees are a very similar price to a quick service entrée. Although the prices have just gone up, but a bacon cheeseburger at the Plaza is $20 and its $13.29 at Cosmic Rays. Grilled chicken sandwich is $18 at Plaza and $12 at Cosmic Rays. For the extra few $ you probably are getting a better quality entrée and waited service.

The Plaza is great. Good location, cute decor, and totally affordable. We usually pay OOP to eat here and save our dine credits

 

[smile]

oy vey did not know it was a test.

OK since I must be specific.
This is the original post I see, was there something before because I don't see a question here but a statement.


Op says that every meal is over priced. OK and??? exactly where is op asking for an opinion??

So sorry I do not "keep going". all the junk you inserted is inference that YOU NOT THE OP inserted.

Does every freakin answer have to be an argument. jeez

only insult yourself calling this an argument, tho i suppose you might as well now

you asked what he meant by value - yes, it's a perspective, but there aren't more than a couple definitions of the word and they all pretty much mean the same thing
- instead of appropriately (based on what you had just said) stopping there, you then proceeded to address cost in a vacuum, which is an invalid approach to the op's query and obscures a worthy question.

however, if i had known i was engaging someone who lacked the awareness to consider the thread title as part of the op's intent, i wouldn't have bothered in the first place - so, my apologies